|
|
|
Hello,
Looks like we had just over 20 Halloween and Fall Decor photo contest entries. We are going to go ahead and round up and donate $100 to the American Red Cross on behalf of the ThriftyFun Commmunity. Thank you to everyone that submitted photos, it was a lot of fun publishing them.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
Tip Contest!
http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_contest.ldml
Photo Contest!
http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_photocontest.ldml
Frugal solutions to everyday problems: Submit a request...
http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_request.ldml
Today's newsletter contains:
Today's Photos:
Today's Tips:
New Requests:
More Reading:
Search ThriftyFun Using Google: Click Here
Today's Sponsors
Manage your money simply and quickly. Inexpensive budget planning software.
http://www.mybudgetplanner.com/partner/thf/mbpmain.htm
Today's Photos
Gracie (Collie/Shepherd) Tigtig (cat)
Gracie was 12 years old when this pic was taken. Tigtig was 1 year old.
When Tigtig arrived at our home at 6 weeks old, he was oddly unimpressed by Gracie's size. Apparently he was born in a home with 5 large dogs, so he had this "you don't impress me, I've seen bigger" attitude.
Gracie immediately "adopted" the new baby. The poor kitten was always soaked from the "baths" Gracie would give him, and at night he would curl up in her fur and go to sleep. They still play together and as you can see from this picture taken last year, Tigtig will still submit to grooming by his "mother cat" - our dog!
By Terry Lynn
Post Feedback: Click Here
Sable turned 4 in August and is looking forward to Halloween this yr yet again - she has four outfits to choose- maybe she will just change every half hour so she can get more treats! - Happy Howleen!
By Carol Ann from Ida Grove, IA
Post Feedback: Click Here
Tiger Helping with the Halloween Decorating
Tiger is a 2 year old Orange and White Tabby Cat. He was dumped off by his previous owners at the park behind my house. He adopted us.
He loves to sneak up and run after people walking or riding bikes down the sidewalk.
I put this scarecrow in Tiger's chair and he climbed up next to him for a nap!
By Donna from Warren, MI
Post Feedback: Click Here
Today's Tips
Ingredients
Directions
Mix starch with enough cold water to make a smooth paste. Add boiling water and cook until glossy. Stir in dry soap flakes while mixture is warm; cool. Add glycerin. Keeps in airtight container for 1 week.
By Robin from Washington, IA
Post Feedback: Click Here
Science Experiment for Kids to Watch
Ingredients
Directions
Place a lump of coal in bowl and sprinkle 1 Tbsp. salt over the coal. Carefully pour 2 Tbsp. water over salt. In the same manner, pour 2 Tbsp. of laundry bluing. Then add 2 or 3 drops of mercurochrome. Repeat with food coloring. After several days, you should have a colorful mosslike growth. If not, add a few more drops of water. This is something small children really enjoy!
By Robin from Washington, IA
Post Feedback: Click Here
To clean hairspray from a curling iron, even teflon coated, spray a little De-Solv-It on it, wipe with a paper towel, and you are finished. I tried this after trying alcohol, baking soda/water paste, fingernail polish remover, and ammonia. It was SO easy!
By Amanda from Copperas Cove, TX
Post Feedback: Click Here
Did you move into a house with an empty back yard? What you need is a nice deck or patio to enjoy the out-of-doors. Of the many choices is a wooden deck, a concrete slab, a fieldstone floor with planters or a multi-level redwood deck with benches. Let's take them one by one. The common-place wooden deck is fairly inexpensive unless built with redwood, and has an average life of ten years. The concrete slab is inexpensive, but very plain and prone to cracking. It must be properly drained and can be difficult to keep painted. A multi-level deck is beautiful but expensive and needs a space under the deck for ventilation.
The patio design I designed incorporated a free-form kidney-shaped pattern with three in-set oval steps. Around the edge, spaced Italian columns supported a seat-high balustrade railing fourteen inches wide and sixty-six feet in circumference. At one end a straight line formed the back of a fourteen foot built-in barbecue and counter surfaces with storage behind redwood doors.
Colored slate set in concrete decorated the floor and a five percent grade provided the proper drainage. One winter this slight grade which was covered with an inch of glare ice sent my cat flying across the patio and right over the edge!
The balustrade columns, set in concrete formed the base for the railing. After the columns were in place, I set sheets of plywood on top and cut a square hole slightly smaller than the top of each column. I then formed the fourteen inch wide railing on top from stiffly mixed beige colored concrete. When the concrete set, I removed the plywood and the balustrade was completed. Since the patio was two to five feet higher than the surrounding land, I built a yellow brick wall, following the kidney shaped patio floor.
White decorative concrete pots filled with flowers place evenly along the top of the balustrade added color and at one end a wrought iron lamp gave the whole area a nice glow. This patio gave our family many years of pleasurable outdoor living and the satisfaction of giving our creative juices free rein.
By Kenneth Hoffman from Morristown, NJ
Post Feedback: Click Here
When leaving the house, did you forget to take your cell phone because it was plugged into the charger in an out of the way location?
After doing this several times, I hit upon an idea that has functioned beautifully ever since.
I took a small shiny golden colored beaded embroidered little turtle change purse (the idea being that you need something small, brightly colored and whimsical) and I left in next to the charger.
When I use the charger, I place the shiny turtle where my phone is usually located by my purse. That way, when I grab my purse to head out the door, I see the shiny turtle and remember to remove the cell phone from the charger.
The rest of the story is that my teen fell in love with the shiny turtle and I substituted something eye catching like an old mini 3 inch tall Barbie doll back pack (not shiny). Shiny works better.
I know I have another beaded mini change purse somewhere around here and as soon as I find it, I am going to replace the mini plaid back pack with it.
By Holly from Richardson, TX
Post Feedback: Click Here
It's getting to be that time of year again when you start thinking about holiday presents for everyone. For me, last year was a first as I set out to save money in a rather unique way: buying most of my gifts on eBay. Online auctions have become part of our everyday lives and for a lot of us, a great way to save money. As a guide in this effort, I've compiled a list of tips that I used last year during this time.
Tip 1: Budgeting
The first step that I always take in holiday shopping is to establish a budget of what I can comfortably spend. After many years of lesson learning in overspending, I began to list each and every gift that I needed to get along with the total amount of money to spend. Next I then allocate everyone into three categories:
Family - Husband / Wife, Children, Parents - anyone who is considered very close
2nd Family - Relatives that are not as close as those under 1), friends, etc
Work - Coworkers, bosses, etc
Using these three categories, I then assign a dollar amount to each category. This establishes a starting point in the beginning of the budget. The next step I use is to pencil in the gifts that I know I want to buy. After assigning these prices, I then re-tabulate the budget amount among those left in the category. Continuing in this method, I can systemically price down the gifts that I need to purchase and have a price target for those that I have not decided on yet. This is especially helpful in Tip #2.
Tip 2: The Gift Wizard
The biggest challenge that I always have is always selecting the gift. I find it very difficult to come up with a gift for a twelve year old girl (being a middle aged man) so I enlist the help of my new friend the Gift Wizard. Upon entering the wizard, you are required to enter the person's age, gender, hobbies, interests and so on. The wizard then presents you with gift ideas tailored to your entries. For example, for the twelve year old girl the following is the list that it generated: Aquapets, Bikes, Bratz Dolls, Care Bear, FurReal Friends, Game Boy Advance, Harry Potter, Madeline, Scooby Doo, Shrek
By clicking on these options, I can see different products within these categories that a twelve year old girl might like. Using our budget from Tip #1, we can further segment these selections and get a targeted list of potential gifts.
Tip 3: Gift Icons
Once you have made your selection, one of the best aspects of shopping on eBay is the seller's use of gift icons. Sellers using the gift icon routinely offer the following services: Gift wrap, Gift cards, Express shipping, Gift Recipient shipping
Being all-thumbs with wrapping paper, this option is especially pleasing to me. If you are also a traveler on holidays and need to get gifts to another location, the gift recipient shipping is also a great option. After the 9/11 attacks, with airport security being increased, no longer can you bring wrapped items on board with you. For me, this was especially hard as it meant that I would spend hours upon hours once I got to the other location wrapping, or in most instances trying to wrap, presents when I should have been eating, drinking and being merry.
By Matt Goodman from New York, NY
Post Feedback: Click Here
http://www.thriftyfun.com/board.html
New Contest - More Prizes
We are giving away 17 $25 prizes in a variety of categories.
Tip Contest!
To enter, visit: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_contest.ldml
Photo Contest!
To enter, visit: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_photocontest.ldml
Contest ends October 31, 2005
Syndication Spotlight:
Here are some publishers that have chosen to publish our tips this week!
Dear Webby's Humor Letter
Webby publishes our tips daily! A very funny newsletter.
http://webby.com/humor
Do you publish a newsletter? Sign up for our Tip Syndication:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/syndication.html
New Requests
I just washed and dryed a white dress shirt that had a blue inked pen in the pocket. Any tried and true ways of removing the ink?
Thanks,
Cindy from Ontario Canada
Post Feedback: Click Here
Does anyone have any recipes for every day pet food? I have a 2 year old cat and 13 year old dog and am looking for recipes for dog and cat food that I can feed them every day in place of the commercial brands.
Thanks,
Terry Lynn from Toronto, Ontario
Post Feedback: Click Here
I have just started to plan a wedding for next September-November (2006). I decided the first stop would be here since I am clueless on what to do. After having a baby, buying a house, starting a new job (me) and starting a new business (fiance), money is tight! We are forced to have a big wedding.
Anna from Massachusetts
Post Feedback: Click Here
I have seen some people posting about growing the tops of pineapples in pots. Could someone please explain how to do it? What kind of soil do I use? How much light would it need? What size pot do I use? I really have never had much luck with plants, but if I use something I was just going to throw away, I haven't lost much.
Hardiness Zone: 5b
Bubbasmom from Paris, Ohio
Post Feedback: Click Here
I know this is kind of gross, but I'd really like some help. Does anyone know of a home remedy to get rid of a boil on my stomach? I am going in for surgery next week and this thing is so disgusting I would like it to be gone by then. Thank you for all of your help.
Sandy from Pittsburgh
Post Feedback: Click Here
I am looking for a durable shopping cart. I am looking for one with strong wheels. I saw a shopping cart in a magazine once with 4 wheels on each side with wheels in the front that swirl. That's what I need. I am tired of wasting money on unreliable shopping carts.
Please help,
Madeline from Bronx, NY
Post Feedback: Click Here
Cleaning Shoes With Fake Fure on Them
I have a pair of shoes that I really like, but am not sure how to clean them because there is fake fur around the ankle; how do I clean a cream-colored fake fur so it doesn't look gray and clumpy from last winter? The rest of the shoe is made of brown suede.
Leah from North Liberty, IA
Post Feedback: Click Here
Carpet Cleaning Science Project
I'm doing a science project and I need to know of some good carpet stain removers!
Mckenzie from Texas
Post Feedback: Click Here
I have a question. I remember many years ago, ads on TV about bar soap (that had been used) harboring germs. Is it true? Or was that just a marketing ploy for SoftSoap? I have spent years being paranoid about using bar soap for handwashing, but I wonder if it is unfounded. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!
Bubbasmom from Paris, Ohio
Post Feedback: Click Here
I would like to make some Christmas Ornaments for a Holiday Craft Show at our church. Does anyone have some ideas, or possibly some websites where I can get some ideas from? Thanks!
Marnita from Cumming, GA
Ideas for making your own Christmas ornaments. Post your ideas below. If you have an ornament that you have made in the past, take a picture of it and submit it to the http://www.thriftyfun.com/photo_contest.ldml.
Post Feedback: Click Here
How would you clean the keys, the actual letters that strike the ribbon, on an old typewriter? Carbon tetrachloride isn't around any more and it's nasty stuff anyway.
Eileen from Canton, OH
Post Feedback: Click Here
I would like to try making my own soap, but am a little concerned of any fumes given off when using lye since I have asthma. Is it necessary to use lye in soapmaking? Are there recipes out there for making soap without lye?
Terry Lynn from Toronto, Ontario
Post Feedback: Click Here
Looking for a frugal solution to an everyday problem? Submit your request here: Click Here
Today's Sponsors
Manage your money simply and quickly. Inexpensive budget planning software.
http://www.mybudgetplanner.com/partner/thf/mbpmain.htm
More Reading:
Here are some tuna sandwich recipes.
Tuna With Cream Cheese
Tuna with Relish
Tuna with Cheddar
Tuna with Sweet Pickles
Tuna with Veggies
Tuna with Horseradish
Instructions
Flake tuna & add other ingredients. Mix well & make sandwiches.
Read More: Click Here
Clothing; Fashion, Frumpy, or Frugal?
By Nikki Willhite
I guess it's pretty obvious that if you try and keep up with fashion, you will go broke. My goal is to try and keep up the illusion of keeping up with fashion.
For instance- there are some colors that are just considered dated. I try not to wear those colors. A lot of times it isn't so much the color, but the fabric that it has been applied to that makes it look so dated.
When a popular color from the past appears again, it is usually with trendy clothing. If it regains popularity, it will soon appear on the more classic pieces.
It is pretty easy to develop your sense of what is outdated. Just go into a thrift store and look around. Most of the clothes will be outdated. Take note of the colors, fabric, styles, and lines of the clothing.
Look at the armholes. That's a dead give away. Older clothes have very little allowance in the armhole. Today's clothing is more relaxed, and while armhole sizes have been decreasing, they are still larger than in most of the clothing you find in thrift stores.
There are good buys in Thrift Stores, but it takes a good eye to separate that which is fashionable and of value from items that are hopelessly outdated. Clothing with classic lines can last for years without going out of style.
If you always shop seasonal sales, you may be able to find new clothing just as cheap in retail stores. In February and March you will find Sweaters at give-away prices. Sweaters are a great staple in your wardrobe. Since they are a separate they can be worn in many ways. Try and keep them in neutral colors, and you will find many uses for them, either dressy or casual.
If you want to save money on clothing, you need to develop your own personal style, and stick with it. No matter how fashionable an item of clothing , unless it looks good on you, you will look frumpy.
It takes a bit of time in the beginning, but saves time and money in the long run. Everyone is different. Learn which lines flatter your figure and the shape of your face, and what colors are flattering to you skin tone.
Learn which styles of necklines flatter you (such as a jewel neck, v-shaped, rounded, square, cowl, etc). Look at yourself in the mirror applying the squint test. Step back and squint at yourself in a mirror to get an overall general impression of yourself. Are you full of curves, straight lines, or both? If you have a round face, you will not look good in clothing with bold straight lines. If your face is angular, avoid clothing and accessories with rounded lines.
Apply this to your accessories also. Don't carry a rounded handbag if you have an angular frame. If you are straight lined or angular, don't buy a pouch type purse.
There are many kinds of patterned designs. Some are rounded, some are very geometric and full of straight lines. Everyone talks about color- but wearing clothes that are in harmony with your body type is just as important.
Once you know your style, another advantage is that you can shop online with confidence- often saving you time and money.
If you do your homework, you can avoid costly buying mistakes. Your wardrobe will go together better, and you will find that you need few clothes.
Read More: Click Here
Citronella Soap
By Craftbits
Materials:
Instructions:
This Recipe is for Melt & Pour Soap Making
Add the soap and water together and Melt down in a double boiler method.
Once your soap is melted add the essential oils and stir through.
Then Pour into your soap molds.
Read More: Click Here
Coffee and Cream Soap
By Craftbits
Materials:
Instructions:
This Recipe is for Melt & Pour Soap Making.
Melt your soap down using a double boiler method. Once melted, stir in your instant coffee or coffee grounds, powdered milk and coffee fragrance oil.
Pour the soap into a mold and allow to set as normal.
If you can not get coffee oil, use a little extra coffee to increase the scent
Coffee soap looks great when presented in decorative coffee cups wrapped with cellophane.
Read More: Click Here
Let others know that you like this Ezine:
Vote For the Daily Thrifty Tips
More Stuff
Coupon Swap!
Swap coupons with other ThriftyFun.com users:
Seed Swap!
Swap seeds with other ThriftyFun.com users:
Tip Contest!
Submit a tip and enter our contest.
Submit a Request
Frugal solutions to everyday problems.
Search ThriftyFun!
Use Google technology to search ThriftyFun.
By (Guest Post)
11/19/2005
responding to question posted on October 27 about getting rid of boils. When I was very young years ago I had boils on my cheek, very painful. My family Dr. from the old school told my mom to bath me completely in liquid Lysol, a few capfuls in a tub of water, I don't know if it has the same chemical make up anymore but it worked. Look for the original, not lemon scented or anything. Good luck.
Like ThriftyFun on Facebook
