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Sunday, December 30, 2012

New Year, New Nails

First off I'd like to thank everybody that participated in my first giveaway! It was a huge success with over 800 entries and hopefully I can keep them going with the help of sponsors and participants!!

Venique Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you run a business or make custom products and would like to be promoted through one of my giveaways please send me an email @ wifeyofamarine@gmail.com so we can the ball rolling! 

Saturday, December 29, 2012

A Mug FULL of Love!

So today Chris and I were lazy.
I mean really lazy. We spent an extra 2 hours in bed this morning, barely made ourselves breakfast, just laid on the couch and watched TV. After rounding up the motivation to actually get up, get dressed, and go out to lunch, (we went to Panera, it was drool-worthy) we decided we needed to do something fun.

I've been on my Pinterest more and more these past few months because, its the "holiday season" and lets be honest, everybody wants to be that crafty person that sends out homemade gifts to everybody, and saves a bunch of money by doing it! 

I pinned so much Christmas crap. I don't even like Christmas except for the day of! I didn't do A SINGLE PROJECT I pinned.... I'm so ashamed!

So Today Chris and I decided we wanted to be crafty and make each other decorated mugs!! 

It's super easy & ours turned out really cute! I actually cried when he showed me the one he made, apparently my hormones are through the roof!



What you need:
  • Oven
  • Ceramic mug, cup or plate, whatever you want to decorate (you can find them at Dollar Tree, or a bargain store, we got ours at Big Lots!)
  • Sharpies!
  • A little bit of creativity
 What you do:

Draw, write, decorate anywhere you want on the mug, other than than the inside!! (I'm not sure if its safe!)  Chris and I didn't really decide on a theme or anything we just went at them!

When  you're done, just pop them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, I put ours on a cookie sheet!

WAHLA! or VOILA! if you want to be gramatically correct about it!

You now have, custom mugs! They are dishwasher and microwave safe and the color shouldn't fade or wear off anymore than a regular cup would!

Here's how ours turned out! :]


So this ^^ is the mug I made Chris, I was aiming for cute, and sentimental, I left the personal stuff out!


So this is the mug Chris made me! I think his is better than mine because its covered in  a bunch of stuff that's relevant to what we've been doing the last couple months. I cried when he gave it to me! As you can tell I may or may not have a twitter problem, as you can tell by him including my @ name and the # hashtag descriptions. ;]



I love how Chris wrote all over mine! And its all things that have been relevant to us recently! I tried to mix my almost artistic skills with writing! Chris said, AND I QUOTE "That was way more fun than I thought it would be!" And we basically decided that from now on every Year anniversary we're going to make each other mugs! So when we're old and decrepit & living off tea and cakes together we can reminisce on our Golden Days as a couple, through the mugs we made each other!

Along with anniversary gifts, these would make great presents for grandparents from grandkids, Christmas Presents or a fun birthday party activity!

Did you make mugs with your Significant Other or Children after reading this? How did they turn out!
Have you done another Pinterest Project with your SO that you'd like to share?




Friday, December 14, 2012

My First Giveaway

Nothing makes me feel prettier than having my nails freshly painted! I'm a HUGE OPI fan and I have definitely fallen in love with their newest colors based around the Skyfall James Bond Movie (which I haven't seen yet! NO SPOILERS!) Sooo I thought I'd give all you amazing followers and readers a chance to try them out for FREE with a few extra goodies, so I officially launched my first giveaway earlier today! Enter to win, and be sure to share it with your friends, the more people that enter the better the next giveaway will be. :D 

To enter the giveaway, Click Here!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Saturday, December 8, 2012

10 Ways to Save Money

Be Realistic
Be realistic with yourself while shopping. Is it within the Budget? Is it something I want, or something I need?

Example: 
I want a new Honda Accord Crosstour ($32,000)
BUT,
The Honda I have gets 10 more miles to the gallon, I can fix it and do maintenance on it myself, and unfortunately  we're still paying it off. 
The benefits of my current car outweight those of buying a new one. Especially because buying a new car would put us in more debt.

Want to know more about how budgeting works? Click Here!

Coupons & Price Matching
The majority of stores, especially ones that sell food stuffs, accept coupons, including the Commissary.   Walmart has a wonderful price matching policy, you don't have to bring proof, you just have to tell your cashier when you're checking out. 

Our Sunday paper is $2 a week, On average I can get $10 worth of savings out of one paper. If you subtract the cost of the paper that's $8 saved, which could buy just about any 2 tall drinks from Starbucks! If you save $8 every two weeks that will pay for a pedicure every month!

To read about my Not-So-Crazy Couponing Methods Click Here!

Specialty Products
The Philips Norelco Face Shaver, can save hundered of dollars a year if your man has to shave 5 days a week. Check out my research and reasons why its a good investment Here!

My Emergency Mini-Generator has saved me a ton of money on calling a tow company to jump start my car when I leave my headlight on over night and drain my battery (just about every other day) It's also a great thing to have in case your power goes out!

Carpet Shampooer will save you money on getting your upholstery and carpet cleaned. Cleaning your carpets regularly can help them last up to 3 time longer as well as make sure you get your security deposit back if you're renting.

Hair Care
Cut your husbands & sons hair yourself. Men in the military have to get their haircut at least once a week. Invest in a good pair of clippers, and learn to do it yourself, the clippers will pay themselves off at least twice, and will last years if you maintain them correctly.

If you don't want to risk making your man shave his head, at least remember to use the haircuts as a tax write-off! 
(it's considered part of their uniform, so be sure to keep the reciepts!)

If you color your hair regularly, try going to a private stylist, one that styles hair in their home or will come to you, or try a beauty school in  your area. They're generally cheaper than a full service salon.

Car Maintenance
If you can do it yourself, easily and without damaging your vehicle, DO IT!
Most cars produced before the year 1999 are fairly simple to work on, do some research online or visit your local auto parts store for more information. (Or e-mail me, I might be able to help point you in the right direction)

Recycle for $$$
Ever looked on the side of a drink bottle and seen CA CRV .05 ?
That means that at certain venues that bottle is worth 5 cents. Most pop bottles and plastic and glass drink containers are worth anywhere from 5-25 cents. It may not seem like a lot but if you just put it in a jar after you trade it in, it'll add up faster than you thought. 


Thrift Shop & Buy Used Products   
There are a ton of websites out there where you can sell used goods and purchase them
I am always lurking on these sites to see what people are giving away. Especially when you live near a base! People are constantly moving across the country or back to their home state, they don't want to move a ton of stuff, so they sell it
I've recently purchase through Bookoo.com and found:
  $5 for a Bissell Vacuum (Retail $50+): $45 in savings all it needed was a new filter ($4.99)
$50 for a Bissell Pro Heat Carpet Shampooer (Retail $150+): $100+ in savings all we had to do was dust it off and buy shampoo for it ($11.99)

And you can find so much more! 
If you know of another site like these, please let me know so I can add it! 

Consignment stores are becoming more and more popular be sure to check and see if these are in your area 

If you know of another store like these, please let me know so I can add it!  

Read more about my Thrifting Tips and tricks click Here!

Military & Student Discounts 
Always ask if the place you're shopping offers discounts!
Always show your Military or Student I.D. sometimes you don't have to ask.
Shop online when the website offers specific discounts.
Ask your bank if they have Military or Student accounts that would benefit you.

For links to websites and stores that offer mMilitary discounts click Here!

Commissary and X-change
Use coupons!
Check their websites for specials regularly.
Participate in the Commissary Rewards Program and Subscribe to the Xchange Savings Emails

To see how I save extra while taking advantage of their awesome prices click Here!

Make it Yourself
You don't have to be a Crafting Goddess to make someone a gift, and you don't have to be a Pro Chef to make an awesome homemade dinner. Learning to make things yourself and to cook from scratch are to very valuable talents. You could save so much money, making a birthday cake at home versus paying $25 to have it made at a bakery. Save money by having a nice dinner at home instead of spending the big bucks on a fancy restaurant.

To see some of my favorite DIY tutorials click Here!
To find an awesome recipe for dinner click Here!  
          
Stay tuned for the rest of this almost-a-series on how to save money :D