Done with Thanksgiving Here Comes..... CHRISTMAS!!

Our family ended up having Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday because I had to work Thursday morning. If Granma isn't there in the morning, just how is she supposed to make her stuffing? Tyler the youngest grand kept asking for that "awesome stuff" meaning my stuffing, I took that as a compliment.

It's going to be a slim Christmas so I'm trying to come up with some big ideas for just a little money. Hours have finally picked up at work but I have some serious catching up to do. The good part is we are just now starting to run out of some of the groceries I stock piled when they were on sale last summer. Which is the point of course. Your stock pile can see you through the slim times.

 I did hats and scarves a couple years ago for everyone on my list and everyone still has theirs and I don't want to do it again. The grands still have the blankets I made them for one Christmas so that's out. I don't have time for anything big. Come on Deb, you have a room full of yarn and craft supplies you should be able to think of something.

Oh well, I will but when I do will I have time to finish them before Christmas??

Coupon Code for my Etsy Shop!!

I just finished listing these on my Etsy shop. Aren't they cute? I have these and a lot of second chance craft supplies in my Etsy shop. Etsy just started a new feature for coupon codes!! Just to test this out, until Dec. 1, 2010 use the coupon code frugal123 and you will save 15% off anything you order!

Visit Deb's Crafts on Etsy to see what I have for you!!

Wow, what a Haul!!

Look at all this awesome lace I got at one of my favorite resale shops. I've known the owner for years and not only is she a great person but she gave me a great deal. I got such a good deal that I'm passing the savings on to my buyers at my Etsy shop. If your in the market for lace for your crafting or sewing I'm sure there's something there you'll like. I haven't listed it all yet, but I'm working on it! Visit my Etsy shop here.

In other news, unemployed, college graduate son is going to become college kid again. He's been accepted into a post grad teaching program and will be starting back in January. It feels good to have a college kid again, especially since I won't have to start paying his student loans, at least not yet.

The oldest grand has started acting like the teenager he is. Suddenly, his friends (and girls) are more important than spending time with family. It's all in the nature of growing up, so Granma has to learn not to be hurt when he doesn't want to do something with her.

Other than that I'm just getting by, life and the bargain hunting goes on.

Freezing Peppers and Other Fun Stuff

My cats have woke me up at 4 am. Not my best time of day. My schedule lately has been very hectic. I'm now working in St. Louis 4 days a week and while I'm there I just stay with my older son Sean to save gas and wear and tear on my car. Today is the day I drive down there and I'm going to be very tired. It's five now and there is no going back to sleep.

Last weekend the small farmers market here was selling homegrown green peppers by the peck (yes, I know all about Peter Piper). They were small and misshapen but $1.99 for a peck of peppers is an awesome price. Of course that meant I spent some time chopping up and freezing peppers.

Peppers need very little preparation to freeze. All you need to do is chop them up, spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze. After they're frozen you just package them up.

I got a lot of banana peppers from my little patio garden but for some reason my green peppers never got any bigger than a quarter. I used up all the banana peppers as i picked them so I didn't have any to freeze.

I got mixed results from my other plants, too. The cherry tomato plant produced tons of delicious little tomatoes. I ate most of them right off the plant. We had fresh herbs all summer, my son Ryan has been making homemade spaghetti sauce with them. I only got a couple cucumbers and no zucchini this year. The zucchini plant produced lots of little tiny finger sized fruits but they rotted on the plant. I have no idea what was going on. Were about due for our first freeze so I've already started cleaning out the garden and getting ready or winter. These last couple years I've learned a lot with my little garden and maybe next year willbe even better.

Good Grief!!! It's After Labor Day

   I just realized how long it's been since I posted anything on this blog.I had pictures taken of my son's college graduation and of our Memorial Day picnic. But I never got around to posting them. Then my camera mysteriously disappeared from my car and reappeared two weeks later. It hasn't worked right since.  I miss it terribly, my cell phone just doesn't take pictures that good.

    It's been a very long, hot summer here in Missouri. The Graduate hasn't been able to find a job and has moved back in with mom (me). Hours are down at work, too, so I decided it was time to do something I've been thinking about doing for a long time.  I've opened a shop on Etsy to sell my extra craft supplies. I've always done my crafting for charity and I don't want to change that, but with The Graduate moving in, I just don't have the space to store it anyway.

Somehow he managed to shove most of what I had in my craft room (now his bedroom)  into MY closet and the rest of it is scattered around the apartment. It's going to be awhile before I find everything I want to sell.

I'm also continuing to go to yard sales, thrift shops and auctions to find yet more stuff so let me know what kind of craft supplies you are looking for and I'll keep an eye out!!

You can visit my Etsy shop here and see what I have so far.

I'm a Tattooed Lady and I Let the Grandkids Get Them Too

Ok, so they're only temporary but there was a Blessing of the Bikes on Main St in Troy today and there was a booth doing temporary tattoos. So we all got one (or two in the case of the kids).

Timmy looks so tough here, doesn't he? Awesome tattoo!!

Tyler wanted a big one so he got his on his back.

My turn, it can't show while I'm working so I had to get it on my upper arm.

Awesome, ain't I! So daring!!

And then Tyler decided he needed one where he could see it. So he went for a badger on his arm. It was a great morning with the grands and my son-in-law who opted not to get a tattoo. It's bad enough he has one on his arm with initials on it that are NOT my daughters.

The Horrible Orange Trench Coat

As many of you know I do a lot of crafting for various charities. Friday I stopped at a local nursing home and asked what they needed. One of the things she mentioned was activity aprons for their dementia patients. These are aprons with various things to fiddle with like buttons, zippers, laces and anything else that might keep their hands busy

I went out shopping for supplies for them Saturday. Found some just right zippers (short with a large pull), some fringe, lace and denim for the apron itself at a craft supply resale shop. Then I stopped at a regular resale shop and found a bead garland with lots of kitty cat wooden beads for only a dollar. Also stopped at a yard sale and found this horrible orange trenchcoat but the big orange buttons will be perfect and I only paid 10¢ for it! I'm having fun just doing the shopping, can't wait to start working on them.

If your local (or wouldn't mind shipping them) and have anything I might be able to use for these I would appreciate any donations. If you do any crafts see the list on Deb's Crafts of things the nursing home and hospice need.

I'm off to St Louis for a couple days again. It's a lot of back and forth for my job but I don't mind too much most of the time. I've made a lot of friends down there and this gives me a chance to visit. Hope you all have a good day.