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Join Me Tomorrow Night?

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Hi, all,

I’m about to do something I’ve never done before. And to be honest, I’m a little nervous.

I’m hosting my first ever LIVE online training called,

“Get your Christmas Wrapped by December 1st”

This training will help you knock out ALL of your Christmas prep before the rush of December, so you can actually savor the holiday season.

Even though this training is a little out of my comfort zone, there is not much that I love more than hanging out with you and our little community. You guys are worth it! So grab your cup off coffee and a few pieces from your kids’ stash of candy, and let’s chat about doing Christmas well together. Why not invite a friend to join you?

To join us, just click here to save your spot.

Can’t wait to see you there!

xo,

Kaley

 

Merry Christmas from My Family to Yours!

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Merry Christmas, dear readers!

Thank you for coming along for the ride with me this Christmas. I am grateful for you. I love our little family here – from Cha-Ching on a Shoestring readers to The Merry Little Christmas Project, we have a pretty special community, in my humble opinion.

I trust that your Christmas is a time for rest and joy, peace and excitement, family and reflection.

Thank you for your faithful support.

Love,

Kaley and the Ehret family
And my amazing team, Nicole, Heidi and Elizabeth

The Dollar Store Diva: Handcrafted Journal Tutorial with Printable

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Handcrafted Thank You

See part 1 of this post here.

The gift of a handcrafted journal is such a lovely thing.

Once my friends and I decided we wanted to create some small gifts to bless special people in our life who have blessed us, this idea seemed the perfect place to start.

I searched online for journal-making ideas, and I found some impressive tutorials. But they included scary words such as tapestry needles, binding awls, coptic stitch binding, and screw punches. That all sounded a bit too ambitious for me.

Then one day I came across a roll of elastic cord in my craft cabinet. Inspiration struck for an incredibly simple binding–without one scary word included. And, then, look what I found at the Dollar Tree–exactly the elastic cord I needed. And, of course, for only one dollar.

Handcrafted Journal

Five Easy Steps for a Lovely Journal:

#1

First, print double-sided these Lined Journal Pages. [I print six or seven for each journal–that equals 12 (or 14) pages with 24 (28) sides.] Be sure that when you print the second side you have put the sheets in the printer correctly so that it will print out the same as the front side.

Lined Journal Pages

#2

For the cover, fold in half a sheet of decorative 8 1/2 x 11″ heavy paper or cardstock. Then fold the sheets of lined paper in half and flatten the folded edge. Place the lined paper inside the cover.

BB Journal - 07

#3

Here’s where my inspiration comes into play.

To create an it-couldn’t-be-easier binding, use scissors to snip two tiny cuts in the fold–one at the top of the page and one at the bottom. (See slideshow tutorial below.)  Then cut a length of the elastic, slip it through the two snips and wrap it around the journal.

DIY Journal

#4

Finally tie the elastic in a bow and double-knot.

BB Journal - 02

How easy is that?!

My crafting friends also used rubber stamps, painted them with water colors, and adhered them on a plain cardstock cover.

BB Journal - 09

#5

If you want to add a belly band for a final touch of spice, print a selection of thank you sayings. Trim the saying of your choice, mat it with a wider strip of 12×12′ colored paper, wrap it around the journal over the elastic binding, and adhere the two ends. [Don’t adhere the belly band to the back of the journal because it will tear the journal when it is ripped off.] Or use your own handwriting to express your warm thoughts. The easy steps are explained in the slideshow tutorial at the end of the post.

Belly Bands

One of the beauties of this gift project is that several can be created at one time–and ever so quickly. And they can be sent in the mail–ever so easily.

Handcrafted Journal
Some of the people I want to bless are not local, so I like to send journals in the mail. I discovered that 6 folded sheets of paper fit comfortably in an A9 envelope (5 3/4 x 8 3/4″) ] and mail with two first-class stamps.

Wouldn’t you like to find a journal like this in your mailbox?

Enjoy the following 2.5 minute tutorial.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

***

For those of you who haven’t met her, the Dollar Store Diva happens to be my Mom who has a special power.  She can transform Dollar Store and other inexpensive finds into super fun gifts and crafts that would brighten anyone’s day! Check out more from her here. 

The Dollar Store Diva: My Personal Story of Finding a Creative Way to Say Thank You

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Handmade Journal

 

Note from Kaley: I am honored to have my Mom share a little bit of her personal story with us today on the blog. Each time I hear this particularly touching story from her childhood, I am moved to tears by this simple act of compassion. May we all remember those who have touched our lives in such simple and meaningful ways during this season of Gratitude.

                      “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

**********

My third-grade picture that my dad carried in his wallet.
My third-grade picture that my dad carried in his wallet.

The year was 1957 and the grass was just starting to grow over my father’s grave. With the stop of my father’s heartbeat, my mother had been thrust violently into the role of breadwinner, and during that summer of my tenth year, she sat at a desk miles away from home working on a teaching degree. For those six weeks, my two teenaged sisters were left to care for my younger sister and me. In their bobby socks and ponytails, they spent their summer feeding us from cupboards that were too often bare, hanging our clothes on the line to dry, and keeping us safe at night.

In the afternoon of the day of my memory, I was taken to the doctor’s office with a dangerously infected toenail. Dr. Barrall bent his head, with its blazing red hair, over my foot, injected a shot of Novocain into my big toe, and proceeded to rip off the nail. My screams shot down the hallway and filled the waiting room.

That evening I lay alone in my rumpled bed. There were no pictures on the walls of my bedroom; there were no curtains at the window to sway in the breeze. This was the house we had escaped to after our house on Main Street had been taken away from us, after my father had sat down in the living room chair and died.

With my leg stretched out in front of me, I watched the stain of red seeping through the fat wad of gauze around my toe. The aching pain moved up my leg, and I sobbed. I had no mother; I had no father. I felt so very alone, in a house on the edge of town, with no pictures on the walls and no curtains at the window.

My sisters’ friend Flossie had stopped by the house, and the three girls were whispering nervously in another room. They should have been giggling together, like teenagers do on hot July evenings, but instead they were responsible for a wailing, inconsolable child.

Quietly, Flossie stepped into my room carrying a pan of cool water and a washcloth. She sat down on the edge of my bed and placed the pan on the nightstand. As she reached into the pan to saturate the cloth, she started cooing soft and soothing words.

I can still see her hands—dipping the cloth in the pan, wringing out the water, wiping my face, my damp forehead, my swollen eyes. Her hands—dipping the cloth in the water, wringing it out, wiping my face, my forehead, my eyes. Making soft, soothing sounds.

My sobs stopped, my body relaxed, and now it was just the murmuring of Flossie’s voice, the swishing of the water, the cool cloth to my face.

A gentle grace-filled quiet entered the room—and I slept.

*****

My two older sisters fishing with Dad a couple of years before he died. I love everything about this picture.

*****

Though I hadn’t seen Flossie for decades, I located her so I could say thank you. She was stunned–she had absolutely no memory of that July evening.  And I was amazed that for all these years she had been unaware that she had  wiped away the tears of a desolate little girl. I started thinking of other people who had shown kindness to me over the years. Like Flossie, perhaps they, too, had no memory of the gift they had given me. I wanted to thank them.

Recently, some friends and I decided to spend a few Wednesday evenings together creating small gifts with the specific purpose of  blessing others. And what fun we had laughing and working together, all of us with a desire to bless or say thank you.

Handmade Journals

Click here for a tutorial for these super-easy journals along with a free printable.

*****

For those of you who haven’t met her, the Dollar Store Diva happens to be my Mom who has a special power.  She can transform Dollar Store and other inexpensive finds into super fun gifts and crafts that would brighten anyone’s day! Check out more from her here. 

Easy Back to School Organizing Tips

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back to school fb

This week we jumped off the cliff into the “Back to School Abyss” – you know that season where everyone is scrambling, papers are flying back and forth to the classroom, school bags are being dumped, kids are learning new routines and parents are just trying to keep their heads above water!

Here are two tips that I recently incorporated into our home that have helped my kids and me to keep it all together (most of the time).

School Bag Central

We live in a small townhouse without a real entryway or foyer, no garage and no mudroom. My kids would always walk in the front door and throw their school bags and coats on a chair, table or the floor.

Last year we converted an empty wall in our laundry room into a space where all those coats and school bags can go to hide away when not being used. Everyone has their own hook and they can keep a coat, sweatshirt and schoolbag there – everything else goes to their rooms.

school bags 1

Here are some more ideas to inspire you!

You’d be surprised where you can find an unused space in your home to create something similar.

Small-mudroom

(photo courtesy of The Mom of the Year)

 backpacks

 (photo courtesy of I’m Batmom)

IMG_5910

(photo courtesy of The Yellow Cape Cod)

Clutter Bag

In the spring I found these cute canvas bags in the bargain section at Target for just a couple dollars each and thought they would be a fun and functional alternative to Easter baskets.

clutter catcher

My kids each have a different colored one and they are supposed to keep them on their hook in the laundry room…but the truth is each bag has found a home on a dining room chair. As I walk through the house and find their odds and ends lying around, I just pick them up and toss them in their bag, then from time to time I tell them they need to take their bag up to their rooms and put it all away.

During the summer it was a place for them to keep their summer reading books and logs, chore lists, etc. This gives them a central location to put all the legos, lists, pens, books, notepads, yarn and all those other little things that have a way of spilling out all over the house. And it’s easy for them to tote all that junk treasure back to where it belongs.

clutter catcher 2

Hope these simple tips help your family push forward a little more peacefully this “Back to School” Season.

back to school pin

Celebrating our 7th Birthday with a New Look and a BIG Giveaway! *Closed*

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7 year giveaway

Update: This giveaway has ended.

Where We’ve Been

I’ve been feeling pretty sentimental this week.

Seven years ago, I tiptoed out into the world of blogging, unsure if a single person would care to read what I have to say (except for my Mom, of course). But, after the bitter discouragement of unemployment led me to discover a passion for couponing, freebie finding and creatively stretching our dollars, I realized that I couldn’t NOT share my learnings with the world. I also wondered if maybe, just maybe, I could help supplement our income with this thing called blogging.

So, with the help of a friend over the course of a couple months, I pieced together my vision for my very own money-saving blog. My husband and I brainstormed ideas for the blogs’ name. I typed away on our personal computer in our little garage apartment for hours upon hours using our dial-up connection (my apologies to anyone who tried to call me during those months!). I researched the ins and outs of blogging and tried to imagine new ways that I could help my readers stretch their dollars.

And I hoped. 

I hoped that this little bud of a desire could blossom into the dream that was growing in my heart.

Then, seven years ago (on April 19th), Cha-Ching on a Shoestring was born.

Cha-Ching on a Shoestring banner

What a journey it has been!

Cha-Ching on a Shoestring PressWithin a couple months, my little blog began to receive media attention, first from news outlets in our home of upstate New York and then later in our new home in Pennsylvania and eventually even nationally. Since we were in the midst of the recession, our story resonated deeply with many who were experiencing unemployment and tightened budgets. Before long, thousands of others joined my Mom and became readers and money-saving ninjas.

And the journey continues! Over the course of the past 7 years,  I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to bring along others to help with the blog like the amazing Nicole, my dear friends Heidi and Elizabeth and the delightful Dollar Store Diva (aka MOM). We’ve added tips about organizing, living simply, cooking and giving on a budget. I’ve shared my passion for simplifying Christmas in my very first eBook. And while the focus of the blog has changed some from those early days, we are still all about saving money around here!

What’s New

Screen Shot 2016-04-08 at 3.19.40 PM

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been busy envisioning a new design for this site with the help of the talented and delightful Sharon. Since the site is about so much more than just couponing now, we wanted it to reflect all the ways we’ve discovered to live LARGE on a limited budget over the past years and will continue to do so as we journey together.

I am so thrilled with the new look that I want to celebrate!  

So I decided to give away gift certificates to two of the stores that are Cha-Ching readers’ favorite ways to save: Amazon and Target.

$25 Amazon Gift Card and $25 Target Gift Card Giveaway!

One lucky Cha-Ching on a Shoestring reader will win BOTH a $25 Amazon Gift Card and a $25 Target Gift Card. 

Here’s how to enter:

You have up to three possible methods of entry:

  • Leave a comment on this post letting me know how Cha-Ching on a Shoestring has helped you live LARGE on a limited budget.

Note: Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to leave your comments.  (Or CLICK HERE to do so.) By leaving a separate comment for each entry you will have a greater chance of winning!  E-mail responses will not be considered as an entry in the giveaway.

This giveaway ends at 10:00 a.m. EST on Sunday, April 17, 2016. I will randomly select the winning comment. Winner will be notified by email and listed on this site.

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by ME because I am a big fan of you guys!

Delicious Boston Cream Cake Recipe (Amazingly Easy!)

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The Best Boston Cream Pie Recipe

The Best Boston Cream Cake. Ever.

You guys. This cake. Oh my.

I keep trying to find the words to describe just how much I love this newly-discovered recipe. But all that I can muster is two words at a time.

So good.

Amazingly easy.

Num Num Num.

(There! I mustered three words!)

I shared a sneak peek of this cake in my last Merry Little Living Project newsletter and several of you begged for the recipe.

I don’t blame you.

Here’s what I love about this cake. It’s easy enough that I whipped one up on a Tuesday.

Who makes a fancy dessert on a Tuesday night?

This mom.

And then again on a Friday, a Saturday and I believe there was a Monday in the mix too.

Let’s just say that I earned brownie Boston Cream points with my kids, my husband, grandparents, siblings and whoever else happened to stop by. It was a good month.

I want you to have a good month too! In fact, this might set you up for a good year!

 

The best Boston Cream Cake Recipe

The secret is in the sauce – err, the glaze. I doubled the original recipe because less is not always more, especially when cakes are involved.

Amazingly Easy Boston Cream Cake Recipe

I LOVE how thick the middle layer is. It makes other more thinly layered Boston Cream cakes envious.

Which reminds me, which is it? Boston Cream Cake or Boston Cream Pie? It seems the favored title is Pie, but considering the fact that this is most definitely a Cake, this deeply confuses me.

Delicious Boston Cream Pie Recipe

You’ll likely want to place some kind of pan underneath your cake dish when you pour the glaze on top, as its sweet chocolatey goodness will ooze all over your countertop.

Or you can just use your fingers to scrape it off the counter. And then, of course, you’ll need to clean your fingers. I’ll leave that up to you how to accomplish that task. Ahem.

Print
Boston Cream Cake Recipe (Amazingly Easy and Delicious!)

Boston Cream Cake Recipe (Amazingly Easy and Delicious!)

Ingredients

    Cake:
  • 1 yellow cake mix (and ingredients listed on the package)
    • Filling:
  • 1 cup cold milk
  • 1 (3.4 ounce) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
  • 1½ cups Cool Whip
    • Chocolate Glaze:
  • 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven and prepare cake mix according to package directions.
  2. Spray two 9-inch round pans with cooking spray then lightly flour.
  3. Bake cake according to package directions; until golden brown and center passes the toothpick test. Once done, let cakes cool and invert on a wire rack to cool further.
    4. For the Filling:
  4. Beat 1 cup of milk and pudding mix with a whisk or mixer for 2 minutes. Gently fold in whipped cream. Let stand 5 minutes.
  5. Place one cake on serving plate, spread pudding mixture on top, then top off with second cake.
    6. For the glaze:
  6. Microwave chocolate and butter on high for one minute in a small microwave safe bowl. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons milk; mix well until smooth. Spread over the top of the cake immediately letting drip down the sides. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Notes

https://chachingonashoestring.com/2016/04/01/the-best-boston-cream-pie-recipe/

 

The best Boston Cream Pie Recipe

How I Made A Simple Spring Wreath in just 10 Minutes

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Spring wreath

How to Make a Simple Spring Wreath in 10 Minutes

I have desperately needed a new Spring wreath. It’s March and until last week I still had a Winter wreath hanging on my front door – oops!

I love checking out all the beautiful wreaths online and in stores but do NOT want to shell out the $60+ for something to hang on my door. My mother-in-law had given me one of the many grapevine wreaths she had lying around her house, so that’s where I started. I made a trek to the craft store and set to work thinking of the most simple way to dress it up within a small budget and this is what I came up with:

IMG_6504

The BEST part…I made this $15 wreath in 10 minutes!

Here are the supplies I picked up along with additional items you’ll need to complete the project:

  • Greenery – $8.99
  • Flowers  – $2.39
  • Wired Ribbon – $2.39 (40% off coupon)
  • Grapevine Wreath (already had)
  • Thin Wire (already had)
  • Wire Cutters (already had)

There is one simple, little trick that I used on this project that I have never used before and I’m convinced it’s what made this wreath so quick to complete.  It was the use of wire to attach the greenery! I know that’s not rocket science but I had never thought of it before – I always used my trusty hot glue gun, but that caused me some troubles that I could never overcome.

My front door faces west, on a brick house with zero shade. The front of my house gets SO hot in the afternoon during spring and summer that I’ve actually had wreaths completely fall apart, especially the ones that I’ve made using hot glue. I’m hoping this trick will save the life of my new wreath.

Here are the steps:

  1. Using your wire cutters, cut large sections of greenery and lay them on your grapevine wreath in a natural looking pattern.
  2. Wrap your wire around your greenery and twist together tightly to secure the initial loop.
  3. Continue to wrap your wire around the greenery just tight enough to securely hold the shape of the greenery around the grapevine frame.
  4. When you have wrapped your wire completely around, hold your wreath up as if it was hanging on your door and tighten or loosen the wire as necessary in order to create a natural looking shape.
  5. When you are happy with your design, twist the ends together and snip with your wire cutters
  6. If you choose to add flowers, go ahead and cut the stems so that you have several sections of flowers
  7. Once you’ve decided where you want the flowers to go, you can tuck the stems into the wreath until they are secure. You may want to wrap additional wire around the stems to secure it even further.
  8. Take your wired ribbon and attach a bow!

That’s it!

You’re done and now YOU have a beautiful wreath for your door or home.

simple wreath