Last Weeks Frugal Accomplishments

    Last week wasn’t a very frugal week for our family, although we made many memories!  Tom and I splurged on a date for ourselves.  We attended Flashdance at the  Aronoff in Cincy Saturday and then went to dinner.  The movie had many special memories for us during our dating days so the play was very dear to our hearts!  Tom very much appreciated the grey cut out sweatshirt ala Flashdance that I used to wear! Lol!!!  Truth be told, I still have it in my cedar chest!  Fun reliving old times!  I look at this as an investment into our marriage of almost 29 years instead of a great expense.   He only had one seizure during the play so I consider it a Win, Win!

   I did pack my lunch 3 days last week and I bought a salad from the cafeteria and made it last for 2 lunches—it was a large salad. 

  I Made 3 crockpot meals this using food from the pantry and freezer.  Went to the grocery and only bought milk, lunch meat, bread, fruit, and cheese.   Saving some of my budgeted grocery money for this week at our Meijer.  They are having the buy 10 for $10 and get the 11^th free sale.  I try to stock up on Tom’s pretzels and several other items I stock up on there during the sale.  They also have the pork tenderloins on sale for $1.79 per pound.  Cheaper than hamburger and yummy!!

   I made a table runner for my dining room table last Sunday morning.  It is simple but sweet.  I used part of a Moda charm pack and some navy fabric I had on hand.  My Mom gave me the batting to use in it and I have enough fabric squares left to make several more small projects. 

  I found several pieces of wool clothing at the St. Vincent de Paul and the Goodwill that I will be cutting up to make crafts with.  All pieces were half off so I got them very cheaply!  

   Last September when I made my apple butter, my Foley food mill broke.  So I had been pricing them online to try and find one at a reasonable cost.  I decided to wait and to try to borrow one from my Mother.  Guess what I found for half price at the Goodwill Saturday?  That’s right, a like new Foley food mill priced at $8 but on sale for $4!    I recognized a need and God brought it to me!  Thank you!  I was so happy with finding that food mill!  Little things in life I guess!

  What were you able to save money on this week?  I would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Frugal Blessings,

Lisa

 

 

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More Soap!

On Sunday,  I was able to make a batch of cold process soap. I intended to make lavender soap but I didn't have enough lavender essential oil, so I made a batch of oatmeal milk and honey.  Let me tell you, my house smells wonderful. In the past I have erred on the less is more side, but this time I wanted  highly scented bars of soap and I think I accomplished that!  I am not comfortable teaching anyone how to make soap(as I am still a beginner) but I can highly recommend Millers Homemade Soap.  The link is : www.millersoap.com/ 

If you are overwhelmed by that site you can order the Homesteade Blessings The Art of Soapmaking DVD available from Franklin Springs Family Media. The DVD makes it  very easy to understand the whole process. I just love their DVDs. Simple and straightforward.  The site is: http://franklinsprings.com/

Good luck if you decide to make your own cold process soap! It is so much  fun!
Blessings,
Lisa

Valentines Day Garland

I made this garland to hang up for Valentines Day.  It is so easy!  I used my Cricut but you could just cut out 4 large hearts out of red, burgundy, or pink cardstock. Cut 4 smaller hearts out of white card stock.  Use a hole punch to put holes in the sides of the large hearts. Glue the smaller hearts onto the larger ones.  You can cut out letters, stamp, or write l-o-v-e on the hearts and then string them onto a piece of twine, rope, or ribbon and you have a great decoration for Valentines Day!
Blessings,
Lisa

My "New" Folk Art Cake Plate--revisited

I love Phaltzgraff's Folk Art patterned dishes. I have been trying to find a cake plate/stand in that pattern but haven't had any luck so I decided to make one!  I had an extra sugar bowl without a lid so I used that and one of my dinner plates.

I used E8000 Glue on the bottom of the sugar bowl and glued it to the bottom side of the plate.

Just let dry and viola.....

My "New" Folk Art Cake Plate/stand!

Of course it can be used as a table centerpiece also!

You can use glass plates and vases to make your "new" cake plates as well! What about a saucer and a candlestick for individual desserts?
Have fun and use your imagination!  I would love to see pics of any you make!

Blessings,
Lisa

Candy Cane Ornie Tutorial

 While in Wisconsin, I had a lot of time on my hands. My DH sleeps til 11 am or later and I get up at 5am with or without an alarm. So I found the nearest Wal-mart and purchased a few supplies to craft with in my spare time!

As you can see, I purchased small scissors, needles, thread, 1/2 yard muslin, 1/4 yard red fabric, and polyfill. I just drew a fat candy cane  on my folded muslin and cut it out.



Here are the 2 layers of muslin ready to be hand sewed together.

Below, I have 1/3 of the cane seam started. Leave the bottom edge open so you can stuff it later.

When you have completed sewing, clip the inner curved edge and outer curved edge being careful not to cut into your stitches.

Turn the cane and stuff with poly fill.  You can stuff it pretty tight or loose--your choice.  I stuffed mine pretty firmly. Then make a snip on the red fabric and tear off strips to wrap around the canes.

I inserted the red strip into the bottom when I whipped it close. You can just sew it on the bottom after closing the opening. Your choice. Remember, neatness is not that big of a deal--this is a primitive ornie!  Wrap the red strip around the cane and tuck in at the top. You can tack the strip down if you like.

And here you have it--a cute little ornie candy cane. I had planned on grubbying the canes when I got home but I think I like them bright and cheerful. Just paint with strong coffee and cinnamon if you want to make them look grubby. Then bake  to dry in a low temp oven.

Aren't these darling?  They will look so cute sitting in a red basket for the Christmas season!

Hope you had a crafty weekend as well!

Blessings,

Lisa

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