DIY

Back to School: Savings and DIY Projects for Craft Capable Cheapskates

Posted August 14, 2009 - 05:00 by Myscha Theriault

DIY

Everyone knows that back to school time can reek havoc on the pocketbooks of all parents. Two of the biggest culprits are gear and school supplies. Here are ways you can make the most of seasonal sales on supplies and ideas for DIY backpacks, pencil cases and lunch bags.

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15 Wonderful Uses For Witch Hazel

Posted May 19, 2009 - 08:28 by Paul Michael

Frugal Living, General Tips, Health and Beauty, Green Living

Witch Hazel

I discovered witch hazel in college. I was not exactly the owner of the clearest skin in Britain, and dabbing a little witch hazel extract on my blemished skin stopped me enduring a mountain of abuse. But there are way more uses for this shrub than clearing up spotty skin.

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Book review: The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It

Posted April 17, 2009 - 07:22 by Philip Brewer

Lifestyle, Health and Beauty, Green Living, Food and Drink, DIY

Cover of The Self-Sufficient Life

In the days when self-sufficiency was simply the normal way of things, you'd learn the necessary knowledge and skills from your parents. (And from your grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings, and whatever other adults happened to be around.) Now that most of us work for money to buy what we need, rather than growing or making things ourselves, few of us have the knowledge or skills to be self-sufficient. Few of us even know anybody we could learn from. This book tries to fill that gap.

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How To Turn a 2-liter Bottle Of Water Into a 50-Watt Lightbulb

Posted April 6, 2009 - 09:47 by Paul Michael

Green Living, DIY

Bright Idea

It's not often I'm taken aback by the simplicity and power of an invention, but this one does it for me. It's cheap, anyone can make one and it literally changes lives. Welcome to the water-bottle lightbulb.

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How To Make Your Own Soda, Tidy A Room In Three Minutes, Cure A Hangover And Become A Movie Extra. Phew!

Posted March 23, 2009 - 12:30 by Paul Michael

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Life Hacks, Productivity, General Tips, Shopping, Food and Drink, DIY, Consumer Affairs

MacGyver

I’m a big fan of Howcast. Their website is a treasure trove of information, and you can also find their videos on popular sites like Metacafe and YouTube. Sometimes their advice is really useful, sometimes it’s just plain weird, but it’s always very entertaining. Howcast videos also end with a handy dandy fact; the icing on the cake so to speak.

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How to bake sourdough bread (and save a buck on every loaf)

Posted March 13, 2009 - 10:40 by Philip Brewer

Food and Drink

Just-sliced loaf of fresh-baked bread

I doubt if the cost of yeast is really breaking your household budget. If you bake a lot you probably already buy yeast in bulk, so you're not paying the per-packet price anyway. And yet, baking sourdough bread (or rolls or pizza crust) is just so cool. My wife and I haven't bought yeast for years, but we bake bread all the time. And that's what this post is about--baking sourdough bread.

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My Kitchen Could Be a Yeast Farm

Posted December 28, 2008 - 16:49 by Carrie Kirby

Food and Drink

sourdough starter

The free things in life are few -- but one of them, it turns out, is yeast. It's floating all around you, and getting it out of the air and into your bread is easier than you might think.

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Getting by without a job, part 4--get free stuff

Posted December 6, 2008 - 05:41 by Philip Brewer

Food and Drink, DIY, Green Living, General Tips

Farmer with dog

There are all kinds of ways to get stuff without money. You can grow it in a garden, gather it from the wild, make it yourself, get it as a gift, scavenge it from trash, or get it free from someone who hopes to sell you something else. All of these generally involve spending time instead of spending money--but someone who's getting by without a job probably has some time to spend.

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Blood, gore and hairy warts; a DIY Halloween makeup guide.

Posted October 29, 2008 - 16:41 by Paul Michael

Frugal Living, Life Hacks, DIY

blood face halloween

It looks like we’ve got a little Halloween fever here at Wise Bread. Following on from Andrea’s great story on homemade costumes, I thought I’d add some flavor with homemade Halloween makeup effects. Get ready to learn the secrets of peeling skin, oozing blood, big bad bruises, open sores and creepy cuts.

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When Good Cakes Go Bad: A Cheat Sheet for the Uninspired

Posted October 6, 2008 - 06:54 by Linsey Knerl

Life Hacks, General Tips

I’m no cake professional. I can barely manage a Betty Crocker boxed mix with the fluffy frosting from a can. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into a professional piece (be it for weddings, birthdays, or that retirement party.) Check out my tips for faking cake proficiency, and see what happens when it all goes terribly wrong.

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