Daily Thrifty Tips - October 20, 2006

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Benjie is a 2 year old Maltese/Dachshund. We got her on April 9, 2004.

She likes to run with her toy and ride in the car. She also likes to bark at squirrels. She is a Blessing and a joy to have around.

By Clare from Florida

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Time to complete: Approx. 1 hour

These books can be made on any subject and your kids can help make them. Cut out pictures from magazines about your subject: colors, numbers, animals, etc. Great for preschoolers.

Materials:

• Card stock
• Magazines
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers
• *Laminate (if you can laminate the finished pages they will hold up to the use)
• Key rings or staples for binding

Directions:

Cut out your picture choices. Trim around the pictures as close as possible... Glue the pictures to the cardstock and label the page (BLUE for pictures of blue things). Laminate the pages, if able. Staple or bind the pages together, or punch holes and thread key rings through the holes.

By Dawn Salisbury from Ogallala, NE

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This bubbling Flask decoration is made with food coloring and a little dry ice for fog and the bubbles. It is a great touch to any Halloween party.

Ingredients:

• Water
• food coloring
• dry ice
• Flask, beaker, or cauldron

Directions:

Make water your color of choice, using thick gloves, drop a piece of dry ice into the container (you will want to break up the dry ice into smaller pieces, this can be done by hitting it against a counter or sink. Make sure the dry ice is in a bag).

Be sure no one touches the dry ice, nor drinks the water. If you do not have a beaker or flask use a large glass bowl that becomes a cauldron. Put this up out of the reach of children. Clear glass containers work the best because you can see the bubbling below. As the bubbling stops, add more dry ice.

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These "Pumpkin" Cupcakes are not pumpkin flavored but a festive cupcake for either Halloween or Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

• Favorite spice cake recipe
• Food Coloring
• Green gel frosting
• Icing Bag (optional)

Cream Cheese Icing:

(My favorite recipe found on Thrifty Fun):

• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:

Make cup cakes according to recipe or package directions. Bake and cool.

Make cream cheese icing by mixing together cream cheese (softened), honey and vanilla. Mix well. Add red and yellow food coloring to make the frosting orange. Place frosting in a icing bag with a flat ribbon tip.

Frost the cupcakes with ribbon tip to make the shape of the pumpkin. I would have a practice cupcake to work with that you can scrape the frosting off just to get used to working with the frosting and moving it in the way you desire.

Another possibly easier way is to frost the cupcakes and use a butter knife to make the lines.

Using the green gel icing make the stem of the pumpkin and a leaf if desired.

Variation: Use black frosting and draw a Jack-O-Lantern face on them!

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These are easy to make with string cheese and green peppers. It is a fun and easy appetizer for your Halloween party.

Ingredients:

• String Cheese
• Green bell pepper
• Cream cheese (optional)

Directions:

Cut the green bell pepper in to finger nail shapes and cut down the inside of the pepper to make the "nail" thinner.

Cut the string cheese in half. At the end of the rounded off side, cut out a place for the nail to sit. Add a little cream cheese to the bottom of the pepper to help it stick to the cheese if desired. Make out lines to create the knuckles one at the end and one just under the nail.

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Your little trick-or-treaters will really dig these marvelous meringue bones. These sweet, crunchy confections are sure to tickle their funny bones and taste buds at your next Halloween party.

http://food.kaboose.com/pages/meringue-bones.html

By IMAQT1962 from ILLINOIS

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When you need to paint above your head and don't want paint drips fall on the floor or on your face, cut a slit in a paper plate and put your paint brush handle through it. The plate will catch the drips.

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The very next time you are fortunate enough to vacation, visit a foreign or exotic place, take an hour or so of EXTRA SHOPPING TIME and make a serious effort ,"from a child's perspective", to take to your children back home a whole NEW sort of gifting selections for holiday or birthday by buying MANY things they:

1. Don't have
2. Will likely never see on a shelf in your town
3. Will REALLY be SURPRISED over
4. Can genuinely share with guests/friends that is NOT LIKELY to be had by others
5. Can challenged their imagination
6. They can start a new collection of things from other places
7. Can admit that sparks their interest in world differences
8. Can enjoy that will break their boredom/monotony with the typical and limited "same ol'-same ol' by a different label/name"
9. Can see how other peoples have new/different ideas
10. Can feel you have put some real THOUGHT into your souveniers for them "while they stayed behind"

Examples:

• Carved wooden games, game pieces with funny instructions written in broken English the best they could translate
• Woven items of unusual patterns, textures, materials, purposes
• Small tools for crafts/play
• "Collections" important to those particular places/peoples
• Candies in unusual wrappers/shapes/ingredients
• Spinning tops of brilliant colors.
• Nametags equivilent to the children's names in another language
• Soaps and toiletries of different fragrances, shapes, and colors
• Unusual clothing, hats, shoes, slippers, fabrics
• Picture souveniers in variety bundles of places/animals there
• Small hand-held electronic or manual games designed by them
• Hair ornaments/jewelry of a different sort, material or design
• Small crafts indigenous to the area for children/young adults
• A variety of unusual coinage
• Short journal explaining each item, as you understand it to be, having inquired at purchase
• Each wrapped by the other country's clerk in other country's gift paper and trim
• A few "foreign" stamps/stickers
• A magazine/newspaper from the different place

We did this very thing and it was one of the most momentous things our children ever received from us, well worth our time/extra effort /money for added carry-on "baggage". Where there's a will, there's a way. If having to go through customs, buy the unique gift wrapping/trim and wait to wrap until home in your privacy.

(Even if any of the items ever show up on your neighborhood shelves, your children will have already enjoyed them.)

By Lynda from TX

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If you want to shell walnuts but keep the nut intact, soak the walnuts in saltwater over night before shelling them. Then gently crack the nuts.

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When you buy a new paint brush, soak it in linseed oil for 12 hours before using it for the first time. This will extend the life of the paint brush and make it easier to clean.

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When traveling by air with a companion, be sure each checked piece of luggage has a change of clothing and some toiletries for the other person. That way if a bag gets lost or is delayed (chances are at least one will show up), you'll both have at least one change of clothing. If I had only thought of this when we last traveled to another state, my suitcase was lost and was not delivered to me for two days.

By Bobbie G from Rockwall, TX

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Almost forgot about this until I got a ceramic bowl set in the mail the other day. Growing up, my Mom never used regular glue to glue the handles back on her coffee cups, hands on her porcelain dolls, chips on her kitchen bowls etc. She used Carnation Canned Milk!

I was talking to her on the phone when the bowl set came. I was sooo excited until I noticed the little bowl was broken. My Mom told me to use canned milk. I told her that I had some Industrial Strength Glue and I'd use that instead. Good Grief! After 3 hours and a heck of a mess, I conceded. I opened a can of milk and, using a Q-Tip, I glued the pieces back together. I let it air dry overnight. The bond is so strong, I can lift the bowl by its handle with a couple oranges in it!

I don't know why it works, but my Mom says it's the sugar in the milk that works. :)

By Laurie R. from Nevada

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Have you ever noticed that aluminum foil is shinier on one side than on the other? When you use foil for cooking (for example, when you wrap potatoes for baking), make sure the least shiny side is facing out. If not, the shiny side will REFLECT the heat rather than absorb it, and your food will take longer to cook!

By Becki Harris from Logansport, IN

Editor's Note: This seems to make sense but according to the Alcoa website there is no difference, that either side can be used except with the nonstick foil where the dull side has the nonstick coating. I guess testing is the only way to find out.

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Find out which discounts you qualify for and USE them. My husband is a teacher, and gets a free discount card at Barnes and Noble, which brings down the price of the bargain books he finds there even lower. He also get teacher discounts at Office Depot.

By Pamphyila from Los Angeles

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The key to having appealing looking brown gravy, rather than pale gravy, is to brown the flour you use to thicken the gravy. Brown the flour in a skillet before adding liquid.

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Dear Webby's Humor Letter

Webby publishes our tips daily! A very funny newsletter.

More Information:
http://webby.com/humor

I have bleach stains (rings) on my dark green formica countertops. What can i do to remove them?

Sueboo From Jackson, MS

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How do you remove grease stains from Juicy velour sweat pants?

Leslie from Hailey, ID

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How do you remove salt and water stains from UGG sheepskin winter boots?

Leslie from Hailey, ID

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I just saw an ad for Hercules Hooks. Has anyone tried these and do they really work as well as the commercial says? Also, are they in stores yet or just online? Are they really better than wall anchors?

Kim from WI

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How do I get a name tag sticker off a brushed suede jacket (also dyed)?

Anita from Huntingtown, MD

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How do we rid ourselves of at least one large resident bumble bee in a low hanging bird house, which is also a terrorist for my grandchild? He's not sure if it's a bee or a large wasp. I'd like to think it's OK and perhaps just investigating the medium/large birdhouse, but then, I have a collection of small birdhouses taken over by lots of wasps!

What's your thinking about this? Bumble bees are fat and sluggish, but there is one kind of extra large wasp that might be important to the garden, too. I didn't see it, the grandchild did, age 8, and it struck fear in him even though it wasn't aggressive that he knew of, running fast without looking back, into the house.

Texas has "Killer Bees" which are supposed to be very aggressive, so I doubt it was one of those Africanized bees. But if it's what I'm thinking it was/is, it's likely that oversized Wasp that makes holes usually in the ground, which kills larger spiders? Does anyone know about these and what we should do about it (them)?

Hardiness Zone: 8a

Lynda from TX

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It's nobody's favorite, but plastic film can be a good short-term
solution to poor performing windows - especially traditional storm
windows. Installed on the outside, it helps reduce air infiltration. The
negative side of this is that it may frost over, reducing visibility and
creating moisture problems. If placed on the inside, it can help stop
heat through leaky windows. The other side of this is that the glue can damage stain or paint once removed.

prasannaa

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Our school mascot is the panther and we play another school with the same mascot. Our theme is western cowboys. Any ideas for a float?

David from Pevely, Missouri

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I was watching some craft making on TV at creativefestival.ca and they were showing an instrument called a wand used to stick rhinestones on crafts very easily. I would like to know where I could purchase this wand. The web site didn't say where, would you be able to help me out?


Thank you,
MaryLynn

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I am looking for written instructions for "Ford 8 Inch Rebuild/Gear Setup". I have found nine inch and this does not work. Looking for suggestions where to look, who to contact. Thanks for helping me rebuild my 48 Ford.

Kirk from Doniphan, NE

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How do you clean baked on food on a pyrex cassarole dish? I have tried the Oxy foam, cleanser, Dawn Power Grease remover to no avail. It has "settled" into the glass.

Dragonfly from Indiana

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What is the best way to clean ceramic tile floors?

PJ from Lexington, KY

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I have about a dozen fresh limes. What can I use them for other than to add to beverages? I am going on vacation in one week and will not be returning for 3 weeks. I don't think the limes will hold up until then.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Coral from Beverly, MA

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Could I substitute cream with something else while melting it with chocolate to reduce the calories if I were making truffles?

Diana from Australia

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Has anyone ever experienced a strong odor of rotten onions in just one place in the house? It is not the fridge, not the cat box, and not the trash bin. It has been going on for more than two weeks. If anyone has had this problem, do you know the cause and what has been effective in removing the noxious odor?

Bonnie from Richmond, VA

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Does rubbing lemon juice on your arm or any hair make it lighter?

Twix from Matteson, IL

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I need some input on Window AC (no Maytag or Fedders). I also would like to know if anyone has had any luck with the window heat and air. Which should I buy?

Thanks,
Trish from Cotageville, SC

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How can I get news and deaths from Danville, Illinois? I live in Texas would like a way to recieve news from Danville. Can you help me please?

Ricky from San Benito, Texas

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My daughter washed her clothes for the first time. :) Unfortunately, after she removed them from the washing machine she must have put them all on top of each other - expecting they would dry. She called me frantic - her clothes have a terrible odor. What should she do now?

S Wilson from Palm Desert, CA

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I bought a very nice suit from a second-hand store, laundered as directed. The cigarette smoke smell did not come out, any suggestions?

Carla from Howe, OK

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Does anyone know where I can purchase, 2 1/2 - 3 inch flocked birds to use in a craft project. I have searched many places to no avail. Thank you. I love this site and the craft photos shown., and the many ideas offered.

Joyce from Sumter, SC

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We have been given a very old couch and loveseat set. The fabric is badly soiled. We used the upholstery attachment on our carpet shampooer with upholstery cleaner and it didn't really come out any cleaner. Does anyone have any ideas on what else we could try?

Lindsie from Avoca, NY

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During these so very dangerous times, I've read that it's advisable to have emergency supplies and to stock up on food and water and my family has taken this to heart. I've gotten the food part of it down, but how do I store drinking water so it'll keep safe to drink? Will I have to buy ready-made bottled water or can I bottle it myself and what would I have to do, if anything, to treat the water to keep it safe over a period of time? We don't have a yard, so a well or barrels for storage are not an option unfortunately.

We have a small stream running through the woods at the back of our house. In a worse case scenario, would I be able to make this water safe for drinking? I know you can buy some water-purifying tablets, but they are very expensive here in DK, so is there any thrifty way of treating or cleaning the water myself? Would filtering and boiling be enough?

Vicki from Copenhagen, Denmark

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When you subscribe to my newsletter "The Budget Stretcher" you will receive this easy guide to effectively organizing and managing your money absolutely free. Get all of the Budget Forms and Worksheets you need to make it work for you. Click the below link to learn more:

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As the air temperature cools, so does the temperature of the water in your pond. When average daily temperatures drop below 60-70º F, significant biological changes start to take place in aquatic plants and fish. Here are some tips for preparing your pond for winter.

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