DIY Plastic Bag Dispenser

Want to make your own plastic bag dispenser?  I used a kleenex tissue box {not a really skinny one}.  My husband used a screwdriver and two short screws put through the back of the box {from the inside} to attach it to the inside of a cabinet door in my kitchen.  It works great and I love that it is hidden from sight!  Plus it was completely free!  :-)

What I made today

I've been feeling creative lately, plus I've also been in the mood to declutter and organize (especially to get rid of things that are lying around that we don't need), so just a quick little project for today...upcyling something old into something new.

I took this toddler girls shirt...

And turned it into a dress for my daughter's doll.

Isn't it cute?

Oh, and the best part is, it was FREE!!  :-)

What's something new you've made from something old?

Christmas Shopping for Free

Yep.  FREE.  I just did some Christmas shopping for free with Swagbucks!  If you don't know how Swagbucks works, you can read about it here.  I've been saving up my swagbucks and redeeming them for Amazon.com gift cards, which equals free money on Amazon.com, where you can find neat things including food, toys, clothing, or books...just to name a few.  You should really check it out!   :-)

Oh, and if you're doing any of your Christmas shopping online, sign up for a Shop at Home and/or Ebates account and get cash back on your purchases!  You'll get bonus credits just for signing up!  And if you sign up using the links in this post, I'll get a credit when you sign up too.  Thanks!

Join Swagbucks and Get Extra Points!

I'm pretty sure you've probably heard me talk about Swagbucks before.  If not, I explain it all here.  I'm really loving that I've earned $40 in Amazon gift cards in just a few months of almost no effort!

Through the end of this week your chances of winning Swagbucks multiple times per day are increased.  I've been earning lots more this week for sure!  Plus, you get 50 Swagbucks if you enter the code SWAGNATION5 when you join before noon PST on Friday, May 7th.

So what are you waiting for?

I'm off to spend some of my Swagbucks Amazon gift cards on a new battery for my camera!

It's Mega Swagbucks Day!!

It's Mega Swagbucks Day!!  In fact, did you know that every Friday is Mega Swagbucks day?  That means that you can earn extra Swagbucks just for searching on Fridays.  Keep reading because I'm about to tell you how I earned more than $20 in Amazon gift cards!

For those of you that don't know about Swagbucks, it is basically a search engine site similar to Google.  If you sign up for a Swagbucks account, and then do your internet searches through that site, you earn points (Swagbucks) just for searching the internet!  You can also earn through referring other people.  You don't get any credit if they just sign up, but when they search and win, you win the same amount that they do!  Believe me, it really adds up!  The Swagbucks you earn can then be redeemed for lots of different prizes.  My favorite prize is the Amazon gift card, but you can also redeem for a Paypal gift card (basically cash), a Starbucks gift card, a guitar, and many other things.  So what do you have to lose?

Since joining Swagbucks less than two months ago, I've earned four $5 Amazon gift cards and I'm only one Swagbuck away from earning my fiftth one.  That's $20 worth of Amazon gift cards (about to be $25)!  Amazon carries almost everything it seems, so I always find plenty to use my gift cards for.  Recently I purchased some Maple Syrup, a book for my husband, a Baby Bjorn Potty, and a new Canon camera lens.

So check out Swagbucks and give it a try!  I really think you'll like it.  :-)
And if you decide to sign up, I'd really love it if you sign up through a link in this post, so I get credit for the referral.  Thanks!

Earn free gift cards or cash: join Swagbucks!

Do you love free stuff?  I do, and I'm always looking for simple yet legitimate ways to earn a little extra money or other free stuff.  I had heard about Swagbucks a while back, but I just didn't take the time to fool with it, thinking it probably wasn't really worth my time.

But lately I noticed that a few other bloggers that I respected were recommending Swagbucks and talking about how they kept getting Amazon.com gift cards or Paypal cash for just doing normal searches on the web.  That's what I really love about this: I can earn gift cards just for doing something that I would normally do anyways...search the web.  Plus no spam, which is also important to me.  So, I decided to join Swagbucks.  I figured it was worth it to give it a try and if it wasn't anything great I could always drop it, right?

Well, it has been less than two weeks now since I joined, and I have already earned a $5.00 Amazon.com gift card, and I'm on my way to getting another one!  I actually waited to recommend Swagbucks to you all until I could make sure for myself that it was worth endorsing.

Basically all you have to do is just do normal searches through the Swagbucks search engine instead of say, Google, or whatever it is you usually use.  If you really want to win gift cards and prizes even faster, you can also earn swag bucks a few other ways too, like by entering featured swag codes or referring other people.  When your referrals search and win, you'll win too!  Or you can just search a lot.  Like I said, I didn't want to encourage other people to sign up until I'd tried it myself, but if you do want to sign up, I'd love to have the referral too!  You can just click on any Swagbucks link in this post to sign up through me.  And if you do, "thanks" in advance.  :-)

As an extra bonus, just for signing up, you'll get 30 Swagbucks when you register!

It's My 2-Year Blogiversary...and a giveway!!

I had ideas of all this neat stuff I wanted to do here to celebrate, but...

Technically my 2-Year Blog Anniversary was at the beginning of this month, but, you know, life gets busy and things don't always go as planned.  Ah well.  It's hard to believe that it has been two years!

I do want to say a huge Thank You to all of my loyal readers, followers, and subscribers!!  You all are the best!  I love blogging, but it wouldn't be half the fun if you all weren't around to read and comment!  :-)

Also, as a little bit of a celebratory thing, I'm doing a giveaway!!

The prize?  A $10.00 Amazon gift card.  That means you can spend it on whatever you want! 

The RULES:
This giveaway is open to U.S. citizens only.  This giveaway will end on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 11:00pm (EST).  A winner will be picked using random.org, and will be contacted via email (so be sure to leave an email address where I can contact you!).  If you win, you will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Here are all the ways you can enter:
(Each of the following is worth 1 entry.  Be sure to submit a new comment for each entry completed!)

1)  Follow my blog.  If you already follow, that counts too!  Just let me know in a separate comment.

2)  Join my BlogFrog Community here, and post in a discussion there.  You can post in an existing discussion, or start one of your own.

3)  Subscribe to my blog by email, or in a reader.  The buttons for this are at the top of my blog page on the left hand side.  If you are already a subscriber, that counts too!  Let me know in a separate comment.

4)  Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.  Then come back here and leave your link in the comments section.

Also, be sure to leave your email address so that I can contact you if you win!  Thanks!

Free Pancake Day at IHOP!

Tuesday, February 23rd is

FREE pancake day at IHOP!! 

Be sure to check out the website for details.

I love free deals like this...makes a fun, family outing

with no strain on the budget!

Free Nursing Cover

EDIT: I just found out that there is some controversy over this company. Everything that I read said that people received their nursing covers but some have claimed that they had additional charges on their credit cards later as a result of ordering from Udder Covers. I would sugest using Paypal just in case. If you have already purchased one using your credit card, just be sure to check your statements.


Get a free nursing cover from Udder Covers!

Nursing covers are great for breastfeeding moms or as a gift for a friend. I made one when I was pregnant with my first baby and have used it so much since then. In fact, I still use it for breastfeeding my twins. I am not familiar with the Udder Covers brand, but they look really nice.

Just go to the Udder Covers website, put one in your shopping cart, go to checkout, and enter the code "country" or "onefree". Then all you have to do is pay the shipping (I think it's $8.95). Not bad at all!

PaperBack Swap - Get Free Books!

I enjoy reading a lot, and I love a good book. Even better, is a good, FREE book. That's why I love PaperBack Swap. I joined PaperBack Swap several months ago after a personal recommendation from my mom. I had heard of it before then, but wasn't really sure how good it was and I tend to be kind of skeptical of stuff like this. However, my experience has been great! I have had the opportunity to read many books for free that I could not otherwise afford.

Here's how it works. You list the books that you want to get rid of, and when someone else requests your books, you get 1 point for each one that you mail. Then you can use your points to request the books that you want from others. Many of the books that I want are not available when I first search for them, but the neat thing is you can just put books that aren't yet available on your "wish list" and when a copy becomes available, you will be notified and can choose to have it sent to you. How great is that?? :-)

Another perk is that you have the opportunity to earn more points by referring others. If they join, you get more points to use toward more books!

So, if you like free books, I highly recommend PaperBack Swap to you. You can get children's books, cookbooks, hobby books, ficton, curriculum, and lots of other great stuff! Oh, and it's completely free to join! So what are you waiting for??

If you do join, I'd love it if you'd mention my referral id: skdorn Thanks!!

Free Ad Internet Filter

I'll Be Honest has a great free internet filter called Matt 5:30. The name, Matt 5:30 comes from the Bible verse in Matthew 5:30 which reads, "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."

The Matt 5:30 filter blocks out the ads on Facebook and Myspace, and also blocks out the "featured video" section on YouTube. Because these are all usually objectionable material, this is a wonderful thing to have. Not only does Matt 5:30 block the bad stuff, but it also replaces the bad with Bible verses. And best of all, it's FREE!!

You can download the Matt 5:30 plugin for free here. I've been using this filter for a while now, and I highly recommend it.

Behemoth.com

Love free stuff??

Check out Behemoth.com daily for free audio downloads.
They also sell many Christian movie, music, and audio lecture downloads.

Vision Forum Sale...48 hours only!!

Today and tomorrow only, buy any two items, get a third item of your choice (of equal or lesser value) FREE!! This is such a great deal, be sure not to miss it! Head on over to the Vision Forum website here and check it all out!

What I Scored For FREE This Week

Yay for lots of free stuff this week…I love weeks like this! Most of these are drug store gains, except for the Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Scrub sample which came in the mail.

My mom was doing some shopping this week too, so she picked up another water pitcher filter and a box of contact solution for me since she won’t use them.

Homeschool Freebie Site

My mom just told me about this neat site that posts a different homeschool-type freebie every day of the week (Mon.-Fri.) The only catch that I can see is that you have to grab it on the day it is posted or you miss out. Each freebie is available for one day. The freebies are things like e-books, samples, lesson plans, games, audio programs, etc. I downloaded an e-book an it looks really neat! To visit The Homeschool Freebie of the Day website, click here. Enjoy!

Free Butter from Land O Lakes

Try Land O Lakes butter in 8 half sticks for free! With the price of butter nowadays, this sure would be a great money saver...even after the postage stamp. Go here for details and the mail-in rebate form. Note that the form can be printed in black and white to save your color ink.

Free photos from CVS.com

Today is the last day to get a free 8x10 and 5x7 photo from CVS. Just click here to submit your order online, and enter the code ENLARGE in the box at checkout. You will need to choose to pick up your order at a local CVS store. If you have never used CVS Photo online, you will get 50 free 4x6 photos as well. Enjoy!

Thanks to Crystal for the info on this deal!

Free Sippy Cup

Free sippy cup from Juicy Juice. Just register at their website here, and they will send you a free sippy cup.

Paid to Shop!!

Food Lion actually paid me to shop today!! I went to the checkout with some cookies and baby wipes, both of which I had coupons for. I expected to come out a cent ahead (before tax), and informed the lady that she would probably have to adjust the coupon down to make it come out to an even $0.00. She proceeded to insist that she owed me money and called for a supervisor to come and override her equipment. I ended up walking out of the store with $0.84 thinking "Food Lion just paid me for my purchase!!" It pretty much made my day!

Arm & Hammer Freebies

Visit the Arm & Hammer website for free coupons and samples here. I just decided to check out their site because I am a fan of their products and there just happened to be several pop-ups of samples and coupons. Also, there are a lot of great tips on the site for using baking soda to clean just about everything. Enjoy!!