OK, so they're not totally free.  Vistaprint would go broke if they covered the shipping on all the freebies they're offering now, but even when you have to pay shipping these are GREAT deals!

Here's what you can get:

• FREE Holiday Postcards (Qty. 100)
  Get your message across this holiday season with customizable postcards! Use them as holiday cards, invitations or announcements for home and business use. Mailing services available. Matching envelopes available at checkout. Create today and receive in as few as 3 days. Printing is free, shipping starts at $7.
• FREE Business Cards (Qty. 250)
  Choose from 45 templates printed in full color on premium 80 lb card stock. Select a design template and personalize it to best suit your needs. Easily add your own logo or photo. Business cards can be used mommy contact cards, personal contact cards, networking cards, appointment reminder cards, loyalty cards, tiny greeting cards, referral cards, raffle tickets, place cards & much more. Upgrade to premium business cards and save 50%. Printing is free, shipping starts at $5.67.
• FREE Photo Holiday Cards (Qty. 10)
  Choose from flat or folded holiday cards with Free Envelopes. Order today, and save 50% off higher quantities. Products are free, shipping starts at $4.60.
• FREE Photo Calendars (Qty. 1)
  Impress family, friends or customers with customizable photo wall calendars this Holiday Season. Select from Wall or Desk calendar and hundreds of templates to suit your style. Choose icons, add captions and highlight important dates. Upload your photos from Facebook, Flickr or Picasa. Calendars make perfect holiday gifts! Create today and receive in as few as 3 days. Bonus: Order today and save 50% off higher quantities. Printing is free, shipping starts at $5.67.
• FREE Holiday Labels (Qty. 140)
  Spread the cheer with every letter you send! Stick your labels on festive holiday letters, cards and packages. Choose from thousands of designs, upload photos or create caricature return address labels. Create up to 7 caricatures of your family, friends and pets! Use labels as To-From stickers, gift tags & more! Printing is free, shipping & processing starts at $3.07.
• FREE Mug (Qty. 1)
  Serve up some fun with a 11-oz full color ceramic mug. Choose from a variety of designs and personalize with your text. Have fun creating a gift to warm hearts this holiday season! Printing is free, shipping & processing starts at $6.06.
• FREE Holiday Stamp (Qty. 1)
  Choose from over a dozen designs and make holiday labeling a tad easier this year. Choose from red, black or blue ink. Printing is free, shipping & processing starts at $5.67.
• FREE Tote Bag (Qty. 1)
  Perfect for everyday use, these 100% canvas tote bags can be customized with your name and message. Choose from 24 designs. Printing is free, shipping & processing starts at $4.41.

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© KimC for Frugal Hacks, 2011. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us

Right now they have Bumkins pocket diapers on sale for $9.99 in 7 patterns cute enough to make you squeal.  Inserts are 2/$8.99.

Hurry - they won't last long!

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© KimC for Frugal Hacks, 2011. | Permalink | No comments yet. Say something! | Add to del.icio.us

So...because I really and truly love Quizno's sandwiches, I'm sharing 4 printable coupons here for you too.  If you've already tried Quizno's, you understand.  If you haven't, I want you to know what you're missing.

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© KimC for Frugal Hacks, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Hanging my second load of wash on a clothes rack with fans going strong, I found the frugal pattern of my day fulfilling. Youngest Son asked to go running before our school day started and I decided to put some water on to boil for our homemade hot chocolate. As Texas transplants from the east coast, we take any opportunity to celebrate a cool, gray day like we were experiencing.

Waiting for the return of Youngest Son, I sat at the computer to check email. Recalling that I had not as yet checked the items on sale on the Vision Forum website, I was delighted to see all the products with great discount prices! Homeschooling was on my mind, as these days of schooling Youngest Son will soon be over.

I found Large Family Logistics, one of my favorite reads of all times, on sale for only $10.80! This cute and catchy title can be a bit misleading. Although written by a mom of many, this book has wisdom for all the homemaking years. In fact, it would make a wonderful gift for the new homemaker or mom. New Daughter and Daughter both have a copy. Recently, I went to this book for structuring a new plan when Daughter married and I became solo house woman again. Establishing a Kitchen Day and Office Day, as Mrs. Brenneman suggested, have already provided a new framework for my week.

I remembered to past years when spring Homeschool catalogs would arrive, and I couldn’t help but think how ecstatic I would have been to see such a sale. The curriculum set, The History of Christianity and Western Civilization, that Youngest Son and I were going to start this very day was now on sale for only $68.00! The set of 6 CDS, Victorious Christian Armies, we had started listening to on an unexpected car trip was available for $11.25. After listening to Bill Potter I finally felt for the very first time that I had a deeper understanding about the Boer War in South Africa.

Then I saw the Ballantyne books! You know we are fans of these titles. The Coral Island for $8.80? The entire set of 20 books for $198.00? How often do you see hardbacks at this price? Any Jonathan Park fans? Many of the 4 CD sets are on sale for $12.50. After over 20 years of home schooling my children, this is one of my favorite teaching tools!

Although not as greatly discounted as some of the other deals, the Scout Series is near and dear to my heart. We have not read all six of these titles, but Scout and Daughter are synonymous in our community. Many a young one has had the privilege of cuddling up with Daughter as she read these fascinating dog books to them.

Certainly, I could go on and on, but take a look for yourself. Check out the Vision Forum website here. Sale ends Saturday, April 2. Please note that I am a Vision Forum affiliate and if you go through these links my Grandmother Fund just might increase. (The baby is due in less than 6 weeks!) However, my heart is most desirous that you benefit from the products and sale, so no hard feelings here if you choose to purchase another way.

By the way, since I just mentioned hot chocolate, I thought I would give you our family’s favorite recipe.

Our Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe:

3 cups of instant dry milk powder
¾ cup of cocoa
2 cups of sugar

Boil a cup of water and add ¼ to 1/3 cup of the mix according to your taste. Sometimes to make it a bit more special, we add some half and half and/or whip cream.

Are there any Vision Forum products on sale that you would recommend?

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© DL for Frugal Hacks, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us

In addition to these deals, Vision Forum is also offering a free book with every order. Building A Winning Curriculum reviews products and offers ideas on how to use Vision Forum products in the teaching of your children. And it comes free with any size order!

Just think! You can get your whole order of any size mailed to you for just $5.00. Add the $10.00 off coupon to some already excellent deals and this sale could help you save money on curriculum choices.

Here are some of my personal recommendations:

The History of the World Collection with 10 DVDs, 40 CDs and an accompanying study guide for the DVD set, can be used as a high school history course or a year long unit study by incorporating language arts, music, science, and other subjects. This course can be used for independent study or as a stimulus for family discussion. Youngest Son and I have learned a wealth of information from this material. For those who like the benefits of technology, the iPod® nano: World History Collection is also on a great sale.

Classical Music Curriculum Collection, which features 8 books, 8 study guides, and 4 CDs of famous composers and their music, looks excellent. Although this was not in this format when I was teaching my children, I have fond memories of reading some of the books written by Opal Wheeler and would highly recommend them.

Large Family Logistics, written by blogger Kim Brenneman, although not an actual curriculum, could be used as a manual for home economics. Although not blessed with a large family, I found the information in this book to be encouraging and practical for families of any size. Vision Forum has included this book in The Get Organized…and Save! Resource Pack. Using the coupon code GETORGANIZED you can get 5 books for only $56.00! This tremendous deal is only through January 18, 2011.
Remember shipping is only $5.00.

There are many other resources that could be a real blessing to your family. I do want to be sure to tell you that I am a Vision Forum affiliate and clicking through these links will be to my benefit.

Hope you are able to find some great deals!

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© DL for Frugal Hacks, 2011. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us

Yes, I am a Vision Forum affiliate and yes, if you click through these links you will be contributing to my grandmother fund (LINK), but my motives are not purely mercenary.  I have found many of the products sold by Vision Forum to be very beneficial in my own life. These products make great gifts and can be useful tools for homeschoolers.

A few products I would recommend are:

The Jonathan Park Series takes your family on exciting adventures in the form of radio drama with an emphasis on understanding biblical creation.  Youngest Son has learned so much from listening to this series!

Passionate Housewives: Desperate for God is a super deal right now!  I have used this book to do a study on biblical womanhood with Daughter.

The book from the series Chore-Time and Practical Living Made Fun Collection, Household Cleaning, has many natural cleaning recipes.

Building A Winning Curriculum gives ideas on how to use the many Vision Forum CDs, DVDs and books in home schooling and is an incredible price!

These are just a few of my “favorite things.”

Oh, and if you are looking for good, exciting literature for young people, check out the Ballantyne the Brave website where there is a 60 percent off code for the R.M. Ballantyne book series.

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© DL for Frugal Hacks, 2010. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us

Canvas People is offering a free 8x10 photo canvas for just the cost of shipping, or you can upgrade to 11x14 for $9.99.  I just received an 11x14 canvas of our new family portrait and it's gorgeous!  The size is just right, the colors are vivid, and I love the subtle texture and wrapped edges.

[I'll add a photo of this after the weekend but wanted to let you know about these deals right away because one expires on 12/3]

Here's the original deal which should still work:

I'll warn you now that shipping is a bit steep, but since it's all you pay you're getting a great deal - much cheaper than Sam's or Costco, who tend to be very reasonable on photo gifts like these.

An unexpected perk: With my order, I received a promo code for $50 off my next order.  But I think I'll save that, because the Black Friday deal is even better.  I might use these as gifts for grandparents and great-grandparents, but I'm not sure I'll be able to part with them - the canvases, that is.

Next time I want to use a closeup of one or two children for a different effect.  I would love to group several of these canvases in one display!  I'm thinking of some of the photos below.  Which would you use?  Should I make them black and white, or keep the color?

Or maybe, just maybe, this one with me.  I hate the way I look in photos, but I love the way this one makes me feel:

Note: to the get the Black Friday deal, just enter the promo code "blackfriday" when you check out.  You'll get 50% off your entire order and free shipping, making this tasteful and rather pricey gift surprisingly affordable.

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© KimC for Frugal Hacks, 2010. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us

I'm not a coupon clipper, but I'm definitely a coupon user. I like to do much of my shopping online, and once I've decided where to shop, the next thing I do is look for a coupon or discount code.  This is where coupon sites come in handy.

Coupon Cactus is coupon site, and we all know there are a lot of them out there.  However, there are several features that made this one stand out to me:

• Easy sorting and filtering - The tabs at the top to help sort through the endless assortment of coupons and discounts.  A huge assortment is good, but an overwhelming assortment is bad.  Coupon Cactus solves this problem by providing easy and helpful ways to sort through the offerings: Most Popular, Biggest Discounts, Free Shipping, etc.
• Exclusive coupons - Coupon Cactus has a long list of exclusive coupons, discounts and promos.
• Cash back program - Coupon Cactus offers cash back on nearly any purchase made through their site, including those made with a coupon you found on Coupon Cactus.  This is noteworthy because many retailers have affiliate programs that don't pay commissions on purchases w/coupons.  Signing up is fast and easy.
• Referral program - Tell your friends about CC and earn a 25% bonus of all cash back earned by the member you referred.  This could add up quickly if you run in the right circles!

I have to admit, once I started browsing the coupons and cashback offers I found it hard to stop.  Carbonite?  We've been planning on doing that for months; 10% off and another 12% cashback is powerful motivation to quit procrastinating.  Clearance athletic shoes and $5 off $50 from Target?  I just started jogging!  A free pack of socks plus 6% cashback from Little Miss Matched, or 40% off  at Justice?  My daughters love those shops!  Save on auto parts?  Yes, our car is still not running right.  If you've gotta spend to save, we should save a fortune on this car.

Have you used Coupon Cactus?  What do you think of the site?

disclosure: I received compensation for this post.  All opinions expressed are my own.

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© KimC for Frugal Hacks, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us

For some reason I thought Couponchief was primarily for printing out coupons to use in a grocery store or pharmacy, but I was really excited to discover that they have Autozone coupons and Advance Auto Parts coupons.  We're big DIY's when it comes to car repairs, and we have spent a lot of money at both stores recently.  Now I know how to spend less when those needs arise!

I know many people disagree, but I don't find it worth my time to clip coupons for 25 cents off a product that I wasn't going to buy anyway.  However, I think we can all agree that saving $20 when we're forced to spend $100 is well worth the time and effort.

Tip: if you're a big discount finder, you can use CouponChief to earn some money, too.  Check out their Pays-2-Share program, which gives you a 2% commission on sales generated through any coupon you share on the site.

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© KimC for Frugal Hacks, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet. Say something! | Add to del.icio.us

I love Swagbucks!  It paid for our kids' Christmas gifts last year, and if you know much about me that's a lotta kids to buy for!

So I'm excited to announce that Swagbucks is ending the summer with lots of fun promotions!

• First, you'll have the chance to win five different limited edition back-to-school themed Swag Bucks - if you snag them all, you'll earn a 50 Swag Buck bonus!
• Take advantage of sales in the Swag Store on all School Supplies and other fun items.
• Make sure you follow Swag Bucks on Twitter and Like them on Facebook for more rewarding opportunities.
• Finally, they're having another Swag Code Extravaganza on Thursday, where you'll get at least 5 codes for extra bucks.

New to Swagbucks?   Head over now and enter the code BackToSchool for 40 bonus bucks during registration!

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© KimC for Frugal Hacks, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us