Madewell

JCrew's older, chic-er, more expensive sister, Madewell, has tons of items listed for final sale.

Roaring Twenties Tank

The Brownstone Bag

Sale items run the gamut - wool hats and mittens, wool jackets, shoes, boots, dresses, sweaters and floaty tops. In other words, you can wear sale items now AND later.

But, buyer beware. . .no returns on final sale items.

Garnet Hill

Garnet Hill has some killer deals right now:

Cashmere gloves - $24

Anastasia Dress - $39

Easy Cargo Jacket - $49

Sequined Wrap Sweater - $89

Faux-Fur Coat - $124

Hurry! Things are selling out and limited sizes are available.

12 Days of Christmas Crafts - Day 12

The 12th day of the 12 Days of Christmas Crafts. I have to admit it's a bit of a relief; I need to move on to other Christmas preparations. It's another knitting project. Very crafty, quick and it makes a great gift.

Simple Mohair Scarf

A skein of mohair yarn

Size 15 needles

Finished size 4" x 72"

Cast on 16 stitches (or the number needed to make the scarf your desired witdth).

Knit every row until you reach the desired length.

It's a light and airy scarf you can wear any time of year.

That's it. Really easy.

Don't forget - the parade of cookies starts tomorrow.

12 Days of Christmas Crafts - Day 8

Ric rac is just one of those things. It's down home, girly, and classic all at the same time. And it comes in just about every color of the rainbow.

Time to share another quick craft a la Martha, for little girls and big girls alike. I found the instructions in an old copy of Martha Stewart Kids magazine, unfortunately out-of-print:

The raw materials:

Ric rac in different colors, sizes and textures

Love the texture of the white ric rac

I like the traditional texture, too

Milliner's flowers

Stitch the ric rac carefully into a circle and join (tuck the raw ends and glue carefully).

The stitching doesn't have to be perfect

Top side of the unfinished flower

Make multiples of different sizes and colors.

Remove the stamen from the milliner's flowers and glue into the center of ric rac circle.

Use the finished flowers on ballet flats, hair clips, hair band, or sew onto sweaters or other clothing.

Very cute and so easy to make!

12 Days of Christmas Crafts - Day 7

Yesterday's scarf looks pretty lonely, don't you think? I think it needs some warm chunky mittens to keep it company.

Chunky Mittens

Bulky homespun yarn

Size 9 dp needles or size to obtain gauge - 4 stiches and 6 rows to the inch in stockinette

Finished size - Women's Small

Cast on 18 stitches

5 rounds K1P1 rib 

Knit 1 round

Knit 1 round, increasing 1 at each end

4 rounds stockinette

Thumb:

K9, inc1 on 10th and 11th stitch (knit in front and back), place marker between inc, K to end

K10, place marker, K2, place marker, K10

K10, K1 and inc, K1 and inc, K10

Knit 1 round (24 stitches)

K10, K1 and inc, K2, K1 and inc, K10

Knit 1 round (26 stitches)

K10, K1 and inc, K4, K1 & inc, K10

Knit 1 round (28 stitches)

Turn work and K10 and continue in stockinette across 8 stitches for 6 rows

K2 together across thumb

Cut yarn, leaving 6 inches and weave through 4 remaining thumb stitches and pull tight

Attach yarn for remaining body stitches

K1 and inc, K to end of round

Continue in stockinette until the body covers pinky finger

Decreasing

Row 1: K2 tog, K6, K2 tog, K1, slip slip knit (SSK), K6, SSK

Row 2: Knit 1 round on every even row

Row 3: K2 tog, K4, K2 tog, K1, SSK, K4, SSK

Row 5: K2 tog, K2, K2 tog, K1, SSK, K2, SSK

Row 7: K2 tog, K2 tog, K1, SSK, SSK

Weave tail through remaining stitches and pull tight

Weave in ends

I'm a slow knitter but the project was completed in about 2 hours. Now I need to finish the 2nd mitten; I'm notorious for knitting half the pair. Pointless. I think I can, I think I can. . .

Online Shopping on the Cheap, Part 2 - Promotion Codes

A terrific follow-up to Boulder Locavore's tips on eBates to ease your online holiday shopping. I always waste too much time Googling for coupons and promotional codes. I'm grateful for the tips!

I’m honored once again to contribute a bit of thrifty online shopping wisdom to She’s Thrifty readers just in time for the holiday shopping madness!

When shopping online (always my preferred method) I have an entire formula I use to make it the least expensive possible. I already shared with you that I always start with www.ebates.com. They have a vast collection of stores, some you’d never expect, so you always do well to begin there and use them to launch you to your online store of choice (they track your purchase and automatically send you a check for the rebate from your quarterly purchases).

Step two is the Promotional Codes. I’m sure you’ve noted emails from online retailers advertising a special discount with a code to be added at check out. These promotional codes vary and change but can always bring you additional savings from free shipping to a good percentage off your purchase.

There are online coupon aggregators where you can visit, enter your store name and all known active coupons and codes will be displayed. Two I’ve found most helpful are www.couponcabin.com and www.retailmenot.com. Once I’ve found what I’m looking for online, I’ll open a second browser window to search these sites for a good discount code. If I’m unsuccessful, something as simple as Googling the store’s name and ‘promotional code’ (e.g. ‘Nordstrom promotional code’) will generally yield a number of other sites carrying coupons to sort through. Not all coupons featured on these sites may be active and they often show the percentage of success when attempting to use them. They are always worth a try for some additional savings I’ve found.

To use the Promotional Code: once you begin the check out process you will note a box for Promotional or Gift Code with most retailers. It is generally found around where you’d enter your credit card information. You will know if the code has worked as the percentage off or shipping savings will appear immediately once the code has been entered. If you get an error message or if no change occurs with your final costs, the code most likely is not active.

One general caveat with this strategy is if you find a promotional code on one of these sites that requires you to press a link to get to the store, versus giving you a code to add, you will be in a separate shopping session and cannot combine that with the savings you would get by having started with www.ebates.com.

In summary, here’s my ‘avoid-the-crowd-shop-in-my-PJ’s’ formula for online shopping savings success:

• Go to www.ebates.com; look up the store where you wish to shop, select it and you will be transported to the store’s website (no additional action needed to get the rebate from your purchase),
• Complete your shopping but do NOT check out fully yet!
• Open a separate browser window and check for active promotional codes on www.couponcabin.com , www.retailmenot.com or by Googling the name of your store with ‘promotional code’. Insert the code in the appropriate box and complete your check out.

My last online shopping savings tip is that Friday December 17th is ONLINE FREE SHIPPING DAY! Over 1000 merchants have signed up to offer Free Shipping on December 17 with delivery by Christmas Eve!
Check www.freeshippingday.com for details on merchants.


Wishing you a stress free, savings filled holiday shopping season! Boulder Locavore

Blue (Cyber) Monday

For some reason, I'm thinking about Blue Monday, today. Must be the whole Cyber Monday thing. Not only is Blue Monday the best ever New Order song, but there's also a great cover by Flunk.

Along those lines, some gorgeous blue finds on etsy.

farouche $35.00	brooklynbookbi... $15.00	elde $85.00	EverLuxe $
thetrendybaby $22.00	BeadinBabe $10.80	blacksanddesig... $42.00	sweetpetula $20.00
MaaPstudio $38.00	alliterations $5.00	CaitlinSainio $5.00	rosebudlips $23.00
whitneysmith $44.00	abunchofscrap $2.75	thecraftpantry $12.00	BethanyOgle $98.00

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Thanksgiving Recovery and Black Friday Shopping Tips

Ahh, Thanksgiving recovery. Like any other major holiday, everyone tries to cram in a feast, socializing and family togetherness.

Add Black Friday to the mix and your head can start to spin.

I, for one, will not shop today. Visiting brick-and-mortar stores is out of the question. I really don't like crowds. Online shopping is out, too, because I have yet to follow my own advice. What was it I wrote about smart Black Friday shopping?

1. Do not buy on impulse, plan first, including setting a budget and organizing a list.
2. Try to buy gifts your recipients will use.
3. Compare prices.
4. Sleep in on Black Friday.
5. Wait for prices to drop even lower. Most buyers have severely cut spending, although the average, according to the New York Times, is predicted to increase 3.5% over last year. Retailers want to empty their stores before they take inventory in early 2011 and they need an infusion of cash. Trust me, prices will go down.
6. Don't panic over selection. There will be plenty of choices left.

Since shopping is on the back burner, I might take Roo to a movie while the Diva babysits for some friends.

Hopefully your stemware, 'good' dishes and KitchenAid stand mixer - as seen at Williams-Sonoma - are safely tucked away biding time until the next biggie holiday. Today's the day to regroup and rejuvenate.

Sparkly Handcrafted Jewelry for a Fabulous Thanksgiving

Get out your sparkly flatware and dishes and make this the shiniest Thanksgiving ever.

Some sterling silver, brass and gold inspiration from etsy:

accessoryalamo... $29.50	simplyyoujewel... $39.00	newhopebeading $54.00	tinytokensdesi... $35.00
aswedanceaway $25.00	JLynnCreations $40.00	bittyclippies $48.00	agawacanyon $45.00
LillyEllenDesi... $52.00	wsayle $34.00	juliethefish $12.00	pureroxinprint $84.00
punkybunny300 $25.00	yourcharmedlif... $30.00	hazelnutcottag... $54.40	christinaguent... $46.00

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