photo by tiffanywashko

The first tip offers a creative twist on homemade Popsicles. I’m sure it would work with Crystal Light or fruit juice, too. If you’re not a Popsicle fan, try homemade pudding pops by combining a 3.4-ounce box of chocolate pudding, 2 cups milk and 1/2 cup whipped topping. Spoon into Dixie cups (3/4 full), and insert a Popsicle stick. Freeze until frozen through. Peel off cup before eating. Enjoy!

DRIPLESS POPSICLES:

1 package fruit-flavored gelatin
1 packet Kool-Aid
2/3 cup hot water
1 cup sugar
2 cups cold water

In a large pitcher, mix together gelatin, Kool-Aid, sugar and hot water until dissolved. Then add cold water. Pour into molds and freeze.

HOBBY THAT PAYS: I make walking sticks and canes and sell them at the flea market. I walk in the woods and look at small trees that are different and have some curves or other features. If you dig down and get the root, you can have a natural cane. I take the bark off most of them and paint a picture of some kind. It is a lot of fun, good exercise and cheap. — Harold Lockard, e-mail

POISON-IVY REMEDY: I used to have to get shots every summer from getting serious doses of poison ivy. Wash with Fels-Naptha soap. It’s sometimes hard to find. Hardware and grocery stores might have it, but seek and ye shall find. It relieves itching, so there’s no scratching, your skin feels refreshed, and a restful sleep is rewarding. — Thelma, Indiana

SAUSAGE CASINGS: My husband and his relatives still carry on our Austrian-Hungarian traditions of making bologna and “bludsin” (blood sausage — it tastes better than it sounds). They ask the local grocery store to order casings, either natural (intestines) or plastic, and the butcher calls when they arrive. One year, my husband and I made our own casings for bludsin out of white-cotton fabric (probably muslin). We bought several yards and cut it into strips of about 9 inches wide. We folded the strips in half, and I sewed a 1/2-inch seam with a small stitch (12 per inch) up the side, which meant each casing was 8 inches wide. We cut the strips in about 12-inch lengths. I sewed a straight bottom hem using the same size stitch, but some people round the bottom hem. We left the tops open so “the boys” could stuff them and then tied them with cotton string. Of course, the white cotton turned red, but my husband thinks using cotton rather than natural or plastic casings helped render out some of the lard. That was a fun project. — Ann, Kansas

FRUGAL ART: Our city schools are using paper-towel and toilet-tissue rolls for students in art. They also use scraps of material, milk caps, tissue boxes and cardboard. The kids get very creative using these materials. — B. Humphreys, e-mail

HIRE A HANDYMAN: We’ve had a handyman for about 10 years now, and I can’t tell you how much money and aggravation he has saved us. Whenever something needs repair or replacement, I call him first. With so many people out of work, it should be easy to find a handyman. — Erin H., e-mail

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