Skip to main content

Pinching Pennies... My Cheats

Pinching pennies and need a little something?
About three or four times a year Michaels comes out with some INCREDIBLE coupons. It is during these times that I stock up on 'gift' items. I usually purchase lamination machines or bead kits or scrapbook kits that are normally $50+ for half that, sometimes less. I then stockpile these items in my closet for those occasions when I'm in dire need of a special gift for a special person but I'm in between paychecks or I just plum forgot. I also pick these particular items on Black Friday (capitalized due to the fact that Black Friday is a holiday unto itself at my house) with coupons and deep discounts. While everyone is scampering for the large ticket items to buy for themselves, I'm picking items under $100 to stock up for others. If you haven't enjoyed the crazed frenzy of a Black Friday, you really MUST pencil yourself in for this year. There's nothing in the world like Black Friday! LOL.

I also recycle wrapping paper. As with the gift pictured here, I keep wrapping papers to reuse. Whether it be for wrapping another gift or for matting a picture on a scrapbook page, my recycled papers come in handy and help to pinch those pennies.

My final money saver is my Cricut. I know that sounds weird, but the gift tag pictured above also doubled as my birthday card and got the most attention at the birthday party I just attended. I used my Cricut, my Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge, scrap cardstock from my "scraps" bin and my Xyron sticker maker. Again, stuff like this sure comes in handy when you're in between paychecks. I set my size on 2" and cut "Happy Birthday" in the pink, I then chose the shadow option and cut the shadow for "Happy Birthday" in the pink and dark brown. I glued those two pieces together using the Xyron Sticker maker. The dark side would be the matte for "Happy Birthday" and the pink side is where I wrote my own personal message to the birthday girl. Finally, I selected the option to cut each individual letter of "Happy Birthday" and cut it in dark pink. I glued those letters on, punched a hole, threaded the ribbon through the hole and I was done. Complete card in 15 minutes! Thank goodness, because I just didn't have the cash to run out and buy a greeting card and gift tag. My Cricut has saved me a ton of money as time has gone by with cards and gifts and will continue to save me even more money the longer I use it. Here is a Christmas gift that I made last year...

This project was done by cutting out the lettering in vinyl and then using it as a stencil for glass paint. I then applied a clear sealer and baked to seal the paint and make the mug dishwasher safe. I was able to create multiple personalized mugs for under $20 and I STILL have supplies left for this year. SOOOO FUN! Here's to pinching pennies in the most heart-felt way! :)
For more great project ideas, check out http://cuttingabove.blogspot.com/
*** I got a TON of pull bows (like the one pictured on the gift) REALLY cheap at http://mygirlfriendshouse.com/. I don't know if they still carry that particular style/color, but I wanted to post the link.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Past 7 Days....

Inking Pink Blog Hop

Hi Hoppers! Danielle, a.k.a. FitterTwit here.... so glad you made it!!! If you're mid-hop, you should be arriving here from Chelsea's blog . Was that a great project or what!?! If you're just joining us and need to start the hop from the beginning, you're gonna want to head over to our lovely Hop Hostess Patricia's blog to start the fun here on our VERY IMPORTANT Inking Pink Blog Hop! Here's to Breast Cancer Awareness!!! My project for this hop is a reminder card..."Remember your checkups!" What a wonderful way to say "I love you" to a dear friend or family member. Now you may not be able to see it in the pic above, but I altered The Greeting Farm's Ebony so that her tee shirt reads, "Say YES to Mammograms!" So, today I wanted to share HOW I added the words to her tee. First I printed the words as small as I could and still be able to read the message using my laser printer onto the paper that I would be using to color in my im...
123 comments
Read more

Gorgous Leaves Bundle Revisited

Yestday's Freebie Friday on a Monday projects were so fun and this set is SO BEAUTIFUL in it's simplicity!  It reminds me of a long-retired stamp set from Stampin Up!.  I was inspired to re-create the projects that I made with it once upon a time.  So here we go.... SIMPLE projects when you need a quick "hello" or an even quicker heartfelt sympathy card: I was DEFINITELY on a Bumblebee and Cajun Craze kick yesterday!  I can't stop/won't stop!  LOL!  To be fair... I had extra leaves die cut and didn't want anything to go to waste!  A quick speckle backdrop in Bumblebee then a quick "hello" greeting from the Biggest Wish in Cajun Craze with the Cajun Craze leaf popped up on a Basic White cardbase.  PERFECTION! Okay, as with yesterday's projects, the sentiment is from the recently retired SAB Delicate Dahlia's set, but you could use ANY sympathy sentiment you have in your stash.  Unlike in the past when I had to mask off the center rectangle...
Post a Comment
Read more

BACK To Halloween.... WHEW!

Okay... BACK to Halloween gifting this week!  We're makin more goody boxes using The Cutest Halloween Bundle again this week, we are also featuring the tags and labels dies from the July - December 2021 Mini Catalog (lovingly dubbed "the holiday mini").  I've got to admit, this bundle really is the cutest and I'm having SOOOO much fun playing with it simply because of how easy it is to work with.  The fact that the punch ALSO punches out the images from the DSP makes this one a super-huge winner for me.  I mean.... three goody projects in under an hour!?!  That's right!  This week's Freebie Friday On A Monday was actually recorded in under 40 minutes!  SO DOABLE to get ready for Halloween gifting!  As always, the link to the free PDF with supplies used and measurements is below the last pic and if you place a $35 or more from my online store (click "Shop With Me" in the banner at the top of this blog) using this week's Host/Hostess code  GHRG...
Post a Comment
Read more