Frugal Living – Page 60 – Grocery Shrink

Just in case you thought I had it all together…

By Angela Coffman on June 2, 2010

I'm always surprised when someone thinks I have it all together. I know how it happens. I only post the stuff that turns out right. I realized it, because I was struggling today and yesterday to think of something to post. All of my recent projects have gone all wrong. I usually don't think anyone is interested in reading about how messy my bedroom is right now, or that sometimes my kids don't eat breakfast until 9:45 in the morning.

I have aspirations to be better and I really try to be. Here are some photos of things that turned out wrong this week. Hopefully it will help in some way. We are all human and have things that go less than stellar, but I'm working to be the kind of person that is willing to pound out the ugly nails and try again.

I got a new 2" finish nail gun. And found out it's not just a point and shoot tool, sigh. It looks so easy on youtube. Now my mdf is a mess and full of holes, but it's nothing a little caulk, sandpaper, and paint can't fix–I hope. On the bright side, I learned an easy way to pound out finish nails: Grip the trip with plyers on the underside and pound on the plyers with a hammer. When enough of the head has popped through, grab it with the plyers and pull. I think I pulled 14 nails or so before calling DH for help to work the gun right.

This is a corner of my daughter's bedroom. I tried laying a white paper floor right on the particle board subfloor like I had done with brown paper and wood stain successfully in the bathrooms. Unfortunately the oils from the particle board seeped into the white paper and made an ugly mess. So, I primed over everything with Kilz and then layed a second layer. Double yuck! The stains still came through and now the "texture" from the wrinkled paper is more enhanced looking like a really bad plaster job. I have peeled off all the paper layers and now need to start again with a new idea. Hopefully it will work and I can tell you about it in a few days.

I have pictures of my bedroom, but I'm not strong enough to post them yet. You really don't want to see it anyway…believe me.

We will not forget (Lots of Pictures)

By Angela Coffman on May 30, 2010

The Vietnam Memorial

My Husband’s Uncle Gregg gave his life in Vietnam and left behind a loving family and fiance.

To all American Veterans and their loved ones:

My Family and I Thank You

And Salute You

We will not forget your sacrifice and vow to spend our freedom wisely.

Your fight has not been in vain.

Rose Lamp Knock-Off

By Angela Coffman on May 29, 2010

Theirs–$198:

Mine–$35.00

Materials:

112 silk rose blossoms–$32 half off at Hobby Lobby (These were on 8 bushes)

1 lamp shade–$3 at Old Time Pottery (It was marked down from $15 for being dirty. I washed it in about 3 minutes.)

Hot glue, Old Lamp and white spray paint from stash

Note: This is a good sized lamp. Total height on finished lamp is 30 inches plus the finial. The lamp came with a shade, but I soon figured out that it was too huge and would cost close to the $100 to cover it with roses. That's why I purchased a new smaller shade. The new shade is still large–top diameter is 6 inches, bottom diameter is 13 inches with a height of 12 inches. A smaller lamp and shade would be even less expensive to do.

Here you can see the original lamp shade and the new one beside it. Besides the large size, I didn't care for the scallop design with the roses on it and ended up cutting them off to use on the new lamp.

I tried to sell the old lamp in several garage sales and no one seemed interested. It belonged to my grandmother and I really liked it, so I couldn't bring myself to send it to the thrift store as long as my mom would keep it in her garage :). When I saw the PBK picture I knew this lamp would be adorable fixed up that way.

I used paper towels and painters tape to keep the cord, lightbulb plug and hand turning thingy free of paint. And then sprayed it with 3 very light coats of satin white spray paint to make it this:

Here's a few step by step directions:

1. After you get your lamp base the way you want it, pull the rose blossoms off the stems.

2. Then use scissors to snip off the poky thing on the bottom.

3. Then apply hot glue in a small circle around the base of the rose and stick it to the lamp. I found it looked better to work in a ring instead of vertical rows. I started at the top but can see a benefit from starting at the bottom. Hold the rose in place for a few seconds until the glue sets up.

Here are some answers for some questions you might have:

Q. Will the hot glue melt a plastic shade?

A. Nope, my shade was plastic and it worked great. I couldn't remove a rose from the shade without cutting it though.

Q. Can I use low temperature glue?

A. No, the heat from your lightbulb could reactivate the glue and make the roses fall off.

Q. Are roses less expensive at Dollar Tree?

A. Yes and No. The roses at Dollar Tree are $1 a bunch, but there are only 7 roses on them instead of 14 roses per bush at Hobby Lobby for ($4 half price) The DT roses are also a lot smaller so you will need a lot more. It will end up costing about the same but imho the Hobby Lobby roses were a lot prettier.

Q. Do the roses block light from coming through the shade?

A. Yes. The roses block some of the light coming through the shade, but it is still gorgeous day and night. The evening light is the perfect bedside "read a book before falling to sleep" kind of light. We are going to place ours on the corner table between the two heads of the storage daybeds we are building for the girls' shared room. Here's a evening light photo without flash so you can get a feeling for it.

More rose lamp 023

Now I have the old lamp shade that I've ruined. I wonder if I can take all the plastic off of it and make something like this?

Thanks for reading. I'd love it if you left a comment.

I have a new ceiling fan!

By Angela Coffman on May 29, 2010

I was at the hardware store while an electrician worked in my kitchen. I saw the fan, thought about 5 minutes and bought it. The electrician installed it before he went home. At $88 the fan wasn't a steal, but it had a remote, was pretty, and less expensive than other's of the same type. My mom came over to see it a few days later and declared it was the very fan that went on sale that day for $20 cheaper. How did she know that? I didn't believe it and looked it up online to prove her wrong. She was right. For a few minutes I had a pity party, then called up the store. I found out that with a receipt they would happily refund the difference, and they did!

Before:

Now:

It blends into the room a whole lot better and doesn't leave spots in your eyes if you accidentially look at it. Even though ceiling fans aren't my favorite look, it sure has come in handy as the spring temperatures heat up.

Thrifted Skirt to Summer Nightgown Refashion

By Angela Coffman on May 28, 2010

I found this pale green and white striped knit skirt at our thrift store for $1.49. The fabric is very soft with no pills. It is a straight style, with few seams, in a large size. That translates to yardage :).

My daughter Heidi is growing so fast that her summer nightgowns from last year were too small. I welcomed a break from remodeling projects and took a few measurements, transferred them to this schematic and drafted a pattern.

I wish I had a video elf so I could show you how easy it is to draft a knit pattern like this. Perhaps another day? The front and back pieces are identical. I simply drew a fold line on a large piece of newsprint. Then took 1/4 of the girth measurements and the exact length measurements and transferred them to the paper, connecting the side seams, neck and arm hole curves with a French ruler. I added 3/8 inch seam allowance. Her nightgown doesn't need extra ease because the knit fabric gives her room to move.

To prepare the skirt for recutting, I cut off the waistband and the center back seam.

I placed the nightgown front on the fold to cut out and found that my skirt was too full to fit. No problem, I redrew it just slim enough to fit and folded over the excess.

Since the back of the original skirt had a seam with a kick slit, I had to add a seam to the back of my nightgown. I just cut it out with a 3/8 inch seam down the back and serged it together. Knit has a tendancy to stretch out of shape. To help, I lengthened the stictch and steam pressed to help it shrink back. The first time the item is washed and dried it usually recovers it's shape.

To construct, I sewed the side seams. Then turned under the arm holes 3/8 of an inch and hemmed with a cute tricot stitch.

Then I cut 26" of 1/4" width elastic. This was 6" for each neckline plus 8" for each shoulder strap. I cut several 1 inch wide strips of knit from the scraps and stitched them together quilt binding style. Then I used my longest straight stitch to sew the elastic down the middle of the wrong side of the strip stretching the elastic as I went. When I came to the end of the elastic, I cut off the excess knit strip.

Then I stitched the elastic strip in a circle and pinned it to my front and back neckline, centering everything. This created a finished neck edge and the shoulder straps. I stitched on top of the previous stitching on the necklines and left the shoulder straps free. What a cute ruffle!

To finish the nightgown, I used the same tricot stitch to hem the bottom, but this time I stretched the fabric as I went. This made a nice ruffly hem with a scallop. An alternative to the scallop hem is to add the same ruffle as around the neck.

Cute, Comfy, and Cost effective. What more could a girl ask for?

Don't forget to leave a comment; it makes me so happy :).

Fancy Pillow Tutorials

By Angela Coffman on May 26, 2010

I'm going to build a couple of storage Day Beds from the plans at www.Knock-offwood.com here: http://www.knock-offwood.com/2009/12/plan-stratton-daybed-as-request-by-you.html With the layout like this for the girl's room:

As part of our plan we would like to craft some fantastic pillows for the daytime. We found some just right at Pier one Imports for a mere $39 each . . . what? They looked time consuming but possible to make ourselves. Here are some tutorials we plan to try:

http://www.blog.sugarlotus.com/2010/01/throw-pillow-tutorial.html

and

http://floralshowers.com/sewing/ruffle-pillow-tutorial/

I love these!!!!!

http://americanfeltandcraft.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/bed-of-roses-sweet-little-rose-accent-pillows/

Homemade Wallpaper Paste

By Angela Coffman on May 25, 2010

I haven't been posting much because I've been busy making a mess of my house–grin. Ooh, I also had a garage sale with my sister-in-love, Gena. We each made nearly $400 just cleaning out the house!

I am working hard to get all my painting done so I can refinish the floors. I prefer white trim, so we are busy sanding and washing the wood work. I also hung beadboard wall paper in the girl's room and am painting over it to make it look more realistic. I'm amazed how the seams disappear when they are painted.

To hang the wallpaper and make sure it stays through the very humid parts of the year, I added my own homemade wallpaper paste. It's so much less expensive than store bought, and not hard to make. I used my electric skillet since my stove is gone. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup white sugar, and 2 quarts of water. Mix the cornstarch and sugar in the skillet. Add enough cool water to make a smooth paste. Slowly add the rest of the water and cook and stir until thick.

(It's handy to let the paper drip into the tub below.)

To use, activate prepasted wallpaper by dipping it in water. A storage tub was just the right size for us.

Use a clean paintbrush to lightly apply the homemade paste and …

…fold the pasted sides together to book. Set the timer for 10 minutes and allow the paper to rest like this before applying to the wall. I can't wait to show you after pictures!

P.S. The Beadboard wallpaper is $15 a double roll at Lowes. It took about 4.5 rolls to go 2/3 high on the girl's room (11 x 12 feet). I found real beadboard there for $40 a sheet 4 foot by 8 foot. This was easier for me and a fraction of the price. It looks real!

Little Chicken Pockets for Lunch

By Angela Coffman on May 18, 2010

Today we ripped carpet off the stairs and out of the bedrooms. There are lots of staples to pull! Even the tiny ones (aged 2 and 4) are helping pull the staples with plyers. The 2 year old prefers to run the shop vac to clean up afterwards. He’s pretty good help.

These stairs were not meant to be seen when they were first built. I’m not concerned about that now that I’ve seen this blog: http://southernhospitalityblog.com/the-down-dirty-on-the-stair-project

Her stairs looked like mine and now look like this:

She even gave step by step instructions. It will be awhile before I can get to finishing them, but we decided to go ahead and take out the carpet while we had a dumpster in the driveway for our kitchen remodel.

Anyway, I worked up until lunch again and was standing there wondering what to feed all my hungry kiddoes, when I remembered the $.50 cans of pilsbury cresent rolls DH snagged at Dirty Don’s the night before. So I made these (which were a big hit):

It’s super easy–great for kids to do.

1. Pinch 2 rolls together to form a rectangle. Spread with mayo and honey mustard.

2. Top with bits of leftover chicken and a little shredded cheese.

3. Fold in half and press the edges shut. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

1 can makes 4.

Instead of towels embroider an apron…

By Angela Coffman on May 17, 2010

The blank canvas for this proejct was an inexpensive pruchased butcher style apron. I made it special for a gift by adding a free motion embroidery pattern using the same method as in the towel tutorial here. I had never met the bride before the shower, but I watched her fiance grow up at our church and wanted to show my support. Her registry showed her kitchen was black, tan and red and I took a risk on the style. She seemed to like it a lot and was surprised when she opened it.

The red ruffles are 2 inch bias cut strips of linen that I put through the ruffling foot. The edges are left raw and soft and the rose is made from the same strip but pleated on the end instead of in the middle. I just rolled it up and hotglued it as I went. A piece of felt and pinback finished the back. Then I curled the outer petals back to make it look more rose like.

This whole project was very fast to make. I threw it together made it carefully right before I left for the wedding shower. It's nice to have alternatives and still make a one of a kind gift when time is really short.

Griddle Pizza–Yum!

By Angela Coffman on May 14, 2010

Life without an oven isn't so bad. It requires me to think more deeply, to be more creative. Today was no exception. I was missing a key ingredient for my crock pot meal I had planned for today. It's the 14th of the month and I still haven't found time to grocery shop. It's so nice to have a pantry and the flexibility to stay out of the store.

Today was special because my ballet mom friends came over for a sewing day to make the costumes for the upcoming performance and all the children got to play together. Torrie brought me these:

Notice the river rocks in the bottom of the milk vase and the twine tied around the top holding the hand written card. Beautiful, Torrie! Such thoughful little touches.

I had so much fun sewing with my friends that supper time crept up on me and I didn't have a plan. While cleaning up some broken glass (it was one of those days) I got an idea and took a few minutes and put this in my Kitchen Aid mixer:

1 3/4 cups of warm water

1 Tablespoon of yeast

1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons of honey

4 cups of flour

Mixed it well and set it to rest while I finished visiting with my friends. When the house was quiet again, Brandon helped me make artisan pizza's on the griddle. Today there were only 2 rules: 1. No stressing and 2. Everyone has fun. We continued the rules for our cooking session.

Step one: Divide the dough into 4 balls. Press each ball flat. It doesn't have to be round, smooth or pretty :).

Step 2: Put some chopped veggies on one side of the hot griddle and slap a piece of dough on the other. Cook it like a pancake.

3. While cooking the second side, spread the first side with tomato sauce (jarred spaghetti sauce is perfect) pepperoni, grilled veggies, and mozzarella cheese. Make it however you like it best or use whatever is on hand. Alfredo sauce or pesto is a great alternative to tomato sauce.

4. When the second side is browned, slide it under a broiler and let the cheese get golden brown.

Yum!

Alternately, you can do this on the grill, no broiler necessary. Just reduce the amount of water in the crust recipe to 1 2/3 cups. I used white flour for this recipe but have used 100% whole wheat flour in the past and it is great too.

Comments make me happy :).