Great for Winter

 

 

Another creation featured on Bug & Bundle. This chunky cowl is VERY warm and will be great for winter.

 

 

 

New Bug & Bundle Post: Curly Fall Scarf

Post on the new blog. Check it out here.

Beauty Budget Steal of the Week: Leopard Print Shoes



Shoes: Target $2.98

Yes! you read that correctly: $2.98 from Target. They were a GREAT deal  

Maine Attraction

Hey everyone!

So the Hubbs and I's vacation has come to a bittersweet end. I LOVE this part of the country and am sad to leave but I miss my girls and couldn't wait to see them when we landed. On this trip, we flew into Boston, stopped by Fenway, drove by Harvard and then took route 1 up the coast through New Hampshire and Maine. It was very scenic and we stopped in lots of cool places along the way.

 

 

Cape Elizabeth

 

 

 

Cape Neddick

 

 

 

 

Bug Light House in Portland

 

 

 

 

Portland Head Lighthouse

 

 

 

 

The back roads of Maine

 

We stayed at a B&B in Maine where all that stood between us and the beach was about 20 steps and a sand dune. I loved listening to waves crash right outside our window and I snapped a picture of the awesome sunrise in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm proud to say we did not eat at one chain restaurant. We ate at all these great little local places and had lots and lots of fried clams. We were addicted.  And yes, we had lobster too .

 

 

 

Meet Larry.... Our dinner.

 

 

Dinner on the wharf

 

 

 



We toured around Boston a bit, stopping to see Fenway and also sight seeing around the North End

 

 

 

The Old North Church

 

 

 

Paul Revere's House
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And because it was the North End, of course we stopped at Mike's Pastries and had some good Italian food.

 

 

 

 

Now of course this post wouldn't be complete if I didn't include some ways to save money while vacationing.

 

1.) Use Hotel points ( if you have them) to stay places for free

 

2.) Try to choose places that have complimentary breakfasts, especially if you're traveling with the whole family.

 

3.) Use the Groupon Now app. This will find you deals on food in the city you're visiting and you might even find some deals on local entertainment.

 

4.) Try to travel in off peak times. This isn't always possible but we managed to visit Maine right after peak season ended, so the B&B, as well as souvenirs were a little bit cheaper. Plus, there are less crowds.

 

5.) Walk or use public transit if you're in a city that's conducive to that. Less money on rental cars, gas and parking. 

Gone Fishing

Hey guys!!

Ok so I'm not really fishing. However, The Hubbs and I are back east touring Boston and the beautiful coast of Maine. Sorry I haven't posted in
A couple days buy I still have my last post coming on the T-shirt scarves.  But in the meantime, I'll leave you with a few pictures of our trip so far.

DIY Part 2: Braided T-shirt scarf.

I found the inspiration photo (below) for the braided scarf on Pinterest. Because it was for sale on Etsy, there was no tutorial for it so I just kind of had to study the picture and wing it.

 

 

 

So here you go the (fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants) instructions. I will try to include pictures soon so the instructions make more sense.

 

1.  Cut your T-shirt into strips. For a better description on that, see here. Cut a few short, thin extra strips. You will need these to finish the project.

 

2.  These strips (when first cut) will actually be in the shape of "loops." Stretch all your loops together to the desired length you want (or as far as that particular material will let you.) And then, holding all the loops in one hand, cut them. You now have several strips of material.

 

3.  Still holding the strips in one hand, comb through them with your finger. This will make it a little easier to braid. (if you're working with two colors, try to arrange the strips so they are grouped together by color.)

 

4.  Tape down one end of your gathered up strips to a sturdy surface.  If you have no tape but have creepy long toes like I do, you can hold them between your toes.

 

5.  Divide your strips into 3 semi-even sections. Begin to braid your strips at the top, near the tape.

 

6. This is where it gets a little tricky. Braid as far down as you would like. Tape it down where the braid ends, leaving the rest of the strips free flowing. Take one of your small strips you cut in step 1 and tie it tightly with double and triple knots at the bottom of the braid. You can use fabric glue to solidify the knot and prevent it from coming undone.

 

 

 

 

7. To finish, you can tie the two ends together with the other piece of fabric cut in step 1, which is what I did. Or if you want a super neat finish and have a lot of patience, you can fabric glue the two ends together.

 

So there you have it! If you find yourself embarking on this project and get confused, Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 





DIY Part 1: T-shirt scarves

So over the course of the next 3 posts, I'm going to give a little tutorial on T-shirt scarves . It's fun and quite possibly the cheapest way to accessorize.  I originally found the inspiration and instructions on Pinterest here. I was amazed at how simple they are to make.

My dad had some T-shirts that he was getting rid of. I was happy to take them off his hands since they were perfect for this project. But if you don't have any old T-shirts on hand, goodwill is a great place to pick some up in a variety of colors.

Now, the key to this project is to make sure you've got a good sized T-shirt (Size Large and up is good.) and you're using a pretty good pair of scissors.. They'll make better cuts and therefore a better, smoother finished product.

To start,

1. you lay a T-shirt flat.

2. Cut the bottom seam off. And also cut the shirt off just below the armpits. So now you have just a square/rectangle of a T-shirt. (Sorry I don't have a picture.)

3. Keep cutting the shirt across (the same way you cut the seam and arms off) trying to ensure the strips cut are roughly the same size (you can measure if you want to get precise.)  Don't worry the strips will look smoother and more finished in the end.

4. When you've finished cutting, you should have a bunch of pieces that look like big loops or circles. Simply gather them together (as if you were going to put them over your head) and begin to pull them gently, causing them to stretch.

I wanted mine to wrap around my neck twice so I stretched mine quite a bit. Let me know how yours turned out!
 

Crochet 3-1 Neck Warmer

So this is my first installment of  DIY projects (finally.) This is almost like a "Money Saving Move" and "Steal of the Week" combined. I love to crochet and moreso, I love to crochet hats, scarves and the like. So, consequently I have A LOT of scarves. I recently came across a pattern for a neck warmer.

However, as I went along, I added a few variations of my own. When it was finished, I realized I had something of a 3-in-1 scarf.


Cowl:

 

Hooded Scarf:

Neck Warmer:

The pattern I used for this is as follows:

Yarn: Red Heart (I forget the shade of blue) This pattern would work best with a bulky or chunky yarn. But, If working with worsted weight yarn (as I did above,) hold 2 strands together.
Hook: 6.5mm


Row 1: Ch. 60 (or as many as you need to comfortably wrap around your neck twice.)

Join round with a sl st. Use a marker if need be to mark the start of your row.

Row 2-3: DC in each st across.

Row 4-5: Treble Crochet in each stitch arcoss

Row 6-7: DC in each stitch across

Row 8: SC in each stitch across. Finish and weave in ends.

This is a fairly simple pattern and great for beginners. Let me know if you have any questions! Happy scarf-ing.

Your Weekly Money Saving Move: Craig's List, Freecycle and Garage Sales

I have found that the free section of Craigs List is a great place to find some old things you can up cycle or use for another craft/project. Another good website is freecycle.org.  You have to sign up for freecycle.org (it's free) but you can fund great stuff in your very own community.

I recently looked on Craig's list and found some wicker chairs and matching glass table for free. If I had the space to store it for the next house, I would've picked it up, spruced it up with some white spray paint and new cushions and vóila! Some new front patio furniture for practically nothing!

Garage sales are another good place to pick up some things you're looking for for cheap. The key to a garage sale is go early, know exactly what you're looking for and if they don't have it, move to the next garage sale.


 

Beauty Budget Steal of the Week

 Girl's Tiered Ruffle Tank From Gap

Top: Gap $2.50 (originally $14.95)

Total Savings $12.45

I. Love. Gap. Sales. I got this today, so if you like this tank, you might be able to snag it if you get out to your local Gap in the next few days.

P.S.... the online price $9.99. So you'll probably have to actually go to a store to find it for this low price.

Money Saving Move: Accessories.. Continued

Ok so do you guys remember the original MSM post a few weeks ago about...

 

 

New Accessories, Not New Outfits?

I promised some pictures to go with the post. Since I don't want to have a bunch of stuff related to the same post scattered all over the blog, I'm re-posting this one. So I apologize for those of you who already read this post. So here you go.... again.... except with pictures this time. :)

 

We all know that accessories really add "oomph" to an outfit. My latest strategy has been to invest in a few new accessories instead of completely new outfits. And it's amazing how effective that has been.

Shoes, belts, handbags and scarves are among some of the most inter-changable accessories. You can switch up just a few of these and come up with a very different look. Clothes I have not worn in a long time are slowly creeping their way back out of my closet as a result of a few extra accessories.

Scarf: Plato's Closet $4
Belt: Rue 21 $1.25
Dress: NY&C: $15.00

 

My recommendation for accessories is buy (most of them) second-hand! I say "most" because there are a few things I would not buy second-hand, like hats. These items are usually in good condition and are much more reasonably priced. Let's face it! Nobody wants to pay $20 for a lightweight summer scarf. That being said, some of my favortite stores for accessories are Plato's Closet and My Best Friend's Closet (A local Aurora, CO store.) At Plato's Closet, you can find scarves for $4-$ , belts for between $6-$8, and handbags and shoes from $8 on up.

 



 

Scarf: Plato's Closet $4
Belt: Rue 21 $1.25
Top: (It's actually a dress) NY&C: $15.00

Beauty Budget Steal of the Week: Flats

So I had something to return to JC Penney the other day. As a general rule of mine, I always browse the clearance section of a store "just to see." I came across these 2 pairs of shoes for J.

 

 

Shoes: JC Penney $8.00 each (originally $20.00)
similar  here

Total Savings: $24.00

 

I had actually seen these a couple months ago on sale for $14. I decided against getting them at the time because she didn't need them. But as soon as I saw they were down to $8, I quickly snagged them. So for 2 pairs,  I spent just $2 more than what I would've spent for 1 pair when I initally saw them. Patience truly was a virtue in this instance. 



Your Weekly Money Saving Move: Viggle

So do you remember a few posts back when I talked about how I got these lovely little shoes for free? 

 

Well my answer is called Viggle. It is a free app for the iPhone (not sure if it works on smart phones.) And basically how it works is you get points for watching TV which you can then redeem  for gift cards to various restaurants, retail stores and more. Yes, it's that easy!

 

 

I saved up my Viggle points and redeemed them for $30 in gift cards to Old Navy to do some back to school shopping. I've also redeemed gift cards to Starbucks, JC Penney and Lowes. So if you have the iPhone, get the Viggle app and start saving!