Showing posts with label Frugal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frugal. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Mother's Day Quotes - Two Free Printables

I know I just shared another Mother's Day printable for Grandmothers only hours ago, but I thought you might appreciate a frugal gift for Mothers.  I have gotten so use to giving gifts from my kids, I fail to remember that I need to acknowledge Mother's Day from me to my mom.

So I made these two chalkboard pieces with my two favorite quotes about moms.
These are designed as high resolution 8x10s. You can probably print in a larger size, I just haven't tried it yet.

To download one these 8x10 images to print:

  • Leave me a comment to let me know what you think
  • Right click on the image you want (below) and select open in a new window or tab
  • On the full size image, right click again and select 'save as'
  • Save it to a place on your computer where you can easily find it
  • Send it to your favorite photo developer, find a frame and you have a frugal Mother's Day gift
  • Please only use these for personal use!
  • Enjoy!! 
 

I hope this isn't too late for you to use! If it is, Pin it and come back next year :)

Again, Happy Mother's Day to everyone.
Stephanie

I'll love you Forever- Free Mother's Day Printable

 
Ever since I had my two amazing children, I have loved the Robert Munch children's book entitled 'Love You Forever.' Still to this day, after 10 years of reading it, I sit there sobbing. Not a sad cry, but a 'I can't believe how much I could love something' cry. If you have children and have not read this book, please take a minute to find it at a local book store and buy it/read it. Be prepared to shed a few tears, so turn your back to all the kids standing around you :). Every baby shower I go to, I always include this as a part of my gift for the new mom.

The main quote of the book is:
 “I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
as long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be.” 

Oh, just typing that makes me tear up.

Well I decided to make the quote, with a small twist, as an 8x10 printable for my mom from my kids for Mother's Day. I know it is a little late to share with you, as Mother's Day is this weekend, but if I share it any earlier, my mom won't have the surprise of it.

I have tried to include as many names for grandma I could think of. If there is one you would really like, please leave a comment and I will try my best to make it by the weekend. Be sure to check back to see if it is there.

To download one these 8x10 images to print:

  • Leave me a comment to let me know what you think
  • Right click on the image you want and select open in a new window or tab
  • On the full size image, right click again and select 'save as'
  • Save it to a place on your computer where you can easily find it
  • Send it to your favorite photo developer, find a frame and you have a frugal Mother's Day gift
  • Please only use these for personal use!
  • Enjoy!!  
I also have another free Mother's Day printable here if you would like something different.There are many different versions of Grandma for this file as well.
Here are all the I'll love you Forever downloads:

 














Have a Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.
Stephanie

Friday, October 4, 2013

Keep Calm and Bluff On - Free Printable

I really wanted to use a line from the Lady Gaga song as the title to this post, but it doesn't match my other boring free download titles. So just start singing Lady Gaga's Poker Face in your head when you read this. I have it I mine and can't get it out, so I am sharing the experience with all of you.

Yesterday, I made and shared the free digital download for the Keep Calm and Love Horses piece. Today, I used the same template and made a poker themed Keep Calm for my brother-in-law for Christmas. I always have such a difficult time making gifts for the men in my life. The ladies are simple, bath stuff, pillows, any accessories, but the guys are tough. I am very pleased with this gift!
My husband informed me the hand that I picked isn't necessarily a horrible hand, as it does have an Ace high...but I had already made it in a slew of colors and I really didn't want to make it over again. I personally am really bad and poker and I would not go in with this hand...maybe that is why I am so bad at poker :)

If you have any suggestions on other Keep Calms you would like, let me know and I can try to share them with you. This only took a few minutes to change the original template.

Remember, you can print these 8x10s for under $1 and if you are frugal you can get frames for $1 too at the Dollar Store or a Thrift Shop. You could also buy a fancy frame and make it look like a really expensive gift. It is all up to you! These can be printed as 8x10s by simply downloading the image (below) and sending it to your favorite print shop for developing. I personally use Costco because their quality is amazing.

To download one these images to print:
  • Leave me a comment letting me know who you are going to use this for, which color you prefer or if you would like another color, let me know and I can see what I can do for you.
  • Right click on the image you want and select open in a new window or tab
  • On the full size image, right click again and select 'save as'
  • Save it to a place on your computer where you can easily find it
  • Send it to your favorite photo developer, find a frame and you can cross another Christmas gift off your list.
  • Please only use these for personal use!
  • Enjoy!!
Here are all the colors of  free digital downloads I made for 'Keep Calm and Bluff On':







Do you see this hanging in your basement? Does anyone you know love poker as much as my husband and brother-in-law?

I am very happy to say that is one more person of my Christmas list!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Stephanie

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Keep Calm and Love Horses - Free Printable

Do any of you have daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, etc. who love horses? Well, I have a frugal gift for you! This 8x10 printable will cost you around $2 to make; it costs under $1 to print, $1 to frame (if you buy it at the Dollar or Thrift Store). You can't beat a $2 Christmas gift!
As I have mentioned a few times, my sister lives on an old farm built in the 1890's. Ever since she moved there, her daughter has loved horses. After years of horse back riding lessons, she is now begging to get her own horse. I don't think that will be happening any time soon, so I thought I would make her a framed "Keep Calm and Love Horses" piece for Christmas.  I am planning a Homemade Christmas again this year, so I had to start early. Be prepared, I will be making lots of printables, so you might see quite a few of this sort of posts. Don't worry I will offer them all for free, so hopefully you can check off a few people on your list as I am doing the same.
I am not sure which color I like the best, but I think I am drawn to the teal and the Tiffanyish color.
I won't go through details as to how I made this, simple because I really don't think most of you care :) (I will tell you that the font is called Keep Calm and can be found on most free font websites and the horse was a free PNG image I found on the internet. PNG images have transparent backgrounds, so they are perfect for projects like this.)

I will just give you the free download in a selection of colors that will hopefully match your decor.

These can be printed as 8x10s by simply downloading the image and sending it to your favorite print shop.

To download one these images to print:

  • Leave me a comment letting me know who you are going to use this for, which color you prefer or if you would like another color, let me know and I can see what I can do for you.
  • Right click on the image you want and select open in a new window or tab
  • On the full size image, right click again and select 'save as'
  • Save it to a place on your computer where you can easily find it
  • Send it to your favorite photo developer, find a frame and you can cross another Christmas gift off your list.
  • Please only use these for personal use!
  • Enjoy!!
 Here are all the colors I have made:





 


 



Is there anyone on your Christmas list you can use this for? Is there any other 'Keep Calm' you would like to me to make and offer as a free download?

Enjoy!

Stephanie

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Fixing Ceramic Tile Chips for $5



For all of you out there that have lived with builder grade ceramic tile floors…this tip is for you. We built our first home and waiting for a year and half for it to be finished. We selected all the materials and upgraded many things but our tile floor was not one of them. After we sold that house and moved into our current house, I concluded the previous owners who built this house, did the exact same thing.
We have basic creamy colored ceramic throughout our kitchen and mud room. Unfortunately, in our situation, builder grade materials meant cheap ceramic was used. We are pretty careful and do try to avoid dropping things on the ceramic (obviously no one wants to drop anything on ceramic floor!) but we have noticed over time little chips have been appearing. You might ask how we noticed these chips...well they look like dirt spots. Since my floors tend to be dirty on most occasions, these spots were very noticeable.
Since I am in no position to tear out all the flooring, let alone the damaged tiles, I needed to find a solution to combat my ever growing ceramic tile chip population. What did I come up with? Porcelain chip repair paint!!! In Canada we have a product called Porc-A-Fix. 
I am not sure if you all have it in the US, but I know Rustoleum makes a very similar product. What is it is a really small bottle of paint (similar to nail polish) that is used to touch up appliances, sinks and bathtubs. It comes in a variety of colors, so chance are you can find the one that is pretty close to your floor color. At under $5 per bottle, it was worth it for me to give it a try.
My floor color varies between cream, taupe, beige so I was went with the bone color. I tested the color on a spare tile I had in the garage that the builder left behind and since my floor has a variance in color, I really was able to hide the repaired chips very well.
It was very easy to do since the paint comes with a little mini brush in the bottle. Simply paint it over the chip and let it dry. This paint tends to have a gloss to it, so I applied it a bit at a time to avoid a really shiny spot. I also ran a fine grit sandpaper over the painted spot when the paint dried to scuff it a bit to cut down the sheen.
Here is my after:
To be honest I don’t even see them anymore when I am standing. If I get down on the floor or look very closely I can see the spots. Keep in mind that you might not get an absolute perfect match, but in my opinion, if you get pretty close to your floor color, it is far better than a light tile with large black spot on it.
Here is the before and after again. Before:
After:
Much better! The best part is this is permanent and will withstand my infrequent washings :)

Do any of you have chipped ceramic tile? How have you addressed this problem?