save money and have fun

[happygirl666]

This is a home made thread I know there are so many out there but hey here is some good things you can do with not much time or effort or money,

Baby jars = candel holders
Spray paint your jars with a thin layer of metallic paint. Make sure that you read the back of the paint can before you begin. When using spray paint it is important to make sure that you use it in a well-ventilated room and that you are not near any naked flames.

Paint the outside and the inside of the jars and then leave them somewhere to dry. You may wish to apply two coats of paint for good coverage.

Use 'No Nails' glue to stick on glass stones evenly around the outside of the jar. Be careful not to use too much glue because if it does splurge out onto the jar it will spoil the candle holders appearance. No nails glue dries white.

Once the glue dries your ready to put the tea-light candle inside.

You could use other things to decorate your candleholder. Glue on pasta shells or string before spray painting. Try substituting glass stones for seashells, sequins or buttons. Do make sure that any decoration that you apply is on the lower part of the jar. Never allow anything to cross the top of the jar because this would be a fire hazard.

Let your imagination go wild and create some beautiful tea-light candle holders for your friends and family this Christmas. https://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/images/homemade-christmas-candleholders.jpg


PLEASE NOTE
THIS IS INPORTANT
lauren-kate A MEMBER ON HERE CAME UP WITH A WARNING AND I AGREE PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE THE CANDEL IN GLASS FOR TO LONG GLASS SMASHES WHEN HOT PLEASE PUT A WARNING ON YOUR PRESANT REMINDING PEOPLE OF THIS DANGER THANK YOU AND THANK YOU lauren-kate

 

[happygirl666]

Nowadays everyone is concerned about recycling to save the planet. The 20th century "throw away" society, where everyone threw out their unwanted items with no thought as to what would happen to them is gone. The media clearly shows us what happens to our rubbish, it goes to land fills. Holes in the ground filled with hundreds of tons of rubbish. Our rubbish takes thousands of years to corrode and rot. During this time, the rotting rubbish gives off poisonous gases that are admitted into the atmosphere. This is why our society is changing. The more rubbish we recycle, the greener and more healthier our planet will be. However, recycling doesn't always mean to throw out rubbish in recycling bin, it also means to reuse.

This painted glass gift idea is a recycled gift in that you reuse and revamp an old unwanted item into something new and desirable.

All you will need is...
some spray on paint or some glass frosting, some clear sticky textbook covering and some old glass objects. You may have some old wineglasses or tumbler glasses, an old glass vase, a bottle, anything made of glass that nobody wants. If you don't have anything-suitable visit your local charity shop or car boot sale. Buying second hand glassware is still recycling.

Wash and dry the glass before you begin.

Cut out shapes from the book covering. You could cut out swirls, stars or hearts. Make sure that the shapes fit onto the glass. Bold shapes and patterns stand out more than small fiddly designs.

Peel off the paper from the shapes and stick the book covering to the glass surface. The sticky shapes act as a mask. Whatever they cover will remain the original glass colour.

When you're happy with your design, spray paint the item. Make sure that you use the spray paint in accordance with the directions on the paint tin. When spraying glasses, be careful not to spray paint the inside of the glass as this will spoil the design.

Leave the item for an hour or so to dry, then carefully pick off the plastic masking, to reveal the design. Leave the glass for 24 hours too completely dry.

Wineglasses make an attractive t-light candleholder. Bottles accommodate tall candles. Tumbler glasses make nice vases for dried flowers and small jam jars and old spice. Jars make lovely containers for Radox bath crystals.

 

[happygirl666]

Make a beautiful bracelet from safety pins and beads. No one will know what it's made of until they look really closely.

To make the bracelet you will need...
Roughly 85 silver safety pins of the same size, an assortment of small beads and some sheering elastic.

Decorate each safety pin by opening each pin and slipping on some beads. Make sure there are enough beads to fill that side of the safety pin once the pin is closed again. Close the pin and use a pair of plies to squeeze the head of the safety pin to hold the pin firmly closed.

Decorate each pin in this way, adding beads to pins in a random way.

The pins are now threaded together. You will notice that there is a hole in the pinhead and another hole at the other end of the safety pin where the metal is turned, creating a circle. These are the holes used when threading up the pins.

Two lines of elastic are used one at the top and one below with the pins threaded onto them like the rungs of a ladder. To begin, thread the top line through the head of the first pin and the bottom line and through the circle hole. With the second pin, thread the top line through the circle hole and the bottom line and through the head of the pin.

Continue adding pins to the lines in this way alternating which way you add each pin. Make sure when you add the safety pins that all the beads are visible on the same side.

When the last safety pin has been added tie the two ends of the top line together so that all the pins sit closely together. Then tie off the bottom line in a similar way.

To make your bracelet look extra special, put it in an jewellery box or a metallic gift box on a bed of tinselhttps://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/images/safeypin-Jewelry.jpg

 

[happygirl666]

These Christmas treats are brilliant festive fun. They look really cool hanging from the Christmas tree with the fairy lights shinning through them, and they taste great too! They are great fun to make, and make the kitchen smell like a sweet factory - Yummy.

What you will need...

1 packet of frozen pastry. Allow to fully defrost, see the back of the packet for instructions.
1 Bag of clear coloured boiled sweets.
Cardboard

What to do...

First, whilst the pastry is defrosting you can be designing and making stencils. You could try a star, a Christmas stocking, a Christmas tree, a bell, a sprig of holly, anything festive and with a Christmas theme is great. The stencils need to be simple and they need to have hole inside them. If there is too much detail they might break whilst you are making them. Make sure as well that your stencil is an appropriate size to hang on your Christmas tree. Once you have cut out your Christmas stencil leave it on one side until later.

Set the oven to 180 oC/350 oF/Gas Mark 4

Line a backing sheet with greaseproof paper

Lightly dust the surface with flour to prevent the pastry sticking and roll out the pastry thinly with a rolling pin. Lie your stencil on the top of the pastry and carefully cut round it with a knife. The knife doesn't have to be very sharp, pastry isn't hard to cut.

On the top of each shape you need to make a small hole to thread some ribbon through later so that you can hang the treat on the Christmas tree. Use the handle of a teaspoon to just push into the pastry to make a small hole.

Place your cut out shapes on the paper lined baking tray, so that they don't touch.

Roll your pastry trimmings up into a ball and re-roll the pastry. Cut out as many Christmas shapes as you can, and keep re-rolling the pastry trimmings until all the pastry has been used.

Bake the Christmas shapes in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes.

In the mean time... Rinse the rolling pin because you're in for a smashing time! Place a wrapped boiled sweet onto a chopping board and tap it with the rolling pin to smash it. Once broken, unwrap the sweet and collect the broken sweet pieces on saucers, keeping all the colours separated. All the sweets need to be broken up.

Keep an eye on the time.

Take the pastry shapes out of the oven. Add different coloured crumbs of sweets to each hole in the pastry shapes. Colours in the same hole will merge. Experiment and see what designs you can make. Do be careful because the baking tray and the pastry will be hot.

Put the treats back in the oven for 2 minutes to let the sweets melt.

Take the treats out of the oven and leave to cool. Peel the treats off the paper and serve or thread ribbon or string through and hang them from your Christmas treehttps://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/images/christmas-tree-treats.jpghttps://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/images/christmas-stencils-small.jpg

 

[happygirl666]

All you need is...
A dog collar, bells, felt and glue.

The dog collar needs to be a fabric or woven type collar that can be stitched into. Choose a nice festive colour like red.

You can buy bells from craft shops or your local haberdashery. The larger the bell the more 'Sleigh bell' the ring of the bell will sound, and your pooch will sound like a reindeer prancing along. Small bells have a high pitch ring, ideal for small or lady like dogs, the delicate tinkle makes them sound like small Tinkerbell the fairy.

Adjust the collar to fit your dog comfortably.

Sew bells at regular intervals around one edge (the bottom edge). About 4 CMS is a good gap between bells.

If you are using small bells sew them on in clusters of two or three larger bells can be sewn on singularly.

The bells need sewing on firmly so that they don't come off. Your dog may try to eat them.

Cut out holly leaf shapes and berries from some felt and glue them into place between the bells. You could substitute the holly leaves for fabric Christmas tree bows for lady dogs.

A cute Christmas collar gift for your dog, which will make your pooch jingle festively on every walkies!

Do not leave the dog wearing the collar unattended. https://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/images/christmas-collar-on-dog.jpg

 

[happygirl666]

ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT THIS IS YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM CONTAINS NUTS

Ingredients
1 cup shelled pistachio nuts (about 1/2 pound in shell)
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350º and lightly toast the pistachio nuts on a baking sheet, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the nuts cool.
Melt the semisweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Or microwave it, in a dry microwave-safe bowl, uncovered, on medium power for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir until smooth. Melt the white chocolate separately, following the same directions.
In a small bowl, combine the nuts and cranberries, then stir half of them into the semisweet chocolate. Using a spatula, spread the mixture to about a 1/2-inch thickness on a large cookie sheet. Drop the white chocolate by tablespoonfuls over the dark. With the tip of a butter knife, swirl the chocolates together to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle on the rest of the nuts and berries.
Refrigerate the bark for about 1 hour or until firm, then break it into pieces. Store the bark in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. Makes about 1 3/4 pounds.


Can I also say mine looked nothing like the pic below
https://familyfun.go.com/assets/cms/recipes/festive-chocolate-bark-christmas-recipe-photo-260-FF1203KITCHA01.jpg

 

[happygirl666]

Write a poem and frame it
thats allways nice
make it from the heart on some fancy paper and tell the person how you feel about them
or just some nice words will do

frame done
xxxx

 

[happygirl666]

Coupon book. This is an oldie, but still a great personalized gift. Depending on what the recipient enjoys you can customize the book. Include service things like breakfast in bed, a day of help, and a night off. I suggest you put an expiration date to help motivate the recipient to use the coupons. If they have not used the coupon in a few weeks, give them a call and (lovingly) force them to use one.

 

[happygirl666]

A picture of your children in a frame is allways nice !!!!! people love children

 

[Laura2919]

ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT THIS IS YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM CONTAINS NUTS

Ingredients
1 cup shelled pistachio nuts (about 1/2 pound in shell)
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350º and lightly toast the pistachio nuts on a baking sheet, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the nuts cool.
Melt the semisweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Or microwave it, in a dry microwave-safe bowl, uncovered, on medium power for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir until smooth. Melt the white chocolate separately, following the same directions.
In a small bowl, combine the nuts and cranberries, then stir half of them into the semisweet chocolate. Using a spatula, spread the mixture to about a 1/2-inch thickness on a large cookie sheet. Drop the white chocolate by tablespoonfuls over the dark. With the tip of a butter knife, swirl the chocolates together to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle on the rest of the nuts and berries.
Refrigerate the bark for about 1 hour or until firm, then break it into pieces. Store the bark in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. Makes about 1 3/4 pounds.


Can I also say mine looked nothing like the pic below
https://familyfun.go.com/assets/cms/recipes/festive-chocolate-bark-christmas-recipe-photo-260-FF1203KITCHA01.jpg

Oooooo yummy!

 

[happygirl666]

A Can For All Reasons

Materials Needed:

canister (such as a coffee can or peanut can)
magazines, catalogs, photos, gift wrap, stickers
white glue
safety scissors
paint brush
Procedure:

Remove the lid from a clean can.
Children can cut out letters, pictures or family photos the person receiving this gift might like.
Glue the pictures on the canister.
The giver can finish the gift by gluing a photo of himself onto the plastic lid.
After the pictures dry, paint everything with slightly diluted white glue (use water to dilute). This will dry clear for a shiny finish.
This is a gift that's just the right size to store paper clips, stamps, and a million other things!

 

[RileysMummy]

I love the candle holder idea x

 

[lauren-kate]

I would be careful about putting candles in jars not fit for that purpose.. I have done it once, and the jar exploded with the heat Boiling hot glass/wax everywhere and it set the bookcase on fire. I'd imagine the small jars (where the flame is 'out of the jar') would be ok, but just a warning - wouldn't want anyone to get hurt.

 

[happygirl666]

I would be careful about putting candles in jars not fit for that purpose.. I have done it once, and the jar exploded with the heat Boiling hot glass/wax everywhere and it set the bookcase on fire. I'd imagine the small jars (where the flame is 'out of the jar') would be ok, but just a warning - wouldn't want anyone to get hurt.

holly crap sorry for swearing but I never crossed that thorght omg I had made them for everyone I am one of 14 I will put a warning on everyones presies saying do not burn candel for to long as glass will get very hot thank you so much for the warning cant belive it never crossed my mined iv made about 20 so far opps

 

[happygirl666]

Make Your Own Recipe Book
Does someone you know have a shoebox filled with cut out recipes from magazines, newspapers and the web? Steal the box and paste all of them into a journal. Voila! You have just made them their very own personal cookbook filled with all of their favorite recipes.

I did this for my mum one year … she loved, loved, loved it. And yes, I got some serious tears.

 

[happygirl666]

Personalized Stationary
With the amazing amount of templates provided by most Word and graphic programs, this is almost too easy. However, you can make it a bit more personal by taking a manila folder and using craft glue to cover it with fabric. You’ve now made a personalized folder to hold all that personalized stationary.

 

[happygirl666]

Coupon Books
To make this work, you’ve got to whip out your inner artist. Here are some ideas (these are really good for kids to make for mom or dad):

A car wash
Spa day by you (manicure, pedicure, facial, lunch, Sex and the City viewing party, etc.)
Dog walking services
Two hours of complimentary house cleaning
Ice cream sundaes
A homemade dinner
GOOD LUCK TRYING TO WALK OUR DOG .... https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c381/vampireslovecandy/babylulu2.jpg

 

[happygirl666]

Get several clear mason jars and fill them with this layered soup recipe:

Minestrone Soup in a Jar

1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup green split peas
1/4 cup barley
1/3 cup boullion powder
2 TBSP parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. basil
1/4 cup small pasta (macaroni, alphabet pasta or orzo)

Layer the ingredients in the order given (lentils on the bottom). Put a decorative ribbon around the jar.

Attach this card with directions for making the soup:

Combine soup mix and 8-10 cups of water plus 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in a large pot. Add 1 cup diced carrots and 1/2 cup celery. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for an hour or until vegetables are tender

 

[happygirl666]

A set of pretty but inexpensive wine glasses or coffee cups can be transformed into glamorous and expensive-looking frugal gifts if packaged properly. Take them out of their original packaging, wrap each one separately in colored tissue paper, and put in a pretty box. https://www.johnlewis.com/jl_assets/product/230210655.jpg

 

[Laura2919]

ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT THIS IS YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM CONTAINS NUTS

Ingredients
1 cup shelled pistachio nuts (about 1/2 pound in shell)
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350º and lightly toast the pistachio nuts on a baking sheet, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the nuts cool.
Melt the semisweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Or microwave it, in a dry microwave-safe bowl, uncovered, on medium power for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir until smooth. Melt the white chocolate separately, following the same directions.
In a small bowl, combine the nuts and cranberries, then stir half of them into the semisweet chocolate. Using a spatula, spread the mixture to about a 1/2-inch thickness on a large cookie sheet. Drop the white chocolate by tablespoonfuls over the dark. With the tip of a butter knife, swirl the chocolates together to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle on the rest of the nuts and berries.
Refrigerate the bark for about 1 hour or until firm, then break it into pieces. Store the bark in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. Makes about 1 3/4 pounds.


Can I also say mine looked nothing like the pic below
https://familyfun.go.com/assets/cms/recipes/festive-chocolate-bark-christmas-recipe-photo-260-FF1203KITCHA01.jpg

I am attempting to make this today so I will show a pic if I get round to it cos kids are at their nan and grandads for the afternoon. Off to get my ingredients