Daily Thrifty Tips
Volume Three, Number 142, October 5, 2004
http://www.ThriftyFun.com
Hello,
We sent an email yesterday after the Daily to see if people were
have a hard time receiving the Daily and we got quite a few
responses from people that are. If you got it today but didn't
yesterday, let us know. We are going to try to keep the file
size of the email version of the Daily as small as possible so
you may see a few more links to the website than you normally
have.
The online version will continue to be published as it always has been.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
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Today's newsletter contains:
Today's Tips:
- Light Your Pumpkin With Twinkle Lights
- Frugal Parrot Perch
- Help Your Local Tech School and Save Money
- Make Your Own Taquitos
- Separating Coffee Filters
- Kids Jacket Swap
- Uses for Junk Credit Cards
- Harvest of Love Food Drive
- Homemade Teether
- Baby's First Halloween Card
- Used Dryer Sheets for Removing Nail Polish
- Switching the Screen for the Storm Window on Halloween
- Securing Patterns Without Pins
- Quickly Heat Water to Peel Tomatoes
- Prevent Food From Sticking To Your Frying Pan
- Prevent Grease Splatters When Frying Eggs
- Consumer Awareness - Free AOL Accounts
- Frugal Gift Wrapping
- Alcohol - A Wonder for Cleaning
- Homemade Outdoor Twister Game
- Bedside Beverage Idea
- Polar Fleece Instead of Electric Blankets
- Preventing Barbecue Flare-ups
- Clean Coffee Pots and Cups with Baking Soda
- Feedback: Shiny Hair with Mayonnaise
- Feedback: Halloween Party Ideas: Eyeball Cookies Recipe
- Feedback: Lemonade Cookie Recipes
- Today's Recipe: Fun Snowman Project
New Requests:
- Wooden Spoon Reindeer
- Cat Pee Doesn't Dry?
- Clean Ink Stains Off Tan Leather
- Caring For Baby Fish
- Train Baby Quilt
- Patterns for Light Bulb Ornaments
More Reading:
- Teen Room Decorating - Create Something You'll Both Love!
- How To Decoupage Candles
- The Art of Découpage
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Today's Tips
Wooden Spoon Reindeer
I need the directions for making Christmas Reindeer out of wooden spoons. You use the whole spoon. The handles make up the legs and the spoon makes the body. You then decorate them with felt saddles, ears and googly eyes. I just can't remember the placement of the spoon for the face. Any info would be great.
Carol
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Light Your Pumpkin With Twinkle Lights
After you have carved your Halloween jack o'lantern light him up with a set of twinkle lights set inside. You can use the battery operated kind or cut a hole low in the back and run the cord thru to the outlet.
By Debra in Colorado
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Frugal Parrot Perch
Parrot perches can be quite expensive. They need jungle gyms and toys to play with or else they get bored and begin to exibit negative behaviors like feather plucking. My parrot LOVES a wooden collasable clothes dryer -- the kind you hang clothes on in your house. He climbs on it and loves to chew the wood. It's not pretty like the ones you buy at the pet store but it's only about $10 instead of $40.
Coolchinchilla
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Help Your Local Tech School and Save Money
I am a student at a local technical college. At the college we have Dental radiology and cosmetology. These groups are always looking for outside people to use in their practicums. At our school Dental exams are about $15 and this includes the dental x-rays. In the cosmetology department they offer facials for $5, haircut (no style) for $5, Sculptured nails for $10 (full set) and many more things under $20. All of these are done by students graduating that quarter and an instructor is observing the whole time. You may want to call around to your local tech school to see if they offer the same thing.
By Delaine
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Make Your Own Taquitos
- Brown ground beef, then add your taco seasoning.
- Warm corn tortillas.
- Put about 1 tsp. of meat mixture in each tortilla
- Roll tightly and put a toothpick through to keep contents inside
- Put in freezer bag laid out flat.
Fry any time fresh or frozen. Great with sour cream, cheese, avocados, salsa, etc.
By Sue from WA State
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Separating Coffee Filters
To help separate coffee filters, flip a bunch inside out. That loosens them up and are easier to pull apart, especially first thing in the morning!
By Dee
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Kids Jacket Swap
Kids grow out of their jackets really quickly but the jackets don't seem to wear out quickly. Get together some of your friends and host a jacket or coat swap. You can also do this with adult clothes too. Everyone needs to bring a jacket that is in good shape. And now you can swap for a good jacket that will fit your ever growing kids.
By Debra in Colorado
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Uses for Junk Credit Cards
Do you occasionally received credit cards in the mail that you did not ask for? Well here's what I use them for. When using teflon (and even non teflon pans) I use the card to scrap any hardened on foods. Works great. Also when cleaning my kitchen counters I wash the area with water & detergent & then gently scrape with the card. Smooth as glass. Happy scraping.
By Joesgirl
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Harvest of Love Food Drive
Now is the time to buy a couple extra cans of food for the food drives for the needy that will be coming up. These foods will be greatly appreciated by those less forunate then ourselves. Let your kids get involved by letting them help choose the foods that they will bring to the drive, it teaches compassion and helpfulness.
By Debra in Colorado
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Homemade Teether
Make a homemade teether for babies. Wrap an icecube inside a wash cloth and secure with a rubber band. Feels great on their gums, gives them some water to drink, and catches the drool too!
By Kim in NJ
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Baby's First Halloween Card
When my granddaughter was an infant, she was too young for trick or treating on her first Halloween so I bought a "Baby's 1st Halloween" greeting card. We dressed my granddaughter in a costume and at every house we stopped at, we said we didn't want candy but we would like them to sign the card. People were more than happy to do it and some people even wrote little messages along with their name. It turned out to be a nice keepsake.
By Nonie
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Used Dryer Sheets for Removing Nail Polish
Used Bounce dryer sheets are excellent for removing nail polish. It saves manicure time, and uses less nail polish remover than than anything I've used in the past.
By Betty
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Switching the Screen for the Storm Window on Halloween
When Halloween is here it's just about time to switch from a screen in the front door and a storm window. On Halloween I take the screen out - pass the candy through it and the next morning put the storm window in. I did this when I had a dog so that she wouldn't bother the goblins - now it's just an easy way to get the job done.
By Barbara
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Securing Patterns Without Pins
Forget the pins! Instead, secure the "dress" (sewing) pattern to the top of the fabric by weighing it down with butter knives (Mom's favorite) or paperback books (mine). It's faster, and easy to "smooth out".
By Vonda
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Quickly Heat Water to Peel Tomatoes
When I have a tomato that is hard to peel, but don't want to take the time to boil water to put it in. I have a Bunn coffee maker that the hot water runs right through, I make a pot of real hot water and drop the tomato in the pot of hot water. The skins come right off. It only takes a few seconds.
By Priscilla
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Prevent Food From Sticking To Your Frying Pan
If a frying pan is heated and rubbed well with salt, nothing in it will stick.
By Ruth Ann
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Prevent Grease Splatters When Frying Eggs
When frying eggs, drop a couple pinches of flour in the grease before putting eggs in to fry and it will keep grease from popping out.
By Ruth Ann
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Consumer Awareness - Free AOL Accounts
Recently, myself and several others have had trouble trying to cancel AOL service after starting the "free trial". After giving a confirmation number we were still being billed for service we had cancelled. I haven't received this month's statement yet. I'll keep you posted. Just a heads up.Ignore those "free trial" cd's. Use them to scare birds out of your garden! :)
By Aeromama
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Frugal Gift Wrapping
Instead of pretty (but impersonal) store bought wrapping paper, you can use brown paper bags cut to size. Then draw on them, or use stickers of the recepient's favorite character (i.e. scooby doo, peanuts--and you can find those at dollar stores).
Also, if you can find it, butcher paper not only makes great wrapping paper, but wonderful coloring paper for kids.
An elegant (but transparent) wrapping idea is to use the tissue you find in boxes. Then place holiday stickers at strategic points.
For the funky teen, use alunimum foil with gold bows.
Kris from NC
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Alcohol - A Wonder for Cleaning
Rubbing Alcohol (70% Isopropyl Alcohol) is very inexpensive to use, in our market you get two 16 ounce bottles for $.99. I use Rubbing Alcohol to clean up in the kitchen as well. Makes stainless steel shine and gives nice fresh smell. It is good for quick cleanup and works well when added to soap and water to clean floors.
It is wonderful to refresh a sponge or dishrag. Place the sponge or rag in a small bowl and pour alcohol over it. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and they will be clean and sweet smelling again.
The same method can be used to refresh string mops. Place damp mop in a bucket and pour alcohol over to nearly cover. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, ring out and dry. For complete cleaning, wash rag mop in washing machine and dry. Spray with alcohol before using again.
By June Gillespie
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Homemade Outdoor Twister Game
Buy a tarp that has grommets at the corners. Use four tent stakes to hold it down. Paint on your colors for your circles. Make a spinner out of a paper plate with the paper clasp in the middle of the dial (like we did when we were in school). My kids love to take this to the park and my childrens' friends have even borrowed it to play at family reunions. Just make sure you get the stakes well into the ground so that no one gets hurt. I recommend the metal stakes rather the big fat plastic stakes. Plastic stakes are harder to get all the way in the ground a safe distance.
By Debra in Colorado
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Bedside Beverage Idea
My DH is handicapped and he has a terrible time turning over his drink by the bedside. He loves to drink flavored drinks made with Splenda as he is a diabetic. But I cringe at the thought of him turning his glass over and staining the light blue carpet with his drink. I have come up with a great way to keep his drink safe and handy for him. I salvaged from my company office trash bin a coffee creamer container (Coffee Mate) that has a flip snap top on it. The top will screw off and I can fill the container with his drink. As an added bonus I can freeze water in the bottom and then fill it with his drink so it will be cold. I think this is great! Now he can set his drink by the bed and snap the top shut when he is not drinking it. Great for kids too!!
By Jonnie Cambron
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Polar Fleece Instead of Electric Blankets
I live in Adelaide, South Australia, the winters here get cold (no snow) but houses here do NOT have any form of central heating.
Instead of using electric blankets (dangerous with children jumping on bed) we use polar fleece blankets as sheets. They are cheap, feel warm as soon as you jump into bed and dry very quickly after washing. I find it easiest to use a queen size for each child (we have 4 children), fold the blanket in half to make a sleeping bag type of arrangement and the children sleep very well. So do my husband and I.
By Anne Smith
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Preventing Barbecue Flare-ups
To prevent flare-ups when barbecuing, spread lettuce leaves on hot coals before barbecuing fatty meat. Lettuce will blacken but not ignite.
By June Gillespie
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Clean Coffee Pots and Cups with Baking Soda
Baking Soda is a great way to clean coffee pots and coffee cups. Just make a paste with baking soda and water, scrub and rinse.
By Darla
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Feedback: Shiny Hair with Mayonnaise
If you have oily hair try using a can of flat beer instead. It gives you the shine without the greasy effect of the mayonnaise.
By Suzanne S.
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Feedback: Halloween Party Ideas: Eyeball Cookies Recipe
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 an 18-oz roll refrigerated sugar-cookie dough
12 miniature peanut butter cups (Reese's)
Red liquid food color
1 tube (.75 oz) blue writing gel (optional)
1. Have a large baking sheet ready.
2. Knead flour into dough until well blended. Remove 1/4 tsp dough, roll into 12 tiny balls (for pupils); reserve. Roll remaining dough into an even 12-in. log. Cut in twelve 1-in. pieces. Place pieces cut side up. Insert your thumb in center of each and make an indentation large enough to hold a peanut butter cup; insert cup.
3. Roll dough between palms of your hands to rise up and around sides of cup. Put a pupil in center of cup. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheet.
4. Put a few drops red food color into a small cup. Dip in end of toothpick; draw veins from center to edge of each cookie. Refrigerate 15 minutes to firm dough.
5. Meanwhile heat oven to 350°F.
6. Bake cookies 12 min or until pale golden around edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. If desired, pipe blue gel around pupils of some of the cookies
By eb
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Feedback: Lemonade Cookie Recipes
Lemonade Cookies
3 C. sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
2 eggs
1 C. soft butter
1 C. sugar
1 6-oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift flour and baking soda together into a mixing bowl. Place eggs, butter, sugar and 1/2 cup lemonade concentrate into an electric blender container, cover and process, using a rubber spatula if necessary to scrape the sides. Pour into the sifted ingredients and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2-inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake cookies about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Brush the hot cookies lightly with remaining lemonade concentrate and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. Remove cookies to a cooling rack. Makes about 4 dozen.
By Guest
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New Requests:
Wooden Spoon Reindeer
I need the directions for making Christmas Reindeer out of wooden spoons. You use the whole spoon. The handles make up the legs and the spoon makes the body. You then decorate them with felt saddles, ears and googly eyes. I just can't remember the placement of the spoon for the face. Any info would be great.
Carol
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Cat Pee Doesn't Dry?
My daughter is moving out of an apartment and the management company tells her they have a device that will detect cat pee in the carpet because cat pee doesn't dry - has ANYONE heard of this before? I've contacted the company that sells this device - it is actually used to detect moisture from water damage, water, etc. nothing about cat pee, and am awaiting a response from them. I cannot find anywhere on the internet if cat pee truly does not dry - I need to find out how they can use this as a defense before we do the walk through.
Charob
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Clean Ink Stains Off Tan Leather
Some how or another, my wallet got ink all over it and it looks really tacky when I carry it around (it's a wallet-on-a-string). Anyway, it is a light tan colored wallet with black ink soaked into it. Any one out there have a trickey way of getting out the ink without damaging the wallet?
- Marni from Los Angeles, CA
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Caring For Baby Fish
My fish just had babies. I don't remember what kind of fish it is, but I think it's a type of guppy. There are about 10-15 tiny babies swimming around my tank and I have 2 other fish in this tank. It is a 10 gallon tank. How should I care for them? I am kind of worried about the other fish eating them. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Aimee
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Train Baby Quilt
I am in desperate need of a baby quilt kit or design featuring Thomas the tank engine (or any train really). If anyone has something like that with instructions or knows of a source for it I would really be grateful. Thanks,
Maureen
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Patterns for Light Bulb Ornaments
Does anyone have patterns of light bulb ornaments. The more the merrier! Thank you!
Laura Lange
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More Reading
Teen Room Decorating Ideas - Create Something You'll Both Love!
By Michael Holland
Redecorating a teen room can be a challenge, but with these teen room decorating ideas, you will both be able to work together to create a unique haven for your teenager.
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How To Decoupage Candles
By D.J. Nelson
Decoupage candle instructions.
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The Art of Découpage
By Eileen Bergen
Découpage is a very accessible craft for beginners but can also be taken to artistic heights. In fact serious découpage artists are known as découpeurs (sometimes spelled "decoupers"). There is a National Guild of Découpeurs (NGD). NGD is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education in the art of découpage, to encouraging a high level of quality, and to offering an exchange of creative ideas.
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