The other day I needed a way to carry a bowl of hot food a short distance. Since I don’t have a wide mouth thermos, I came up with this quick and easy idea for transporting a bowl of hot food. First I put the food in a microwave safe bowl and heated it until it was very hot. While the food was heating, I prepared the container I would carry it in. I found a … [Read more...] about Emergency Thermal Bowl
Frugal Ideas
Quick Garment Cover
By Noreen Doll. I like to cover clothes hanging in my closet that I don't wear very often, or that are seasonal. It keeps dust off them and helps them stay clean until I wear them again. You can create an easy garment cover with a kitchen trash bag. It's long enough to cover well, and wide enough to accommodate the hanger with clothing on … [Read more...] about Quick Garment Cover
Frugal Cutting Tip
By Noreen Doll. Here's a frugal cutting tip that will help you conserve your supplies. When creating, kids have a tendency to plop their template right down in the middle of that big lovely sheet of paper or craft foam. By the time they've cut from the edge over to the shape, and then cut around the shape, the big lovely sheet of paper is pretty much unusable … [Read more...] about Frugal Cutting Tip
Placemats Are a Great Teaching Tool
By Noreen Doll. We've discovered that placemats are a great teaching tool. Kids love to use the colorful mats at mealtime, and they can't help seeing and learning what's on the mats. Our kids are voracious learners, and they've learned so much from place mats. We've had some really interesting ones, including a U.S.A. map with states and capitals, the solar … [Read more...] about Placemats Are a Great Teaching Tool
Embroidery Thread Bobbin from a Milk Jug
By Noreen Doll. I had a little bit of plastic left around the opening of the milk jug and I wanted to be able to use it, because I challenged myself to use as much of the jug as I could. I noticed the plastic was just the right size for embroidery thread bobbins. So I used a bobbin I already had as a pattern, and traced the bobbins around the opening. And … [Read more...] about Embroidery Thread Bobbin from a Milk Jug
Wax Paper Is Ideal for Crafting
By Noreen Doll. Wax paper can be found at the Dollar store or in the big box stores for a dollar or two. And it is extremely useful when you are crafting. I have always used Reynolds Cut-Rite wax paper because it seems to be a better quality than any other kind. Last fall I ironed colorful fall leaves between two sheets of wax paper to help preserve their color … [Read more...] about Wax Paper Is Ideal for Crafting
Crafting With Clothespins
By Noreen Doll. Crafting with clothespins is a necessity for me. They are one of the items I absolutely must have in my craft tool kit. They are so handy as a third hand when I don't have quite enough hands to hold a project. In this photo the clothespins are holding two things together while stitching around to attach them together. I always use spring … [Read more...] about Crafting With Clothespins
Craft with Cereal Boxes
by Noreen Doll. There are lots of clever ways to craft with cereal boxes. And one of the best things about using them is that they're free! Use cracker and cereal boxes for patterns. In order to be sure you always have a supply of cracker or cereal box cardboard, save all your boxes. To keep them from taking up too much space, open out the ends of the boxes and … [Read more...] about Craft with Cereal Boxes
Frugal Craft Tips
© by Noreen Doll. By using these frugal craft tips, there are many creative ways you can help keep your costs down. Use What You Have. Look for ways to use what you already have: fabric or craft paper scraps, cereal boxes you can cover with pretty paper, bits of ribbon, or silk flowers for embellishing. Newspaper Patterns. Use newspaper to make trial patterns of … [Read more...] about Frugal Craft Tips
Frugal Crafting
© by Noreen Doll. Frugal crafting is a part of how I create. i don't like to throw away perfectly usable things, so I try to find ways to turn them into something useful. Cardboard is something I use a lot of, and I recycle cracker and cereal boxes as well as corrugated boxes. Cardboard is very handy for making book and notebook covers because you cover them with … [Read more...] about Frugal Crafting
