*9* Pair of Women's Sunglasses for $15.98 Shipped (ONLY $1.77/pair!!)

For today ONLY, GraveyeardMall is offering another GREAT deal on designer sunglasses!  Do you remember the sunglasses I got from this deal a couple of months ago?  If you want to order...the 9 pairs of sunglasses will be only $9.99 + $5.99 shipping - that's only about $1.77 per pair!  The way I go through sunglasses, this is a steal of a deal! 

The brands include Cosmo, Revlon, Panama Jack, Apostrophy, Jaclyn Smith, Beauty Solutions and more!  Plus they have 100% UVA & UVB protection.


Want to make this deal sweeter?  First go to Shop at Home and just create your account or sign in.  If you're new, you'll get $5 just for signing up + earn 6% cash back on your purchase!  If you're already a Shop At Home member, you'll still earn the 6% cash back!

You get more information about  Shop At Home here and here!

Thanks, Fun and Frugal Living!

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This post contains affiliate links - which means I might earn a few cents (or even dollars) if you click on them. However, ALL opinions and recommendations are my own and are not affected by the use of these links. I won't tell you I like something unless I really like it!

New *FREE* Samples at Freeflys

I know I just mentioned Freeflys a couple of weeks ago, but I got an email today and they're offering a ton of new freebies right now...when you sign up today, you'll be able to request all of these freebies immediately:

• FREE Subscription of American Baby Magazine
• FREE Sample of Sinus Buster
• FREE Sample of Nexxus THERAPPE Shampoo, HUMECTRESS Conditioner & HUMECTRESS® Deep Conditioner
• FREE Sample of Cool Menthol and Fragrance Free Achooz

New to Adventures In Savings?  Subscribe to Adventures in Savings by email for a daily update of all the deals or follow me on Facebook or Twitter to get all the latest updates faster!

This post contains affiliate links - which means I might earn a few cents (or even dollars) if you click on them. However, ALL opinions and recommendations are my own and are not affected by the use of these links. I won't tell you I like something unless I really like it!

*FREE* Organic Samples from UberSamples

Sign up with Ubersamples to get FREE Organic Samples including a mix of super-foods, nutritional bars, health foods, dietary supplements, and beauty brands.  I've never heard of this before, but it sounds like a great opportunity to try some new healthy products!

Thanks, Frugal Fun & Fortune!

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*FREE* Backpacks at OfficeMax & Staples

Through July 31, you can get FREE Backpacks at OfficeMax & Staples.  Here's how to score the best deals at each store.

At OfficeMax.com, you can get 2 FREE Backpacks after MaxPerks Rewards.  Be sure to enter your MaxPerks ID when you place your order and you will receive these credits in your account in October.  In addition, you'll get FREE Shipping when you spend at least $50, making this an even better deal!

I had around $41 in rewards still available from my last purchases to use toward the purchase of backpacks!  I'll keep one for us, and I plan to donate one to the local school that collects them for students who can't afford a new backpack.  So, hop on over to OfficeMax.com and order your backpack(s) now!  If you're new to the OfficeMax rewards program, you can read more about Maxperks Rewards here.

At Staples.com, you can also get  a FREE Backpack after rebate!  You'll need a Staples Rewards number and after your purchase, you'll get 100% of your purchase back as a Staples Gift Card.

If you want to make  these deal sweeter, be sure to shop through Shop at Home.  There is a 4% rebate on OfficeMax purchases and a 3% rebate for Staples purchases.  Just sign up or log into Shop at Home, then search for the store of your choice.  Look for the green "Shop Now" button (see it below) and click on it to earn your cash back!  If you're new to Shop at Home, you'll even earn a $5 sign up bonus, making these deals a moneymaker!  You can find out a little more about Shop at Home here and see one of my rebate checks!

New to Adventures In Savings?  Subscribe to Adventures in Savings by email for a daily update of all the deals or follow me on Facebook or Twitter to get all the latest updates faster!

This post contains affiliate links - which means I might earn a few cents (or even dollars) if you click on them. However, ALL opinions and recommendations are my own and are not affected by the use of these links. I won't tell you I like something unless I really like it!

The Winner of the Penguins of Madgascar Prize Pack is...

I'm so sorry I didn't get this posted sooner!  Once again, I've been terribly sick the past two days with the never-ending gallbladder pain, so I've been doing lots of laying around and not much online stuff.  But, without further delay, the winner of the Penguins of Madagascar Prize Pack is...

#16 Elizabeth McKenzie

Please contact me at adventuresinsavings (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing information!  Congratulations!!



Note: The products, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all provided by General Mills and Nickelodeon through MyBlogSparkTM. However, all opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine!

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Adventures in Cake Making :: Part 3

On Saturday, I showed you how I stacked & layered cakes to make a tier and how I cover them in buttercream.  I intended to finish up with the last steps later that day, but honestly, the party had me exhausted and having another round of pain with my gall bladder, so I've been unplugged until today.

So anyway, when I finished those steps, the next thing was to cover the cake in fondant.  I started by making a batch of homemade marshmallow fondant and tinting it green.

Then I rolled it out to cover the two tiers.  I use alot of corn starch when working with the marshmallow fondant.  Corn starch keeps it from sticking and makes working with it so much easier.

When I get it all rolled out to about 1/4" thickness and the right diameter to cover the cake, I roll it up on my rolling pin and lift it to place on the cake.

 

The next few steps just take practice.  I start by smoothing it out with my hands...and lots of corn starch.  You have to work it down and around the cake, stretching and smoothing as you go to get out all the wrinkles and folds...

After getting it as smooth as possible with my hands, I start using my fondant smoothers to really level it out and get sharper corners on the edges.

Once I'm satisfied with the overall look, I take a pizza cutter and cut away the excess fondant from the edges.  I try to cut as close as possible to the bottom to make a very clean edge.

And that's that!  I'm finished with covering the tiers in fondant.  I did all of these steps for both the 10" and 6" tiers and these are the finished cakes...

Next up, I'll show you how I put the 2 tiers together and the finished cake! 

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Adventures in Cake Making :: Part 2

Earlier today, I showed you how I do the first few steps in putting together my tiered cakes in Cake Making :: Part 1.  After I bake them, cool them, and put the layers together, I let them rest for a few hours or overnight.  Today I couldn't let them sit for long because I started late and well, I just didn't have the time, but you can still see how the bottom layer has started to bulge out.  If I had let it sit overnight, it would've been even worse on both the top and bottom layers.

 This is not a big deal if you're just cooking for family, but if you're building a cake for a wedding or other event, you don't want the sides of your cake to look all ripply and bulging.  You'll want them smooth and straight.  I promise - it makes a world of difference!


But, to level that and get a really smooth, straight sided cake, hold a sharp knife straight up and down and trip all the way around the a cake.

Usually, after sitting all night, there's bulge on the top and bottom layers but today, I trimmed mostly on the bottom to make it a really straight up and down (again, this is important when covering in fondant!!).

After I got it all trimmed, I put a thin coat of buttercream on the entire cake.  I forgot to mention earlier that I did all these same steps for the 10" layers and the 6" layers (most of my pics only show the 10" layers).

Here's a finished shot of the 6" layer too...

So, when that's done, you'll want to let the cakes sit, preferably in a frig and get a "crust" on the buttercream.  I promise, it doesn't get all hard and yucky, it just gets a thin crust so that it's not super easy to damage and it's easier to smooth so that you have a great surface to put fondant on.

I should say here, if you don't "do" fondant, that the rest of my posting today may not interest you, but if you are interested in learning fondant or trying it, this might be a helpful tutorial.  I am by not means an expert... I've actually only been doing this for a few months, but I've had lots of practice and I'm getting better with each cake.

So, after the buttercream crusts, I'll do a few more steps then start my fondant work.  I'll show you those steps in part 3...coming later tonight or in the morning!  For now, I have to get pizza warmed and drinks made for the pile of boys who've invaded my house!!

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Adventures in Cake Making :: Part 1

So, today I'm not posting a lot because I'm busy making my son Joshua's birthday cake.  He drew a picture of what he wants his cake to look like...and this is it:

This cake is somewhat based on his new PS3 game, "Blur".  I'm not a gamer, but this is a super-cool fun racing game, or so I'm told.  In the spirit of that, he wants the "background" color to be green and then he wants there to be roads going around it.   He picked out Hot Wheels cars to go on the tiers and those little squares on the second tier are "boosts" in the game (don't ask me...I'm just the cook). 

 

So, the only major change I'm making is that his cake is only going to be 2 tiers.  His party is not going to be that big and we don't need that much cake!  So yesterday I baked the cakes, (2) 10" layers and (2) 6" layers.  I used this recipe (which is by and far my favorite recipe for tiered cakes), except we used Pillsbury Funfetti mix instead of white cake mix.  Funfetti is an addition with my kids and my (adult) brothers, so it turns up at a lot of family birthdays!

Here's what I started with this morning...I baked them yesterday, wrapped them in plastic wrap and let them sit overnight.  This morning I unwrapped them and they're ready to go!

I also whipped up a triple batch of buttercream this morning and  tinted it green...

So, my first step in building this cake is layering the 2 tiers.  I don't know how popular this technique is, but I'm telling you, if you're building a BIG cake (like this 70-80 pound wedding cake), this is a crucial step!!  I got the idea from a Sharon Zambito video.   Although I don't do it exactly like she does, I highly recommend any of her videos for learning the ins and outs of cake decorating!  I have 4 of them and they are fabulous!


So, take a cup or so of your icing (more depending on how big your cake is) and separate it from the rest.  

Then add extra powdered sugar to it.  I don't measure, I just keep mixing it until I get an almost Play-Doh texture...

Now this icing is STIFF.  But, you'll see why that's a good thing in a minute.  Next, I put this stiff icing into an icing bag with only a coupler (ignore my stained icing bags...I've had them for 15+ years so they're very worn but still work great).

 It would be best if I had a coupler that was not notched, but all of mine are notched and it's not a big deal.  Anyway put your icing in the bag, then squeeze it out into a "wall" around the outer edge of the bottom layer of cake...does that make sense?  It'll look like this when you're done...

I do this to prevent the softer filling icing from "squeezing out" when I set the next layer on top of it.  This cake is necessarily dense and heavy so that it'll hold the weight of the fondant.  For that reason, it'll easily bulge out around the edges of the layers if you don't put a "wall" there to help hold it up.

So, after I get a ring of really stiff icing on the edges, I fill the inside with the regular buttercream.  If you wanted, you could use a fruit filling or some other flavor inside, but for this cake, I'm just using buttercream...

When that's done, you can just stack the next layer on top! 

The level is there because I wanted to make sure it was level so far, and it was.  At this point, you'll want to let your cakes sit and settle for a few hours or overnight.  I'll show you why in my next post...coming later today if I don't get too far behind on my other birthday party prepping and cake decorating!

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MEGA *Swagbucks* Friday - I've saved $165 in Amazon Gift Cards!!

I haven't said this in awhile, but thanks for signing up through my Swagbucks link!  Last night I added another $20 in Amazon gift cards to my account - bringing my total to $165!  My goal is to save enough to buy me a a really nice camera to take pics of my cakes.  Are you searching with Swagbucks and winning?  If not, Friday's are MEGA Swagbucks Day so it's a great day to sign up and search, search, search!!  I use Swagbucks for all of my searches and I usually win at least 3 times a day or more!

If you aren't using Swagbucks, would you consider signing up today?   If you make Swagbucks your default search engine, then you can win easily without even thinking about it!   In addition, when you sign up through my link, I win when you do (up to 1000 Swagbucks) and you will be winning too!  Then you can refer your friends and you can win more too every time they win! After all, it's FREE money or prizes when you cash in your Swagbucks!

How can you win more? Checking your email?  Search for hotmail or gmail or yahoo.  Checking your bank balance?  Search for that too!  I search for everything and win multiple times per day!

Awhile back, I wrote a post on 5 Ways to WIN more and it's full of tips to help you win more often, including the ones I just mentioned!  So what are you waiting for?  Sign up and start searching now & winning now!

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This post contains referral links - which means I might earn incentives if you click on them. However, ALL opinions and recommendations are my own and are not affected by the use of these links. I won't tell you I like something unless I really like it!