Light Blocking Drapery Liners Which Actually Work

We've gotten heavily lined drapes and blinds which were labeled "light blocking", but they never truly blocked the light. I wanted heavy drapes like the kind you find in hotel rooms, super heavy duty light blocking drapes, the reason being that the children's bedrooms faces west, and it gets really hot in their rooms in the late afternoon and into the evening. The sun shoots right through two layers, the lined drapes and closed blinds, especially in my daughter's room. I planted a Japanese Cherry tree in front of their windows, but it is not quite tall enough yet.

So today while I was searching for a tension rod at Walmart, I found some Roc-lon drapery liners The package stated that they were made of the same fabric used in hotels worldwide, so I tried them, and they work really well! You can hang them behind your curtains or drapes on a pocket rod, or attach them with drapery pins to the back of your existing drapes. I spent about $24.00 for a two panel package which included the drapery pins.

These liners will definitely save us on air conditioning costs. They advertise that they cut down on noise as well. We've got traverse rods in both the children's bedrooms, so these were very easy to loop onto the existing pins behind the drapes.

Read Walmart reviews here.

One small issue is that each package fits a window width of up to only 50 inches. The larger size would need a patio panel(drapes that open only on one side). Our window width was a bit wider, but the liner still blocked out enough light to make the room almost pitch black. For complete coverage I'd have to double up the liners - one pack for each drapery panel, but that's for an absolute black out which is a little creepy for the kids. Another way to make it darker would be to hang the liners on a tension rod in the window where you'd normally hang your blinds, or if you have room, in front of your blinds. This blocks out the light/heat from above the drapes and from the sides. The only downside is that you can't move them on the rod during the day; the fabric is very thick.

Tips for Slicing Homemade Bread

Click on title.

Fifth and Sixth Grade Nature Study Resource/Curriculum

I hadn't realized this, but ds's fifth grade science book is all nature study. I had to order additional books(newly published) which cover regular fifth grade science. I was flipping through this book tonight, and it reminded me so much of a Charlotte Mason type nature study. The entire book is in black and white with charming hand drawings throughout. It's a thorough nature study with Scripture sprinkled among the pages. We'll be using both books, the nature study and the regular science from Rod & Staff. The nature study is just too good to skip.

There are two books: Book One for fifth grade, and Book Two for sixth grade.

God's Marvelous Works, Book One is 30 lessons covering Insects, Birds, Flowers and Reptiles.

God's Marvelous Works, Book Two is 30 lessons covering Algae and Fungi, Mammals, and Aquatic Creatures and Amphibians.

Links above show sample lessons.

I got mine on ebay for a few dollars plus shipping. Use Bigcrumbs.com as your shopping portal to ebay for additional discounts. I get a rebate of 36% of the seller's fees. Not a fortune, but every little bit counts.

Curly Haircare Product Review: Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil with Ginseng

I have long hair with naturally loose curls. In the summertime it goes bonkers with the humidity. Frizz and dryness are a real problem. I've tried numerous products to control the frizz, and many cause scalp irritation or blemishes around my hairline. I even tried olive oil and mineral oil, but they didn't work well, and the olive oil was very hard to get out of my hair.

For the past week I've been using Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil with Ginseng(made in the U.S.A.) in an 8 ounce bottle which I picked up at Family Dollar for $2.00. I had to use it twice, leaving the oil on my hair overnight, and it worked quite well! My hair is a lot softer and no frizz. You can use this on your skin as well, so it's dual usage is thrifty.

Here are the ingredients:

Soy Bean Oil , Walnut Seed Oil , Kiwi Fruit Extract , Olive Fruit Oil , Castor Seed Oil , Sesame Seed Oil , Jojoba Seed Oil , Carrot Seed Oil , Sweet Almond Oil , *Tocopheryl Acetate , Safflower Oil , Calendula Extract , Yarrow Extract , Cucumber Extract , Carrageenan Extract , Ginseng Extract , Sage Extract , Comfrey Extract , Aloe Extract , Fragrance.

*I looked up Tocopheryl Acetate, also known as vitamin E acetate, and it is a common vitamin supplement.

The fragrance in a little strong, but the ingredients are almost all natural which makes a big difference for my skin and hair. I have a sensitivity to many haircare products for curly hair.

See the good customer reviews at Walgreens online.

7/09 Update: I am still using this product and it's the only thing that really works on my hair. I tried some organic rosemary oil specifically for hair and scalp, but Africa's Best is much more effective. I do wish that this oil came unscented, but this is just a minor concern .

Free Old Fashioned Color-By-Numbers Preschool Sheets

These Mennonite coloring books are so cute! I'm going to order the first one, Color-By-Number For Little Hands - Number 1 (ages 3-5). My two year(2.10) old loved the cat and food sheets. I like that they have a few sample printables(click on "Look in the Book") so you can try them out with your little ones.

There are two others we enjoyed:

Color-By-Number For Little Hands - Number 2 (ages 4-6)

Birds - Color-By-Number

I helped with the more difficult ones, but she really enjoyed matching the colors to the numbers. I think it's because they provide large drawing spaces for very young children, and the pictures are simple, but appealing.

Have you seen the Little Jewel Books? These are wholesome hand drawn Amish/Mennonite books about nature, family values, and Christian lessons for young children. My son loved these, and now my daughters picks them up for me to read, often bypassing our Barney books! It surprised me, but I was glad because they teach as well as entertain.

Maybe it is our strong German background(Pennsylvania Dutch: Non-Mennonite), but we are so drawn to these Mennonite resources. The books feature rural scenes so similar to my grandparent's old home outside of Hellertown, Pa(Wassergas). I love the Pennsylvania countryside; it's in my blood even though I've never lived there. My grandparents sold their "gentleman's farm" in the 1980's, and sadly, have since passed away.

If you like wholesome children's books with simple drawings of farms, rural life, nature and animals, these resources will be a hit. They are very inexpensive as well!

Mulching the Garden Frugally

A local tree company delivered free mulch earlier this week, so we have been working on whittling down the huge pile. We got the front yard done and almost finished the backyard today. It's quite a bit of work, but the trade off is it doesn't cost us a dime.

If you can obtain free tree chips(mulch)from your municipality or a tree company, this is a very frugal way of keeping the garden beds moist during hot summers. It also keeps down the weeds, and makes the beds look "finished".

We don't water our garden, so mulching heavily is the only way we can keep a garden without paying large water bills. Our water bills since the drought last year as high enough without having to water the garden. We do water our little vegetable garden, but we use water from our rain barrel.

Free Children's Educational Resource: Kids.gov.com

See here: here.

Saving Money on Water: Homemade Rain Water Barrel

I finally decided to make my own rain water barrel for the garden. The ones I priced online were almost $100.00! Our local Ace Hardware has a huge one that is ready to install but it was $118.00, so we settled on a large garbage can from Wallyworld for $7.99. It was a bit more expensive than the ones at Dollar General, but this can was light weight and easy to cut. The can is eco-friendly, made with 75% recycled materials.

We bought a flexible drain extender from Home Depot, disconnected the top gutter, and then screwed the flexible extender into place. We cut a hole in the top of the lid and fit the plastic extender right through it. The lid was thin enough that I was able to cut into it with a knife, and then heavy duty scissors.

Last night it rained for about 30 minutes, and the can overflowed. We'll be adding a hole near the top as an overflow, and probably hook it up to another can. I'm thinking this could be done with some caulk and a large funnel or PVC pipe. Speaking of caulk, here are is a free sample.
We get a lot of water coming off our roof in this particular location. If we add another extender, I could probably reach it to the kiddie pool and fill it when it rains.
It was so nice to use free water today on my garden! I just dunked the watering can in and was able to water all my new plantings, vegetables, and indoor plants. I have plenty left. This was so easy!

See more at the Make It From ScratchCarnival

Homemade Tea Tree Oil Shampoo

Petites Indulgences Under $15.00

After dealing with the unpleasantness of the flu here at the house, I was inspired to post a few beautiful fragrances and small indulgences. These are some of my favorites. There is nothing like fragrance and other fun girly stuff when you need a little lift.

Papier Poudré Removes dust and shine from your face, leaving a light powder finish.



Rose Flavored Hard Candy 50g by L'Anis de Flavigny


Garden of Ireland Heather & Moss Solid Creme Cologne

L'Aromarine Fragrances Flowers Eau de Toilette

Brambleberry Rose Lip Balm

BAL A VERSAILLES For Women By JEAN DESPREZ cologne






On-The-Go Passport Soap Sheets

Rose by Taylor of London Ice Cologne Stick

Getting Rid of Slugs in the Vegetable Garden

My new vegetables are being decimated by slugs! I went out this evening and hand picked off a few small ones. I found some potential natural solutions for slug control at eartheasy.com

Eartheasy mentions two solutions which are very doable for me: seawood and coffee. We are near the ocean so I plan to take a trip to the beach to gather some seaweed. It will be really stinky, but the salt in the seawood is supposedly enough to repel them. Another natural solution is coffee. I just went off coffee due to stomach problems, so this is a great way to use up my remaining coffee stash.

I read here at gardenweb that spraying ammonia onto the area helps, and iron phosphate slug bait, AKA Sluggo which is non-toxic.

The ones we have are the long giant brown spotted ones. They are really creepy looking, and are best seen at night with a flashlight along our foundation. I'll try to get a picture of them - ours are so huge they look like alien slugs. Shivers!

Grow Your Own Mushrooms

9-10" Shiitake Mushroom Log

Product Description from Amazon:
"All-natural hardwood logs injected with shiitake spawn produce mushrooms every two months for years. Grow indoors with plants or outside in shade. To produce mushrooms, or "fruit" the log, soak it in non-chlorinated ice water for 24 hours. Harvest in 6-10 days. Logs require regular soaking in nonchlorinated room-temperature water every two weeks. Log-grown Shiitakes are high in protein, low in fat and have a meaty texture. They have a deep, rich flavor and absorb the flavors of spices, herbs and foods they're cooked with. Chefs prefer shiitakes grown on logs for the superior flavor, texture, and color. "

See Autumn Rose's Shiitake mushroom harvest; my inspiration for this post.



More mushroom kits:


Pietra Fungaia

Mushroom Kits - Button Mushroom Kit - 6 lbs

The Espresso Oyster Mushroom Patch. Recycle and grow mushrooms at the same time. Product Description: "Practice bioremediation at home! Recycle old newspapers, coffee and espresso grounds by inoculating them with Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus). One of our favorite methods is the simplest: just mix the sawdust spawn directly into coffee grounds, espresso or perked. Our Pearl Oyster spawn fruits in a wide temperature range, making it suitable for inoculation across the country. A fascinating project for people of all ages. Kit comes complete with 1 gallon of Pearl Oyster Sawdust Spawn and detailed instructions."

The Beautiful World of Ferns

"The green and graceful fern.
How beautiful it is.
There's not a leaf in all the land.
So wonderful, I wis. "

Have ye e'er watched it budding,
With each stem and leaf wrapped small.
Coiled up within each other
Like a round and hairy ball ? "

Have ye watched that ball unfolding
Each closely nestling curl
Its fair and feathery leaflets
Their spreading forms unfurl? "

"Oh, then most gracefully they wave
In the forest, like a sea,
And dear as they are beautiful
Are these fern leaves to me." — Twamley


Our Ferns in Their Haunts: A Guide to All the Native Species, by Willard Nelson Clute, 1901

A Century of Ferns: Being Figures with Brief Descriptions, by Sir William Jackson Hooker, 1854.

The fern paradise: a plea for the culture of ferns by Francis George Heath, 1878

" The Spring is here—the delicate-footed May, With its slight fingers full of leaves and flowers ; And with it comes a thirst to be away, "Wasting in woodpaths its voluptuous hours. " ~Willis

How to Know the Ferns: A Guide to the Names, Haunts, and Habits of Our Common Ferns, by Frances T. Parsons, 1899.

A bit about the folklore surrounding the Bracken Fern and ferns in general from Folklore of Plants, By Thomas Firminger Thiselton Dyer, 1889:

"Among Celtic and Germanic nations the Fern was
formerly considered a sacred and auspicious plant. Its luck-bringing
power was not confined to one species..."

"...those who possessed the secret of wearing this seed
about them would become invisible. Thus, we find that, in
Shakspeare's ' Henry IV.,' Gadshill says : ' We steal as in a
castle, cock-sure : we have the receipt of Fern-seed, we walk invisible.' "

From A Floral Fantasy in an Old English Garden by Walter Crane, 1899:

Here's VENUS'-COMBE for MAIDENHAIR

For children: Nature Study Made Easy by Edward Byrne Shallow, Winifred T. Cullen,Ferns, ages 9-11, published in 1909.

All are in public domain, readable online or downloadable as an ebook.

Free Vintage Texts: Imagination and Play for Children

Everyday Play for Children by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, 1916

When Mother Lets Us Play by Angela Mary Keyes, Ada Budell, 1911.

Printing instructions: IE - right click on image of page, print image of book page. Firefox - right click on image of page, view image and print.

Books also downloadable for reading as an e-book.

Frugal and Wholesome:Homemade Blender Recipes

If you are like me, you don't use your blender nearly enough. See article for homemade butter, peanut butter, barbecue sauce, and homemade fruit spread blender recipes.

And some simple blender cream soup base recipes. And good number of blender recipes from Recipezaar.

Making meals from scratch can be a big cost saver, and is healthier in the long run. Using all natural ingredients is preferable to using prepackaged meals with ingredients you can't readily identify such as preservatives, food coloring and high fructose corn syrup. I've saved quite a bit cooking from scratch over the years. My all time favorite frugal cookbook is on my sidebar, More-with-Less, a Mennonite cooking from scratch on a budget cookbook.

Share a tip or comment on BecentsAble's Tipster Tuesday's post, Labels and Ingredients.

Free Children's Printable Cut-Out Train Stations for Train Sets

Click on title.

Frugal Homemade Bean Recipes

We cook beans quite a bit, and they are both inexpensive and a healthy protein substitute. Here is one my simplest bean recipes which is wonderful over rice:

Easy Beans and Rice

-Any bag of dried bean, although navy bean or black beans are especially good.
- 1 TB onion powder
- 1 chicken or beef bouillon cube
- 1 tb pepper
- 1 tb salt
- 1 tb Italian herbs
- 1 TB garlic
- 1/2 tumeric
- a few stocks of chopped celery
Optional: Chopped ham or other bits of leftover meat

Beans tend to take a long time to cook, so leave some time to let these simmer on the stove early in the day. Follow the recipe for the dry beans off the package. I usually soak mine over night. Serve over rice.

The seasonings are made to taste, so experiment with them. I found that the key to flavor was adding quite a bit of onion powder. Even adding chopped onions doesn't enhance the taste like the onion powder. Adding lots of pepper gives it a nice kick. I'd recommend adding chopped ham or sausage; the meat is really delicious with lots of pepper.

More frugal bean recipes I've made from scratch. Most of these recipes are from my More-With-Less Recipe Book(see sidebar):

Caribbean Rice and Beans and Brazilian Rice and Beans

Rice and Beans Casserole

Pinto Bean Bread

Three Bean Casserole

Potato-Topped Chili Loaf