Daily Thrifty Tips - March 7, 2008

If you are planning on submitting an Easter tip, recipe or craft, try to submit them next week so we can publish them in advance of the holiday on the 23rd. It's early this year!

You have probably received the March 5th Daily this morning. We noticed it hadn't been sent so sent it.

Don't forget to set your clocks forward this Sunday for Daylight Savings Time. For more information visit:

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf22644766.tip.html

Thanks for reading,

Susan

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Crafting for Fun and Money!

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Tired Granddaughter

Today after coming home from lunch, my grand daughter (2 years) was awfully quiet. I went into the living room to see what she was up to and found this. She had fallen asleep leaned over on the recliner with her head covered. Needless to say, Grandma carried her to bed and she never woke up.

By Donna from Millbury

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Craft: EZ Easter Egg Danglers

This charming egg-themed piece of art is created from 3 tiny, colorful plastic eggs and adorable pink ribbon. It can be used as decoration for a doorknob, wall, cabinet, window, drawer, or even rear-view mirror. The eggs can be decorated in a variety of ways, the only real limit is the crafter's imagination. Little gems or stickers can be glued to the egg, or designs can be painted by hand. Glitter spray or plain old glitter and glue can create a really fancy looking piece of art. Small ribbons and fabric flowers are perfect for a true springtime effect. It's a super easy, super fast, and very cheap way to bring some springtime joy to any area.

Approximate Time: about 45 minutes without drying time

Supplies

• 3 small plastic eggs, 1 and 1/2 inches long
• 69 inches of pink ribbon
• 10 inches of "other" colored ribbon
• yellow craft spray paint
• pink craft paint
• paintbrush
• super glue or craft glue
• scissors
• one decorative flower or bow, at least 1 and 1/2 inch big.

Instructions

1. Take plastic eggs and use a toothpick, needle, or straightened paper clip to poke a small hole in the wide sided bottom. Use a toothpick or paper-clip stuck in the hole as a handle while painting.
2. Use craft spray-paint or regular craft paint and paint the eggs in assorted colors. Keep the handle in the egg, and place egg in small cup to let dry. You'll probably have to do a second coat for an even and smooth finish, so paint the eggs again, and let dry once more. If hand-painting the eggs, a third coat might be needed, so don't be afraid to repeat the paint and dry step again. Spray paint gives a shiny looking finish, hand-painting with craft paint will not. If a shiny look is desired when using craft paint, try some clear, glossy varnish made for general crafts. But wait and do the egg decorating in the next step before varnishing the craft paint.
3. Use a little craft paint and a paintbrush to create a design on the eggs. Try "natural egg" blotches like in the photo, or try a glitter spray, stamping, stickers, or whatever you want to decorate the eggs. Let dry. If spray varnish is desired, now is the time to spray it on and let dry completely.
4. Pick a shiny, thin pink ribbon, and cut 2 pieces 13 and 1/2 inches long, 2 pieces 16 inches long, and one piece 10 inches long. Pick a different colored ribbon and cut one piece 10 inches long.
5. Fold the 10 inches pink ribbon in half and use a tiny dab of glue on the wide sided bottom of the egg where you made the hole. Press the fold of the ribbon into the glue and hold for five seconds. Wipe off any glue that got on the egg outside of the ribbon. Attach 13 and 1/2 inch ribbon to an egg as described, and a 16 inch ribbon to an egg. Let dry.
6. Once dry, gather up the ribbons with eggs and make sure that all ribbon ends meet evenly, so that the eggs are hanging unevenly. Tie the top of the ribbons in a sturdy knot. Take the two remaining pink ribbons and drape them loosely around a doorknob and tie them in a loop with a knot. Slide the two knots next to each other, the one with the eggs hanging down, and the one with the plain ribbons on-top. Use assorted color ribbon to securely tie the two knots together with a bow. Now there are lots of easy, festive ribbons dangling around. Use a bow or flower and tie or glue it over the knots, in the middle of the bow.
7. Hang from door, wall, cupboard, or rear-view mirror and enjoy!

By Aysha from Boise, Idaho

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Perler Beads Christmas Village

This is a Christmas village. All the houses and the people, fences and snowman were all made from Perler beads. I had to count the beads and use the peg boards to make them. Then I had to iron all of them so they could stay together. Then I made a platform for the village to sit on. I then hot glued the pieces in place where they are now. This was very time consuming but it is fun to work with the beads.

By Susan from Towanda, PA

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Cookie (Terrier/Poodle Mix)

My doggie is called Cookie. We think he is about 4.5 years old. The vet thinks he is a terrier/poodle mix. He is all shades of grey and sliver with some light brown when his fur is long.

I live alone and had recently been burgled. All my friends told me I should get a dog but I had never had one before (I've always been a cat person but developed allergies as I got older). After the burglary, I decided that I would give it a try so I posted an advert in the local paper asking for a companion dog that was not a puppy, house trained and quiet. All my friends told me I was nuts and that I would never find such a perfect dog but I did! The first woman who contacted me had found a 6-month old puppy that had been abandoned by the side of the road and took it home. She cared for it for a year but as it got older, it became jealous of her other four dogs and she knew that she would have to find a good home for it. She saw my advert and that was how I got my Cookie and made a wonderful new friend.

For fun, Cookie likes to go to the park. Every morning when we leave our building, his girlfriend, Gina, is waiting outside and away we all go. It is so comical to see them together as Gina is an old, Doberman mix who is a street dog and is fed by everyone in the neighborhood and then there is little Cookie next to her!

Cookie is a wonderful companion and I only wish I had realized what great pets dogs are many years ago. He is loyal, quiet (he only barks for a reason), loves to play, never fights with other dogs, likes cats and is so well-behaved in the house I still can't believe it. We have been together for almost three years now and I can't imagine my life without him.

By lisingreece from Thessaloniki, Greece

Editor's NoteHere is a previous post about Cookie:

• Cookie Bear (Poodle/Terrier Mix)

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Lots of Flowers in a Small Space

My name is Terry, and I live in Staten Island, NY. My yard is very small so I tried to put as many flowers as I could in a small space.

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Mr. Clean Magic Eraser For The Kitchen

I use the regular Mr, Clean sponge for about everything. I use it on my flat top stove. Before I tried it, I used the cleaner you get with your appliance, it always left a residue. The Mr, Clean sponge works with hardly any effort and doesn't leave a residue, to have to clean up after, you clean. And it doesn't scratch!

I also used it on my granddaughters tennis shoes. They are all leather now, and you really shouldn't use soap and water. This took the grass stains off in a sec.

By Rita Cox from Springfield, Mo.

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Buying Mistake Paint For Less Than Half Price

Did you know that when a store employee in the paint department makes a mistake mixing paint, or a customer isn't happy with the color that's been mixed for them and refuses to buy the already mixed paint, stores like Home Depot put these "pre-mixed" colors on a special "sale" table, sometimes with discontinued paints (that CAN be mixed to suit.) These "pre-mixed" paints are greatly reduced. I've been able to like find a pre-mixed color that I've liked on most occasions, and for a VERY good price, too! Home Depot sell their "Mix-ups" for about "half-price" or around $9, but the Fred Meyer stores around here (greater Seattle area) sell their "pre-mixed paint mistakes" which include Dutch Boy and Glidden brand paints for only $5 per gallon! You can't beat THAT! That goes for ALL types of paints including indoor, outdoor, masonry paint & discontinued transparent and opaque deck and fence stains too!

Most stores refuse to add any other colors to the already mixed colors, but they CAN match the "miss-matched" color you're buying with a computer most times and if you know even "just a little bit" about mixing colors, you can easily come up with a paint color you like for less than half the usual price. Sometimes you can just buy a quart of white paint and mix that with the color you've bought to lighten it up a bit.

I've also had great success with finding high quality paints for only $5 per gallon at Liquidation Stores. They have great (discontinued) colors, for only a fraction of the price! It's easy to find these discount gallons at Liquidation stores, but at stores like Fred Meyer and Home Depot, you may have to ask where their miss-matched paint table is, as they don't always make it obvious that you can buy less expensive paint from them! In my local Home Depot, it's on a shelf behind the paint mixing center. Just ask them where it is, odds are, they have a "sale table" hidden somewhere in the paint area, as they'd usually rather sell it for less than throw it away!

By Cyinda from near Seattle

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Easy Tips On Being Green

This came home from school with my 4th grader one day last week:

20 Easy Tips On Being Green*

1. If it glows, unplug it until you are ready to use it
2. Dress for the weather
3. When carpooling-turn your car off
4. Cleaning? Use distilled vinegar, baking soda and liquid detergent
5. Spill something? Use a wash cloth instead of paper towels
6. Don't want it? Donate it!
7. Eat vegetarian once a week. It is easier on the environment to raise produce than to raise animals
8. Widen the margins on your Word documents
9. Reuse the cup sleeves from your coffee shop
10. If it doesn't stink or is not stained, re-wear it!

Adopt a new attitude! Learn more at http://www.AtoZrecycling.com/

Source: Harmony Elementary School in Prospect, KY (Wednesday Take Home folder)

By Diana from Prospect, KY

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Marking Cleaning Rags

When I have old stained tea towels, hand towels, facecloths or dishcloths, I use them for rags. The way I identify them so I don't use them again for good linen is to cut the towels in half and cut the corners off the facecloths and dishcloths.

By Sheila from Ontario

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Use Bottle Caps as Molds

Press air drying clay into bottle caps and smooth with a blunt knife or tool. The clay will shrink as it dries (may take a few days, especially in wet weather) and should easily fall out of the bottle cap mold when dry (you can coax it out with a toothpick if needed)

You can lightly sand the molded clay, drill a hole into it, paint it, etc. Use for beads and other crafts.

By Laura from Long Beach, CA

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Shred Newspapers And Magazines For Packing

A good way to recycle magazines and newspapers is to put them in a paper shredder and use the shreds for packing parcels! This works great! Looks neat too if you use magazines as the shreds are colourful.

Source: I wrote this tip

By Lisa from Halifax

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Buy Birthday Gifts Throughout The Year

Shopping for Birthday gifts for yet another birthday party left me frazzled. It was always the same thing; what to get a child, how to stay in my budget and how to stop the last minute "I need a gift" shuffle?

Now when I find a good buy (usually a board games, craft items or books/picture frames or albums), I will buy 2 or 3 of the same item and store them under the bed for use at the next birthday party. We have given Cranium games (purchased right after Christmas for $8) and ALL about me books (for $5), Origami kits for $5 and for the teens 3-D photo frames for $5 from the Hallmark store). My daughters always have a unique gift to give and it has not broken the bank and prevents me from making a mad dash to the store for a gift, saving the gas money. Keep the receipts attached to the gift for easy returns.

By Diana from Prospect, KY

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Use Dawn Dishsoap As A Spot Remover

I have tried all kinds of spot removers for clothes. I had a stain on a white sweater one day and had to change it, so I could go to work. That night as I was doing the laundry, there was my sweater. What could I use. I saw my Dawn dish washing detergent on my kitchen counter, and thought, why not? I put a small dot on the stain, threw it in my washer. and it was gone when I took it out. I use the original one.

By Rita Cox from Springfield, Mo

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Use Honey as a Rooting Hormone for Cuttings

Prepare cuttings in the usual manner, however dip the ends of the cuttings in honey instead of rooting powder and you will have a high success rate. An old gardener friend has used this method for over forty years and he believes that the hormones produced by the honey promotes rapid root growth.

By Jan from Poona Queensland Australia

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Recycle Every Part Of Your Morning Coffee

After I've sprinkled my used coffee grounds around my plants and fruit trees,

• Sprinkle Used Coffee Grounds Around Plants

• Homemade Fire Starters

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My Bunny's Litter Box

My cat and my rabbit get along perfect and I hate keeping animals cooped up in cages so I don't put him in one. My cat I just got is in love with my rabbit, they play and sleep together, so he has no problem with any of this, but the thing is we have a litter box for my cat and one for my bunny. The problem is my cat goes in the bunnies litter box! So what do you think I should do? I keep their litter boxes far apart, but I'm probably going to put them together.

By Olivia from Stryker, Ohio

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Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I've seen this on TV but never knew how to make it. It's the different colored flat bottomed ice-cream cones that have I guess cake mix inside with icing on top. Like a cupcake but in an ice-cream cone. I'm guessing its just cake mix inside, but how much do I put and can I bake that?

Priscilla from Zwolle

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Does Splenda Cause Cancer?

I heard yesterday that Splenda, the sweetener is supposed to cause cancer. Is this true?

Coleta from Graham, Texas

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Starting a Cleaning Business

I am looking to start a cleaning business and not sure if I should go into just cleaning offices or cleaning out homes after people move out and before others move in. Anyone have any experience or advice on this to share?

DLynn

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Finding Inexpensive Flooring

I am remodeling my house and have run short on cash. We have everything done but the painting and the flooring. Where can I find inexpensive carpet for a living room and two small bedrooms? We have two small bath rooms that need flooring as well.

Felisha from Fayetteville, AR

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Looking for Large Wooden Clothespins

I am trying to find large wooden clothes pins to hang on my washroom wall. Does any one know where to look?

Judith from Hummels Wharf, PA

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Reducing Shedding With Your Dog

"Tis the season to be shedding." My dog has a very thick coat, very short hair. I can't get a brush nor a comb through to the skin. We bathe him 1/week, but he is now shedding hair and 'dandruff'.

I tried brushing his fur backwards with my hand (pressing hard), and loosened a lot of debris, but it's not enough. Suggestions?

Holly from Richardson, TX

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Refinishing Hardwood Floors

My husband and I bought a home last year that was built in 1880. It was time to rip up the carpet to see what was underneath and there is a hard wood floor. It obviously needs a lot of work since they had glued linoleum tile on it years back.

My question is since it's the only layer of wood between the basement and the room (1 inch thick boards) is it a bad idea to sand it and refinish it and use it as the floor instead of putting new wood on top? I'd like to refinish it but there are some gaps that would need to be filled in and it would need re-staining etc. Any advice would be great.

Jen from Cincinnati, Ohio

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Getting Rid of Poop Odor

My two dogs have started pooping in the house and I have tried everything from bleach to vinegar to get rid of the smell, nothing is working. I have had to open the windows to help somewhat disburse the smell, but still can smell it. Please any suggestions will be appreciated to get rid of this smell.

Amy from Evansdale

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Gardening at a Rental House

I've recently moved into a new house and last Sunday I started cleaning out my front flower bed. Come to find out its full of gravel! I've been told not to worry, to just put down top soil. I've also been told to sift the gravel out. The soil is also super silty.

I've also started morning glory, sunflower, zinnia's, moon flowers, and salvia seeds. They are all planted in regular soil from my garden (minus the gravel) in an egg crate in my kitchen. Can I water them with miracle grow to help them along, or will that burn them? I know morning glory is voracious but I've got trellises and the time to cut them back when needed.

Also, any idea for a small colorful (preferably blooming ) tree I can plant in a very large barrel for my front yard? I'm a renter but I'd like to have a pretty little tree.

Hardiness Zone: 10a

Marisa from Santa Maria, California

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Dental Work Done Without Insurance

I am just starting my first full-time job, so I do not have dental insurance and have not had for several years. I do have a discount plan, but I have some major dental work that I REALLY need done! I don't know if I should take a loan to get me started, or what. Does anyone have any ideas?

teedee from Crown Point

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Is Gunk Liquid Wrench Available in Canada?

I'm living in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. I am interested in the Gunk Liquid Wrench. Is this product available here? If it is, which store can I buy it from.

Riaz

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Rabbits Eating Flowers and Plants

How can I keep rabbits from eating my plants? They eat everything: vegetables, flowers, shrubs, ornamental grasses.

Hardiness Zone: 7b

Alicia from Raleigh, NC

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Free Crochet Patterns for Girls' Sizes 10/12

I am looking for free crochet patterns for size 10/12 girls. I can find lots of little girls, but it is hard to find this. Any suggestions appreciated.

Prudence from College Park, Maryland

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Ideas for 6th Birthday Party

My beautiful daughter is turning 6 in June of this year. I am looking for something to do for her birthday that she will absolutely love. We've done swimming, parks, etc. I want this one to stand out. If anyone can help I would love the advice.

Mindy

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Color That Goes with Steel Gray and Potter's Clay

What color goes with Steel Gray and Potter's Clay?

Gail

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Rolodex Style Recipe Holder

I am looking for a recipe holder not a book or box but something in the Rolodex type. I really would appreciate your help. Thank you.

Libby

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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:
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Daylight Saving Time - Spring Ahead This Sunday

It's time to change our clocks forward one hour on Sunday, March 9, 2008. This is for the US, the European Union's Summer Time starts on March 30th. Clocks should be moved forward Sunday morning at 2 AM, making it now 3 AM.

Some computer clocks may change in a few weeks because the date has been moved up, check with your computer manufacturer to get a patch or a fix, if necessary.

Enjoy your extra hour this Sunday. Take this opportunity to check your smoke alarm batteries as well.

If you want any more information about Daylight Saving Time, try this link:

http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html

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Attracting Hummers To Your Garden
By Ellen Brown

One of the greatest joys of having a flower garden is watching the hummingbirds dart from flower to flower-wings buzzing away while their tiny bodies hover in mid air. Late winter signals the start of the hummingbird migration as they head back to their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada. The males will return first, with the females arriving a few days behind them. Here are some tips for attracting hummers to your garden this year.

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Making Indoor Water Gardens

Question:

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