I was inspired while waiting on spring!

I have many addictions...gossip magazines, coffee, reese's minis, the engagement section of the local newspaper, diy blogs,  and of course coupons!!!

So today while I was looking outside at all the nasty dreary weather here in Missouri I was thinking of an easy "how to" I saw the other day on a diy blog. Well to be honest I'm not the most patient person and while her tutorial was very easy I decided to for go a few more steps in simplify it more and woo-lah a new spring wreath for my bathroom window! (I know you're wondering why your bathroom...it did not go in my kitchen and my bathroom is a tiffany blue so it was perfect in there!)

This is the finished wreath!

Old material I picked up for a $0.25 at a yardsale that is springy.

(Seriously she had a whole tote for $0.25!)

Straw wreath from Michaels for a few bucks.

Straight pins with a yellow ball on the end. 

(the only ones I had)

Next just cut or rip material into 1/2 inch strips. 

No need to measure, just eye ball it.

I forgot to take a picture of putting on the strips but honestly it is so easy. 

Just fold each strip in half and wrap it around the wreath, then pin.

Now do the next strip overlapping so you can't see the straw wreath.

Now for the "flowers".

Like I said I am not patient so I just folded the material in fourths then cut around the edge and when unfolded it's a circle...well kind off.

Then after I cut out a white piece of material slightly smaller I folded across.

Then I folded the other way to create a kind of flower look.

Then with a little circle cut out I put my strait pin through to hold it and stuck in into the wreath.

And here she is again!

This took me about 35 min. TOTAL to do!

NO SEWING, NO HOT GLUE!

And while I know it's not perfect,

I think it's perfectly cute in my bathroom window!

FABULOUSLY FRUGAL FRIDAY! ~ "CREATIVE SAVING GIVEAWAY!"

GIVEAWAY OVER: 
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED!

saving means more than just coupons...

how do you save?

I wanna hear from you...

Leave a comment telling a creative way or two you save!

I'll start us off...

I save restaurant gift cards from Christmas and spread them out through the year. At Christmas your already getting lots of great food so why use up all your gift cards. We use them for our birthday, anniversary or date nights.

Now it's your turn...

Oh I almost forgot this is a giveaway isn't it...

1 ~ $20 Gift Card to Applebee's!

This giveaway closes at 5:00 pm CST Saturday 3/5.

Winner will be announced at 5:10 pm CST.

(Maximum of 2 entries per peep,  One comment will be chosen using Random.org.)

FABULOUSLY FRUGAL FRIDAY! ~ "GOT SHAMPOO?"

What to do with all that shampoo?

(donate and a few options for those shampoo freebies that you get in the mailbox!)

• Buff your shoes. In a pinch, you can revitalize leather shoes and purses by using a small amount of shampoo on a clean cloth. Rub into worn areas as you would shoe polish, and give it a buff. This also offers some protection from salt stains.

• Skip specialty (read: expensive) soaps for hand-washing laundry, use just a drop or two of shampoo instead.

• Worse than a wound is often the removal of a bandage. Let a few drops of shampoo soak through the adhesive part and the bandage should peel off without pain and sticking.

• In a pinch, shampoo can be used as a substitute for bubble bath.

• Shampoo (conditioner, too) works as a great substitute shaving cream. Lather up, shave away. Shampoo is much more nourishing/less drying than soap, which is what many women use on their legs.

• Shampoo works well to remove body oil and gunk from combs and hairbrushes; comb out any loose hair and swish the comb/brush in some warm water and shampoo. Let it soak for a few minutes, then rinse well.

• For a quick touch up cleanse of tub, shower or sink, use some shampoo as a liquid cleaner. It rinses clean and makes chrome shine as well.

• To clean paint brushes use a few drops of shampoo and massage it through the bristles, then rinse well. (Never use extra hot water when washing paint brushes, it loosens the glue resulting in bristle loss!)

• A few drops of shampoo rubbed onto the inside surface of a swimming mask (then rinsed) will prevent the mask from fogging up.

• Diluted shampoo can take the place of bubble soap for bubble-blowing wands. Yay.

• Car car-washing suds, add 1/4 cup shampoo to a pail of warm water and lather up the car as usual.

• Shampoo mixed with baking soda into a paste can be used to clean chrome on vehicles; rinse thoroughly and buff to shine.

• Loosen stuck nuts and bolts with a drop of shampoo. Let it seep into the threads and the bolt should loosen easily.

• Use shampoo to lubricate squeaky hinges.

I think this is a fun list of "shampoo do's"!

Do you have a use for shampoo besides your hair?

FABULOUSLY FRUGAL FRIDAY! ~ "BUYING KIDS CLOTHES A YEAR AHEAD!"

This is such an easy tip!

Something I have been doing for years that has saved me a TON of money is buying my daughter's clothes a year ahead of time. 

I buy when it's rock bottom clearance at Target, JC Penney & Kohl's.

What are my rock bottom prices?

$2 SHIRTS

$3 SHORTS

$5 JEANS

$5 JACKETS

$15 COAT

I posted a few weeks ago about the little bras I found for $0.50 each and I bought 5 and she's set for the year!

I also found short sleeved shirts last month $1 at Walmart and bought 7 and again she is stocked for the summer!

All of her long sleeved tops came from JC Penny's and Kohl's for $2 or under!

I know I don't have too much time before she will only want Hollister and Abercrombie but until then I am SAVING A BUNDLE!!!

So with a little planning you can get some great deals and not have to pay full price for clothes when each season rolls around!

The other great thing is I can take the clothes she outgrows to the local kids resale shop and get about $1 per item. 

Here's a picture of some of the items I bought on clearance.

This a FABULOUSLY FRUGAL way to save some money on kids clothes!

How do you save on kids clothes?

FABULOUSLY FRUGAL FRIDAY! ~ DRYER SHEETS ~ NOT ONLY FOR THE DRYER!

A quick way to freshen your home is to tie a dryer sheet on the inside of your heat register. When the heat comes on it fills the room with a fabulous fresh smell! 

Put a dryer sheet in your tennis shoes to freshen them up for the next time you wear them!

Use a dryer sheet as a dust cloth for your mini blinds!

QUICK TIP~ SAVE MONEY~ CUT YOUR DRYER SHEETS IN HALF!

FABULOUSLY FRUGAL FRIDAY! ~ GOT ALL THESE NEWSPAPERS! NOW WHAT?

If your like me and buying multiple newspapers every week to maximize my coupons savings then you have a ton of newspapers! Lucky for me our town has a recycling program. I just have to take my recycling bin to the curb and it gets picked up weekly. But I know some cities and towns do not offer that service. So instead of just pitching the newspapers and adding to our ever growing landfills here are a few ideas on what you can do with them!

KIDS SEEK & FIND USING OLD NEWSPAPERS

This is super easy! I just laid out newspaper pages on the living room floor and gave lil chick a washable marker and an index card that I wrote frequently used words in the newspaper on. Example: THE, AND, THERE, CAR, CAN, PEOPLE, MAN, WOMAN, BUSINESS etc.

She went through the papers on the floor looking for those words and circling them. This kept her busy for about 45 minutes. 

For younger kids you could have them find the letters of their name and circle those.

This is a FABULOUSLY FRUGAL way to use those old newspapers and provide a FUN learning game for kids!

Got any fabulous frugal ideas for kids using newspapers? 

I'd Love to hear them!

A FEW FABULOUSLY FRUGAL IDEAS FOR MOM!

• Ask your local Humane Society if they can use newspapers for the animal cages.(Our local Humane Society needs newspapers all the time!)
• Ask your local school is they have an outdoor newspaper recycling bin. (Ours has one.)