Saturday 31 January 2015

Corturnix Quail Farming


I just got 4 coturnix quail and 19 fertilized quail eggs to begin my exciting quail farming adventure. I can't wait to see my eggs hatch and I also can't wait to eat some of my fantastic eggs! I thought I would share some of the stuff I have been studying lately just in case you were thinking quail farming could be something you would want to do. They are perfect for those living in small spaces. Here are a few interesting findings:




Today is day 1 of my 20 days til hatch time so I will update as things go on and as we build our quail hutch.

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Valentine's Day Treats


Valentine's Day is creeping up fast and the fastest way to anyone's heart is through their tummy. It's time to choose your favorite sweet treats to give your valentine, your kids class, your neighbors, as well as anyone else who matters. Here is a selection of my favorite sweet treats:

What are some of your favorite Valentine's treats? 

Friday 23 January 2015

Spencer & Ivy Coloring Placemats Review & Giveaway


My kids love to color, it is a great way to express their creativity and relax after a long day. I have so much of their art work saved into scrapbooks it's crazy. I have heard that some parents take photos of their kids art work that way they can save it without taking up a lot of space, neat idea considering I have 3 lifetimes to consider that will be full of art work.

Now about Spencer & Ivy. This wonderful company was founded by Nicole Conner, who is a mother of a beautiful little girl. Nicole's goal is to enrich the lives of parents and children by creating products that nurture your child's creativity and bring parents and children closer together. She has some pretty awesome products that I urge you to take a peek at.


These great little placemats are truly a gem, they are double sided with one full color picture and a blank slate for your little one to go Picasso on. When your little one is ready to start over simply run the mat under water and it rinses off, dry and start all over. Both sides can be colored and erased so there is no limit to creativity.


Another great feature is how portable they are, have you ever sat in a restaraunt and had crazy kids getting impatient waiting to be served? I have had this happen even at friends and families houses so now if I want to keep my monsters occupied I simply roll up their mats, wrap with a rubber band, and tuck it in our bag with the markers.


The mats are created with rounded corners so we don't have wee ones poking their eyes out, trust me it is possible. The mats are also infused with a substance called Micro-ban to prevent growth of bacteria! These mats would make amazing gifts and come packaged so neatly they are ready for their journey to the next Easter, Valentine's, Birthday, etc.


Now time for the giveaway! Spencer & Ivy have teamed up with me to give you guys a chance to win 2 sets of 2 placemats and markers valued at $50! You could win 1 Rocket & Race Cars Set and 1 Butterfly & Birds Set! 

Saturday 17 January 2015

Lovable Labels Valentine Sweet Notes


Valentines Day is approaching quickly and all the little ones are very excited to give and receive cards. If you want to stand out from the crowd this year why not order a set or two of Valentine Sweet Notes from Lovable Labels! They are personalized and super cute, as well as very affordable. They are only $5 for a pack of 8. 

These sweet little darlings are only available until Febuary 14 2015 so get them while you can! They have some adorable designs to choose from just take a peek by clicking here! And don't forget while your there to grab some other awesome labels, you can never have too many labels!

Now imagine paring these along side those sweet little cards to all your friends and family! Get instructions here!


Or try paring them with any of these 23 no bake valentines treats! Click here to see them all!


Don't forget to enter my giveaway from Babyville Boutique you could win $50 worth of Babyville products in either boy, girl, or neutral colors, you choose! Enter here!

Friday 16 January 2015

Babyville Boutique Review & Giveaway!


Babyville Boutique is a company that creates the best fabric, embellishments, ribbons, and so much more for all of your cloth diaper DIY's. But that is not all you can create with Babyville's amazing products, the possibilities are endless and you can see much of it on their blog, Facebook page, Pinterest page as well as their website.


I personally love their new camo fabric and ribbon, I used mine to give my purse a makeover and I think it looks awesome! Not only does it look terrific but it is now more durable.



These are the products I received and I am super excited to create more amazing projects with them. My next project is going to be a wet bag for my kids wet clothes when we are out and about. Whether it be an accident during potty training or a trip back from swimming a wet bag is a great idea! Instructions for this and more click here

I love these adorable projects like these no sew headbands! Click here for instructions!


 These blocks are so adorable and are so easy to make. For instructions click here!
 For more awesome projects like these ones and to buy all of your project materials visit Babyville Boutique! And now for the giveaway!


Thursday 15 January 2015

Leftover Chocolate Chunk Cookies & Cute Valentine Idea



I love when we have a ton of leftover chocolate from the holidays. The best thing to do with it is make cookies or muffins, it makes nice cake decor if you grate it into shavings to. I am trying to use up everything I have in my cupboards this month so I am making some delicious cookies today.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

  •  3/4 cup butter or margarine
  •  1 cup packed light brown sugar
  •  1/2 cup granulated sugar
  •  1 tsp vanilla
  •  2 eggs
  •  2 cups all-purpose flour
  •  1 tsp baking soda
  •  1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chopped chocolate

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350°F .
  2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until creamy.
  3.  In medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
  4.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
 Valentines Day is coming up fast and the best way to save money on valentines treats is to make them yourself. So if you start now you will be in great shape. I love the idea of giving something other then candy any store bought cards it just makes it so much more heart felt and special. I also love the fact of getting a healthy snack instead of candy. So here is what I will be making:


Monday 12 January 2015

Homemade Craft Supplies



I was taking a look at my craft supply today only to realize I am running low and need to restock, the problem is I don't want to spend a bunch of money. So what do you do? Well the best thing to do is to make your own supplies. Here are a few of my go to craft recipes:

Paper Mache Paste


  • 1 litre of water
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup white glue
1. In a saucepan bring the water to a boil and then remove from heat. Stir in the salt and then begin adding the flour a little bit at a time. Stir constantly to prevent clumping, once it is completely combined add in the glue. 

2. Let cool and use when ready. Now you can make a pinata or decorations of any kind. Store leftover paste in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Paper Glue

  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 3 cups water
  • 4 tbsp corn syrup
  • 2 teaspoons vinegar
1. Mix and cook 1/2cup cornstarch, 1 1/2 cups water, syrup and vinegar over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens. 

2. In a separate bowl stir together remaining 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup water. Combine with the heated mixture. Use when cooled, this glue is perfect for almost any craft and when you have no glue whip up a batch of your own for next to nothing. 

Fingerpaints

  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 6 small plastic containers with lids
  • Food Coloring
1. In a small saucepan combine the cornstarch and water. Bring to a boil over high heat stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. 

2. Divide mixture among the six containers and add food coloring to each one. Stir until the colors are combined, bright and ready for paper!


Swagbucks Collectors Bills


Swagbucks' celebration of the New Year continues with a set of exclusive "New Year. New You" Collector's Bills. They're a set of five unique Swag Buck bills that you win exclusively through their Search feature. Starting January 12th and running through January 19th, if you win all five bills, you'll get a bonus of 15 Swag Bucks automatically added to your account.

If you want to track which bills you've won, just go to the "My Swag Bucks" area of your account and click on the "Collector's Bills" tab.

Quick tip: If you default your browser's search engine to Swagbucks, you won't miss any opportunities to earn those bills!

If you haven't joined Swagbucks yet, click here to start earning free gift cards.

Friday 9 January 2015

10 Small Ways To Save Money for Emergencies



I would like to start 2015 by making sure my family is financially comfortable in case of an emergency. I do not have a huge income by any means but we make do with what we have but if an emergency should happen to come up we would be in a world of hurt. So I want to try and save at least a months worth of bill payments and food money so if anything comes up we would be OK until we figured out a solution. 

The first step is calculating how much you need to save. You want to cover:

  • 1 months rent or mortgage
  • 1 month of utilities
  • 1 month transportation 
  • 1 month food 
  • a bit extra just in case
Those are the most important things to cover just in case you lose your job, are victim of an accident whether it be a fire, earthquake, flood, or robbery, or anything else makes a huge change in your life that alters your income or income potential. So add all of those things up and find out what is your savings goal? Just to be safe I am going to say $2000 is what we would need to stay a float for one month. Now to begin a saving plan.

There are some small steps you can take to begin saving and here are my favorites:
  • Save all spare change at the end of the day in a jar (every bit counts)
  • Take on any extra jobs you can (babysitting, overtime, dog walking)
  • Do surveys on trusted survey sites ( I have an excellent article here)
  • Sell any unused or unwanted valuables (gold goes for a pretty penny)
  • Create a budget and stick to it!
  • Begin meal planning.
  • Cut back on anything that is unnecessary (extra cable channels, subscriptions, phone features)
  • Begin conserving energy usage, water usage, and try portion control (save money when you cant cut the service or area completely) *Check my frugal tips page for ideas*
  • Stop eating out, at least until you have met your savings goal.
  • Look for inspiration and realize you can do it! Reading money saving books and websites during my free time really helps me to think of more ways I can save and reach my goals. It also helps time fly by when you feel like your never going to reach your goal. Reading is a great way to entertain yourself and save money and if you have kids you can begin teaching them how to help and begin their own savings goals.

Thursday 8 January 2015

Raccoons Brutally Murdered My Birds!


Raccoons are nasty animals that will slaughter your pets at any given chance. We have lost 3 out of 5 birds this winter because raccoons sneak up and snatch them at night. I would not be as  angry at these greedy animals if they didn't leave such a brutal murder scene in my backyard. 

As the sun went down last night we went to put the birds to bed only to find one of my ducks was decapitated and laying in front of the run, I could here scurrying in the bushes so I grabbed my remaining birds and ran inside. Not knowing what I was dealing with I settled my birds with some fresh water and left them inside while I investigated what was out there. I shined the spotlight we had on the trees and this is the image that was staring back at me:


I am not impressed that this big beast was so sneaky and was able to rip my poor duck apart. The sun had barely begun to go down when this nasty creature took the life of my duck so be careful and keep a close eye on your flock! I am now going to get some traps and distinguish this problem so I can get some new members of my flock. Trapper hats anyone?

Wednesday 7 January 2015

Awesome Groupon Items!


Saving money is one of the most important things for many of us, between that and trying to live a good life it gets challenging being able to treat yourself or others when you have a small budget. That is why I use Groupon. Groupon can get you discounts of 75% and sometimes higher on some pretty great things, trips, food, clothes, toys, and more. We all need to spend money on enriching our lives but nobody said they had to pay full price to do it. Here are a few of my favorite deals on right now:

https://www.groupon.com/visitor_referral/h/574703cd-1018-42e0-9dc1-ae3899dc66be 
These stunning studs are Swarovski Crystals that are regular prices at $200 but if you buy them through Groupon they are only $19.99. You get all 3 pairs at that price!

And these awesome remote controlled helicopter guys. These would be so much fun to play with and if you have a little guy that likes Batman or Superman these would make the best gift! They are regularly $80 but when you use Groupon they are only $34.99!

 
This is the best deal on the site right now! For only $6.99 you can get a custom metal photo print that is normally $69.95 that is over 90% off! I am buying one right away and I suggest you do the same, it is not very often you can score an item under $10 that is usually $70! Plus this is something you will have forever! Get your Groupon by clicking here!

Saturday 3 January 2015

Free Kindle Reading App!


Reading is such a terrific hobby. I enjoy sitting back and reading all kinds of different things from cooking, gardening, saving money, drama, mystery, and more! Getting lost in a book is such a great way to unwind and if you are an avid reader you know this already, what you may not know is that Amazon offers a free Kindle app you can use on your PC, tablet, smartphone, etc. 

I personally do not have one of those reading tablet gadgets so I have the Kindle app on my laptop so I can download my books and read them on my PC. I enjoy it because the nooks you get for it are so cheap and you can get a lot of them for free as well. 

You’ll have access to over 1 million* books in the Kindle Store, including best sellers and new releases. Amazon’s Whispersync technology automatically syncs your furthest page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across all your devices that have the Kindle app installed and across any Kindle device. That means you can start reading on one device and pick up where you left off on another device.



  • Buy once, read everywhere. If you buy a book and have it saved in your Kindle account you can read that book on any device, anywhere. Sign in with an Amazon account, and sync Kindle books across all your devices that have the Kindle app installed across any Kindle device.
  • Search inside the book to find a topic, character, or section you want to visit.
  • Pin Kindle books from your Kindle library to the Windows Start screen for instant access to your favorites.
  • Start reading in seconds. Your Kindle book downloads while you read.
  • Shop the Kindle Store for over 1 million* Kindle books, including new releases and best sellers.
  • Customize your reading experience by choosing the background color, font size, and number of reading columns.
  • Highlight, take notes, and add bookmarks in any book. Look up word definitions and listen to how they are pronounced.
  • * Selection and price of Kindle books in the Kindle Store vary by country.