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Vol. 7, Num. 52, March 14, 2008 (Read It Online) Today we have a neat Bunny Hat Craft for Easter and a photo of a Shamrock cake for St. Patrick's Day. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading, Susan
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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:
Pictured here is my first decorated cake and for the longest time I've wanted to learn this. Years ago when we were raising my son I never had the time or the extra money to buy the cake decorating tools. So in my later years, I'm learning to do this by a book. I purchased "Cake Decorating for Dummies" on http://www.amazon.com. The book is so easy to understand that I can learn how to do this on my own. I used a white cake mix and filled the layers with lemon filling, with cream cheese frosting. By MCW from NY
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Rate It: These bunny hats make cute door decorations for your home or office and can be assembled fairly quickly after the straw hat is painted. Instructions are for the white hat, but you can create a tan bunny by using tan spray paint, tan craft foam and brown chenille stems. The tan ones show up better on white or off-white doors.
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Rate It: Craft: Crocheted Recycled Easter Basket Here is a frugal Easter basket project. Crochet an Easter basket from recycled plastic grocery bags. Here is the free pattern link By Cindy from WA
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Rate It: Tazor was 2 years old in May 2008. He is a Pug. He was the "runt" of the litter. I fell in love when I went to see a friend who breeds pug, I had never seen pug puppies. Tazor was the smallest one and so sweet and loving. I had to have him but had to wait for another lady to decide whether she wanted him or his bigger brother. It was a long 2 weeks waiting, but he's my baby today! (Smile)
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Rate It: On February 1st, we planted tomatoes, peppers, basil, and peppermint. We are going to experiment with our Wall O Waters this year, so are preparing our plants well ahead of the normal Mother's Day planting date in our area.
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These contests are weekly. We pick 2 tip winners and 1 photo winner at the end of each week. Each winner will win $25!
As we all cringe every time we go to the gas station for our next fill-up, I wondered just how the prices of gas have been over time. The Department of Energy had data for 1996-2008 so I made a graph. The most recent spikes are not included. Gas today here was about $3.59 a gallon for regular. Gas Prices 1996-2008
Click Here for Larger View of the Graph Gas Prices 2005-2008
What are you doing to cut costs when the cost of gas just keeps going up? By Susan Sanders-Kinzel Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf19814840.tip.html
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Rate It: I got this cute email yesterday and thought it was a great idea for math and science buffs. Happy Pi Day! Jess in Oregon Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf52294692.tip.html
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Rate It: Dog and Cat Hair for the Garden If you have a cat or dog in the home then you are vacuuming their hair off everything all of the time. Empty your vacuum canister or bag each time around the perimeter of your gardens. The pet hair scares away rabbits, gophers and other wild animals. They smell it and think there is danger so they head elsewhere for their munchies! Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf38128426.tip.html
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Rate It: An Oh-So Obvious Way to Make a Shamrock Sometimes things are so obvious, we don't see them. I know I miss them -- would you believe I just figured this one out? If you need a four-leaf clover design for a craft or anything, trace or stencil four green hearts (with the points together at the middle.) Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf30616770.tip.html
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Rate It: A--Air-condition your home Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf39588388.tip.html
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Rate It: Remedies for Hot Glue Gun Burns Hot glue gun burns can be serious burns and extremely painful. Do not be hasty and try to pull the glue off as it will take skin with it! I protect myself each time I use a glue gun by placing a bowl big enough to fit my hand with cold water and ice cubes. Since the hot glue will stick to your hand and continue burning you want to immediately thrust your hand into the ice water. Do not peel the glue off until the pain stops and then do so very carefully. This has saved me many times! Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf88079037.tip.html
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Rate It: Furniture Polish - Olive Oil and Lemon Juice Here is a great tip on saving money on furniture polish.
Combine the oil and lemon juice in the spray bottle. Shake well before using. Use a clean, dry cloth to buff and polish. Works wonders and saves you money! By Sabrina from Council, N.C. I saw the following recipe on a video:
Now you can be environmentally safe and polish all of your furniture eliminating the harmful fumes in the commercial furniture polishes. Source: MSN By MCW from NY Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf94691329.tip.html
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Rate It: Don't Let Your Dryer Cool Down The biggest mistake I found I have made in doing my laundry is letting the dryer cool off in between loads! It dawned on me that each time that happens the dryer has to be REHEATED, starting all over. If you pay closer attention as you empty one dryer load and have the next one ready to go to save a little bit of that heat! Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf96534784.tip.html
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Rate It: Using Dial soap, I drop the one almost used-up into the shower while I bathe, along with the brand new bar. Once they are softened, the used-up bar fits nicely into the indentation on the new bar. Just squish them together and once it dries, it is firmly attached to the new bar. I don't know if this works on other brands, but it definitely won't work on Ivory! Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf98818712.tip.html
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Rate It: Recycling an Old Grapevine Wreath for Easter I recycled an old grapevine wreath. I took off all of the old flowers and decorations and put on some new fresh plastic spring flowers and hot glued one dozen plastic Easter eggs around through the flowers and on the wreath. I looks wonderful on my front door. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf55235999.tip.html
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Rate It: Easter is coming. Try this. Bake your ham, however you like. The drippings in the bottom of the pan, make great gravy, like you would make any gravy. Add a little flour, water and stir, add to drippings. Wait until you try this. My mother made this for years. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf87269478.tip.html
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Rate It: Want a low calorie dip? Place cottage cheese (in lieu of sour cream) in blender. Put powdered dip Seasoning in blender. Add enough milk to liquefy to a thick 'pancake batter' consistency. Transfer to container and place in refrigerator for 8 hours. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf26028294.tip.html
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Deep in Debt and No Way to Pay I'm disabled and my husband is retired. We have very low income. Our credit card debt is about 100,000.00. We stopped paying creditors. So far they call all day and ask for money. How long they will be call? What happens after few months if they not received payment? What will be the next step what they can do to us? Our house, no market, is worth less what we own to the mortgage company. Please give answers. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf57781202.tip.html
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Rate It: Keeping Dog Out of Vegetable Garden How do you keep a dog out of a vegetable garden? It's a very small garden, and not worth the cost of fencing it in. If I fenced it, I'd have no room for the plants. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf38376293.tip.html
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Rate It: Choosing Colors for Kitchen Walls Our new kitchen will have: maple cabinets stained ginger, very pale cream/taupe tile with light brown/tan markings, brown and peach granite counter tops. What paint colors would go? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf23864353.tip.html
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Rate It: I need help with litter box training my puppy. Anyone have any tips? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf81670485.tip.html
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Rate It: Youth Wrestling Banquet Centerpieces I am planning a youth wrestling banquet and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what type of centerpieces to use. The kids are 5-15 years old. Last year they had flower pots with lollipops in them. Any ideas? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf42657469.tip.html
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Rate It: I am looking for simple but good pound cakes. There are some that can be made with mixes. If you have any great simple ones, could you please share with me? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf56435861.tip.html
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Rate It: Using a 1950's Sunbeam Mix Master Mixer I bought a 1950's Sunbeam Mix Master mixer at a thrift shop. It has a juicer attachment set (which includes a bowl with a center hole and a funnel hole, a ceramic juicer cone with a slotted metal rod in the center, and a metal double-pronged clamp-on device). But it seems that the handle of the mixer is in the way of the place you need to hook the juicer up (a hole on the left side next to the handle ). Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf16616219.tip.html
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Rate It: What Kind of Dog Brush Should I buy? Wire slicker brushes look sharp - like they could hurt a dog's skin if you press repeatedly and brush in the same spot. I tried it on my arm in the store and wondered what else there is. This is for a dog whose fur is densely packed, straight and short. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf37501988.tip.html
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Rate It: We have a baby mole and we need to know what baby moles eat. We need to know what to keep it in and at what temperature. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf59669831.tip.html
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Rate It: Horse Related Crafts for 4-H Kids I am a 4-H Cloverbud leader, and am looking for craft ideas to keep our younger members busy, and quiet, while the older kids and adults are in their meetings. I would prefer they have something to do with horses, but any ideas will be very helpful. Thanks! Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf52915483.tip.html
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Rate It: Meals That Can Be Prepared in Advance I like simple, easy, and quick. I like Hamburger Helper, frozen dinners, those complete meals and the like. I'm over 4 months pregnant with a 16 month old and my husband at home. We would like to start eating healthier, but my husband and I are both picky eaters. We are also on a VERY tight budget since I just lost my job due to the pregnancy. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf79837194.tip.html
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Rate It: I would love to have a simple, easy way to make muffins. For example, for poppy seed muffins, poppy seeds and lemon pudding, of course with other ingredients. Is this possible? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf34650312.tip.html
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Rate It: Has anyone seen, and maybe knows where to purchase, granite looking contact paper? I saw a sample on a website and it looked great--really looked like a granite counter top. I'm not sure where to look for it except maybe at a home improvement store like Lowe's or Home Depot. Anyone know anywhere else I might find it? Thanks. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf53925331.tip.html
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Rate It: How do you remove ink from a dryer? And Clothes? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf430784.tip.html
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Rate It: Do you have directions for making a rag rug out of pantyhose? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf65206154.tip.html
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Rate It: Side Dishes for Baked Chicken at Wedding My daughter is serving baked chicken at her wedding reception and we're wondering what are some good side dishes. We're both picky eaters but we both want everyone to enjoy the food and have a good variety without overdoing it. Also, any tips for wedding favors? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf21310916.tip.html
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Rate It: I have got white paint on a brand new pale pink top that I have only worn once. I have tried scrubbing it with soap and water but that is making the material around the stain all bobbled. What can I use because I don't want to scrub it too much? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf49236772.tip.html
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Rate It: I need help renaming my business. We were a custom home builder, but now I am bidding on work for other builders. I no longer want the debt that goes with being a builder. I am also going to be doing property management and development, a variety of things. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf58890513.tip.html
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Rate It: Can milk be frozen? I buy fat free 2% milk in pints most of the time but tonight could only find half gallon size. Can I freeze some of this milk for use later on? If so, how soon do I have to use it? Thanks. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf89977779.tip.html
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Rate It: Who out there has discovered ZOTE soap? This is a Mexican product that is to die for. I have added leather cleaning to the list of things it is great for. I love the scent of it more than anything I think. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf87568644.tip.html
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Rate It: Looking for Hamburger, Cheese, Egg and Toast Recipe Looking for a recipe someone told me about but can't remember all of it. It has hamburger, cheese and egg in it and is layered on toast and baked in the oven, if I remember right. Does this ring a bell to anyone? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf53188998.tip.html
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Rate It: Gift for Both Bridal Shower and Wedding? Is it customary to buy a gift for both the Bridal Shower and the wedding? Also, if so, do I get both gifts from the Bridal registry list? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf78225140.tip.html
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Rate It: How do I remove Sharpie ink from my computer flat screen and keyboard? Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf462313.tip.html
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Rate It: My husband put water in my hard anodized Calphalon pan and boiled it. Now I have a white ring around the inside of as well as inside on the bottom of the pan. Can anyone give a suggestion as to how to remove this? I really enjoy cooking with this cookware and I saved my money in order to purchase the 2 pieces that I really wanted. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf51701930.tip.html
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Rate It: How do I remove scum from clear plastic shower curtain? I was told to wash it in the washing machine with laundry soap and vinegar. I did and all I got was a torn ruined shower curtain. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf629412.tip.html
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Rate It: Can anyone tell me if they think my puppy is a Chihuahua mixed with Min Pin?
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Rate It: Potty Training Two Puppies at Once We had a 14 week old 'Bug' Pug/Boston Terrier mix and then I was able to buy favorite dog in the whole world a English Bulldog. The only problem is that my Bug was not potty trained yet so they both are peeing and pooping on the new hardwood we just put down! HELP! How do we do this?
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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:
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