Craft – Couponista Queen ~ Saving, Eating, Crafting

15 DIY Halloween Decorations

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15 DIY Halloween Decorations

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to make decorations for.  It is so much fun and really gets me in that Fall mood.  Check out these great and fun 15 DIY Halloween Decorations and get your spooky crafting on, and pin the post for later reference.

1. Spiderweb Garland | Source: 100 Directions

2. DIY Halloween Wreath | Source: Passion for Savings

3. Easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghost Craft | Source: Drugstore Divas

4. Colorful Skull Luminaries | Source: Crafts by Amanda

5. DIY Fabric Halloween Wreath | Source: More Than a Mom of Three

6. Lovely Lace Pumpkin | Source: Living Frugal with Erika

7. Bat Hanging Centerpiece | Source: 100 Directions

8. DIY Frugal Porch Decoration | Source: Extreme Couponing Mom

9. DIY Skeleton Party Banner | Source: Baby Loving Mama

10. Halloween Footprint Sign | Source: Home. Made. Interest.

11. Jack O’ Lantern Jars | Source: Who Needs a Cape?

12. Halloween Garland | Source: 100 Directions

13. DIY Scarecrow | Source: Living Frugal with Erika

14. Easy Halloween Door Hang | Source: Drugstore Divas

15. DIY Halloween Fabric Strip Wreath | Source: Growing Up Gabel

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15 Gorgeous DIY Easter Wreaths

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 Why break the bank buying a custom made Easter wreath when it is so much more fun (and thrifty!) to make your own?!  Get ready to want to make several of these beautiful Easter wreaths.  Good thing I have more than one place to hang because I have a few favorites and I want to showcase them!

15 Gorgeous DIY Easter Wreaths

1. DIY Easter Ribbon Wreath | Source: Suzy’s Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom
2. Easter Wreath and Vase | Source: A Spectacled Owl
3. DIY Easter Egg Wreath | Source: A Cultivated Nest
4. Easter Fabric & Felt Wreath | Source: Life With Love Bugs
5. Let’s Make an Easter Wreath | Source: Bare Feet on the Dashboard
6. DIY Easter Wreath | Source: Clever Pink Pirate
7. DIY Peep Wreath With Rolled Ribbon Rosette | Source: Mom Advice
8. Easter Egg Wreath | Source: Wine & Glue
9. Easter Mesh Wreath Tutorial | Source: Kristen’s Creations
10. Easiest Burlap Wreath You’ll Ever Make | Source: Top This Top That
11. Moss Wreath | Source: A Diamond in the Stuff
12. Grass Wreath | Source: Miss KopyKat
13. 10 Minute Spring Wreath | Source: Living Locurto
14. Yarn Egg Wreath | Source: The Sweet Survival
15. Easter Egg Hunt Wreath | Source: Positively Splendid

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Lady B’s Budget Boredom Busters! Make an Easy, DIY, Frugal Floral Hair Clip

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Lady B’s Budget Boredom Busters! Floral Hair Clip

Lady B is a busy gal and I am a tired Mommy.  Don’t get me wrong… I wouldn’t change a single thing because this child is on fire and I love her and her constant state of activity.  That makes us always be on the look out for fun things to make.  Recently, we were at a local mall and on one of the carts in the middle they were selling some cute tropical looking hair clips.  She loved one in particular and then I saw the price.

 Ummm…not happening!  So I explained to her that it was a little too much to spend on a hair clip.  ‘That’s OK Mom, we can make one!’ she said.  Well of course she was right, we are DIY girls and we can totally make these to play,  to wear for us, heck for her new American Girl Doll even!  Where would we go?  To the 99 Cent Only Store of course!

What did we find?  Well we found silk/fabric flowers with 4 blooms for $1, one large and a pack with two medium hair clips.  I have a glue gun and wire cutters so for $3 we were going to be able to make 3 clips!

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Easy peasy.  Seriously like ridiculously easy

You cut the stem off the bloom and glue it to the hair clip and TADA!

I’ve truly have had so much fun with this gal this summer and we still have another week for another activity, then my Lady B will be off to 3rd Grade and I will find a way to fill my days with not so fun stuff 😀

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Lady B’s Budget Boredom Busters: DIY Homemade Frugal Flower Pen!

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Lady B’s Budget Boredom Busters: DIY Homemade Frugal Flower Pen!!

My daughter B is in a constant state of movement and creativity.  I had no clue I’d be on my toes so much.  My son is quieter but my Bumble Bee, wow!  So we were a little bored (lie, she was I could have used a nap, but noooooo),so off we went to the 99 cent store.  Between this store and the Dollar Tree, I find a lot of what we need to keep our creativity quota up and our boredom meter down.

What will you need?

Flower tape, its green

Silk Flower or flowers

Florist Foam, optional

Pen or pens, go crazy make a garden

Wire cutters (also a find at the 99 cent store or Dollar Tree)

Glue Gun (or crazy glue up to you).

Bored child

Willing Parent

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The green tape, the flower (in its little pot),  the foam (not shown) and wire cutters were all from the 99 Cent Store  The Pen is from my school supply stash from last year and I think I paid like 25 cents for the pack at Staples.  I have the glue gun.  Now with this little flower that we bought, we didn’t need the foam or a container to put it in because it came with its own (I like to have a little pot but its optional).  I also like to take ribbon and glue in around the pot adding a bow for added decoration.

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I picked this one because it had leaves. I took it apart and inserted the leaves into the pot, you can add glue if you like I think I may add moss or something to cover the foam (I didn’t for this because I’m making this frugal and you will use what you have at home).  Then I started on the pen, I cut the flower and attached it with the florist tape to the pen and wrapped around.  Going up and down the pen to fully cover.  I do not end this at the bottom, a lot of people do but it will come undone that way with use.  You need to keep wrapping back up to the top and use your glue gun to secure because this isn’t sticky tape.

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Tada!

My daughter got the hang of this and loved it.  She plans on making a few more to have and to give one to her new teacher.  We also have a little craft fair at a local ice cream shop and she may set up to sell a few to get her feet wet in having her own business (she’d fry in Phoenix with a lemonade stand).   I have made these and put them in a jar to look like a bunch of flowers, I’ve wrapped single ones in cellophane as party favors, so many ways to use these and make them fancy.  You can totally take this and run with it and make it your own.  I like this option a lot.  The Flower tape will last for many many pens, and depending on if you buy single or a bunch of flowers at the 99 Cent store or at Walmart you can make a lot cool gifts made with lots of love for a little dinero.

Cause well really, Frugal Moms and their Kids Rock.

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Frugal Fun: Lady B’s Budget Boredom Busters – Make a washer necklace!

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Easy_Frugal_Washer_Necklace_Craft

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Frugal Fun: B’s Budget Boredom Busters!

B is my daughter, I am Princess Thanya and well I work here at CQ headquaters for Stacy the Couponista Queen.  B is usually asking what I’m doing when I’m fiddling around the computer but its summertime so I put the pc to the side a bit more to hang out with B and her older brother and do fun stuff together.

We are going to visit family soon and B loves to give gifts.  I was doing some research on google and found a bunch and bunch did I mention bunch of ideas about how to make washer necklaces.  So I thought I have an 8 yr old that loves finger nail polish and glitter, lets do this!

First, I’m not going to tell you to go to a craft store that defeats the ‘Frugal’ description.  I can drop a pretty fine penny at those stores so I treat them as I do Macy’s.  My husband is in construction so he had washers, boy did he ever!  But if you don’t have any at home these run under 20 cents at Home Depot or Lowe’s where they sell them singly so you can choose the size etc.

Here is what they look like, pre-polish:

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Next you need fingernail polish.  Well that was easy, B went to her room and came out with a good assortment, plain and gliterized.  If you coupon like I do you can score this on the cheap so again its ‘Frugal’.  You can also use spray paint but we didn’t have any and I don’t like those fumes and then the subsequent need for air and oxygen (LOL).  B had glitter and stuff from her stash of crafts so that was also something we already had and were not going to buy.

Today I went to Walmart and I found some cute scrapbook supplies on clearance for 50 cents, they had these cute little cards with envelopes and the little metal charms so I spent a $1 and bought those for our project.

B took over at that point with some supervision.  I added top coat to the final product to protect and we had the clear plastic necklace string because we are crafty but you can use ribbon or string  just whatever you have on hand (we have bought that at Walmart for under $3 and it has lasted forever and ever).  So for under $3 we have made some pretty cool necklaces that B will enjoy gifting and we spent time creating together.

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Stay tuned…soon B will give a tutorial on the string game!

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Busy Kids, Happy Meals – Make a DIY Placemat Puzzle Craft

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DIY Placemat Puzzle

Make meals more fun with this interactive placemat puzzle.  Easy to make with supervision from ages 3+.  Cheap and fun craft for kids.

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This is the time of year when you have more kids over to your house for dinner or snacks.  But sometimes you don’t have little ones anymore so what are you going to do? Hand them your iPad while taking a few Advils for the migraine you are going to have worrying about your tablet?  LOL  you need a more creative entertaining solution.  When my kids were little I always carried around a lot of stuff but sometimes you just can’t bring the right things with you.   If you are the  hostess you want to make even the youngest guest feel at home so Mom and kick back and relax a bit.

Have a placemat that will keep them busy and won’t set you back $10 ☺!

I’ve seen this made only with the foamy placemats the flat plastic ones will have sharp edges so don’t use those.

I stopped by the 99 Cent Store today and they had lots of festive ones to choose from for 99 Cents so the price is right, especially if its not a present, and you are going to have more then one child over so you don’t want to break the bank.  I’ve seen people draw out pieces that look like puzzles so it will depend on your level of craftiness.  If you are a novice crafter like me this will be perfect.    I’d use cookie cutters and shapes you have or can easily draw, larger pieces for younger kids and kids 3-5 maybe smaller shapes or letters?  If you choose a snow flake pattern like this how about using circles to make a snowman?

What are you going to need?

Cheap foamy placemats

exacto, utility or craft knife and a safe surface to cut on

marker

cookie cutter, ruler, anything you can use to make a shape

15 minutes ☺

Make sure to cut out the shapes for all of the younger kids, and closely supervise the older ones.

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I made a real simple one, 4 shapes I think for a young toddler.  You can run with this craft and make it your own.  Once it all fits back in place to the frame of the puzzle they can eat on top of it and then take it home!  I like this method because it holds a frame to pop in the shapes but you can draw interlocking puzzle shapes for a preschooler.

Tada!

 

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DIY Frugal De-Wrinkler!

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DIY Frugal De-Wrinkler!

Now just cause I’m a SAHM doesn’t mean I’m Mrs Cleaver.  How many times do I restart the dryer cause I forgot about that load and my clothes all look disastrous?  I won’t say but its more times then I’d care to admit.  I try very hard to be frugal now that I no longer work a full time job outside the home, and one thing that I’d occasionally splurge on is a certain brand of de-wrinkle spray that costs a little too much then I’m willing to admit I pay ☺  but you are looking at about $5 for a 16 ounce spray bottle or 31 cents an ounce!   Combine that with not so many coupons out there for this and I needed an alternative pronto.

I had bumped into the concoction for the DIY version on-line enough times to wonder if it works or not.  Will I have to iron?  Will my family be destined to walk this earth with wrinkled clothes???  Well today was the day I was going to find out.

What will you need?

Fabric Softener, for this I bought a small 28 oz bottle at the 99 cent store

White Vinegar, I had some but y’all know where to score this cheap.

Water

You will use equal parts of all three.  I used 8 oz of each making 24 oz of this de-wrinkler spray.  The bottle of fabric softener will be enough for 3 batches so this batch will cost you 33 cents.   Hold the press!  This batch will cost almost what ONE OUNCE of the store bought kind will cost.  1 OUNCE vs 24 OUNCES.  Hmmmmm…

But does it work?  In the words of the Monkees (oh come on you know who they are right?  I’m not that old ☺) I’M A BELIEVER!

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You spray your piece of clothing, smooth out and let dry.  PRESTO NO IRON NEEDED!

 Now if you are in a rush you can also spray this and throw it in the dryer and it will also work but I’m trying to get away from all that.  So it works, how does it smell?  Like Vinegar?  NOPE and that’s huge in this house cause the hubby can’t stand the smell of vinegar so this is PERFECT!  It will smell like vinegar a little when you spray but once it dries you can’t tell.  You can add essential oils if you wanted too but this is just something to take the wrinkles out so I didn’t want a heavy scent or anything like that but its up to you.  I always use warm water. Its my thing, I feel it helps everything mesh together more but that’s just me.  You will see a lot of different variations to this online some using less fabric softener some using alcohol, but I saw this enough to want to try it and I’m very pleased with the results of today’s little experiment.

 

 

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Easy to make DIY Homemade Frugal Gel Air Fresheners

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DIY Homemade Frugal Gel Air Fresheners

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I don’t care for air freshener plug ins.  That’s just me, maybe cause I think they waste energy and are little mini energy vampires that are constantly sucking power (yes I am a  Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan) and so I buy a lot of the cute little gel air fresheners when I can.  I’ve found some nice ones in Marshall’s and Ross too when I’m doing my little deal missions at those stores.  So I got to thinking, are they that hard to make?  Because I have kids and pets I do not leave a lot of dry potpourri out in pretty bowls since we all know what happens to pretty bowls. ☺

There are a lot of DIY concoctions out there, so I sorta picked what I liked and ran with it.  Some use just essential oils, but if you do not have them on hand already going out to find and buy them might not be something you want to do, and then you will be spending anywhere from $2 to $5 each.  That being said and me already being in frugal love with the Dollar Tree I opted to go there for my scent.  I picked up a bottle of Vanilla liquid potpourri.  What else will you need?

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Ingredients:

1-1/2cups  bottled liquid potpourri

1 box plain gelatin (one box has 4 small envelopes and you need all 4 of them for this recipe)

2 tablespoons table salt

1 cup water

1-3 empty containers depending on what you want to do with the mix.

Optional:  Decorative items to stick in, and food coloring if  you want to make them colored.

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Bring water to boil, dissolve all gelatin and salt, move to other bowl or container and add the liquid potpourri.  And that’s it!  The whole process takes like 15 minutes tops!  Choose your container – I had one with a lid that I wanted to use, I also had some small Ziploc containers and a mid size one.  I wanted to make a pretty one so once the mixture had cooled I had some  silk sunflowers in the closet and I put one in the middle.  You can leave them out to harden at room temps or if you are like me you want to see them NOW, stick them in the fridge and tada, semi-instant gratification!   These will last for 4 weeks, the salt keeps it from molding.  Some people add a splash of vodka for this purpose but we don’t waste liquor in this house, LOL.   You can really run with this and make it your own.  I’m making a new batch of this but this time at the end I’m adding a stick of cinnamon to make it vanilla cinnamon.  Have beads?  Sea Shells?  Dry potpourri?  You can jazz this up anyway you want and to match your decor.  You can also add food coloring but I didn’t.  I wanted to make this as frugal as possible and then you decide what to do with what you have on hand.

How much will you spend?  $1.48 for the Gelatin at Walmart or Target and $1 for a bottle of liquid potpourri at the Dollar Tree.  Walmart also has the concentrated liquid potpourri for 97 cents in a tiny bottle that you can use and scent to your liking.   The bottle of potpourri will make two batches so your 2nd batch will only cost you $1.48 for 2 or 3 air fresheners depending on the size of container you use.

I made a mini one for my desk.  I am going to be honest with you I can not find my one hole puncher and I could not find one at any store this week ☺  But you take that and cover the air fresheners and poke a few holes in the lid to keep out fingers and cat noses and to let the scent escape.

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I’m really loving these and I plan to make more and more DIY things myself.  I’m a frugal mama, hear me roar! ☺ #frugalmomsrock

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Frugal DIY Homemade Body Wash – Easy and Awesome

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DIY Bodywash

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Always looking for a bargain and finding shelves cleared?  I encounter that, too.  And as more and more stores are no longer doubling coupons to $1 its getting harder and harder to score freebies.  That’s why we need to find ways to make our own frugal versions of the products we use more to save more money.  I always buy body wash, its something I buy with or without a deal.  I have a 7 year old who loves body wash  so it was up to me to find a recipe that I’d like, that we could use but that would be frugal not just something ok, but something good something I’d want my family to use.

I found a lot of great recipes for body wash using Castile Soap.  Castile Soap is amazing on its own so if you want to make this just with the castile soap and water for your family due to sensitive skin, etc. that would work too, it would just be watery.  What I found was that its common to add glycerin drops to ‘gel’ the concoction.  These drops run about $5 for 4 ounces so I was not interested, because then I’d still want to add fragrance.  I decided to add a bar of soap that already included the glycerin and the fragrance and since I live at the local  Dollar Tree I decided to buy a bar of Yardley’s Lavender soap.

Here is what I used:

1 bar castile soap

1 bar yYardley’s lavendar soap

12 cups or 96 oz water.

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Grate the bars of soap, bring water to simmer and add the soap.  Stir until dissolved.  If you would like spin around 3 times to the East and 3 times to the West, because its so incredibly easy and quick to make you are going to feel like you need to do something else, LOL!  I like to freak out my husband and cackle while I stir the pot.

I poured the mix into a container I have and put it in the refrigerator overnight.  Some leave it at room temperature for 24 hours, but I have not the time nor the patience for that, I like to see results fast.  I left it overnight in my 2nd fridge and when I checked on it the next morning it was a nice soft jelly or ‘snot’ consistency.  I took a whisk and mixed it around, or you can use your hand works just as well to loosen it up.  I loved the consistency, not watery and the scent was just enough for me.  I had a empty bottle of shampoo that I washed out and filled up and BAM!  I’m ready.  I am going to leave the rest in the container and refill as needed.

What did I spend?  Well $1 for the Yardley soap and $3.25 for a 3 pack of Castile soap at Walmart.   $2.08 for 96 ounces of body wash, so it comes out to 2 CENTS AN OUNCE!   A bottle of a name brand body wash on the low side runs, $3.75 a bottle for 16.9 ounces or around .22 cents an ounce.   I’m going to get about 5 1/2 bottles (16.9 ounce bottle) out of these batch I made and its costing me less the price of one!

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Ok but how does it feel?  Its creamy, not watery and it smells great.  I have used it 2 days in a row and I’m sold.   Whip some up and put in mason jars and add to a gift basket with a nice loofah and this makes a great frugal gift.

Save on!

 

 

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Easy Kid’s Craft and Gift – Make a Candy Blooming Flower Pot

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Candy Blooming Flower Pot Craft

Princess Thanya and her 6-year-old daughter made a darling craft using some inexpensive items.

Take a look and see what they did, and if you LIKE this craft, please share it or Repin it on Pinterest .

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Do you have hidden candy?  Or are you like me and can’t pass up candy marked 50-70% off?

Well my daughter and I had fun making this today for her teacher, but it would make a perfect gift for anyone!  It took us less than 20 minutes, and she had so much fun making something for someone she cares about that we made another one for the school nurse.

What will you need?

Bag of mini chocolate bars.  We used 3 Musketeers that is Easter clearance candy, but just about any candy would work.

Wooden skewers

Foam flower and stem stickers

Metal pail, coffee cup or any container

Green flower foam

Glue gun – Supervise children with a glue gun!

 

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How much will it set you back?

Well, lets see the skewers I had but a bag will cost around a buck,  and the glue gun I had but the mini ones are under $10.  I spent $1.50 on the candy, and the big box of flower foam shapes was $5 and 70% off today at Target making them $1.50 and I have bunches left over for future crafts.  I have also seen these in smaller packages at the Dollar Tree.  The metal pail was $1 in the Target $1 bin area but it was black dot for 70% off so this was only 30 cents!  The green foam is $1 at the Dollar Tree and you can get enough for 2-3 for 99 cents.  So I spent under $7 and I have enough to make 3 little gifts, so $2.33 each and you can snack on chocolates while you make it.

But really you can use what you have on hand.  Pencils work well…or do you have popsicle sticks in your craft box?

Once I cut the foam to fit the pail, we secured it with glue and then started the flowers. Glue on one side, for the flower, the other for the stick and in the middle if you have leaves…VIOLA!

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My daughter is super excited to share and brighten her teacher’s and school nurse’s day on Monday and I’m happy that I won’t have the candy to side track my Weight Watcher’s plan lol. But mainly I’m happy that we had a nice time making something for someone else.

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5 Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids

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Woven Heart Basket Craft

Woven Heart Basket Craft – Photo: Spoonful.com

Grab the kids and the craft supplies and make some memories (and some cool Valentine’s Day Crafts)

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Very cute Bee Mine Valentine printable craft inspires kid’s creativity

This Heart Wreath makes an attractive decoration

An older child would love to make this Woven Heart Basket

Check out these Educational Valentine’s Day Crafts for fun and learning rolled together

Make a cute Valentine Crown from a paper plate

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DIY Homemade Fabric Softener: The Frugal Recipe

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DIY Homemade Frugal Fabric Softener

DIY Homemade Frugal Fabric Softener

 

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Princess Thanya continues her laundry series with this latest recipe for frugal homemade fabric softener.  I whipped up a batch of this in under 10 minutes, and that included waiting for the water to boil.  This recipe is frugal.  If you prefer a green, natural choice, check out the recipe for DIY Homemade Natural Fabric Softener and also check out the recipe for DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent.

Princess T…This is the year I determined to save more money, that is my main goal.

Well yeah that and weightloss, but I can talk about that in another post ☺

So far I’ve made my own detergent and green natural fabric softener  Now I am making Frugal DIY Fabric Softener.

I discovered that this recipe for DIY fabric softener is made out of ingredients you may already have at home if  you regularly coupon.  Do you stockpile?  That free conditioner that you have snagged will be very useful.  If not, the ingredients are very basic and cheap.  Check the dollar store, or look for some coupons for hair conditioner and vinegar.

What do you need?

1 Bucket or large pot

6 cups of hot water

3 cups of white vinegar

2 cups (16 ounces) of hair conditioner (about 1 bottle of bargain conditioner)

 

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Bring the water in the pot just to a boil, then pour the water into a bucket, add the vinegar, add the hair conditioner and stir until the conditioner is fully combined.  THAT’S IT!

No really, THAT’S IT

Kinda makes you upset that this stuff costs so much, right? 

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Once the mixture cools, pour it into an empty container of fabric softener or another jug. I used a washed out lemonade jug.  Just make sure to mark what is in the jug!

 Homemade DIY Laundry Fabric Softener

You only need to use 1/4 cup per load.  Your laundry comes out fresh smelling and soft.

I personally would like more fragrance but it might be the brand of conditioner I bought.  Experimenting with different brands or adding some essential oil would up the fragrance factor.

I went to the Dollar Tree and spent $2 for this recipe.  It makes 88 oz total. You need 1/4 cup or 2 oz per load.  That’s 44 loads of laundry for $2 and about 5 minutes of your time.  About .04 cents a load or even less since for the most part on a good sale week we can get the conditioner for free or 50 cents, so it could be as low as .01-.02 cents a load.

Saving can not get any easier!

What’s next for me?  I’m going to whip up some DIY Stain Spray.  Stay Tuned…

Leave some comments to let us know what other things you want to learn to make yourself, either to be green or to be thrifty.  We will be tackling a new project every week in 2013.  Check out some of the other Tips from Couponista Queen. 

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DIY Homemade Natural Green Fabric Softener Recipe

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Happy from her first foray into DIY homemade laundry detergent,  Princess T’s research has continued with a search for a homemade fabric softener that is natural, green, and environmentally friendly…

DIY Homemade Natural Green Fabric Softener

DIY Homemade Natural Green Fabric Softener

If you like this post , please Share it or Pin or Repin this recipe for Natural Green Homemade Fabric Softener on Pinterest.

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Princess T…   I found all sorts of recipes for DIY fabric softener.  Many people just use straight vinegar as fabric softener but I just can’t.  My husband doesn’t like the smell one bit.  But if you want to try this, I’ve read 1/2 a cup per load does the trick.

While researching, I ran into this recipe for homemade, natural, green fabric softener a lot so I decided to give it a shot.

Natural/Green fabric softener:

8 cups of water

1 cup baking soda

6 cups white vinegar

10-15 drops of essential oil or not your choice, I added lavender to this batch, mainly to cover the vinegar smell.

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I went to Dollar Tree and spent $3 on supplies.  You will need 2 bottles of vinegar but only use 1-1/2.

This recipe batch will make enough for 22.5 loads of laundry, you need 1/3 cup per load.  13 cents a load, not breaking the bank but not cheap when you can score that with a coupon and a good sale.  It might not be cheaper but it is more natural.

So what did I do?  I mixed it together in a large bucket, it will FIZZ when you add the baking soda, do it slowly to avoid a big mess!

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I found an empty container and used my trusty funnel and in it went.  I went on a search for the smelliest thing I could wash.  Luckily, Patrick my mom’s dog needed a bath ☺ he was volunteered to get a bath so I could have smelly dog towels!

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This load of smelly towels was washed with the homemade liquid laundry detergent I made the other day, and I added 1/3 cup of the fabric softener to the rinse cycle.  One thing I did notice was that the towels straight out of the washer smelled clean, they didn’t smell like the lavender oil drops I added and it didn’t smell like vinegar (and neither does my jug so that’s a huge plus).  The towels out of the dryer were fresh smelling and soft, so this recipe did what it was supposed to do.  I did not smell any traces of my lavender drops so that may have neutralized the vinegar smell and I need to add more drops.  I do like a clean, neutral smell so I may leave as is for now or add more if I make another batch.

The baking soda will settle so you will need to shake your container at each use.  Will I continue using this?  I’m not sure.  Everything came out smelling good but I still have another recipe to try, for frugal homemade fabric softener, and then I’ll decide.  But if you want to keep a more natural approach to your laundry this might be the way to go.

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DIY Homemade Orange Apple Simmering Potpourri Recipe

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Homemade Orange Apple Simmering Potpourri

Homemade Orange Apple Simmering Potpourri – Easy to make and makes your house smell wonderful.

 

If you like this Homemade Simmering Potpourri Recipe,

please Share it or Pin it or Repin it on Pinterest.

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I love when my home smells warm and inviting, especially on these cold Winter days and nights.  Potpourri has its origins in times when people and places were not so fresh.   Potpourri was created in the 12th century for the purpose of freshening rooms in castles for the people of that time.  (Read more about the History of Potpourri)

Homemade potpourri can be made from all kinds of things.  I decided to make one today that is a great stovetop simmering potpourri recipe.

To make this Orange Apple Simmering Potpourri, you will need to mix and heat to simmering in a 2-quart pan:

  • 5 cups of water

  • 1 Orange sliced and 1 Apple sliced.  Leave the peel on both but seed the apple.

  • 3 Cinnamon sticks (Substitute 2 Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon if you don’t have sticks)

  • 1 Tablespoon of All Spice  (Learn ► What is All Spice?)

  • 1 Tablespoon of Whole Cloves (Substitute 1 Teaspoon of Ground Cloves if you don’t have whole)

  • 1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Ingredients for Orange Apple Simmering Potpourri

Ingredients for Orange Apple Simmering Potpourri

Here is a tip:  I got a cheap potpourri simmering pot with a lid (it used to be just a sauce pan, lol) at the Goodwill thrift store for less than $1 so I don’t have to use my good ones, just in case I ever burn the pan.  You can also use a small simmering Rival potpourri crock pot.

You can simmer this do-it-yourself potpourri for hours and hours, adding more water as needed.  Be careful to not let the pan go dry. I set the kitchen timer for 2-hours at a time to remind myself to check it.  You can reuse this the next day.  Just put the lid on it and store it in the fridge overnight, or stick it in the garage if it is cold out there.

Check out these other Homemade Simmering Potpourri Recipes for even more ideas on how to get your home smelling great!

 

 

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Bored kids? FREE things that will keep them busy for hours!

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Mom I am Bored

If you hear, “Mom, I am SO Booooooored!” one more time or if you have to break up ONE MORE sibling squabble, you just might run away from home yourself?  Then check out this list of FREE things that you can do to keep the kids occupied and yourself sane.

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There are all kinds of Online Games and Activities at PBS.org

Check out these FREE Printable Activities for Kids including Crosswords, Seek ‘n Find, Dot-to-Dot, Mazes, and more

Get out the crayons and markers and paints for these FREE Printable Coloring Pages

Kids and adults alike will have fun making these Origami Designs for Kids

Engage their imaginations and invite the family for the performance!  Free Printable Children’s Theatre Scripts, Skits, and Plays

You can also set them up with a fun Indoor Scavenger Hunt for active entertainment

And if you are in the kitchen anyhow, why not put them to work?  Check out some ideas and recipes for Cooking with Kids

Grab the glitter and glue and make some fun crafts!  This site has Crafts for kids of all ages using things from around the house

How do YOU keep the kids entertained?  Comment with your ideas!

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Free Christmas Coloring and Activity Pages for Kids

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Christmas Coloring Sheet Ornament

Fun for the kids!  Crayola has FREE Christmas Coloring & Activity Pages, including Holiday Bingo!

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Thanks Coupon Clippin’ Daddy

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