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Hello,
We have 17 new request today, be sure to check them out and see if you have any advice to offer. Mother's Day is fast approaching, if you have any Mother's Day tips, please submit them. We will do our best to get them published before the holiday.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
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Today's Tips:
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Today's Photo Contest Entries
Dolls That Look Like Your Own Children
Years are flying by for me. I can remember when my sons were just little boys so I wanted to immortalize them at that age. At my local Mall there was a stand that made these wonderful dolls from baby pictures. So I brought two pictures along and had these wonderful dolls made up for me. Now I can hold my children again like when they were just a year old, even though both boys are in their 20s and tower over me. I want to thank my husband for giving into to my crazy impluses and allowing me to do this.
MissA112
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"COOKIES.....DID SOMEONE SAY COOKIES!"
This is a picture of our baby Angel that was taken in front of my flower garden. Seems she has a one track mind, doesn't it :)
Jenny in Louisville, KY
For more pictures of Angel:
Angel
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Submit a tip with a photo or a pet description with a photo and you could win a Digital Camera! You can enter the photo contest here:
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Today's Tips
If you have a lock that is not functioning well spray it with some graphite lock spray. You can buy it at any hardware store. One popular brand is called Lock-Ease. In a pinch, you can try using some non-stick vegetable oil on both the lock and key. You can also try dipping your key in talcum powder and inserting it in the lock.
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Packing Peanuts For House Plants
Looking for uses for packing peanuts? Use them to create a drainage layer in the bottom of your planter. This is wonderful for large planters because it helps keep them lighter when you need to move them. Make sure to use styrofoam peanuts. Biodegradable peanuts are great, but they will not work as a drainage layer since they will decompose.
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If someone mistakingly uses a paper towel or newspaper for a coaster you may find youself with paper stuck to your furniture. Peel away as much of the paper as you can, then apply some olive oil to a clean rag. Apply the olive oil to the paper and the paper should remove easily.
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You don't need to discard paint thinner that has been used for cleaning paint brushes. Put used paint thinner into a glass or metal container with a tight fitting lid. The paint particles will sink to the bottom leaving you with clear paint thinner towards the top. Just pour off the clear paint thinner and discard the paint particles. Before disposing of any paint, even paint particles, check witih your local waste management to find out the correct way to dispose of your paint.
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If you have a larger wallpaper bubble, bigger than quarter, cut an X into the bubble and carefully peel back each corner from the center of the X. Then apply some wallpaper paste to each corner and flatten them out with a damp sponge. For smaller bubbles, cut a slit into the bubble using a sharp utility knife. Then use a syringe to squirt some wall paper adhesive into the slit and smooth out the bubble.
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Daffodils in Flower Arrangements
Daffodils produce a toxin that kills other cut flowers, so keep them separate when making flower arrangements.
By Patricia
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Dealing with Tight Electrical Plugs
If you have an electric plug that's too tight and hard to remove from the wall, rub the prongs with a soft lead pencil.
By Patricia
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Cure for Soggy Mashed Potatoes
Dry powdered milk added to soggy mashed potatoes will restore them back to perfection.
By Patricia
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Tips for making whipped cream. Post your ideas.
Better Whipped Cream
Whipped cream will be fluffier and hold its shape better if you use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar when whipping.
By Patricia
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Using Glue When Scrapbooking or Making Cards
When scrapbooking or making greeting cards I was tired of the mess created when trying to get the glue to cover the edge of a piece of paper. If I use a sheet of newspaper underneath, the 2nd time I used it I picked up the glue on the front of my paper, so I started using the catalogs and store ads magazines that I get in the mail every day.
After I use the page to catch the overflow from my glue stick I just turn the page and have a clean space for the next item to get its glue. It worked so great! I was so excited, I wanted to share! And it's another way to recycle!
By Sue Parenit
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Shred Financial Papers Before Discarding
Invest in a paper shredder and shred all of your financial papers, receipts, etc. before you throw them away. There is too much identity theft out there and if they are shredded, no one can get your information.
By Robin
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In response to a recent posting named "Giving Gift Cards" I just wanted to be sure people check the length of time a gift card will be good. It's a great idea to shop early if giving gift cards to many recipients as it spreads the expense out over time instead of having to buy them all at once a few days before Christmas, but you also need to be sure they will not expire before they get the chance to use them.
By Barbie
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Pick up free sample books at wallpaper stores. Call shoe stores and ask for empty shoe boxes. This makes great photo storage boxes when you decoupage or glue the wall paper samples on and what's best is it's an almost free craft! Don't forget to use acid free paper on the inside if it's for photos (scrapbooking paper works great.)
By Diana
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If you are having cold weather and one of your locks outside has stopped working, the chances are it has frozen. Try heating the lock with a hair dryer until you are able to turn the key. If you don't have a hair dryer, try heating the key with a ligher or match before using. Be careful not to burn your hand as the key will get hot.
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Scrubbing Bubbles As A Spot Rug Cleaner
The best spot rug cleaner I've found when I do client's houses is Scrubbing Bubbles. Great for auto carpet too! And it freshens at the same time!
By Diana
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Did you get some cut flowers? Here's a little prep work you can do to make them last longer. Using pruning sheers, make a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem. Do this under running water. Don't use scissors for this, they will crush the stems and make it harder for them them to absorb water. Strip away all leaves that will be below the water line of the vase. Those leaves will rot more quickly if you don't remove them. Make sure to clean out the vase before putting the new flowers in. Change the water once a day add 2 tablespoons of sugar to act as preservatives for your flowers.
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Absorbing Odors In Your Car's Ashtray
To freshen a car's ashtray, try filling it with baking soda. It will absorb all the smells.
By Diana
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A good way to get the taste and smell off your hands when you cut smelly foods or hot foods, is to rinse your hands in milk.
By Diana
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If you have an egg that cracks while boiling all you have to do is add a little vinegar to the water and it will help the shell to seal so your egg will still be good.
By Robin
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If your honey has crystalized just put the container into some hot water for a while and it will will soften and melt down again.
By Robin
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Sprinkle a little borax around the corners of your cabinets in your kitchen and bath to repel insects.
By Robin
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Hackers Target MSN and AOL Instant Messenger Service
"Internet-users who chat with friends using MSN and AOL Instant Messenger services are being targeted by hackers spreading viruses to empty internet bank accounts. Lycos, the internet service provider, said last night that millions of people who use the messaging windows could be at risk." From timesonline.co.uk of April 25, 2005 By YT
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Wedding Dress Bridal Shower Game
At my daughter's bridal shower, last Sunday, the hostess had the most awesome "game". She asked my daughter, the bride to be, and her future mother in law to come to the front of the room.
Now, there would be a race to see who could get dressed the quickest... just like it will be on the day of the wedding. They both were blindfolded and then given a pair of oven mitts. Once the oven mitts were on they were each given a pair of panty hose (stockings) and were told to put them on. It was so funny to watch them.
My daughter "won" but she commented after that with the oven mitts on she couldn't feel the panty hose at all. Her future mother in law even tried to bite a hole in the stocking and then put her foot into that hole because she couldn't find the opening to the stocking at all. We all laughed so hard.
Valleyrimgirl
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Combine marshmallows, chocolate morsels, milk, and unsweetened chocolate in a glass mixing bowl. Microwave at high 4-5 minutes, stirring once. Cool. Fold in whipped cream, and pour into prepared chocolate crust. Freeze until firm.
Chocolate Crust:
Directions:
Place butter in a small glass mixing bowl. Microwave at high 1 minute. Add chocolate crumbs; mix well. Press chocolate crumb mixture into a 9 inch pie plate. Microwave at high 1 minute or until firm. Cool.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Place butter in a microwave safe bowl; microwave at high 55 seconds or until butter melts. Stir in chocolate wafer crumbs, mixing well. Set aside. Combine marshmallows and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave at high 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows melt, stirring with a wire whisk at 30 second intervals. Cool until mixture is slightly thickened. Gently fold in creme de menthe and whipped cream. Spoon alternate layers of crumb mixture and marshmallow mixture into chilled parfait glasses. Garnish, if desired.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Combine oats, flour, and brown sugar in a medium mixing bowl; mix well. Cut butter into oat mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Spoon half of mixture into a lightly greased 8 inch square baking dish. Microwave at high 3 minutes. Let crust cool 15 minutes. Combine cherries, chopped apple, tapioca, and apple juice, mixing well; spoon over crust. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over filling. Microwave at high 13-14 minutes, giving dish a half turn after 6 minutes. 8 servings
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Cook carrots according to package directions, adding sugar to the water. Drain well. Add butter and dill weed, tossing gently until carrots are evenly coated.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Combine all dry ingredients; add remaining ingredients and stir only till well blended. Place about 1 Tablespoon of batter into each part of well greased mini muffin pans. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes or till done. Makes: about 2 dozen.
Leftover hushpuppies can be frozen.
By Terri
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Ingredients:
Place cabbage in a large baking dish. Combine beef, rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper, and thyme. Shape into 6-8 patties and arrange on cabbage. Dissolve brown sugar in hot water in a saucepan; add tomato sauce and lemon juice. Heat to boiling and pour over meat. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or till rice is tender.
*I usually use more cabbage than what the recipe calls for.
**I used cumin instead.
By Terri
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove and discard cinnamon sticks before serving.
By Robin
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Tip Contest
Submit a tip and you could win:
New Contest Prize! Now a 2 $25.00 Gift Cards
In our contest we are giving away two $25.00 Gift Cards (we will
select to winners at random) at one of the following stores: Home
Depot, Jo-Ann's Crafts or Amazon.com. If you are the winner, you
get to choose which gift card! This contest ends on May 15th,
2005.
Syndication Spotlight:
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Dear Webby's Humor Letter
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New Requests:
How to Make Mother's Day Special
I'm 13 years old and my mom has three kids. I need a DIY or recipe that I can do to make her feel really special. She means the world to me and sometimes I don't really show her that. She works, goes to school, and takes care of all of us at the same time! Please help me make my mom's Mother's Day special! Anything will do! THANKS A BUNCH! Heather
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I just had the lower branches of my 2 pine trees removed and while they look great, the sap from the trees is causing havoc. First, what can I put on the cut sections of the tree to stop the sap (the landscaper hasn't responded). Second, my little shih-poo, Yogi now loves to sit under the trees but has sap on his back, the pads of his feet and his tail. He just had a haircut, so I can't cut the sap off of his fur. I would appreciate any suggestions.
AndieL
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I was wondering, can I use krazy glue instead nail glue, it sticks better for longer?
Erica
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I need to receive faxes but don't want to purchase a fax machine. Idealy, I would like to receive the faxes by email. Does anyone know of a good, relatively inexpensive service for receiving faxes by email?
Thanks,
LS
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How Many Cups Of Chicken Meat On A Whole Chicken
Does anyone know the equivalent measurement for how many cups of chicken meat you can get from stewing/poaching an average size (3 to 4 lb.) chicken?
Reason for the request: A lot of the recipes I have called for the meat from a whole stewed or cooked chicken. Since there are only two people eating meals in this house, I don't need to cook up an entire chicken (especially since we don't care for the dark meat). I use chicken breasts but have never seen (or just don't remember) how many cups of meat I could expect from a cooken chicken.
The measurement I use now is "if it looks right" but this isn't what is needed if I am sharing a recipe with a friend!
Thanks for any help on this.
Sandie (Ronsan)
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Removing Paneling From Plaster Walls
Has anyone removed paneling from plaster walls as opposed to painting the paneling? What type of success did you have? In the alternative, if you have painted paneling, I would welcome any suggestions on color choice, ideas, etc.
Cindy
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An Indoor Wedding For Less Than $1,500
Hi all thrifters. I am from New Jesey and cannot afford a $3000 wedding. My fiancee and I want a reception indoors, with a DJ, and dinner food (not brunch), but are looking to spend between $1000 to $1,500. I have made requests for help before but I was not specific, so many people, whose ideas were all great, suggested brunch and outdoors. I am sorry for not being specific in what I was looking for, but I appreciate dearly all the suggestions. Thank you. Now that I given people a clearer picture to what I desire, can someone help me? Thanks!
Erica
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My husband is out of work due to an injury and we have 2 children ages 6 and 4 months. Does anybody here know of a way to make money easliy from home?
Kellie
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Is there really a way to earn a living at home?
I need to earn a living to supprot myself, but not on computers or MLM. I need real income ideas for real money. Thank you to all who have ideas.
Jennydo
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Can't Access Microsoft and Hotmail
Is anyelse having a problem with certain sites on the net? Since Saturday I have not been able to get to my Hotmail acount. MSN will not load either. I tried to go to Microsoft.com tonight, won't load. For the most part most of my stuff works, I can go to
yahoo.com, google, and other sites.
Mary
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Crafts Made from Empty Peanut Butter Jars
I was wondering if any crafty people out there have any ideas on crafts made from empty peanut butter jars.
luv2craft
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Interested in a Writing Greeting Cards
I have a natural born love for writing. I have written many different poems and readings for many different occasions, and would dearly LOVE to write for greeting card companies. Are there any readers who know how a person would go about applying for a writer's position with various greeting card companies? I would appreciate any suggestions.
By Sharon,Ky
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I am looking for a recipe (or recipes) for Potato Soup. I had a delicious recipe recently at a restaurant, and I'm dying to have it again. I would be very greatful to anyone who can help! Thanks so much!
Jodi in CT
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I am looking for low cost pampas grass, reed or any other type grass that can be used to make decorations for VBS Serengeti Trek. I was asked to make 10 of these using craft/flower foam bricks and pampas grass or reeds of some kind. I have checked the price of these and need some ideas on what else I could use that is cheaper and would look great.
Lesley Odell
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My daughter smeared playdough all over her bedroom window. I have no idea how to get that off!! Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
April fron San Antonio
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Decorating a Rainbow Tea Table
I am decorating a Rainbow Tea table (color is Indigo) and I need help with this, please.
Mai Alice
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If anyone knows how to remove paint (not sure if it's oil based or water) from a vinyl doll please let me know thanks!
Lynne
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Today's Sponsors
11 Craft Designs By House of Greathouse
Just $5.00 (including shipping) for instructions on how to make 11 unique craft designs on CD. For more information and pictures of the crafts visit:
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More Reading:
Creative Soap Crafts
By GranMamma
Soap is a craft that is fun and easy to make. It's a great project to do with your kids.Simply follow the instructions below and you'll be on your way to one of your first bars of soap..... where you choose all the soap colors and shapes.
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Finding a Decorating Theme
By Monica Resinger
When it comes to decorating, it helps to have a theme in mind because it gives you something to focus on when purchasing accessories, paint, and window treatments. For example, say you decide you like the sun/moon motifs and the color purple, so you decide to do a theme based on these. You can then paint your walls purple, do some decorative stamping with a sun/moon motif on walls or curtains, purchase purple or gold accessories, and the list goes on. If you haven't already found a theme, there are some creative ways to finding one that would suit you. Here are some ideas:
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Cleaning Mildew From Mattresses, Rugs, Upholstery
First, remove loose mold from outer coverings of upholstered articles, mattresses, rugs, and carpets by brushing with a broom. Do this outdoors, if possible, to prevent scattering mildew spores in the house. Wash broom before re-using.
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Water System
1. Shut off water systems by turning off the pump or shutting the valve if on city water. Drain the pressure tank.
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Removing Mildew From Paper and Books
In damp summer weather, keep papers and books as dry as possible to help control mold growth. If you have an enclosed bookcase, keep a small electric light lit continuously in the bookcase or use a chemical dehumidifier, keeping the doors closed as tightly as possible
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Unpainted wood
In damp, warm, poorly ventilated areas, surface mold often develops on wooden parts of buildings. Since new, unseasoned lumber is particularly susceptible to mildew, avoid using it whenever possible.
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