Can you believe that the 2011-2012 school year is nearing an end and Summer break is right around the corner!?!  As you may already know, during the week of May 7th-11th many schools will be honoring their teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week!  Every year at this time, I struggle to come up with a unique AND affordable gift to present to my kiddo’s teachers that my kids can also participate in creating.  So I was very excited when reader, Trudy, emailed in the following adorable idea…

“Thought I would share in case anyone else likes to give their children’s teacher something for Teacher Appreciation week. Every year my kids and I like to make something for teacher appreciation week. This year we decided to use some of the glass jars I have saved from all of the great deals on spaghetti sauce and clearance jelly beans. The yellow ribbon was $1 @ Michaels and I just used a black marker to add the ruler marks. I also bought one sheet of card stock @ Michaels for $1, it had a cute school theme. I cut circles from the paper and hot glued them to the lid, and added a frame to  the label and made a little card to hang on the jar.  The label says “No beans about it (teacher’s name) RULES”.  A cute (and inexpensive) thank you for teachers.”

On that note, please share your affordable and meaningful gift ideas for teachers in the comment section below!  And, if you’re a teacher, what gifts do YOU personally enjoy receiving?

To all of you teachers out there….THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You are so valued and appreciated!

With Christmas right around the corner, I thought it might be fun to create a place for all of you to share your small businesses, offer Hip2Save readers a special discount and more. If this is successful (and something that all of you seem to like), then I am happy to put together a similar post on a regular basis through the holidays.

Check out the email from reader, Jen, that helped to inspire this post…

Hello! I just wanted to pass along a suggestion. At some point, could you post something where us readers can comment and network our small businesses? Especially with Christmas coming up and people looking for unique, affordable gift ideas. For example, I am an Etsy seller and I’m trying to get more exposure (I know aren’t we all just looking for exposure But I’m also a stay at home mom always on the prowl for interesting or unique affordable gifts. And since we are all about savings here in the Hip2Save community, I would be willing to set up a special discount for Hip2Savers… being able to just post a simple comment about my business would be great. Thanks for taking the time to read my suggestion.

OK, so have at it and feel free to share your small business with the Hip2Save community!

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought that it would be fun to ask all of you to share your creative (and frugal) ideas for Halloween recipes, costumes, decorations and more. Personally, I love when you can create something fun (but fairly simple) with items that you already have at home…just like the adorable Garbage Bag Ghosts created by reader, Nicole. Check out Nicole’s email below…

My mom made garbage bag ghosts and used them as Halloween decorations when I was a kid. I was always so impressed by the simplicity of such a great decoration. I made a couple tonight with my husband. They would be great to make with kids! My favorite part is almost everyone will have everything they need already in their house!!

What you’ll need:
White garbage bag
Newspaper
White tissue paper (optional)
White twisty ties
Black Permanent Marker
Scissors

How to:
Cut color pull ties off of garbage bag
Wad newspaper up in a ball
Cover newspaper ball with white tissue paper (So the newspaper doesn’t show through the trash bag)
Put paper ball inside of garbage bag in a corner.
Tie off with twisty tie
Draw eyes & mouth with black mark
Hang as decoration for Halloween!

Not in the mood to decorate for Halloween? Then, check out the beautiful wreath (pictured above) created by reader, Nina, and her email below…

Before I found your website, I used to only be able to buy the necessities for our family, and always seemed to have to go without the “extras”. Thanks to you, my way of thinking has changed. I have learned to be so much more frugal and hip in the way I spend my money. I am able to make my dollar stretch so much farther and still get all the extra things I want now. Just last week I wanted to decorate our porch for the holidays, but knew it would cost too much to go out and buy a pre-made wreath. So I used two of the coupons you had posted about (a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby and another 40% off coupon from Michaels). I was able to make this beautiful Holiday wreath for around $22, including the door hanger. I love all your deals, thanks for making my life so much more fun!

On a side note, you may enjoy these posts from year’s past….

* Making Use of All That Candy Corn
* What are Your Halloween Tips & Tricks?

Click here if you are looking for creative ideas to make your own Halloween Costume. Click here for some creative Halloween Craft ideas.

So now it’s your turn! Feel free to share your ideas below…

Thanks to all of you who responded to the August post regarding legitimate job opportunities from home! I sure appreciate the helpful info you all left in the comments. And with that being said, here’s a compilation of all of that info – categorized with links to make it a little easier to view. I hope you find this helpful!

** Please note that I do not have experience with most of these companies, so I cannot endorse whether or not they are worth looking into further. Make sure to take the time to research the jobs you are interested in to see if they are the right fit for you.

(To see the long list of Work Opportunities, click the link below “Read More / Post Your Comments”.)
Read More / Post Your Comments »

(Photo Credit: Pottery Barn Kids)

Today’s Hipsters to the Rescue post interests me as I am always looking for ways to spruce up different rooms in my home without spending too much money (or even better, without spending any money at all). In the past few months, quite a few readers have emailed me asking for cheap (but hip! ) redecorating and furnishing tips and secrets.

Check out some of their emails below…

Wondering how to redo a kids (toddler) room for cheap, but yet make it look really nice . I love the look of Pottery Barn but they cost more than what I want to spend and just wondering maybe where to look for coupons for their website store or “how to’s” on making items like theirs for cheap ? Or where knock off items are at?

Hi Collin! I was hoping you could help me out. I’ve just signed the lease on my first apartment, but now I’ve got to figure out how I’m going to furnish it. I have a mattress (but no bed frame), a TV, and a small bookshelf. Yikes! I’m also a college student, and can’t afford much. I’ve tried the obvious places – Craigslist and Ebay, asking around for unwanted furniture, but so far I haven’t been able to find anything. Any help is appreciated!

You and your readers have such good ideas and I could use their help. My son is (finally) moving into his first apartment. We told him we would help get it ready with all the “stuff” you need. Not that I want to spoil him but I want him to have a sense of pride with this new home and phase in his life. I need help figuring out how to do so without breaking the bank. Any ideas??? Sites??? Thanks

Hi Collin! My husband and I just moved out of my in-law’s home and to another state recently. Since we were living at a fully furnished home, we left with very few furnishings to fill our new place and are looking to buy several new pieces to make it a home. However, we do not want to spend a fortune on furniture, so my question to you is how or where can we buy good quality furniture for cheap? How do you get deals on big ticket items like these? Thank you for all your help in advance, I read your blog religiously!!

So now it’s your turn!! Share your tips and tricks with us!