The Domestic Diva

Day 2: Words #febphotoaday

The Domestic Diva — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:18:44 +0000

Today’s photo prompt is: Words. What better way to display words than with a blog, of course….

This is a post in a series inspired by Fat Mum Slim’s February “Photo A Day” Challenge. If you are interested in participating in the challenge, check out her blog or follow “#febphotoaday” on Twitter.

Day 1: My View #febphotoaday

The Domestic Diva — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:58:03 +0000

I was on Pinterest last night and I stumbled upon a “Photo A Day Challenge” for the month of February by fellow blogger, Fat Mum Slim. And I thought I would give it my best shot…no pun intended. I figured since February only has 29 days it shouldn’t be that hard, right?

Well today almost slipped by without a photo, but I managed to snap a really quick one at the last minute. Not a good way to start out the challenge, huh?

This is a post in a series inspired by Fat Mum Slim’s February “Photo A Day” Challenge. If you are interested in participating in the challenge, check out her blog or follow “#febphotoaday” on Twitter.

DIY: Lighted Closet Wall Organizer for Handbags and Scarves

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:11:04 +0000

My husband and I did a big “closet flip” last weekend. The end result was me taking over his old closet which gives me a lot more room to play, organize, and beautify this space. Let’s face it, the closet is probably one of the first places you visit in the morning so why not make it a welcoming space to go to.

I’m a collector of purses. Sure, I love shoes but purses are my main squeeze. With all those handbags though I needed a new way of storing them that was within reach. There was a blank wall in my “new” closet that I thought would be the perfect place to hang my beloved bags.

What you need for a DIY Lighted Closet Wall Organizer

-3 strands of white christmas lights
-2 panels of lattice (check a home improvement store)
-shower curtain hooks to hold purses, scarves, anything else that needs to be hung
-stapler
-Nails

How to make it

The two panels of lattice were already in use in my home as a (very old) heater cover during the summer months. The two panels of lattice are put together with two hinges to make a “screen”. Since I’m re-purposing the lattice we will no longer be using this as a heater cover-up.

First I made sure that the lattice would fit on the blank wall space in my closet. Next it was time to add the lights. I took several old strings of white christmas lights and stapled them to the back of the lattice paying careful attention not to actually staple the strand of lights just around the lights. Once all of the lights were secure it was time to “install it” into my closet.

I hung the two pieces of lattice onto the wall of my closet using very sturdy nails.

The next part is the fun part. I hung my purses and scarves using “s” shaped shower curtain hangers. These can easily be moved around to fit whatever size purse or bag that needs to be hung.

What do you think?

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Get on the Shelf at Walmart (sponsored)

The Domestic Diva — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:57:39 +0000

Have you ever wondered how to get your product on the shelf at Walmart? Or maybe you know someone that has a product that they think would look great on one of Walmart’s shelves. Well Walmart recently announced the launching of a new site called Get on the Shelf. It’s an online competition of sorts to find the next new product to put on their shelves either at a Walmart store or on Walmart.com. Check out the video below, I think it does a great job of explaining the competition:

Are you interested in participating? Want your shot at “getting on the shelf” at Walmart.com or Walmart Stores? You have from now until February 22 to submit your video to Get on the Shelf. Videos are screened before being placed on the site. Voting will start on March 10th and run until April 4th to determine the top 10 ten videos. April 11th-April 24th voting will determine the top 3 contestants and the grand prize winner. For more info, make sure to read the Official Rules.

Don’t forget to watch and vote! Visit Get on the Shelf often as new videos are added to see what products are competing for a spot at Walmart.

Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. I have been compensated for my time and efforts in creating this post. As always my participation is voluntary and opinions are my own.
Images courtesy of Walmart.

This Weeks Coupon Haul

The Domestic Diva — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:22:41 +0000

With each passing week I’m finding that it is getting easier and easier learning how to coupon. I look forward to shopping trips now because of the deals and savings I’m going to get. It is only the middle of the week and I think I’ve scored some pretty decent deals to add to my stockpile…

Deals at CVS

CVS has quickly become one of my favorite places to coupon because of their Extra Care Bucks, Beauty Club Rewards, and their Green Bag Tag.

Blistex Fruit Smoothies Lip Balm (pack of 3), $4.49
On Sale: $2.87 Get $2 ECB
-$.35/1 coupon

Buy 2 Revlon Products, Get $7 ECB
1 Revlon Nail Clipper $2.99
1 Revlon Value Pack of Emory Boards $3.49

Covergirl Blast Flipstick Blendable Lip Duo, Get $2 ECB
Sale: $7.49
-$1/1 Covergirl Product coupon

Clearance Finds
I’ve been a huge clearance shopper for years before couponing was ever a thought in my mind. Now when I see a clearance deal I get even more excited because there is a chance I might have a coupon for that item to make the price even lower. Here are two examples of some clearance hair care products I found during one of my visits to CVS this week:

Herbal Essences Max Hold Gel, $4.39
Clearance Price: $2.19
-$1/1 Herbal Essence Product Coupon
Paid: $1.19

Herbal Essences Extra Hold Spray Gel, $4.69
Clearance Price: $2.34
-$1/1 Herbal Essence Product Coupon
Paid: $1.34

Target Deals

Up & Up Cough Drops (I could have used these at the beginning of the year when I was battling “the sickness”)
Vaseline Petroleum Jelly
Up & Up Dryer Sheets
Up & Up Pantiliners

Coupon Binder Organizing Week

I went ahead and posted the deals I’ve gotten so far even though it is mid-week because this week I thought I would take a little extra time and organize my coupon binder. Which means I’ll be looking for additional deals for coupons that are about to expire, purge the coupons that have already expired, and make sure all of my coupons are clipped & filed correctly. I’m excited to see what next week’s deals will be.

What deals have you scored this week?

What is your favorite store to shop at for coupon deals?

Disclosure: this is a weekly wrap-up post of the savings I found at various stores in my area. My shopping experience may differ from your own.

DIY Project: Creating a Kids Space in Moms Office

The Domestic Diva — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:59:51 +0000

It wasn’t too long ago when Hubby and I decided to “trade work spaces”. He decided to move his office upstairs and I decided to take over the basement. Moving and changing up the look, feel, and purpose of a room is something that my husband and I enjoy.

I spend a lot of time on Pinterest. It is such an amazing source for inspiration. But one of the things that I like most about Pinterest is that it encourages me to actually get up off the ~~couch~~ computer to try something new & different.

One such inspiration came when I was pinning happily along one day late at night when I came across this amazing photo of bench made out of an old crib mattress. I will admit that I was first drawn to the photo because of the damask pattern. But as I looked at it, I quickly realized that this was something that I could sort of recreate in my own house.

Not too long ago I took an old coffee table that my Mom snagged at a yard sale and with a little paint it was turned into a great storage bench. And after searching through the basement I found that we still were holding onto that old crib mattress from when my kidlets were little. I was excited beyond words!!!

Below is a photo of how we dedicated a corner of our “Mom Cave” into a kid-friendly space.

Scrapbook storage cubes from Michael’s
the crib mattress idea from Pinterest: we did not have any crib sheets anymore so instead I used a satin striped black table cloth that I tucked and secured under the mattress.
corkboard spray painted with chalkboard paint
diy storage bench made out of an old coffee table
affordable folding table from Walmart, used as a computer desk
damask curtains from Target
bookshelf for kidlets books (I need to paint this white…it’s on the to-do list)

What do you think of the space?

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Clipped 2 Savings Haul: Covergirl Shineblast Lipgloss Clearance at Walgreens

The Domestic Diva — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:39:54 +0000

This week started out rather slowly. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to find any real “wow” deals this week. I’ve been a little discouraged this week since it was such a slow week but finally on Thursday I found some good deals.

Here’s is my savings recap for the week:

Saved at CVS

2 CVS Brand Skin Care, lotions $1.49
Sale: Buy 1, Get 1 50% off
Saved: $.75
Used -$1/2 CVS Brand Skin Care coupon printed from the Coupon Machine
Total Paid: $1.23
Total Saved: $1.75

Buy 3 American Greeting Cards Get $3 ECB
Bought 3 Cards $.99 each.
Paid using ECB from last week :)

Target: 50% Toy Clearance

At my Target there wasn’t a lot of toy clearance leftover from the holidays. But I was able to get 2 birthday gifts and 1 Christmas gift early for one of my kidlets. Here is what I found at my store this week:

1 Bounce Dryer Bar $4.27 contains $4 worth of coupons inside package (which pretty much pays for itself overtime)

Bought another Bounce Bar on price cut $4
Used -$2/1 coupon from previous box
Paid: $2.00

Pirates of the Carribean Dressup Kit, Clearance Price $4.97
Original Price: $16.59
Saved: $11.62

Smurfs Action Figure Set, Clearance Price $3.88
Original price: $12.99
Saved: $9.11

32-Piece Construction Play Set, Clearance Price $3.00
Original Price: $10.00
Saved: $7.00

Deal of the Week: Walgreens

At my local Walgreens I noticed that they had a lot of makeup on clearance so I quickly fumbled through my coupon binder to see if I had any coupons for any of the products that were marked down. And sure enough I did have some coupons for Covergirl :) so this is the “WOW” deal I was able to score this week:

Bought 8 Covergirl Shineblast Lipglosses on clearance for $2.29 each.
Original price $8.99
Used 4 -$2.50/2 Covergirl products coupon
At the register lipglosses rang up Buy One Get One 50% off, saving an additional -$4.60
Total Spent: $3.72
Total SAVED: $68.20!!!!!

Oh my goodness, I’m still in SHOCK! I think this has been my best save yet. LOVE it!!!!

What I’ve learned in the first few weeks of Couponing:

Obviously, some weeks will be better than others. Even though I thought this week was going to be a slow week at the start it definitely turned out to be better than I thought it would be.

Not all deals will happen in my area. There was one specific deal I really wanted to get on some Neutrogena makeup but my Walgreens doesn’t carry their makeup line at all. Another instance, my CVS was out of stock on the Glade products I was trying to get for an Extra Care Bucks deal. Same for coupons, not all coupons will be offered in my Sunday circular :(

Taking separate trips. I’m learning that to maximize savings I need to shop in small trips especially at stores that offer rewards like CVS.

Get ready for next week: Coupon Matchup Previews

So these are the deals I scored this week. Now let’s look at some of my favorite coupon blogs for deals & savings coming up next week:
Sunday Coupon Insert Preview: 1/22
CVS deals 1/22
Walgreens deals 1/22

Do you coupon? What was your favorite deal this week?

Disclosure: this is a weekly wrap-up post of the savings I found at various stores in my area. My shopping experience may differ from your own.

Clipped 2 Savings: Beauty Edition

The Domestic Diva — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:31:34 +0000

I’m so excited!!! Remember last week when I told you guys about all of the amazing deals I scored while couponing? Well one of those deals was a Daily Deal at Target.com. Daily Deals at Target.com are great! Not only are they discounted products but one can also get FREE SHIPPING! LOVE free shipping.

One of the deals I scored last week was an E.L.F. 32 eyeshadow palette for around $2 and some change. Combining the sale price with an online coupon code brought my total down lower than what was advertised. Plus I was able to use a giftcard that I had saved from a previous coupon trip at one of their stores (I’ll talk more about this at a later date). So nothing out of pocket for me on this makeup deal.

You guys know how much I love makeup. So I thought I would combine my two loves: my excitement over all things beauty and my passion for savings to bring a new series called “Clipped 2 Savings: Beauty Edition“. Whenever I score a great deal on beauty products I’ll share how I use those product either in a post or video. It should be fun!

So stay tuned, a video tutorial on how I use the E.L.F. 32 eyeshadow palette is coming soon!!!

Disclosure: this post is not a sponsored post nor is this post affiliated/sponsored/associated with the Target brand (we just like the deals we score there).

Clipped 2 Savings: The Beginning of a Stockpile

The Domestic Diva — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:24:40 +0000

I’ve had an AMAZING couponer’s week. I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of couponing and let me tell you… I’m having SO MUCH FUN! Couponing and searching for Online Deals has become a bit addictive. So I thought I would share with you all deals that I find each week, in a sort of wrap-up type post.

But first let’s take a look at the beginning of my stockpile…

As the year progresses, I hope to share how this small space has grown.

Now onto the deals that I was able to snag this week (this is the exciting part).

Deals at CVS

I scored the best deals at CVS this week. So many that it is hard to keep up with.
CVS Deals 1/8-1/14
Extra Care Bucks to use next week: $9.49

Deals at Walmart

Free or Cheap UP2U Gum
the gum was not on Rollback at my local store but still scored a great deal
Paid (bought 4): $1.12
Saved: $4.00 using coupons

Walmart Coupon Deals: Bic Pens & Floss
Total Paid: $0.14
Saved: $5.00 using coupons

Deals at Walgreens

$1 ChexMix at Walgreens
Total Paid (bought 8): $8.24
Saved: $16.00 using coupons
Register Rewards to use next week: $3.00

Other Store Deals

Rue 21 Clearance Deal: Clip-in Color & Feather Hair Extensions
Paid: $.50 each
Total Savings: $10.44

Online Deals

Target Deal of the Day (Thursday): 32-Piece Elf Eyeshadow Palette
Paid (used a giftcard): $2.37 shipped
Saved: $2.63

Target Deal of the Day (Today 1/14): Another 32-Piece Elf Eyeshadow Palette
Paid (used a giftcard & extra promo code): $2.13 shipped
Saved: $2.87

FREE Valentine’s Day Card
I picked out this card for Hubby for Valentine’s Day if you’re curious (shhh! don’t tell Hubby).
Paid: $0.00 shipped
Saved: $3.99

15 Free Books for Kindle

Get Ready for Next Week’s Savings

Sunday Coupon Preview Week of 1/15
CVS Deals & Coupon Matchups 1/15-1/21
Walgreens Coupon Deals: Week of 1/15

Disclosure: this is a weekly wrap-up post of the savings I found at various stores in my area. My shopping experience may differ from your own.

Rue 21 Deal: Feather & Color Clip-In Hair Extensions $.50 each

The Domestic Diva — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:43:03 +0000

While checking out the mall last week, I stumbled into Rue 21 and noticed that they had feather and solid color hair extensions. I’ve been looking for some clip-in color hair extensions for a while now but wasn’t willing to pay $10+ that I’ve seen them advertised for on TV and other places. I thought about just making my own since I like to be crafty but couldn’t think of a place to buy the feathers and/or synthetic hair strips.

Well time went by and I couldn’t stop thinking about the hair extensions I saw at Rue 21. I received a giftcard as a gift for Christmas so I thought I’d get just one. Little did I know that when I went to checkout that was about to change. You see the hair extensions were located in the clearance section of Rue 21 but they were not marked on the package at all that they were discounted. I grabbed one that I liked and headed to checkout. What should have rung up as $3.99 instead rang up for only $.50!!!! I squealed inside with excitement. I asked the cashier if the others were on sale too and she said she didn’t know. I quickly responded….I’ll be back. I ran to the back and picked up two more. At only $.50 each, they are definitely a great deal.

reMane Colored Feather Clip-In Synthetic Hair Extensions: $3.99
Clearance Priced @ $.50/ea.
Paid (when I bought 3): $1.59
Total Savings: $10.44

I love clearance shopping no matter what store I go to. Whenever I go into any store I always head to the clearance section first, you never know what deals you’ll be able to find.

Did you like this post? Check out: Hair Chalking

Disclosure: this is an example of a deal that I found today at one of my local stores. Prices and deals may vary/differ by region (where you live).