Free Ebooks: Real Life On A Budget, Toddler Learning Games, plus more!

NOTE: The price of these ebooks is currently $0.00, but that could change at any time. Be sure to verify before checking out that it is still free.

Unless otherwise noted, these ebooks are specifically for Kindles, but you can go here to download a free application that enables you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.

Download a free copy of Simply Cursive (newsletter sign-up required).

Download a free copy of Real Life on a Budget: 17 Practical Challenges to Live and Thrive on a Budget.

Download a free copy of Delicious Blogging: The Ingredients You Need To Create A Better Blog.

Download a free copy of In the Beginning: God’s Word for God’s Children.

Download a free copy of Healthy Gut, Healthy Brain.

Download a free copy of Ultimate Low-Carb Cookbook.

Download a free copy of Toddler Learning Games: The Best Creative Learning Games & Activities For Your Toddler.

Download a free copy of Healthy Soup Cookbook: The Top 50 Most Healthy Soup Recipes.

Download a free copy of Making Money With Thrift Stores and Garage Sales in 60 Minutes or Less.

Download a free copy of Zoe’s Trip to the Zoo.

Vocalpoint: Possible free Head & Shoulders sample box

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Vocalpoint freebie, so I was excited to see this one today!

Log into your Vocalpoint account and take a quick survey to see if you qualify for the Head & Shoulders with Old Spice freebie box.

If you qualify, you’ll get a FREE Full-Size product and 3 coupons to share with your friends.

Thanks, Freebie Shark!

Free Editable Cleaning Calendar for July 2015

HomemakingOrganized.com has a FREE Editable Cleaning Calendar for July 2015.

IHOP: Get a Short Stack of Buttermilk Pancakes for just $0.57 on July 7, 2015!

Stop by any IHOP location on July 7, 2015, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to get a Short Stack of Buttermilk Pancakes for $0.57.

Limit one per customer. Dine in only.

Thanks, Freebie Shark!

Free Purina Pro Plan cat food at PetSmart

Sara wrote in and said:

There’s a high value coupon for $10 off 1 Purina Pro Plan Cat Litter. Petsmart has them on sale thru July 5th for $9.99 (regular $14.99) which means free cat litter!

There’s also a $10 off Purina Pro Plan True Nature Cat food which is $14.99 at Petsmart. -Sara

IKEA Billy Bookcase Challenge & HomeRight Finish Max Giveaway!

Disclosure: This post is in partnership with HomeRight as part of their blog ambassador program.

HomeRight recently asked me and a few other blog ambassadors to participate in a fun design challenge where we would put our own personal spin on an IKEA Billy Bookcase. You’ve probably seen these IKEA “hacks” on Pinterest and throughout the blogosphere, but this is my very first one! (P.S. Stay tuned for a Finish Max Paint Sprayer giveaway at the end of this post!) I was really excited to participate, and you can check out all of the different bookcases here. You all will be able to head to the HomeRight site from July 1-12 and vote for your favorite makeover! (Hint, hint.)

I started out with the IKEA Billy which is a very plain, basic bookcase. I received the white one in the mail.

Here’s what I used for this project:

• HomeRight Finish Max Paint Sprayer
• IKEA Billy Bookcase
• 1×12 wood board
• 1×4 wood board
• Cove Moulding
• Brad Nailer
• 1 1/2″ Brad Nails
• Wood Glue
• Benjamin Moore Advance High Gloss paint with primer in Seaweed (1 quart)
• Anthropologie Woods wallpaper (I had some left over from this makeover.)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Paintable Caulk
• Caulking Gun
• Wood Filler
• Compound Miter Saw (or handsaw and miter box)

The first thing I did was create a “top” by cutting the 1×12 board to 33″ long and attaching it with wood glue and a brad nailer. There was a teeny tiny gap between the wood at the top which I fixed with paintable caulk. I installed the shelves and then filled all of the remaining visible holes with wood filler.

For the bottom, I cut the 1×4 into 3 pieces: (1) at 33″ long (at longest points) with a 45 degree bevel at each end; and (2) at 12″ long at longest points with a 45 degree bevel at one end of each piece.  I cut the cove moulding to the same lengths but with mitered ends instead of beveled. I attached the 1×4 pieces onto the front and sides of the bottom of the bookcase and rested the cove moulding on top of it, then attached it all with wood glue and a brad nailer.

I caulked all seams with paintable caulk, then I lightly sanded the whole bookcase.

I used the HomeRight Finish Max to apply my “Seaweed” high gloss latex paint. This is the perfect shade of emerald green, and two coats provided good coverage. I was told that this particular formula of paint dries hard like an oil paint even though it’s latex, so I didn’t apply a topcoat. I love the smooth finish the Finish Max allowed me to achieve, which is so important with a high gloss finish since flaws and brush strokes show more easily.

Then I dotted some hot glue along the back edge of the wallpaper and adhered it to the bookcase backing, and attached the backing to the bookshelf. After having a little fun styling the shelves, the bookshelf makeover was complete!

HOMERIGHT FINISH MAX GIVEAWAY!

Want a Finish Max Paint Sprayer of your own? Today is your lucky day! To enter the giveaway, simply wait for the Rafflecopter widget to load below and follow the instructions. Email subscribers may need to click over to the blog to enter. Giveaway ends on July 8 at Midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

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Thanks for visiting!

-Erin

The post IKEA Billy Bookcase Challenge & HomeRight Finish Max Giveaway! appeared first on Erin Spain: Home, DIY & Lifestyle Blog.

Can you go for 30 days without buying anything new?

How long could you go without buying anything new?

Yerdle is challenging people to make a commitment to stop buying new things for 30 days (or however long you decide works for you!) by taking their Unshopping Challenge.

They want to encourage people to unclutter their lives, save money, and create less waste.

If you decide to take the Unshopping Challenge, you can make your own rules. Yerdle encourages you to still buy food (of course!) and consumable items, but what they really hope to do is to challenge people who have a shopping “addiction” or who just shop as a recreational activity, to break free from excessive shopping and spending in order to save money and simplify your lives.

Here’s how they encourage you to consider setting up your Unshopping Challenge:

• For 30 days, buy nothing new (except things you can’t re-use like food and gas).

• Sign up for a Yerdle account (it’s free!), go through your stuff, and post pictures of items you no longer need, love, or use.

• If someone is interested in your item, they can purchase it with Yerdle credit and you’ll earn Yerdle credit when you ship it out.

• You can use your Yerdle credit to “buy” items from other sellers on Yerdle. You pay shipping on the items you “purchase”.

This is a great way to not only clear your home of clutter and save some money, but by taking the Unshopping Challenge, it will likely help you evaluate your spending habits in a new light. And maybe you’ll end up forever changed as a result.

Sign up for the Unshopping Challenge here.

Tip: When you sign up for Yerdle, you can grab your referral link and share it with others. If others sign up through your link, you’ll earn 10 free Yerdle points and they’ll get 10 free Yerdle credits, too!

{This post was underwritten by Yerdle. See my disclosure policy here.}