The cheapest way to get in shape!!

Okay, so how do you get in shape on a budget?? There is a super simple answer, lace up those shoes!! That is right, walking or running is super cheap, and easy to get started.

All you need to start a walking or running routine is a good pair of shoes.  Fancy and expensive gym memberships are not required!!  Shocking, I know.  Once we get past the "excuses" it can be really easy and inexpensive to get into shape.

So, if you are looking for a way to shape up for the summer, pencil in some time in your scheduele to start moving!!

photo source: Wia-Tirol

Deal Site, Offers.com!!

I wanted to let you guys know about a new deal site, Offers.com. This is a site that lists deals, promos, discounts, and special offers from your favorite online retailers. This is a free site to use, and you can even set up your account to notify your of the specific deals and companies that you want to watch.

Offers.com helps to save you time and money by finding and verifying the best deals online and compiling them into one place. For example, if you are looking for a software to help you organize your small business, Offers.com has a page with these listed. You would search for QuickBooks special offer code, and QuickBooks and Intuit are both listed as options along with others. You can look through and find the deal that looks the best to you, or enter your email and have updates on the status of these items and deals sent to you.

If you are looking for a way to track your favorite stores or items, this is worth a little investigation.

Disclosure;  This is a sponsored post.

Getting fit on a budget, is it possible??

My answer is YES, it is possible. I know that when some people think about getting fit, they automatically think gym membership, yada yada. Guess what everyone, you do not have to be a member of a gym to get in shape, that is right, you can do it at home!!

Running and walking are both great exercises, and really the only equipment you need is a good pair of shoes.  Shoes are important for runners and walkers alike, they need to properly support you, so you will not injure yourself.  Other than that, you are good to go.  While it is true that a treadmill is nice to have, it is not necessary, you can walk or run outside.

If walking and running do not appeal to you, grab a work out DVD and start moving.  There are tons of them out there.  My current favorite are Shape Abs and the Jackie ab DVD. 

I have to admit that I am a runner, so that is what I love to do, however I mix my workouts up by running one day and cross training another day.  On my cross training days I either walk and do an ab DVD or do a couple of different workout DVDs. 

I have found that if you can not keep it interesting you will be less likely to succeed.  So, if the "no money" excuse is keeping you unfit, start moving sister because even if you are broke, you can still look good (haha).
If you need a little extra motivation, sign up to run or walk in a charity event or race.  That will give you something to work towards.

Photo Source: jvangalen

Free Budgeting Tool!!

I love free, you all probably know that. Well, if you have not already heard, there is a great free budgeting tool out there called Mint. It is so easy to set up and did I mention that it is FREE??

With Mint you can set up a budget, track your spending, set and track goals, and even look for extra savings. You simply go to the site and set up your free account, and go from there.

I love being able to look at my progress, it helps to keep me motivated. If you are looking for a tool to help with your budget, definitely check out Mint.

Pillowcase Dress Tutorial!!

I wanted to share this tutorial with you all. I love making little Pillowcase dresses for my girls. I think they are so cute, and they are super simple. Trust me, when I started making them I had NO sewing experience. Now it takes me about 15 minutes from start to finish to make one of the super cute dresses.

Okay, to start you will need the material that you like. If you want something a little more unique, buy two materials that complement each other and use one as a border around the bottom of the dress.

Next, you need to figure out your measurements. The dress that I am making today will be for a size 3T, and the measurements that work for my little one are as follows:
Base material: 19 inches long
Border material: 5 inches long

When I buy my material, I use the width that comes off of the bolt, and cut the length.

So, I will try not to be confusing with this part. I love using this method to add the border, because it looks neater to me. Once you have measured and cut your material, you want to take the base material and roll it up from top to bottom. Then you want to take the border material and lay it flat with the right side of the material facing you. Place the rolled up piece of material on top of the border material and then fold it over. You should have a layer of border, one layer of base material, and then another layer of border material. Pin this all the way down.

Sew all the way across. Next you are going to turn it right side out.

Next press your material.

The next step is to add a seam to the dress so you end up with a tube.

Turn your material right side out and press.

Now, for the arm holes. For a size 3T I measure down 6.5 inches from the top of the dress and mark. Fold over the dress, so you can cut both sides at the same time.

Once you arms are cut, you need to make your bias tape. You can use the kind that you purchase, but I like to take some of the extra material and make my own. It really is very simple. Cut a strip of material that will be long enough to go around the entire arm hole. Next, fold each side in, and then fold in half and press. Place on the raw edge of the arm holes and sew on.

The next step is the top of the dress. Fold the top over once and press, then fold it over again and press. You are making a casing for the ribbon. Make sure your casing is big enough to fit the ribbon through.

Sew across.

Next find ribbon that matches your dress. I take the ribbon and lay it across the top of the dress (the neck) and make it three times that length. That always ensures that I will have enough ribbon to make pretty bows. Place a safety pin in one end of the ribbon and use the pin to thread the ribbon through the casing.

Tie your bows, and ta-da you are done.

Show and Tell












Tales from Bloggeritaville
The Shabby Nest.

A simple way to cut your light bill.

Okay, so recently my husband and I sat down and tried to decide what we could do to lower our electric bill. Electricity is a necessity, but is it really necessary to run all of the appliances the way we have been??

After giving much thought to this, we decided we would cut out the use of our clothes dryer. This may sound drastic for some, and trust me I know that it is not for everyone, but we thought it was "do-able".

My wonderful hubby went out and put up a clothes line for me, and I found some clothes pins. At first I did not know if we could do it, because we have many children in our house, and that means lots of clothes. However, I am proud to say that it has now been an entire month since we used the dryer, and I am so excited!!

I know that it may seem really silly to be excited about something that small, but at our house we were washing and drying 2 to 3 loads of laundry per day. I have not received the bill to reflect this change yet, but I am interested to see how big of a difference it has made.

It really is the small things that make me happy, haha. What really excites me the most is that we were able to do something that we really wanted to do, simply because we put our mind to it and tried.

Although I may look a little old fashioned when I am hanging out my clothes, guess what, it doesn't bother me, it just makes me more unique, right????

So, what have you all done to save money this past month?

For more frugal tips check out:
Life As Mom


photo source: copta

A dress from two shirts!!

I want to share my latest project with you all. I found a great tutorial here about how to make a dress from a shirt. I decided to use two shirts that I found at the Good Will for $0.50 each.

I used this shirt as the top.  I folded it in half and cut off the sleeves and the collar.  I folded in what was left of the sleeves and added a hem. 

I used this shirt for the bottom of the dress.  It was an XL shirt to begin with.  I cut it off under the sleeves.  I measured how big it needed to be and hemmed up both sides, cutting off the excess.

To finish the dress off I sewed the two pieces together and added a piece of elastic.  I also made some scruchie flowers to the top of the dress.

This is end result.  It is not perfect, but I don't think it is too bad for my first dress.

To find more great projects, check out:
Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs



Look What I made @ Creations by Kara

Tales from Bloggeritaville.

Envelopes ReVamped!!

Okay, so if you have been reading my blog for a while you have heard me mention Dave Ramsey. Well, I am getting really serious about our budget, because we have set an enormous goal, to be able to pay at least 50% in cash when we purchase our home. I want to be able to do this in five years, so we are going to start saving every penny.

With that being said, I love the envelope system, but hate the plain old white envelopes. So, I was so excited to see this tutorial on how to make your own pretty envelopes.

So, I printed out the template, and traced it on my scrapbook paper (which I got on clearance for $0.14 per sheet at Michaels this morning).

Next I cut out my pattern.

Then I used these super handy Glue Dots (which I LOVE) to hold the bottom part together.  You can find tons of other Glue Dot projects here.
There are is also tons of information on Glue Dots at the Twitter Moms page.
This is what I ended up with.

These are so much better than the plain old white ones!!


“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Glue Dots blogging contest to be eligible to receive a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Great Post!!

Peaceful Divas has some great tips about budgeting in her Frugal Friday post here. Be sure to stop by and check it out!!

Decorating on a budget!!

So, how do you redecorate a home on a really small budget?? Well, that is the question that I am currently seeking the answer to. I am looking at the experience as my "great big" DIY project. If I can pull this off, then I really am good at being frugal.

The first problem, ugly wall paper and nasty paint. What do you do to fix it, repaint it. I have found that a simple coat of paint can completely change the look of a room, and even the entire house.

When you are choosing your paint, don't be afraid to go for it. Many times we like a color but think it is too bold. I say, just go for it. I did, in my kitchen. I was a little scared at first, but I LOVE the way my "Green" kitchen turned out.

If you do decide to paint, make sure you do it properly. In other words, if you are painting over wall paper use primer.

Pay attention to the details. Just by changing the knobs on your kitchen cabinets you can make a huge difference in the appearance of your room.

Take a look at your flooring as well. If you have carpet down now, but have hardwood floors underneath the carpet. You may want to consider pulling up the carpet and going with the hardwood floors.

Those are my tips for today, but stay tuned. As I mentioned earlier, this is a large project for me and I will be sharing all of my discoveries with you as I go along.

Do you have any tips for decorating on a SMALL budget? If you do, share them please!! I would love to hear them.

photo source: chris campbell