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Craft: Towel Cake for Beach Wedding

This is a towel cake I made for my brother's wedding this summer. He and his wife were married on the beach and I used the towels they had on their wedding registry.

I used a combination of ribbon, shells and flowers. I put a dowel in the middle to hold the three layers together. I secured the flowers and shells to a painted cardboard cake circular (between the cake layers) using hot glue.

I used corsage pearl pins to hold the towels together after rolling them. It helped that the towels were brown, giving it a more realistic cake look. I hope this idea helps anyone looking for a unique way to wrap towels from a wedding registry.

By Diane K from Leesburg, VA

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Rachel the Cat

Rachel is my six year old cat. She is a Domestic Shorthair. Rachel was a homeless kitten living on the one story flat roof of a business next to my home with only an overhanging tree to protect her from the elements. She would cry and cry all the time. Winter was coming so I finally coaxed her down and she decided she owned me :-)

She ended up having a rare lung parasite from eating raw shell fish from the trash cans and was on antibiotics for four months so I am very thankful she wanted a home because she would not have lived for more than a couple of months otherwise.

She is now a fat and happy sixteen pounder who does not even want to go outside and sleeps with and follows her mommy everywhere.

Rachel loves her many kitty nip pillows :-) For some reason people think Rachel's eyes make her look like a meany but she's the sweetest fraidy cat I've ever known :-)

By Deeli from Richland, WA

Rachel the Cat

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I Love Dandelions!

I love Dandelions! They are so good for you and your liver! The leaves can be used in a salad or dried to make a tea! I love their smells and colors, they are Beautiful! Feel free to print this picture and frame it for your kitchen!
Hugs!

By Kristen from Apopka, Florida

I Love Dandelions!

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Homemade Conditioning Rinse For Shine

Many kitchen products can be used to make homemade shampoo, conditioner, and rinse. Hair rinses are usually used to add extra shine, bounce, color, or moisture to tired tresses.

Vinegar is a popular choice, because vinegar has the exact same natural PH as hair, so it's useful for restoring balance. Beer helps with shine and body, but only if it's dark. Light beer is too weak to help. Light oil and water mixtures are turned into boosting sprays that help bring out color and shine. Coffee and tea brewed in water can help make colors seem richer.

These items can be used alone or in any one of many assorted mixtures. One of my favorite recipes for a great rinse is my "Homemade Conditioning Rinse For Shine", as shown below.

Remember, whenever creating homemade beauty products, there's a chance of an allergic reaction. Regardless of what you make, always test it on a small patch of skin before spreading it over your body!

Approximate Time: 3 minutes to 3 hours

Supplies:

1/2 cup - Dark Beer
1/4 cup - Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp - Rosemary Essential Oil

Instructions:

You need to use a dark beer for this recipe. Light beers don't give the same body and shine to hair that a dark beer does. You also want the beer to be mostly flat. The carbonation isn't great for your strands, but a little doesn't hurt.

Mix the beer, vinegar and essential oil together in a container. Mix very well. If possible, put in a lidded container and shake well to truly mix. I pour the mixture into a glass measuring cup to make it easier to use.

Shampoo, rinse, condition, and rinse your hair as usual. Pour the beer mixture over your hair, making sure to douse every single strand. Let the rinse sit on your hair for about one minute. Then lightly rinse the mixture out, using lukewarm or cool water. You don't want to over rinse, it will wash all that lovely shine and body out. If you under rinse you'll walk around smelling like stale beer and vinegar.

Let your hair air dry if possible, but you can use a blow-dryer if needed. Once your hair dries, you should notice a huge boost in it's overall shine and body. You'll also notice a tiny bit more sparkle in your highlights and the depth to your hair color.

By Aysha from Boise, Idaho

Homemade Conditioning Rinse For Shine

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Repaint Fixtures As Faux Aged Bronze For A Quick Update

Save some money remodeling a room by giving worn out and spotted bronze/chrome fixtures a rich faux aged bronze look.

Revitalize faded and worn out brass or chrome fixtures by removing them from the wall and giving them a light sanding. Spray fixture thoroughly with a brown/dark brown spray paint. When dry, give a light dusting with black spray paint (do not cover all of the foundation brown). The result is an aged bronze look, and no need to buy new fixtures!

Also, some spray paints have a "hammered" texture. These work very well, also!

Source: Been doing this for years.

By Scott from Dryden, MI

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Move A Few Essentials In Early

When you move, many places will allow you to have access a few days early. If this is possible, before the major move, bring enough kitchen tools to the new place to be able to fix a simple meal. Put them away in their new places. How LOVELY, to have a coffee pot, can opener, plates and glasses on the first chaotic morning in your new house.

Ditto to towels, sheets, pillow cases, a few outfits, anything that you'll need for "immediate survival". Pack for your "pre-move" as you would pack for a weekend away from home.

Source: Source: Many, many moves

By U*u*U from TX

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Reusing Containers for Food Storage

If you have a sleeve of crackers that you want to transport whole, slip them in a Pringles or Stax can. The same goes for cookies, especially the kind that you buy, as they are almost always in rows or stacks and can be easily transferred from the bag/box to the tube.

Speaking of the tubes, if you can con your local grocer out of the clear plastic jerky tubes, you have the perfect spaghetti keeper. Now wait, I don't mean dry spaghetti, I mean the home made sauce with all the meats and goodies. Fill it almost to the top, let it cool, then put the lid on secure. Now, here is the trick; gently shake it back and forth to make sure the meats are evenly dispersed and lay it on its side!

If you put it in vertical, all the meat will settle to the bottom. By placing it in horizontal, it will all settle to the bottom, too, but evenly along the entire side of the tube. Then, if you only need some, you can literally thaw it for about 20 minutes, then slide out half and saw it off! You will then have the same amount of meat in the "top half" as you do in the rest of it.

Source: The pringles was mine. The other I read in a Woman's Day years ago, when we were all going "back to nature".

By Sandra from Salem OR

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Use Empty Kleenex Box For Dryer Lint

Whenever I had to clean out the lint from my dryer it would get everywhere (darn dust!). I didn't want to haul the lint from my laundry room (very small) all the way across the house to the kitchen trash, so I had a little bucket on top of my dryer and stuck it in there instead, but the dust still got everywhere. Then my son brought me an empty tissue box asking "mom where do i put this!"; (This is a usual question in our house it seems "where does one put trash?"). Then it dawned on me. I can use this for the lint from my dryer!

This works like a charm! Since it has the little plastic "trap door" on top of the box, the lint doesn't escape! When it's full, I just throw it out and use the next box. And another great thing is since it sort of has a lid and you can push it all down without it trying to pop out, you can cram a lot in that little box! I love my little lint trash cans! And I'm recycling!

Also. Tissue boxes work great for storing plastic bags. Just get all the air out and roll them up and you can cram so many plastic bags into your little box!

By Katja from Katy, TX

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Cutting Costs On Beauty Supplies

With the price of so many things skyrocketing I have found myself looking for areas to cut costs. One of them is the cost of beauty supplies. When a decent anti-aging cream costs about $20 I want to get every last drop. I use my kitchen poultry knife or scissors to cut open the container when I reach the end. It gives me enough left for a couple more days. I follow the same practice with body lotions, toothpaste, and even my favorite body powder.

Lipsticks are another costly item. I use a lipliner to get every last bit of lipstick out of the tubes, same with concealer and foundations.

If you are busy like me and buy the facial cloths with the soap built right in, you can get twice the mileage out of them by automatically cutting them in half when you get them home from the store. I can easily get my face and neck soapy enough with half of a wipe. I like the fact that I get a 60 day supply out of a 30 day supply of facial cloth cleansers. And when I am done, I rinse it and clean around the faucet and sink before tossing it into the trash can.

When I buy a big refill of liquid hand soap for the bathrooms and kitchen soap pumps, I fill my reusable containers three quarters of the way with the liquid soap and the rest with water and gently shake them. It doesn't affect the soaps capabilities at all and stretches your supply. I apply the same with shampoos. They are normally highly concentrated and the added water does not affect the quality.

One more tip. If you spend the money for a new lipstick or foundation, any cosmetic and get it home only to find the color is not right for you, some drugstores such as Rite-Aid will allow you to exchange it with the receipt, no questions asked. I've saved a fortune with their policy. No more bathroom drawer with a lot of cosmetics that didn't pan out! And my budget is happier, too!

By Pattie

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Start School Practice Runs Before School Starts

A good way to get back into the swing of the school year is some practice runs before school starts. Start by putting the kids to bed at school bed time a few weeks before school starts to get them used to it again. In the morning, set the alarm and start the routine as if school was in then either, mental note: this is where we would leave or actually get in the car to go somewhere just to get everyone on schedule again

By Gina from Collegeville, PA

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Homemade Notepads

You will need: Paper, white glue, paintbrush, cardboard, heavy weight objects and a straight edged knife

Take 8 1/2x11 inch pieces of paper and cut them into fourths. I use paper that has been used once, but blank on the backside, to recycle it.

Create stacks of the paper. Only one side needs to be even.
Pack the stack of paper firmly against a hard surface and lay it down on a hard surface.

Put a piece of cardboard that is bigger than the stack on the top and bottom of the stack.

Take whatever you have that is heavy and put it on top of the stack. I have used a case of water, which is heavy enough.

The side that you packed is the side you will use to put the glue on. Take your brush (a sponge brush works well) and pour the white glue on it a little at a time and brush it on the flat edge of the paper. Make sure to get the edges, too. Let it dry and then put another coat on. Do this twice.

After it is completely dry, take the knife and run it through between the sheets for the thickness of the pads you want. The knife will separate them cleanly.

By Lora from Milwaukie, OR

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Keep Sewing and Craft Supplies Organized Separately

In my sewing chest and my craft basket, I keep the little things separate. In the sewing chest (three drawers), I keep my various scissors in the bottom drawer, including my electric scissors that were a gift. In middle drawer I keep the many spools of thread. In top drawer, I have such things as safety pins, snaps, etc. I have each sorted by size and keep each size in pill bottles, one size per bottle.

When crocheting doll clothes, for example, I can find the size snaps I need instantly. Safety pins are in various bottles, again sorted by size, saves having to dump them all out and search through for what I need. My straight pins are in a bottle, too. Saves a lot of time when I can open drawer or bucket in craft basket, and pick out just what I need. Easy to put away too.

By Linda from Bloomington, Illinois

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Ice to Remove Gum from Clothes

To get gum out of clothes, put ice cube on it until the gum freezes and it will crumble off when scratching it.

Source: my grandmother taught me this.

By Laurie from Elm Creek, Nebraska

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Easy Tip for Flipping Over French Fries

When oven cooking french fries, chicken nuggets, chicken strips, etc I get out two cookie sheets. Mine are the ones that are usually called jelly roll pans, they have 1 inch sides. Put your items on one of the sheets in a single layer When halfway through warming them up as instructed you usually have to try to flip the items individually. Next time, take the second cookie sheet, put it on top of the first with the items, and simply flip the whole thing in one easy step!

Source: Out of my frustration.

By Gardencraft from Southern, NH

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Take A Little Time Each Night To Tidy

Like most of us I am besieged by the clutter demon! However I find this does help a little. Every night before I go to bed I tidy up the living room/kitchen area.. ie, any read newspapers are picked up and put in the recycle box, coffee cups rinsed and put on the sink, Kitchen bench given a final wipe down, anything that is out of place put away, and so on.

It does help to make things a little less daunting looking the next morning!

By Ellie from Melbourne Australia

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Dear Webby's Joke of the Day

I have a friend who filled his car with gas at a self-service gas station. After he had paid and driven away, he realized that he had left the gas cap on top of his car. He stopped and looked and, sure enough, it was lost.

Well, he thought for a second and realized that other people must have done the same thing, and that it was worth going back to look by the side of the road since even if he couldn't find his own gas cap, he might be able to find one that fit. Sure enough, he hadn't been searching long when he found a gas cap. He tried it on, and it went into place with a satisfying click.

"Great," he thought, "I lost my gas cap, but I found another one that fits. And this one's even better, because it locks..."

Read More Jokes Here: http://webby.com/humor

Tomatoes Are Not Getting Ripe

My tomato plants look great, and they are loaded with blossoms. The plants themselves are growing higher by the day, but I have some tomatoes on the plants that seem to have stopped growing. The tomatoes are not turning red and they look hard. What have I done wrong?

Hardiness Zone: 8a

Kayla from Dry Prong, LA

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Zucchini Rotting on the Vine

I would like to know why my zucchini plants look great with lots of flowers and fruit but when the zucchini get about 3-4 inches they start to rot or go soft. The first fruit I picked was great but since then they have not been good! Thank you.

Hardiness Zone: 6a

Luigi from Lorain, Ohio

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Removing Odor from a Coffee Pot

I have an old Cuisinart coffee pot that I no longer use but the cover and around the lid is quite badly stained with coffee. It is a thermal pot and I would like to use it for taking cold or hot drinks out to the children's sports games but I have no idea how to remove the stains or to get the coffee smell out of the pot. Any ideas greatly appreciated

Orva from Toronto, Canada

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Selling On Craigslist

How do I place items on Craigslist that I want to sell?

Charles

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Painting Fiber Glass Shower Walls

My shower is old and yellowed. Is there a product that you can use to paint your fiberglass fixtures?

Norma from Riverside

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Packing a Lunch Without a Soggy Sandwich

When preparing a turkey sandwich for lunch what could I store the mayo and tomatoes in? If I put the mayo and tomatoes on the sandwich in the a.m. it is usually soggy and wet by lunch time. Any suggestions?

Onesummer

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Name Ideas for an Interior Design Business

I am starting my interior designing firm which will cater all integrated services related to interior design. I need help finding a suitable name for the company.

rishikesh

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Hibiscus Not Blooming

A friend just gave me a Hibiscus tree and although it looks very healthy there are no blooms. She said it only had a few flowers on it all season. It's about 6 foot tall counting the branches and I'm wondering if I can prune it back a bit to encourage it to bloom. Also, it needs to come inside for the winter. Would it do okay wintering over in a garage or does it need to be in the house? Thanks everyone. Hardiness Zone: 6a Sandy from Pittsburgh, Pa

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Adding Crystal Light To Water

Does adding Crystal Light to my water change the affects that water has on my body?

Aliesha

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How do I keep bra underwire from poking out?

Does anyone have any suggestions for the repair of underwire bras when the wire starts poking through the fabric? I have tried hand-sewing them but they just poke through quickly all over again. Also, any suggestions for keeping this problem from occurring in the first place? Bras are too expensive to discard after a few months of use!

Carol from Iowa

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Getting Rid Of Odors In Apartment

A renter moved out and let us with an horrible odor. We think the dog used the apartment as a big litter box. Any idea on what we need to use on the floors and baseboards?

Janice from Murfreesboro, TN

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Growing Vanilla Beans

I live in Coffs Harbour, NSW and have been told that I would have to move further North if I want to grow Vaniila. We have a sub tropical climate and most tropical fruits grow really well here. I would love to hear your thoughts regarding this matter. Kylie

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Recipe For Hot Dog Relish

I am looking for a recipe for hot dog relish like the kind you buy - eg. Bicks. I have tried several but they are all on the sweet side. Anyone have such a recipe? Thanks.

Gloria from Saskatchewan

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Leaves Dying on an Avocado Plant

I am growing an avocado tree in my kitchen. All appeared to be going well but in the last week and a half my plant hasn't been looking too healthy. The lower leaves are curling inwards, becoming almost crispy in texture and they are turning an extremely dark brown, seeming black before closer inspection. During this time my plant's condition has spread to nearly half of its leaves. My kitchen is fairly cool in temperature and I have absolutely no idea in which region of the world this variety originates, or how to find out. I keep it in a sunny spot but not in what I'd describe as direct sunlight. I water it regularly, just enough to keep the soil damp, a deep brown color. I re-potted my avocado tree about six weeks ago and it seemed to improve in health directly after that, growing very quickly once again, before this problem emerged. Could you possibly give me any advice to help improve its health? I'm rather fond of my avocado tree, eccentric as that may appear! I'd at least like to give it a fighting chance at survival. Many thanks, in anticipation. Hardiness Zone: 9b C from England, UK

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Getting Rid of Ants in Kitchen

How can I deal with ants in the kitchen?

Bill from Boynton Beach, FL

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Getting Rid of Fleas

I need tips for getting rid of fleas in the home.

Danny from Gaffney, SC

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Having a Wedding Reception Without Candles

I am getting married in April and I am not allowed to have candles at the place that I am having the reception at. Please help me, we are having a beach theme for the reception decorations since we are getting married on the beach.

Darlene

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Homemade Yogurt Recipe

I would like to know how to make my own yogurt.

Linda from Stony Creek, NY

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Portable DVD Player's Screen Too Dark

We have just purchased a Phillips portable CD/DVD player. The picture is way too dark and the instructions are too complicated for my (very untechnical) brain to work out. Does anyone have one like mine and if so, how in the world do you sort out the picture so that it is not so dark? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Cettina from Malta, Europe

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Hardee's Style Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

I want to make homemade cinnamon raisin biscuits with the icing over them just like Hardee's restaurants have. Does anyone have or know how to make them the same way from scratch? Thanks

Julie

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Getting Rid Of Gnats In Garden

I have tons of gnats in my garden. I have used the soap pesticide to no avail. Please help, I have tomatoes, peppers, flowering plants these are all in pots on my patio.

Maria from Columbus, Ohio

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Homemade Remedies For Common Ailments

I was wondering if anyone had great old folk remedies, herbal cures or homeopathic advise. On anything from curing infections to GERD/Adic Reflux etc. What do people do in times like these when they do not have the $$ to go to the doctors all the time for minor things like ear infections and sore throats. Thought this might be a fun and interesting post.

Wacky Camper

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Making Iron Bottom Shiny

I have a Laurastar iron which is good but the bottom of the iron has become dull. I have tried to use a wax stick to make it shiny again but it does not work. Any ideas?

SallyAnne from New York

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Removing Sour Milk From Leather Seats

I had a gallon of milk in a paper bag in the back seat of my car that I forgot was there. When I remembered it was in there two days later and took it out, the heat had busted the jug, and the milk was gone, all down into my perforated leather seats.

Now, several days later, the smell is horrible, and nothing will get rid of it. Nothing got on the carpet, it all when into the perforations in the leather. I've soaked the back seat in Lysol twice, sprayed every smelling thing I can think of, and nothing has budged it. I don't know what to do anymore. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Drut from Arkansas

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Removing Sticky Glue From Doll's Hair

My daughter's American Girl doll got caught in a fly strip. Her hair has spots of sticky goo in it. Does anyone know how I can get this out?

Lori from TX

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Buying A Venus Fly Trap

I would like to buy a Venus fly trap. I saw one in a magazine. It's a small plant and it eats small insects that sit on it. Is it too late to buy it because I would set it outside. I can't leave it in the house, my husband has terrible allergies.

Hardiness Zone: 6b

Jamish from Leoti, Kansas

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Product Review: Pedi Paws

Has anyone ever bought/used the Pedi Paws product? I have seen it advertised on TV. It is a pet nail grinder used to gently sand down the pet's nails instead of using a traditional clippers. It looks great, but would like to hear reviews and comments before I invest in one. Thanks!

Nancy from North Liberty, IA

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Crafting for Fun and Money!

If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish.

More Information:
Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml

Homemade CSI Kit for that Aspiring CSI

Do you have a budding CSI in your midst? Have you recently priced a toy CSI detective Kit? My 8-year-old grandson William loves to watch CSI and recently asked me to go online and find him a CSI kit. After my near heart attack from sticker shock, I decided that I would do a little research. After watching four back-to-back episodes of CSI on Spike TV and looking at the kits online, I had a little knowledge of what I was up against.

Homemade CSI Kit for that Aspiring CSI

Product Review: Foodsaver V1205

Don't buy the Foodsaver v1205. It worked for a couple of months then quit! I will never buy another Foodsaver product.

D. from Mason City, IA

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Daily Thrifty Tips - August 18, 2008

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