29-Mar

By using ingredients from your pantry, you can take care of your skin and save. Try the
following:
Honey and oatmeal can exfoliate dry skin.
Ginger seeped in a bath softens your skin.Cucumber and milk softens tired skin.

You can also make the best possible cream for dry, cracked skin… especially your feet.  Go to the nearest dollar store and purchase 1 bottle baby lotion, one bottle vitamin E lotion, and one jar Vaseline.  Mix the three together.  I just use my electric mixer.  I then put the new mixture back into the original containers and use daily.  I’ve never found anything better, and it only costs me $3 and a few minutes.  I save little jelly jars, and put some of the mixture into them as future gifts.   

30-Mar

You can make some delightful treats for all the children on your Easter list.  Purchase some white plastic spoons and suckers.  The round tootsie roll pops or a similar pop is the best.  Draw a bunny face on the back of the spoon with a permanent marker, add some felt bunny ears.  Tape the sucker into the bowl of the spoon and tie with a bow.  Here is a link to some that a member of a craft forum created for her Spring craft show.  http://bobbibopstuff.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2164

She also made some chicks.  http://bobbibopstuff.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2166

This is a fun and inexpensive treat that little kids will love.

31-Mar

            Review your calendar for March, and budget how much you will be spending for each gifting occasion.  If you normally purchase a Christmas present for those same people, plan on purchasing the Christmas gift at the same time.  Remember to record the purchase in your book.

1-Apr

            Keep pinching the tops of your herb plants and picking mature leaves.  Dry and store.  Even if you just use them for cooking instead of purchasing the bottled kind, you’ll save money.

2-Apr

            Almost everyone saves newspaper clippings, travel brochures, and other printed documents, and after just a few years these items begin to deteriorate due to the acid in the papers.  Archival mist is very expensive, but you can make your own by dissolving one milk of magnesia tablet in one quart of club soda.  Let mixture stand overnight,  stir well, and pour into shallow pan (like a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan).  Carefully lay clipping into mixture and let soak through.  Remove and lay on soft towel  to dry.  Be sure to test the colorfastness of inks on items other than newspaper before you soak.  This is a great money saver for anyone that creates scrapbooks.