Tips for frugal crafters

By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.

Labeled shoe boxes

Doing crafts with your kids is a great entertainment that not only helps them nurture the creativity that problem solving requires, it is a wonderful skill that will start them on their road to frugal DIY.
Here are 15 crafting tips:

1. Store your craft materials in clear shoe boxes. Sort them by types of materials: crayons, adhesives, beads, shiny things, etc. Stick labels on the front of the box and write the "name" of the box with marker on the label.
2. Broken jewelry makes great decorations for gift wrap, headbands or restyled t-shirts. A dab of hot glue will glue that bit of bling onto a pin back, barrette or hair tie.
3. Sharpen your dull scissors with sand paper. Cutting through the paper sharpens the edges. I've also heard that tin foil will do the same thing, but I believe that a fine grit sandpaper works better. Try it.
4. Cover an old cookie sheet with pretty fabric and hang up. Instant magnetic board.
5. Dip the end of your thread into nail polish to help thread through a small hole. You can also use a bit of soap to hold the ends into a sharp point.
6. Hang a jewelry garment bag (those hanging bags with all the little slots) near your craft area. Keep the "little things" that normally keep getting lost in those sections. I'm talking about a thimble, thumb tacks, little beads, glue dots, tiny scissors, etc.
7. Keep your fingers from getting burned every time you use your hot glue gun. Get yourself a set of hot glue gun helpers. This helper kit includes insulating rubber to cover your finger tips. No more burned fingers! Or figure out a DIY version and share it with readers in the comments.
8. Use plastic snack bags to keep your craft junk drawer sorted out. I find that this is really helpful for keeping items like rubber bands, wire plastic bag ties, and birthday candles from just taking over the drawer.
9. Use sandwich bags to keep all the little bits and pieces of metal and plastic that you find around the house. You know, the ones that you go, "Oh, this looks familiar. I wonder what this goes to? I better keep it." When no one seems to miss these parts and nothing falls apart without them, I use them in collages.
10. Sign up for discount cards at your local craft stores. I get coupons from both Michaels and JoAnn Fabric. They take competitor coupons.
11. Look for craft supplies at the 99 Cent store. I have found some wonderful finds in their craft aisle.
12. Always look for craft supplies at yard sales. Almost everyone has a few supplies at their sales. When looking at yard sale ads on Craigslist, sort with the words "craft supplies." This will help you find yard sales that are specifically heavy on these items. Go early if you want to score big on these. It will be worth it. These are great resources for teachers and moms.
13. Keep your craft area organized. At least once a year, do a big clean up. You will discover stuff that you forgot you had. This way,when you are creating a piece of art, you will remember what you have.
14. Paper plates and bowls make for easy clean up - especially if you are working with little kids. Use the paper plate like a paint palette, then toss when the project is through. Or let the paint dry and hang it up as a piece of art.
15. Go to estate sales to find wonderful old cards and paper. These can be used for notes or become part of recycled card art. Antique paper and cards are very hip these days, so you can save a bundle. At an estate sale, they are usually found in the room that has the office supplies and/or wrapping paper.

Do you have a favorite craft tip you would like to share?

The confusing truth about cooking dried beans

I like to cook recipes that include dried beans. Beans are an excellent and frugal source of nutrition. Beans mixed with a bit of meat and vegetables makes for practically unlimited recipe variations.

I tend to research everything that I do, so of course, I have researched how to cook dried beans. My research has led me down a long and winding path that eventually comes down to:
A. rinse the beans
B. check for foreign matter (sticks and stones)
C. boil until done to the consistency that you like

However, along my research trail I also read that one can/should:
1. soak beans for up to 24 hour prior to cooking*
2. throw out the water that you used to soak the beans
3. boil the beans in the water that you used to soak the beans (conflicts with #2)
4. cook beans on simmer for 1 hour
5. cook beans on simmer for 6 hours
6. put salt in the water at the beginning, middle or end
7. don't put salt in the water

You can see that trying to align points #1 through #7 above is impossible. Therefore, I suggest that you do the above steps A-C and add any of the steps #1-7 that you agree with.

If you want to do your own research on this subject, a good place to start is this article by Michael Ruhlman.

*There is one other important piece of information about soaking dried beans. Per some sources, you should soak your dried beans for up to 24 hours and rinse them off prior to cooking. During the cooking process you should skim off any foam that rises. This will ensure that the beans will be fully digestible. Dried beans can last in storage for a very long time. The quality that allows them to last this long is also the quality that makes them hard to digest if they are not soaked per the above. Not everyone believes this. Not everyone does this. This information comes from a book called, "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. I think it is true, but I don't always do it because I don't always plan a day ahead of time that I will be using my dried beans.

Save 80% on Vistaprint - today only

Today only .... 2/21/12 ... save 80% on Vistaprint products - business cards, banners, stationary, photo mugs and the like. Pay $10 for a $50 coupon. Spend $25 above coupon value and get free shipping as well. Great deal if you are in the market for some office supplies or personalized presents.

This is through LivingSocial.com, so you will need to register with them. Coupon is good until May 16, 2012.

This is a good deal. Click here for the deal.

How to clean your toaster oven glass door

Do you have a toaster oven glass door that is splattered with the yuckiest, burnt on grease and gunk? Have you tried all forms of commercial cleaning products that promised to "cut through grease" to no avail? I have.

Then I read that baking soda would magically clean up this impossible mess. I didn't believe it. I'm always up for anything that is So, I tried it myself. Oh my - it worked!

Here are the steps:

1. Unplug your toaster oven.
2. Cover the area in front of the toaster oven with paper towels.
   
3. Open the door and wipe off all the crumbs.
4. Make a thick paste of baking soda and water.
5. Cover the open oven door with the paste.
6. Spray or dribble on tiny bits of water if paste is too thick.
7. Leave on for at least 20 minutes. More if your yuck is super-yuck.
8. Scrub with a non-abrasive scrubber.
9. Wipe off residual with damp paper towel.
10. Repeat if necessary.
11. Ensure everything is totally dry before replugging in the toaster oven.
12. Admire your handiwork.

Do you have successful methods of cleaning burnt on grease?

Have a free priceless experience

I am going to have a free priceless experience with my two teenagers. We are going to work a shift decorating a Rose Bowl float.

Several years ago, I spent the afternoon working on a Rose Bowl Parade float. I was next to a group of a dozen or so people who told me that they had gathered together for several decades, one day a year, to help decorate the floats. They had traveled from near and far to participate in the activity that they looked forward to more than any other in the year.

What makes this SUCH a special event? Here's what I can tell you.

Just thinking about going to work again on the floats gets me excited. There is an intensely creative atmosphere in that warehouse. The air smells of a mixture of glue and the most amazing flower scents. Everyone is engaged in an activity that requires their total attention. The actions are tiny, tiny, tiny... but they are all working together to create this huge, beautiful creation that will be seen around the world. There is anticipation and a sense that time is running out - since the floats MUST be ready in time for the parade. As the date gets nearer, people work around the clock to ready the floats.

Wow! To be a part of THAT. To share such a sense of accomplishment with your kids, your friends, your family. THAT is priceless.

As a homeschooler and a parent, I want my children to understand that great things do not happen just by wishing or dreaming. You must wish and dream to start, but then you must make it HAPPEN. It requires that you DO something. Sometimes it requires that you do A LOT of something or that you get A LOT of people to do something. But when you do that, and persist, you get a great product and a sense of achievement that money can not buy.

That is why I am going to go with my kids to work a shift on the Rose Bowl floats.

If you are in the Los Angeles area in the month of December, you too can volunteer to help decorate a Rose Bowl float. You do need to work a full shift and you must be at least 13 years old to volunteer. You must sign up ahead of time. If you are looking to create a new family tradition, I strongly suggest that you consider decorating a float.

Of course, not everyone can come to Pasadena, California to decorate a float, but there are parades all over the country and most of them have floats that you can volunteer to help decorate. Volunteering is a wonderful family activity and available to just about everyone everywhere.

Super cheap activities to keep teens occupied

So, you are about to have a houseful of family - young and old. The men want to watch TV, the women want to talk and the kids are bored out of their minds unless they are plugged into their electronic devices.

Wouldn't it be nice to have something different to do using just the items you already have in your house?

Here are five fun and time consuming activities to occupy your tweens and teens (and maybe their parents) without costing a bundle:

1. Make this crazy paper toy. Watch the video. Good luck making this ingenious paper toy. Materials: sheet of paper, scissors a bit of tape.
2. Cool paper pop up. This requires an exacto knife for cutting and a surface that one can cut on - like a thick piece of cardboard.
3. Paper treat cups. These are cute cups that can be decorated for your holiday table.
4. Learn to draw a perfect freehand circle. This one won't take up too much time to learn, but could bring about some great pictures of round objects.
5. Origami transformer ball. This is a GREAT project. Requires a hot glue gun and patience.

Let me know if you make any of these great paper projects. Have a Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving calculator for shopping

Here's a sweet calculator to help you figure out what you need to buy to cook up your Thanksgiving feast.

You can plug in how many people are eating. You can separate into meat eaters and non-meat eaters.

It's pretty helpful. It is set up in an excel spreadsheet. Pretty cool.