Hot Chocolate Gifts

Hot Chocolate

These simple to make hot chocolates are great for using up the left over chocolate from the first two recipes. They make excellent gift ideas or to keep for your self!

Ingredients

Cooking Chocolate

Spoons

Cello Bags

Ribbon

Silicon cup cake holders

Have your silicon cup cake holders ready to be filled

Melt the chocolate in the microwave in short bursts.

Move the cup cake holder next to the wall, Once the chocolate is melted fill the holders as shown, leaving a bit of room at the top.

Stand the spoon in the chocolate using the wall for support. You can use any spoons you like, or to keep costs down you could also use pop-sticks.

Once the Chocolate is set carefully remove the cup cake holder. Place into a cello bag and use some ribbon to tie closed.

To use, heat half to 3/4 of a mug of milk, depending on taste in the microwave until hot, place the spoon into the hot milk and slowly stir until the chocolate has melted. 

Marshmallow Wands Centerpiece

Here is an simple yet effective edible centerpiece, the kids will love helping make it as much as they will love eating it. Makes around 15 wands.

Ingredients

Marshmallows

100’s and 1000’s

Cooking chocolate melted

Bamboo skewers

For the centerpiece

Empty Tissue box

Tissue Paper

Any paper to wrap the box

Metal skewer

Ribbon

Cut the empty tissue box so that you have a

big and a small end

With both open ends facing down put the small end inside 

the big end. Wrap the box in any paper you want (plain paper, 

wrapping paper, just so you cant see the tissue box through

 the tissue paper.)

Once wrapped, use the metal skewer to peirce holes through

 the box, making sure to go through both ends of the tissue 

box and to space them far enough apart to fit the marshmallow

wands.

Put 4 Marshmallows onto the blunt end of the skewers.

Hold the marshmallos over the melted chocolate and drizzle 

the chocolate over the marshmallow wand.

Dip the marshmallow wands into the 100’s and 1000’s and put into the box. Tie some ribbon around the base of the wands.When the box is full place the box on top of the sheet of tissue paper and bring up the sides of the box, use some more ribbon to hold it up over the box. If you cant get all the wands to fit into the box, just keep them aside and use them to replace ones that get eaten, or make 2 boxes.

Costing

This center piece uses mostly ingredients left over from making the Little Tea Cups*. I have seen individual wands for sale at markets for between $1 -$2. They can be made for a fraction of the cost and put in a centrepiece.

*Marshmallows on special $2.00 packet. Using 1 pack and the half a pack left over* $3

*Cooking Chocolate $3.30 about a 1/3 of a pack - $1.10

*100’s and 1000’s $1.69 1/10 of a pack - 17c

*skewers - $2.75 1/10 of a pack 27c

*Tissue Paper - $1.24 1/8 pack 15c

*ribbon – 50c a roll ¼ roll 13c

TOTAL COST = $4.82 or 31 cents each.

Shopping bill = $6.43 (skewers, ribbon, tissue paper  and extra pack of marshmallows)

Look out for our ideas to use up the left over chocolate and tissue paper.

6 budget friendly home-made face scrubs

Bargain Mums have come up with 6 face scrubs you can make from everyday ingredients in your pantry.  Each scrub is made in a single application amount, meaning no waste, and each applications costs next to nothing!

Basic Baking Soda Scrub
for everyday use

- 2 to 3 tablespoons baking soda
- small amount of water

Mix baking soda and water into a paste.  Apply to face using a circular motion and gently scrub.  Rinse.

Basic Cornmeal Scrub
For use every 2 - 3 days

-2 to 3 tablespoons cornmeal
- small amount of water.

Mix cornmeal and water. Apply to face using a circular motion and gently scrub.  Rinse.

Rose Almond Face Scrub
Brightens and softens skin

- 1 tsp rosewater
- 1/2 teaspoon almond flour or almond meal

Mix ingredients into a paste. Apply to face using a circular motion and gently scrub.  Rinse.

Oatmeal Scrub
 A 3 in 1 scrub, smooths, tones and hydrates.

- 1 tablespoon grounds oatmeal (not instant)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon yogurt

Combine and apply to face using a circular motion and gently scrub.  Rinse.  Alternatively, use as a face mask by leaving the scrub on your face for a few minutes before scrubbing and rinsing.

Banana Scrub
Scrub can double as a face mask

- 2 teaspoons mashed banana
- 2 teaspoons rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 teaspoon honey

 Mix ingredients together. Apply to face using a circular motion and gently scrub.  Rinse.

Honey Sugar Scrub

-1 teaspoon honey
-1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

Blend in a bowl, apply.  Rinse thoroughly as the scrub can be sticky.

Saving money on your wedding dress (and making your money back after the big day)

When it comes to wedding styling, some of the toughest questions revolve around The Dress. After all, unless you're a fan of haute couture, chances are that your bridal gown will be one of the priciest wardrobe items that you've ever purchased-particularly when you factor in its cost per wear value!

While some brides will brandish their credit card with glee when it comes to that perfect creation of silk, satin, lace, and beading, others may find themselves searching for other, less budget-assassinating options. And when it comes to economic and environmental considerations, it's hard to go past a pre-loved wedding dress.

Worn Only Once offers plenty of benefits to the savvy bride, including a lower environmental footprint, and the ability to purchase couture designs at much more affordable prices.

These dresses have been worn only once-and not even for 24 hours! Because wedding dresses are typically dry cleaned after the wedding day, they're typically in pristine condition. A great gown that won't blow the budget? I think that will look appealing to any budget-conscious bride.

Worn Only Once was, like most successful businesses, born of necessity. Owner, Sky-Lee Martin, found herself, perhaps like many erstwhile bridesmaids, stuck with a single-wear dress that was taking up space in her wardrobe. But try though she might, she couldn't find anywhere to offload this extraneous item of clothing.

"At the time I wanted to sell my dresses the internet wasn't in full swing like it is today," she says. "I used some newspapers, including Weekend Shopper and The Trading Post. I also took them to markets to sell."

But the problem was that her would-be customers weren't shopping in these places.

Given her own difficulties, Sky quickly concluded that there must be other women out there attempting to sell high-end single-wear couture, but that they needed an appropriate avenue to do so.

"I needed something more targeted towards people who are looking to buy these pre-loved dresses," she says. And thus Worn Only Once was born.

If you're looking to buy or sell a wedding gown, be sure to stop by Worn Only Once and visit them on Facebook

Tips for buying pre-loved:

• But as all of us who have bought too-small shoes off eBay can attest, one has to be careful when shopping online.
• Be sure to factor in the cost of alterations into the overall cost. Most bridal gowns have been tailored to fit a particular bride, so it's likely that some minor alterations will be needed. Keep in mind that these alteration costs will be negligible when the overall cost savings are calculated.
• Looking for a gown a size or two either side of your usual size can be effective, too. Many dresses have a tie back, meaning that you can squeeze into a size smaller than usual, or have a slightly larger gown drawn in.
• Lastly shop smart. Contact the seller and ask lots of questions about the dress.

Honey, Soy and Ginger Roast Maryland Chicken

We picked up some chicken maryland pieces for $2.45kg (half price), and thought this recipe was the perfect way to cook them on a cold winters night.  You can substitute the 4 marylands's with 8 chicken drumsticks if you desire.

 Serves 4

You will need

-1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3cm fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 4 chicken maryland pieces

What to do

- Combine the soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic and sesame seeds in a bowl.  Add the chicken, combine, then place in a baking dish, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
-Cook for 50 minutes to an hour at 160c degrees, turning halfway.  Serve with the side dish of your choice.

 The marinating chicken

Chicken ready to serve

Month without clothes shopping challenge

Yesterday was the start of a new month (not to mention new financial year), so what better time then now to start a new challenge, the month without clothes shopping challenge.  I'm not sure about you, but I for one can safely say that I have more than clothes than I really need.  I can't resist a bargain, and will buy discounted clothes even if I don't really need them.  This results in needing to have a wardrobe de-cluttering session every few months, which got me thinking, if I invest in quality well fitting clothes to start with (as long as they are still a bargain) then this cycle of buying and culling needn't happen at such a rapid rate.

So this month I have decided to challenge myself, and I invite all my readers to join me, to buying no clothes.  It's not a long period of time, but it's long enough to challenge myself to wear the clothes already sitting in my wardrobe.  This challenge is not just about saving money, but also finding new ways to wear the clothes you already have, which can be a lot of fun!  Saving money is a nice little bonus though, if you were to spend $2000 a year on clothes, shoes and accessories, you would save $167 buy not purchasing any this month, who can say no to that?

Throughout the month I will keep you updated on how I am going with the challenge , and I would love it if you could share your progress!