fun

The annual Fringe Festival is just three weeks away and even if you don't take in the shows (which you should, because they are some of the most fun you'll find in the City), there's lots more that your one-time $5 button purchase can get you.
Read on for the inside scoop from Sammie who sent me a note via the Frugal tip submission!

Both Manhunt, a grown up variation on hide and seek, and Guerrilla Drive-In, a mobile movie-house, play out in various locations around the city and if you want to be a part of the action, you need to sign up for details!

Manhunt works like this:

The Victoria Fringe Festival rolls around August 27th - September 6th this year. There's still time to apply as a volunteer or to host a performer. If you have a spare bedroom or are willing to put up a performer somewhere in your home (rec room? do people still have those?) you can get a great benefit:

"your choice of 2 fringe visa buttons and 10 fringe tickets, or one button and a Fringe VIP Superpass. And a lot of sincere gratitude from both the fringe and your guest." 

If you ever read Calvin and Hobbes and wondered about the man behind the comic, you might be interested in the forthcoming book by Nevin Martell; he is offering a free chapter for a limited time; just send an email to lookingforcalvinandhobbes@gmail.com [More about Looking for Calvin and Hobbes]

Knitter/author/blogger Vickie Howell has a great set of tips for 10 Ways to Keep Knitting in a Bad Economy. My favourite by far is the suggestion to organize a knitting swap -- bring your stash, swap for someone else's! How brilliant!

Seed tape is a relatively recent consumer good -- seeds are spaced between layers of tissue paper at the best distance to reduce the need for thinning. However, seed tape is sold at a premium -- generally $1 to $2 more than seeds alone.

• Pixelgirl Presents showcases an amazing variety of free wallpaper (desktop and iphone) and icons (for Mac and PC) plus some basic tutorials on how to swap icons and other helpful hints.
  
• Shawnimals has made available a set of desktop wallpaper and also a whole series of icons featuring his simple but cute characters.
• If zombies and goths are more your style, check out the wallpaper and icons from the Orneryboy web comic.

The web is full of free stuff. Instructions, icons, desktop wallpaper, recipes, books, music, and more. I thought it was time to start collecting some of this stuff in one place, so here it is.

Got a link for a great downloadable or digital freebie? Let me know!

Kristin Roach over at Craft Leftovers has a great tutorial on how to deconstruct a sweater and recycle the yarn for other projects. She built the tutorial after much trial and error and it includes some sage advice: