Tag : frugal living

114 posts

201603/22

T Tuesday: making do edition

So whats a girl to do when she’s hosting some friends for brunch and suddenly the love seat decides it needs a bit of ventilation.

Frantically, search through her totes of fabric to find a slipcover of course.

Not too shabby if I say so myself. I’m so happy I grabbed this piece of rich upholstery fabric from a garage sale a couple years back. The girls are nearly here so this will be short and sweet.

I do have to show you my new pint glass though.

I just couldn’t pass it up. I knew it would be perfect for the Japanese beer I drink with sushi.

It had been a while since I made sushi. It was so yummy!!!!!!

What are you doing today?

Around home | Blog | Kitchen

frugal living, kitchen, T Tuesday

11 Comments

halleday

201602/10

Wall imperfection solution

So what’s a girl to do when she doesn’t want to repaint a wall quite yet…hide the imperfections, of course.

This first one is were my dustbuster hand vacuum formerly hung. It finally “bit the dust” so to speak. Oh man that was bad.

My solution is not too shabby. Totally hides the wall anchors. It’s an awkward little section of wall anyway…might as well try to dress it up.

This UGLY phone jack was truly an eye sore in the kitchen when I took down the wall phone. Just the simple hanging of the painting over the jack gave that wall a fresh new look. I didn’t even have to pound in a nail!

Big J says the painting makes him of cells….and that’s from the kid who says he doesn’t like biology. Me…I just like the colors. LOL

Around home | Art | Blog

frugal living, home decor, painting

3 Comments

halleday

201601/09

After Christmas crafts

On Wednesday I was on a mission to get all of my errands complete before the snow then wicked cold snap was to hit. I went 11 places in just under 4 hours. Shockingly I didn’t spend a bunch of money either. I was hitting all the loss leader deals at various stores while still getting the essentials to last into next week. I wasn’t even planning on going to Michael’s but since I was just down the street from it I decided to check out the 80% off all Christmas deals. I picked up the needed supplies to make a couple of wreaths.

Since we are putting away all of our Christmas decor today, it was now or ~~never~~ next year for wreath making. So I gathered my supplies and set to work.

I also had to find a video tutorial on the process of creating a deco mesh wreath.

This one worked for me.

What I didn’t comprehend was just how huge this was going to be!

It became painfully obvious that the scale of the elements I had purchased would be completely wrong.

I added some ribbon…and what appears to be a nice bow in the photo. Nope…just shoved the rest of the ribbon in there for storage until I can find someone to help me with the bow. Did I mention how much I suck at making bows!?! I called my crafty neighbor for help and evidently she lacks that skill as well. I’m thinking with the addition of a proper bow and perhaps some plastic Christmas balls this would work for an outdoor wreath.

Next I set to work on a winter themed wreath. Something to take you through until Easter.

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

Did you notice the price sticker on the deco mesh…? Goodwill $2.99 and I used a 25% off coupon so it was really $2.24, sweet! The wreath base was purchased previously when I made my burlap wreath. I started out and realized that the green wire base was showing through in a very unflattering way. First I doubled the number of pipe cleaners on the base but the green still showed through. It needed to be white.

Lucky for me, the temps were hovering around freezing yesterday so I was able to give the base a quick shot of paint in the garage. Honestly, I’m surprised at how quickly it dried. I was really worried since the can said not to use below 55°F.

Isn’t it pretty!?!

I was making it for a gift but it looks so good on my front door that I think I’m keeping it. Shhh…

I love the iridescent shimmer in the mesh. Perfect match to a cold winter day.

Do you decorate for “winter” to carry through until St. Patrick’s Day or perhaps Easter?

Blog | Crafts

Christmas, crafts, frugal living, Holidays, thrifted treasures, wreath

6 Comments

halleday

201512/06

Steal of a deal

After going through the drop off lane at our local Goodwill store I always step inside to see what treasures I can find. At the bottom of the donation tax receipt is a coupon. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

But the deal of the day was sweet even without using the coupon.

I’m looking for a couple specific books, so I always take a close look. Even though I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, I couldn’t pass up these treasures. The novel is for the boys, the knitting directory looked like a really awesome resource and the pink Readers Digest condensed book will become a journal after I remove the text block and replace with my own papers. I simply loved the cover design. I always peek under the dust jackets of those condensed books…sometimes the covers are lovely!

And for the price…

even without using my coupon…it was a steal!

Do you visit thrift stores, second hand shops and rummage sales for bargains? What was your best or most recent deal that had you smiling?

Blog | Crafts

frugal living, journal, knitting

3 Comments

halleday

201511/02

A second look: Creative ADD

This month for Second on the 2nd, I’m sharing a post from February 2012 that still makes me laugh at how all over the place my creativity takes me. Sometimes even in the course of a day. Right now I’m just wishing that creativity would kick back into gear…I’m in a bit of a dry patch on the creativity front.

Join me for a look back…

I’ve been all over the place lately when it comes to creativity.

I think I may have Art ADD (attention deficit disorder).

Ok…some might argue that I have ADD in other areas of my life as well but the Art ADD is self-diagnosed.

I blame the other on Motherhood. Children steal you’re ability to keep a clear running thought in your head. :) But I wouldn’t change a thing.

Anyway…these are the things I’ve done in the past week.

I papered our recycling cabinet to match the fridge.

Knit another dishcloth on the loom…

Knit a cowl on the loom…

Miniature terrain on a recycled CD…

Another terrain piece…

And last night I started another twirly crochet scarf because my elbow was hurting from the repetitive motion of the knitting.

Crochet seems to work my wrist more and doesn’t bother me.

In addition I’ve been washing and ironing my way through a large box of old linens. Deciding what is decent enough to save and use and what I can use in my artwork. Vintage linens and fabric are part of my idea for the Postcard Challenge book.

So, yeah…definitely Art ADD.

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That was a crazy amount of creativity in a short amount of time. It would have been really great to bottle a bit of that enthusiasm for a later date such as now!

On a side note…what do you think of my blog makeover? I was feeling the need for a change. I’m still tweaking things here and there. Please let me know if anything is weird or not functional for you. Thanks!!

Art | Blog | Crafts

crafts, crochet, frugal living, knitting, miniature terrain, Second on the 2nd

9 Comments

halleday

201510/07

Frugal coat fix

So my neighbor came to me with her daughters favorite coat. She had caught the toggle button on something and ripped it horribly down the front.

(of course this would be where the before photo would go) no such luck here…

Since the mornings have been a bit chilly lately I decided I needed to tackle this conundrum. I went with my original thought of creating some vines or stems to cover the ripped fabric.

Mini-me delivered it to her just a bit ago and she said “Thank your Mom 1000x”. I think it was a success.

Blog | Crafts

frugal living, sewing

5 Comments

halleday

201506/30

T Tuesday: Juneberry jam edition

Welcome to yet another edition of T stands for Tuesday hosted by Dr. E aka Elizabeth, caretaker of Bleubeard and Squiggles.

So what’s a Juneberry you ask? I love putting words in your mouth…makes me feel all powerful and full of myself.

But seriously…ever heard of a Juneberry? How about a Saskatoon berry? Or perhaps a Serviceberry? Until recently I didn’t know that they all happen to be the same thing. And even more so…we have a tree in our yard. Wish I’d realized that 12 years ago when it was much smaller!!

Of course they are much tastier when left until they are a deep purple…but you have to fight the birds for them.

I found several recipes online for Juneberry jam but decided to go with this low sugar version.

Isn’t it pretty!?! I ended up with a partial jar that went into the fridge for immediate consumption.

I’m not a big sweets girl…(unless it’s chocolate…which I’m allergic to but I’m willing to deal with the consequences occasionally but that’s a whole other issue)…so a slightly tart jam suits me just fine. Honestly I haven’t tried it on bread yet…just the spoon. Slightly tart and quite full of seeds. It will depend on if anyone else likes the jam if I bother with all the tedious picking again. It would be interesting to know if you could make wine or mead or some sort of adult beverage from these berries. More research I guess.

Speaking of research…can anyone help me with the name of this flower?

I believe it starts with a “C” but I threw out the handy dandy marker that came with the plant. I want to write it down so I can remember to purchase more next year.

I’m not sure what’s on the docket for today other than talking to my in-laws. The Twin Cities area got hit with some pretty big thunderstorms yesterday…large hail, winds and heavy rain. We got very little hail here and not much of it so the garden is fine. We heard reports of two inch hail in their area though. UGH..that would be awful!

I have to show you my rouge bean plants too…I did not buy climbing beans but 4 of my plants have decided to climb.

I’ll be putting in some bamboo stakes today.