Laundry Redo {January's Project}

Our laundry is more of a hallway than a room. I've always covered it with a shower curtain to hide the "mess." Yes it was organized with clear baskets and it even had things hung up on the wall, but it definitely didn't make me happy. Now it makes me very happy and I have yet to close the curtain, because I want to see it!

Here's the only before picture I could find....

 blurry and only a partial picture from almost 4 years ago when we first moved in. I guess I was too embarrassed to take the full view picture.

Here it is now!

 Most of the fabric was purchased several months ago for another project, but I just had to use it in here. I think there is still enough to complete the project it was meant for as well. We'll see when I actually get around to doing it. I was also able to use several fabrics in my "prize stash" from Jonquils and Ladybugs! Love it when things work out like that!

The Embroidery hoops were definitely inspired by Sara at one of my favorite blogs Sara's Art House.

This hoop was inspired by something I found on etsy, which I can no longer find so it must have sold. Loved and remembered it even though it'd been months and tried to duplicate it! They had sewn on the pennants, but I was too lazy to get out the sewing machine, so I glued them on instead.

The fabric wreath is inspired by Sara's Art House again. Such an inspirational blog!

First painting of the year. Complete with a fabric flower that was inspired by...yep Sara again!

I also created a fabric bunting using fabric, rope and this wonderful "paint on" tacky glue I found. Perfect solution for this project and several others in this room!

 

One of my final projects was to cover this box with fabric again using that wonderful tacky glue in a jar. I loved the box, but it just didn't go with the colors any more. Add fabric and tada, perfect match to my theme and a great hiding place for the butter knives we use to open the lent trap. {We love the washer and dryer we were given even if they do have dents, are missing knobs and have a broken lent trap. They still do the job well and the price was ideal. FREE! We keep wondering when they will give out, but they worked well for almost 4 years now.}

Only problem is the shower curtain "cover" definitely no longer fits the theme. I've thought of taking it down since I love looking at the new decor, but there might be a time when I still want to use it so its staying for now. At least when it pulled closed it matches the rest of the kitchen.

The whole project cost less than $20! I used coupons on several of the items including the rope, that wonderful tacky glue, the styrofoam for the fabric wreath and the embroidery hoops. Plus a lot of it was stuff we already had. Most of the money was spent on the basket. Could have been cheaper though... right after I purchased the baskets I found this very inspirational blog Make it and Love it with these lovely boxes made out of cardboard.

I totally would have made these had I not already bought the others. I am loving this blog and I have a feeling you will see some of her projects in the coming months. LOVE, LOVE her style... spent a good couple of hours browsing her blog the other day and didn't even hit all the fun projects! Love all the sewing projects. I really need to stop being lazy and get it out!! Better add that to my 2011 goals! Even though I didn't actually do any of her projects, I'd have to say that the Make it and Love it blog was definitely inspirational in this redo!

Now I'm off to take care of my poor husband who has come down with a nasty flu. At least I'll be able to wash away all the germs in my happy "room."

Friday Favorite: Frugal Rosette Shirts

I am in love with the current trend of putting cute rosettes on shirts, sweaters, etc. I love everything except the price tag that is usually attached to these beauties. So I found a solution...remember my idea post with an idea on how to make this cute shirt by Hope Studios?

Well while we were in Colorado my Mom and I had a day together and we tried our hand at creating them! It was definitely an quick, easy, and fun project that even someone who doesn't really know much about sewing {like me!} can perform. The best part about the project is that my mom was able to find cute shirts in several colors on the clearance rack of Target for $4! So I made 3 cute shirts for about $8 a piece! {Sure beats the $50 + price tag I've been seeing!}

Here's how we made them based on these instructions: - Unfortunately I didn't take step-by step pictures, but hopefully you'll still get the idea.

*Buy 2 shirts of the same color or mix and match colors {Look on clearance racks - the second size doesn't matter since you will just be cutting it up}

*Take a piece of scrap paper and cut out templates for your circles. {I folded the piece several times and then traced the bottom of a pop can [or soda can for my east coast friends] to get my large circle. Once you cut out that circle(s) you will have several templates the same size. You will need at least three. I then decreased one of the large circles to be a medium circle and another to be a small circle. These don't have to be exact, but I found it nice to have at least a template for cutting}

*Take the second shirt {cut up shirt} and begin to cut out your circles. {I found it best to cut out squares of the fabric and pin the template on the square before cutting. My fabric was rather stretchy and when I cut directly from the shirt the result looked nothing like a circle! Again the circle doesn't have to be exact to look good on the final product, but you probably want something in a general shape of a circle. = ) }

*After cutting out 7 sets of circles,  begin sewing them by hand to first shirt {wearing shirt}. {I found it easiest to create a rosette by bunching it together before beginning the sewing. You'll still need to bunch and try to catch more after that initial stitch, but I found it helped. This was definitely a trial and error for me...i.e. don't look at the undersides of my shirts, but at least the final product looked good!}

*Try different methods with your circle sets - close bunch, single rosettes. My guess is no two will be alike! {With the single rosettes I started with the middle template and just created a smaller template so my rosettes were not quite as big.}

Here's our results:

{All necklace created by Cindy with Feathered Nest Creations [my mom]. We are still working on creating an etsy shop after I attempt to sell some of her beautiful creations at the show in November. I'm having a hard time not keeping them all, but I don't need 60+ necklaces and bracelets! Plus I don't have my ears pierced and can't enjoy all her beautiful earnings that come with the sets} 

Such a fun project and I still have lots of leftover shirt in all three colors to make more! Let me know if you decide to try out the project. I'd love to see your pictures!!!

Saving Calculator

Even though Saving money and couponing is a huge part of my life right now, I try not to put too much of it on the blog. I don't want to bore ya'll. However,  I just had to share this. Last month I found this nifty savings excel spreadsheet on The Coupon Challenge. I say I save a lot by using coupons, but I've often wondered how much it actually saved. This was a very simple way to find out!

Yeah, it's a lot! I love looking at the list and seeing several trips where I saved over 90%!!! I'm planning on continuing this. It will be very interesting to see how I do in say 6 months or over the course of a year.

Here's a link to this VERY easy to use free downloadable spreadsheet. So go get yourself a Sunday newspaper, check out Moneysavingmom.com and start using the spreadsheet yourself. You'll be surprised at what you can do with only a little bit of time and a budget. You might also find yourself addicted to "couponing" like I am!

Oh, and I also had to share my favorite deal of the month. All this for .22 cents!

Yeah, I don't think I'll ever be able to do that again.

Ever heard of Groupon?

Groupon features one great deal every week day for approximately 50 cities around the US. (Denver, Charlotte, Portland, Jacksonville, Washington D.C, and New York City to name a few.) Typically the deal is 50% or more off of a restaurant, store, activity, etc. Deals are e-mailed every day and you choose whether or not to participate in that deal. You only get it if enough people choose to join in that day, otherwise your credit card is not charged. Its great if you are going on vacation to an area as well. The groupons are usually good for several months to a year. Lately they have been having great deals in our area. Friday it was a $50 Sonoma gift certificate for $25. (Somona is a REALLY nice Ruth Chris type restaurant in our area.) Today's deal is even better though $30 worth of dry cleaning at Zoots for $9 a 70% discount. You can do the deal up to 5 times. So you could potentially have $150 worth of dry cleaning for $45. Each $30 gift certificate must be used at one time. However, they can be combined, they are good at all Hampton Roads locations, and are good for 1 year.

Now I'm off to comfort a little 4 month old sweety that has the hiccups and is getting tired of them!

Frugal Finds

CVS

Transaction #1

Total Spent $.50!

Received $8 in ECBs!!

We actually needed none of this, but I made money! Will give away all but Roderick's favorite drink.

Coupons used :

$1 off Colgate

Buy 1 get 1 free on Stayfree

$2 off Stayfree product

$1 off Stayfree product

$4 ECB

Transaction #2

Total Spent $.40

Coupons used: (Used a raincheck for 4.99 a 6 pk from a couple of weeks ago)

Buy 3 get 1 free

$3 off 2 Ensure products (2 coupons)

$4 ECB used

$4 OFF $20 CVS Coupon

* Left with $3.99 ECBs! Target

Total Spent: $1.99

$ Saved with coupons $15.53!!

Obviously most of this was free so I'm not going to detail the deals. If your curious about the deals check out this post.

Farm Fresh

Total spent: $1.67

$ saved with coupons $ 2.29 (54%)

I wasn't planning on going to Farm Fresh this week, as the deals were better at Harris Teeter this week. However, I was at CVS, which is right across the street from Farm Fresh, and I needed to get something for Melody who happened to be at Farm Fresh. I decided to go ahead and purchase a couple of the deals.

Hot Deals -

Red Star $.30 each used a $.35 coupon

Reese's Free used a $.55 coupon

Harris Teeter

Total Spent: $32.25

$ Saved with coupons $30.37

Triple coupons at Harris Teeter this week! Definitely some good deals...unfortunately a lot of the really good deals were gone before I could even get there. Therefore, the bottom line was not quite like I've been able to get in the past. I still used up my 20 coupon limit though!

Hot Deals - There were lots of great deals, but here are a few.

Chicken buy 1 get 2 free - $8.50 for all three packages

Strawberries buy 1 get 2 free - $5 for all three - shared with Melody as we didn't need them all!

Tide - $3.72 used a $.35 coupon

Mission tortillas - $1.50

Flour - $.25 used a $.75 coupon

Joy - $.09 used a $.30 coupon

Sour cream - $.79 used a $.55 coupon

Dole fruit in a jar - $.25 - unsure how much coupon was for

Mahatman rice - $.19 - unsure how much coupon was for

etc.

Freebies -

Country Crock (2)

Saffron Rice

Potatoes

Chocolate milk

Mentos

Beach nut ~ mini-meal

Total for week: $36.81

Total for month:$157.07

Groceries for a steal

This week I purposely avoided the drugstores. 1.) The deals were not as good as I like and I didn't really need anything. 2) I planned on using a couple of the instant wins I won on Kroger's March Madness instant win game. I was also hoping to get some of my husband's favorite salsa - La Victoria - that I can only find at Kroger. I was able to use my reward's to print out 2 nice $4 off 2 coupons before I left. I was HIGHLY disappointed when they told me at the check-out that starting the previous Sunday (three days before I was shopping!) they no longer take Internet coupons for more than $1 off because they were having too much fraud! (The deals are great without cheating...come on guys don't ruin it for the rest of us. ) I decided to not get the salsa since I couldn't use the coupons, but I'm going to check on that. Any one else heard about this? Okay enough complaining, here's the deals I was able to get...

Kroger: $18.55

Saved $16.88 (48%)

Hot deals: Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast 1.99lb Strawberries 1.88 Hershey Syrup 1.76 -cheapest I've seen around town without coupons Freebies: Kraft cheese - won on the instant win game King size Reese cup - won on the instant win game Star Vinegar - free coupon from company survey

Farm Fresh: $4.21

Saved $6.00 (60%)

Received a $4 Catalina

Freebies - 6 Free boxes of cereal for Grace Supplies!

(Melody and I went before church to make sure we were able to get the deal. We were able to use the Catalina on our transactions later that day.)

Farm Fresh: $13.72

Saved: 21.49 (62%)

Hot deals:

Oreo Cakesters - .19 used $1 off 1 coupon

10 lbs of potatoes - 2.00 used BOGO coupon

Roma Tomatoes - .98 lb

Petite Sirloin - 1.98lb!

Toaster Strudel - .29 (2) - used 2 $1 off 1 coupons (Definitely not on the healthy list, but this is Roderick's favorite quickie breakfast. We splurge on this treat when the deal is this low!)

Red Barron french bread pizza - $2 used $1 off 1 coupon

Eddy's ice cream - 1.99 no coupon needed (Another splurge treat... should last us awhile though since we don't eat much sweets.)

Freebies:

Johnson & Johnson safety swabs (2) - used 2 $1 off 1 coupons

Viva towel - used .85 off 1 coupon (Our favorite brand!)

Harris Teeter: $4.85

Saved $6.15 ( 56%)

Hot Deals:

Large Cantaloupe 1.74

80% lean hamburger 1.47lb Organic Green Onion .50

Sudafed PE on clearance - .04 after $2 off coupon (another great Grace Supplies donation!)

Freebies:

Wishbone dressing (2) - used two .75 off coupons ( I felt like the Lord gave me this one. I recently heard that the Balsamic Vinaigrette is a great marinade. I wanted to try it out, but didn't want to pay the regular price when I know I can get it cheap. This was an unadvertised deal that I happened upon. Hey, little things make me happy!)

So I was able to get all of this.....For $41.83!

Total for month so far $120.26!

So far just a few cents over my $40 week/ $200 goal! Should be able to do that because we are very stocked up, even with the way my husband eats. He's 6' 4" and must have hollow legs. I rarely have leftovers even when I cook for 6- 8 people and there's only 2 of us. He doesn't have an ounce of fat on his body! ( Wish I could say the same about me!)

(A little behind) Last weeks shopping

I definitely went to a lot more different stores than normal last week. Roderick and I needed to be out of the house Wed while some work was being done in our house. (The fumes were putting strong to say the least!) So we went to Walgreens for the Red Barron that was on sale and since its right next to Harris Teeter I decided to run in and get a couple of their deals. Then I went to Rite Aid on my own and then my usual Wednesday Farm Fresh run with Melody.

Farm Fresh

Total $20.17

Savings with coupons -43%

Best deals - Activia - Free Danimals - Free Softsoap - Free Glass Plus - Free Eddys - $0.50 (Not picuted - a gal of Milk.)

Rite Aid

$2.19 with SCR of $3.00 to come next month

Walgreens -

$5.81

Harris Teeter

$8.28

I also got 2 24 pks of Deer Park water, but they were still in the car when I took this picture. They were one of the best deals. eVIC price $2.88 and they were BOGO so I got 48 water bottles for $2.88. I send Roderick with water every day. I know not the best for the environment... I'm working on that. = ) I got all of this for less than the Finish's regular price of $10!

Total for week:

$36.45!

(I didn't include CVS this week since it went in to the February budget. Which had a final lower than I've ever gotten!)

My first CVS transactions

2/28 ~Transaction #1: Softsoap Body wash $4.49 * ECB $4.00 Ensure (4 pks) $4.99 each Powerbar $1.50 * ECB $1.50 Basil & Oregano(BOGO) $0.99 Coke $1.99 CVS Snack bags $2.99 J&J Baby Oil $2.19 25 Digital Pictures $7.25 Coupons: Softsoap -$1 Ensure(2) -$1 Ensure - Buy 3 Get 1 Free Johnson baby product -$1 CVS coupons Free Coke 2L $10 off $20 Free 25 digial pictures Free CVS product up to $3 Total: $10.81 (With CVS $ off coupons like the $10 off $20 it is my understanding that you must have the $20 after coupons. Otherwise I could have had a lower price. However, even with this stipulation I saved $31.25! And I had $5.50 for the next transaction.) Transaction #2 - Directly after the first - she actually ripped off the ECBS for me and used them Speed Stick (2) $2.75 = $5.50 *ECB $3.00 Coke 2L $1.99 Coupons: CVS Coupon - Free 2L of Coke ECB - $3.00 - $1. 50 Total: $0.24 (For some unexplained reason I also got a $2 ECB from CVS so I ended the day with $5 ECBS) *** SO I have a disclaimer. When I went in to the CVS I happened to notice on the top of the trash 2 CVS coupons neatly cut out. One for the Coke 2L, the other another 25 digital prints. I did got back later that week before the coupon expired and printed a few pictures of my sweet 2 month old buddy I get to watch two days a week. I was also able to get one of the "goodie" bags they were giving away. Boy were they full of goodies!