Money Tree White 'Tis not a crime to pinch a penny: Our Fourpence Worth  

Posts Tagged ‘craft’

Free Printable Templates: Miniature Flower, Treat, Gift or Decorative Baskets

August 15th, 2008

by Penelope Pince

These Miniature Gift Baskets are a part of our Freebies series of Printable Gifts and Accessories by Madoline Hatter. They are great for gifts, flowers, treats or decorative purposes.

These templates are provided for personal non-commercial use and may not be published elsewhere. If you want to share this with your friends, please link to this page.

For more free printable templates by Madoline Hatter, visit or Freebies category page.

If you enjoy our free printable templates, please consider making a donation to help us produce more.

Miniature Gift Baskets

Printing and Assembly Instructions

  1. Cardstock or heavy paper is recommended for this item.
  2. Click on the small images below to view and print them in their original size.
  3. Select “scale to fit page” before printing and choose “landscape” paper orientation for maximum size.
  4. After printing images, cut along outlines, fold and glue tabs to hold basket sides together.
  5. For the handle, fold in sides of long strip together and glue ends to inside of basket.
Blue Mini Basket

Mini Blue Basket

Brown Mini Basket

Gary Mini Basket

Gold Mini Basket

Gold Mini Basket

Green Mini Basket

Green Mini Basket

Rose Mini Basket

Rose Mini Basket

Pink Mini Basket

Pink Mini Basket

Purple Mini Basket

Purple Mini Basket

Sage Mini Basket

Sage Mini Basket

Tan Mini Basket

Tan Mini Basket


Free Printable Templates: Gingham Mini Gift Boxes

August 7th, 2008

by Madoline Hatter

These are a part of our Freebies series of Printable Gifts and Accessories. These Miniature Gingham Gift Boxes match the Miniature Gingham Carrier Bags we posted a few days ago.

These images are provided for personal non-commercial use and may not be published elsewhere. If you want to share this with your friends, please link to this page.

If you enjoy our free printable templates, please consider making a donation to help us produce more.

Gingham Gift Boxes

For gift boxes, print on cardstock or heavy paper.

  1. Print colored top and one plain bottom template.
  2. Cut on dark lines
  3. Fold on lighter lines.
  4. Glue tabs to sides.

Yellow Gingham Gift Box

Yellow Gingham Gift Box

Pink Gingham Gift Box

Pink Gingham Gift Box

Green Gingham Gift Box

Green Gingham Gift Box

Blue Gingham Gift Box

Blue Gingham Gift Box

Print one of the following Gift Box Bottom for each box you make.

Gift Box Bottom

Gift Box Bottom

(more…)

Free Printable Templates: Gingham Mini Carrier Bags

August 3rd, 2008

by Madoline Hatter

These small bags with pretty gingham pattern are ideal for small gifts or visible storage. Simply click on the template images below and print with printer setting on “Scale to fit page”. Choose landscape paper orientation for larger items. Assembly may take a few tries if you have never done this sort of project, but be patient and you will find it well worth your efforts.

These images are provided for personal non-commercial use and may not be published elsewhere. If you want to share this with your friends, please link to this page.

If you enjoy our free printable templates, please consider making a donation to help us produce more.

Gingham Carrier Bags

For carrier bags, regular printer paper is recommended. Directions are provided on image:

  1. Fold down top of bag.
  2. Crease on lines to make rectangular shape and glue into a tube.
  3. Fold bottom of bag end as if gift wrapping a box.
  4. Use yarn, ribbon or string for handles and make a crease down each side as you have seen on paper bags.

Click on the small images to enlarge and print.

Yellow Gingham Bag

Yellow Gingham Bag

Violet Gingham Carrier Bag

Violet Gingham Bag

Spring Green Gingham Carrier Bag

Spring Green Gingham Bag

Red Gingham Carrier Bag

Red Gingham Bag

Blue Gingham Carrier Bag

Blue Gingham Bag

Pink Gingham Carrier Bag

Pink Gingham Bag

Orange Gingham Carrier Bag

Orange Gingham Bag

Green Gingham Carrier Bag

Green Gingham Bag

Brown Gingham Carrier Bag

Brown Gingham Bag

Free Printable Gift Accessories by Madoline Hatter

August 1st, 2008

by Madoline Hatter

We have decided to start a new section in our blog devoted to providing printable paper products for your personal use. These will include such items as greeting cards, gift bags, boxes, tags, invitations, and other stationary designed especially for Our Fourpence Worth. You only need to open and print templates, and possibly do a little easy assembly to get your finished product. We hope our projects will save you money by providing attractive alternatives to purchased products. If you enjoy using our design, we would appreciate it if you tell your friends or link back to us.

We already have many designs finished and scheduled to be posted. Please check back soon!

Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt

June 7th, 2008

by Penelope Pince

Business Photo by Petr Kratochvil PublicDomainPictures.netMadoline and I live in fear of debt; that is one of the reasons we are so vigilant about saving money. We have witnessed firsthand the consequences of extravagant spending and debt (perhaps we will share these stories at a later time), and that is why we live the way we do. So how do we stay out of debt? The solution is so simple it almost doesn’t seem like bona fide advice, but it really is.

I know everyone hates hearing these trite statements, but the reason they are so often repeated is because they are true. In fact, they are so basic they should be considered common sense. These principles work for both staying out of (and maybe even getting out of) debt.

The simple solutions to staying out of debt are:

  • Spend less than you make
  • Don’t waste money
  • If your expenses are higher than your income
    • Cut back, and/or
    • Make more money

How to spend less than you make

Before you spend money on any treats for yourself, set aside what you need to pay your regular bills. If you aren’t able to keep from spending that money by only mentally setting it aside, try the following:

  • Open a new bank account for your regular expenses (rent, utilities, etc.). Tip: Credit unions offer accounts without fees or minimum balances. Let’s call this account your “Expenses Account.”
  • Add up all your bills and expenses at the beginning of each month and transfer that amount from your main account to your Expenses Account.
  • If the bank or credit union issues you an ATM card and/or checks for that account, keep them in a safe place at home instead of carrying them in your wallet or purse.
  • If you get paid every 2 weeks and your bills are due at the end of the month, try not to spend any money on luxuries with the first paycheck of the month. If your expenses are less than the amount of your paycheck, put all of that amount into your Expenses Account, plus a little extra padding just to be safe (to prevent overdraft charges in case you added wrong).
  • After you have set aside all the money necessary to pay your bills, see how much you have left. Put as much into savings as possible, but if you feel like you need to treat yourself to a little something, do so at your own discretion.

(more…)

Frugal Home Dec Tip: Electrical Outlet or Light Switch Frame

April 19th, 2008

by Madoline Hatter

Decorative Electrical Outlet Frame

Here is simple home decoration project to spruce up your walls or sides of cabinets that have an electrical outlet or light switch plate. This electrical outlet pictured to the right is in a conspicuous place in our house and I found the yellowish white plastic color rather offensive, so I came up with the following easy solution for turning an ugly necessity into a decorative piece.

How to decorate an electrical outlet or light switch plate

  1. Find an old unused picture frame or buy a small picture frame from a dollar store or thrift shop
  2. Make sure the inside of the frame fits around the outlet or light switch plate
  3. Take out the glass and save it for other crafts
  4. Clean and paint the frame if necessary or desired (The one pictured above was painted with gold enamel spray paint)
  5. Paint the electrical outlet if desired. You can use small bottle of acrylic paint from the craft or hardware store, usually about $1.79)
  6. Paint any wall area that will show inside the frame, if desired
  7. Glue the frame onto the wall

This treatment is suitable for electrical, cable, and phone outlets as well as light switch plates. (more…)

  • Search Our Sites


    Subscribe

    Support

    Ads





    Barnes & Noble Gift Cards 120x90A


    Barnes & Noble





    First Order ships for $2.95


    Joann.com Free Shipping Club




    Our other sites

    Pet Causes

    Blog Networks


    PF Bloggers

    PF Buzz

    Featured in Alltop

    A World of Personal Finance Bloggers

    Join the Snowflake Revolution

    wpersonalfinance logo

    Money Hackers Network

    Frugal Hacks Logo

    Carnival of Personal Finance

    pfblogs.org logo

    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



    Add to Technorati Favorites

    Top Finance blogs

    Finance

    Top Blogs

    TopOfBlogs

    Blog Directory


    BlogPicks.net