I get the privliage of visiting Mom and Dad over the long weekend and I am going to get the chance to help my mom gussy up her Craft/Sewing studio and tackle a few other small projects.

I hope you too enjoy the weekend and have a Happy Easter!!!

~ Reduce Reuse Recycle ~

I have been having a blast with my new Janome 2011. This machine sews with ease and presicion. I recommend her to anyone, especially a beginner, what a great experience so far.

Last night I took her for another spin and made a sweater for Symone, well kinda. It has been cool in the mornings and I needed something on her arms, a very lightweight sweater. So of course I started thinking of what I could use.

Earlier this week I saw the tutorial over at Kojodesigns << (you will fall in love with this blog) , where they took a onesie and turned it inot a ruffled sweater.

Tutorial for this at Kojodesigns

So I did a variation as Symone is a bit big for the onesie now.


Started with one of her Gently used long sleeved shirts

Getting ready to cut striaght down the middle



Used for embelishment




Then it HIT me, Use a decoritavie stitch

This foot glides over the stitches














I am just giddy about this because she isn't going to be able to fit this next fall.

It only took me 15 Min and was 100% free!!!!

I have entered this in the CSI contest, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Challenge! Click the link below to check them out

~ Sew Fun, Sew Easy, with the right Tools ~

Ok, I come from a long line of seamstress. My grandmother owned and operated a alteration shop in Warner Robins GA for over 30 years. She had 8 children and all but one of them know how to sew (you always have a rebel in the family), and sew well.

My mother did her best to try to "domesticate" me, but I ran. I wanted nothing to do with it. She wrangled me a time or two with the threat of being an "old maid" and I picked up a few things. But for the most part I attempted to stay away. Well just like she said, I wish I had sat for those lessons, I would be so much further. However I will say I am having a blast learning on my terms.

My husband, bless his heart, purchased a beginners Singer sewing machine for me about 5 years ago. I was so busy with work that I can count on my hands how many times I attempted to use it for 3 years. I always found it difficult and chalked it up to my lack of sewing skills. I had my mother attempting to educate me over the phone. I am sure she was perplexed at how much I had forgotten.

I dusted it off 2 years ago when I stayed home with our kids (2 at the time) and I wanted new curtains. I figured I could do it, and I did, but boy was it a chore. Every time I stopped sewing I had to re-thread my bobbin. I would get tension problems in the middle of a project. Basically it was an event to sew anything. I kept thinking I just did not know my machine.

When my mom sewed on my machine she had a lot of the same issues but she could correct them with ease. But even she said that it was annoying. So for the last 6 months I have been machine searching, yearning and drooling. I figure if I was going to do this I needed to do this right and invest in myself and my family.

My initial thought as Frugal B. was to have my sewing machine repaired. I took it to a local store, that of course sells machines, to get it looked at. I called first so I knew there was a $25 diagnostic fee. I dropped it off and couldn't help looking at the shiny new machines and asking questions. The machines ranged in price from $299 to $6,000, whooooooo nelly. I still entertained the salesmen/repair man and gave him my sewing resume. He encouraged me to look into the Janome 2011. Their price was $699 on sale for $599, pricey.

After extensive researched we found that the Janome was the best fit for my skill level and more importantly my pocketbook. Online the same machine was selling for $499 with free shipping, $100 savings. We also found another Janome dealer (30 miles away) that had the $499 with a trade in (any brand machine) and free lessons. The store I had gone to the promotion was no tax in the month of April, along with free sewing lessons for 1 year. I was torn, there was value in both options. So we did what we always do and just asked for them to match the price. Believe it or not they said yes but no lessons.

My husband went to pick up the machine with the CASH (more on that later). He was gone for about 30 minutes and I received a call from the store trainer. Calling to set up my one on one lessons. I was so confused, we weren't supposed to get the lessons. Well I told her that and she said that she was told to call me. That they wanted to offer them to me still (yay)!!!

Meet Abigail

Came with a hard case

50 stitches and an automatic button hole maker

I set up my introduction to the Janome 2011 for Monday, yes yesterday. But of course I couldn't wait. My husband brought her (yes her not it) Sunday at about 1pm and I had this done before 6pm (see below).It would have taken me days to do this on my old Singer, I am over joyed with our purchase. But even happier to know that it wasn't me, it was a machine.

~ The Space Where I Create ~

Finding a place to craft, sew, DIY, has been a bit difficult. While we have nooks and crannies that are not being used in our home I had dreams of having more. I didn't just want a Craft Corner, I wanted room to spread out, a place to display my creations, and still be in the mix with the rest of the family. With that criteria I had a few options.

Our loft, kid central in our house, it had room for me but I would need to be confined and be sure to put things up high. I considered the closet of my husbands office, it had a closed door and I could spread out after business hours, but it was closed off. I could have also used our room, it's huge, but I want that to be just our space. I really enjoy sewing but to see it before bed is a bit much for me.

Then it hit me, why not use the formal living room, no one else is. It is open to the dining room, so there is a table that I could craft on. It is open to the the family room and kitchen, and it looks out over the front yard, where the boys play basketball. It met all of my arbitrary well thought out needs. Since the space is open to the rest of the house and the first room seen when you enter our home I did have to hold back my desire to girly up the space. So this is what I came up with, it works for me so far.

~Frugal B. Defined~

I was a blog lurker (a good one too) before I began blogging, as I am sure many of other bloggers were. I could tell you what blog to go to for what without much thought. Just as some plan to watch a television show, I planned blog hopping. Which blog to got to daily, which blogs posted daily, bi-weekly or another schedule and who I would go to if I just needed some instructions.

During this time my husband was urging me to find my own blogging voice. He would say, "that great deal we found the other day, would be a good post". He would encourage me to take pictures of the things we were doing so that I could be inspired to share. While I wanted to take the plunge I was nervous of not having a voice, or my voice being lost. I had fears that no one would follow me, that I would be regurgitating what was already said.

Then I started to think about how many of my friends and family call us to find out how we did this or that, where they should look for that thing or the other, and the biggest question we got was "how much did YOU pay for that"? So I started feeling that this information was not just for others to view (people I don't know), but for me and the people I hold near and dear. If no one else followed, read, or watched, does it even matter.

I got down to business and decided that I needed to share our Frugal Finds, Frugal Saving, and Frugal Living.

~Frugal B. DEFINED~

~ A blog where you can get Frugal information no matter your budget

~ A blog that shows you can have what you always wanted, just CHEAPER

~ A blog that increases your knowledge

~ A blog that pushes you beyond your self imposed limits

~ A blog where you gain understanding of how much your time is worth

Linking to

~Temporary Fix - Now Permanent Solution~

When we bought our home 6 years ago I really wanted a kitchen that had all the bells and whistles. But as we began to prioritize our needs vs our wants that desire steadily moved down the list. At the time we purchased our home it was just the 3 of us, my husband, myself and Kamden. Now we both wanted a large family, hence the 2700 sq ft home with just us, but all we could conceive at the time was the need for space (neither of us came from large families we did not know any better). So the home with more space won out over the homes with more bells and whistles.

We began to tackle the kitchen 2 years ago. We started with the floor. We took out the linoleum and replaced it with tile. That was a J-O-B. It was such a job that we finished it and did not touch the kitchen again for 2 years. During that time we were pricing cabinets. Yes, we chose the builder grade, come with your house for "free"cabinets. With the idea that we were going to change them through an independent dealer, because we did not like the choices our builder had. Well we were in for a nice little surprise to find that cabinets were PRICEY!! So on to plan B, we were going to find some cabinets avoidably and put them in up by ourselves.

I dreamed of moving the cabinets we have now to the garage and the laundry room and getting deluxe black cabinets with pull out drawers and one touch closing. So we scoured Craigslist, looked for closeouts, all while planning our new layout. We found some great deals but again we were shocked with the price of granite counter tops (new cabinets meant we had to get new countertops), shoot the price of any counter tops. Now we are all for getting good stuff but it takes some time to save, plan, and search out the best deal for things. So I kept praying for a nice set of cabinets and a good deal on counter tops to come along at the same time.

Well, I got tired of waiting and I proposed painting the cabinets to the Hubby. Most times I have to talk him into things, this time was no different. I scoured blog land to find good examples of painted cabinets (he needed proof that it would work). I sent hime here, here, and here.Hubby got right on board with the plan to paint the cabinets. With the understanding that this was a temporary fix, to make me happy, until we could afford "the real thing". The only part he was not OK with was me painting them. He said that with 4 kids that the length of time it would take to do this right was going to impede on our family a bit much. While I strongly disagreed, I began pricing professional painters.

I started getting prices and first thought I was just reaching out to the wrong people but $3,000 was the cheapest I could find. Well Mr. Frugal B. was not down with that. So I gave up on finding somebody and started working on wearing down Hubby, to get this done I was going to need to roll up my sleeves and get to painting. I have painted our entire home and I think I do a pretty good job, but he was still leery. So I moved on to the next project, which was finding a finish carpenter to put in some box molding. I found a Carpenter on Craigslist that had a wonderful website with referrals and all, so I had him come out. So as he was measuring the wall for the box molding (yeah I am doing that myself), I asked him if he knew anyone that painted cabinets. Well, he said he could do it, asked me what I was looking for. I told him BLACK, and waited for shock. He said he had just completed a similar color with distressing for someone close and that he could give me their information so I could talk to them (he was super professional). So I waited for the price, which came the same evening (crazy right). He priced it at $600!!!!

So I was faced with another dilemma, how was I going to explain to my husband that I found a carpenter on Craigslist (of all places) that has given me a quote to paint our cabinets (spraying them) for less than a 1/3rd of other quotes, and have him take me seriously? Well, I talked him into it and this is what we got!

Sprayed Black Cabinets with a 4inch crown and a 1x4 turned lateral on the bottom. We love it!

~I am now in LOVE with the Temporary Fix ~

Homemade Laundry Detergent - Frugal Savings

With a family of 6, two still in diapers we are always looking to save a bit of $$$. But even more important is the health and welfare of my little one's. Each and every one of our children have had eczema. We have medicated cream to combat the dryness which their tinder fingers scratch to the point of bleeding at times. I have found that changing their diets helps a bit. But nothing has helped more than changing our laundry detergent.

After reviewing a few blogs and recipes I decided on this one. We are still using the same batch, it has been about a month. We would have gone through 2 of the store brand by this time. RECIPE - Cost - $8.43 The ingredients for this will make at least 5 batches. Yes, that is 8$ for over 3 months of washing. That's shaving about $15 - $25 off my grocery bill per month, depending on my coupon and sales.

Here is a pictorial of our process. We geared up for hard work and this was just about as easy as boiling water.

From Detergent

From Detergent

What ? - Time !

I had every intention in the world to post 3 days a week. I thought that it would be simple to do a craft take a few pics, spill my guts about how to, how it went, and share the cost. Well, reality set in. Life kept moving at warp speed and I have found myself doing a lot of the same while preusing blogland wishing I was doing all of the wonderful crafts I was eyeing.

Well I am happy to say I will craft this weekend. So I am going to share what I "plan" on doing this weekend in hopes it will hold me accountable!!! Yay!

Hair Bows - Becoming Classy and Sophisticated & Here

Crib Sheet - Tutorial from MADE

From Frugal B

Tooth Fairy Pillow - Sew Mama Sew

(My Davis Lost His Tooth So I told him the tooth fairy will bring more if we make a pillow)

Pillow with Ties - Make it Love it

See you Monday& I hope I get it all done!!!

I want a, DSLR?

From Frugal B

I consider myself to be "Techy". I know about TVs, computers, car stereos, home theater systems cell phones..... But, there was one item I never researched, cared about, or even thought about....The Camera.

It all started with blogging. My wife, Mrs. Frugal B advised me she wanted to start blogging and take nice photos to place on her blog (we all know it's all about the pictures). I had no idea about the ins and outs of cameras, the aperture, shutter speed, and flash. I thought, just get a camera and "point and shoot", the camera does everything else. Well after looking over her shoulder a bit while she viewed blog after blog, my interest PEEKED.

So I started my own research. First thing on the agenda was which brand to buy.

There are a ton of models of DSLR camera's. Kodak, Sony, Olympus, Pentax and so forth, but the big "Apple" and "Microsoft" of the group would be Canon and Nikon. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the other brands. It's just this -I'm a guy and it matters to me.

So for months we (really me) have researched and stalked a number of models from both Nikon and Canon. I talked to everyone I saw with a camera and went to every store in our area that sold them. What I found is between these two brands it comes down to a personal choice on which brand to go with. It was all about comfort.

From Frugal B

Above are two comparable models, Nikon D3100 and Canon T2i. Notice how button placement is different. Seems small but it was a huge difference maker. Also check weight, imagine holding X lbs around your neck and in your hand for hours and X lbs. Might not be a difference maker but just a thought.So at this point there were many comparables. So I moved to picture quality. Again, not much difference (remember I am a novice) until mirrors, lenses and sensors were explained to me.

This portion was explained to me I am regurgitating

Canon has been one of the leaders in the DSLR camera business because of a small but important part of the camera, called the sensor, to be exact the cmos sensor. Canon had the patent on the sensor until recently, now Nikon uses the same sensor. The mirrors and lenses are great on both the models I was looking at so I was still undecided. UNTIL...I starting pricing.

Everything up to this point is about personal choice. Again I am not a photographer and this is very very new to me so this portion was the driving force. How do I get everything I want, Mrs. Frugal B wants at the best price. To me it is all about getting the best product (Canon or Nikon) for the least amount possible. Now to a pro DSLR's have become much more affordable, but the price was still scary. So we initially purchased the Nikon P100 (top of the line point and shoot), however we were still not happy (so we returned it) and went back to the drawing board. I resumed my stalking, it almost always pays off, and boy did it!

While eating lunch at Costco ($1.50 hot dog & chips) I saw the Nikon D3100. Now this camera was not carried by Costco normally, I literally bumped into a display that had a bunch on it. Price $699 (not for the faint of heart). We had been saving for this purchase and had the $$$ but we try to avoid paying sticker price (bet you thought that term was reserved for cars), not to mention the 24 hour rule (no purchases over $100 without sleeping on it). Then it hit me, hhgregg has a 110% beat the competition policy. So I took the camera box and the Costco ad over to hhgregg along with a 30% off coupon (yes I said coupon). With 40% off the camera price the Nikon D3100 won hands-down.

Not as scientific as you thought.

We purchased the;

Nikon D3100 with a 18-55mm Zoom VR Lens &

55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR DX Zoom Lens.

DSLR Camera Bag

4gb Memory Card

JACK POT

This picture was taken in our back yard by an Ameture Photographer

that I found on Craigslist.

Sometimes when you wonder around on other blogs you find the exact thing that you were looking for, but did not know it. As you have read in this previous post that I have been on the hunt for a affordable and easy to use SLR camera. I have been searching and researching for months now, but have yet to take the plunge for a plethora of reasons. One big reason was I was just OVERWHELMED with all there was to know and learn about the cameras, let alone taking good or great pictures.


I had already decided that when I did shell out all of the $$$ I would be utilizing ThePioneerWomans photography assignments to aide in the learning process. But then I found Me Ra Koh Potography website and Blog, can you say, JACK POT. She is all about empowering Mom's (yes that's me) to pick up a camera. I also found iheartfaces, and what do they have, yep, free tutorials and tips.

Now I just need a camera and some time.