homemade glitter glue

Remember how we were the 3 Amigos for Halloween?

I never did get around to sharing how we made our costumes for under $25.
But now that the holidays are over and we'll be keeping ourselves busy with indoor crafts, now is the perfect time to let you know my little secret. I used what clothes we already had first and then picked up the rest of the pieces at a thrift store.The real key to making them so cheaply was by making my own glitter glue.

Seriously, who wants to spend $4 for a tiny tube of glitter glue? 

I knew I would use a ton and I wasn't about to fork out a fortune for glitter glue.

So I made my own. It was really easy and super cheap.

All you need is: Elmer's glue and glitter.

Mix the glitter and glue together in a bowl until it reaches your preferable consistency.

Scoop it into a bag and then snip off a corner of it to apply.
Or you can really splurge and buy a frosting applicator in the cake section.

Apply it to fabric*, paper, or anything else!
Plan ahead because it will take overnight to completely dry.
This is how our costumes turned out with our Homemade Glitter Glue.

* I wouldn't recommend machine washing any fabrics that have homemade glitter glue on them.
Spot wash by hand only. 

how to make a witch

My mom made this witch years ago. I have always liked it and finally got around to making one for me. This is a very inexpensive and fairly easy craft.

What you'll need:
-a piece of dog-eared fence. (The older, the better. If you don't have a scrap of it, you can buy one piece of fence for $2 that will make 3.)
-2 tree branches about 12 inches long
-Raffia
-Scraps of Halloween fabric or ribbon
-Green and black paint
-Plastic spider

Here's how to do it:
1. Paint the top 5" of the wood black (the dog-eared part--this will be the hat)
2. Paint the tree branches black and set aside.
3. Paint the witches face green and let dry.
4.Once the face is dry, paint two black dots for the eyes
5. Tie about 20 strands of raffia together in the middle. Then hot glue it at the top of the face in the middle.
6. Hot glue the one of the branches for the hat brim right above the hair.
7. Hot glue the ribbon above the hat brim.
9. Put a little raffia at the end of the other branch for the broom. Attach some ribbon.
10. Hot glue the broom. Add a spider for even more festiveness!

christmas stocking hangers [on a dime]

Back in June, I found these stocking holders at a thrift store for $1 each.  I definitely didn't like the colors, but I knew that could be fixed. For $1 I couldn't pass them up.  And yes, I know there are only 2 of us for now, but I had to pick up enough for when we have a bigger family.

I already had some silver spray paint from another project. I sprayed a few coats on all of them.

And now, they sit so prettily on our mantle. That's what I call festive on a dime.

FOAD: Fall Dinner

Looking for a cheap way to spruce up your fall table setting? Pick up a bag of fake leaves from the dollar store. Scatter them across the table for a instant burst of festiveness.

7-11: Free Slurpee!

Today is 7-11! That means FREE Slurpees at 7-11 today. 

Go grab one. I love when being festive is free!!

image via bargain hoot

FOAD: Easter decor

A little while ago I was at a thrift store with a friend. We found matching "holy grails" as my husband would call them. And for lack of a better name, a holy grail is what it was. It only cost $1.

We knew it could be used for something. I decided to use mine for Easter decor. 

I put it on a piece of newspaper and gave it a fresh coat of Krylon's Ocean Breeze spray paint. 

I am using it to hold our speckled Easter eggs. I love the way it turned out! 

And I especially loved that it only cost $1! You would be surprised at the things

you can do with things you already have around your house.

Kiss Me, I'm Irish

 

I’ve had this “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” card for over 5 years now. I have never known what to do with it. Yet, my frugal self has won each time I’ve had the debate of whether to throw it out or save it for that one time that I will need it and will regret throwing it away. Can you relate? Nevertheless, I’ve decided that this is the year I’m going to use it or I will throw it away. It cannot stay in my card box any longer. 

 

Since St. Patrick’s Day is not really a holiday for card giving, I decided that I’m going to (I sure hope my husband isn’t reading this) write a note to my husband and send it to his work office. I would love to get real mail at the office and I’m sure it will brighten his day. I’ll hopefully time it just right that it will arrive on St. Patrick’s Day. Who says kissing notes are only allowed on Valentine’s Day and anniversaries? Besides, I do have Irish blood in me.

 If you don’t have a “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” card lying around your house, just make one with what you have. A simple one is better than nothing.

All it costs is 44 cents for postage. Now that is being festive on a dime!

F.O.A.D.: Glass jar idea #5

#5 Chore Jar

Write all the chores that need to be done in a certain week, month (for deep cleaning), or day. To add a fun twist to your routine cleaning schedules, have your kids draw their chore out of the jar.

F.O.A.D.: Glass jar idea #4

#4 Fun Fund

My husband and I have a "fun fund". Each paycheck, we set aside a certain percentage that goes into our "fun fund". That means that any money that is on our "fun fund" can be used for fun things. We have used our "fun fund" for traveling, bigger purchases, outings or anything that is extra. It has taught us to save for fun things and helps us appreciate them more.

You could start your own fun fund with a glass jar. Start collecting your spare change in the jar and see it fill up. I could see kids getting really into this. Then use your fun fund for a trip to the ice cream shop, a new movies, or a trip.

F.O.A.D.: Glass jar idea #3

#3 Hot Fudge container

Use a glass jar to store the world's best homemade hot fudge. And you'll save lots of dimes by making your own, too! Why do you need a glass jar for it? Well, that is so you can reheat the leftovers (if there are any) without worry of BPA escaping into this delectable topping. Just don't forget to take off the metal top before you heat it.

World's Best Homemade Hot Fudge

3/4 cup sugar
2 TB white corn syrup
2 TB cocoa
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 canned evaporated milk (or 1/2 milk 1/2 water)

Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, remove from stove and add 2 tsp vanilla.

F.O.A.D: Glass jar idea #2

#2 Guessing Jar

At every reunion and family party on my mom's side of the family, we would look forward to the Guessing Jar. If we were lucky, there would be 2 or 3 or 4.

Throughout the course of the party, every guest would get to make their guess of how many items (usually candy) were in the jar.

At the end of the night, the host would go through all the written guesses and announce who was the closest to the actual number of items. That person won the jar and the candy.

If you need an ice breaker or just a little and cheap way to spruce up your event, have a guessing jar. And chances are, you probably have a glass jar lying around the house that would be perfect for it.

F.O.A.D.: 5 things to do with a glass jar

This inaugural "Festify on a dime" post will hopefully give you a better idea of what this whole series is about. It's all about being able to festive without a lot of expense.

Since there aren't many exciting things happening in January, this week's posts will fall under the theme of

5 things to do with a glass jar

And just if you don't think there are five festive things to do with a glass jar, well, you just wait and I'll prove it.

#1 Love Jar

When my husband’s parents were moving, they were throwing out this large glass jar. I knew I wanted it when I saw it. I’ve come up with quite a few ideas for it, which explains why it always moving around our house.


But this time of year, it will be debuting as our Love Note Jar. I tied a few ribbons (saved from gifts) around it to look festive for Valentine's Day. I also cut a few small squares of red, pink, and white paper.

Until Valentine's Day, my husband and I can write little love notes to each other. We'll plop them in the jar and then on Valentine's Day, we'll get to read them all as part of our festivities.

Announcing...

I don’t know about you, but I could break the bank on festive things… serving ware, holiday and party décor, paper embellishments, gift wrap, etc. Since a tight budget seems to be the norm rather than the exception, I love taking things I already have around the house and use them for festive purposes. Guaranteed, not everything looks like it came straight from a magazine, but I try to come close. And with that I’ll introduce a new series for 2011…

and just in case you don’t know the meaning of festify, I’ll give you the definition straight from Webster’s.

Festify- (v.)- to add character, excitement or pizzazz to your home, party, and/or life

This series will be geared towards simple things you can use around the house to make things (like holidays, parties, life) more festive.

So get ready, this is going to be fun!