Using Your "Free Gifts"

Occasionally in the mail I get gift cards from different stores. Usually you have to spend $50 to get your $10 off. Sometimes however you only have to spend $10 to get your $10 off, this means if you find something that is $10 it is FREE! Today I had a Khol's free gift card for $10 off so I went shopping for something for my daughter. It's her birthday and she's outgrown all of her summer clothes. So with my trip to Kohl's I found these cute shorts for $11.99, so I paid $1.83 for these cuties.

Oh, the shoes, they are mine. I had another gift card and got them for $4.99.

Shorts regular price: $26.00

Shoes regular price: $34.00

The Cheap Chick Paid: $7.21

That's a savings of $ 52.79!!!!!

Cute Mary Jane Booties

I have a lot of friends that are having babies right now.  Baby shower gifts can get expensive.  Who can stop at buying just one little thing for a baby.  I always go overboard.  So my solution was to find a great crochet pattern for booties on line.  I found this pattern at Knotty Generation it was really easy and took hardly any yarn.  If you use your craft store coupon for your yarn you are literally spending pennies per pair.  I did embellish them with cute buttons but again you are only adding about $1 to your price.  So for less than $2 you have a cute gift that will really steal the show.

Word Blocks

I have often admired the blocks that people use to decorate that have cute words and sayings on them.  I have gone to a few of those vinyl lettering parties and have been tempted to buy letters to make my own.  However they are really expensive.  So I've come up with a great looking alternative.  First, scour your hubby's garage for random 2x4's.  Cut them into 4" sections.  Paint desired color.  I used a white paint on these then rubbed on brown paint with a paper towel to give them a distressed look.  

Cut scrapbook paper 3"x3 1/2" and decoupage to the front of the block.  I used an actual decoupage medium, ModPodge, but you can use watered down white glue.  

After you have the paper decoupaged on and it is dry you can do your lettering.  There are many inexpensive stencils that can be used.  You can purchase them at the craft store for about $2-$5 and they can be used over and over.  Or if you are really talented you can put your letters on by hand.  I however found alphabet stamps on clearance at Hobby Lobby and used those.  You can use them over and over so unlike vinyl lettering your price stays WAY down.

Use craft paint to put on your lettering.  You can also do a clear coat over that to seal it all, or use your decoupage to seal it.  There you have it.  Cute letter blocks, that can say anything you'd like.  Obviously these are not the same finished product but you get the idea!

I gave these cuties to a friend for her birthday and they were free!  I already had everything at home that I needed.

FreeGifting... What the Heck?!

Welcome to Confessions of a FreeGifter.  You may be asking yourself, "what is a freegifter", or you may already know because secretly you are already one.  Well a freegifter is someone that uses the things they already have in their home to make a gift for someone.  I'm not talking about RE-gifting that toaster you got at your wedding 6 years ago.  I'm talking about finding things in your craft stuff, garage, closet, etc that you can re-purpose into a wonderful gift for someone.  

You'd be surprised what you can find right in your own home.  Sometimes my posts or ideas will be for things that are simply homemade and you will need to purchase a few items but trust me, being the Cheap Chick that I am it will never cost very much. 

So become a "follower" you may come away with a few great ideas, or just do it because it will make me feel special!