Do It On A Dime

Free Toddler Craft: Summer Ice Painting!

by Filed Under: Teaching

I’m so thankful for a mommy group that I am a part of that suggested ice painting. Carson is 13 months and he had a BLAST with this. So easy to do, perfect for summer, and FREE.

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Our melted nubs after lots of painting!

Here is how they turned out on our art wall! Yay!  (Sorry for the cell phone pictures).  We also went to a birthday party this weekend.  Carson was OBSESSED the balloons.  He carried them around the whole afternoon.  Gotta love a kid and his love of colorful things. 😉

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Here is a step-by-step video tutorial!


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MAKE LAUNDRY EASIER!

by Filed Under: Organization

I loathe laundry… I feel like it never ends.  I like to have my drawers organized, though.  It’s oddly very important to me.  It stresses me out to have a disorganized drawer.

I know they sell these…

They are nifty (although expensive) contraptions–this one is called the MiracleFold— that allow you to fold your shirts perfectly.  But I have a few tricks up my sleeves that have made putting away clothes at our house a breeze. 

Here are my four favorite tips for laundry and t-shirt organization!

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All-Natural Air Freshener! {3 Ingredient DIY}

by Filed Under: Cleaning, DIY Projects, Online Deals

My favorite Essential Oil

Life is stinky.  Period.

I wanted to share with you my DIY Air Freshener that’s just three ingredients…most of which you probably already own!  You can download and print the labels below and try it for yourself.  Take that yucky aerosol cans!

The ingredients are water, baking soda, and lemon essential oil!  That’s it.  This 4 oz-er of essential oil should last you, oh I don’t know…forever.  My favorite essential oil is lemon, but you can be fancy 😉  You could try peppermint during the holidays or your favorite scent.  You can find smaller quantities at craft stores, but they are more expensive over time.

I also use essential oil for a bunch of other cleaning, so it’s multi-purpose!

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER WAYS I USE ESSENTIAL OIL

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE RECIPE LABEL FOR YOUR SPRAY BOTTLE HERE!

DIY Air Freshener

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Some of you may ask about this, so I wanted to clear the air (so to speak 😉 )  Because you are using baking soda, you might notice a slight, white residue on surfaces you are spraying.  This is a GOOD THING.  This product is best used on upholstery and carpets (I don’t recommend it for hardwood or tile floors, although it won’t hurt them).  The baking soda will continue to trap odors after the lemon scent has dissipated, and the very fine white powder will come up when you clean, dust, or vacuum.  Baking soda is sprinkled on carpets and upholstery by professional cleaning companies all the time to trap odors.  You probably won’t even notice it unless you have very dark fabric/carpets!

WATCH THE STEP BY STEP VIDEO:

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Bahama Momma!

by Filed Under: Advice & Vlogs

P1180155Charlie and I headed to Nassau, Bahamas for 4 days and 3 nights this past week.  It was our first time away from the little man (he was with Grandma and Grandpa) but we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary, and it was the perfect time for us to reconnect and just relax.

It was our first time in the Bahamas, so we were not expecting the amazingness that was the water.  Oh my holy bananas.  WOW.

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We spend our afternoons reading (I’m reading The Rook…It’s my new favorite book), traveling to Rose Island (a private island) and swimming with dolphins.  Life-long bucket-list dream right there.

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You need not more words…here is the vlog 😉

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{BEST ORGANIZED TRAVEL TIPS!}

by Filed Under: Money Saving, Online Deals, Organization

Going anywhere this summer?  Here are my favorite BUDGET travel organization tips for making your luggage–and therefore vacation–experience easier.  And I’m all about the CHEAP!

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CUSTOMIZABLE TRAVEL CHECKLIST HERE!


Featured in this video are these travel tubes for your shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash.  They are the most economical and best quality I have found (perfect for in-flight, too as they aren’t supposed to leak!)  They also come with pre-made labels.  Yes, please!

WATCH MY 10 TRAVEL TIPS!

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How to take perfect sparkler photos

by Filed Under: Holiday

IMG_3367I LOVE 4th of July!  And sparklers are my absolute favorite.  I could seriously play with them all day… bright white lights are so romantic to me.  I’ve totally gotten sucked in to those gorgeous Pinterest wedding photos with sparklers (tell me if you’ve been there, too!  ha!).  Even if you are a novice (totally clueless) camera girl like me, you can capture the same shots.

It was just Char and I snapping the photos, but it would be cute to make a heart as a couple.  If you have older kids these would make amazing shots, too!  Carson was fascinated, but it’ll be a few more years for him 😉

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DSLR CAMERA:

I have a Canon Rebel T3i and I LOOOOVRE it.  These are the settings I use to make this bad boy get these pictures…

  • Get a tripod or flat surface
  • Switch camera to “Manual” mode
  • Change shutter speed to 5″ (using dial/toggle on most cameras)
  • Change your picture taking to continuous instead of single shot
  • I use automatic ISO (standard setting on most cameras)

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FAQ: 

WHAT IF I HAVE A POINT AND SHOOT CAMERA AND NOT A DSLR?:  Change your settings to “night” mode or “firework” mode and give it a try!  You can get some pretty decent shots.

WHAT IF ALL I HAVE IS AN IPHONE?:  There are tons of free apps designed for this!  Just do a search for a “slow shutter speed camera” in the Apple store download.  Easy peasy.  Also check for a firework capturing download!  Play around because not all apps are created equal.

Watch the step-by-step video tutorial here:


Oh, and here is how my mantle looks this year.  The flag was free (we already had it) and the wagon was from Goodwill and was $1.99.  I thought it was cute and festive.  Oh, and lest we not forget I do have a flag on the porch.  That’s it!  Simple, festive touches 🙂

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Happy photo-taking and be safe!!! <3

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Quit decluttering!

by Filed Under: Organization

I know.  So unlike me.  But I’m talking about your photos.

IMG_2322There have been so many times where going through my phone, I would delete pictures to make space.  I’m sure you do it, too.  Eliminate most of those rapid-fire shots you took 80 of to get the right one.

If you have kids you know what I’m talking about 😉

We instinctively go through pictures and find smiles to save, because surely those are the moments of most joy and worth remembering.  And then we delete the photos where we aren’t looking at the camera, it was slightly out of focus, somebody was in the middle of a sneeze, or the moment wasn’t what we were intending to capture.

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But life is made of those in-between moments.

And when strung together, they somehow capture it better than those “look over here” smiles anyway.

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I’m not a photographer, and I’m sure not “doing it right.”  All of these images were taken with my iPhone.  All you need.IMG_3094

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Today, I’m thankful that I stopped myself from hitting that delete button on these guys.  Sometimes we just move so fast and we are looking for “the shot.”  I was moments away from deleting all of them…and then I stopped and hit the black and white button 😉

 

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DIY Drawer Dividers

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Dollar Tree, Organization

I have always wanted some of these spring dividers from Container Store/lots of other places.  Apparently they are awesome and work really, really well… like nearly 5 stars well.  Almost anywhere I’ve looked.  Pretty darn solid.

As much as I dream about owning them one day, rather than shell out the money  (because you know you can’t just get ONE…these things are like potato chips), I decided to try my hand at making my own.  And I am so glad I did.  They were so EASY to make.  The whole process probably took me 30 minutes start to finish?  Easy peasy, and the result is awesome.

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What I used for this project (click to learn more):…and YES THE DOLLAR TREE CARRIES FOAM BOARD!   You’re welcome 😉

                           

They are sturdy and professional looking… and I want to keep doing this to all of my drawers!

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Here’s how to make them step-by-step…day by day by day….;)

 

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IT’S MONSTER HUGE!

by Filed Under: Gardening, Money Saving

Before we grew zucchini, I was always intimidated by having it in our garden.  Like if WE tried to grow it, we would end up with some shriveled looking alien food.  REALITY: It’s one of the easiest plants to grow.  I talked about my zucchini obsession in my last garden video.  All of our plants have started producing enough food that we haven’t bought veggies in the past 5 weeks.  Hello, savings!

Just to give you an idea of the size of the zucchini yield…here is a giant zucchini… and Carson… for scale.  We get about 2-3 of these a day from just 3 plants.  And oodles of beans and tomatoes.

Yup.  The kid was trying to eat it raw.  Luna would also like to say hello.

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Zucchini takes up about 4 squares of a garden using the square foot gardening method.  It’s a big plant… but worth it.

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OUR GARDEN ESSENTIALS

(yup, we use dollar tree buckets to gather our produce and bring it inside!)

                         

Last year (when I was still pregnant) Char and I filmed this video about how to make your own raised bed garden on the cheap.  So this is sort of like a #tbtuesday?  Yay cheap, healthy things!

BEHIND THE SCENES NOTE:  I was so tired when we filmed that I sat down to hold the camera for most of it.  Oh first trimester…how I don’t miss you. 😉

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Baby deals! 6.23.14

by Filed Under: Online Deals

It’s tough to find coupon codes on Amazon…I know I rarely see them. We are in the market for a new convertible car seat (Carson is huge y’all), and of course I was searching for deals, reading reviews, and trying to find this most economical option this morning.  I did a search for Amazon coupon codes and JACKPOT! I’ve been looking for all sorts of coupons to try and save me money. We just got a new car so I found some deals to help me save on WeatherTech mats. I’m coupon mad at the minute and I love saving money!

Right now Amazon has a 20% off select baby gear coupon code: SUMMERGEAR

That makes this Graco Convertible Car Seat that retails for $179.99 just $119!  I usually really like Graco products.

IMG_3634Wanted to pass this along in case any of you were in the market for one.  To be honest, I don’t know when this code expires, but I know this code also applies to lots of other baby items that might be worth browsing! These are the other featured deals!

What did/do you look for in a car seat?

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