Patterns for Baby Items

Preemie Onsie and Booties to crotchet.

Other crotchet baby clothes.

Homemade Quilting Projects Using Old Clothes

Well, I don’t have a pattern as I have not quilted anything yet. My sister is quilting using our father’s clothes and store bought fabric. Our father passed away a year-and-a-half ago, and she is making us memory pieces.

I was thinking that we could do different things with old clothes, and here are some ideas for fabric to use:

* Old Jeans would be great to use for boys, or cowgirls.

* Used baby clothes would be great for making baby things.

* Christmas clothing could be used for making holiday items. Likewise with other holidays.

Here are some ideas for projects:

* Quilts, lap quilts and wall quilts.

* Tote bags and purses.

* Curtains, drapes and blinds.

* Place mats, pot holders, coasters and oven mitts.

* Table runners and doilies.

* Tree skirts, stockings and ornaments.

* Pillow shams/cases, throw pillows.

* Quilted clothing for babies.

Where to get the old clothes:

* Anything that you or your children no longer want, or grow out of.

* Yard/garage sales.

* Dollar stores.

*Thrift shops.

These projects can all be done relatively frugally if done right.

Homemade Baby/Children’s Clothes from Other Items

There are frugal things that you can do with old clothes, sheets, pillow cases and other items that will help you more cheaply decorate baby rooms, and young children’s rooms, as well as to help clothe them.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

* Homemade mittens, scarves and hats from your old sweaters and fleece items.

* Homemade curtains and valances from sheets and pillowcases.

* Homemade baby sheets from bigger sheets.

* Home dresses for little girls from pillow cases.

* Boys and girls in our family use adult size tee shirts as night shirts.

* Jean pockets make cute purses for little girls, or can be glued to a notebook to hold crayons or other items.

Have more ideas? Please post them here.

Warmest Wishes,

Shannon

Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner

I am just using full strength vinegar for this. I am going to put it into a spray bottle and label it. This works for tough toilet stains as well as daily swishes. Actually, I swish with nothing but the toilet water daily, and twice a week I will use the vinegar.

A Kentucky Creation

To your right, under the heading Blog Roll, you will notice that I have added A Kentucky Creation. The site has some economical recipes and craft ideas, as well as other useful information.

Some finds: A crayon carrier, homemade bread and spoon bread.

Please visit today.

Warmest Wishes,

Shannon

Living on a Food Budget of $121.00, for 2 People Plus

Well, things are going to be tough this winter. Our food budget is a whole whopping $121.00 for me and Zowie full time, Skye every so often, and Isaiah who eats some meals plus snacks here each week.

Luckily, I have a good stock of food. The freezer and the small pantry area are full. We have a lot of pasta and potatoes to start. All of the meat is packaged in 1/2 servings and put in the freezer, except for the turkey bacon (a steal at $1.99 a package) which is divided into 4 pieces per package. No matter how many people are here, we can only take out one package of meat for lunch and dinner. We will also be eating more meatless meals.

I have plans to visit CrossRoads Ministries to see if we can get some discounted foods. I’m not sure how that will go. I have found that I can get a few items cheaper at the dollar store. I am purchasing items on sale, and I have recently stocked us up on baking products for baking from scratch.

We tried a successful whole wheat bread recipe that netted us six loaves of bread. We have baked two so far, and the rest are waiting (individually wrapped and placed in freezer bags) in the freezer. There are other recipes that we will be trying as well.

What does this amount look like each week?

$30.25 per week for 4 week months, and $24.20 per week for 5 week months.

I’m not sure what I can do with these amounts, but we shall see. For a little while, I will only need fresh produce each week.

After Christmas Shopping

Now is a great time to purchase clearance items for 50%-75% off their regular prices for both Christmas and Thanksgiving. These items can help you out a lot when next years holidays roll around.

 What to look for:

gift-wrap, boxes and bags (Plain Red: Also good for Valentines Day, birthdays. Plain Green: Also good for St. Patrick’s Day and birthdays. Other plain colors could be used for birthdays. Silver (anniversary), Gold (anniversary, New Years Eve), etc.)

gift tags and bows (Again, think about other events in the coming year.)

tissue paper (Same as the previous two.)

decorations

paper/plastic cups, etc.

toys, books, clothing, etc., to give as gifts next year and throughout this year.

tissues in holiday containers

winter clothing in holiday prints, etc. for use by your family throughout the winter.

holiday cards for next year

candies (Throw them in the freezer for next year. Also, take red ones out for Valentines Day, Gold for New Tear’s Eve, and green for St. Patrick’s Day.)

stickers – acid and lignin free – to use in scrapbooking your holiday celebrations.

tree skirts (If you keep your tree up year round, how about: White for winter, green for spring/summer, red for Valentine’s Day, etc.)

lights and garlands

artificial trees, wreaths

yard decorations

This can all save you a lot of money next year at the holidays. At least half of what you normally spend.

Besides money, it will also save you time before the holidays. If you play your cards right, you won’t even have to run to the store for last minute stocking stuffers.

Poor Man’s Insulation

Here in Maine, we have gotten a lot of snow so far this year. I have such a small lot, that my stepfather has no place left to plow the snow to. My solution?

Push as much as I can under my front porch, and pile a lot as far up the outside of my trailer as I can. I do this at the front of the trailer where I shovel, and along the front side. These are the areas that are the most exposed to wind and other weather conditions.

My stepfather told me to do it as much as I can, as it provides a barrier from the wind.

I also plugged in the heat tape under the trailer, and banked the trailer, during the autumn months.