Homemade Lip Beauty Products- w/ Free Printable

I've been buying chapstick almost every time I go to the store this pregnancy.
Nothing like not being able to drink water to make your lips cracked and dry.
--it makes me throw up.... every time.. no really :( 

So I've been experimenting making my own lip goods.
And it has been fun and delicious.
I have created three recipes so far and thought I would pass along my knowledge.

Fruity Lip Balm

2 tablespoons Vaseline

1 drop food coloring

2 drops fruit flavoring

Boil pot of water.  Put Vaseline in zip lock bag add color and smash until mixed.  Place bag in boiling water until liquid.

remove from water. Open bag and drop in fruit flavoring.  Over container, snip corner of bag and empty  balm into container.

You can find the right kind of flavoring at most  serious party stores or specialty food stores.  I found a fabulous four pack of citrus flavors at my local party store Orson Gygi  for $2.50  You can find them on Amazon even.  Just look for something like this.  Lorann makes so many delicious kinds, like Cotton Candy, Pina Colada, and Baverian Cream.  So buy them on Amazon if you can't find them anywhere else, or you are looking for a great selection.
You can also go to the LorAnn Oils website where you can get over 66 different kinds for $1.40 a dram- which is more than enough to make 10 or so of the same flavor.  Their selection is ridiculous.    I mean Horchata, Banana Cream, Mint Chocolate Chip!  Of course something more traditional for a lip balm is available too if your not wanting anything too craz:, Strawberry, Apricot, or Peppermint.
The tins are 2 in tins from the wedding favors section.  At Michael's they were 19.99 for 30 count, but with a 40% coupon that is not so bad.  If you are only making one of two you could use an empty lip balm container you already have. 
I of course coordinated the color with the flavor.
Example- the pink is grapefruit and the green is lime, but you don't have to I guess.
Of all the lip products I made, these are my favorite.  They smell the BEST!
Also their shelf life is well beyond that of the others.
And yup- it is basically colored- flavored, Vaseline.... but make some and tell me it doesn't seem like a whole lot more.

Cocoa Lip Balm

1 tablespoon vaseline

1 tablespoon shortening

1 - 2 teaspoons cocoa powder (see what you can mix in smoothly)

Melt vaseline and shortening in microwave until liquid.  About 1 min.  mix in cocoa powder

Place in container

Vanilla Lip Scrub

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon cream honey

3 drops vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients then  scoop into container

 I was going for something like this- which I own and love for this last one.  It is more of a lip polish.  Put it on and wipe it off with a tissue... and try not to just eat it.

Cream honey may be more of a local product... but it is Miller Brand.  It is sold just next to the regular honey, in a tub.  If you can't find it, you could likely omit it, it really only makes the mix not so translucent.

Of course you are going to need some labels.

Seriously these smell so good you'll want to put them on ten times a day.


linking up here

A little thirfting is always nice

$3.99 for the pair. Blond haired girls always fit in with my decor. Plus I love old Christmas stuff.
German Chocolate Cake Plate- $3.49. I love the little german children on top. I can't decide if this will go to my own serving ware or my sisters vintage etsy site- Thrifted Sister.
$0.99 mod serving tray. This will likely end up over at Thrifter Sisters.
$0.46 a piece- these soup bowls will be perfect for my Under $1 present for one of my siblings- namely my 22 year old brother who has been making stew on his own for his own consumption since he was 6 years old.

{Each year instead of drawing names for a sibling, we buy for each person. The rule is you can't spend more than $1. You can give anything you already own, anything you got for free, or anything your purchased for less than $1. It is so much fun seeing what good stuff everyone finds for a dollar. I am anxious to share the rest of my $1 finds, but I believe the siblings receiving other gifts may just read this blog and see so it will have to wait}
A {grundle} of books ranging in price from $.046 to $0.99. Plus one was free. I can never get enough books for my kids, they love them.... and destroy them.
For the little miss- A light weight purple pea coat, and light weight red ARIEL jacket "sure to please", some Carters pants, and a silver puffy vest from GAP. Coming in around $11.00 for the four items.
This shirt for Sam was $4.00, and a Walmart brand which I usually won't buy 2nd hand- but it still had the tags on it and I thought he would look like a charmer in it.
And lastly this American Eagle turtle neck in great shape for me for $3.29.
I thought turtle necks were out, but then I got me one this fall and have decided they are very much in.

$2.45 for Custom Pottery Barn Stockings.

How do you get the traditional Pottery Barn Stockings with each family members name embroidered on the cuff for under $2.45 though they are normally $15.00 a piece?

First you name your children traditional names, commonly requested by people ordering stockings.
Ha!


Then you go to Down East during one of the Spring Clearance Sales and dig through literally 400 stockings until you find a stocking bearing the name of a family member. I actually found "Sam", "Jacob" and "Kate", though I left the Kate because it was pink and did not match the others which were red, green and white. I did find two blank stockings that did match the others that needed some minor repair. I bought all of them for a grand total of .80 cents. If you don't want to bother to do the math, I'll do it for you, because you must see what a great deal this is. $0.20 a piece.
Ridiculous right?
Of course $0.20 seems like an appropriate price for a stocking with somebody else's name on it.
I think this is what you get when you name your kids (and have a husband who was named) something traditional.

The two blank stockings I took to the local printing shop and had "Kate" and "Crystal" but on them for $9.00.

In this picture the "Jacob" is the Pottery Barn custom and the "Crystal" is my local print shop. I chose different font for each stocking so they each were a little different.

I am beyond pleased with my deal.
Now we just have to wait for Santa to come fill them.

Mix Book Love

We all know that I love pictures.
I almost love a good deal as much.

I just found this company called mixbook.
They are a photo book editor with an professional feel similar to blurb.
And for the next 7 days they have a back to school special.
Your order is 20% plus if it is your fist time ordering with them you can get free shipping.
With book starting at under $6,
I think we all better give them a try.

Taking Couponing to a Whole 'Nother Level

If you have not heard of Groupons.com yet
I am not sure where you are hiding.

You can get goods and services for up to 90% off.

I told you it was ridiculous.

I recently purchased this Shabby Apple Dress
normally $92 for $40 using a gift certification I got from Groupons.

I am currently considering getting this Family Portrait Session
normally $294 for $49.
I actually wanted to use this photographer for our wedding but he was too expensive.
not at $49 bucks though.

The thing is, it doesn't matter where you live.
Groupons is rounding up deals all over the United States. Plus you can search other cities deals for chains that are in your area.
You can search by city, and you are sure to find a fabulous deal.


Please Please Please go take a look.
Create and account and you can choose to have local deals sent to your email.

Thrifty Finds

Monday our whole family went bopping around the city.
No reason really.
We visited my brothers new phone store (plug Fix-a-Phone @ University Mall, Orem, UT)
We shopped for new appliances at RC Willey and Best Buy.
We at $2 platters from Denny's,
and we shopped at the thrift store.

It was an odd Labor Day.

I have been wanting to go to the thrift store to get myself some old candlesticks and crystal, to create vintage style cake plates.
I'll show you how tomorrow.
But I did find a candle stick (0.99c  and crystal dish. ($2.99) just like I wanted.

His Majesty and the kids browsed the children's wears and found these.
I have been wanting to get the kids coats, but not able to find something I like for under $35.
I don't love these either, but they are all in new condition and ranged in price from all of $1.50 to $2.00.
At least they have coats now.  It has been in the high 30's  when we wake up in the morning.
And I won't feel bad when coats I really like for them go on sale for something less than $35 and I get them too.

I spotted this for myself for $1 while waiting at the checkout.
A perfectly good J. Crew belt in just my size.
I've been into belts lately.

This Girl Can Sew

Have you seen this blog

She takes hideous $1 or less dresses she finds at thrift stores and yard sales
And turns them into something you might actually wear.

And she does it every day.
Yup- she is not only doing this for fun/ to save the earth/ to save money
She is doing it because she needs something to wear for the day.

I have a sudden urge to go to the thrift to find something to refit/dye/ turn into something awesome.

Urban Outfitters Summer Deals

 Urban Outfitters is a pretty cool store right?

Cooler than me usually.... and by that I mean too expensive.

But right now they are having a Summer Sale with items like these sandals and this necklace  for $9.99.  That is marked down from $28.00
And this sweater for $14.99 
marked down from $32.00

That is a deal!
Normally they have a $10 ships everything fee.
That is not too bad
But use the Coupon Code

FALLFORIT

and get free shipping.

Thirfy Thursday- Free Music

It is no lie that I have not purchased a CD, i-tune, MP3 or any other form of music for at least three years.
I do like music.
Is is silly that I don't buy it?


The thing is-
if I am listening to music it is most likely I am near my computer or in my car.
In the car, I am fine with the radio,
And if I am near my computer I can just listen to Pandora.


My current favorite station is the Imogen Heap station.
Just create a station based on an artist you like.
It will help you find more music like it for you to like.
and keep playing for free until you tell it to stop.


It is free music filling my house when ever I please.
And I am a fan.

Save Even More Online

So it can' t be a secret anymore that I am an online shopper.
Because it takes at least 45 minutes for me to get anywhere, with 45 minutes back, shopping with two children is a task.  I guess it is for anyone really, but we waste 1.5 hours of what might be happy, patient children time just driving. 
Not only is it easier to find the best deal online too, I can often get shipping for less than it would cost me in gas to get to a store and back.
After a quick check for a promo code before checkout, I get a great deal.

Because of this I have become very comfortable shopping online.

I buy music and books of course.
most the gifts I give,
children's clothings,
shoes,
furniture,
small appliances,
home decor,
toys and baby gear,
electronic and computer equipment,
even what could be intimidating swim suits and dresses
to the super small stuff like batteries and pacifiers.
I was about to type that the only thing I have yet to buy online is food-
but I buy all my food storage online- so I guess I have covered that category too.

Amazon, Overstock, and  Target.com are some of the most common retailers we use.
But a simple Google Search can usually help us to find exactly what we were looking for.

Today I saw this story about which days to shop for what online to ensure the best deals.
I think I will include it into how and when I shop online. 

Where do you find good deals online?

Thrifty Thursday- Free Cereal

Looking for small bag-able treats for my kiddos for church, I came across these in the ceral aisle.

Kellogs Cinnabon Cereal.
My kids think cereal like this is actually cookies, and though it is hardly better than cookies, I feel better about feeding it to him.

Right now you can get this cereal for free,
Yup.
It says so right on the box.
All you have to do is send in your receipt and the UPC code the the address it directs you do, and you rebate is in the mail.
So I guess it is the cost of a stamp.

Pretty Good Deal!

Men's Dress Shirt Deal

These are the Majesty's favorite dress shirts.
He has been wanting some new white dress shirts, and even went online to buy some a few weeks ago. But they arrived and were the wrong ones.
So I went looking yesterday for the right ones.
Long sleeve, Stafford, Oxford White Dress shirts.

I found them here.
On sale at JC Pennys for $14.99 marked down from $36.00.
Not bad.
I added one to my online cart.
Looks like it is $5.8o to ship one, and $6.86 to ship two.
I added another to my cart.

Time to look for a coupon code.

TEN2YOU

Got me $10 off my order of $10.00 or more. This means you could essentially get yourself an almost free item if you were willing to pay the shipping.
The code I believe was good through 8/15/2010.

It made my dress shirts only $9.99 a piece.
When I checked out the page told me I had saved around $52.

And that is a pretty good deal.

And I didn't have to drive 45 minutes with two children fighting in the backseat.
And that makes it an even better deal.

Vacation for {Almost} Free

Last week we spent Wednesday through Saturday in the BEAUTIFUL Sun Valley, IDAHO.
We loved swimming, biking, shopping, dining, lodging, feeding animals, bowling, going to the movies and spending time together as a family.

The best part though of this vacation may just be that we will write off all but a few bucks.

Jake has to take continuing education courses to maintain his attorney's license each year.
The conference in Sun Valley gets him 3/4 the way done.
He has to go to class until noon, but then it is all vacation.

Because he must do continuing education for his profession- many of the costs and fees with this trip we can write off.

Lodging- you can write off as long as it is a single rate, and that is indicated on your records.
in our case- we had a studio suite condo. It would have been the same price whether Jake was there alone or not. We can write off this entire cost. Our Studio condo was very cozy and nice.


Travel- The government will reimurbse you about .50 cents per mile for gas and maintaince.
We traveled just under 700 miles there and back. This is a $350 write off. We actually only spent about $250 in gas driving there and back. While there we rarely got in our car because it is such a bike friendly town.

Food- You can write off 50% of your meal cost while traveling for work purposes. We brought groceries with us for breakfast and lunch. The conference provided a free dinner buffet for the entire family one night- which meant we had to eat out three other nights. The kids usually split a meal plus my meal was only about $13 a day. That means so far in our vacation we can't write off $39 spent. It was enjoyable to eat out in the evenings- though we could have saved more money and cooked in our complete kitchen in our condo. Sun Valley and Ketchum, ID don't allow chains, so every place was quaint and new to us.


Activities-
Swimming- FREE. We swam everyday with the kids. They loved it, and it was just the resort pools included in our lodging.


Ice Skating-FREE. Kate and Jake went ice skating one evening. It was also free at the resort. Good thing because although she enjoyed it- it took them 10 minutes to get around the rink one time.


Movie- FREE. Jake took Kate to a movie one night. It was free, and activity put on by the resort and the conference. They gave out free popcorn and candy too.

Biking- FREE. Sun Valley, ID is the most bike friendly town in the United States... LITERALLY.
We enjoyed biking on the miles and miles of trails, into town, and all around.


Feeding Animals- $1.50. There were lots of animals, horses, and swans located on the resort property. Our kids loved feeding them some carrots and leftover bread.


Bowling- $11.00. We choose to go bowling one evening together. It was $11.00 for three of us including shoes.

Boating -$11.00. We choose to take a paddle boat ride around the lake together. It was just something fun to do, and we hardly felt bad spending $11 for a 30 minute ride when we had spent so little on our family summer vacation.



Lets add that up.

Lodging-WRITE OFF
Travel- WRITE OFF
Food- $39
Bowling- $11
Boating $11
Biking- FREE
Swimming- FREE
Animals- $1.50
Movie- FREE
Ice Skating- FREE

Four Day Vacation for Family of Four = $62.50!!!

of course writing something off doesn't exactly mean it doesn't cost you anything. Most professional tax accountants will tell you writing something off reduces the cost to you by between 33% and 50%. But being self-employed we love writing things off and consider a write-off as something almost free.


Looking for ways to cut costs on your family summer vacation?
Learn more about what you may be able to write-off here. and here.

Lands' End Deals

Lands End is not normally a store I shop at.
It feels like shopping at K-mart or Sears for clothing to me.

But is pure swim suit desperation
(desperation to cover me up mostly)
I turned to a company I normally find more matronly than my
-as-of-Wednesday-28-year-old-self.

I was surprised by what I found.


Instead of just shopping their website I ventured over to the upper left hand corner to the overstock tab.
Under this tab you will see several catagories.
Women's
Men's
Girls
Boys
Home and Travel
On the Counter
Not Quite Perfect


Lets start with their normal Overstock selection.


I found this Women's croc leather belt in a variety of colors for $3.99.
This is a steal is is not?
This yellow girls hoodie for $9.99 on their "Not Quite Perfect" rack
It does list the imperfections on the site- but with kids clothes they are going to be imperfect in about one wear anyways, so it would be a risk I am willing to take.
Especially for an adorable fleece lined hoodie for Katerade.


This little boys swim rash guard for $6.99 on their " On the Counter"
On the counter is where they put a select few items in limited quanitites on Saturday. On Monday they reduce the price 25% more, on Wednesday 50% and on Friday 75%.
If there is something you love get it at the begining of the week-
but if it is not something you have to have- wait and see it dropped to a few bucks. This boys swim guard for example should be aruond $3.49 on Friday if there are any left.

I also found this women's Sun life turtleneck for $9.50 which will be around $5.00 on Friday.
It comes in tons of colors too and would be great for biking and skiing. I think I might actually buy this in the green or black.

Thrifty Thursday

Remember how you can really buy anything at the Dollar Store.
Even kids swim wear.
A suit for each toddler- $1 a piece.
I'll be the 1st to admit they are not quality.
I am sure they will fall apart after one season- but my kids would outgrow them anyway by then.
They aren't the best fitting or cutest either.
But by kids can make anything look good.
They have other more quality suits- but we were in need of a 2nd. Usually we are swimming again before the other one has had time to dry. And nobody likes putting on a wet swim suit.

This sure beats the $72 swim suit I was eying on sale for myself yesterday.
"On Sale"- I know right!