Before You Go To The Book Store Check Out The Library

I love to buy books. I know that at the library you can check out books for free, but sometimes you just want to keep a book for your own read it over and over again, crinkle the pages and bend the covers.

But the library isn't just for rentals anymore. At many libraries you can buy books too. Libraries are constantly buying new books so they have to make room for them by selling their older books.

Many libraries give books away, some have sales a few times a year and some have permanent bookstores. The Hoover Public Library has a permanent bookstore. Books, CD's, Books on Tape, Encyclopedias, and Movies are all sold and range in price anywhere from .25 cents to $1.

Not all the items for sale are books that are ancient and uninteresting. There was a whole section of awesome hands on science and craft books, CliffsNotes and even those travel books for foreign countries that people like to buy before a big trip. There were so many books in there to chose from I can't list them all here.

So next time you are looking for a book to buy, check out the library first. You'll be getting a great deal and you'll be giving back to library too.

Make Inexpensive Play Clothes

I can't believe I'm sharing this old photo with the world (by the way I'm 6 months pregnant here). I've been making this costume for Halloween for several years now because it is cheap, it is easy to make and it lets me be creative. With 4 paper grocery bags I am able to create last minute cowboy costumes for me and the Mr. Get creative with scissors and markers and you can do anything.

Play clothes don't have to cost a lot if anything at all. It can also be fun for your kids to make them themselves. I cut the bags to what I want them to be, it's as simple as that. The bags are sturdy and have a leather appearance after you crinkle them and smooth them. I've also made Indian costumes with these too. You can punch holes in the chaps and string yarn trough. The belt buckles were made from cardboard and tin foil. I have also made guns in the past from cardboard, toilet paper rolls and tin foil. You can color these costumes to look like cow hide and even include a shiny sheriff badge.

Martha Stewart has other creative how-to's on seven different homemade and inexpensive costumes. Of course she is Martha and her costumes blow this one out of the water. Try making paper bag costumes or try one of Martha's. I promise, you and your kids will have a blast!

Listen to Free Music

Okay, so everyone that I've talked to about what I'm about to post has laughed at me because I am the only 26 year old on the planet that is so technology impaired but I'm going to post about this anyway because maybe there is someone out there like me.

I recently discovered Playlist.com. It's the most amazing site! You can add as many songs as you want to a play list. You can put the play list on your Myspace, Facebook, Blog etc. or you can just listen to them straight from Playlist's site on your computer and much more. The best part is it's completely FREE!!

I have created 3 play lists so far, my favorite songs at the moment, one for kids songs for my daughter and one for Sunday songs. I love it! I will put my play list on and listen to it for hours while I craft, clean or just have a dance party with my daughter. A word of caution though if you are creating a play list for a child, make sure you sample the song before you put it on the play list. I discovered some of the Sesame Street Songs that came up on my search were not actually Sesame Street songs but rather vulgar parody songs of original Sesame Street songs, so just be careful.

I have posted my play list of favorites at the bottom of the page if you want to check it out!

Never Buy Another Shower Curtain

Is your shower curtain or shower curtain liner disgusting? Don't beat yourself up about it, it happens to the best of us. Just don't throw it out and buy another one!

Instead of throwing it away and buying a new one you can just throw it in the washing machine with a little bit of detergent and bleach. When it is done washing just hang it right back up to dry and it will be as good as new.

I have a fabric shower curtain (that I bought on clearance for $4) that I will wash with my other linens but the liner I have has been washed this way several times. It is still as sturdy as ever.

The Only Way to Buy Ribbon

Little girls love ribbon! And big girls do to! It is great for crafts, scrapbooking, clothes, hair, presents, the uses are numerous.

I have collected a varied and plentiful supply of ribbon and have paid just a few dollars for all of the ribbon I have. How you ask? I buy remnant ribbon packages! What they are are packages of 30 yards of ribbon in various widths, textures and colors. Each package is different but each has about 3 yards of 10 different kinds of ribbon. The best part about these packages is that they cost only $1.99! You can barely buy a spool of 15 yards of ribbon for that little.

Where can you find them? I have seen them at many craft stores but I can confirm that they are $1.99 at Hancock's and Hobby Lobby. Each time to go I get a little goddie bag full of beautiful, satins, organza's, and grosgrain ribbon. Check it out you're never by spool ribbon again!

* Oh yeah, and don't forget to save the ribbon on packages that people give you!

Tank Top Bags

Have an old tank top that is in good shape but just doesn't fit you anymore? Turn it into a bag!

I created this bag from one of my favorite shirts that just didn't fit any more. Each tank top is unique and how you sew it into a bag will differ. This one has french seams and gusseted corners. Bags like this are great for beach bags or whatever you need a bag for.

Make yours today or you can buy this one from my etsy site. www.cuttscreations.etsy.com

Don't Throw Out Those Old Pots and Pans!

When I was in college I had the pots and pans that my parents used well before I was born. I have gradually updated my kitchen supplies but I didn't throw much of the old stuff out. There are many uses for pots, pans, lids, Tupperware, wooden spoons etc.

The following are other possible uses for these old items. Get creative and discover your own uses!




Pots and Pans: Tie-dye, make soap, melt candle wax
Pot Lids: Use as a "catcher" or a hot pad for your hot glue gun.
Bowls: Tie-Dye, soak your feet
Tupperware: Store Play-Dough, store small kids toys, store nails or nuts and bolts
Tupperware lids and old plates: Use as a paint pallet

The options are endless. What are some of the things you use old kitchen stuff for?

Download and listen to free music

As with many women I am head over heels for all things Twilight. I was debating if I wanted the The Twilight Score music or not and I found this site which lets you listen to a sampling of each song. I love to listen to it over and over again. I'm going to ask for the full soundtrack for my birthday.

Beacuse of this I followed the link to Amazon MP3's and discovered a whole treasure trove of free and very cheap music. Most of the free music is stuff I don't immediately recognize but that is when you find the best stuff. It looked like there was a lot of classical, jazz, Christmas but also some more modern lesser known artists. They also only charge $.89 for regular song downloads and had entire albums between $4 and $8. Check it out!

Create your own fabric baskets

I got sick of looking at the ugly yellow bucket that my laundry soap came in and the pile of dirty dish rags and bibs that accumulated on the floor of my laundry room, so I created these cute little fabric baskets for them, for FREE!

I see cute fabric baskets at the store for a minimum of $10 each (and that's talking Walmart, can you imagine Pottery Barn?!) . Since I am a cheapskate mom, I searched my basement for suitable sized boxes and covered them with fabric items I had laying around my house.

The big basket is made from a crock pot box and a table cloth that doesn't fit my new table. I got the table cloth for $1 at an after Christmas sale a few years ago. I simply wrapped and folded the table cloth around the box and slid the laundry soap bucket in.

For the small box I used an Eggo waffle box from Sam's club and put an old flannel pillow case that we never use over top. I secured the corners underneath with clear packing tape. I chose to leave the fabric bunched on my baskets for texture but you can wrap these up as tight as you want to. Both boxes are very sturdy.

I now feel much better about my laundry room and it didn't cost me a penny. Feels good...

Think Outside the Christmas Box

Everyone knows that after Christmas is the best time to buy things for the next Christmas. For example last year we got $50 from our grandma for Christmas. My husband and I bought a 6 1/2 foot tree with lights, and over 200 christmas ornaments. We saved hundreds of dollars since the tree alone was over $150 the day before.

But what many may not think about is that this is also a great time to stock up on items for other times of the year too. There are always table cloths and plate sets and other house hold items that we never think to look for that are also majorly discounted. I have several beautiful table cloths and place setting that I have purchased for pennies that don't "look" Christmasy so I use them all year round. For example plain white or a beautiful sage green, both of which match my kitchen.

Think about other special occasions as well. I was getting married in April and I knew that my colors were going to be black, white and red accented with gold. My mom and I went to an after Christmas sale and stocked up on red and white candles, gold platters and thousands of white lights. We used them to decorate my reception. It looked elegant and not like Christmas at all. The money we saved was spent on the designer dress I just had to have and our honeymoon at Lake Tahoe. A much better allocation of funds.

Also, be sure to check out clothing departments. You can always find very nice dress clothes for your kids at very low prices. Some dresses and things are clearly Christmas but many can pass all year round. If it's an item that is clearly Christmas that you just love buy it in the size you think your child will wear next year. If it doesn't fit them when the next year rolls around sell it at a consignment sale. You'll probably get more for it than you paid for it.

This year, think outside the Christmas box and save youself a lot of money on things you can use year round!