Highlight Your Tan with a Sexy Ankle Bracelet!

Summer is just around the corner and young women everywhere are heading to the tanning bed or the beach to get a summer tan. Show off that gorgeous tan and your new bikini with a flirty ankle bracelet!

I have listed three new anklets in my shop this week and will be adding more in the next few weeks. Stop by and take a look!

Cheap and Cheerful Wedding Venues to Explore

When planning a wedding, one of the first things you need to think about is where you want to get married. As you check around, you may be surprised to see the high cost of the most popular wedding venues - especially during peak wedding months! With prices like these, you might be wondering if you'll be able to have the wedding you have been dreaming of without blowing your budget. 

Try taking a more creative approach and explore these cheap wedding venues; you will find that there are several cheerful and cheap wedding venues to choose from and one of them is sure to suit your dream wedding!
 
Need more frugal wedding ideas?

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Setting a Realistic Wedding Budget

Setting a Realistic Wedding Budget

You have dreamed about your wedding day since you were a child. You might have envisioned fairy tale dresses, plush limousines, hundreds of your closest friends and family members, and dancing until dawn. After all, this is your special day and you want to give your new life the best start you can.

Now that it's approaching, reality is setting in. You know you deserve all of your dreams, but perhaps you're not sure just how you'll pay for them. You could max out your credit cards, but starting your married life deeply in debt doesn't sound so romantic. You need to set a budget.

Setting a realistic wedding budget doesn't mean you need to forget the fairy tale. It simply means you need to prioritize and plan how you will spend your money. That way you will be able to afford the things that are most important to you. And you will be able to start your married life without unnecessary, burdensome debt.

Begin setting your budget by setting your priorities. You have a vision of what you want your wedding to look like. But it's time to take a more realistic approach. Decide which of the items you want to include are must haves, which are optional, and which would just be nice to have, but you could do without if you needed to.

Determine how much you can spend. How much money do you have saved for your wedding? How much will you be able to save before the big day? It's important to be honest about how much you really can afford. That will help you avoid a lot of problems and conflicts as you plan your wedding, and ensure that you don't create additional stress by running out of money too soon.

Decide how much you will spend on each area. Now that you know your priorities, and you know how much you have to spend, you can decide how much money you will spend on each area of your wedding. One way to organize this is to create a notebook sheet for each expense, such as dress, flowers, invitations, and write down your budget for that area.

Budget for the unexpected. As carefully as you plan, you may still have some unexpected expenses. If you overspend in one area, remember you'll have to make up for it by spending less on something else.

Be creative. There are many ways you can cut down on the high cost of a beautiful wedding. Perhaps you can make homemade wedding invitations so you can spend more money on your wedding dress. Do you have a friend who loves to cook for a crowd? Maybe she would like to help prepare the wedding feast. You can even rent your wedding dress, if you need to cut down in that area and spend more on others.

Setting a realistic wedding budget doesn't mean you can't have the wedding you always dreamed of. It is only a means of making it affordable so you can enjoy your day, without worrying about how much it cost.

Get the Holly&Sage News!

My first newsletter is going out tomorrow! If you still haven't signed up for it, it's not too late!   

Why do you want it?  

Once a month (no more - I don't want to wear out my welcome!) you will get:

• news of what is going on at my Etsy shops, Holly&Sage and Restashable
• insights into my creative process and my studio
• tutorials for recycling old stuff into awesome handmade things (like button bracelets and felted wool coasters) 
• news of shop sales and promotional coupon codes for discounts or free shipping on orders

New Buttons Galore!

I have acquired a lot of great new buttons and am now in the process of listing many new button bracelets at Holly&Sage! 

These bracelets are a unique finishing touch for casual outfits - light-weight, and fun to wear! They are even washable!

In celebration of Spring, I have made bracelets in pretty spring colors: sweet pastels and natural earth and flower tones.

Want to make a button bracelet yourself?

If you are feeling creative and have some unused buttons laying around in a drawer somewhere (who doesnt!) learn how to make your very own button bracelet here! (If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.)

DIY Handmade Envelopes From Recycled Paper

When my Etsy shop started generating sales, I wanted to find a unique and clever way to package my items.

I  also wanted to include an invoice, business card, and a jewelry care  sheet. I thought that a sweet little envelope would be just the ticket  for enclosing these things.

I considered (for about a  minute) looking for some on Etsy  to buy, and then I stopped myself,  thinking: "Wait a minute! I can  make envelopes! Why would I buy them  from someone else!!??"

So I did.

At first I used some scrapbook paper that I had laying around (I don't scrapbook - that is one more expensive and time-consuming hobby I don't need to start!!)

Then I started noticing beautiful pictures in  catalogs and magazines that would make pretty envelopes, so I started using those, too.

That led me to the realization that pages from old children's books and road atlases would make wonderful envelopes, too, so I made some of those!

This concept of using something that would otherwise be thrown away or sit in an attic box getting dusty is a common theme in my life. I have always prided myself on my quirky creativeness. I have more ideas of things to repurpose lots of things at Frugal Living Now.

You can make these, too - it is not very hard if you know how.

All you need is:

 

• paper - something pretty with a nice 'heft' to it (not too thin); at least 8 x 11 inches 
• scissors
• permanent glue stick
• marker or pen
• an envelope to use as a pattern

Steps:

• open your pattern envelope at the seams carefully
• lay it on a piece of paper and trace around it with the pen or marker
• cut out your envelope
• fold it up and glue it
• let it dry thoroughly before using 

 
 That's it! You have transformed what was once waste into a cute envelope! 

Here are some ideas for using it:

• Send a note to a friend that hasn't heard from you in a while
• Use your computer to make a birthday card for a family member and send it in your handmade envelope
• Put a sweet little note in your kid's lunchbox to brighten his/her day
• Write a love note to your sweetheart and leave it in his briefcase/car/underwear drawer

Have fun!!

Leftovers Recipe: Introducing The Leftovers Gourmet!!

The last thing I need is another project, I know this, but...

I just can't help myself - I love coming up with mouth-watering ways to use leftovers!  And of course I  want to share them. This is the age of sharing our lives on the internet, you know? So I am going to share them here. I am not going to promise on a specific schedule, but I am going to aim for weekly.

My first recipe is stuffed peppers from leftover spaghetti sauce. I had about 2 cups of spaghetti sauce with meat left over from two days ago, and this is what I came up with for it:

Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 large bell peppers - green, red, orange or yellow (I used one each red, green and yellow)
• 2 or more cups of spaghetti sauce, leftover or not
• 1 cup cous cous or rice
• Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top (optional)

Cook the cous cous or rice according to package directions. 

Meanwhile, wash the peppers, cut them in half longways and remove the seeds and membrane. 

Rub the peppers with olive oil (I pour a little oil in my hand and rub it all over the peppers with my hands), put them in an oiled baking dish, cover with foil and make at 350 for about 10 minutes until they are partially cooked.

When the cous cous or rice is done, add the spaghetti sauce into the pan with it and mix them well. Let it remain on the stove until it is heated through, stirring occasionally. The sauce I used was chunky with lots of ground beef, tomatoes and carrots. You can use any kind, though.

Take the peppers out of the oven and fill them with the sauce and cous cous mixture. Top each one with Parmesan cheese, if you like.

Re-cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes longer to brown.

Take them out and let them cook for 5 minutes or so before serving.


Add salad and bread to make a scrumptious dinner!!


(Dang! I forgot to take a picture of them! Well, next time!)

I have lots more ideas for using leftovers at my site, Frugal Living Now. Check it out! 
Or leave a comment about it here.

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