8 ways Valentines could help you survive a zombie outbreak

Attention grabber I know.  It was fitting with the first Valentine I made for the season.  This one is for Big B.  I just received the Mini Monster Cricut cartridge and it was too cute to not do this one!  I use my awesome new mini monsters and the George and basic shapes cartridge.  I think it turned out super cute!  I think that next time I might use a different color for the I Heart You.  The pink didn't show up very well.  

I also entered this on
Fantabulous Cricut  for their Challenge Me Monday #97 - Love is in the air project.
More than Favors - Wacky Wednesday # 64 - Love
  

Has anyone noticed that my pictures are awesomely clear but kind of off on the color.  I got a DSLR camera for Christmas from Big B and I am still working out how to use it properly, so bear with me.  But the pictures are so clear... it is great.  I can't wait to get the hang of this thing so that the color looks super awesome too.  I need to get a few accessories yet.  It is hard to decide what to buy on my limited budget.  Do I get the lens or the Cuttlebug??  I got a Sizzix Texture Boutique Embossing Machine Beginner's Kit on Amazon for cheap.  I can't wait until it gets here.  Next purchase will definitely be a camera purchase.  

I mentioned the Jell-O money saver in my very first post.  I was at the Grocery last night and I looked to see the size of each single serve Jell-O cups.  3.9 oz.  My cups are 3 oz.  I don't think that there is actually much of a difference.  On box of Jell-O makes me 8, 3 oz cups.  It actually come out the same 6 premade singles of Jell-O = one box.  Yeah I shouldn't have to justify that one, you save $2.00 or more!! And the kids love it!!

This is Lil Mr. paitently wait for his delicious Jell-O!

Single Mother of Two

So Big B had back surgery 3 weeks ago today.  Major back surgery.  They went in and cleaned out some damage, fused two discs, and found a broken facet joint.  He was involved in a car accident in 2010, so he has been walking around with a broken bone for a year and a half!  No wonder he was in so much pain.  AND he continued to do his job!!

Picture borrowed from Joint Pain Solutions

However since this surgery I have been running around without a clue.  I went from a wife and mother in a partnership to a woman trying to take care of her recovering hubby and Lil Mr and continue to work full time and try to craft.  I need to make a couple of cards for Valentines Day.  I need to get invitations for Lil Mr's first birthday Monster Bash made.  I still have to practice icing techniques so that his Monster cake is perfect.

I don't have a great post today.  I have taken pictures of all the experimental dinners I made this week.  I took pictures of my single serve Jell-O cups for demonstration.  But I never got anytime to get the images on my computer!  Lil Mr. is a handful when I am doing this all by myself.  I feel for Big B, he can't hold his son, can't play with him, can't toss him around.  Lil Mr. took his first steps 3 weeks ago and Big B had to watch on my iPhone from a hospital bed.  Lil Mr. gets more and more steady each day and Big B can only watch from the recliner in the living room.  I can see it in his eyes that every time Lil Mr. walks over to Daddy and reaches up in the air like he wants to be picked up, my Big B is devastated. 

I do have a tip today (no cool pictures).  I made bath salts and jars of layer homemade hot cocoa for Christmas Presents.  I bought the empty jars at my local hobby store.  However these horrible UPC stickers were GLUED to the bottom.  NOT easy to remove with out leaving a bunch of gooey mess.  So I hopped online hoping to find an answer.  I found a whole bunch that all said to use a hair dryer.  Found it on a blog, on Pinterest, even on Facebook!  But seriously I don't keep my hair dryer in the kitchen.  I tried it anyway.  I blew and blew and blew on these darn stickers with the hair dryer and all it did was overheat.  My youngest sister came over and she is actually the one who showed me a trick.  Pour the hottest water your tap will produce inside the jar.  Let it sit in there for 30 seconds or so.  The sticker comes right off.  Maybe I was doing the hair dryer wrong, I see a similar concept, but it works way better for me this way.  On the plus side, I don't have to trek up stairs and get my hair dryer now either.

I'll show you the homemade bath salts and hot cocoa one day too.

I HEART my Cricut

My best friend's daughter turned 1 last weekend.  I used this opportunity to make a homemade card using my Cricut and a new cartridge that I got for Christmas.  I used the Sweet Treats  cartridge... LOVE IT!  I know that I linked the this to the Cricut website... but don't pay full price for these things!  The go on sale all the time and you can get them on eBay for WAY cheap!!  Actually I just picked up the Mini Monsters cartridge on eBay for only $18.50!! That included shipping! It's normally $49.99! I am going to make the invitations for Lil Mr's FIRST BIRTHDAY party using that cartridge.  That will be another wonderful post... Can't wait!! But here is the card I made...

And I made a cute little gift tag...

And yes I made the ribbon attachment too.  That is too easy!  Just take a look at one next time you are in the store!  I just cut a bunch of curling ribbon and stapled it in the middle to a square of card stock that matched the wrapping paper.  Then I curled the ribbon with my scissors and  I put a little glue dot on the back of the card stock for "stickiness".  Too easy and cost WAY less!  My card was a hit!

Microwave Popcorn on a Dime

Just as I promised... Microwave Popcorn for a fraction of the cost.

1 box of buttery yummy mini bags of popcorn $2.75 per box (Jolly Time Brand, 100 calorie, healthy pop Butter popcorn, 4 bags per box) That rounds out to about $.68 per serving.  Not bad.
1 bag of Popping Corn $1.48 per 32oz bag (Great Value Brand <Walmart's house brand>)  That rounds out to 16 2 oz servings at $.09 a serving
1 bag of 50 count brown paper bags $.99 rounding out to $.02 a paper bag

$.68 a serving for prepackaged popcorn or $.11 for a DIY bag.  Both done in the microwave.  Your at home bag is healthier too because you add your own toppings.  Spray butter works GREAT!

So if you eat one mini bag a week costing $.68 a bag each year you spend $35.36 roughly.  If you make your own at $.11 you spend $5.72 saving you $29.64  That doesn't sound like much at all.  However if you are like me and you love your popcorn it adds up.  I work five days a week.  I probably take popcorn to work with me 3 of those days at least, and Big B and I eat 2 more mini bags with a movie on Sundays.  So we consume (at least) 5 bags a week.  5 bags was costing us about  $176 a year.  Now I spend about $28 a year.

It's totally worth it if you LOVE popcorn as much as we do!! And c'mon, it really isn't that much more work!!

Happy Popping!

In the Beginning

Day one... I have tried to blog so many times, but failed even more.  I never had anything to really blog about.  I can't talk about work on the Internet, my life really isn't that interesting, and I hate talking politics (it Always ends up bad).  Everyone... I MEAN EVERYONE has a crafty blog... but here I am.  I have noticed that as many crafty blogs there are, never are there two that are the same! So here goes. 

I have a hubby that I will call Big B (He is 6'6'') and a little boy that will be 1 in March, I will call him Lil Mr.  I love Big B and Lil Mr. with everything I have.  Lil Mr. was actually born on my birthday most amazing birthday gift EVER!  We call it the extraction because I had an emergency c-section after 26 hours of labor... my father in law LOVES that!  I work in law enforcement, as does my husband.  No one ever said that living on a cops salary would be easy so I have had to get kind of frugal.  That will of course be part of this blog.  For example I have discovered that the average price of a six pack of individual Jell-O cups is about $2.65, a box of Jell-O brand gelatin is about $.60 I can make 8 servings of 1/2 cup of gelatin each (which is all Lil Mr. needs at a time).  My servings are a little less than the store bought servings, but it's all I need per serving and Lil Mr. never finishes a store bought size.  On top of that I can add fruit if I want or substitute half the water for fruit juice.  I'll have another Frugal example tomorrow with microwave popcorn.  You won't believe this one!   

We live in the Midwest.  Not small town but after visiting Boston, Chicago, New York, Baghdad, I wouldn't really consider it big city living either.  Kind of a happy medium. Both Big B and I served our country.  He was in the Marine Corps, and I am still in the Army Reserves.  I have loved all my time in the Army even including my travels, however the thought of deployment is still a reality for me and now terrifying with Lil Mr. around. 

Keep reading and learn more frugal tips, DIY projects, and just plain fun things to do!  I love Pinterst, so some of my projects may replicate others but I will give credit where credit is deserved.  All of my photos are mine, you may not use them without permission.  If they are someone else's I will have permission to use them, I will again give credit where credit is due, and you may not use those pictures without the owners permission either.