Wait, it's February?

I am here to alert you that we have wrapped up the first month of 2011. Where the heck has the time gone? Well, let's see: traveling, wrapping, creating, eating, more eating, family time, knocking out to-do lists  celebrating etc. I am tired from just writing that. But before I move forward, I want to remind all of you of my very ambitious goal for December and gift giving - make all of my gifts! Well... it is virtually impossible to make every single gift, but, I did manage to make 4 gifts for my close family members and a friend who pretty much is family. I found it to be extremely rewarding and fun, not to mention right in line with wanting to keep things cheap. I'd love to keep the tradition going.

Earring holder for my little sister Poopy:
I had heard my sister complain a few too many times that she had lost an earring in the tornado valley she calls her room. So I went practical for her gift. I found this lovely gem of a frame at my favorite antique shop in the West Bottoms: http://www.goodjujukc.com/.  The frame came as pictured, in a green that I adore. All I had to do was purchase replacement window screen material and staple it to the frame. Easy breezy.
Total cost: $16


Silly Dear Dormat for a good friend and step father:
I spotted this silliness on one of my favorite blogs and couldn't wait to create my very own, semi redneck, gift. http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/12/a-really-simple-holiday-welcome-mat/ Side note: it's not easy to find a natural grass mat in Kansas City. I first settled with a pair of striped mats only to realize, after the first one, that the spray paint was not going to cover as well as I had hoped. A visit to a hardware store in Columbia made my second attempt far more successful.
Total cost: Under $20 (aside from spray paint and tape I needed to purchase anyway)


Weird tree ball wreath for my madre:
Before I had moved into my roommates gnome home I had never seen these strange "balls" (I continue to forget their actual name). They are semi annoying, but turn out to make a pretty freaking sweet wreath. Creating this guy was not an easy task, and my hands took a beating. I hot glued each ball to a tooth pick and stabbed it into the wreath. Next time around I will need to find a better way of getting these little guys on the foam wreath. Also i'd suggest doing it as a team, went far faster when once my sister popped into help. Patty loved it! Yes, she is my mother so she'll love everything I make, but it really was stunning on their red door.
Total Cost: Balls free (Yes I smiled when I typed that), wreath $7


All gifts are pictured below. Happy to send further instructions.

Christmas 2010, uber successful!

mmmmmat

I like pretty, and during my search for a new yoga ma, I found pretty. The bad news is that pretty is more expensive than plain (of course). So, while shopping at Target, right after the New Year I found two mats that screamed pretty with twenty dollar price tags. I also found a plain chrome mat for nine dollars. If you know anything about me, I am not plain, so how could I settle for a plain yoga mat? To make the mat my own, I visited my lovely library of fonts and chose the perfect M. I chose to paint the M with a bright green spray paint I had used for a few of my Christmas projects.  Bam! I now have a personalized yoga mat. No girl name Emily is going to mistake it for hers for sure.

Total cost for the project: $9 + materials I already had vs. $20... feels good.

Tip: Shopping right after the New Year for workout gear is ideal. Specials galore!

Bonus Tip: Spray paint and I are still in at the beginning of our friendship and I have now learned that the spray somehow dusts far beyond what one can imagine. My grey mat is now dusted in light green beyond the painters tape. So lesson learned - cover all areas you don't want painted.

Save money. Make shit. Merry Christmas!

Google reader and I have a love+hate relationship. Every time we are reacquainted I realize all that I have missed out on. I have a few of my favorite DYI blogs tagged, and last night those posts dusted off an old idea of mine: make everyone's Christmas gifts! I have zero idea where I will find the time, but I know where I will find the money- it should be less expensive to create gifts for my pals and fam- damily, right? My posts for the next two months will be progress updates on this grand adventure to create all my Christmas gifts. Wish me luck. No really, please.

But while I am here, have you ever made a rockin xmas gift? Or received one?

Got Patience?

If you know me personally, you know that I would not be classified as patient. I drive behind cars that look like they will be the fastest, I paint my nails once a year because I always end up doing something to them before they are dry, I always click the spoilers on IMBD... you get the idea. But one thing I learned early on was that to save money one MUST be patient. So how does this look in interweb shopping? I wait for sales. If I know there is a holiday coming up, I wait to make my purchase. If I know a company hasn't had a free shipping offer in a while. I wait. If I fall in love with a swimsuit in June? I wait until it's on sale in August.

Here is my favorite tale to tell when I brag about how smart it is to wait:

My, "you've lost weight (and I haven't)" skinny jeans from Banana: I was far overdue for a new pair of skinny jeans and a coworker recently told me about her love affair with Banana Jeans. So I visited the site. Found a pair I thought would work and went to purchase. But instead I waited. I thought to myself (like always), how can I get this at a discount?  I knew Presidents day was coming up, (that's right, retailers have Presidents day offers), so I made my purchase the day of and saved a lot of green.

 I am working on being patient in other parts of my life, but I for sure have down being patient with my wants (purchases). There are many other stories I could tell to prove that patience must be mastered to save money. Have any of your own?

A little trick my mama taught me.

Although this title may lead you to believe my mother is well... a hooker, she isn't. Not to dog that profession, she just decided to whore herself out to a different set of clients... children (don’t get the wrong idea, she was a teacher.). Anywho- She too can be one savvy little shopper. As a child she taught me about the wonderful world of end-caps. Don't know what end-caps are? Lucky dog. You didn't ever work at Target. Love target, hated working there. See Target does this amazing thing - they make shopping for deals super easy. How so? They place most of their markdowns on the back end of each aisle. True story: every time I go to target I make sure to visit those deal magnets.  Tip: usually my best finds are near the towels, on the end-caps of the home aisles. If I had a home, I can promise you, it would be furnished cheaply by end-cap finds.

So on my last trip to Target I did my normal walk-by- here is what I found: 3 mirrored wall piece, originally over 30, I snagged it for 7 and a lovely silver lamp, originally over 25, for 7 also. (pics to come). I’ve already had 3 compliments on my new bed side lamp, little did they know the shade was more green than it.. smirk.

I am heading there tonight, wonder what treasure I'll find this time...

Just promise me on your next visit to the big red dot you'll visit the wonderful world of end-caps.

Wine and Wall Street

As a very social 20 something I get at least 3 invites to a happy hour per week. And while at first that may sound flattering, my wallet is not a fan. If I had to guess... I'd say that the portion of my entertainment budget that goes towards cocktail hours is... at least 70 percent. (I will actually calculate it for the month of august and get back to you.)

I am now desperately striving to cut back.  For example, this evening... I have readjusted my plans. What was going to be a great happy will now be a night in (that will be great too). Wine and Wall Street (the movie). Lucky me, I now have a roommate that supports my scheme to cut back and also loves cheap wines. Tonight's plans will not include a $20 tab, rather a borrowed flick and a $6 bottle of Riverboat White.

But one can not be a hermit just to avoid bar tabs - Here are some tactics I use to cut back on my happy hour overload:

1.) Always order what is on special, house wine or well anything. When a server asks, "What type of vodka?" I respond with, " Well is fine. It's cute you think I am classy."

2.) Pre-game: perhaps the greatest thing invented by college students. Enjoy a glass or two before heading out. Even a good idea for us grown ups.

3.) Plan the happy hour yourself: Choose a place that you know has a great special the night you'll be heading out.

4.) Meet up later. Grab dinner at home and then head out to paint the town red. Chances are you'll cut your tab in half if you skip dinner.

5.) Pay with your debit card. I swear I tip more when using cash. A dollar a drink always seems reasonable. But if the drink is $4 on special, and I pay a dollar for 4 of them my tip total will be 4 dollars rather than the normal 20% which is 3.20. Saving 80 cents seems small- but small things add up.

6.) Limit yourself to one happy hour during the work week. If the invite comes early enough you can make plans for the rest of the week and already have an excuse in the bag when invited. Plus, I am far less tempted to create or join a happy hour on the fly if my mind is set to doing something else.

7.) Don't be afraid to say no. Once I started saying no because of my budget I realized how many others were also wanting to do the same. Happy hours a friends place are a damn good time too. (SEE: my friend Jessica, and ask about the only time cops have ever visited her apartment.)

Got any ideas on how to make happy hours work on a budget?

"Never before has it been so chic to be cheap"

Today, in my AAF Smart Brief I uncovered this lovely article, "Frugality in Fashion Amid Economic Slump" - translation - cheap is IN.  While reading, my grin extended the width of my very large head. Why? Because I've watched the revolution, in myself and those around me. I once desired big labels and big price tags, not knowing that meant for many, big debt. When reality hits hard, you learn great lessons. And one of those is that you can still be fashionable and be friends with a budget. I only hope, that as my income rises (fingers crossed) my frugality stays in check. I too wish this upon this nation.

This article is a lot of good. And if you read my last post, you'll see that my point is echoed throughout this piece - "Americans are bragging about their rock-bottom fashion finds."

Enjoy this read!