Money Saving Move: Using-What-You-Got Crafts

Salt Dough Crafts/Ornaments

 

 

So, it was a snowy, chilly day here in Colorado. J is on fall break and I needed some indoor entertainment for both the girls. Bring on the Let's-Look-Around-The-House-And-See-What-We-Can-Come-Up-With tactic.

 

We did this craft using only things we found around the house so this craft was (yes, my favorite word) FREE!!!

 

 

Salt Dough:

 

2 cups flour

 

1 cup salt

 

warm water (about 3/4 cups)

 

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

 

Bake at 200 degrees until stiff.

 

 

Other supplies:

 

Kitchen utensils

toothpicks

paint/paint brushes

ribbons

stamps

glitter

jewels

tissue paper

mod-podge

any other things you can find around the house that would be useful.

 

Tip: if you want to minimize the post-baking painting, you can use food coloring to dye the dough before hand. ( I did not have any, so I did not do that.)

 

 

 

 

So J had this little stamp set laying around.  We decided to make Hello Kitty ornaments with them.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made various shapes and ornaments. The bug ornament on the right is our family's thumb prints. Daddy, Mommy, J and A. I think I would like to start a tradition of a family ornament every year. Maybe next year we'll do a flower with our prints? Just a thought......

 

 

I thought this would be another cute one.

 

 

After it was painted (right) and J's bedazzled Hello Kitty ornament (left)

 

 

This little snowman will be a cute mantle decoration. I made him a little hat, I just have to glue it on. I also want to get a cute ribbon or some twine/burlap and make him shabby-chic scarf.

 

 



 

 

While searching (unsucessfully) for cookie cutters, I grabbed other things in the kitchen that could be useful. We made angels and flowers using an apple slicer/corer.

 

 

 

 

 

 This is a great money saving craft and the kids typically love it. Happy Crafting






XOXO
 Jacqueline

Guest Post: AshLeenikol

Hi Everyone! I've got Ashlee here today sharing with us her tips on saving money this Christmas! Check out her blog! She's got a little bit of everything and it's all wonderful!

Hey there, Beauty and the Budget readers!  

I'm Ashlee :), the voice behind the lifestyle blog, the blog of ashLeenikoL.  

First things first, a big THANK YOU to Jacqueline, for letting me take over her blog today!  She is so nice and I love everything that she crochets! I can't wait to try out this pattern for the infinity scarf.  

And second, I'm here today talking about the ways I'm saving money on my Christmas shopping and ways that you can hopefully save too!  Shall we get started?

***

Each year when October rolls around I start stressing about what gifts I'm going to buy for my family/friends and how I'm going to afford it.  Well, this year I'm taking a different approach and I want to share it with all of you Beauty and the Budget readers!

Ways I'm Saving Money On Christmas Shopping

1.  Christmas Club money - For the last 8 years, on November 1, I have started a Christmas Club account to prepare for the next year's Christmas. This has been a lifesaver for me, but this year I'd like to spend less of my hard earned money and put some of it into savings.  A lot of people use their entire Christmas Club plus extra money to buy gifts and that was me at one time, but not this year. :) 

2.  Swagbucks - Swagbucks is a site where you earn points daily by searching online, answering a daily poll, taking surveys, and much more.  It's super easy!  Once you receive so many points, you "cash" them in for rewards, like gift cards, electronics, and more.  The gift cards are the best!  So far I've got $50 in Paypal cash to spend on whatever I want.  Right now I'm trying to rack up enough points to get another $50 in Paypal cash or an Amazon gift card to help buy at least three gifts.  If you're on the computer a lot, it's definitely worth checking in to!  It's like free money!

3.  DIY Gifts - Making gifts is another way I'm saving money on Christmas this year.  I've already started making finger knit scarves and crocheted earwarmers.

More DIY gifts I'm hoping to make:

A set of dishtowels labeled Sunday-Saturday. 

Mom's and Grandma's would love these!

A nice handscrub!  According to this website, this scrub is compared to Mary Kay's Satin Hands, which makes your hands feel incredibly soft.

Burlap pillows!  For the couples in your family. 

This is one thing I'm striving to make this year.

***

What ways do you save money during the holidays?  Do you use any of these methods? 

I'd love to know!  

Liebster Award!

I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Esther's Norine Designs!  Go check her out!

DIY Beauty Series: Part 2

Man it's been a busy week. I had the opportunity to guest post on two other blogs yesterday. If you missed it, you can check them out at Wannabe Green and Michelle's Pixie Dust. Both blogs are great!

We will now return to your regular scheduled broadcasting with....

 

DIY Natural Skin Exfoliant

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a natural solution (Natural solutions magazine 2008) to blackheads and is recommended use is 2-3 times a week.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Baking soda

 

water

 

Instructions:

 

Take a quarter sized dab of baking soda in your palm. Moisten with a few drops of warm water and gently press into your skin.

 

Tip: The emphasis is on press, as scrubbing can tear the edge of your pores and spread bacteria

 

Tip 2: If you find your only breaking our on one side of your chin, try cleaning your cell phone. The bacteria on the phone can get pressed into your pores.

 

 

 

 

Jacqueline

 

 



Guest Post from Michelle's Pixie Dust

Today I have the honor of having Michelle from Michelle's Pixie Dust guest posting on thrifting. Check out her blog! She's got great things to share!

The Beauty of Thrifting

One of my favorite things to do is shop the thrift stores for items to make my home more beautiful. Just like many of you, I live on a tight budget. I would love to go out and spend thousands of dollars on home décor, but this is not in the cards for me at this time.

Today I was the crazy person in Goodwill taking pictures. But I just had to show off some of these finds! Everything was individually priced under $10.00. If I had more space, all of these beauties would be in my home J

The first thing I spotted was this little kitchen storage box. Wouldn’t this be adorable for a rustic or shabby chic kitchen? Aside from storing onions and potatoes, this looks like great storage for dish towels and cloths.

 

I imagined this little shelf sitting on the corner of an end table or maybe an accent piece to a buffet. It could really go anywhere. I think it would also fit in with a rustic or shabby chic décor.

 

 

 

This vase is so simple, but I love it! I can see this on an end table with some fresh flowers, making everything feel more like home. And can we say CHEAP? This little friend was only $1.00

I fell in love with this little table because it is so different! I haven’t seen many others like it. This could be a plant stand or a little end table. I think it ads character to whatever room it would be in. It’s definitely not a “standard” piece.

 

 

 

I took a little stroll over to the record section and this cover caught my eye. Someday I would love to do a piece of art with old record covers. Wouldn’t this be cute in a small frame? The orange ads a pop of color.

 

 

 

 

I thought this hot pink fabric was amazing! How great would it be to make throw pillows with this? Or maybe even a camera strap cover?

 

 

 

 

And then lastly…these shoes! All I kept thinking in my head was “pumped up kicks…” when I saw these. I know these will not fit everyone’s style, but I can imagine them looking super cute with some leggings and a trendy sweater. What do you think?

 

 

 

 

Beautiful things don’t have to come at an expensive price! It’s all about forming a “look” for that room in your house and searching out pieces to match. I have an extreme love for looking at things the way they could be and not just the way they are. I hope you will try it with me!

Guest Post: DIY Mulling Spices

Hey Everyone!

So Today's guest post comes compliments of my very own sister, Kristen. She can put a lot of people to shame when it comes to her kitchen skills. She was kind enough to share with me her recipe for Apple Cider. Enjoy!!!




It's that time of year for comfort foods including Apple Cider, or even better, mulled Apple Cider. I prefer not to buy expensive mulling spices that only last for a cup or two so I decided to make my own this year. I don't follow an exact recipe but have made a concoction based on my personal tastes. Here is the gist of it:

I cut slices from oranges, lemons, and apples and put them on my cooling rack to dry for 24 hours.

Then I make a big batch of the spices.

6 cups of brown sugar

3 tbs cinnamon

2 tbl cloves

2 tbl allspice

1 tbl nutmeg

Mix all together in a big bowl. Then to create individual servings I put 1/2 cup of the spice mixture in a prep bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I put 2 dried orange slices, 1 dried lemon slice, and 1 dried apple slice on top.

 

 

 

I usually add one prep bowl of spices to 2 cups of apple cider. It makes a pretty strong cup but that's the way I like it. The best thing about making your own mulling spices is that you can customize it to your personal taste. You can add less brown sugar and more dried fruit for a less sweet taste or add more cloves or cardamom for a spicier cup.

This is just a basic recipe so experiment!
 

 

 

Kristen Childs

 

For cooling rack and prep bowls used in this recipe see www.pamperedchef.biz/aspeck

 

 

 

 

Beauty Budget Steal of the Week: Color Block Top

Allen b color block top: JC Penney $0  (FREE)

YES, my favorite word, FREE! JC Penney sent out, via email, these coupons for $10 off your purchase of $10 or more.  This shirt was on cleareance for exactly $10. So I paid nothing for it!