Becoming the Coupon Queen

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned papers, tag: Cosmo Cricket; brad: Doodlebug; Baker's twine: Martha Stewart; letter stickers: Making Memories; library pocket: L'il Davis; Punch: Stampin' Up; Envelopes: Wells Fargo (LOL)

I am trying to be economical...saving money is important to me and my family...so I clip coupons. The most I have saved is about 28% of my grocery bill. That is a lot. I have signed up for several websites for coupons and buy a paper every Sunday. That helps so much. The key for me, is clipping coupons for things I know we will use and occasionally, I will try different items that we would not normally buy, ONLY, if I think that it is a good buy and will be used! I hate waste and will not buy something that will sit in my cupboard and only be useful for the food shelf donations.

In my creative being, I had to make something pretty to put my coupons in. I have been using it and even had a great comment from a fellow shopper who thought I was incredibly organized. She said "ooh, that is so cute, where did you get it? It looks so organized." Of course I had to show her all the compartments in it.

So, here is how I did it...I found 6 envelopes...garnered from bills that I pay on line and those are my compartments.

Cover: I cut cardstock to from a 12 x12 sheet...a little bigger than the envelopes (no measurements here since old bill envelopes vary slightly in size)...but I would say, about 7 x 12. I embossed 2 lines 1 inch apart at 3 inches on the short side on one end and then again at 1 1/2 inches for the top. I covered it with my favorite papers from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper and embellished it with borders and tags/letters.

I used a big brad and button (button is stitched on) to make the closure and used baker's twine for the closing tie.

Inside: cardstock cut to same size, made into an accordian fold for the six compartments. I glued one end into the inside of the folded cover and an envelope into each fold. After all the envelopes are in place, I glued the other folded edge to the inside front cover.

Inside front cover: I glued a library pocket in the center so that I could tuck my list in the front with my planned list for the trip.

I embellished the envelopes on the inside and added little labels of the categories...for me, and my grocery store, I lined them up according to route I shop at my Cub Grocery store...Produce, Meat, Dairy, Frozen, Grocery, and paper products...I organize my coupons this way and before each trip to the grocery store, I go through them and am aware of what I have.

My grocery habits are pretty predictable. I go to the grocery store every two weeks on Sunday mornings. I plan our meals for the two weeks in advance and buy what is needed for them. Our grocery budget is about $150 for two weeks and we try to stick pretty closely to that budget. Coupons help immensely and with 2 growing teens in our house, as well as tons of teen friends filtering through throughout the week, it is pretty hard to keep the coffers full, but we do it!