Savings Saturday (on Friday) :)

I will be out of town and with family this weekend so I decided it would be best if I went ahead wiht our Svings Saturday post today so that we all still have a chance to "brag" about our scores we got this week!

I was very lucky in my score this week! I keep amazing myself at what I am able to get for the money I am spending. Its true that if you match the sales with coupons you will save a TON and get items for next to nothing!

Here we go...This is what I was able to get for UNDER $10!! A total of $7.69!! And that is INCLUDING TAX! Without tax I would have paid $ 3.52! How amazing!!

This is what I got:
3 eos shave creams
6 Arm and Hammer Toothpastes
4 Kiss fake nails (yes, I wear these!  Its cheaper than the salon)  ha!
3 M&M
2 Baby Orajel swabs
2 Orajel Kids Toothpastes

This is a savings of $77.86!  I did three seperate transactions for ultimate savings and it worked perfectly! Woot Woot!!  Also, I was able to keep a $3 off coupon for my next order, and three more $3 0ff $15 coupons!

Now, leave a  comment and let me know what your biggest score was this week!

As always, I can "prove" with my recipts I just have three and I didn't think you would want to see three seperate pictures of receipts.  lol But if you do, let me know and I will deffinately post them. :)

Now for a question.  I know a lot of you are trying to learn what "good deals" are.  Would you like for me to post the best deals for Walgreens and Rite Aid each week so that you will know which are the best??  If so these will be posted on Monday of each week as the ads do not start until Sunday.  Please let me know if you would use that. 

Have A Wonderful Day!!

Bib Necklace

I have to admit something.....I am addicted to Jewelry! I LOVE IT! Whether it be classy, antique, gold, silver, small, chunky, any kind of jewelry! So when I seen this necklace I just had to have one!!  Best thing about this project is that I already had everything needed to do it!  So, here is how I did it!

Items you will need:
Old T-Shirt (had in my drawer)
scissors
thread
felt
ribbon
glue gun

First you will need to cut the bottom off of your shirt.

 Second, fold your shirt in half so that you will be able to get 4 circles out of one cut. :)  Saving time!!  I cut different size circles so that it would give the "dimention" in the "flowers".

 Third, I folded my piece of felt in half and cut the size I wanted for my necklace.

 Next I cut all of my cicles like so.

 Stack the "flowers" however you would like.

 Sew the "flowers" togeather.  I used my sewing machine because it is fast.  But you could hand sew this as well. :)

Now is the time to put it all togeather.  Cut 2 pieces of ribbon and hot glue (or sew) one to each side of your felt.  Then you will start placing and hot glueing the "flowers" onto your felt.  (As you place them to hot glue, you will want to pull up on the sides of the others so that you do not glue down any of your "flowers")

In the end you will have this!  It is adorable.  And Big!  I love it!!  The good thing about this is that you can make it as big, or little as you would like!!  Perfect!  I promise I will upload a picture of me wearing it as soon as I get a chance to wear normal clothing (not pajamas! ha) and get out of the house in it!!

Be sure to head over to Sweet November if you love it as well, and show her some love!

Have A Wonderful Day!!

I will be linking up at:

Rain, Rain go AWAY!

Yep, here we go again with our Redneck Swiming Pool!

Can you believe this?  When we bought our house we did not know that we were right beside a small stream in that tree line to the left.  Nor did we realize that our back yard was the lowest point in connection to 4 of our neighbors! Not very "perceptive" are we??  lol  Anywho, if it gets much more deeper we may be pulling the boat out if we need to go anywhere!

Seriously though, last year we had the worst flood that has ever been recorded in history.  And we are expected to have another flood, no later than Friday.  Please say a prayer with me that it does not get to the point it did last year around this time.  There are still "hometown" businesses that have not recovered and opened their stores from the last flood.

Kids Shower Cap

I am so excited about this project!  A few weeks ago my cousin asked if I could make her girls a cute shower cap.  So, I got to searching the blogs until I found Sew Delish.  She has a great tutorial and I don't know why I put it off so long to start it. 

So....what do ya think?? 

I added a little detail with my lace "flower".  As always, if you have any questions please let me know.  :)

Have A Wonderful Day!

I will be linking up to:

NEW Blog Button!!

I can not tell you all how excited I am to have finally found out how to make a button for my blog. While blog surfing I found Mommy Bits and this AMAZING tutorial on how to do one! Can you say WOOOHOOOO with me??  I know, its the small things that make me happy. ;)

So, if you are a blogger please grab a button if you would like to put it up on your blog.  I do realize that I am just starting, but we all start somewhere, right?



<a href="http://www.ChristysCuties.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/denotechristy/100_3572-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Christy’s Cuties"></a>


Also, head on over to Mommy Bits if you would like one of your own!

Have  A Wonderful Day!

Refashioned Dress

YAY!! I have given myself more pride in another project that I have made! I am loving trying out challenging projects that I am so scared off. After starting and just going step by step I acctually figure it out! Who would have thought that if you tried to do something, you may succeed! HA

I had this dress that was given to Riley last summer. It wasn't really my style, but I LOVED the fabric. The following picture is of the dress, but I already had started choping it up! lol (Sorry Chas, but I hope you love the finished priduct like I do!)

First I cut the bottom off. Next, I cut it on the sides by the old seams to get rid of those. Third, I put the skirt right sides togeather and then cut the sides at an angle and pinned to start sewing. (I really thought I have taken pics of this part, but can't find any! :( ) After you sew the sides, you will need to fold the top down (inside out) and sew around so that you can slide in some elastic! I wanted this skirt to flowy so I made it about double the width of Riley, and only used half of the elastice as the width! I really hope I haven't confused you! lol

I then added a little silk flower for a little extra girly! I have to say, Riley LOVES it! She wanted to wear it to bed! lol

As always, if you have any questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer them!

Have a Wonderful Day!

I will be linking up to

Teacher's Appreciation!

If you have children still in school then you know Teacher's Apprecation is coming up at the beginning of May. I always try to show our teachers that I thank them for what they do. I know that I could NEVER do what they do! ;) So, I decided to make a post with links to things that I have seen with some awesome idea's for some pretty cheap gifts! So, here we go....

First, this is what I will be giving! Coffee Cozy's! Woot Woot!!  I may even make one for myself! ;)  I found a great tutorial over at Liberate Creativity!  It is super simple to understand also.  I only consider myself a beginner at sewing and I was able to figure them out.

If you are not a sewer, but love the idea of something coffee inspired how about doing what Nothing But Country Did!

I think it is totally cute! AND, she even has the tag available for download!!

Or you could do this from Nothing But Country! This is a room "smelly". I LOVE have a room smelling nicely, but I am way to scared to have candles around with Riley! lol What a great solution!

If you are still a little "new" to crafting how about trying out these super cute clip boards for your first project! They are adorable and I may make some for myself!! Head on over to Marta to find out how to do it!

I hope all of these ideas will get you to thinking outside of the box a litte. And possibly give you an exciting new project to get you going on your own "crafty" journey!!

Happy Easter!

Hi All,

Just want to take a moment and wish everyone a Happy Easter!

Have a Wonderful Day!

Savings Saturday

Hi All!!

Today is another Savings Saturday and I want to know what you were able to get with $10.  I did a "small" shoping trip very early in the week and it has been killing hard for me to wait until now to show you what I was able to get!  HAHA.  I made a quick trip to Rite Aid as well as Kroger. 

I got the following at Rite Aid:
4 Nivea Body Washes
1 GOT2B hair gel
4 Dixie paper plate packs
2 chocolate covered cherries (this was to bring my total up about 10cents so that i could you my $3 off $15 order. :))
I did two seperate transactions here so that I could use two $3 off $15.

Next was Kroger:
4 Xtra laundry detergent
4 Purex laundry detergent
(I know you at thinking Im going to become a "horder" BUT, my family of 5 uses 2 bottles of laundry detergent a week so this will only last me around 2 months.  lol)

Now for the grand total of this weeks trip.......Drum Roll Please........$7.55!!  And yes, that is before taxes!  I HATE Tennessee Tax!!  With tax it came to $11.21.  I do believe this was my best shoping week as of yet!  I guess trying to help others learn the ropes has really helped me get back into it as well!! Woot Woot!!

Now for the picture of my score

Also, I can show "proof" with my receipts if you all would like to see them.  But, I didn't want to put them up because I don't know how to use photo shop and it would add three more pics to the post.  lol  BUT, I deffinately will if you would like to see.  :) 

So, what were you able to get for $10?  I would love to "hear". :)

Have a wonderful Saturday!!

Mom Shirt

I seen a shirt like this during the summer and have been waiting very patiently to make one for myself! :)  It is basically the same concepts as the Boy's Tie Shirts.  So, here you go.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Easter Shirts

Hi All!!

I have not been finding anything that I like for the boys for Easter this year!  So, I decided to make them something!!  No, its not all fancy and "church like" as I was taught you are supposed to wear on Easter morning. BUT, they will be wearing a TIE!  haha

Items you will need....
Shirt
Material
Cutting Mat (a table will work fine!)
Rotary tool (sissors will work fine :))
Heat and Bond (not pictured)

First you need to cut out the shape of the whatever you want to put on the front of the shirt.  Look below....

Next you will iron your heat and bond to the back of your aplique (follow directions on package), then iron the aplique onto your shirt where you want it placed.  Heat and Bond will just help hold the item in its place and will add extra holding power onto your shirt.

Lastly you will want to sew your applique onto your shirt.  Not only does sewing it on give it extra 'staying power', but it also gives it another little detail!  If you don't have a sewing machine you can also use your hand, needle and thread!  I like the messy look with these type of things.  Below is my finished prodcut! 
(K has already changed his mind about which one he wants to wear like 5 times!  I think they are a hit!!)

Now to ramble a little.  I know none of you ever have a day day's were you can get nothing right!  Where you have no motivation to do the things you need to do CRAFT clean house, laundry, you know....the boring stuff??  Well, that is me today!  I had to re-do these stupid amazing shirts THREE times to acctually get them right!  All while ignoring what I have to do today!  I FINALLY got them right! Now, time for the boring stuff! :(

Have a wonderful day!!

I will be linking up to:



Rite Aid

Rite Aid is by far my FAVORITE store with couponing!!  Let me tell you why.....

First, they have a "shopers card" (like Kroger).  All you have to do is go in the store and ask for a +UP rewards card.  Bring it home and go  HERE to register your card.  The point of this card is to get extra savings, as well as earning points for health screanings.  Thats right!  After you accure so many points Rite Aid will send you a certificate that you can take into the store and get free health screening for certain things.  The more points you earn, the more FREE screanings you get!!  In addition to your points adding up for health screanings you will also be able to get enough to have an every day discount of 10 or 20% OFF of EVERYTHING in the store that is not on a current sale.  How awesome??  (Below is a pic of what the card looks like.)

Rite Aid also has their own store coupons.  You are able to get these store coupons by joining their Video Value Club.  These are videos that you will watch to earn coupons for those specific products.  They also change the video's every month so you will be able to save more on all types of products.  Therefore, you are able to stack a Rite Aid store coupon on top of a manufactures coupon for even more savings!! 

Along with the +UP rewards card Rite Aid also gives +UP reward "coupons"!  These are coupons that print out at the bottom of your receipt for buying a certain product.  Sometimes they do put a limit on how many +UP coupons you are allowed to get per item that is purchased, however, that doesnt happen often.  These "coupons" can be used on ANY item in your next purchase.  They also have an experation date so you will only have about 2 weeks to use them before they expire.  Below is a picture of what they look like.

And were not done yet, Folks!!  Along with everything else that is AMAZING with Rite Aid they also periodically put out $ off a certain $ amount spent!  For instance when I checked out the other day I received a $3 OFF any $15 purchase.  I can buy $15 worth of products, use that "coupon" along with the $5 off "coupon" above, along with some Rite Aid video value coupons, along with manufacturer coupons to save a LOT of money!!  Now do you see why Rite Aid is my faverite store?? ;)  Blelow is a picture of what the $3 0ff a $15 purchase will look like.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Bleach Pen Sirt

Hi All!! 

I decided to make Luke a guitar shirt like his daddys. :)  This is how you do it......

Things you will need....
Shirt
Bleach Pen
Freezer paper

First, put your freezer paper in the middle of your shirt so that the bleach doesnt bleed through. 

 Next, just draw with your bleach pen onto your shirt for whatever you want to make.  Yes, the bleach will bleed and it will not be a straight line where you draw.  Below is what it will look like after you put on your bleach.

 I love it!  This is just what I was looking for. :)  After you bleach it let it dry to the consistency of color that you would like it bleached too and then wash.

The possiblities are endless with this!  You can make all sorts of things for boys or girls.  If you decide to make one, please share a picture with me so that I can see your creations!

Happy Bleaching!

I am linking up to...

Sugar & Dots

Life at the DeNote House!

Just some pictures from the kids playing tug o war with Sam.  Sam was tearing them up, too! ;)

Wal-Mart

I know a LOT of people only shop at Wal-Mart and would like to be able to take advantage of Wal-Marts "deals" with their coupons.  Wal-Mart has just released a new coupon policy, you can find it HERE!

Also, Hip2Save has made a video about couponing at Wal-Mart with all of the "ins and outs" you will want to know.  You can find that video HERE!

Everyone knows I always talk about Hip2Save.  Its because she is very down to earth and explains things like I will understand them!  lol    So, go there and watch the video and if you decide to use coupons at Wal-Mart be sure to print off a Coupon Policy and take it with you, just in case you get a not so friendly cashier. :) 

Happy Shoping!!

Walgreens

Walgreens now has a coupon policy on their website HERE

Walgreens is the most tricky store when it comes to using coupons. Although, after you learn their ropes, it is fairly easy. First off, in the front of every store they have Instant Value Coupon Books. These coupon books are normally by their adds for the week. They are free and contain lots of Walgreen Store coupons. With Walgreens you are allowed to use a Walgreens store coupon WITH a manufacturers coupon on the same item. That is double the savings! :) Walgreens also has Register Rewards (RR) print on certain items that are bought. These come out after you have paid and your receipt prints. They are manufacturers coupons as well and can be used with a Walgreens store coupon, but not with another manufacturer coupon. Periodically Walgreens will aslo release a coupon for $3 off of a $15 purchase or something like that. Register Rewards will not "roll". By "roll" I mean if you get one from purchasing Chrest and try to use that Register Reward (RR) to purchase anothe tube of Chrest...you will NOT get another Register Reward (RR). However, you can buy as many Chrest's for the Register Reward (RR) as you would like, as long as they are in seperate transactions and you do not use a Register Reward (RR) to pay. Walgreens also allows a Buy one get one free (BOGO) coupon to be paired with a Buy one get one free (BOGO) sale that they are running. Therefore making both itmes FREE! :)

The reason I say they are the most difficult is because of their coupon to items ratio. Their registers count the number of items and coupons that you have. If you have more coupons than you do items, it will not let you use extra coupons. As an example: I am buying....1 Pledge, 1 diapers, 1 toilet paper. That is 3 items. However, I have 1 coupon for pledge, 2 coupons for diapers (Walgreens store coupon and a manufactuers coupon) and a coupon for the toilet paper. That would be 4 coupons with only 3 items. The register will beep and will tell the cashier I am not allowed to use the last coupon because I have not purchased enough items. A cheap way around this is to pick up a "filler" item to buy so that the coupons go thorugh ok. A great "filler" item would be a cheap item from the holiday isle (pencils 3 for 99 cents) A cheap peice of candy...anything that is CHEAP! After you throw in a "filler" item, your sale would be able to process.

Another thing you have to remember with Walgreens is to MAKE SURE you had them your Manufactuers coupons FIRST, then hand them your Walgreens coupons. This is so that you can get the items for the Cheapest amount possible. If you hand over your Walgreens coupons first that will change the price of an item that you may have gotten cheaper because of the new sale price. Also, if you have a $3 off a $15 order, that coupon will become FIRST, manufactuers coupons second, and walgreens coupons third! Make sence? lol

Also, you can go HERE to watch a video about shoping at Walgreens with Hip2Save!!  You all know I LOVE Hip2Save an she does a fantastic job of explaining how the Walgreens "game" works!!
As always,  if you have any questions PLEASE leave a comment or let me know. :)

Kroger

 

Hi all,

Getting started with Kroger shoping. I admit, I have NEVER thought I would be shopping at Kroger. I always believed their prices were way too high. However, I have now learned how to work their system.

First - My Kroger DOUBLES coupons up to 50cents-EVERY day. Be sure to call and check the Kroger near you. I know of some that will double up to $1.

Second - Kroger runs great deals almost weekly. They do sales on certain items where if you buy 10 of these items they will take $5 off instantly at the register. There are 50-100 of these eligable items throughout the store. They put them on sale, THEN give you an extra discount at the register for having 10. (you do not have to have 10 of the same thing, they can be a combination of qualified items) Pair that up with a coupon and you pay next to nothing for the items.

They also have the 10 items for $10. Only $1 per item. Pair those items with a 50 cent coupon(which will double to $1) and the item is FREE!

Third - The Kroger Card of course. Just ask for one at the register and you can go online to Kroger.com and Upload COUPONS onto your Kroger card. (crazy right?) After uploading these coupons you go shoping, let them scan your card BEFORE they start ringing your order. As they ring your order if you have a coupon loaded onto your Kroger card for an item that you bought, it will take the electronic coupon off. Pair your electronic coupon, with a paper coupon(that will be doubled) and hello cheap to FREE item.

Of course, there are other sites as well that will let you load electronic coupons onto your Kroger card.  These sites are CellFire, Shortcuts, as well as Procter And Gamble. 

You can also go to U Promise and load items onto your Kroger card.  Now, U promise "coupons" are not acctually taken off of your total at the grocery store.  These are items that you can buy and U Promise will store those savings in a College Savings Fund that you will be able to use for your childs College when its time. How awesome is that??  All you do is buy stuff that you would always buy anyway and a protion of that price goes into a college savings account!  WOOT WOOT!!  I already have over $10 saved up in that account.  Yes, it will not pay ALL of their college BUT every little bit helps, right??

If your Kroger has a gas station then you will also aquire enough points to get gas at 10cents off per gallon after spending $100, or 3cents off every day with your Kroger card! MORE SAVINGS!! Kroger has now started to give you 10cents off per gallon for every $100 spent. Example:  If I spend $200 in one trip I am able to save 20cents off per gallon on my fill up!  These "points" will also add up. So, dont worry about  hitting $100 or more....you will get there throughout the month.  And it does work!!  I saved 30 cents off of my gas the other day!! : D 

If you have any questions please leave a comment and I will answer as best I can.

Where can I find coupons?

This is the most asked question since starting to coupon! The answer is: EVERYWHERE!

You can find coupons in the following places:
Sunday Paper (I suggest getting at least 4 a week)

Tear pads in the store (these can be found in just about every store, on the shelf there will be a little book or what we call a blinkie (box that has a light and you pull the coupons out) Dont leave them empty, but take a few for later, even if your not buying that product right now.

Register Rewards (RR)- These will print on certain products in certain stores AFTER your purchase and recipt have printed. It is basically a coupon for a specific item to use at that store only.

Ordering - Thats right! You can go onto www.ebay.com, www.thecouponclippers.com, www.couponsbydede.com (you can use these sights if there is a specific coupon that you would like more of...or if you need a complete coupon insert from the Sunday paper that you forgot to purchase. (NOTE: I do not suggest using this method ALL the time, because you will also have to pay for shipping)

On the internet! This is the second best for coupons after the sunday paper!
The following are websites that you can print coupons off of for FREE!

1. Coupons.com
2. Smartsource.com
3. Red Plum
4. Box Tops for Education
5. Couponbug.com
6. Betty Crocker.com
7. Eat Better America.com/coupons
8. Eversave.com
9. Pillsbury.com
10. Snackpicks.com
12. All You.com
13. Target.com

(If you click on any of those sites it will take you directly to that site to check it out and start printing.) :)

Hair Wrap

For my FIRST post about my "cuties" also known as crations! ;)  This past summer I was at my Cousin's in Arkansas and found out that my cousins girls (which are so cute themselves) loves for their hair to be pulled up and wraped in a towel like their momma!  So, I KNEW when I seen this on The Crative Maven Site that I had to make one for them!  You can go HERE to get the tutorial that I used.

 My model showing how it works! ;)  I really hope the girls love it as much as I do!!

Enjoy!!

( I will be linking up at I Heart Nap Time )