Cheap is the New Black

cheapisthenewblack — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:48:40 +0000

IT’s FINALLY HERE…..

Check this out and then file it under “awesome”

www.craftyisthenewblack.com

Posted in 1

Working on my NEW site

cheapisthenewblack — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:48:42 +0000

Hi all, Sorry it’s been SO long! I am furiously working away to get my new site up and running. I will post when we are transitioning. Thanks for your patience!

Posted in 1

Recycling crayons

cheapisthenewblack — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:33:29 +0000

If your house is anything like mine, there are about a trillion bits of crayons, deemed unusable by a slightly OCD toddler , stuffed in corners or hiding out under the kitchen table. While I understand the beauty of a pointy tipped and fresh from the box crayon, I simply can’t, in good conscience, throw the little things away. They are, after all, petroleum based. They are also, after all, NOT CHEAP. So here’s the solution; break them in to little bits, melt them down in the oven (180 degrees for 15 minutes) in little muffin tins and sell them to said OCD toddle as “magic coloring disks.” This is plausible as they do color in all different colors. Beware that some toddlers (like Tiny P’s little bf Ry-Ry) may think they are delicious looking biscuits and attempt to eat them. I’m sure this is not recommended.

Posted in general cheapness, kids, misc. crafts

A great (and cheap) kiddie birthday present

cheapisthenewblack — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:53:07 +0000

I made this with two 14′x 30″ scraps of fabric, some bias tape, and $2 worth of craft supplies. It’s about the right size for a 2-3 year old. I’d put the over all cost at about $5 and 1 hour of time. I’ll stop short of saying that a monkey could put this thing together but it was not at all difficult. I’ll be writing up a pattern and tutorial soon…stay tuned.

Posted in sewing Tagged: homemade art smock, kids art apron, toddler art apron

my first try at the ubiquitous kimono baby bootie pattern

cheapisthenewblack — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:43:41 +0000

I’ve seen this pattern EVERYWHERE but, alas, when I wanted to actually try it I couldn’t find the pattern anywhere. I had to kind of wing it. They are a little puckered at the toe but cute enough for a first try.

Posted in kids, sewing Tagged: handmade baby bootie, kimono baby bootie, trendy baby bootie

Hey! I “made a buck!”

cheapisthenewblack — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:03:34 +0000

As you all know, I’m crafty as all get out. That being said, I’ve never considered myself to be super good, you know, money makin’ good at any of my assorted crafting ventures. I mostly give stuff away as gifts. Lately, I’ve done a few custom nursery paintings for friends and, just this past month someone actually asked to “commission” me for a painting for her soon to be daughter’s nursery!!! Whooohoooo! I was really nervous but ended up being very happy with the result and so was my “customer.” I made $100!!! Awesome. That will pay for Tiny P’s art themed birthday party. Yea! I’m a financial contributor to the household once more!

Posted in kids, misc. crafts Tagged: baby monogram, baby painting, custom painting, fairy nursery, monogram painting, nursery painting

Life without TV

cheapisthenewblack — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:55:30 +0000

So, in the interest of a) saving money and b) improving our personal productivity, Big B and I decided to ditch the cable. This saves us approximately $1000 a year and just as many hours in time NOT spent mindlessly flipping between CSI reruns (damn you Grisham!) and HGTV (hey, let’s retile the kitchen ourselves…this weekend!) till all hours of the night. It’s been three days and we have watched all of our must have shows online (Lost, The Daily Show, 30 rock) and spent a lot of time huddled around the NPR playing radio for warmth- all for free! Other than that, I have finished numerous half done sewing projects, logged a few hours doing crossword puzzles and started two new books (from the library, of course) The days feel longer (in a good way) and calmer. Gone are the mornings spent transfixed by four minute “doggy fashion show” segments after four minute “fad diets. Which ones work?” segments on the Today show. Ahhh, I feel my attention span lengthening already!

Posted in general cheapness, ruminations Tagged: get rid of tv, no television, no tv

dog show people are odd but, hey, it’s free…

cheapisthenewblack — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:01:40 +0000

I was scouring the internet for something to take a restless toddler to the other day. Now, I had no intention of paying $10 to take her to one of those fancy indoor play places not did I want to take an 85th trip this month to PetSmart (the “free zoo” as I like to call it.) I stumbled upon a dog agility trial that was going on at our local event center. Well, Tiny P ADORES the canines and it was free so we packed up our snacks and headed out. Though it was listed on a “things to do with kids” website, we were the only kid there. Tiny P LOVED watching the doggies jump through the hoops and run over ramps etc. Her cuteness was in full display as she quietly said “Wow!” and “up! down!” as the wonderdogs did their thing. I will say that people paid her cuteness no attention, often shooting me weird glances as if to say “You kid people are so weird.” I quickly tired of this and took to people watching-my favorite past time. I noticed an abundance of t-shirts that read things like “Border Collies do it faster” and ” North Omberlin Chihuahua Agility Training or N.O.C.A.T.” tucked in to sweatpants, accented with well worn fanny packs. We strolled the “vendor corner” to find that you can have your doggies likeness custom etched into a commemorative plate or paperweight while you wait! It was awesome. To top of the frugal fiesta, they were selling hotdogs, hamburgers, fries etc for a dollar! Now, THAT’S what I call an afternoon.

Posted in general cheapness, kids, ruminations Tagged: free kid activities, free kid entertainment, toddler outings

Everyone is jumping on the Cheap Bandwagon

cheapisthenewblack — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:30:40 +0000

Let me note that they use the phrase “frugality is the new black” in the third paragraph. Hmmmm

Posted in 1 Tagged: cheap, frugal

Inspired by Tom Jones

cheapisthenewblack — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:50:22 +0000

So I was inspired by kittybalistic’s felt Tom Jones doll. I made these dolls for my brother in laws. I’m really not sure what two grown men are going to do with felt doll versions of themselves but I had a crafty impulse. What’s a girl to do??

Posted in misc. crafts, sewing Tagged: felt dolls