Volume Five, Number 152, August 11, 2006
http://www.ThriftyFun.com
Hello,
Be sure to look in the More Reading section of today's issue for some interesting articles we have online. The My Frugal Wedding article was written by my oldest daughter, Jessica, who had an inexpensive but wonderful wedding and is still happily married with two kids. It was a fabulous wedding and cost less than $2,000.
Below are the winners for tips submitted last week. It was very difficult to pick winners this week. There were a lot of deserving tips and photos. Thank you to everyone that took time to submit a recipe, tip or photo.
Tip Contest Winners
Cooking For My Truck Driver Husband
By Sheila from Port St. John, FL
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf54587767.tip.html
Homemade Thank You Cards
By Brandy from Little Rock, AR
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf48214501.tip.html
Photo Contest Winner
New Way to Use Solar Lights
By Jennifer In CA
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf88835264.tip.html
Have a great weekend,
Susan
Today's newsletter contains:
Today's Photos:
Today's Tips:
New Requests:
More Reading:
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Today's Photos
| Teddy Cat
Teddy is 5 years old. He was born here in the house. We had his mommy and daddy.
He likes to get into my craft room and find things to play with. He is just a sweetheart that we love very much. He is our child now that our boys have grown and have families of their own.
By Barbara Grow from Rothbury, Michigan
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| Resizing Baking Pans
Don't have the correct size baking pan for a cake or casserole? Downsize a larger one by simply molding a piece of heavy duty foil and fitting it in the pan to adjust for the desired dimensions as shown. You could also add a second piece of foil perpendicular to the one in place to adjust the width of the pan as well as the length. Then line the entire pan with parchment or a sheet of foil and pour in batter or casserole ingredients. This has worked many times for me in a pinch when the pan I had on hand was too big and I did not want to end up with a flat cake.
By Carolyn Chen from Bellevue, WA
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| A Birthday Greeting Sheet
A few years ago, my children who were in their late teens decided to spray paint a bedsheet as a birthday card and hang it outside. It is a creative way to say Happy Birthday to someone and it is a keepsake. You can use any color sheet and any size sheet.
We hang the sheet on the side of the garage or between two trees or even a swing set and have different colors of spray paint. When the guests arrive, they spray paint their greeting onto the sheet; we also have permanent marker pens for people who don't like to use spray paint.
The guest of honor celebrating their birthday is taken outside before the gifts are opened and looks at the Birthday Greeting Sheet.
It is a unique idea and a lot of fun for the guests and the guest of honor. This is fun for children as well as adults.
By WandaJo from Collierville, Tennessee
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| Contests!
The above contests are weekly. We pick 2 tip winners and 1 photo winner at the end of each week. Each winner will win $25!
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Today's Tips
| Free Tennis Ball Game
Free Tennis Ball Game
http://www.thriftyfun.com/lk/tennisballgame.lasso
This will keep you busy and drive you nuts.
By IMAQT1962 from ILLINOIS
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| My Frugal Life - I'm Thankful For What We Have
Being super poor isn't that bad.
After graduation, most people go out to a big fancy dinner, spend lots of money on graduation gifts and have a big job all lined up. Nope. Not us. For dinner, we enjoyed Hamburger Helper from the $1 section at the grocery store (with free meat from my parents' farm). I gifted my husband a small $15 cooler he can use when he commutes to university this fall, and he is still working at the same part-time job, probably for the next two years.
In a way, it's a blessing to be poor. We track every cent we spend, we always communicate about our finances, we don't buy frivolous things, our house isn't full of "stuff", and we find creative ways to entertain ourselves. We use cloth diapers and eat simply. We have a garden and I only buy books at yard sales. Being poor has forced us to manage our money better and think ahead.
True, we can't have the nicer things in life. We buy furniture at garage sales and I'm a freecycle.org frequenter. But my husband is able to get an education. Since our income is low, we are receiving financial aid for college, plus extra grants for gas and books. Somehow, it all works out and we are able to pay for the things we need, and in the end, it's hard to put a price on education.
Now that I think about it, my family was pretty poor when I was little. At the time, I didn't even notice. I had everything I needed, including a loving family. Someday, when my husband has a real job, it will be nice to be stable and upgrade our couch from a brown hand-me-down to something that actually matches. But until then, I'm thankful for what we have.
Carrie Snider from Yakima, WA
Do you have a frugal story to share with the ThriftyFun community? Submit your essay here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_myfrugallife.ldml
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| Encouragement to Lose Weight
I needed to lose 20 pounds before our vacation trip. My husband was so encouraging by walking, exercising and cooking healthly meals. The one thing he did that really gave me hope.
1 photo of yourself, 1 photo of a body the size I wanted to be.
Take your photo and the body size you desire to be and scan it together. Wow I was so encouraged to lose that extra weight.
I was so encouraged to see my beautiful face with the body I would have in the months to come.
By Sharon from McGehee, Arkansas
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Pretty Bubbles
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup dish soap or baby shampoo
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1 drop food coloring
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a small bottle with lid. Give a gentle stir to mix. Be sure to label it, too.
By IMAQT1962 from ILLINOIS
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| Softening Hard Cookies
Here's an outstanding tip for hard cookies. If your cookies are hard and unbearable to eat, here's a smart solution to the problem. Place the cookies in a container and add several slices of light bread. Let it sit overnight or several hours doing day. WOW! you will notice soft cookies like never before. The moisture from the bread helps to soften the hard cookies.
By Sharon from McGehee, Arkansas
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| Set the Table While Unloading Your Dishwasher
One way to save time is to set the table for your next meal as you are emptying your dishwasher.
By Robin from Washington, IA
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| Screen Printing at Home
I like to screen print on various articles of "blank" clothing to make them interesting and unique, something to fit my style.
You can buy a Screen Print kit from Michael's craft store (and use the 40% off coupon in the paper ad) or..
I do my own and it's relatively cheap.
**Read through my directions all the way before you begin, make sure you understand. I can get confusing at times.
What you'll need:
- Article of clothing to print on
- Speedball (brand that I use, it works the best) screen printing FABRIC ink (it's about $8 a jar, but it lasts a long time.) (Also, make sure you get the jars that say FABRIC or else it might not set forever)
- A medium sized paint brush and various sized smaller brushes
- Mod Podge glue
- Embroidery hoop
- Panty hose
- Newspaper/wax paper/ cardboard (something to put in between the sides of the fabric so it won't bleed through in reverse)
- A printed, monochromatic design.
- Sharpie pen
- Old fabric. (to test your screen on)
- Iron
Directions:
- Take the panty hose and affix it to the embroidery hoop. Be sure to stretch it tight, otherwise it could ruin your design when you apply the paint. (Like you would if you were doing embroidery, but you'll have excess hose.) Trim the excess off so it won't get in your way. You'll now have the beginning of your screen.
- Lay your printed design flat on a table and then lay the "screen" down (fabric side down) on top of the design. Make sure everything you want fits inside of the hoop. Good. Now with a sharpie trace every part of your design, fill it in if you want, especially if it's an intricate design - this will help you later. After you finish tracing you're ready for the next step.
- This step requires patience and a bit of a steady hand. Don't be scared, this step takes a bit of time and is the most difficult. I should state that if you have a complicated and/or intricate design it probably won't come out exact. I found this out my first time, but you will be pleasantly surprised with the results. IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU FLIP THE SCREEN OVER TO THE REVERSE SIDE SO YOU DON'T GLUE IT DOWN TO THE NEWSPAPER. Panty hose side up.(or whatever you're using for a drop sheet) Again, lesson I learned the hard way.
- After that longwinded speech, here's what you do: Using the Mod Podge and smaller paint brushes, you want to paint AROUND the OUTSIDE of your design. You are blocking out everything you don't want paint to touch. The negative space. Take your time and make sure to cover the negative space well.
- After you finish with the mod podge let it dry. Or if you're impatient like me you can use a hair dryer, low power so you don't stretch the panty hose...
- After it's dry you're ready to screen print. But first, you really should test out the screen on a piece of scrap fabric just to make sure it's what you want and that their isn't any negative space that happens to be uncovered.
To print on fabric with your new screen:
- Take your shirt (most likely) and put a piece of cardboard in between the sides. Smooth out the fabric, but don't stretch it . Lay the screen on the fabric, panty hose side DOWN. Panty hose should be in direct contact with fabric. Take your medium sized brush and the speedball fabric paint and slab it across the screen. Don't be afraid to put enough on, but don't use too much either. After it looks like you've covered your design, dip the tip of the brush in the paint and stab the design. This will ensure that you get through the screen and cover your design. After you feel comfortable that you've covered it well, carefully peel up the screen off of the fabric. The end result should be your design on your shirt or wherever you've decided to put it. Remember to test it first so that you get it to where you want it.
- While the ink dries you can wash out the screen so you can reuse it. They are surprisingly durable. I've got one that I've used over twenty times for various items and it still works like the first time.
- Let the ink dry and after it has dried well, iron over it for about five minutes to set the ink. These instructions come on the jar of Speedball screen printing fabric paint. After that the design should be permanent. (Unless you bleach it and then who knows?)
- After you gain more and more experience and get a feel for it, you can try to do designs with multiple colors, layering, et cetera. http://www.speedballart.com is a great resource for tips, actual kits, inks, et cetera.
By Roy from Richmond, VA
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| My Frugal Life - Frugal Sunburn Protection When Riding a Bike
My friends and I are avid bike riders and happen to ride recumbents. As we are at retirement age or over, we have thinning hair. In fact, some of us are bald. My dear friend recently spent $14 on a skull cap to wear under his bike helmet so his head would not get sunburned. I was just about to do the same thing when the frugal side of me took over. What could I utilize under a bike helmet that was light, durable, disposable, absorbent, white, and economical?
One night at three A.M., it dawned on me.
A coffee filter. I've been using them now for about a month and handing them out to my friends. We have a great laugh at my frugality!
SkyPrince from Des Moines, IA
Do you have a frugal story to share with the ThriftyFun community? Submit your essay here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_myfrugallife.ldml
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| New Uses of Video Cassettes
Different Reuses of Video Cassettes (without even dismantling them)
- Make a plant stand table. You do this by gluing 2 videos to make the sides to 2 videos on top. You can decorate or not.
- Building blocks for children over 8 years old (because of the danger that they might try to swallow the small screws.) The videos stand up in several positions. They can be used to make structures or bridges/roadways for those small toy cars.
- Videos can be used as a 2 glass or cup coasters
- Also used to mount small sports trophies or a newly completed model car.
Most everything can be reused. All it takes is a little thought and a pinch of imagination.
By Mr. Thrifty from Shermansdale, PA
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View Active Topics!
New Requests
| Keeping Bees Away from a Hummingbird Feeder
How do you keep the bees away from a Hummingbird feeder?
J.A. from Cortland, OH
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| Sweet Gum Trees and the Bird Flu Virus
I was interested in the sweet gum tree fruit comments about them being helpful to the bird flu virus, is there anyone we can give the fruit to? Who would i contact?
Hardiness Zone: 5a
Nim from McCordsville, IN
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| Fabric Softeners
I need to know about substitutes for fabric softener. I've heard that vinegar may be used, but what about ammonia? I also need information on the amounts.
Thank you!
Carol from South Africa
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| Smoke Smell on Belongings After a House Fire
My house burned down this past Sunday but we have been able to salvage some stuff, but obviously it smelles horrible are there any suggestions on how in the world to get smells out of matresses, a dress that can not be drycleaned, books, photos, etc. We were very lucky to save my entire room but my parents lost everything. Please help us get this smell out
Brittany from Quinlan, TX
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| Maraschino Cherry Stain
Does anyone know how to get out a Maraschino cherry stain?
Poohmoore from Sewell, New Jersey
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| Thrifty Living Advice From World War II Survivors
Could we please have information from survivors of WW II on thrifty living? - before there's no-one left to pass on the information?
Thank you!
Carol from South Africa
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| Cleaning Plastic Outdoor Furniture
I have several of the plastic outside stackable chairs. Over the years they've gotten 'dirty' looking even though they are not dirty. Any tips on cleaning these to get them back to looking nice? Mine are white or an off white color.
Carol from Anderson IN
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| Keeping an Old Butcher Block Clean
I have inherited an old butcher block from a grocery store that opened in the 30's. My father salvaged it during a remodeling project around 1965. It has a sort of film on the surface that makes it feel tacky. I can clean it with a steel wool pad, but it only takes care of it temporarily and it returns in a few days. Any suggestions?
Kelli from Portland, OR
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| Burnt Sugar in a Stainless Steel Pot
How to clean burnt sugar water residue from stainless steel pot?
Gladys from Coronation, AB
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| Deleting Your Name From Telemarketers Lists
I read somewhere that when you receive an automated phone call that there are some numbers you can enter on your phone and it mixes up the automation and can delete your number from the list. Has anyone heard of this?
Jane from Richmond, B.C. CANADA
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| Green Bug Eating My Tomatoes
I couldn't figure out what was eating my tomatoes plants. I was looking close one day and I found a bug. I will attach a pic of it. What is it? Please let me know and how too keep them off of my plants.
Hardiness Zone: 5a
Thank You,
Joyce from WI
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| Which crockpot brand name is the best?
Which crockpot brand name is the best? I have a hamilton beach and absolutely hate it. It gets too hot and always burns the food. I want to buy another brand.
Linda from Hayward, WI
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| Yorkshire Terriers Peeing on the Couch
I have 3 dogs Yorkshire Terrier, 2 males (3 and 6 years old) and 1 female (2 years old). The males pees all over the house, especially on the couch, and I don't know what to do.
Bia from CA
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| Cooking When the Power Goes Out
I am moving into a home thats total electric which means my stove is electric. Any advice on what I could use as an alternative to the stove for cooking if the electric is out during inclement weather?
Onesummer from GA
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your request here: Click Here
More Reading
Basic Basement Decorating
Part 1: The Problem with All Basements
There are basically two kinds of basements. A finished basement has had architectural elements installed over the barebones outline of the space, to enhance its appearance and convenience. Some installations may include wall veneers, installed flooring, grounded electrical outlets, and overhead lighting. Unfinished basements don't have such amenities and are often marked by exposed concrete facing, support beams, a lack of electrical options, and nonlinear walkways. While the two kinds of basements are very different from a decorative perspective, there are several elements which are common to both, and need to be considered when organizing the space.
Read More: Click Here | My Frugal Wedding
By Jess StewartMaize
When my boyfriend and I decided to get married on our one year anniversary of dating (Labor Day Weekend), we didn't give ourselves a lot of time for planning or saving, just a few months. However, we still managed to have a beautiful and very frugal wedding with help from all our friends and family. Let me tell you how we did it.
Read More: Click Here | Make Your Own Butterfly Feeder
By Ellen BrownFor many species of butterflies, flower nectar is the favorite entrée on the menu. If you want to take your butterfly garden to the next level, try adding a small feeding station that offers them rotting fruit. Red Admirals, Red-Spotted Purples, Commas and Mourning Cloaks all appreciate an occasional bite of rotting "fruit cocktail." Here are directions for an easy-to-make feeding station that will also add a bit of color and whimsy to your garden.
Read More: Click Here | Organic Pest Control
By Ellen Brown
Most gardeners encounter pest problems at some point during the growing season. Organic gardeners "control" (within tolerable levels) these insect pests without the use of synthetic chemicals. Successful insect pest control, however, begins long before you spot the first leaf holes and slime trails. It starts with a good garden environment.
Read More: Click Here | | Freestyle Glue Gun Review
We were sent a Freestyle Cold Heat Glue Gun to test and review from the company.
Read More: Click Here | Ten Easy Ways To Get Extra Cash
By Doris DobkinsAre you in debt? If so, then you may be struggling for extra cash to pay off your debts and this article was written for you. We'll list a few ideas here for you to get some extra money. Now just promise to spend that money on your debt and not at the mall!
Read More: Click Here | Freezing Poultry
Selecting High-Quality Poultry and Game Birds
Select only high quality, fresh poultry to freeze. The tender young bird is best for roasting, frying and broiling. Choose the more flavorful older birds for braising or stewing.
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