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February 24, 2015

Tutorial Tuesday: $0.15 DIY Puffy Paint!

homemade-puffypaint

Calling all crafters! For this weeks Tutorial Tuesday, I am sharing with you my recipe for Puffy Paint! This recipe will cost you $0.15 a bottle, a savings of $2.75 a bottle, from commercial blends! Since one of my two majors was Art History, I often spent time while at home, on breaks from college, experimenting with Art mediums, and this was one of my concocting sessions! With so many kiddos soon to be back out of school for the winter holidays in a few short weeks, this would make for an awesome indoor project!

Here’s how I make it:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Room-Temperature Water
  • 1/2 Cup Table Salt
  • 4  Drops Food Coloring, per batch

Instructions:

  1.  In a glass bowl, mix the salt and flour together.
  2. Add the water slowly, whisking it together, be careful not have any lumps.
  3. Add 3 drops of food coloring to mixture; tempera paint, or natural fruit or vegetable juice, such as beet, mint, spinach, or carrot juice, can be used as well.
  4. Add contents to a squeeze bottle; I found three-packs of squeeze bottles at the Dollar Tree for $1.00! Use a separate bottle per color.
  5. Please note, paint will dry with 3 hours, and paint tends to break-up after use in bottles, so when done, clean out bottles after each use.

Here’s to creativity, 

Shamrock 21

Bathroom Spice Rack Nail Polish Organizer!

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Good morning, savvy savers! I hope many of you are off of work this fine Easter Monday, and for those that may not be, that something positive comes of both your mood and your day! With that said, I want to share of the aspects of my master bathroom, that I consider positive! For this weeks, Organizational Ideas post, I want to share how I organize my nail polish collection, and my collection I mean the myriad of bottles that seem to come from the abyss to my bathroom!

I organize my bottles on a hanging spice rack, which I was able to purchase for free, using earned Amazon.com gift cards, from survey sites! This rack, is priced at under $10.00. This method keeps my polishes and lacquers within reach, not sitting in drawers, and easily accessible to myself during weekly spa nights! I love to look at my rack when I go into the bathroom, for as a visual person, colors excite me!

Here’s to organizing!

Shamrock 21

February No Spend Month Challenge: Day 24 (How to Make Money Taking Online Surveys)

 
Day 24-
Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you all are well rested, and ready for a new daily challenge! So today I want to focus a way you can earn money in your spare time, with online survey sites! Why Survey Sites: Last year I earned $420.00 taking online surveys. Here’s how:

  1. The average survey takes 20 minutes, so one could realistically complete 3 online surveys in an hour, and have generated $9.00.
  2. Though is not a great sum of money, the earned survey funds could potentially add up to a $36.00 a month, or $420.00 savings annually.
  3. This is only an average of 3 surveys are taken weekly. based on qualification and availability.

 I used those funds to pay for holiday gifts, birthday gifts, as well as earned Amazon gift cards which paid for my entire years worth of Amazon Subscribe & Save and Amazon Pantry items! Awesome, huh?

 

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Here are my favorites:

1) Harris PollsHarris Polls is the Boss of survey sites. Their research is well-respected and frequently cited; the number of points awarded per survey is generous; and there are lots of rewards to choose from – gift cards, prizes and sweepstakes entries. You can make up to $45 per survey in 20 min the #1 paying survey site today!

2) ZoomPanel: If you’re looking to earn rewards quickly, ZoomPanel is the survey site to join. They typically send out several survey invitations each week, and have a great collection of rewards to choose from – the latest books and movies, electronics, appliances, jewelry, home decor, charitable donations and more; you can earn up to $20.00 an hour with this site.

3) CVS Advisor: CVS Advisor is a must-join site. You’ll probably only get a few survey invitations a year, but you’ll want to respond to those invitations when they come. They reward participants with Extra Care Bucks, and it’s not uncommon to receive $10 in ECBs for participating in a single survey.

4) Swagbucks: Join swagbucks; answer surveys; and earn points that you can redeem for gift cards to popular stores and restaurants. Earn additional points by shopping through the site, using their search engine and watching videos. I have earned upwards of $40.00 a month with this site! 

5)  Ipsos I-Say: Ipsos is a global survey-based market research company that serves more than 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. As an Ipsos I-Say community member, you’ll have the opportunity to take surveys and earn rewards that can be redeemed for money, Amazon.com gift cards, donations such as the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, and prepaid American Express cards. Most members receive surveys at least once each month with an average of about four per month, and the more surveys you take, the more points you earn. In addition, many Ipsos members also have the chance to test new products and services before the general public. I personally use this site weekly, and since joining last year, taking an average of 10 surveys a week, have thus far earned $130.00; $90.00 of this was used on Amazon to help offset my holiday stocking stuffer costs! If you’re interested in joining Ipsos, click here. 

 6) KidzEyes: KidzEyes is a website that conducts market research among 6-12 year old kids, and is in full compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. KidzEyes conducts surveys for children’s companies, and wishes to have kids fill out surveys, in order to provide better products and services for children and sometimes they are interested in hearing parents’ opinions too, in which case, you will help earn your child(ren) additional KidzPoints. When kids complete the surveys that they receive from KidzEyes via email,  and surveys completed earn KidzPoints that can be turned in for cash or prizes’ points can be withdrawn and deposited into your checking account and given directly to your child.

7) Funovation Panel: If you like the idea of influencing the future trends in toys, holiday purchases, and children’s clothing, than the Funovation survey Panel is for you! This is a free survey site, which enters your information into drawings and sweepstakes, often for large ticket toy items, in exchange for short surveys! I have been a member of this site for a little over a year, and have found the surveys fun; its a great way to get sneak-peeks into the upcoming seasons toys and holiday gift ideas! Click here to check the site out and to get more information!

8) PineCone Research: One of my favorite survey companies is Pinecone Research, who is currently accepting new members to their online research panel. This research firm gives points away at the end of each survey, which have a cash out value of $3.00, which can be transferred to an existing PayPal account,  to a pre-paid card, a mailed paper check, which you can set aside to be directed to your savings account!   The average survey takes 20 minutes, so one could realistically complete 3 online surveys in an hour, and have generated $9.00, and though is not a great sum of money, the earned survey funds could potentially add up to a $36.00 a month, or $420.00 savings annually, if 3 surveys are taken weekly. based on qualification and availability.

So today I challenge you to check out the above survey sites, and see if you can start saving today! Be sure to check back tomorrow morning, and see tomorrow’s Daily Challenge!

Here’s to saving,

Shamrock 21

 

Challenge Links: