Daily Thrifty Tips
Volume Three, Number 151, October 14, 2004
http://www.ThriftyFun.com
Hello,
Lots of great tips today. I will be keeping my eye open for an old dressers to make a puppet theatre (See Debra's tip below for more information)!
The contest ends tomorrow evening at midnight. Thanks for all the great submissions so far, it has been our best contest ever.
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Susan
Today's newsletter contains:
Today's Tips:
- Corn Bread Tips
- Keep Nail Polish Caps from Sticking
- Meat Grinder Tips
- Gift Wrap With Sewing Remnants
- Creating Your Craft Room
- Recycle That Old Dresser, Make a Puppet Theatre
- Great Pre-Treatment for Stubborn Stains on Clothing
- Cheap Wood Floor for a Family Room
- Artwork from Libraries
- Starting Roses In November
- Buy Matching Men's Socks
- To Organize Your Bills
- Make Your Own Syrup
- Glad Press and Cling Wrap for Painting
- Uses For An Old Waterbed
- Cooking With Crackers
- Marking the Date Purchased on Food
- Barrette Holder
- Foodsaver Tip: Labelling Meat for Freezer
- Barbie Condo - Recycling An Old Bookcase.
- Wooden Spoons
- Keep Measuring Spoons in Containers
New Requests:
- Legitimate Work at Home Jobs
- Looking For Ways To Make Money At Home
- Grape Juice stains Off Of Baby Clothes?
- Looking for Advice on Carpet Cleaners
- Removing Wrinkles From a Leather Coat
- Help Making a Large Race Car Cake
More Reading:
- Gifts in a Jar (Oatmeal Raisin Spice Cookies in a Jar)
- An Overview of Home Cured Modeling Clays
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Today's Tips
Corn Bread Tips
Try mixing 1/3 cup of crumbled crisp bacon into a corn bread batter before you pour it into the baking pan.
Corn bread won't stick to the baking pan if you grease the pan and then sprinkle it well with cornmeal.
Don't bake corn bread in a pan that is too thin or the outside will be overdone before the inside has baked.
By joesgirl
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Keep Nail Polish Caps from Sticking
To keep nail polish caps from sticking, put a dab of petroleum jelly on the threads.
By Peggy
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Meat Grinder Tips
To keep a grinder from slipping, put a piece of sandpaper sand-side down on the surface you stand the grinder on.
If you want to grind uncooked liver, you have to parboil or saute it lightly first, then cut pieces and feed these into the grinder. It isn't possible to grind raw liver without it getting mushy and losing its juices.
When you grind crackers with meat for a meat loaf, add crackers both before and after to prevent the meat from sticking to the grinder.
If you grind pork at home, be sure to scrub the grinder afterward with a brush and scalding suds. Then boil it to be on the safe side.
By Joesgirl
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Gift Wrap With Sewing Remnants
Gift wrap can get expensive, plus it tears easily if you are wrapping an odd shaped, or sharp cornered gift. I used cloth remnants from sewing projects instead of wrapping paper and found they were oohed and aahed over as much as the gift was. Then I began picking them up at garage sales, as well as small pieces from yard good stores, just for wrappings. Many wallpaper ends also make wonderful gift wraps. The price is right, too.
By Rae
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Creating Your Craft Room
All of us crafters would love to have a craft room. Some of us are lucky and we have an extra room we can use. Some of us don't and if you are anything like me, I bet your crafts are spread out. But just as a home office is important now a days so is a place for us to be able to relax and craft. Here is my tip.
Go to your local Salvage company and get yourself some big shutters or some old bi-fold doors. Get some big hinges to hinge them together. Paint the doors or shutters a color that will compliment your room. You now have a screen to section off your craft area. Now clean out that clutter corner.
Find a small table, the size depending on your space. Try to make it large enough for a comfy chair if you can. Crocheters and knitters will appreciate having a chair. Above your table install a few hanging cork bulletin boards. These are to hang directions on. If you have room, hang a magnetic tool holder or you can get a magnetic knife holder on the net. These will hold scissors, crochet hooks, beading tools, or any thing with a metal base.
Now find yourself 3 fruit boxes that are the same size. You can get these when the produce man re-stocks at the local grocery. You want the tops to the boxes. Put the top on the bottom of the box so that you have a double strength box. With double sided carpet tape, tape all three boxes together. Cover with Contact paper or Spray Paint. Make as many of these as you will need to store your supplies. These can be stacked or put under your table, they also could be used next to your chair for a handy table. Depending on wall space you could hang some shelves.
Now decorate your little space. Pictures can be hung on your screen as long as they are not too heavy. Throw a pillow in your chair and don't forget get a radio or boom box for some mood music. And if you have kids make a cute "Keep out" or "Only girls allowed" sign. Have fun. It's your space.
By Debra in Colorado
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Recycle That Old Dresser, Make a Puppet Theatre
Here is a cute idea for recycling an old dresser that is falling apart. First take out all the old drawers and runners. Take off the back. Install a shelf that hangs outside of the dresser all the way across the front.
Underneath the shelf on the inside of the dresser install two 2x2's that go all the way across the front. On the outside put a piece of Mdf or plywood that has been cut to the size of the dresser. Above the shelf on the outside install a small curtain rod for curtains for your stage (the shelf). On the back staple two black curtains.
Now the fun part! Paint and decorate in bright colors. You could even make a plywood triangle the size of the top of the dresser to make it look like a circus tent. Put a small flag at the top.
By Debra in Colorado
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Great Pre-Treatment for Stubborn Stains on Clothing
I have used the product Lestoil on my most stubborn stains for years. It has gotten out motor oil, grease, iron, formula from baby clothes and all different kinds of stains. Try it, I bet will work for you too.
By Debra in Colorado
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Cheap Wood Floor for a Family Room
Measure your room and buy enough chip board to cover your floor. Find a stain that you like to stain the floor. Use liquid nails to secure chip board to floor. After the stain add two coats of polyurethane to the floors letting it dry completely between coats. This floor gives a great earthy feel to a room. The stain will penetrate differently on all parts of the chip board so you will get a great multi-tonal effect.
By Debra in Colorado
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Artwork from Libraries
Did you know some local libraries will let you check out framed artwork to hang in your house for a couple of weeks? When I was decorating my living room and wasn't sure what kind of painting would look good on one of my walls I simply checked out a couple of paintings, hung them for a couple of days each until I decided which one I liked. Once I had an idea of what I was looking for, it was a great help when I was sifting through thrift store pictures.
By Kristine
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Starting Roses In November
In November, cut a blooming rose to where you will have a Y, then bury the stem including the Y. Then put a quart jar over the rose, sealing it into the ground. Remove the jar in April and with luck you will have a rooted rose bush. I don't transplant the first year. I don't use Root Grow but my daughter does. She got 21 started last year.
By Mildred Lane
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Buy Matching Men's Socks
Always buy mens and boys' socks in quantities of a dozen or more of matching pairs. This reduces the need to pair-up the socks before washing and greatly reduces the length of time playing the sock matching game.
By Cathi/Cait
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To Organize Your Bills
I use the binders that have zippers all around and metal rings inside. I put those plastic see thru folders that snap shut, I punch holes thru them and place them in the binder, label them, that way you can just slip the bills in there and when it comes time to pay the bills you have everything including pens and whatever else you need all in one binder and zipped so you don't misplace the bills! Works great for me!
By Kay
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Make Your Own Syrup
Save on Pancake Syrup and Flavored Syrups
*Bottled makes a great gift idea!*
Maple Syrup
- 1 cups Boiling Water
- 2 cups Sugar or Sweetener equal to 2 cups
- (Add 2 tsp. of "Thicken it" for a less running syrup)
- 1 tsp. Maple flavor
To get Fancy...
Add one or a combination of the following and make it a real treat.
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 2 TBS. Butter Buds
- 1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
- 2 TBS. Amaretto
- 2 TBS. Orange Liqueur
- 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts
Also:
** Combine 1/2 cup Syrup with 1 to 2 cups butter to make thin flavored icings for pancakes, french toast, muffins, biscuits, or cakes.
By Debra
View Article: Click Here
Glad Press and Cling Wrap for Painting
I recently painted my bedroom, and disliked the thought of masking the trim, the window frames, etc. Instead, I used a roll of the Glad Press and Cling wrap, I would paint an area, then move the cling wrap to another area when I was ready to paint. No pulling off paint, no sticky mess from the masking tape. Clean up was a breeze!
By jjjtobyfan
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Uses For An Old Waterbed
If you have the old super-single size waterbed with the cubby hole type headboard you can turn it on its side and you have a small bookcase for your kids' books. Mount it on the wall in your craft room, laundry room or garage for extra storage.
Take the boards that make the frame and you can make a raised platform garden for your vegetables. They also make great heavy duty shelves. They also make a great see-saw for your kids.
Take the waterbed mattress and put a long slit down the middle and then cut the corners to flatten, dig a hole and use it to line your new pond.
The chip board foundation boards can be used anywhere you need some wood.
By Debra In Colorado
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Cooking With Crackers
Crackers of all kinds, plain or sweet, salted or seasoned in other ways, can be ground in a blender or placed in a plastic bag and rolled with a rolling pin to give you crumbs to use in meat loaf, meatballs, chicken croquettes, fish patties and for a variety of toppings for baked vegetables, meat pies or puddings.
The addition of slightly sweetened crackers often gives a good taste to a ground meat dish.
By Joesgirl
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Marking the Date Purchased on Food
When I come home from the supermarket with 'staples' for my pantry shelves (cans, boxes, pkgs., etc.), I use a black permanent marker and record the date I purchased the item: Ex. 10/1/04.
By Lynn in Norfolk, VA
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Barrette Holder
Now this can be made by kids with just a little help from mom and can be made for gifts for their friends or for themselves. This would also make a nice craft for a birthday party.
You will need:
- 1 large sun hat per kid
- 1 skein of yarn in brown, black, gold, or red your choice
- One hot glue gun or Alene's quick dry glue.
- Pieces of Cardboard cut in pieces about 2 feet long
- Some silk flowers and ribbons
Directions:
Decorate sun hat with silk flowers and other trims. Have children wrap yarn around the pieces of cardboard about fifty times. Tie off one end by slipping a piece of yarn through the loops on the cardboard and tying a knot. Now cut the other end. Divide the yarn ends into 3 equal bunches and braid. Make two braids this way. Now attach your braids to the hat with the hot glue or Alene's quick drying glue. The barrettes are put onto the braids hanging down from the hat and the hat can be hung on the wall. These are very cute.
By Debra in Colorado
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Foodsaver Tip: Labelling Meat for Freezer
After putting meat to be vacuumed into the Foodsaver bag, I then enclose the cut-out from the supermarket meat sticker/description indicating cut of meat, weight, date, etc. Then I 'seal' the meat and record the date of the sealing with a black permanent marker.
By Lynn in Norfolk, VA
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Barbie Condo - Recycling An Old Bookcase.
Take a small bookcase and add a triangle made of plywood to the top for the roof. Make the triangle the dimension's of the bookcase. Add a back made from plywood or old shelves. Now decorate as you would any dollhouse. You can use gift wrap for wallpaper. Small scraps of carpet for the floors. You can add walls to make smaller rooms.
The plastic Velveeta box that they sell for storing Velveeta can make a pretty bed by cutting out sections of the box leaving the corners for legs. Make a pillow and a bedspread and hang a small cup hook above the bed and drape some fabric down. Old fabric napkins work well for this as some of them are pretty damask.
1 and 2 liter bottles can be used to make chairs with big bead legs. Take contact paper and cut into squares and make windows on the sides and backs of your rooms. A permanent black marker can be used to draw on the panes.
Now turn the Condo around and paint it to look like a building. Paint or contact paper the front. Add a front door and windows. You could then mount this whole thing on a industrial lazy susan so that when she is not playing with it all she has to do is turn it around. Add doors with hinges to close off the front if you like. Old wood can be cut into shingles for the roof.
This could also be made into a fort type structure for a little boy and his action figures or a fantasy castle for other dolls. Be creative and think out of the box.
By Debra in Colorado
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Wooden Spoons
The most useful spoons in the kitchen are a set of long handled wooden ones. They come in 4 or more bowl sizes and are much better than metal for all kinds of stirring and mixing where a whisk will not do. They work well in pots on the stove and thick cake batters. They have innumerable uses. And don't ever, ever leave wooden spoons soaking in water and/or in the dishwasher as this will discolor the wood.
Happy stirring.
By Joesgirl
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Keep Measuring Spoons in Containers
Keep a set of plastic measuring spoons on a ring in each of your flour, sugar & salt canisters. After you've used them, replace them in the canister until next time. No need to wash.
By Joesgirl
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Other Active Topics
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New Requests:
Legitimate Work at Home Jobs
I was wondering if you had any websites/information/etc. on legitimate Work at Home Jobs? I have been searching on the internet off and on for a couple of years now and most everything I have found is a scam.
I would like to work at home as I have two small children at home and then I could work around school schedules, etc. Any advice, info you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Melissa from Illinois
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Looking For Ways To Make Money At Home
I am in great need of finding ways to make money at home. We have a few chickens, ducks , geese, and I am open to any kind of ideas. Crafts? I have tried the surveys online and never received any money.
Lazetta
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Grape Juice stains Off Of Baby Clothes?
Hi, my daughter loves grape juice. And she also loves to smile. However she does both at the same time and now I have stains all over her baby clothes. Any ideas how to remove grape juice stains from a wide variety of colored clothing?
Suzanne S.
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Looking for Advice on Carpet Cleaners
Can someone tell me the name of a good carpet cleaning machine. Would like some input before I buy one. Thinking of Bissell.
Sandy
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Removing Wrinkles From a Leather Coat
I am looking for a way to remove wrinkles from a leather coat. Any suggestions will be most welcome.
Renee Fowler
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Help Making a Large Race Car Cake
I am having a hot wheels party for my son and my mother in law is going to make the cake but I want to give her a little help. I have told her that I want a figure 8 black race car track on the cake and I will put some cars on the track but I have no clue how she is going to make this. Has anyone ever done it before? Can anybody give me some tips to give her? She has never made a race car cake like this before and I am needing it for 40-45 people. Any ideas would be appreciated!
Erricka
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More Reading
Low on Cash for Christmas? Try Gifts in a Jar (Oatmeal Raisin Spice Cookies in a Jar)
By Kristin Johnson
Time is money, and right now you don't have either the time or the money to answer the call of the shopping mall at Christmas. The only way you can show your friends love, peace on earth, goodwill towards men is by shopping at Macy's, so you think.
View Article: Click Here
An Overview of Home Cured Modeling Clays
By Eileen Bergen
To my mind, modeling clay is one of the most fun media to "play" with. From faux beads to small figurines to plaques to Christmas ornaments to adornments for collages or scrapbook pages: every crafter can find an application for clay. Home cured clays which air dry or cure in the oven at low temperature are safe, easy and one of the most affordable crafts around.
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