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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Craft Project: Spooky Luminieres

Construction paper and modge podge are all it takes to transform ordinary glass jars into a spooky Halloween setting.

Spooky Luminieres

View This Craft: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf44765727.tip.html

When Your Medicine Cabinet Attacks!

If you have a small cabinet like mine, you often open it to having things fall out on you! Today, I got sick of it.

I dug 8 cans out of recycling, and separated what needed to be in there, mostly tubes of stuff, into the cans. Things are mostly hidden, everything is organized, and nothing falls out!

Hope this helps!

PS: You could do this with plastic stuff as well, like the clear tubes that Crystal Lights come in, but they are kind of tall. But, you could also do this in your craft cupboard, tool area, use tuna or cat food cans for the "junk drawer" and more.

By Sandra from Salem OR

When Your Medicine Cabinet Attacks!

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Ollie (Maine Coon)

Ollie is 2 years and 8 months old. He is a Maine Coon. My family gave him to me for my Mothers Day present in 2006.

He likes to follow me around. Help me eat my pineapple. Play with his toy Freddie. Pounce on my 9 lb. Siamese cat. Ollie is by far the most beautiful cat I have ever seen. And I don't believe I'm biased: :)

Ollie is 25 lbs., 4 6inches long from tip of nose to tip of tail. His paws fill the palm of my hand. And his whiskers are about a foot wide. He is considered the "favorite cyber kitty" on my Weight Watcher General Daily Thread message board.

By MacGyverNut from Reno, NV

Ollie (Maine Coon)

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Craft Project: Halloween Bucket

This is a recycled coffee can that you could use for your Halloween candy or just for a decoration.

Halloween Bucket

View This Craft: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf26138774.tip.html

Framed Cosmetic Mirrors As Bathroom Art

Save or collect cosmetic mirrors (pick them up at sales or thrift stores) and hot glue them to an acrylic or glass frame. Some are upside down. You can mat the background with a coordinating fabric of your choice (under the glass). I used a black 100% polyester here. This is a fun and interesting conversation piece that can go where ever you want to hang it! I hung mine in the guest bathroom - over the toilet! Everyone asks about it!

By PJ from Omaha, NE

Framed Cosmetic Mirrors As Bathroom Art

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Tip Contest
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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!

My Frugal Life
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Celebrating The Harvest Season

At our church we do not celebrate Halloween, we celebrate Harvest Season. At the party we use the theme of God's creations. The kids as well as the adults have the option to dress up as any of God's creations of the first 6 days of creation. It's a lot of fun and a success. Some come dressed as vegetables, animals, fish, birds, plants, trees, stars, fruits, sun, clouds, rain, eagles, the globe, Adam, Eve, any many more.

We then group them to their correspondent creation day and have a small parade so everyone can enjoy. The leader announces some thing like "and God created on the fifth day the birds and the sea creatures" then all the birds, fish or sea creatures come out. It's lots of fun and serves as a teaching or review on what God created.

By Cynthia from Jersey City, NJ

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Best All Purpose Cleaning Recipe

I have mixed just about every homemade cleaner "recipe" known to man. It is satisfying and I like knowing I am not putting pollutants and irritants in our home. I have just found the BEST all purpose cleaning mixture ever! It cleans appliances to a sparkle, windows, wood, counter tops, bathroom surfaces, etc It is a disinfectant and anti mildew cleaner as well - and it is cheap, cheap, cheap!

Here is what you need:

1 tsp. borax (buy a box, it will last you forever!)
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1/4 tsp. Murphy's Oil Soap (or generic)
2 cups hot water

Put all in a spray bottle and shake it up! The other thing I like about this is the smell. While vinegar is a great cleaner, I don't enjoy the house smelling like pickles. The Murphy's oil soap is really all you smell (which I like). I used this on my white painted wood cabinets and it cut right through fossilized drips :)

By Carol from Landisville, PA

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Celebrate Halloween All Month Long

We love Halloween and start celebrating October 1. We do at least one different Halloween activity every day leading up to October 31, and most don't require spending money. We start with unpacking our decorations on the 1st. In addition to attending several community events, we get Halloween library books, reserve seasonal DVDs from the library, read scary stories in the tent in the backyard after dark, make Halloween treats in the kitchen, take baths in the dark while playing spooky music, the list goes on and on - for 31 days! I have two preschoolers, and we've been doing this since the older one was two years-old.

By Britt from Boston, MA

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Using Velcro on Outside Surfaces

I saw the tips on using Velcro. I put my house address numbers up on the aluminum pillars on my front porch with Velcro about 6 yrs ago. Still up and holding. I used it also to attach my door bell button to the front of my house on the vinyl siding. It works great.

By Toni from Wood River

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Saving Money While Paying Bills

We are all into saving money and hopefully put away something for a rainy day. I have tried this and it works for me. I have a lot of medical bills and other bills in general that I am trying to pay off. Since I set myself up on a monthly budget, here's how I can pay the bills down and save at the same time.

Once I come to the end of paying off a bill, I still continue to take out of my paycheck the same amount for that particular bill. I put half on another bill and the other half in a savings account or CD. Now each time I pay a bill off, I do the same thing to the next bill. That money was already earmarked, so I am not missing any extras.

By Georgetta from Waterloo, IA

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Frugal Crossword Puzzle Gift Idea

This is a frugal holiday or birthday gift idea for people who like crossword puzzles. If you get the daily newspaper, or have a neighbor who does (and doesn't do the crosswords), do this:

Cut out the crossword puzzle, and find the page that has the solution on it. Staple, glue, tape, or otherwise fasten the puzzle and the solution back-to-back so each puzzle has its answers right with it. Collect as many puzzles as you'd like to give. You could one from every newspaper for a year and give it for Christmas or a birthday.

Add a pen, a cheap clipboard or other hard surface, and whatever else you think would go with a bunch of crossword puzzles. Put it in a box and wrap it with (what else?) the Sunday comics.

If your friend gets the same paper you do, ask a neighbor who gets a different paper, or gather old crossword books and cut out the used ones and their solutions.

If they really like a challenge, don't attach the solutions. Either put them in, loose (and they have to sort them out) or don't include them at all.

And when they're done with the puzzles, they can be thrown in the recycling bin (minus the staple or tape.)

Source: I got this idea because I usually keep the section of our newspaper that has the comics, but I kept the WHOLE section. I have slowly been going through them and cutting out the comics I wanted to keep, and any undone crossword puzzles, and of course, I want the solutions, so I attach those, too. So I have this folder of thirty or so crossword puzzles.

By Saber from Omaha, NE

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Making Wedding Invitations With Free Fonts

You can make your own wedding invitations look stunning (just as stunning as some letterpress stationery) by using carefully selected fonts and dingbat illustrations.

Dingbats are like fonts, you just download them like fonts and then type. The illustrations just appear like letters - and best of all you can pick up loads of different types of illustrations for free. A search for 'free dingbats' will uncover loads of illustrations.

You'll find borders, frames, animals, snowflakes, motifs, ornamental decorations, plants, flowers, the list goes on! All are perfect for your wedding invitations.

So all you need to do is set up the layout in Word and use a little dingbat as a monogram or part of your design and you'll have stunning homemade wedding invitations that you can print out for next to nothing on your home printer.

By Nicola from London
http://www.wedding-invitation-ideas.com

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Use Dry Erase Pen To Mark Leftovers

To find leftovers easy, mark the plastic food containers with a dry-erase pen. The pen will wash off easily.

By Joy from Dayton, Ohio

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Watch Out For Garlic Allergies

This is a kind of 'warning' tip. I've noticed that many recipes have garlic in them, garlic cloves, minced garlic etc. It might not be well known but many of us are allergic to garlic, including me. I only get upset stomach and headache, but have a friend who is so allergic to garlic she goes into anaphylactic shock if ever she should accidentally eat it, and has to always carry an antidote injection with her. So please, if you are cooking for a church supper, or any crowd thing, always warn that there is garlic in the food, and perhaps have another non garlic option available.

By Ellie from Melbourne Australia

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Dear Webby's Joke of the Day

Two elderly women were trying on shoes in our store. When I slipped a shoe onto one woman's foot, the end of my tie got caught beneath her heel. Unaware of my predicament, she stood up and started toward the mirror. For a few seconds, I found myself crawling along the floor beside her, trying to get her attention.

"Look, Martha," her friend said. "he wants to go home with you!"

Read More Jokes Here: http://webby.com/humor

Getting Rid of Mice

We live in the woods, and recently some field mice have found their way into the house. We need some advice on getting rid of them without danger to pets.

Linda from NJ

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Wood Keeps Oozing Sap

We have a wooden fire surround and the wood has not been sealed and therefore it oozes sap continuously. What can I do to stop this?

Soope from St. Frichoux, France

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Non-Toxic Grout Cleaner

Can someone recommend non toxic cleaner for grout for ceramic floor tiles. Grout is discolored from daily traffic.

Sharon from Ontario, Canada

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Creative Gift Ideas for My Boyfriend's Birthday

I just remembered that my boyfriend of 3 years is turning 20 next Sunday (October 12). I feel really bad for forgetting! I never do that. I've just been so busy. I don't want him to know I forgot. The problem is I am a broke college girl. I'm in art school and I'm naturally creative. I usually think of quirky ideas for gifts, but after 3 years with someone, my ideas are running dry!

He attends Ohio State University, but he's not too into sports or cars. He's a theatre major and just as quirky as me. Here are some things I've already done: his favorite gift was for valentines 2 years ago, I made him fortune cookies and put love notes in each one. I also tracked down his favorite childhood book, "Where The Wild Things Are". Last Christmas I made him a robe (I'm a fashion design student). Last year for his birthday I gave him a dorm survival kit and I made him a birthday apple pie, candles and all.

Once I designed a mug with our picture on it and had it made. I've done a lot of cute little unique things. What makes it worse is he spent quite a bit of money on me for my birthday 3 months ago. The Lion King musical came to town so he bought us tickets to see it ($50 a piece). And I couldn't afford an ipod, so he bought me a used one on ebay. Any ideas would be appreciated!

Gretchen from Columbus, OH

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Bedroom Feels Damp

My bedroom feels constantly damp, so does my bedding and clothes. I cannot find the source of the problem. There is no dampness on any of the walls or floor and I cannot find any cracks that might be letting in air. Does anyone have any ideas?

Kyla from Ireland

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Could This Be Spatini?

As a Spatini user for over 30 years, I too was devastated by Spatini's demise. This week, at Weis Markets, I discovered that Lawry's is now marketing a "Spaghetti Sauce" mix in individual packets. Is it possible that this is Spatini repackaged and sold singly?

EIW from Lancaster, PA

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Dye Transfer on Clothing

I just got a brand new lulylemon hoodie. I pulled it out of the dryer this morning and it has blue dye stains all over it! It is Purple and white. How do I get the stains out?

Hailey from Canada

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Putting Plastic on the Inside and Outside of Windows

I have a question about plastic on windows. Can you put in on both the inside and out?

John

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Canning Stuffed Peppers

I want to can stuffed sweet peppers. Why can't I put the cooked stuffing before I put into a raw sweet pepper and put the pepper in a jar? Pressure canning it at 10# for 90 minutes should be OK I would think.

Sherry from MN

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Damaged Christmas Cactus

Squirrels devoured my 3 Christmas Cactus. They looked beautiful through the summer and my husband noticed, yesterday, that they were stumps. I want to try and salvage them. Is there any hope?

Hardiness Zone: 6a

Auntdebbie224 from Newtown Square, PA

Damaged Christmas Cactus

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What Breed Is My Dog?

What breed is my dog I know his mom was a chihuahua? I have no idea what his dad was?

Tara from Winamac, IN

What Breed Is My Dog?

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Removing Oil Stain On Carpet

My husband prepared to drink his morning health drink of Odwalla Superfood fruit juice with about 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Well, he spilled it on our carpet. I used our Bissell steam cleaning machine with Bissell deep cleaning liquid on it, the juices came out but I can still see the oil stain. Is there anything else that I can use to remove the olive oil stain from my carpet?

Janice from Selah, WA

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Natural Remedy For Centipedes

Does anyone have a natural solution for getting rid of centipedes? I live in a first floor duplex and have been noticing more of them in the cold weather.

Chicago-girl from Chicago

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Using Acetone In Microwave

I'm concerned about using acetone in my microwave. Is it dangerous to use in a device meant for cooking?

Jo

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Clear Plastic Boxes For Note Cards

Could you help me in finding clear plastic boxes (top and bottom) for note cards measuring 4 5/8 in. X 6 1/8 in. X 1 in. in size? I am having a terrible time finding them. Thanks.

Susie

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Getting Husband and Cat To Get Along

How do you get your new husband to get along with your 10-year old male cat? My cat is peeing around his things and hides from him and my husband teases him. :(

Lesley from San Antonio, TX

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Making A Living Wreath

I have a large group of lavender plants and want to make a wreath. I have never done one and could use any suggestions on how to go about starting. Thanks.

Kathy from Lawrenceville, NJ

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5-Gallon Buckets With Screw-On Lids

I am looking for new, cheap 5 gallon buckets with screw-on lids that have rubber gaskets. Anyone know where I can find them?

Jessica from Wooster, AR

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Canning Minestrone Soup

I have made minestrone soup and canned it. I have found that when I open the bottles, the minestrone has an off-flavor. I have eaten the soup anyway with no consequences. What I would like to know is what is causing this off-flavor? Is it a certain vegetable or the way I can the soup?

Louisa

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Removing Blinds To Clean

How do you remove blinds in order to clean them?

Sylvia from Mesa, AZ

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Car Has No Power When Accelerating

Several days ago I bought a 1992 Mitsubishi Mirage. It's exactly the same car with the same size engine as my 1991 Dodge Colt so I know how it's supposed to perform. The Mirage lacks power when accelerating suddenly, like from a dead stop into traffic (dangerous) and also from 55 to a faster speed on the freeway. I just had a full tune up thinking this might be the problem and but it didn't help.

I also put fuel ejector cleaner into the gas tank as well as running premium gas and this also hasn't helped. The car only has 95,000 miles on it because it has sat for months at a time during it's long life (this is why I had everything changed that could rust during the tune up). It may sound strange, but it reminds me of the old days when you needed to adjust the choke. I would very much appreciate any advice from all you mechanics out there in cyberspace.

Cyinda from near Seattle

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Wooden Table Damaged By Pine-Sol

My husband cleaned our nice wooden table with Pine-Sol? Now it has white streaks everywhere and looks very dull and ruined. Any ideas on how to remove these? Thanks.

Stacey from Stephenson, VA

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Themes For Formal STUCO Dance

I'm the STUCO president and we have a dance Nov. 7, 2008 and its a formal one. I need themes. Any ideas?

Natalie from Charleston, MO

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Making Peppermint Oil

Does anyone know what the process is for making Peppermint oil? I have a whole lot of it growing wild. Thanks.

Marcia from Spokane, WA

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CD-R Recommendations For Burning Music

I have been using Memorex CDs to make a copy of my music and pictures off of my computer. I have problems with my CD player in my car when I use these CDs that I have made. They skip a lot, and a lot of the times the player is not able to read them at all. My son has the same problem with the system in his truck when he tries to use the CDs that he has made. Which leads me to believe that the quality of the CDs is not good.

Can anyone recommend a good-quality CD to use to make a copy? I can back up my files from my computer using other means, but I find that making CDs to play in my car is the easiest way to go for me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Carole from Locust Fork, Alabama

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Black Puck Marks On Goalie Equipment

How can I get the black puck marks off my sons goalie equipment?

Jack

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Cream Of Turkey and Rice Soup Recipe

Winter months are approaching. Does anyone have a good recipe for a Cream of Turkey with Rice soup?

Sue from Reading, PA

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Salsa Is Too Sweet

I bought some black bean and white corn salsa. The salsa is a little too sweet for my taste. What can I add or do to it to make it not so sweet?

Liz from Tolono, IL

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Stainless Steel Sink Stained By Lime Away

I need to know how to restore my brand new stainless steel sink? I put Lime Away on it and let it stand while I mopped and when I came back to clean it off it had dulled in the places that the lime away dripped down. Please tell me there is a way to fix this?

Jennifer from Florida

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Things To Do Near XL Center (Hartford, CT)

I will be attending a concert at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on Nov. 30th. What is there to do in close proximity to the center before the concert (ie. dining, shopping)?

az2010 from East Hampton, MA

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Baking Breads In A Can

I want to bake banana bread and other types of sweet bread in a 26.5 ounce can. How long do I bake it?

Mary from Houston, Texas

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Ideas For My 17th Birthday

I'm turning 17 in December, and I have no idea what to do for my party. Originally, I wasn't going to even have one, but all my friends insisted, so I didn't even start planning until about 2 days ago. I'm only having a small party, with about 5 boys and 5 girls.

I can't have any kiddy games. Also, some of the guests are under 16, and my parents are going to be there. As well as my brothers, my aunties and uncles, so no kissy games! I searched everywhere, but nothing seems to fit. Please help!

Tiana from Sydney, NSW

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Recipes To Use Up Eggs

My chickens and ducks are laying in triple overdrive. Normally I can make noodles and angel food cake to use up the extras, but I have at least 3 hens who are laying twice a day. The family is getting tired of omelets, deviled eggs, egg salad, and egg based casseroles. I need some new recipes that use LOTS of eggs. Any ideas?

Please don't tell me to give them away or sell--I have been! I still have had about 18 extra eggs a day for the last few days.

April from NW Missouri

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Calgary Flames Cross Stitch Pattern

I am looking for either a cross stitch or plastic canvas pattern for the hockey team Calgary Flames.

Pico from St. Paul, Alberta

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Black Ink On White Micro Suede

How do I clean black ink out of white micro suede?

Jessi from Franklinton, LA

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Bugs In Compost Pile

I started composting a year ago. I'm not regular about turning, nor consistent about my mix of greens and browns. From what I have read I'm Cold Composting, although my bin got pretty hot when I started adding grass clippings.

I'm finally starting to see some real composted material when I do turn the pile. Which is great, as soon as I can figure out how to separate the compost from the stuff that's still "cooking".

My question is about the bugs that I see in the bin. During the summer I have a lot of fruit flies. Now that it is cooler, I'm seeing other bugs running around in the pile. I'm not sure what kind of bug they are. What kinds of bugs should I expect to see and which ones should signal a problem with the pile?

Hardiness Zone: 3b

Corene from Neenah, WI

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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.

More Information:
Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml

Using Arrowroot

Description:

Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) is a large perennial herb found in rainforest habitats normally in the West Indies. It is used as a thickening agent for gravies and sauces and will give a nice gloss when added to food. It is considered easier on the stomach than other thickening agents.

Arrowroot Powder

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Daily Thrifty Tips - October 9, 2008

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