Better Homes & Gardens has come up with some neat crafts made with recycled materials.  The picture frame shown below really caught my eye. It is made from magazine pages and cardboard.  I’m thinking that this would be a colorful and creative way to bring an old picture frame back to life. 

There are 12 low cost recycled craft ideas, which include:

• fabric scrap balls
• patterned paper book covers
• yardstick frames  and vintage tin crafts supplies organizer
• painted jewelry box
• homemade license plate art
• magazine page frame and storage box
• paint cans turned organizer
• beaded luminarias
• paper covered jewelry boxes

Some of these crafts use items that you might have lying around the house such as cigar boxes, magazine pages, paint, glass telephone line insulators, and paint cans.

Which project do you think you’d like to try?

image from bhg

Last weekend, we went back to our old house to pack up the rest of our things before it was sold.  While I was walking around the yard, I was reminded of all the volunteer plants that could be put to good use.  There were volunteer azalea bushes, ivy, trees, and many other kinds of plants and bushes. 

Several years ago, my parents gave me some volunteer bushes they had growing in their yard.  I planted the small bushes in my yard and within a year or so, the bushes were tall and well developed.  The bushes didn’t cost me any money.

Volunteer plants are a great inexpensive way to help landscape your yard.  You can check with friends, neighbors, and family to see if they have any volunteer plants in their yard that you might like.  You can return the favor and by offering your extra plants to them.  Also, to help save money you can save the plastic pots from store bought plants.  Transplant the shrubs, bushes, and other plants into the pots to help save on your gardening supplies.

Have you ever used volunteer plants? 

image (c) Karen Weideman

On May 2, I had the privilege of speaking at a Clark Howard event.  I spoke about using sales and coupons to buy things at rock bottoms prices and stockpiling those items when they are at their lowest price.

You can read a little more about this event at Thrifty Mommy.  In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be discussing some of the money saving tips.

image (c) Karen Weideman

Guest post by Bekah.

Everyone knows it’s good to be as green as possible, but the high price of many organic products can have people reaching for conventional chemical-based pesticides and fertilizers. Well, there are plenty of ways to be frugal - and eco-friendly - with gardening and yard maintenance.

Weed Control
There are many ways to deal with weeds. You could use stand-bys like Round-Up, which is readily available. But did you know that there are eco-friendly options that are safer for pets and kids - and cheaper? One option is to get a weed puller. There are many options out there, with names like Weed Twister, Weed Queen, and more. These can be found at most hardware/home improvement stores, and work for weeds in the lawn - and do some aerating at the same time. For weeds that are in sidewalks and patios, mix vinegar with a splash of dish soap (the dish soap helps it stick to the weeds). This works best if you get the weeds while they are still small. Pickling vinegar is more effective than standard kitchen vinegar. You can also pour boiling water on these weeds. Be careful with these two methods though - they’ll kill everything, whether or not it’s a weed. For good pre-emergent weed control, spread corn gluten-based fertilizer on the lawn. This is usually not much more expensive than traditional fertilizers, and if you live near a feed mill you can get plain corn gluten for very cheap.

Fertilizer
Natural fertilizers are the best bet for safety of pets and kids, and are also much better for our water systems because of run-off. As mentioned above, corn gluten makes a good fertilizer. You can also make your garden and landscaping using native plants, which grow more easily and require less care.

Lawn Care
Keep your lawn right around 3 inches. It will require less water. When you mow, leave the clippings behind. It takes less effort than bagging and is good for the law. Consider replacing your gas mower with less expensive electric or manual ones - save gas and get a better workout at the same time. Buy a rain barrel - just an inch of rain from part of our roof runoff filled our 55-gallon barrel last week. We’ll use that to water the garden and our freshly planted trees until it runs out (or rains again). And don’t over-water. Lawns are typically healthy with only an inch per week. Water early in the morning for the most effective watering - and don’t water at all unless it’s been over a week without rain. Use sprinklers that go low to the ground to avoid water loss from evaporation.

image by Karen Weideman

Bekah blogs at Motherhood Moment where she shares freebies and tips on eco-friendly living, parenting, and saving money and time.

Last week I let you know about the Duncan Hines carrot cake. Since I had recently written about this, I wanted to let you know that there is a $1 coupon in Sunday’s coupon section. The coupon is for save $1 when you purchase the carrot cake mix and a cream cheese frosting.

image from duncan hines

Although do not consider myself a tree hugger, I try to do things that help the environment.  These things usually help my pocketbook, as well. 

Some of the ways I try to help are:

1.  I bring my own reusable bags to the grocery store.  Yes, sometimes I encounter some rolled-eyes from the baggers or heavy sighs, but I like bringing in my own bags.  I can’t stand all of those plastic ones filling up my house.  Besides, the reusable ones hold more and don’t break.

2.  I reuse the plastic bags. If I happen to forget my plastic bags or didn’t bring in enough reusable ones, I try to find a use for the plastic ones.  I don’t bring home many of them, so it doesn’t take much effort to find other uses.  Typically I use them for trash bags for my bathroom or for cleaning up nasty messes.  We no longer have a garbage disposal, so sometimes I wrap food in them before throwing the food into the trash.  This keeps the house from getting smelly.

3.  I try not to buy prepackaged foods.  Prepackaged foods are too expensive anyway.  I am too cheap to buy them and this frugalness inside me is good for the environment.

4.  I pay my bills online and over the phone.  I pay the majority of my bills this way and only have to write a few checks each month. 

5.  I recycle.  I keep a small box in my pantry that I put recyclables in.  When it fills up, the items go into a big blue tote on my back porch which gets hauled off to the recycling bins each week. 

Read more

Spend $75 or more at Belk.com from April 23 through April 25, 2009 and receive free shipping on your order.  Just place $75.00 of qualifying merchandise in your shopping cart and free shipping will automatically apply.  If you’re looking for some new home accessories or clothes, now is the time to shop online at at Belk.com.

image from belk

Today’s the last day to save at JCPenney with a printable coupon.  Save $10 off purchases of $50 or more and save $15 off purchases of $75 or more.  Click to get the printable coupon.

You can also save with your online shopping.  To save at jcp.com enter the code BONUSBIG when prompted at the checkout or call 1-800-222-6161 to shop and mention the code.  Some restrictions apply.  Be sure to read the fine print.

In case you’re interested, I’ve also posted some printable coupons for Belk.

image from jcpenney

Michael’s has a printable 50% off coupon* which is good Sunday, March 29 through Saturday, April 4, 2009.  Sounds like a good time to get those spring decorations to liven up your home.  Michael’s also has a 50% off coupon for a framing order.

Some other sales at Michael’s:

• 40% off baskets & Easter collection decor
• bagged plastic eggs $1.50
• special value ribbon $1
• 50% off select frames
• 50% off spring label florals
• 50% off spring label garlands
• 40% off Decorative Touch tabletop & hanging arrangements
• 40% collage wall frames

Visit Michaels.com to view the sales in your area.

*There may be a limit on the number of times this coupon can be printed.
image from michael’s

Restaurant.com is having another sale.  Save 70% and get $25 gift certificates for only $3.  Simply enter the discount code SAVE at the checkout and hit “apply”.  This sale ends Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Have you tried Restaurant.com?