Saturday, March 31, 2012

Homemade Gifts - Hair Pins

One of the areas where most people can cinch their wallet strings is on gifts. My goal is to make smaller 'stocking stuffer' type gifts as time allows throughout the year so that I'm not stressed in November (or December!) making or *gasp* buying gifts.



This is a very simple project. I think that it would be a great one to do with a young girl so she can make gifts for her friends as well.


Supplies needed:

  • Buttons - anything from dressy to cartoons are available at most mass market stores. Or you can do like I did and use up a stash you inherited.
  • Hot glue gun
  • Bobby pins
If your buttons have a loop on the back, remove it with pliers. Then it is as simple as adding glue to the back of the button and sticking the top of the bobby pin in the glue.

Be sure that you remove the excess glue 'strings' from the front of your pins. I did not remember to do this until after I took the photo. Ooops.

This particular craft cost me very little. I have a small glue gun (dollar store type) & bag of glue sticks on hand. If I'd had to buy them, I'd have $2.25 invested in them.

The buttons I have come from a huge lot that I got from Freecycle a few years ago. I have tons of "character" types available. If purchased, they run about $2.00 per card of 4.

The bobby pins are about 2 cents each.

This means that a set of two could run about $1.10 or so.

Another option is to use regular buttons and put colorful thread through the holes before gluing.




Friday, March 30, 2012

Frugal Hippie

I've jumped on the homemade bandwagon. I've started making detergent, fabric softener, dishwasher detergent & deodorant. So far, all are working well for us, except for the deodorant - I had a nasty allergic reaction. I'm thinking of trying again with less tea tree oil.

These items not only save money but by making and using them, I continue my frugal focus. I use them daily and can really see the savings adding up.

An added bonus is that I know what is going into most of my homemade products.

One thing I want to work on is my "What's For Dinner" segments. Lately at my house food has been expensive. My friend & her two teenage sons eat with me most nights. The boys don't like beans & that tosses out half of the frugal meals. I want to get back to focusing on where my money gets spent.

New Post? After YEARS???

A friend inspired me to start using my blog again. I do some journal writing still on Live Journal but I'm really not writing about things like I really would like to be.

My life has changed completely since I last posted. I've gotten a divorce. I've moved into another house that my fiancee and I are purchasing from my parents. Basically everything written prior to this date is from a prior life. I don't want to remove my posts though because I feel that they have some good information.

So be looking for new posts soon...