Happy Earth Day!
I want to wish everybody a happy Earth Day. Have you ever noticed that often-times saving money is earth friendly too. For instance, my son got a hole in the knee of a pair of his school uniform pants. They were a nice pair of dress pants, and other than the inevitable hole in the knee, they were in great shape. I couldn’t stand the thought of throwing them out, so I simply refurbished them. He is allowed to wear certain shorts to his school as long as they fit in the standards of the dress code, so I cut off the legs right above the hole, did a little hemming, and viola, a nice new pair of shorts which will be perfect for the warmer weather. How’s that for recycling?!
Filed under DIY | Tags: inexpensive gifts, Sewing | Comments (4)Thrifty Decor Chic ~Blog Feature~
I am so excited about today’s blog feature. There are many ways to save money, and there are times that saving money means making a little sacrifice here and there, but when it comes to decorating our homes, that doesn’t have to be the case. Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick does a great job of showing us all how to make our spaces look like they are high-end without paying the high-end price. She has very graciously agreed to allow me to feature her blog today, and re-publish one of my favorite posts.
I have to say, I had a nearly impossible time trying to decide which post to feature, but I finally just picked one with the intentions of emphasizing that, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO SEE!! Oh yes, I went there, I am owning the caps lock! I finally decided on this post because as I was searching through her archives, I happened to glance up at the dischelvement of my children’s art supplies and gasped in horror. I need organization people! Anyway, without further adieu, here’s Sarah:
Four ca-ute projects under $5!
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The next two involved the following:
I got this little container from my sweet stepmom last Christmas, (hello LA!) and loved it, but have been staring at it in my son’s toy room thinking I needed to jazz it up with some ca-uteness:
Hot glued magnets to the back and you get new magnets for the Bub:
I did all of these in just a couple hours and they were F.U.N. I’ve got a couple more little projects to do to the toy room and then I can’t wait to show you!
Filed under Blog Feature, DIY, Space Savers | Tags: Cheap Crafts, Cheap Projects, Home Decor, inexpensive gifts, Wall Art | Comments (3)Pearls Lovely Pearls
I think it’s safe to say that the majority of women love gemstones of all kinds. There is simply one problem, they can get quite expensive, but I think there is one gemstone that is occasionally overlooked, that is the classically elegant pearl. Pearls are more affordable than ever because of the method which has been developed to culture the pearl.
The Culturing of the Savage Pearl
A pearl has a subtle elegance that no other gemstone matches. Pearls use to only be available at the whims of nature. Fortunately though a process has been developed which allows experts to cultivate, or culture, these fine treasures, enabling us to enjoy pearls more often and more reasonably priced.
The culturing process has a long history behind it thatbegins in Australia. William Saville-Kent actually discovered the methods behind pearl culturing, but it is actually two men from Japan, Tokichi Nishikawa and Tatsuhei Mise, who are responsible for its true beginning as a commercial process.They were awarded the patent in Japan for culturing pearls in 1916, and Nishikawa’s Father-in-law then began to apply this technology to akoya pearl oysters. This technology was then applied to the south sea oyster in 1917 however it took another 11 years before a commercial crop of pearls was produced.
The oyster is brought out of the water, and a small irritant, usually a piece of shell or oyster tissue is inserted into the oyster. The oyster then activates its natural defense system and starts to coat the intruder with a layer of nacre. It keeps doing this until a full pearl is formed. This process can take anywhere from 2 to 7 years. While sand can cause a pearl to be formed it is much more likely that a bead, piece of shell, or chunk of tissue was used. These provide more reliable pearls, and pearl shapes, great for pearl necklaces and pearl earrings.
The culturing of pearls has provided a unique opportunity for those who desire this jewel. They are able to have a real pearl made through the same process as natural pearls without having to wait as long. It also provides the chance to have longer strands of matching pearls. Whatever the case may be, the culturing of pearls has truly made the jewelry world a better place.
Adorable Post-it Note Holders
Look at how ADORABLE these custome post-it note holders are! I absolutely love this idea becaue it is inexpensive, practical, and SO cute! Check out the full tutorial at sistersstuff.blogspot.com, and if this isn’t enough, make sure to check out Whitney’s cute cookie mix neighbor gift idea.
