Pin Craft - Bunny in a Jar

I saw this chocolate-bunny-in-a-jar idea at Pinterest some time back and loved the look of it, the use of the Mason jar, and best of all that it's sooooo simple and easy, using items you can get from the Dollar store, but looks so cute.

My cousin and Aunts (whose last/maiden name is Mason, ftw) will love one of these as a little gifty for Easter.

I used some Mason jars that I can no longer use for canning, one has a chip in the rim, the other has a defect in the side of the jar that looks almost like a crack, but isn't, but I wouldn't want to risk it so I use it for candy or a flower vase, or now a crafty-gift.  Otherwise I'll make some more of these using little mayonnaise jars that aren't suitable for canning either.

The original plan just uses paper Easter basket grass, or you could use the plastic stuff. I had decided, for some reason, that I wanted to use Edible Easter Grass.

I had seen it before, but couldn't remember where. I finally found it again at CVS pharmacy (on sale this week 2/$3.00, regular price $1.99 each).

It has the consistency of styrofoam and doesn't taste that great. It also contains Aspartame, which I'm not a fan of. Next time I think I would just stick with the paper grass.

I set the bunny in, and added Sixlets candies. Both can be found at the Dollar Tree store. You can use M&M's or any other pastel colored candies also.

I looked for some free Easter printables and found these at TheGirlCreative.com. There are a lot more Easter label/tag printables at my favorite place in the world Pinterest.

I was going to go upstairs to look through my ribbon to see if I had anything Easter-y but then I saw a roll of Jute twine sitting in front of me, so I just wrapped it around a few times and knotted it off.

Cat Sitting, Coupon Shopping & Yard Sale'ing

Most of my Readers probably don't know that a year or so ago, I used to be an Extreme Coupon Shopper. I used buy like 10 Sunday papers a week (when I could get them for $1.00) and collect coupons from everyone and free papers, and I'd make my Shopping Route so I could spend one or two or sometimes more days a week traveling to multiple stores, where I'd "buy" 10, 20, and sometimes even more of the items I was getting good deals on. The majority of the time I'd not only get the items for free, but I'd end up making money. (Not cash money, but I'd use the credit to buy other stuff I needed that might not be on sale).
But then a lot of people started getting into the Super Couponing game, and didn't take the time to learn and used coupons wrong, then that terrible show Extreme Couponing came out and showed people to use coupons wrong, and the stores were like, "Nope", and changed all their rules and limits.

The limits, and all the others getting into the game, were the worst for me because I have to drive a minimum of 30 miles to the nearest store(s) that I can get the deals at. When I started coming home with Limit 1 or 2 at the most, it made it not worthwhile for me to continue.

Now I really only coupon shop if the deal is worth my gas/time/effort, or if I'm going by the store anyway.

This week I got a job checking on a man's house and feeding/petting his Kitties for two days. I actually was going to do it for free, but he insisted on paying for my gas at least. Anyway, my route to his house took me by a drug store and a couple of grocery stores that I can sometimes get some good deals at, so I went to the Shopper Blogs that list out the sales and coupon matches every week to see what there was.

I had said I wasn't going to buy Halloween candy until at least October 1st, but I saw Walgreens was having a great deal on candy, only $1.00 a bag after sale + coupons, and the cereal was only 67¢ a box.

All this cost me only $7.68 plus tax. (Regular price before sale and coupons $49.48)

If you want to see how I did it you can check out my post at my (nearly defunct) shopper's blog, Walgreens 9/19/13.

Our Publix grocery store ends sales on Wednesday and starts the new week on Thursday (no idea why), but since my job carried me by the store on both Wednesday and Thursday, I checked out the sales for both days.

Yesterday I got all this for $8.33 plus tax. Basically I paid for the ice cream and the rest was free.
 

Today I got all this for negative 18¢. That is, I would have gotten it all free plus they would have paid me 18¢ had it not been for tax. Tax was $2.22, so minus the 18¢, I paid $2.04.
Can't complain about that too much.

If you're in an area that has Publix stores and want to see the coupons I used check out Publix post.

I also stopped in at Kroger grocery store since I was driving past it, too. Blugh.
Kroger has some good sales every so often, especially their Mega sales, but for the most part, not. And this is the last week Kroger's will be doubling coupons in our area, which will make for even less good deals than they already are.

I had a list of several items to pick up, but when I got to the store, for the most part the prices didn't match up to what I read on the blogs, and they were out of the Glade plug-in warmers (no big loss, they don't even include the smelly stuff.)

The Crest was $1.00, and I had a 50¢ coupon that doubled, so I got it free, and the Lettuce is on sale for 99¢ this week, which is a good price for around here. I usually pay $1.19 and up.
Total cost $1.06

The guy whose house and Kitties I was keeping an eye on this week gave me this box of quart size jars and lids Free. Very awesome. I love jars.

I wasn't expecting it on a Thursday, but there were quite a few yard sales going today, so we stopped in to check them out. Because, you know, I need more Stuff. lol.

The first we stopped in, the lady had awesome prices. Too awesome for us, the people that got there before we did were putting everything in piles for themselves and bought all the good stuff, I guess.

This yard sale didn't have much of their stuff priced. Some of it was, and when we walked up they said "Don't worry about the prices, we're making good deals today. Just gather up everything you want and...." (I forgot her exact words. Anyway, I was expecting some really good prices. I asked about a small crockpot and they wanted $2.00 for it. Probably a good deal, but not good enough I couldn't pass it up.

I saw some patterns and one was priced 25¢, the others weren't priced. Ryan has been wanting a vest (or vests), looking at Goodwill for any, so I thought I could get this pattern and give it a try.
Also picked up the backpack sack with the name of the local hospital on it, figuring it couldn't cost too much, with the "great deals" they were going to give us.

So I went to the porch and the lady comes over and says, "Mmm, how about a dollar?"
Umm, how about not.
I said that I thought it'd be cheaper so she said "How about 50¢?"
That was better. Somewhat. Not a "great deal". Maybe a regular deal.

The next yard sale had everything priced...most of it kinda high for my tastes. I found these packages of spider webbing for 25¢, and the little cauldron candle for 10¢. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend 50¢ on spider webbing, but I was afraid it'd get closer to Halloween and I'll end up wishing I had some, and kicking myself for not getting it when I could get two bags for 50¢.

Next we stopped at an Estate Sale, which by the name tells you everything is going to be costly. And it was. There was some nice things, maybe worth what they were asking, but then again they had some regular type stuff that should have only been a quarter or so priced at 2 bucks and up.

I did find this little contraption. Not sure what it is, but it's metal and folds up like this, then opens up into a bowl. I can't remember having seen anything like this before. It's unique, I think, and will make a good fruit basket-bowl.

I loved this metal (aluminum, I think) colander for 25¢.

I believe this is going to be my best find of the day. Vintage Fisher Price Goldilocks and 3 Bears (although there's only 2 bears there) pull along toy for $1.00.  This toy is about my, or my sister's age, and we had one as young'uns. I love old toys from my childhood, but usually they're tagged "Vintage" or sometimes even Lord forbid "Antique" and priced accordingly (aka ridiculously).

Yard Sale'ing

Even though I have plenty of opportunity, I don't get out yard sale'ing much....you know, on account of that pesky little hoarding trouble causing my house to be filled to the rafters with junk treasures as it is.

But, like most any other diet, sometimes you just need to treat yourself along the way.

Plus, I sold a few things on eBay this week, and remember that Dollhouse I bought a couple of months ago for $5.00 off a local Facebook yard sale group? Well, I sold it the other day on another local Facebook yard sale group for $30.00.
Also, we gave away some car parts - seats and interior pieces - from the Mustang car Ryan wrecked a few years ago. They had scavenged pieces and parts off it intending to sell, but however many years later, the stuff is still here, taking up as much room as any of my crap things. So I listed some if it in the Free section of Craigslist.

So, with some stuff gotten rid of, and some money earned, and we needed to go to Town to pick up J's check from the ambulance service and go to the grocery store anyway, it just seemed like a tailor-made day for going yard-saling. J and Ryan like to yard sale (almost) as much as I do, so it was kinda like a little family outing, too.

~~ * ~~

I don't think I wrote about putting a ceiling fan in my kitchen a couple weeks ago. Here in the South, you pretty much need a ceiling fan in every room. At some point, I apparently thought I didn't need a ceiling fan in the kitchen. But I was wrong.
I didn't want to go buy another ceiling fan, so we took the one from the unused bedroom-aka-storage room upstairs, and eventually I'd have to find another one to go back in that bedroom.

I walked up on this box at one yard sale and said to J, "Look a brand new ceiling fan for $5.00", and the lady says "Oh you can have that for $3.00 if you want it."

Uh, heck yeah.

I know it's Brass & Wood colored, but that's not big deal. I actually have spray painted a ceiling fan before.

I spotted this fairly large wooden fire station toy at one yard sale for $3.00. It doesn't have a name or any discerning markings that I can tell, and I've had no luck finding any info about it on the internet.
It didn't come with any accessories, and appears to be missing an interior slide-up/down door.
I figured I'd just set it up somewhere and use it as a display cabinet or something.

Side

Front

Found this coil of copper tubing at another yard sale and offered $1.00 for it.
In case you don't remember my Hummingbird Feeder project from last year, the copper feeders we had made didn't work right and I needed some more copper tubing to try again but never made the effort to go buy any.  But now I have a few feet of it I only paid $1.00 for. Sweet. (Now where did I stick that project at?)

I paid $1.00 total for these three jars. Two Mason Star jars, and a Kilner push-top jar.  I didn't know it, but apparently Kilner is the UK version of our Mason jar company.

At the same yard sale I got the above jars, I also picked up this red chandelier for $3.00. Not sure where I'm going to put it yet. Probably would have looked nice in the kitchen, but we just put a ceiling fan in the kitchen. Probably the diningroom, although I already have a chandelier I had planned to use in the diningroom, this one may be better for in there anyway. Or, maybe I'll hang it somewhere unexpected, like a hallway or porch or maybe even the carport above the back door. (But probably the diningroom.)

The yard sale I found  these little bits of junk treasures at were in a 10¢ box. Total 30¢.
The little red metal fortune cookie looking box is a Hello Kitty Lucky Stars candy container. Sans candy, natch. My son's fiancee' loves Hello Kitty so I thought I'd put some candy in it and it will make a nice stocking stuffer. (She lo-o-o-v-es the stocking stuff, no matter what silly or cheap kind of little junk prizes are in it.)

I got the red, cow wall plaque for the same reason, as a stocking stuffer for T. But I'm not sure if she still does cows in her kitchen, I think she's changed to brown and coffee decor. Anyway I kinda think it might end up in my own kitchen somewhere, lol.

The little Family-Dollar-Barbie-knock-off fashion head I got to attempt to make a Halloween decoration out of, a'la Creepy Altered Dolls. (Don't click the link if you're easily frightened.)

I found this really large glass bowl at one yard sale for $1.00. I didn't see any markings on it at first, and didn't know anything about it, but it was a really awesome, big, glass bowl for a buck.
(I put the tomato in the bowl to try to show just how big the bowl is, and it dwarves the tomato, but unless you knew how big the tomato is to start with, it still doesn't really show the real aspect of the size.)
According to the internets it's a Lys large mixing bowl by Duralex, made in France. Ooh-la-la, n'est-ce pas?

I found (2) more mixer beaters at a thrift store to go with the rest of the ones I've been collecting up (for a year or so) for a clock project. I paid 27¢ for the both of them.

At another thrift store I found another Percale bedsheet. It's a Full size flat, so will fit Ryan's bed, not mine. He also likes when I put the vintage Percale sheets on his bed. The ones I generally put on his bed used to be my Grannie's. I inherited her bedroom suit (and the sheets) when she passed.
The sheet was $1.90 with tax.

At the same thrift store as I found the sheet, there was a FREE box full of junk and coffee mugs and this and thats. I found a large vintage children's story book and two vintage Christmas snow globes.

I grabbed these rough-looking old snowglobes with the idea to crack them open and get the vintage Santas out of them for use in other projects. I'm always finding craft and project ideas for making Christmas ornaments and such using little plastic reindeer or snowmen or Santas, but haven't had much luck finding them at stores.

However, I feel like I should try to refurbish these before I break them. Re-doing or upcycling something that is completely broke or worn out is one thing, but these things are mainly just dusty and low on juice.

This looks more like Santa in jail than in a drum, lol.

Another casualty of my failing memory is the Treasure Island and Treasury Drugs stores. I still can't recollect in my mind where these stores were located in my area. I'll have to ask my Dad, he remembers everything.

The Zayre's department store I remember very well. I grew up shopping with Grannie at K-Mart and Zayre's, and I worked as cashier at Zayre's for a little while when I was a teenager.

Some of the story titles inside the Big Story book. The date page, if there was one, seems to be missing, but a check of the internets dates it to 1978. I would have been about 10 years old at the time (or 11, if it was published after November.)
I also can't remember if we ever owned this book back then, but it looked very familiar when I first saw it, rang some bells, so we might have.