Frugal Friday with Marsha 2/13/15

Good thing I'm not suspicious on this Frugal Friday the 13th!  :)

This has been a busier than usual week.
Hubby and I got our state income tax refund in.  This means we took our yearly 'stock up' grocery shopping trip to Aldi.  Yes, it's the ONE time a year that we spend more than our normal $40 a week for groceries (and that's if we are lucky).  We generally spend about $250 on our stock up trip, but this year were only able to spend $168 due to some past due bills.
It's still nice to not have an empty deep freeze.

We did some menu planning before leaving.  Menu plans for having family over for meals. 
Looking back, some of what we did buy, I could have gotten for less money with sales and coupons at other stores.  I can honestly say that I wish I would have had the extra time needed for that planning.

Gasoline is up to $2.19 a gallon here now.  It's not that I can complain compared to gas prices we've seen over the past several years, but under $2 a gallon was extra nice. 
A couple times this week I have had to catch rides with church members to save on the gas in my big van.  Yay for those who are willing to do so!  (funerals at church)

I'm still working on my husband to get bills paid ON TIME to avoid the wasted money of late fees.  It's a battle, but I am standing my ground on it.  I downloaded Dave Ramsey's Guide to Budgeting and I am going to send the file over to his computer.  I'm thankful to the person who share that it was a free download!  Click HERE to download it free.

I'm going to leave you this week with some cute Frugal merchandise that I found over on zazzle.
Use the code BUYNSAVEDEAL to save with the President's Day Sale.
I also recently found out that zazzle offers a deal for free shipping. For $9.95 a year you can get Unlimited FREE Standard Shipping on all orders for qualifying products and access to exclusive sales and discounts. They even allow you a 30 day free trial. Free shipping adds up to big savings!

Frugal Chick Coffee Mugs by chicktees
Browse Frugal Mugs online at Zazzle.com

Countess of Clearance Keychain by bubblegumdesigns
Browse more Countess Keychains at Zazzle

"FRUGAL is the New Black" Bumper Sticker by cowboyannie
Browse Economy Bumper Stickers

Looking forward to what you share this week!

An InLinkz Link-up

Writer's Unite 2/12/15

Can it be Thursday already?  February seems to be flying by.  In a way that's good as that means Spring will seem to get here sooner.

I'm reading this week that people who have cashed in at bubblews this month are already receiving their money.  That's a good thing.  One gal was paid only 4 days after redeeming.
Of course it will take months to get up to $50 again, that's a bad thing.
Several of us are still plugging away.  There are even some who are still writing 10 posts a day...something I never did anyway.  I write 2 or 3 a day at the most, I had a couple of days this past week where I wrote 4 in a day.

I'm busy outside the home as usual, but right now it's a lot of unplanned activity as well.  I'm still keeping up with my blog, which makes me happy.  I'm getting in books again for review.  I will share the link to one of those in the linky in case you missed it, and then one of my bubblews posts.

Can't wait to see what you share with us this week!

An InLinkz Link-up

WIP Wednesday 2/11/15

Not a bad week productive wise.  I finished re-doing the binding on the blue and peach quilt and have it re-listed in my zibbet shop.

I got in some work on the pink hexagons.  Pink is the color of the month for the scrappy challenge with the soscrappy blog.
No connection to the scrappy challenge, but I also finally got out the cone of pink cotton yarn that I bought almost a year ago and got started on making pink washcloths/dishcloths.  I did put one set of 2 up for sale in my etsy shop.
I put both in my photo.

Yesterday was the monthly sewing club at church. I continued working on the 4 patch tops.  This is the 3rd and last one, but it still needs one more row put on to be complete.

UFO's:

Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
GoodNight Irene quilt/wall hanging
Yo-Yo Table runner
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Five and Dime quilt
Fractured Pineapple quilt
Charming Stars quilt
Brown half square triangle quilt
? sets of doll blanket, pillows and rug
Hexagon flower table runner
Blue hexagon table topper

2015 Finishes:

Locker Hook Rug
re-do binding on blue and peach patchwork

I am linking up with the following blogs:

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All Business Monday -- A Productive Week

If you recall from my post

All Business Monday--Establishing Routines

I have a pretty chaotic life, busy busy away from home a lot.  That does make it harder to have what I would consider to be an online business.

Last week I got to be home ALL day on Thursday.  On occasion I do get a full day at home, but never has it been as productive as last Thursday.

I even wrote a bubblews post about it the following day if you are interested:

I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Yesterday 

I listed a new book in my half.com store and even sold a book from my store.

That day I listed my very first locker hook rug in my etsy shop.

I also started crocheting pink cotton washcloths/dishcloths.  I also have a set of those up in my etsy shop as well.

I even got busy and finally got all of my Box Tops for Education cut.  I put one set up on listia, and have 2 more ready to be listed.  Let the points roll in so I can start buying with my points again!

Hoping to stay at least this productive every week!

What have you been up to with your earning efforts this week?

An InLinkz Link-up

Super Sunday Reviews --Pigments of Your Imagination

Pigments of Your Imagination--Creating with Alcohol Inks is by Cathy Taylor and published by Schiffer.  Published February 3, 2015.

I have seen art such as  what is in this book and have always thought it was so cool and pretty.  I had never heard of alcohol inks until receiving the book.
I immediately thought of my 2 youngest daughters.  One who loves to draw and is good at it.  The other is very craftsy, always finding projects on pinterest to do with her children.

Pigments of Your Imagination is set up into 6 sections:  Simply Start, Special Effects, Ink-Scapes, Flora and Fauna-Scapes, Fabric Effects, and Everything Else.
Also included are dedication, foreward, introduction, finding your muse, materials and tools, about alcohol inks, gallery, glossary, resources, guest artists, acknowledgements, and about the authour sections.

Here is one of the pages from the Flora and Fauna-Scapes section:

Each section is full of vibrant illustrations and well written, clear instructions.

As a quilter, the Fabric Effects section interests me the most.  I look forward to being able to buy the supplies needed and give designing my own fabrics a try!

Enjoy this video by the author, Cathy Taylor.

An InLinkz Link-up