Daily Thrifty Tips - May 16, 2008

We have sun here in the Pacific Northwest! There has been very little of that this spring so we'll be out enjoying the nice weather. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and has some sunshine to enjoy.

Thanks for reading,

Susan

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Crafting for Fun and Money!

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Recycle Jeans As A Planter

Just a idea I had some time ago to dress up my old jeans. Fill up the legs with pipe and put some boots on. Put a potted plant in the top and put it than on a old stepladder.


By Sara from Australia

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Natural Garden Decor

Really the only decor I use are the beautiful butterflies and bees that come around to visit.

By Peggy from Elizabethtown, NC

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Craft Project: Roman Warrior Shield For Kids

This fun cardboard shield is created to look like a soldier's shield from ancient Rome. It stays on the simple side, to really look authentic.

It has brass brads to give the "metal stud" look of old wooden shields. It also uses bright but simple colors to help keep the shield truly looking like it's from ancient Rome.

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Trinity (Italian Greyhound)

Trinity is 1 year and 8 months old. She is an Italian Greyhound. I got her Christmas 2007 from Pet Land store.

She likes to run and chase stuff. She also loves to jump up to hug you around the neck! Trinity is the most loving dog I have ever known. She is very smart and basically a good dog. She has a brother (our Chihuahua who is 12!) He lets her boss him around and he has never done something like that, lol.

By Khrystaa from South East Florida

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Blue Flowers In Vermont

Spring has finally sprung in Vermont. These pretty blue flowers are all in a patch on my front lawn. What a joy!

By Kate from West Burke, VT

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Craft: Little Gourd Farmers

The little farmers are gourds, painted in the colors you want you can get both straw hats or you can crochet them, which ever you like. The hay bale is styrofoam covered with raffia and I put craft wire for looks. I used the balls that fall out of oak trees, painted them to look like pumpkins, got a couple black birds and glued them on and came out with a pretty neat set.

By Sheri from Stockton, CA

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Use Contact Paper Scraps as Patchwork or Inlay

Contact paper doesn't just have to be used in large blocks. You can use scraps to make patchwork (I did this to re-furbish a semi-sturdy shopping bag.) Or, as inspired by designsponge, use different strips of wood grain to create an inlay effect. Easy! Wood grain contact paper is also great for covering wooden/fiberboard shelves. And I put a strip at the bottom of a found book case to mask some slight damage to the fiberboard base.

Source: me and designsponge.com

By pamphyila from L.A., CA

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Use Shaving Cream for a Shiny Stainless Sink

Spray some men's shaving foam into your stainless steel sink and spread it around with your hand. Let it set for about 5 minutes and then wipe it up with newspaper. Your sink will be shiny as new.

By Mae from Canada

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Use Goo Gone to Remove Sticker Residue

To remove price stickers, bumper stickers, or glue residue try using Goo Gone. I have found it to be the best, fastest, and will not damage. I even used it on t-shirts and jeans after I removed a stick-on label and it left a glue residue. It works great on plastic and glass. I always keep a bottle on hand. It can be purchased at many hardware, discount, and major stores.

Source: This is my own idea after trying different products and other suggestions.

By Linda from Arlington, Texas

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Use Lemon To Fix Sunless Tanning Streaks

Well, its sunless tanning time, if you are as white as a fluorescent lightbulb, like me. I seem to always get streaks, mainly because I get the cheapest sunless tanning lotion on the market. But I heard a great beauty tip that really works. If your "tan" dries and you see streaks, just cut a lemon in half and rub the cut side over the streak until it blends.

By Carol from Landisville, PA

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Creative Cat Litter Box Tips

I have 10 cat litter boxes for our 'always full' cat shelter. Over the years we have learned several things to keep the litter costs down, keep things clean and we make our own litter boxes for some of our big cats.

First, we use large, high sided, plastic totes as litter boxes. We cut a hole in either the front or the side of the tote with a box cutter. (be careful when using the cutter please) These litter boxes fit our Maine Coon mixes (20 lbs. of big cat). The high sides of the boxes allow for any spraying incidents to stay within the box and keeps the litter inside the box as some cats love to really dig.

Second, we have a roll of paper towels and a cleaned, reused dishwashing soap bottle (with a hand-written label on it) filled with a mixture of bleach and water in every room of the house. The mixture is 1/8 part bleach and the rest water. The paper towels and bleach mixture take care of any accidents right away. Having these cleaning supplies within easy reach helps us keep on top of things and is very cost effective.

Third, we use cedar shavings as litter. This is the same type of litter used in small animal cages but we buy it at Wal-mart in very large, compressed bags. Cedar shavings smell wonderful, are very absorbent, have little to no dust, do not track all over the place as bad as most litter and it is bio-degradable. (A word to the wise, do not change your cats litter from one type to another all at once or you are doomed to failure. Go slow. It can take weeks or months, slowly mixing in some of the new litter to the old.) Cedar shavings are inexpensive and you'll feel how light weight the box is when compared to higher priced litter. But, you must change the box out completely about every 3-4 days. Unlike scoopable litters, shavings do not clump. On the plus side, cleaning and refilling the box is fairly easy. A trash can on wheels helps. Empty the litter box, use your handy bottle of bleach mix to clean it, wipe out with a paper towel and refill the box. Soon, you'll have this chore down to a science.

By Marie from Rosenberg, TX

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Washing Windows with Vinegar

Let's go back in time...and make a great window cleaner like Grandma used to make!

Put white vinegar in a spray bottle. Crumple up a sheet of old newspaper.

Spray the window with vinegar and wipe down with the newspaper.

Your windows are now sparkling clean and the environment stays healthy!

By CKDavis from Flagstaff, AZ

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Plant Corn, Beans and Squash Together

In the Three Sisters Garden, Native Americans grew pole beans, corn, and squash all together. How do you grow pole beans on corn. Growing pole beans on corn stalks is a matter of timing. After all danger of frost has passed in your area, create a mound of soil 10 inches high and 3 feet in diameter. Choose a tall corn variety, such as 'Country Gentlemen'. Flatten the top of the mound and plant 7 sweet corn seeds in the center, spacing the seeds about 4 inches apart. After 2 weeks or when the corn plants are at least 10 inches tall, sow 6 pole bean seeds in a circle 6 inches away from the corn plants. Plant squash or pumpkin seeds about a foot away from the corn, you will thin this to the healthiest one later. Keep the mound weeded and watered. When the pole beans are a few inches tall, train them to climb by gently wrapping the shoots around the corn stalks. Once started, the beans will continue to climb on their own.

Source: Got it from a Native American friend

By Sherry from Silverdale WA

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Plant A Wedding Garden

Weddings are expensive. A garden setting should be the least of your problems. I am planting a wedding garden today for $40.

My daughter, Amy, is getting married in my back yard in August and I need masses of flowers for her special day. Plugging in nursery stock is not the answer, as it is too expensive and too hot in August for tender bloomers to survive the transplant process.

It's the beginning of May. I have 14 weeks to get my seed planted, germinated, and up and blooming. I am using all white since it is an evening wedding with quick blooming cosmos, alyssum, zinnia and verbena. Total cost of the seed? $40.

First things first, though. The house is washed, the paint touched up. I did these chores early so I won't be trampling the seedlings later.

The garden is tidied of early spring bloomers such as Shirley poppy, Baby Blue Eyes and forget-me-nots. The shrubs trimmed and perennials deadheaded.

The soil is dug deep with compost. Then my seeds will be sprinkled on the surface with just the lightest cover of amendment.

It is all about water now until the seeds germinate. I am expecting a garden full of white flowers in 60 days.

Source: Cindy McNatt, Homebody blogger at the Orange County Register.

• http://www.ocregister.com/section/gardening-675172/

By wedding gardener at homebody.freedomblogging.com from Orange County

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Egg Carton Seed Starter

A frugal way to start those seeds is to save your paper (not styrofoam) egg cartons! Just add potting soil to each cup, plant the seed, and water. When ready to plant, tear each cup apart, and plant in the garden!

By CKDavis from Flagstaff, AZ

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Refill Smaller Oatmeal Container

I like to buy oatmeal in the large container, but it is too large to keep in the cupboard, so I keep the 18 oz container and refill it when needed from the larger one. The 18 oz fits perfect in the cupboard over the microwave.

Leann from Ohio

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Homemade Spray for Rose Bushes

Ingredients

• 1 gallon of water
• 2 Tbsp. of bleach
• 2 drops of antibacterial dishwashing liquid such as Ajax
• (optional)pinch of cinnamon

Directions

By Bill from Florida

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Best Pancake Recipe

I am looking for the best pancake recipe.

Rose S from Malvern, PA

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Getting Rid of Digger Wasps

While repairing a lawn with patch seed, we noticed small yellow jackets coming out of the ground. How can we get rid of the underground nests now, without interfering with the new growth of our lawn. Help!

ST Kate

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Crafting for Fun and Money!

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.

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What's so Great about a Digital Camera?
By Kelly Ann Butterbaugh

What's so great about a digital camera? I let that question hang as an excuse to stay with my film camera for three years now. In reality, I was too cheap to invest in a new camera. Yet, when my work and my love for snapping pictures made me re-evaluate the investment I learned that digital cameras can actually save you money.

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The Dos And Don'ts Of Buying Trees and Shrubs
By Ellen Brown

Trees and shrubs are a great way to add real value to your landscape. Because they have a lifespan that can potentially outlast you and your house, it pays shop smart. A failure to plan can spell disaster down the road-for your trees and shrubs, and for your pocketbook.

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