Wire Words

I am going to attempt my first tutorial here so hold on tight and don't laugh ....  This is one of those things that I saw somewhere many moons ago and just never got around to putting it together.  After attempting one for Valentines day, I realized I needed to make a few adjustments, and then I quickly realized the potential here!  First, let me say that I saw something similar on a blog somewhere long ago {is that vague enough for ya}, the gal used vinyl wrapped clothesline which I tried, but it didn't work out so hot for me.  I happened upon this wire at Wally-world and my mind went bonkers! 

   

First, here's your supply list:  galvanized wire $3.76 at Walmart for 100 feet {pretty cheap and I could do LOTS of projects}, wire cutters, glue gun, left over yarn, and a movie cause this is a bit tedious.  

{For all you Twilighters out there, I did cover Jacob's face on purpose ;-)}. 

 Next, make a "rough draft" of the word or object you want to create.  Cut the wire a bit longer just in case.  I will give you brownie points if you can guess what this one is going to say... It's pretty jumbled right here, but I'll give you a hint... I am in desperate need of St. Patty's Day decor.  Hmmmm? 

Start by gluing the yarn up and over the end of the wire, then start wrapping around, and around, and around..... You will want to do something similar at the end of the wire too just to cover the sharp edges of the wire.

Every so often, add a little glue just to make sure it doesn't slip as you go... Then keep wrapping around, and around, and around... {do you see why a movie is necessary at this point?}

Oh, this is a pretty big piece, so I started forming the letters as I went to make it easier to work with.

After a good few minutes {fine, hours} and a large knot in my old scrap of yarn, VOILA!  Did you guess what it was?  I really like the look of this one.  Now, I just need to figure out where to put it.  This is my kind of decoration, it has impact, but is super cheap, very easy, and extremely versatile - Think of the Possibilities!!

Here is one I whipped up for a friend's new baby.  His room is going to be cowboy themed so I thought it would look neat with the jute instead.  You know, make it look like a lasso or something.

Happy Creating!!

It's Craft-tastic!

I Love doing little craft projects, and if I can do them on the cheap! Well, that just makes it all the more sweeter!  Here's one that has been in my "I-would-love-to-do-this-someday" pile for a good minute.  Found it over at Blue Cricket Design {one of my favs}.  All you need is some ribbon, and washers from Home Depot and you are set!!

I made a few for my sister's sweet 16 & they were a hit, so I decided to make one for myself too!  I went a little more dainty on the ribbon, just because it was what I had on hand.  I tried this double ribbon technique and it was WAY easy! Here is the original washer necklace tutorial, which will be my next attempt. 

Chore Time Made Easy

I finally finished up the job cards for my kiddies! Phew!!  Here is the jist of this program.  Every morning and/or afternoon I put a few jobs in each of my kids' drawers.  They do the job and upon inspection, they put the job card in Mommy's drawer.  At the end of the week, I tally up all the little amounts in the bottom of the card {that's how much they get paid} and then a $$ amount is distributed.  Please don't turn me into CPS cause I am super cheap.  We have always told the kids that doing jobs around the house is just part of being a member of this family. However, some of the kids are getting old enough where they need to learn a little about the value of a dollar, tithing, and frankly, I'm just tired of picking up after everyone. 

 

 
Step #1 - Go to My Computer is My Canvas and order the job cards from her Etsy shop.  You can choose to have them personalized, or you could just print them and write out what you want.
Step #2 - Laminate the cards, cause you know they will be getting some love.
Step #3 - Figure out a 'mailing' system that works for your family. I found this DARLING box thing {not really sure what you call it} at Hobby Lobby.  I'm not going to lie, it was kind of pricey, so make sure you use their 40% off coupon on their website.  But, I had done this system a few years ago and used little $1 Valentines mailboxes from Target, but my kids liked to do tote them all over the house and they got ruined pretty quickly.

See all those jobs in the bottom box?  That's a whole lotta work I don't have to do!  Another fun thing to do is put treats in their boxes too.

Step #4 - Grab a Diet Coke and watch some good ol' fashioned child labor take on a life of it's own ;-)

I have to say that this has worked better than I could have ever imagined!  My kids now ASK me for more jobs in their drawers!  Seriously!  

 

I printed some blank cards too so I can add jobs or little notes to my babies. So fun!

 Have fun and Happy Chores!!

Grocerysmarts.com printable grocery planner.

Grocerysmarts.com printable grocery planner.

Sooooo glad that the Smith's promo is continuing this week!! Seeing as how I totally did not get to the store at all last week, my refrigerator is screaming to be filled. Happy Shopping everyone!!

Valentines Day Fun

I just LOVE Valentines Day {get it... 'love'....}.  Yes, I am feeling super cheezy today.  Just finished putting together Valentines treats for all my kids' teachers, bus drivers, classmates, etc...  And I'm all about sharing my finds so here ya go!  I do have to say that I am NOT very creative, but I do have lots of creative friends and none of these ideas are my own ;-). 

First, 'Love Potion'... Water bottle + Crystal Light + ribbon = DARLING.  Thanks to my friend Lisa at My Digital Creations has a super cute Valentines Bundle.  If you have a party coming up you need this!  I have already given some to the ladies I visit at church, and the kids' bus drivers, and a few friends... big hit!

 

And if that wasn't cute enough, check out these darling socks!!  Lisa has a FREE printable for the tags!  AWESOME!!!

 

Creativity runs deep in this family... Colette over at My Computer is My Canvas has this stinkin' cute FREE printable for chapstick!  I'm tellin' you guys, these sisters are ridiculously cute!!

I couldn't decide which one of these gifts I liked the best, so clearly, I just did them ALL!  The best thing about these little gifts, not only are they super cute, but they were pretty inexpensive to put together!  And you know how I like {cheap} things... wait, that came out wrong... you know what I mean! 

HAPPY HEART DAY!!

Smiths Game Day Event

I was doing some shopping at Smiths Saturday night (did pretty great actually - see receipt below).  I did however see a ton of other items that were included in the promotion that were not on the Grocery Smart lists.  At our classes, we teach how the best way to get the most out of your coupons is by combining them with sales or store promotions.  This is one of those times you can end up saving lots!  With this promotion, you will receive $5 off your purchase instantly when you buy 10 participating items.  To the best of my knowledge, there is no limit to how many rewards you can receive, so you can do this all in one transaction - yeah!  This promotion means that you get an additional .50 off each item.  Add and coupon and VOILA!
So, if you haven't used all your coupons, or if you want to go snag a few more deals before Tuesday night, here is the complete list of items and coupons for this Smiths's promotion:

FROZEN FOODS

• Armour Meatballs
• Birds Eye Vegetables
• Boca
• C&W Vegetables
• DiGiorno Pizza
• California Pizza Kitchen Pizza
• Dreyer's Ice Cream
• El Monterey Bag Snacks - SS-1/30 and Load a coupon here This Link or Print 2 here Group B
• Foster Farm Corn Dogs
• Hot Pockets
• Hungryman Meals
• New York & Mamma Bella Breads - SS-12/5 & SS-11/14
• Ore-Ida Potatoes
• Reames Noodles
• Red Baron Pizza - SS-1/23
• TGIF Appetizers
• TGIF Skillet Meals
• Totinos Pizza Rolls - Load coupon This Link-01/11
• Wanchai Ferry Skillet Meals - GeneralMills-1/2 or print 2 here Group A
• Macaroni Grill Skillet Meals - GeneralMills-1/2

NATURE'S MARKET

• Balance Bar - Print 2 Group B
• Barbara's Cereal
• Envirokidz Bars
• Envirokidz Cereal
• Garden of Eatin' Tortilla Chips
• Honest Tea
• Horizon Organic Milk, 3 pack
• Izze
• Kettle Chips
• Nature's Path Hot Cereal
• Silk Pure Almond or Coconut Milk - SS-1/16 & SS-2/5

MEAT

• Bar-S Met Franks
• Claussen Pickles
• Oscar Mayer Deli Creations
• Oscar Mayer Deli Shaved Lunchmeats - SS-1/23 & Print 2 at Group A
• Oscar Mayer Fun Pack Lunchables
• Gorton's Shrimp
• Hebrew National Beef Franks
• Oscar Mayer Beef Franks
• SeaPak Shrimp - SS-1/30

DRUG/GM

• 3M products
• Advil
• Aim Toothpaste
• Airborne - JohnsonsSS-1/9 & Print 2 at Group B
• Aquafresh - LOrealRP-1/2 & Print 2 This Link
• Arm & Hammer Toothpaste - SS-12/5
• Axe Body Wash - Load coupon This Link
• Axe Deodorant - Load coupon This Link
• Axe Hair Stylers - Load coupon This Link
• Axe Shampoo/Conditioner - Load coupon This Link
• Band-Aid - JohnsonsSS-1/9
• Benefiber - SS-1/9
• Bengay - JohnsonsSS-1/9 & Print 2 at Group B
• Candle-ite
• Carefree/Stayfree - JohnsonsSS-1/9 and Print 2 at Group B
• Clorox & S.O.S. - MarieCallendersSS-1/2
• Colgate - SS-1/30 & SS-2/5
• Command
• Crest Toothpaste - PG-2/6, PG-1/16, and Load Coupons at This Link
• Desitin
• Dial
• Dove Body Wash
• Dove Hair Care
• Dove Men
• Dove/Degree Deodorant - Print 2 at This Link
• Duracell - Load Coupon at This Link-
• Excedrin - SS-12/5, SSs-1/9, and Print 2 at Group B
• Ex-Lax
• Fusion ProGlide Razor - PG-2/6
• Handi-Foil
• Loctite Glue
• Hershey - SS-1/30
• Johnson & Johnson Baby - JohnsonsSS-1/9
• Kandoo Wipes
• Kingsford
• Kiwi Shoe Care
• Listerine - JohnsonsSS-1/9, and Print 2 at Group B and This Link
• Luvs Diapers - Load coupon here This Link
• M&Ms Medium Bag - RP-1/16
• Mars Bonus Bags - Print 2 at Group A
• Mars Miniatures - Print 2 at Group A
• Matchlight
• Melitta Coffee Filters
• Mylanta
• Neosporin - JohnsonsSS-1/9
• O-Cel-O Sponges
• Oral-B - PG-1/16 and PG-2/6, and Load coupon here This Link
• Oral-B/Glide - PG-1/16 and PG-2/6, and Load coupon here This Link
• Pampers Diapers - PG-2/6, RP-1/30, and Load Coupon here This Link
• Pampers Wipes - PG-2/6, RP-1/30, and Load Coupon here This Link
• Pepto Bismol - PG-2/6
• Prevacid - SS-12/12 and SS-1/9
• Prilosec - PG-1/16, PG 2/6, and Load Coupon here This Link
• Reach Toothbrush - JohnsonsSS-1/9
• Scotch Tape
• Scotch-Brite sponges - SS-2/5
• Sensodyne - LOrealRP-1/2
• Gum Crayola Power Brush
• Thermacare
• Tums
• Willert Home
• Zantac - SS-1/16

GROCERY

• All Laundry Detergent - Print 2 at This Link
• Alpine Cider
• Beneful Prepared Meals - SS-1/16, SS-1/9, RP-1/30
• Brawny Paper Towels
• Busy Bone Dog Treats
• Cattlemen's BBQ Sauce
• Chex Mix/Bugles/Gardetto's - GeneralMills-1/2, Print 2 at This Link, and Load coupon here This Link
• Crystal Light on the Go - Earn a catalina. See bottom of this list for details this list
• Crystal Light Drink Mix - Earn a catalina. See bottom of this list for details this list
• Del Monte Canned Vegetables
• Del Monte Fruit Cups
• Dinty Moore Beef Stew
• Dixie Heavy Duty Tableware
• Finish Autodish Monodose - SS-1/9, NestleSS-1/2, SS-1/23 and Print 2 at This Link
• Finish Jet Dry - SS-1/9, NestleSS-1/2, SS-1/23 and Print 2 at This Link
• Frank's Red Hot/Wing Sauce - SS-12/12 and Print 2 at This Link
• French's Yellow Mustard - SS-1/23, Print 2 at This Link and This Link
• Gatorade - RP-1/9
• Ghirardelli Brownie Mix
• Heinz Ketchup
• Hormel Chili With beans
• Hunt's Tomatoes or Tomato Paste - SS-1/23
• Arrowhead Spring Water - Print 2 at Group A AND earn a catalina! See bottom of this list for details this list
• Jell-O Gelatin or Pudding - SS-1/9 and Print 2 at Group A
• Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies
• Sunshine Krispy Saltines
• Kellogg's Cereal - RP-2/6, RP-1/9, RP-1/16, RP-2/6, and Print 2 at This Link
• Ken's Salad Dressing
• Kleenex Facial Tissue - MarieCallendersSS-1/2 - Plus earn a catalina! See bottom of this list for details this list
• Kraft Easy Mac Cups
• Kraft Mac& Cheese Shapes
• Kraft Mayo & Miracle Whip - SS-1/23
• Kraft Velveeta Cups
• Kraft Velveeta Shells & Cheese or Deluxe Mac & Cheese - SS-1/16
• Krusteaz Cookie Mix - SS-12/5
• Krusteaz Corn Muffin Mix
• Krusteaz Pancake Mix
• Krusteaz Bar and Muffin Mixes
• Langers Juices
• Lipton Tea, 12 pack
• Lipton Tea, 6 pack
• Yuban Coffee
• Monster Energy Drinks
• Nabisco Oreo Cookies
• Nabisco Ritz Crackers - SS-1/30
• Nabisco Snack Crackers - SS-1/30
• Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn
• Pace Picante/Salsa - RP-1/30
• Palmolive Dish Detergent - SS-1/30
• Pepperidge Farm Naturals Crackers - Print 2 at This Link & This Link
• Pepperidge Farm Deli Flats
• Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers
• Pepsi 2 liter
• Planters Mixed Nut and Cahsews
• Planters Roasted Peanuts
• Progresso Soup, Light, Reduced sodium or High Fiber - GeneralMills-1/2 and Print 2 at This Link
• Propel Water
• Purina Beggin Strips - SS-12/12, SS-1/23
• Purina One Dry Cat Food - SS-2/5, RP-1/30
• Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
• Quaker Quakes
• Reynolds Aluminum Foil - SS-1/30
• Ro-Tel
• Sara Lee Bread
• Snuggle Fabric Softener
• Snuggle Sheets
• SoBe LifeWater & Juice
• Solo Grips Cups & Plates
• Starbucks Bag Coffee
• Sunshine Cheez-It
• Tidy Cats Conventional Litter
• Tidy Cats Scoop Litter
• Uncle Ben's Whole Grain, Long Grain & Wild Ready Rice
• Whiskas Dry Cat Food - RP-1/16
• Whisker Lickins Cat Treats

DAIRY

• I can't Believe It's Not Butter Spreads
• Kozy Shack Pudding
• Kraft American Singles - SS-1/16
• Kraft Deli Fresh Natural Slices - SS-1/16
• Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough - Print 2 at This Link
• Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• Tropicana Orange Juice
• Velveeta Loaf

{Holy Smokes!}.  The reference next to the item is where you can find a coupon for these items.  Remember that when you combine a store sale/promotion WITH your coupons, you will save BIG!  Have fun & let me know how you do... I wanna see pictures people!  Email them to me at thegrocerygeeks@gmail.com and I will add them to our Grocery Gallery! Remember, your goal is to SAVE more money than you SPEND {check out my receipt here} and HAPPY shopping!!!

Times are Tough...

Sometimes life gives you lemons and you have to make a souffle {lemonade would be way too easy}.  I have never actually attempted to make a souffle.  To be honest, I heard they are pretty tricky and I've never really had the guts to give it a try.  These next few months we may be doing lots of things that we haven't had to try in a while, so it could get a little interesting around here.  It seems our little family has hit that point in our lives again when we are forced to learn and grow.  The past few months have been grand and truth be told, it was nice for a while to not actually NEED to use coupons.  Sometimes in life, when we get comfortable or complacent, that's when the Lord decides it's time for us to grow some more.   This is one of those times for us, and I am looking for more ways to squeeze every little bit of use our of our dollars.  Here are some things I will be doing to cut back that budget even more so than only on the groceries, since I already rock at that ;-).

• Meal Planning - I will be more diligent about planning meals around the items that are on sale that week.  I may just share what I come up with so you can follow along, or make suggestions.  
• Bake my own bread - I have the yummiest recipe for both white and wheat bread. The hardest part about this though, it it tends to get eaten rather quickly right out of the oven which doesn't leave much for sandwiches.  Joe says the white bread tastes like candy, so I think I will use this opportunity to teach my daughters how to do this as well. 
• Buy Dryer Balls - I ordered some dryer balls from Norwex at my party last week.  This way, I won't have to buy fabric softener or fabric sheets, and it will cut down on my energy usage if I don't run such a long dryer cycle.
• Crock Pot - By using my crock pot more often to cook meals, it will cut down on our utility bills instead of using the stove. 
• Re-use/Re-purpose - One of my goals this year is to actually DO some of the crafts that I have built up in my storage.  I have lots of ideas on how to reuse things like formula cans and baby food jars.  I will also be looking for some REALLY cheap ways to decorate the house, particularly for the holidays.  
• More Norwex - buy using their anti-bacterial cloths I can eliminate ALL the other household cleaners in my home.  No more pine sol, bleach, windex, toilet bowl cleaners, degreasers, stainless steel polish, and not to mention sponges and paper towels!  Super excited about this one!  The best part is, I got lots of product for free at my class.  Love to replace cheap products with FREE ones!!
• Date Night - while not ready to give this up due to financial difficulties, I will find some fun and cheap ways to spend time with my sweetheart.  "Love Will Keep Us Alive" {this is our song by the Eagles}

In a nutshell, getting back to the basics.  Family, Faith, and Love.  I embrace these times of hardship because without trials, we cannot be tested and we cannot learn and grow.  I can't wait to see what's in store for our little family, and while the wait may be tricky, like baking that proverbial souffle, I'm sure the reward will be grand. 

I would love to hear your ideas on what you and your family do to cut back... Leave a comment or email me at thegrocerygeeks@gmail.com and your ideas may get their very own post!  

2011 Coupon Schedule {updated}

It is possible that there are no coupons next weekend due to Valentines Day weekend.  Although, I don't remember this being a holiday in which the coupon gurus took off, but according to The Sunday Coupon Preview it is.  I have used them as my source for coupon inserts for a while now because it seems as though they compile a good list from Smart Source, Red Plum, Proctor & Gamble, and others like General Mills and such. 

Here's where it gets tricky... According to the Grocery Coupon Guide, there will be 2, yes 2 Smart Source inserts that weekend, and no inserts on President's Day.  The Smart Source Magazine has posted a schedule for the year 2011, and they say the same: coupons on Valentines, not on Presidents Day.  Vlassis or Red Plum as we know it in our area also has a list that shows

Pretty much the rest of the year the two lists are the same.  My point is, if you plan on putting a vacation hold on your papers when there are no coupons, I would be careful this month.  I personally won't be stopping my papers either week just in case.  OK - just wanted to throw that out there.  Have a great day!!

Additional Sale Items

I was so bummed after reading some comments last week about the Grocery Smarts list not having all items that are on sale in a given week.  I decided to do some digging.  I emailed Smiths to see what was up with that.  Here's the scoop:

CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
I am wondering if there is a master list somewhere of all the items that are on special at your stores?  I have gone into the store several times and there have been items on sale that are not listed in your weekly circular.  I have a lot of blog readers as well, and we are always looking for great deals.  If we could get a more complete list of sale items, we would be better prepared with coupons and such when we shop at your stores.  Any information you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Ms. Morris:

Thank you for contacting Smith's.  At this time we do not publish a list of all the sale items as they number in the hundreds.  I have let our marketing department know that you would like them to work on offering this information online in the future.

Thank you again for taking the time to write to us.  If you have any further questions or comments, feel free to contact us again.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Diggs
Consumer Affairs

Reference:  9855781

 

I am not sure if this will ever happen, but you never know until you ask right?!  Another thing I discovered about the items that are on sale, but not in the ad is that the store does not have to honor the prices with reign checks.  They only do that for an advertised sale price.  

 **Still waiting on a response to our request to do shopping demonstrations in the store at Smiths {sigh}.  That's a battle for another day I think**

For My Princesses

 I LOVE having little girls!! 

While we don't have a lot of extra money to buy the cutest clothes for the kids, I do love to make them look their best.  Having a cute hairdo is tops on our list these days - lots of "bang" for very little bucks.  

If you have a little girl, or know someone who does, send them to Princess Hairstyles.  On the site, she has lots of video tutorials on how to do fancy braids, buns, knots, and even some fun stuff with ribbons!  I have tried about a dozen of the styles and they are as easy as they seem.  Some a little more time consuming than others, but still fun and a huge hit with my princesses.  

  I snapped some quick pictures of the hairdos we did for church yesterday.  Happy to say that they stayed pretty well for school today too!  Check out this link to see this tutorial.  We didn't have any wide headbands, so after some digging in my scrap ribbon box, this is what we came up with.

Princess #1 is almost 3 and she did great during the process as long as she had a movie and snacks ;-)

Princess #2 is almost 10 {yikes} and since she sits still a little better we did a little extra criss-cross work.