How to Save Big Money at Target with the New Cartweel App

I am going to be creating a new, second blog about saving money and frugal living. I have yet to decide on a title, however, and designing a blog takes a lot of time, so it will be a while before it's up and running.

But I have deals to share that expire very soon so this is a problem! So I am going to write the posts here for now, and then when I create my new, thrifty blog I will move them over.

{Note: Very unfortunately for me, I am not an affliliate for Target or it's Cartwheel app, so this post does NOT contain any affiliate links.)

Have you heard of Target's new savings app yet? It's called Cartwheel, and it's awesome.

How it works:

• Once you've downloaded the app, you can add offers on specific items to your "cartwheel."
• Careful, because you have a limited number of "spots" that you can add offers to. You start with ten, but you can earn more.
• Offers are usually given as a percent off, such as "5% off Dove hair care."
• Offers can be used in conjunction with sales, store coupons, and manufacturer coupons, so it's like triple stacking on top of sales. Bring on the savings!
• Redeem your offers by going to "My Cartwheel" when you're in the checkout lane. The Target clerk then scans your "My Cartwheel" barcode. Anything in your cartwheel that you bought automatically gets taken off your total. Nice, right?!
• If you have a Target Red Debit Card, you get 5% off ON TOP of your sales, store coupons, manufacturer coupons, AND your cartwheel offers. Major savings stacking!
• (I never promote credit cards, but did you know that Target has a Debit Card? It gives you 5% off in the store and online at Target.com. It also gives you free online shipping. Great way to save some extra cash! Something to note, though: it can take several extra days for purchases to show up in your bank account, so make sure you keep track of your Target purchases, especially if you do most of your banking online.)

Things to note about Cartwheel:

• You have to have a facebook account to use Cartwheel. Logging in with facebook is the only way. 
• The My Cartwheel scan has to be AFTER all paper coupons are applied. The system won't let you do it before.
• If you prefer, you can also print off your cartwheel and the clerk can scan the paper copy. 

Excellent deals coming in the next post!

How to Turn Your Blog Post Title into a Photo for Pinterest (Even if You Don't Have Photoshop) - Part 3

Photo Credit

Now that I've taught you how to make a blog title photo using real objects (Part 1 - see tutorial here), and how to make one from scratch without using your camera (Part 2 - see tutorial here), it's time to see the third way. Way 3 involves a combination of the first 2 ways.

For this 3rd way, you will need a digital photo. This can be a photo that you've taken that relates to the post you're writing, or a photo you (legally) acquired through the internet or otherwise. (I may write a post one day about legally acquiring photos online, but until that day you can check out my Pinterest board Blogging Helps for photo sources, tips, and other helpful blogger info.).

Step 1: Go to www.ribbet.com.

Step 2: Click "Edit Photo."

Step 3: In the upper left, click "Upload a Photo."

Step 4: Upload your photo of choice. 

Step 5: Once your photo is uploaded to Ribbet, click on the top tab that says "Aa Text." 

Step 6: Select the font of your choice, or upload your own font as I described in Part 2.

Step 7: Move your cursor into the text box on the top left and add whatever text you would like. Then click "Add." Generally, this would be your title, such as "33 Ways to Practice Spelling" or whatever your blog post is about. You can resize your text box or hit "Enter" to create multiple lines of text. Alternately, you can create multiple text boxes for each line of text.

Step 8: Save your photo and insert into your blog. Easy peasy. 

I hope you found any or all of these tutorials helpful. If you have a question or general comment, feel free to leave one. Otherwise, enjoy!

You may also like:
How to Turn Your Blog Post Title... - Part 1
How to Turn Your Blog Post Title... - Part 2

How to Turn Your Blog Post Title Into a Photo for Pinterest (Even if You Don't Have Photoshop) - Part 2

I know I promised that I was "back" after working my summer job, but then we decided to go on a long vacation, so I wasn't as "back" as I thought! We had a great time, and now that vacation is over and we've started homeschooling again, I'm ready to get back into the (occasional) groove of writing.

If you missed the first post of this series, you can find Part 1 here.

I originally was only going to make this a 2 part series, but I realized that there is actually a 3rd way, so I will be writing part 3 after this one, so stay tuned for that!

In Part 1, I taught you how to make a title photo using real objects. In this post, you will learn how to make a title photo from scratch without using your camera or the expensive program known as Photoshop.

The way I do this is through free, online photo software known as ribbet. I LOVE ribbet, and even more so now that they have added so many great features. Several of the things in this tutorial, such as "starting from scratch with a blank canvas" and "True Vintage" effects were not available the last time I made a blog title photo. So, hooray for you that I get to include them in this post!


Read on for the complete tutorial on how to create a photo title using method #2:


Step 1: Go to www.ribbet.com. You can sign up for an account, but it is not required. I do have an account and log in every time I use it because it allows me to access my previous photo projects. I think signing up for an account is what gives you access to the "premium" features, but everything is still free.

Step 2: Go to "Edit a Photo."

Step 3: There should now be two layers of tabs at the top in green. The bottom green layer should have two tabs: "Home" and "Library." Make sure you are on the "Home" tab.

Step 4: On the bottom right, you have the option to "Start from Scratch with a Blank Canvas." This is what you want. Click "Blank Canvas."

Step 5: You now have the option to choose a size and color for your new canvas. I always just use the size it says, but you can change it to whatever size you want. To pick a background color, click the drop-down box where it says "Color." Choose whatever shade you want, or you can just leave it white if you prefer. (I do not recommend clicking "transparent," as it literally makes the entire canvas see-through and extremely hard to work with for this kind of project.)

Below is a basic background canvas after I added color. (Unedited excusing my watermark and inserted as an appropriate size.)

Step 6 (optional): To give your canvas dimension, click on the "Effects" tab and choose an effect to add to your canvas. This step is entirely optional. {Note: Because you are working with a blank canvas and not an actual photo, some of the effects will not do much, while others will change it way more than you want. If you decide you do not like an effect, there is an "Undo" button in the top left hand corner, or you can simply hit "Discard" if it asks you if you want to keep it.}

Below are some samples of what different effects look like when added to the above canvas.

{Note: While I didn't do this in the below examples, you can also adjust the fade level and often other elements of your effect if that's something you want to play around with.} 

Matte

Morocco

Fiji

One of the Texture Effects

(on the bottom row, second from the end)

Another Texture Effect

(on the bottom row, fourth from the end)

A True Vintage Effect 

(top row, last one)

Another True Vintage Effect

(middle row, second one from the left)

Step 7 (optional): Whether or not you add any effects, you may or may not want to add a frame to your photo. This is completely optional. To add a frame, go to the "Frames" tab. You can then add whatever frame you would like. Remember, undo is in the top left corner if you add a frame you decide you don't like. 

Below are a few examples of frames that have been added to the "Morocco Effect" photo above:

Museum Matte Frame

(added to Morocco Effect)

Polaroid Frame

(added to Morocco Effect)

Love Flare Frame 

(added to Morocco Effect)

Step 8: Add your title by going to the tab that says, "Aa Text." Type in your text and hit "Add." You can resize it to whatever size you want. Hit enter when appropriate if you want/need your text to go onto multiple lines. 

You can add more than one text box if you want. You can also change the text to whatever color you want. {Note: Ribbet always defaults the text color to be white. I usually change it to black to make it easier to read. You can do this by moving the color dot to anywhere across the very bottom of the spectrum.}

Ribbet has quite a few fonts to choose from, and you can pick whatever font you want for each text box. If you want more than one font for your title, just make each font its own text box and then move them around accordingly.

Don't see the font you want? Use their awesome, free feature "Load my fonts." This will upload all of your fonts for you to use on ribbet. Awesome, right?!! If you still need font inspiration, you can check out my Pinterest board Free Fonts & More for hundreds of free fonts you can download and use. Then you can upload said free fonts onto ribbet to use for your photo titles. Yay for more free blogging tools!

Step 9: Save Your Photo. Go to the green tab "Save." (In the same green layer that the "Home" tab was in during step 3.) Save your photo using whatever title you want. 

Now you can upload your new photo title into your blog and pin it on Pinterest. Hooray!

There is yet another way to create a photo title, other than the other two I've already taught you. The third way is a combination of the first two. Stay tuned for another blogging/ photo tutorial!

{Full disclosure: This post does NOT contain any paid or referral links.}

You may also like: 

How to Turn Your Blog Post Title... - Part 1

How to Turn Your Blog Post Title... - Part 3

Back from My Summer Job...

My summer job is over. Whew! It is a lot of hours, but it allows me to stay home for most of the year, which is pretty awesome. I am SO thankful for that.

Anyway, this has been the reason for my absence the past few weeks. I have a lot of housework to catch up on, but there are officially THREE rooms in the house that are clean now. Woohoo! I am also reasonably caught up on the laundry, which is nice.

The twins just had their birthday yesterday and are now 7 years old. Hard to believe in some ways. I remember when they were tiny, tiny 5 lb. babies. It does NOT seem like it's been 7 years... That being said, I have loved every stage they have been in. Each stage has its own riches. I am so thankful to be a mom.

I will be writing real posts again soon, including part 2 of How to Turn a Blog Post Title Into a Photo for Pinterest.

Thanks for sticking around during my absence, and stay tuned for upcoming posts, how-to's, and homeschool supplements and printables. :)

How to Turn Your Blog Post Title Into a Photo for Pinterest (Even If You Don't Have Photoshop) - Part 1

You know how some blogs have boxes at the top of their posts with the title in it? Trying to figure out how to add said box to the top of your blog so you can pin that title as your pin on pinterest? 

A friend of mine asked me how I do this so she can do it on her blog, so I decided to turn it into a post in case others need this info, too. Read on a for a full tutorial! (And, while you're at it, check out my friend's homeschooling blog at TeachingBoys.net.)

First off, the "box" at the top of the post is actually not a text box at all, but a photo inserted into the blog. You can do this using Photoshop, but Photoshop is expensive, and I don't have it. Nor can I afford it, so I have played around with my blog enough to find ways to do this for free! (Everybody say, "Yay!")

There are a couple different ways that you can turn your title into a photo without using Photoshop. 

Way #1: For the less computer-savvy (or even for the pros!), one way to turn your title into a photo is to make the title using real objects and take a photo of it. Insert it into your blog post and viola! Mission accomplished!

Ideas for backdrops:

• plain old computer paper, construction paper, cardstock, scrapbook paper, posterboard, wrapping paper....any kind of paper really
• any surface large enough that won't distract too much from the wording: a wooden tabletop, a brick fireplace, a colorful (or not!) sheet, a countertop, piece of cardboard, even your fridge! (For the fridge idea, you can use magnetic letters or use magnets to hold up papers with the words of the title)... Pretty much any surface that is smooth(ish) and flat will work as a background.
• If you are feeling ambitious, you can get even more creative by using backdrops that have depth. For example, the seat of a swing, the inside of a tunnel or slide, the inside of an empty tote, a Bible, a serving tray, etc.
• You can even layer or stack your backgrounds or have props on your background with the words in front of it. Examples: a stack of books on a table with the words in front, a pretty tea towel on a serving tray with silverware and the words on the towel or a fancy napkin, something made out of Legos or something related to your post with the words in front
• Note: Make sure the background directly behind your words or letters has enough contrast and doesn't distract too much from your title. For example, never put light words on a light background and vice versa. If your title isn't readable, this is all for naught!
• For my title photo above, I actually used a white dry erase board.

Ideas for letters/words:

• printed letters/words cut from magazines, food boxes, catalogs, advertisements, etc.
• freehand cut letters from scrapbook or other paper
• sticker letters/words
• written in your own handwriting
• printed off the computer
• create one or all words using something related (or not related!) to your post;  i.e. out of shoes, Legos, pencils, uncooked spaghetti, fake flowers, neckties, play-doh, yarn, blades of grass, crayons, markers... you get the idea ;)
• create words using abc blocks
• use magnetic letters, puzzle letters, metal letters, wooden letters or any kind of letters or words that you happen to have around your house (or in your kids' toybox!)
• You can also use some of your kids' toys that are not letters per se but have relevant words on them. For example, does your son have small traffic signs as part of a cars set? You can use the stop sign as "Stop" in your title of "How to Stop Nagging Your Kids to Do Their Homework." Dig around in the toy box and see what you find! 
• For my title photo above, I used letters from a Melissa and Doug See and Spell,  
a Hangman game, and an Upwards game. Thrift stores typically have great word games with lots of letters. I got Hangman and Upwards from Goodwill!

Examples on pinterest of this approach:

This is part 1 of 2. Stay tuned for the second half!
(Part 2 is finished! See Part 2 here.)

In the meantime, you can see more photography tips for bloggers at this pin:

You may also like:

How to Turn Your Blog Post Title... - Part 2
How to Turn Your Blog Post Title... - Part 3