More Style Than Cash

Make an Easy Puppet Theater From a Cardboard Box

By Ingrid Talpak on September 11, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

There are some toys that children will always enjoy playing with an a puppet theater is one of them.

This super easy craft is made from just one large box, some sono tubes, paint and some decorative paper.

Easy enough for the children to make for themselves other than cutting the hole for the theater in the front and the escape hatch in the back.

I made this to look like a castle which gives it all sorts of opportunity for the children to make up stories for Rapunzel, and other fairy tales, Lords and Ladies, Knights and Princess or where ever their imagination takes them.

Easy enough to construct in an afternoon with some time given for the paint to dry.

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Are You a Saver, Stockpiler or Hoarder?

By Ingrid Talpak on September 6, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Stuff, stuff, stuff. We all have it. Some of us more than others. Buy how do you know if you have so much stuff that it might be a problem?

We can all justify why we have so much stuff and often we will argue that what we are doing is financially savvy. You need to buy things to save money, right?

But are you in denial? We have all probably seen the television shows about hoarders and figure if our lives are not that bad we don't really have to worry. But as an antique dealer part of my trade was buying from estates and making appraisals and some of the homes were eye popping in what I saw.

There is a difference between a person that saves, stockpiles and hoards but it can be a slippery slope and you need to know if you are in danger of becoming out of control.

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September Deals

By Ingrid Talpak on August 31, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

For many fall is a fresh start as the weather changes and a new school year begins.

Most of the best summer deals are out of the stores now but not the thrift shops.

They are still loaded with the loot that was left over from garage sales. There are good quality new items in the thrift stores so spend some time looking.

Clothing wise there are summer shoes and sandals on clearance but a lot of the merchandise is geared to the very short back to school season that retailers try to get rid of by the middle or end of September so they can start working on festive seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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Making Any Tissue Box a Designer Box

By Ingrid Talpak on August 29, 2012 11:55 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

It is the little things in life that matter and you can even be fussy about such things as how your tissue box looks.

While it might sound a bit over the top, having a garish or just plain ugly tissue box in a room that you have spent a lot of time and effort to look just right can be jarring.

I am the first to admit that I don't want to spend a lot of money on tissues so we only buy on sale and usually in bulk.

But I have a very simple way of making the ugly generic tissue boxes look better.

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Money Saving on School Supplies

By Ingrid Talpak on August 24, 2012 11:15 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

It is wonderful to start school with all new supplies but if you have to buy them for several children it can become incredibly expensive. You want to save money and they want to spend it.

Not everything that they need has to be brand spanking new, especially if you already have what you need at home.

But how do you get your kids to take last years supplies to school when tv and fliers are waving shiny new stuff at them?

Your money saving on school supplies could be easier than you think.

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A Real Outlet Sale - Cambridge Towel Tent Sale

By Ingrid Talpak on August 22, 2012 12:06 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

I love outlet sales and on my continuous hunt to save money I am constantly disappointed in what most outlet sales now consist of.

With the development of outlet malls the real outlet sales have almost all but vanished. Businesses now often run a second cheaper line that they sell at outlet mall trying to fool the consumer. There truly is no real money saving.

But the real outlet sale has not totally disappeared! I delighted to share that Cambridge Towel still has it's once a year tent sale where the bargains are genuine.

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Frugal or Foolish - Ten Things You Might Be Doing That Really Don't Save You Money

By Ingrid Talpak on August 20, 2012 12:53 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Are you saving money with your great thrifty ideas or are you making a lot of mistakes.

You think that you are money savvy and have the best ideas to save you wads of money. Are you really being frugal or are you being foolish by wasting your time, energy and money on ideas that don't really work? What money saving ideas are really mistakes?

We can spot these money wasters in others but we can't always spot them in ourselves.

Being frugal for many people is a lifestyle that they thoroughly enjoy. To squeeze the most out of every dollar a pleasure. But you really need to make sure that you truly are being frugal and not foolish with your money. Saving money and money saving can have a lot of pitfalls for some.

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How to Get Your Canadian Passport Faster

By Ingrid Talpak on August 17, 2012 2:06 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Canada is a country of 33 million people and we all seem to love to travel. Almost 60 percent of us own passports.

A Canadian passport allows you, as a Canadian citizen, to exit and enter Canada to and from other countries. Issued by Passport Canada they are valid for 5 years (unless it is a child under 3, they are valid for 3 years).

Since travel rules have changed so much in the last 10 years they are the easiest document to own to prove citizenship and can be one of the documents required if you are traveling into the US.

Passport Canada is trying to make it easy to get a passport and are trying to make the long lines at the Passport office disappear.

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Great August Deals- What to Buy on Sale

By Ingrid Talpak on August 15, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Seasonal fruits and berries are filling up grocery stores and fruit stands.

This is a great time to buy your favorite berries and freeze them to be used latter in some great birthday, Thanksgiving or Christmas desserts.

The best way to freeze berries is to separate them on a pan and freeze, when they are frozen place them in a zip lock freezer bag and put back in the freezer. If you try to just place them in a freezer bag to freeze them they tend to lump together.

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Butchart Gardens Canada - Gardening Ispiration

By Ingrid Talpak on August 13, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

I love looking at gardens to draw inspiration on what I should do with my own little patch of dirt.

Butchart Gardens in British Columbia Canada was amazing for me to visit.

Open year round it is always spectacular but I took these photos in August a few years back.

The original story of how the garden was conceived and created reminds me that you can turn almost anything into a thing a beauty if you put your mind to it.

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Travel The World For Free (Almost)

By Ingrid Talpak on August 10, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Who hasn't heard of someone that always seems to be traveling and living life full of foreign adventures.

How do they do it?

You might think that you just couldn't live this life style because you don't have the cash needed but many adventurers are doing it on a shoe string and are having the time of their lives.

Surprisingly it can be very cheap to travel the world, you just need to know what the secret is.

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The Ultimate Guide to Tipping

By Ingrid Talpak on August 8, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

I am the first to admit that I don't let go of money easily. I hold onto a dollar until it screams and when I do spend it I want top quality for my buck.

That being said I have no problem tipping and have taught my children from a young age why it is important to tip and how much they should generally tip.

But it can get a bit confusing. Truthfully you don't want to under tip but you also don't want to be throwing your money around. So how much should you be tipping the doorman at the hotel and what is the norm for a hairstylist?

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Newspaper Baskets

By Ingrid Talpak on July 18, 2012 11:43 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

A few years ago I put in three cherry tomato plants... three. They went wild and wouldn't stop producing.

I wanted to give the extra tomatoes away to family and friends and needed little baskets that they would not have to return.

I came up with this newspaper basket that is ideal since it didn't cost me any extra money and could be easily recycled.

This little newspaper basket can be used for all sorts of small produce so keep it in mind the next time you have a bumper crop.

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Is the Luxury Market Dead?

By Ingrid Talpak on July 16, 2012 2:57 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Luxury, the lovely expensive things that only the rich can afford.

Hotel rooms with stunning views and down filled pillows, 5 star restaurants with exotic ingredients and sparkling crystal on the tables, leather goods from the finest Italian shops are just a few of the images that can come to mind when you are talking about luxury.

But does the luxury market even exist anymore or by trying to expand the markets so the middle class could afford their products have the makers and providers of luxury goods ruined it all.

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Great July Deals - What to Buy on Sale

By Ingrid Talpak on July 6, 2012 5:00 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Even though for many of us the summer has only just started summer items are already going on sale.

The later into the summer the deeper the sale prices will be but for now sales are at 25% to 50% off on such items as swimming pool toys, water guns, bathing suits, and flip flops.

Big box stores and grocery stores need to clear the aisles to bring in fall items and back to school supplies for August.

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