Craft of the Day. Turning Garbage into Something Useful.

Ok So i have a 9 month old and he goes through a lot of formula i keep thowing away the containers but last saturday when the sun was shining in my windows i got the idea to make them useful. i am generally more creative when the sun is out becuase it makes me happy. anyway. Here is what i did.

You start out with whatever cans or containers you are going to use make sure they are cleaned before hand.

Then decide what paper you want to use. i just used some scrapbook paper i had extra from another project. i made sure it would go all the way around the container. if it doesn't make sure you have enough to cover the other space.

Then i just wrapped it around the container and with a pencil makred where i needed to cut.



Then i used some spray on adhesive spray. (you can get at walmart in the craft section) sprayed the contaner then wraped the paper around it.

Whala

Here are some more that i did. And you could be more creative add words and such.But its a nice inexpensive way to add something to your home and reuse stuff you already have.

Another $5.00 meal

Italian Chicken Pasta w/ garlic parm bread.

Cost: about 2.50

Chicken: 1 breast. I buy frozen packages of chicken breasts so i would guess it ends up being around 1.00. Cut it up into bite size chunks, after cut mix in with some paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and italian seasonings. hopefully you have all of those in your spice rack.

Pasta Roni garilc & olive oil vermicelli- I used this because it was quick and easy and i can ussually find these in the reduced price section at smiths for .49 other than that these tend to be on sale a lot for 1.00

Garlic Bread-This is why i love my george forman grill. I just mix up some butter with some garlic salt and then spread on some parmesan that i have in the fridge. then pop it in the grill for 2 min. presto nice cruchy garlic bread.

I forgot i added some diced italian tomatoes into it for a little extra zaz and some veggies or fruit i guess. I only put in 1/4 cup but you could put in whatever you wanted. i love these because they add some great flavor and are really inexpensive.I also put some of that balsamic glaze on top of mine for a little more flavor was amazing.

$5.00 Meals

Ok so my new goal is to make all my dinners for 5.00 or less. And i don't mean ramen noodles or mac and cheese i'm talking about real dinners. I am making them for two so understand they may be more for bigger families. My son is to young to eat enough to count for a person.

sorry i don't have pictures of everything but i do of some.

Pork Chops and Butter Chive Boiled Potatoes with a Balsamic Glaze

cost: aournd $3.00- In my total cost i cut it down to estimate portions of a bigger product

Pork chops i bough pork shoulder blade steak cut for 1.40 and cut it in half to make two average size pork chops (at smiths with a rewards card)

potatoes idaho russet potatoes 5lb bag at smiths was 2.00. I only used 3 potatoes and had about 1 left over.

Balsamic vinegar- $2.43 at ross. I know you can get it in the store for around this much.

The other ingredients i had in my cubbord- dried chives, 2 tbls brown sugar, 2 tbls butter, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper.

This dinner isn't only great it also only takes about 20-30 min to make.

Cut up your potatoes and put in a pot. fill pot with cold water just above potatoes and put over med-high heat for about 8 min.

while potatoes are cooking put 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar into small sauce pan and add 2 tbls. of brown sugar over med-high heat let reduce till thickens takes about 10 min. stir every once and a while.

When potatoes have boiled for about 8 min remove from heat and drain in you pan add 2 tbls of butter and a salt and pepper to tast then add in potatoes and let cook for another 8 min mixing around to make sure all get cooked. in the last 2 min of the 8 add in chives and mix around

Cut your meat in the center or to whatever proportions you would like. I like to season mine with a sprinkle of salt peper and onion and garlic powder. heat pan to high add a little evoo or pam spray when pan is hot add the meat cook each side about two min.

Put your meat and potoates on your plate and drizzle balsamic glaze over the top. It is AMAZING.

Cool Gift Idea. FLAVORED SALT!

I got this off of Rachel Ray i think its a great idea for the neihbors or if your looking to impress one of your foodie friends simple and easy. Also its relativly inexpensive.

The trick is if your doing a powder base spice flavor like a smoky paprika or a chili spice its 1 Tablespoon to 1 cup of salt.

If your doing an herb based salt you use 2 T. to 1 cup of salt.

simple easy wham bam your done. Then you can dress them up in little containers or bags and put a tag or label on it and give it away or keep it for your family.

Freebies

Here are some Freebies for ya that i've found from some other blogs:


free sample of Underjams these are traning pants for kids CLICKHERE

Free Sample of Hugo Element Men's fragrance CLICKHERE

Free Sample of Head and shoulders and crest advanced whitening Strips CLICKHERE


Another Free sample of crest Advanced Whitening Strips from Walmart: CLICKHERE

A Dollar Store Find!!!

I went to the Everythings a Dollar store the other day and found these. I figured i would try them since infact they are only a dollar for two and i wanted to see what they looked like i really enjoy them so if your looking to add something to your home without paying alot and you live in or around bountiful i highly suggest picking them up. I'm sure you can find them in other places to at the same stores so its worth a check. also they are peel and stick and they come off the walls pretty easy.

Tidy Tidbits

Ok so i can't handle not having anything on my blog page yet so here we go.

I know that between my 8 month old and my husband my house can get pretty cluttered. So here are some tidy up tid bits to keep you sane and help keep the your clutterbugs at bay.

1. Problem: The toys always seem to be in a mess on the floor of your living room, room, etc.

Tidbit: Use inexpensive bins ( I got this one from the $ store) to put the toys that he/she plays with the most in the rooms he/she plays in the most. This makes for a quick pick up if someone is just dropping in or for just everyday pick up. Also this teaches the kids that the toys have a propper place and they get picked up after they are done.

you can try this with your husbands stuff to but hopefully you don't have to. We haven't quite gotten to that point yet, hopefully i won't ever have to do that with my husband. :-)

2. Problem: Clothes, toys, shoes etc get left down stairs (or upstiars whatever your house is set up like) where they don't belong and your constantly having to take things up and down.

Tidbit: while the exercise might be nice there is a simple solution to this problem. we have a tote on our main floor that gets filled with things that are supposed to go upstairs. So you can throw the babies change of clothes or socks or whatever into the tote and at the end of the day, week, month, whenever you feel the desire to take it up, you end up taking one trip and don't have to hunt around for everything its right there in the tote. Also this makes it a little easier when you take it up you can put things away room by room without ever dropping the tote.(my tote was a wedding gift but i saw them in a Wal-mart ad around the super bowl being used as an ice tub i think they were like $4.)

3. Problem: The keys, sunglasses, extra sets of keys chapstick are never where i left them.

Tidbit: This one is nothing new. but a new way maybe to make it part of your decor. I don't personally like key racks i think they look like a big mess. So at my house we have a spare key/ car stuff basket that sits on our shoe shelves in our entryway. You never have to worry about where they are it blends in perfectly with the decor and its right next to the door so your not running up to another room to get your chapstick or gum before you leave the house its right there.

4. Problem: The mail is always a mess on my counter filled with junk mail and i just don't want to sit and go through it.

Tidbit: Place a garbage can somewhere before you get into the house that you go by when you bring the mail in. For me its in the garage I have a garbage can by the door to the house from the garage for this very purpose. This way you get rid of the Junk before it ever gets in. ( The garage garbage is also great for the car garbage. if you take it out of the car when you get out and put it directly in the garbage you don't have to mess with it again. This has saved my car)

5. Problem: Your DVD Collection Takes up to much Space and because of this your DVD's end up all over the house.

Tidbit: I just read about this and its sounds like a great space saver! You can use dvd binders and put your DVD's in according to genre. Cartoons, action, comedy etc... this way you can just put the folders on a bookself end table or just slide them in next to the tv. saves the space and could possibly be a conversation starter at your next party.

when i started i really only had 2 ideas but i didn't think it was right to just to a bullet list with two points so i stretched it to 5. Hope they help.

The cutest Blog on the Block

I just wanted to let everyone know how wonderful the site is. It is where i have both my blog backrounds from. If your looking for a cute free blog background i highly suggest going there and checking them out.

The First Blog

I decided to start a blog dedicated to my new obsession of saving money and finding tips to help me around the house. I love to find Cheap ways to beautify my house, and have fun with my family. I also love recipes and finding new ways to tantilize my tastebuds. I have a goal of learning how to do coupon shopping so that i can go to the store and have them pay me. I hope you enjoy my blog and that it can help someone the way so many blogs have helped me.