Thursday, August 30, 2012

Free Fabric

I love fabric.  I never do anything with it but I love looking and touching and imagining all the possibilities a flat little piece of coloured threads can become.  Of course I love it even more when it is on sale or clearance or some other huge discount.  Usually my maximum willing-to-pay price for a fat quarter is $2.00.  That is pushing it.  I like $1.00 or $1.50 better.  A fat quarter (Canadian preferably) gives me enough fabric to get a good feeling of the overall pattern, touch and feel, hang up on my quilt rack for show, and maybe (maybe) cut it up to make something practical or impractical.



Imagine my delight, then, to discover an older blog post describing how to get these little pieces of fabric for free!  Hee hee hee JOY!  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.  In fact, it is something my mother probably mentioned to me that I forgot about - along with the many other thrifty, efficient tidbits of wisdom she imparts when I'm not listening.  But I digress.  Here is a link to the blogpost from 2009 by ecokaren that details how to do it.  Now to mypoints search local upholstery stores...

http://www.ecokaren.com/2009/09/how-to-get-free-fabric-and-be-eco-friendly/

Want to see an American fat quarter size chart?  Check out Whipstitch Fabric's blog, based in Atlanta, GA, USA
http://whipstitchfabrics.com/blog/organizing-your-fabric-stash-by-size-with-a-sidebar-discussion-of-the-fat-quarter/


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

mypoints free and fun


One thing I love to do is browse internet sales and occasionally purchase something that is an awesome deal, taking advantage of any bonuses, extra coupons, or rewards-earning opportunities.  A great way I have discovered to do this is through using mypoints.com 

I was first introduced to this site as a rewards option through completing surveys and reviews for BzzAgent (BzzReports, etc.).  I wasn't familiar with the concept originally and I confess I ignored my first few mypoints rewards (grrr!!! dumb!!!).   Then I checked it out thoroughly and registered for an account.  It was a basic registration - pick an email address and password, enter your real first and last name, and mailing address.  I was a little leery of the mailing address, but I don't think I have had any spam associated with them and I only get about an average of three mypoints emails per month by not signing up for the daily deals alerts.

Anyways, by earning mypoints rewards through BzzAgent, answering occasional surveys, and purchasing occasional products by linking to the company's website via the mypoints site, I have earned various gift certificate rewards that I have put to good (FUN) use.

I have earned since 2009 (keep in mind that I purchase something online on average once per month):

- $50 in Williams-Sonoma gift cards 
- $125 in Macy's gift cards 

These cards physically arrived in the mail to my house about three to four weeks after requesting them and I was able to use both for online purchases via mypoints to earn rewards again on their value. It is an American website, but they still sent my rewards to Canada no problem and most companies associated with their site offer Canadian shipping if you do not have an American address you can use.  Unfortunately, the Canadian shipping on some sites is a total rip-off, so you do need to do your due diligence and remember to think of duty/customs/HST/GST.  But if you're a smart shopper, you can certainly get good deals via mypoints.com and I recommend it.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

BAGS @ Start Some Good

Not free, but excellent free feelings come along with supporting this venture!

You can purchase yoga mat bags, purses, scarves and coin purses made out of recycled saris from recovering survivors of human trafficking.

Support Human Trafficking Survivors with BAGS