Last night Emily helped make some Shamrock lanterns from empty baby food jars, tissue paper, glue (mixed with water), and some thin gauged wire. The white tissue paper almost looks like frosted glass. To make your own lanterns, cut pieces of tissue paper into squares. Mix the glue with water for a 50/50 mixture. Invite […]
Like coupons for organics? Try Mambo Sprouts!
March 3, 2009 by
I love finding coupons for organic items, and if you have not already signed up for Mambo Sprouts, you might want to give it a try. Click here to sign up for their FREE newsletter which includes up to $35 in savings for healthy food items (usually organic milk, bread, eggs, butter, etc.) Most coupons […]
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
March 2, 2009 by
Some of my readers requested crafts that use up empty oatmeal canisters, so I thought this was a great way to incorporate them into a craft and a Dr. Seuss theme day. To make your own Cat-in-the-Hat hat, you will need an empty oatmeal canister, a paper plate, and some paints (we used Crayola Washable […]
What does frugal look like…
March 1, 2009 by
The question is — What does frugal look like in your life? Awhile back I did a post entitled Top 7 Things About Being Frugal, but I feel some very important elements were missing from that list. I thought now might be a good time to get a more detailed, closer look at some of […]
Free Menu Planner
February 28, 2009 by
Here is the worksheet I use to create our weekly menus. It is free for download, and if you post it on your blog, I would really appreciate a link back to Frugal Family Fun Blog. Thanks so much! It is simple, but it works for us. To get more menu planning ideas, see this […]
Scratch N Sniff Painting
February 27, 2009 by
We had some leftover unsweetened powdered drink mix that was several years old — I’m not kidding! It probably would have been okay to drink, but instead we made scratch n sniff paint with it. I lightly penciled in some fruit pictures for Emily to paint. It made very vibrant colors, and the pictures smelled […]
Homemade Hockey Table
February 26, 2009 by
This is how we spent our morning — designing our own hockey table, and it was so easy! Emily had a blast, and is still planning to devote the rest of the afternoon to table hockey. A few years ago, one of our neighbors had a moving sale and sold this fabulous coffee table to […]
Get Your FREE Sub
February 25, 2009 by
Quiznos is giving away coupons for a free sub to the first million people who register at http://www.millionsubs.com Go get your coupon!
Mardi Gras Fun
February 24, 2009 by
This morning I helped Emily make this cute Mardi Gras mask from some leftover craft supplies, cardstock, stickers, a drinking straw, and some glue. First, I drew a pattern using a pair of her sunglasses as a guide for where to put the holes for the eyes. Emily traced the pattern onto the cardstock. If […]
Ribbon Dancer
February 23, 2009 by
I could not believe what a hit this was — so simple and Emily adored it! I was cleaning out a “junk” drawer in the kitchen and came across a plastic spatula that I rarely use. It inspired a day of ribbon dancing. We played some Brazilian music on the stereo, and this little girl could not […]
Free Books!
February 22, 2009 by
My mother-in-law first told me about this tip, and I am so glad she shared it with me! If you are a literature junkie, be sure to check out DailyLit.com to read books for FREE via email or RSS. Lots of children’s titles are available too. It is so easy to sign up and get […]
Save Money on Electronics
February 21, 2009 by
One of the questions I am asked quite frequently is “How do you get the best deals on electronics?” Here are some of my favorite tips to save big bucks on that new digital camera, laptop, or other electronic purchase: Network: Let everyone know that you are in the market to buy a (insert electronic […]
Save Money on Eating Out
February 20, 2009 by
Go to Restaurant.com and use checkout code DINE to purchase a $25 gift certificate to your local favorite restaurants for just $2!! Certificates do not expire for a full year, so it is a good time to stock up. Offer good today only. We have used these before (and given some as gifts), and it […]
Frugal Fun with Music
February 20, 2009 by
This afternoon we made musical instruments from recyclables. This was a big hit and Emily is still making lots of new sounds with her drum, guitar, and shaker. We made the drum with an empty oatmeal canister. If you saw this post, you would understand why we have a lot of these! This version of […]
The Celebration Continues…
February 19, 2009 by
Emily had this idea to make a birthday book for Mark’s birthday. She used one of her old, beat up board books and transformed it into this! This took quite a bit of work, and she completed it in several stages. She was quite proud of herself. I helped with some of the cutting and […]
Someone’s Getting Older
February 18, 2009 by
Emily and I spent the better part of today getting ready for Mark’s birthday tomorrow. We have a special surprise for him, and she spent a lot of time working on it. In honor of his 31st birthday, here are some of my favorite photos. Emily loves going sledding with Daddy. Clara (1 day old) […]
Help with Taxes — For Free
February 18, 2009 by
Dealing with taxes might not be much fun, but you may be able to take advantage of some good free resources to make filing your taxes a little less painful. Here are some of my favorites: Go to itsdeductible.com for a FREE download from TurboTax that helps you get the biggest deduction for your charitable […]
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
February 17, 2009 by
You did not think I paid full price for chocolate covered strawberries, did you? We made them ourselves! These were so easy to make, and so much fun! To cut costs, I waited until strawberries were buy one get one free at the grocery store, and used chocolate from an after-Christmas sale. I buy about […]
