Santa's Workshop/ North Pole, CO

Normally I a save save save person but to make holidays like Christmas special for my kids I will do just about anything!!!! We live in Colorado at the moment and decided to go to Santa's Workshop a few months ago in North Pole,CO. That place is so neat!!!! Its a small amusement park and Santa is there!!!! They have a post office there and you can send your kid(s) a letter from the North Pole!!!!

http://santas-colo.com/other-info/santas-post-office/

It doesn't cost very and is super cool!!!!

The funny thing is in his off season you can also catch Santa working a Rockies baseball game to! His name tag even says SANTA!!!!!! That was super cool!!!!

You can also have one sent from North Pole Alaska!!!!

http://about.usps.com/news/state-releases/ak/2011/ak_2011_1108.htm


My kids and nephew will have a BIG surprise from Santa this year!!!!

And if you didn't know this you can track Santa through NORAD!!!!

http://www.noradsanta.org/

Now NORAD is run by the air fore and tracks EVERY thing in the sky EVERYWHERE and they even track Santa!!!! We have been tracking him for several years now!!!




UPDATE: I just found this web site http://www.dearsantaletters.com !!!!

Carpet stain remover and well everything else cleaner!!

So searching Pinterest I came across a pin for a super cheap home made stain remover for carpets. Well I decided to give it a try and boy howdy does it work!!!!!! It takes a little elbow grease but it so worth not having to pay to replace carpets in our military housing!!!!!! So here is all you need:

Spray bottle
2cups hot water
1tbs clear dawn dish soap
1tbs white vinegar
sponge
bowl of cold water
paper towels or white towel ( I went with paper towel)

*if its a fresh spill you will also need baking soda*

If this is a fresh spill soak up as much liquid as possible (towel color doesnt matter here)
Then sprinkle baking soda on area and let sit for 10-15 minutes to absorb moisture then vacuum up
Next spray solution on stain (I used a fair amount)
let sit for 5 minutes
Use sponge and rub solution in
~this is where the cold water comes in~
rinse sponge off (not in the clean cold water)
Put the sponge in the cold water and squeeze excess out
Lightly rub on area (rinsing a few times in cold water)
Last blot off with white towel or paper towel




Now here is where I got a little clean happy about this stuff..... I started trying it on EVERYTHING lol. I used it on our UGLY vinyl or linoleum floor (what ever it is) that is at my front door, bathrooms, and kitchen. It cleaned it and the flooring didnt turn gray like it does with every other cleaner!!!! Then I tried it on the front door where grimy hands had been all over it and then I cleaned the storm door glass with it and the fridge!!!! This stuff cleaned it all! I think Im in LOVE lol. People on Facebook probably think I slightly more of a nut than they though with all the pics and posts hahahaha. so here are some pics of before and afters!!! Dont hate on the dirty befores lol with kids playing in sprinklers, rain, and the dirt that comes flying under the doors and windows makes impossible to keep clean!!!!! :p

Happy cleaning!!!!!!

HOW TO GET ADHESIVE OFF A GLASS JAR

While Scrolling through the pins on Pinterest's diy I saw a pin on how to get those baked on foods off of a glass casserole dish with tin foil, and its been on my mind for the future (trying not to forget to try it). 

 Well I'm in the middle of a project using a glass jar and after running it through the dishwasher there was a mess with the labels! So I break out the rubbing alcohol and try to get this papery, adhesive off the jar when it hit me TIN FOIL!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here is what you will need:

rubbing alcohol

tin foil

paper towel 

THAT'S IT!!!!

Here is how I got all that junk off in 10 minutes (give or take a few minutes)

I had warm water running so that I could rinse and repeat if I needed. I soaked a paper towel in the alcohol and squeezed out the access on the the jar, wadded up a little bit of tin foil, and the gunk started coming right off!!!!! 

Howdy my frugal friends!!!!!
So I <3 Pinterest!!!!! That being said I have tried a few things and have been inspired to try one trick on something similar.
So first we have a DIY watering can out of a milk jug and my kids LOVE it!!!!

For this all you need is:


Milk jug with cap 
lighter
BIG quilting needle (I actually used the pointed end of my seem ripper) 


Heat the needle with lighter and punch holes in the cap, like you see in the picture, fill jug with water, screw on cap and there you have it!!!! 
You can put as little water in it as you want so that the little ones can share in the fun!
I havent made it this far yet, but I plan on painting mine!

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser 


I saw this on Pinterest so I thought I would give it a try! Below are pictures of the materials needed and the steps I took to make mine.

Start at the top picture and go clockwise!
You will need:
mason jar
liquid soap pump
drill and drill bit
hot glue gun
pliers
scissors (not pictured)

Drill a hole in the center of the lid and use the pliers to bend back metal until the hole is big enough to fit in. Next bend back jagged metal as far as you can to the bottom of the lid, then hot glue pump to bottom of the lid. You may have to cut the end off of the pump "straw" so that it will fit into the jar. Now you can decorate the jar or lid any way you want, add hand or dish soap (like dawn or home made) and wash away!!!! 

Now I have not decorated my jar yet but I read that acrylic paint is the best for the metal lid and I'm sure or the glass too! 

Note: if you are going to paint the lid I suggest painting it before you make that hole in it.

If you are like me you are tired of paying for refills for a refills for your nifty mop with disposable pads right? Well thanks to a friend of mine here is how you can take the cleaner bottle and refill it with you own cleaning solution! 

Boil water in a pot and hold the white cap end into the water for a few seconds. DO NOT let the bottle to touch the pot or it will melt! Then take a rubber grip jar opener or a pain of pliers and twist the cap off (the rubber grip worked better for me), the fill with you cleaning solution of your choice, and replace cap!!! Each time you need to refill the bottle you will (or at least I do) need to use the rubber grip or pliers but not the boiling water to remove cap!
Happy mopping!!!!