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Hello,
Our drawing for the new Harry Potter book ends tonight at midnight PDT.
Tomorrow's TF News is about Recycled Clothing Crafts. If you have any ideas or tips about clothing items that you can make from recycled materials, please submit them on the photo or tip contest form.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
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Today's Photos
Elephant Ring Toss Game
By Teri Clark
Do you love the circus? How about a fun day at the fair? Bring both to your own backyard with this adorable elephant ring toss game!
View Project: Click Here
Mousie (Shitzu X) Am I Flying Yet?
Mousie she is 9 years old shitzu mix. She loves to eat. Hey, am I flying yet?
By Gloria
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Here is a picture of my beautiful sunflower.
By Liz from Ontario
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Kitchen Utensil Holder
By Kim Davis
I bet you never thought about using a flower pot to hold your kitchen utensils! This project is so easy. It won't take but a few minutes. This is the perfect utensil holder. It won't burn if you forget and leave it sitting on the stove. It won't tip over and it holds a lot of tools! You can custom match it to your kitchen decor.
View Project: Click Here
Bouquets, Corsages and Boutonnieres
When we did the flowers for my daughter's wedding, we asked a friend who was talented as making bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, etc. She did a wonderful job. We were able to save a lot of money because we bought the flowers fresh, right off the floral shop's delivery truck. This is a sample of what we had that day. These were live flowers.
By Robin
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Today's Tips
Money making tips for Stay at Home Moms
I myself was a stay-at-home Mom when my children were at home. Yet I always managed to afford the same opportunities for my kids as my friends who missed those formative years with their children. I would like to share things which I did to make extra money without being gone every day.
1. Learn Cake decorating: Get a book and teach yourself. I never took a class. I have done many, many cakes over the last 25-30 years. In times when I most needed money a cake job came through. When you learn the skills, let your friends and acquaintances know. I never advertised although I may have made more, but word of mouth got me LOTS of cake decorating jobs.
2. Use your cleaning skills: I have friends for years that called on me for regular cleaning jobs. You set your own schedule and work when the children are at school or it's convenient with hubby. Don't take on really messy houses. You have the option of saying NO. There are plenty of jobs that are a pleasure to keep up. They help you, and you help them.
3. Babysitting: If you have children and are patient enough to babysit get a GOOD child. Again you have the option of saying NO! But another child can be real company for yours so you have the best of both worlds - you get to stay at home and a you get a play pal for your children.
4. Get into crafts: Explore different options. There's money to be made selling crafts and I found the best time to work on crafts or cakes was when the children were in bed. This was my time to wind down.
5. Yard Sales: This is the best thing since Bubble Gum! Clean out those closets and cabinets (which needs to be done ANYWAY) and throw a yard sale. Two times when I needed extra money the most (my kids Senior trips) I made the extra I needed getting rid of things that I didn't need anyway!
6. Do tasks for others: Elderly and busy friends need help occasionally with shopping. I have a friend with a house house and 10 ft. Christmas tree which I decorate inside and out during the holidays. Most of my extra money for holiday spending is made with this weeks worth of work. She's happy and so am I.
7. Secret Shoppers: One area that I have never tried but always wanted to was Secret Shoppers. They claim you get paid to shop and evaluate services. You do this anyway, so why not try it? Hubby wouldn't mind babysitting for shopping if it makes money.
I hope these money making tips have been helpful, as I said before they are TRIED AND TRUE methods of making money without working 9-5. Your kids will be happy and you'll have a sense of helping out the family financially as well.
By Sharon,Ky
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Affordable Scrapbooking Supplies
After getting into scrapbooking myself I have come to a conclusion that this would be the perfect gift for a special occasion, and I am starting now to build up my "STASH" for my Daughter-in-law's Christmas present.
Shopping around, I found that Dollar General Stores, Family Dollar Stores and Dollar Tree stores have all the supplies you'll need to make a great start, with beautiful packaged background pages for $1 (some have six or more pages). Dollar General has cardstock squares for $2 which make a perfect background for photos and packages of stickers for scrapbooking for $1 and $2 a pack.
Family Dollar and Dollar Trees have packages of craftfoam letters and numbers for $1, which are great to personalize pages and add the date, place or occasion on which the photo was taken. I have worked for several days on my album and I want it to be a special keepsake I can be proud to leave my family. I am writing this because I want future scrapbookers to know there are affordable supplies for $2 and under. HAPPY SCRAPBOOKING!
By Sharon,Ky
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Cleaning Car Batteries and Terminals
Clean corrosion off the battery terminals, using a wire brush or steel wool, to scrape battery posts and cable clamps. Clean the top surface with a mild solution of baking soda and water, without letting it seep under cell caps.
By Terri
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Tips for washing your car. Post your ideas.
Preserve your car's finish by washing it with cold or lukewarm (never hot) water.
By Terri
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My mom taught me this very effective tip for roaches: fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and keep handy. They die immediately upon contact.
By Robin S.
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Car Air Conditioner Maintenance
Tips for maintaining your car's Air Conditioner. Post your ideas.
Run the air conditioner, at least ten minutes every week, regardless of season. This procedure will maintain coolant pressure and avoid costly air conditioner breakdowns.
By Terri
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Protecting Furniture from Potted Plants
Tips for protecting furniture that has house plants on it. Post your ideas.
Using Mousepads
I use free-giveaway promotional mousepads as pads between my plants and furniture. They are waterproof, and can be cut to shape of the pot. I flip them over so that the advertising side is down.
By Robin S.
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Gardening Inside or on the Patio
If you have no garden space, even a sunny window ledge can hold several pots of herbs for kids to water and tend. Or for patio containers, check out the many kinds of miniature vegetables that nurseries now stock, such as a tiny green bell pepper variety called Jingle Bell Peppers. They're great fun to grow.
By Terri
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Tips for cleaning windows. Post your ideas.
Washing Windows and More With Microfiber Cloth
I've found the most wonderful thing. You never have to worry about which way you wash or dry the windows. A year ago, I discovered the "Miracle Cloth". It's a microfiber cloth. NO window washing spray or anything else but plain water!
Using the Miracle Cloths, on mirrors keeps them spot- and streak free! They're wonderful! Best of all, I found them in my local DISCOUNT RETAILER (WAL-MART), in the automotive dept., in a bundle, really inexpensive. Believe me, they are the best value you will ever find!
You can dust, clean appliances, mirrors, wash windows, without any cleaning products. One to wash, and one to dry with. No rocket science and the job I hated to do most (windows) is no longer a pain!
By Jackie
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Protecting Plants When Spraying for Weeds
Tips to help you protect good plants when you are spraying for weeds.
For weeding: If you are going to use a spray weed killer in your flower bed (between plants you want to keep) - use this handy tip:
Cut the top off an old milk gallon, slide the now cylindrical piece over your GOOD plants ... this protects them from the weed killer! Saves ton of money on new plants and fancy gadgets!
By Karen Brantley
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Tips for difficult and tough to open jars and bottles. Post your ideas.
Hard to Open Containers
Put bottle or jar caps under warm water when experiencing difficulties opening any difficult container.
By Sarah Woods
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Tips to help you when giving your dog a bath. Post your ideas.
Shampooing Pets
After shampooing with shampoo formulated for canines, rinse with a 4:1 solution of water and vinegar to ensure a soft, shiny, and throughly rinsed coat. Bathtime for Zoey, my 9 year old beagle, is completed with a special treat of rosemary tea rinse. Using 2-3 Tablespoons of rosemary leaves in a bowl, I add as many cups of boiling water to steep for 10-15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, pour off the resulting tea into a recycled dish liquid dispenser. (I use a recycled funnel from a 2 liter beverage bottle). Be certain the solution is not too warm for your dog!
If you need a batch in a hurry, use less boiling water, and use several ice cubes to more rapidly cool the solution after steeping. The sweet aroma and soothing properties make this a great final leave-in rinse.
By Flynnzie
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Add Dehydrated Powdered Vegetables To Ground Meat Recipes
I dehydrate many of my home grown vegetables and then grind them and further reduce them to powder in my blender. Then I store the powder in the freezer and use it all winter long in several ways. They can be added to ground meat dishes, used in soups, stews, sauces and gravies, even added to breads and cookies. This is a great way to sneak more vegetables into your picky eaters.
Seagrape
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We are giving away 16 $25 prizes in a variety of categories.
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Photo Contest!
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Contest ends August 31, 2005
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New Requests
Every morning, I have to sweep a million dead bugs off the front porch that come at night. They are tiny black bugs and the regular moths and beetle bugs. I have tried a GE yellow bug light and it does not work at all. I don't want to leave my porch light off for security reasons. I have tried spraying bug spray all over the walls and floor, and this helps a little, but I would prefer to not have to do this every day. Any advice?
suzi_homemaker01
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I came across a website where you could find the cheapest price of gasoline in your area, there was an ad with a website called gasrefund.com. where consumers should only pay $1.50 a gallon and that they would refund the difference to you monthly, with membership is free they charge $6.95 for the package. They are the Coop of Oil and Gas Companies.
My question is: I wanted to know if anyone knows and or has tried this website and knows if it is the real thing or not?
Thank You,
Janet
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When I buy yogurt, sour cream, pre-packaged deli meat, etc, I know they have an expiration date. Sometimes the date may be a month or two away. My question is, once I open sour cream (for example), is it still good till the expiration date or is that date more for purchasing? I don't want to throw away good food but I usually feel like the items are old within a week or so.
Ann
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Ralto Autoshift Crockpot Advice
I just bought a used slowcooker. It's a Ralto Autoshift Crockpot. The button has only 2 choices - "hot" and "autoshift". Who can tell me what to do with a recipe that says cook on "low" for 6-8 hrs? How does this autoshift feature work? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Jen
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I am looking for a pattern for pop can airplanes. I've seen some for sale but money is tight so I"ve searched but can not seem to find any on the internet. Thanks for reading my message.
Ken
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I would love to have a butterfly garden with perennials. I live in an area that receives mostly direct sunlight. I would also like to do this very inexpensively. I would love to read some ideas.
Thanks!
Mindy
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Any ideas about how to eliminate those brown age spots that show up on your hands around the age of 50ish. Thanks a bunch!
Mitzi
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Ink Stain on Lambskin Chanel Bag
I just realized that my lambskin Chanel bag has an inch long light blue ink mark on the side. I do not know how long it has been there. Does anyone know a safe technique to remove ink stains from soft, taupe-colored lambskin without drying it out and removing the color. I have not touched it yet because I am afraid I will mess up the material. Thanks!
Cat from Penn.
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Leaves Turning Yellow on a Flowering Crab
I have a flowering crab and its leaves are turning yellow. A tree guy told me it's fungus but he's an amateur so I'm not sure. I'm looking for a way to treat it naturally. Is that possible? Thanks!
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Fruit of the Spirit Craft Ideas
I am putting together a fruit of the Spirit lesson plan for my after-care group. I am using this theme for an entire school year and I am desperate for ideas. I have the lessons set up, but I am having a difficult time finding suitable crafts for each of the nine fruits/character traits. If you have any ideas, suggestions, etc., they would be much appreciated and I would be so THANKFUL!
-Snowflakes4, Tennessee
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I am looking for Stage 3 / 3rd Foods coupons. Most I see are $1 off 12 and I would like to save more than that. I figured out the cost and it is cheaper for me to actually buy the baby food than make it, plus, I have no time to make his food.
I bought a ton of stage 2 coupons on ebay - they were $1 off 2 and basically saved 50% after buying them.
Does anyone know where I can get the good stage 3 food coupons?
Thanks so much!
Mindy
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Stella De Ora and Dianthis Seeds
I have collected Stella De Ora and dianthis seeds I want to know if I need to put them in the refrigerator for six weeks before trying to grow them.
Betty-Ellen from St. Charles, Missouri
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How do I prevent cake frosting from melting?
I will be baking a cake for an outdoor baby shower in three weeks, which puts the date in the middle of August. Even though I live in NH the weather here has been hot and very humid. How do I prevent the frosting (icing) from melting at the shower?
I use a standard buttercream frosting, and I plan on refrigerating the cake before the shower. Is there anything else I can do to prevent the frosting from melting off the cake? Should I use a different kind of frosting? Please help me if you can!
Karen in NH
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I have flowers at my cottage and the deer seem to be eating the heads off certain flowers. What can I do to save my flowers and not hurt the deer? Can I do something that will deter the deer away from them?
Thanks,
Donna
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Controlling the Humidity in a Parked Motor Coach without Electricity
I need some Ideas for our motor coach. it is parked at a permanent camp site, and this year it is holding the humidity in so bad. I can not use a dehumidifier, because we are gone for 1 to 2 weeks at a time so the electricity is off during that time. Please help,
Thanks,
Tracey C
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I have a spider plant that is outside hanging from a tree. It is doing very nicely this summer and it has a few "babies". How should I plant these? I never had a spider plant before and am curious.
Thanks in advance.
Marta
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Looking for a frugal solution to an everyday problem? Submit your request here: Click Here
Today's Sponsors
DO YOU MAKE THESE MONEY MISTAKES?
Trying to pay off your high interest rate debts first or paying extra on more than one debt can be the SLOWEST way to get out of debt. Discover life-changing money secrets your friends don't know and banks don't tell. Limited special offer.
Click here for more information.
More Reading:
Freezing Homemade Baby Food
By Rachel Paxton
With our twin boys getting ready to start solid food, I have been reading about making and freezing my own baby food. It is very easy!
Read More: Click Here
How to Change the Color of Hydrangeas
By Charlotte Harris
Do you have a blue mophead hydrangea that you would like to be pink? Or, do you have a pink hydrangea that you want to turn blue?
Read More: Click Here
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