Free Fun with Phone Books

I can honestly say that I have never lived in a place where more telephone directories are distributed than in Somerset, Kentucky. It seems as if my driveway becomes home to a bagged phone book, tossed haphazardly from a speeding car at least three or four times a year. As evidenced by my collection of glass jars, plastic grocery sacks, bread ties and straws, I just don't feel right about the thought of tossing the poor phone book into the trash. For one, it has already suffered so much in its short life, narrowly escaping serious injury in the midst of a rough landing on the surface of my concrete driveway. But also, much like a bright eyed child, it has SO much potential! So what do I do? I rescue it and give it new life! Just so you know we're not getting all hoarder crazy here, I only keep a couple of phone books at a time. I actually do put excess ones in the recycle bin (but don't tell their friends).

IDEA #1:  One big advantage of saving a phone book from the trash is the fact that it is essentially FREE craft material! Consider this wreath I made from phone book pages, a pizza box and a wire clothes hanger. For this thrifty wreath, the only things I had to actually purchase were the letters. The letters were less than a dollar each at Hobby Lobby, and I already had the ribbon on hand. I used probably 25 cents worth of ribbon overall. I just love the little areas of yellow peeking out from the rolled pages, don't you? To make this, I taped the lid shut on a clean (yet used) pizza box. I then cut the pages from a phone book, rolled them and hot glued them to the box. For the hanger, I used duct tape to secure it to the back of the wreath, and then hot glued ribbon to the front to conceal it. If you want a totally free wreath, just omit the letters and ribbon!

IDEA #2:  Use as gift wrap! At one time, this may have been considered really cheap and tacky. However, I have been noticing more and more printed scrapbook paper and decorative items that have newspaper and similar print. It has become fashionable to wrap gifts with newspaper and book pages tied up with a pretty burlap or jute bow! Or, you could also cut a pretty flower out of the pages and tape to the top. This is awesome if you are caught suddenly in need of gift wrap and have none OR just want something different and cute.

IDEA #3:  Tissue paper or gift basket filler. You probably saw the gift bags I made using recycled calendars. Instead of the traditional tissue paper, I stuffed these gift bags with phone book pages. They turned out cute and helped to reduce trash can waste created by more and more store-bought tissue paper

IDEA #4: Have you ever gotten caught out someplace and needed to make a call but didn't have the number? If so, you probably called somebody in your family, had them find a phone book, look up the number and wasted several minutes of your day. Why not use one of those extra or old phone books to carry in your vehicle? My husband actually gave me this bright idea a few weeks ago when he asked for one of the phone books from my "craft stash" to keep in his truck. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that the extra phone books could be used as...............................phone books!

I hope you have a blast using some of my ideas or your own awesome ideas for your old phone books. One thing I REALLY want to do next is to figure out how to make paper from old phone books. I'll keep you informed of the results. Have a fun, frugal and fabulous evening from our house to yours!

Cheap Eats = Good Eats, or... Directions? What Directions?

Good Tuesday night, dear readers! I may have mentioned in another post about the Hamburger Helper and Chicken Helper coupons I used at Dollar Tree to score eight 80 cent boxes of those respectable products by the wonderful Betty Crocker. I was super anxious to get home after work this afternoon. It was cold, snowy and windy, and all I wanted to do was rush home and cook something hot and yummy. However, I was also really hungry. It seemed eons ago that I had eaten lunch (or at least 4 hours, LOL). After rushing through the door, tossing off my coat and proceeding to look through the cabinets, I decided that some Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo would fit the bill perfectly for some warm comfort food on this snowy afternoon. As I assembled the things I needed, I made a grave discovery..............................NO MILK IN THE FRIDGE!!!

The kid. It had to be the kid. I glanced in the trash can only to see the empty jug just lying there. I could tell it had put up a good fight, but had met its match in a 12 year old growing boy over the course of a mere 24 hours. Panic ensued as I pondered my next step.....should I? Could I...........use............water?!? At this stage in the game, I had NO desire to make the grueling 5 minute, mile and a half trip back to Kroger. I just wanted to cook. And eat. I took the plunge and boldly went where few culinary purists have ventured. I measured out not the 1 1/2 cups of water and 2 1/2 cups of milk that Mrs. Crocker directed me to add to my Chicken Helper, but 4 CUPS of good old H2O and proceeded with the rest of the directions as if nothing had happened. I used tap water, even! We live on the edge here on Ridgewood Circle. It's just how we roll.

So, how did it turn out, you ask? Quite delicious, I must say, and the guys in the household thought so as well. I didn't tell them about the lack of dairy products in the dish until after the meal. They would have "missed" the milk in it had they known the truth. Go on - - try it for yourself. Here's what to look for, and as I said, they currently have it at Dollar Tree:

And...........here's the final product in the absence of the side dishes with which it was served tonight (baked potatoes, fried apples, cornbread and cheesecake):

Coupons are still available, folks. You can print an "80 cents off four boxes" HERE OR you can find a nice "90 cents off four boxes" by signing up on the Betty Crocker site HERE and clicking on the "coupons" tab. Both sources allowed me to get two prints out of each coupon. Don't forget to follow your Dollar Tree coupon policy, which you can find HERE. 

I'm gonna go ahead and let you in on another secret: I used canned chicken chunks from Dollar Tree in this recipe instead of cooking fresh raw chicken. It worked great, and gave me the added bonus of not having to wait for chicken to cook before I could get started with the rest of the recipe. I guess I really just threw the directions for preparation out the window on this one, huh? It turned out yummy AND my family of three will eat it for leftovers again tomorrow night. Total cost for it as the main entree was $1.80 plus a few pennies for the minimal amount of margarine and water used. Both cheap and good. Mission accomplished!

Have a fun, frugal and fabulous night, from our house to yours!

My Dollar Tree Deals this week - WOW

If you have never checked out the grocery section of Dollar Tree, then you are definitely missing out - - especially if you are fortunate enough to have a Dollar Tree in your area that has a refrigerator / freezer section! Unfortunately, the Dollar Tree in my town does not have a refrigerator / freezer section, but the one in the next town over does. We had to drive over there this morning to take my husband for an MRI so my son and I went to DT while we waited on him. Well, we were thrilled to score 3.5 ounce RIBEYE STEAKS there for a buck each for my husband's birthday meal tonight! We also got some other cool name brand grocery items for cheap and free using coupons. For those of you who didn't know, Dollar Tree has been taking coupons for about a year now. Read their coupon policy HERE. In order to abide by their coupon policy, be prepared by taking someone with you and perhaps doing multiple transactions as well.

These pics represent two different days of Dollar Tree finds. I went a couple of days ago as well, and decided to go again once I found that some of my coupons had reset and I was able to print more copies.

Haul #1:  ALL FREEBIES - Two Kraft Recipe Makers kits and Two Progresso Recipe Starters Cooking Sauces. I used two $1.00 off Kraft Recipe Makers coupons and two 50 cent off Progresso Recipe Starters coupons (my DT had them priced at 50 cents each which is already great).

Haul #2: Two Kraft Recipe Makers (Free with coupons), eight boxes of Hormel Pepperoni (four free with the use of 4 $1.00 off 2 coupons) and three ribeye steaks for $3. This is $13 worth of items for only $7. Now, I am by no means an "extreme couponer", but that is a pretty significant savings to me!

If you only have a few coupons, making a special trip would not be worth it. You would spend more in gas than you would save. But, it is worth checking out the coupons.com website and being familiar with what your Dollar Tree sells so that you be able to match coupons up to score some free groceries. I get most of my coupons from www.coupons.com. The Progresso, Kraft and Hormel coupons are still available, as are some Hamburger / Chicken Helper coupons (80 cents off four = $3.20 = 80 cents total per box at Dollar Tree!). Also, there is a Progresso SOUP coupon for 50 cents off two cans. The soup is delish, and the coupon makes it only 75 cents a can. Folks, you just can't get it for that price at the grocery store. In fact, here are the current Walmart prices for some of these items: Progresso Recipe Starters or Soup is $1.88, Hamburger Helper is $1.68 a box and Kraft Recipe Makers is $1.98. So, go to coupons.com, turn on your printer and get ready to save some dough! Keep in mind that my free items were totally free this time because they were grocery items. If you have a coupon that covers the cost of something like toothpaste, then you will have to pay tax on it. But, hey - - I don't mind spending 6 cents on a tube of toothpaste, do you?

Unfortunately, Dollar Tree isn't paying me to say any of this, although I wish they were! I just wanted to make sure and pass along these great free and cheap grocery ideas to you. I love it when others share deals with me! So, have a fun, frugal and fabulous day from our house to yours!

Saturday Mail Call!

Howdy folks, it's time for Saturday Mail Call!

I hope everyone is having a nice Saturday night! I am sorry I haven't posted all week. I have been fighting a terrible headache most of the week, and I am glad to thank God that it is now gone! I am happy with the provisions of my little mailbox this week. Below are pics of the many lovely goods with which I have been blessed this week, all free of charge, of course:

So, Keith the mailman brought me a lot of cool FREE goods, eh? Included are six magazines (Good Housekeeping, The Red Bulletin, Bloomberg Businessweek, Cosmopolitan, Family Fun and Town & Country), the 2014 Calendar of Mathematical Imagery, 5 packets of Folger's Gourmet Vanilla Biscotti Coffee and two photo books from Walgreens.com.

Where did I get all this stuff and how did I know about it? Most of the magazines are from Rewards Gold (www.rewardsgold.com), although I do believe you can still sign up for a subscription to the Red Bulletin (action, music, sports, travel, etc.) on their website (www.getredbulletin.com). You can get the calendar of Mathematical Imagery at www.ams.org/samplings/2014-calendar by emailing them your name and address. I am sorry to say that the coffee was a Facebook offer and it is now expired. The photo books, from Walgreens.com were free with a couple of codes that are now expired. 

I learned about these things (as well as all other freebies I get) from one of my four "go to" freebie/deal sites: 

www.hip2save.com

www.freestufftimes.com

www.freestufffinder.com

www.free-product-samples.blogspot.com

I hate to share pictures of free stuff with you only to have to tell you some of the offers are expired, but this is a good reason to check one or more of the above four sites every day or two. I promise, it only takes a few minutes! I feel led to share one last freebie with you on this fine Saturday night, and it is one that is always available with no expiration date: salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the price so long ago on that "old rugged cross" so that we can have eternal life. All you have to do is ask God for forgiveness for your sins, believe in Him and earnestly ask for Him to guide you through life and do your best to serve Him in obedience. That, dear folks, is the best FREEBIE of all!

Have a fun, frugal and fabulous evening, from our house to yours!

Calendars: Where to Get Free Ones and Stuff to Do With Old Ones

Once January rolls around, I always have a few calendars that I hate to toss out to make way for the new year. So, I don't! But, it is impractical to just keep things lying around, all hoarder-style (though I do like those TV shows.....), simply because you hate to get rid of things. The goal is to make use of the resources you have before you for your benefit and the benefit of others, NOT to make life harder by living in the midst of clutter and junk, right? I have received the most beautiful Joyce Meyer Ministries calendar three years in a row. The 2012 calendar had such nice photography on it that I didn't want to stick it in good ol' File 13, so let me will show you what I did with it!

Wall Art 

This is the most obvious option as well as the easiest way to reuse a calendar. The images on the calendar were so bright and inspirational that I decided to choose four of them to hang in groups on each side of my bed, directly above the bedside tables. They look blurry in my photographs (I have told you that I am not a good photographer, haha), but they actually look quite nice in person. The best part is that I can recycle them or even toss them when I want to change decor.

Gift Bags

The first photo illustrates the size box I used to fold the paper to create the gift box. The box doesn't become part of the finished gift bag; it just serves as something to fold the bag and tape it over to get the correct size. After I folded and taped the bags together, I slipped the box out. So, simply fold the bag the way you would wrap a present on the side and one end and tape, and THEN slip out the box. At this point, you can punch holes and insert ribbon, jute or yarn for handles if you want. Notice that I used the pages of an old phone book for tissue paper. This is just one more idea that goes along with the "use what God has provided you" philosophy. I thought they turned out cute despite the fact that I made one of them upside down. Oops!

Kitchen Tool Canister

This project also goes along with a post from the other day about things to do with old jars. Below is simply a pickle jar, some paint and a calendar page. I had admired the look of mercury glass jars and other accessories such as those offered by Pottery Barn and Anthropologie, but I wasn't willing to pay the prices they commanded. So, with a can of silver spray paint in hand I went to work. Once it was dry, I chose a calendar page and trimmed the edges with scrap booking scissors. I secured the edges with tape and decoupaged it so that it can be cleaned easier. 

Now that you are armed with some ideas, just where can you get calendars (without buying them, of course)? Unfortunately, Joyce Meyer Ministries is all out, as is Betty Crocker and the West VA Dept of Tourism. These are some of the prettiest ones. HOWEVER - - I was able to locate more sources that still have calendars on hand, but you must act quickly:

1. Ontario Outdoor Adventures 2014. Go here to request this calendar, filled with "stunning photography from across the province" of Ontario, Canada: http://www.ontariotravel.net/TCISSegmentsWeb/gn/travelGuides/outdoor.xhtml?_nfpb=true&_nfls=false&language=en&WT.ac=BA:Calendar
2. Farnam Horse Calendar. If you like horses, it looks like this one has some nice photography. http://go.farnamhorse.com/Calendar?source=apha 
   
3. The Calendar of Mathematical Imagery from the American Mathematical Society. I actually received mine in the mail this very day, and it included "albums of mathematically inspired works in a variety of media--computer-generated fractals, quilts, origami, sculpture, painting, and more". The pages were actually quite nice. Request it by email here: http://www.ams.org/cgi-bin/fmail/fmail.cgi?emailto=52616e646f6d4956ccb23a27f6aa46e261e30b517a3caeae1562eec714a6cbe36ed52b88a62eef16&name=AMS%20Public%20Awareness%20Office#  In the box that says "body", tell them you would like a free calendar of mathematical imagery, and then tell them your address. Mine arrived in one week!
   
4. The HR Green Annual Calendar. From their website:  "Each year, HR Green creates a calendar that highlights our clients' projects across our business lines. Featuring projects around the United States, the 12 month calendar also includes major holidays, lunar cycles, and seasonal dates. A colorful and functional tool for any office, sign up to receive your copy today, FREE of charge. Simply select the 'receive FREE calendar' option below and include your contact information." I have never ordered this before, but, hey - - -it's free. If it's really ugly, you could use it to start a campfire, line the botton of your kitchen trash can with it so it doesn't get dirty OR toss it! The picture beside the request form is of some green grasses and the edge of a pond, though. It might be nice, so here's the link: http://www.hrgreen.com/aboutus/contactUs_HRGreenCalendar.aspx

To get a beautiful Joyce Meyer ministries calendar or one of the others that is no longer available, be on the lookout around October or November before supplies are exhausted. Stay abreast of available freebies by reading one of the blogs I mentioned the other day: freestufftimes.com, freestufffinder.com, free-product-samples.blogspot.com or hip2save.com. I get no compensation (or even thanks) from mentioning these other blogs. I just want to share with everyone what resources are available to them just by taking a couple of minutes to ask for them. Like I said before, be creative and make use of what God gives you. It's fun! From our house to yours, have a fun, frugal and fabulous day!

Saturday Mail Call

Happy Saturday! Time for another Saturday Mail Call!

Well, it was a nice week here at the Begley house. Keith the Mailman was pretty good to us. He came through with a nice variety including, grocery, health & beauty and magazines! Here is a picture of all the treasures I received in my mailbox for this week:

Magazines: Bloomberg Business, Martha Stewart Living and Outdoor Life

Health and Beauty: Cepacol Hydra Lozenges 4 count package, two 2 ounce tubes of Suave Cocoa Butter & Shea lotion, one 6 ounce tube of Freeman Chocolate & Strawberry Clay Mask

Grocery: Seven coupons from www.mycokerewards.com for a free 12 pack of any Coke product and Two Wild Ophelia All Natural Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chip dark chocolate candy bars!

I shared my sources for finding free things a few posts ago. I hope that some of you have taken advantage of this. Concerning the magazines, most of these come from taking short surveys on www.rewardsgold.com. They reward you with enough credit to pick free subscriptions of your choice. Martha Stewart Living is my favorite, but I have also ordered many others including ESPN the Magazine for my son and he liked it. The Cepacol Lozenges and Clay Mask came from www.luvocracy.com. A couple of months back, they were giving a $10 credit to anybody who registered with their site. The money could be applied toward shipping as well, so I finally used it to order the mask last week, which came to $9.98 shipped. When it arrived this week, the box also contained the Cepacol. The Suave lotion came from www.pinchme.com, so go there and sign up now! This is a site that will send you a box of two different products to try, and all you have to do is complete very, very short questionnaires about the products on the pinchme website. Of course, my free 12 pack coupons came from www.mycokerewards.com. If you or someone you know drinks Coke products, it is definitely worth your time to sign up and enter codes. Now for the Smokehouse BBQ Candy bar....yes, this sounds delicious yet wrong......not something I would normally purchase. It is also from www.pinchme.com. It is also listed on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Ophelia-Natural-Smokehouse-Chocolate/dp/B00AUN58GI) for $5.99 per bar!!! Now, I love chips with chocolate cake, so this may be right up my alley. 

Estimated values of the above:

• Candy bars = $5.99 * 2 = $11.98
• Chocolate & Strawberry Clay Mask = $3.99
• Cepacol Lozenges = about $1.00
• Suave Lotion = $1.00 * 2 = $2.00
• Martha Stewart Magazine = $4.99
• Outdoor Life Magazine = Current offer on www.outdoorlife.com is $10 / year, so one magazine = $0.83
• Bloomberg Business Magazine = Current offer on www.businessweek.com is 26 issues for $15, so $0.58
• Coca-Cola 12 Pack coupons = $3.50 (average) each * 7 = $24.50

TOTAL ESTIMATED VALUE OF STUFF FOR THIS WEEK:  $49.87

I hope this encourages you to search out some free stuff of your own. Not only is it fun, but a huge budget helper!!! Have a fun, frugal and fabulous evening, from our house to yours.

Save Cash-ola on Birthdays: Make the Cake Yourself!

I had plans to have a leisurely evening. I had made enough chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, green beans and homemade biscuits last night that I didn't think I would have to visit the kitchen this evening other than to warm up some grub in the microwave. Wrong! Okay.......I DID make some sugar cookies when I got home from work (will share the yummy recipe in another post). Anyhow, the cookies were well underway and my son had already eaten the complete first dozen when my husband arrived home from work armed with a Kroger bag and a special request. He asked me to make a Tasmanian Devil cake for a friend. Hmmmm.....a challenge.

I must admit that it is past my bedtime, so I will be brief tonight! I just finished the Taz cake, and I am satisfied with the results. Of course, it is not TLC Cake Boss quality, but it will work. While I'm at it, I might as well go ahead and show you some of my other cakes too! I don't always take a picture of them, but I think I'm gonna start so that I have something to look at if I ever want to make the same cake twice.

WARNING: I AM NO PROFESSIONAL NOR AM I A PHOTOGRAPHER...LOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK.

"Dukes of Hazzard" Cake made for a friend. It was so hard to get the red that deep, but I finally achieved it by adding a 10 cent package of Kroger brand drink mix to the white icing. It colored it AND flavored it cherry, which complemented the chocolate cake.

Litterbox Cake made for the Halloween Yuck Fest at my son's school a couple of years ago. This pic is a little old, but I thought I'd included it anyway. It is just a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, covered in crushed cookies (the kind you get like 50 in a pack for a dollar, LOL) garnished with broken up large Tootsie Rolls and finished off with a brand new washed cat litter scoop. YUCK!

And HERE is the Taz Cake. He isn't perfect, but I think he turned out pretty cute. I free-handed the whole thing, first with a tube of black icing. Then, I filled in the rest, using a toothpick for a bunch of it to fill in the spaces. It was fun because, in a way, I felt like I was in first grade again finishing a coloring sheet and trying to stay in the lines. I finished it off by piping brown stars around the edges.

A UK Wildcat cake made for a friend. From this angle, it kinda looks crooked, but it didn't look that way in person...hmmm.  Basically just one store brand cake mix and a can of icing here. And, of course, a little bit of homemade white and blue icing I made with confectioner's sugar, margarine and a few drops of blue food coloring in some of the white icing.

All these cakes certain things in common: store brand cake mix that cost about $1.00 - $1.25 and store brand icing for around $1.00 - $1.50 a can (don't forget to save the can!!). I used a very simple plastic decorating bag with tips that I purchased at my local Mighty Dollar for $1.00, and the round containers you see were salvaged from certain death by trash can by my sister, Tammy at a workplace function she attended. I noticed the other day that Dollar Tree now sells food coloring. I was thrilled by that discovery!! 

So, why continue to give your hard earned cash to the deli for a cake that has been frozen, thawed, decorated from a five gallon bucket of icing, and set in a display case for days all for about $15 - $20 for a cake this size (which is considered to be a 1/4 sheet cake). You can save some green and make your own for about $5.00, more or less, AND get the chance to create edible art yourself!

Have a fun, frugal and fabulous evening, from our house to yours!