Notebook Experiments: Can I Knit Something Other Than a Scarf?

June 19th, 2008

Experiment: Can I actually knit something other than a scarf?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 05.15.08

Materials Needed: Please see The Purl Bee for specific directions on how to complete this experiment. I completed the pattern for the Stockinette Washcloths to give as gifts to friends and family. Instead of the yarn that was recommended, I purchased some Sugar ‘N Cream cotton yarn, in various colors. One ball of yarn will make about two washcloths. I picked size 9 needles and did 35 stitches on each pattern, no matter what the directions said, so I wouldn’t have to buy new needles.

Results: I am really trying to expand my knitting skills and didn’t want to get stuck in a scarf rut. These washcloths were great for practicing patterns and stitches, without being committed to a large project. I did find the seed stitch border to be a bit tedious, but with each washcloth, I got a little better and a little faster.

I did look on the internet and tried other patterns for washcloths too. I made this simple beginner dishcloth pattern and this “learn to purl” dishcloth. Of all of the patterns, the one from The Purl Bee was the hardest, but had the prettiest results.

I also got bored and started alternating the patterns… and sometimes I alternated the patterns because I forget to turn it. I actually thought this added a little something special to them so I didn’t try and take out the stitches.

Conclusion: I CAN make something other than scarves and it helped me become more familiar with how to read a pattern. These were a great beginner project and are going to make some lovely hostess and birthday gifts for family & friends. Thanks to The Purl Bee for sharing this amazing pattern!

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Posted in Knitting | 17 Comments »

Happiness Is… Playing In the Green Grass

June 18th, 2008

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Posted in Family | 9 Comments »

Finding Beauty in the Ordinary

June 17th, 2008

When we moved into our house, one of the things that I really wanted to change about our house was the landscaping. There were, however, many more pressing concerns though that required our funds and attention- a leaking roof, a monstrosity of an air-conditioner, cosmetic updating that made the space more livable. All of these repairs have trumped the landscaping funds for now and we have been doing things little by little in our yard.

One of the things I have disliked the most though has been one of our side beds. It is filled to the brim with giant ferns. The ferns are enormous and I have to mow through them to cut the grass. I don’t find them all that attractive and they keep popping up in my other beds. Each year I have vowed that I am going to rip them out, but my efforts usually end up on other things and I forget about it…until the ferns pop up the next year.

When we had the original owner out to our house last summer, she commented how pleased she was to see those ferns there. They came from her father’s lake cottage and she brought some back each time she went. Her eyes were misty as she told me how happy she was to see each of those ferns there and she shared with me her happy memories of planting them and the summers with her dad. I began to see the ferns in a different light than I had before. To her, they were a thing of beauty and held wonderful memories of her family’s summers.

Last night I brought bunches of them in and started putting them in recycled single-size coffee jugs. They looked so pretty all fanned out that I started putting them in each room, adding a touch of green here and there. I marveled at how beautiful they were and how they added that little bit of life I needed to my living space.

Frugality is a lot like that though, isn’t it? Sometimes it takes seeing all that you have through another pair of eyes to appreciate all of the bounty you already possess. My yard was filled to the brim with vases of green and all I had to do was pick it from my own backyard. Yet, each year I grumbled about mowing around them, shaking my fist as more ferns popped up.

Sometimes it just takes someone else pointing out the beauty for you to appreciate the ordinary.

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Posted in Frugal | 21 Comments »

Redbox Code 06.16.08

June 16th, 2008

Today’s free code for a Redbox movie is S8U5N2. This code is good for one free movie and you can use it until midnight tonight. Enjoy a free family movie together!

Side Notes:

– If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

– When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, “Rent with Promo.” Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.

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Posted in Freebies | 2 Comments »

Fruity Play Dough

June 16th, 2008
Each day we have been enjoying something off of Ethan’s summertime list. One of the things that he wanted to do was to make play dough so I found a really great recipe that I thought would work perfectly and keep our kitchen nice and cool. This recipe requires no cooking, which is a bonus on a hot summer day, and uses Kool-Aid mixes to make your colors.

I made a batch in each of the kid’s favorite colors and was suprised how quickly and easily this dough came together. In about five minutes, the dough was ready to go for little hands to enjoy.

Boy, did they enjoy this! I put out my biscuit cutter, plastic forks and knives, cookie cutters, and a giant rolling pin- all items courtesy of my kitchen! The kids played in this for over an hour and then I stored the batches in plastic containers.

This dough stays nice and soft and the smell is delicious… which is very confusing for a two year-old. Emily found out the hard way that it didn’t taste as good as it smelled, but it only took one taste to find that out.

Fruity Play Dough (courtesy of Recipezaar.com)

1 cup flour
1 package Kool-AidKool-Aid (any flavor)

1 tablespoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup salt
3/4 cup boiling water (the original recipe called for one cup of boiling water, but I found it made the dough too loose- aim for 3/4 cup and add more if needed)

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl then oil, then pour boiling water in and mix thoroughly. Wrap in cellophane or air tight container and store in fridge. The play dough should last a few months.

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Posted in Family | 32 Comments »

Another Fast Father’s Day Gift

June 14th, 2008

Both of the dads in my life have birthdays around the same time as Father’s Day so I ended up doing a combination gift this year to show how much we appreciate them.

Tucked in with a stack of my special music (made just for dad), I included a card for each of them. I used some of our tickets from our giant ticket roll and decorated the outside of the card with them. Inside is a gift certificate for Netflix for two months.

I used the same gift as a graduation gift for a family member so this would make an excellent gift for a college graduate too!

This gift can be as affordable or as expensive as you would want to make it. They offer so many different types of plans and you can pick the plan that fits your budget best. I would love a summer of free movies so I hope they will enjoy this as much as I would!

Happy Father’s Day, Dads!

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Posted in Gifts | 9 Comments »

Where Else You Might Find Me?

June 13th, 2008

This week, you can find me on Frugal Hacks discussing ways that you can begin connecting with others.

I also contributed a new article to Michiana Family Magazine with tips for surviving the grocery hike. The June issue is on newsstands everywhere so be sure to grab your copy! Betsy does an amazing job with this magazine and there are lots of great articles this month.

Blissfully Domestic has my, “We Need to Work on Our Letters” posted on their site. There are tons of great comments, sharing tips and websites that have helped parents build their children’s reading skills. Don’t miss it!

Kenmore has put all of their experts together for a piece on how to throw an Asian-inspired BBQ for the Olympics this year. I shared some fun ideas for crafts and activities to get the kids involved as well as thrifty tips for maximizing those leftovers for your get together. This one was a ton of work and research so I hope that you will check it out and that it will add a little inspiration to your outdoor entertaining! Next month, we will be sharing tips for family vacations so I will be sure to share when that article is posted! You can view all my articles here and I will continue updating you when new things get added to the site or you can subscribe to their newsletter to get the tips delivered directly to your email.

I took a little break from my WSBT segments because my kids were sick, but the crew came out this week and we filmed seven more segments for the summer months ahead. I am looking forward to sharing more frugal mom tips with all of you!

In case you missed it, be sure to check out my interview over at Blog Coach. I just want to thank you for all of the sweet comments and another thank you to Angie for asking me to do her first interview. What an honor!

PHEW! That’s it this week, folks!

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Posted in My Work | 1 Comment »

Freebie Friday: June 13, 2008

June 13th, 2008

A big thank you to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for helping us with our freebies today. Heather has a great piece on how to save on your prescription drug medications and tells you where you can get those free prescription drugs. If you have any other places you have found for affordable medications, please be sure to leave her a comment!!

Health & Beauty
Food
Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice – look for “Try Me Free”, try page 2 to request free sample
Entertainment
Disney’s Finding Nemo – this week’s free movie
Mark Your Calendars
Summer – SunnyD Road Trip is stopping at Walmarts this summer
June – MaxFactor Lash Lights Tour from 10am to 4pm get a free mini makeover
June 13 – Free Hot Dog on a Stick 5pm to 8pm
June 16 – Free Small Root Beer Float at A&W; from 2pm to 8pm

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Posted in Freebies | 3 Comments »

Fast Father’s Day Gift!

June 12th, 2008

Did you wait until the last minute on getting your dad/husband a gift? Don’t worry! I have a fast solution that is fun and cheap!

First, pick out some pictures that you truly love of your children and plop them somewhere on your computer where you will be able to find them (Flickr users can link directly through their account to their pictures)

Now that you have your pictures, it is time to get creative with them. Go to Big Huge Labs and choose the CD Cover link (or you can just click directly through here).

This is where I got a little confused so I will try and make it easier by explaining what I did. After you have uploaded your photo and typed in your message, it will take a few seconds and then produce the image. That image is not the size you need, but don’t worry! Right click the image and COPY the image. Now open a blank Word document and right click to PASTE the image.

Next, you will need to resize your image. Right click your image again and click SIZE. Change the width on the image to 8.2″ and hit enter.

When you see your image, it might look like it doesn’t fit- don’t worry! It is the perfect size for your compact disc. Print it out (either in black and white or in color) and then cut it out, being careful to cut off those dotted lines so it makes it nice and clean looking. Fold the side flaps, bottom flap, and then the top flap.

You will, of course, need to slip some rocking music in for your dad, but that will be the fun part! I am trying to introduce my dads to some new music, while still staying within their genres and tastes. I find it a challenge to introduce people to music that they haven’t heard of before, and it makes me so happy when I can discover a new favorite for someone.

I am giving the dad’s in our life a fun mix of my music and some homemade cookies! Not only is it frugal, but I hope it is a thoughtful gift too!
Happy Father’s Day, Dads!

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Posted in Gifts | 13 Comments »

Notebook Experiments: Are Homemade Bubbles Better?

June 12th, 2008

Experiment: Can homemade bubbles trump our dollar store variety?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 05.29.08

Materials Needed: Please see Sparkle Power for specific directions on how to complete this experiment. I was able to find the glycerin behind the pharmacist counter at Super Target. The container of glycerin was $2.69 for four ounces. I also mixed my bubble solution up in an old milk jug (inspired by Frugal Dad’s uses for milk jugs) which made it easier to pour and store our homemade bubble solution. The bubble wands were found at the Dollar Spot at Target.

Results: Is it just me or are the dollar store bubbles horrible? My son is able to blow bubbles with these, but my daughter really got frustrated because she couldn’t seem to blow any bubbles before her wand would need to be dipped again.

I was really excited to try this recipe for bubbles and couldn’t wait to mix up a batch of these for the kids.

I followed Candace’s suggestions and actually mixed these up the night before so the ingredients had plenty of time to incorporate. I had some pink dish soap in my pantry so I used that- your bubbles will be whatever color of dish soap you choose.

The next night, we spent an entire evening blowing bubbles and everyone had to take a turn waving the wands through the air to make the giant bubbles. These bubbles were so amazing that our neighbors came over to ask where we had gotten the bubbles from. I couldn’t wait to share the recipe with them and pass it on! After seeing our bubble pictures, my mother-in-law is even going to make some of these for her own house so the kids can blow these bubbles over there too.

Conclusion: Homemade bubbles rocked the socks off of the dollar store bubbles. Thanks to Sparkle Power for such a fun recipe. I will never buy those bubbles again and I hope it is a recipe that we can pass down through generations!

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Posted in Amy's Notebook | 15 Comments »

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