New Crochet Patterns

I recently found a new favorite site for free crochet patterns [Craftsy.com]. Many of the patterns on this site are free and you can search for "Free Crochet Patterns". If you see many that cost money after searching for free patterns, simply hover over the drop-down menu on the top right corner of the screen that says "Sort by: Relevance" and click on "Lowest Price". Doing this will show the lowest priced items first, so all of the patterns you see should be free. Here are a few new items I have made from free patterns I have found on the site (two baby hats and a mug cozy):

I am currently selling the baby bear hats I have made here : https://www.etsy.com/listing/175297619/crochet-black-bear-baby-hat?

DIY liquid soap

This one is very simple, but I have found it useful as I can find bar soap cheaper than liquid soap, and I hate using bar soap. All you do is grate the bar of soap using the cheese grater, and then place one cup of water for each bar of soap into the pan and get it just warm enough to melt it all together. Viola! This does tend to be pretty watery though so if you want thicker soap, just use less water. I suggest starting with half the water the recipe calls for and add more until it is the consistency you want.

Materials Needed:
-large bowl
-cheese grater
-bar soap (I do 2 per batch)
-stove pan (non-stick if you have it)
-spoon to stir soap on the stove
-funnel
-some kind of bottle to put it in (I reuse old soap bottles)

Resume Template

I was never told in school how to make a resume, and as I get older I have learned that you really need a resume ready to go and up to date at all times. After years of messing around with my resume and looking high and low for layouts, I have finally found a format/template that I like. Although I tend to change it every now and then, this is what my resume looks like. I hope that this is useful to you, or at least gives you some ideas for creating your own.

Firstname Lastname

800.555.5555

email@gmail.com

Current Address                                              Permanent Address

### Apple Lane                                                         ### Apple Lane

Chicago, IL 33333                                                 Chicago, IL 33333

EDUCATION

College Name, Chicago, IL           Graduation date or expected date

Bachelor of Science - Degree Title

Overall GPA: #/4.0: Dean's List Fall 2000, Spring 2001

EXPERIENCE

Job Place - Town, State  Month year started - Month and year ended

Job Title

-duties

-other duties

-more duties

Job Place - Town, State                                  June 2000 - July 2000
Job Title
-duties
-other duties
-more duties

Job Place - Town, State                                   June 2000 - July 2000
Job Title
-duties
-other duties
-more duties

ACTIVITIES
Activity Title - School or Town and State       June 2000 - July 2000
Active Member or other Job Title
-duties
-other duties
-more duties

Activity Title - School or Town and State       June 2000 - July 2000
Active Member or other Job Title
-duties
-other duties
-more duties

TECHNICAL SKILLS
List Technical Skill Name Here
Another..
Another

DIY Facial Astringent

I love having the opportunity to 'DIY' anything, so when I saw DIY facial astringent on Pinterest I jumped right on it. However, I did not love the first two recipes that I tried, but the third time is a charm, and this one only has 3 ingredients. Here is the recipe I use now:

Facial Astringent

• 1/2 ounce organic apple cider vinegar (and I stress organic, otherwise it won't work its magic)
• 3 ounces mineral water (I haven't been able to try it with mineral water yet, just water from the tap)
• 5 plain aspirin (non-coated), crushed

I use a bit more than 1/2 ounce

This is how much I crush the aspirin (I use a rolling pin and a Ziploc bag, it doesn't usually break through)

Don't forget to shake it up! 

Keep Refrigerated. Shake well before each use. 

Give it a try!

Different Techniques for Addressing Envelopes

Here are some cute ways to address envelopes. Whether you haven't sent out your Christmas cards yet, wish to send out thank-you cards for Christmas gifts, or have other letters to send, you now have a fun way to do so. Enjoy! :)

This is a link to the blog on How to Create Fake Calligraphy:
http://www.joellecharming.com/2012/05/how-to-fake-calligraphy.html#.Uq6JZ_RDuSo

Crash Course on How to Coupon

How I Coupon: Step-by-Step

1. Buy 2 Sunday newspaper subscriptions (Some coupon deals can only be done with two of the same coupon, so only buy one if you must, but buy two if you can.) 

Or find another way to get your hand on coupons, such as friends/family who get the paper but don't use the coupons, or ask them for the coupons they don't use (many coupons do not expire for a long time after the paper arrives). I only have one subscription myself, and then ask family for their unused coupons.

2. Pull out the coupon inserts. The coupon inserts vary each week, so not all will be present each week, but this is what to look for: (SmartSource, redplum, and P&GbrandSaver)

3.  Pick a way to organize your coupons. 

Option 1: label each coupon insert with the week it was received. 

Option 2: cut out all of the coupons and organize them by type. (When I have the time I prefer option 2, that way I can use the coupons for regular shopping too and look for ones that match the items on my shopping list. I even have a coupon binder that I made with baseball card sleeves. However, life sometimes gets hectic so I sometimes opt for option 1 to save some time.)

4. Search for deals on blogs that are made for couponing. My go-to site is the Krazy Coupon Lady (http://thekrazycouponlady.com/), but there are many sites our there. On this website, as well as many others, they break down the deals by stores. So, if I want to coupon at Target, I click on Target in the Find My Store drop-down menu. Then the deals are listed there for you. 

For example: 

Swiss Miss K-Cups, 16-18 ct $10.99
Buy 2, Receive $5.00 Target Gift Card 
Use  $1.50/1 Keurig K-Cup Pack, 12, 16 or 18 ct, Do not double from SS 12/8 (exp 1/8/14)
Pay $18.98, Receive $5.00 Target Gift Card
Final Price: $6.99 each, when you buy 2

The item name is listed at the top with the regular price (in this case $10.99 each). The second line specifies that for this deal you will need to buy two, and by buying two you will get a $5 target gift card. The third line tells you which coupon you should use. In this case it is the $1.50 off of 1 Keurig K-Cup Pack coupon that is from the SmartSource (SS) coupon insert from the date 1/8/14. So, if you organized your coupons by date, look for the SmartSource coupon insert from that date. If you organized your coupons by type, search for the 'drink' section, or wherever this type of coupon would be stored according to your organization. The fourth line tells you how much you will pay the cashier upon checkout ($18.98), and that you will receive a $5 gift card at checkout. The fifth line tells you what you 'technically' paid. If you pay $18.98 and receive $5, you 'really' paid $13.98 for the two boxes, or $6.99 for each box. 

*Tip: Make sure that you spend the $5 gift card wisely though, it is not just free cash, or you really paid $18.98 for the two items.

Here is another example:

Venus Embrace Razor $5.99, regular price
Use $2.00/1 – Gillette Venus Razor or Refill, excludes disposables and trial/travel size, limit 4 like coupons per household per day – (coupons.com)
Final Price: $3.99 

For this particular deal, the blue hyperlink means that the coupon is located online and you can print it out. Click on the link and print the coupon (oftentimes you will have to download a 'coupon printer', this is just so that they can make sure you do not print more than two of the same coupon off of a single computer)

5. Write down the deals! If you just bring coupons with you it is hard to remember exactly what you are supposed to be buying (size, number, exact type, etc.). 

*Tip: I like to save old envelops or envelopes that I don't use from junk mail (like return envelopes) and write the deals down on them and place the coupons inside.

6. The prices in my examples may seem like okay deals, but I often get items much cheaper. I even get items for free and sometimes get paid to buy an item! So for me it's worth the work. 

Happy Couponing! Feel free to ask questions :)

Clear Ornament Craft Ideas from Pinterest

Need a Christmas craft idea? Pick up some clear ornaments and get to work ;)
Here is a list of my favorites:

 

Feather-filled

'Anything'-filled


 
Glittered

 
Colored glue & ribbons

Glitter glue-patterned


 
I-Spy nativity

Melted snowman 

Nail Polish-filled

Pine-filled

Reindeer Thumbprints

Ribbon-filled

  Snow-globe

Sprinkle-filled