Now is the perfect time for some quick weekend sewing projects. Here are some frugal handmade gift ideas for the littlest ones on your holiday list! I used this free pattern from Stardust Shoes to make several pairs of cloth baby shoes as gifts, and it is one of my favorites! Aren’t they just the cutest?? […]
Handmade Holiday Gift Guide — Manly Man Edition
November 28, 2010 by
The holidays are almost here!! Need some holiday gift ideas for the men in the family? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered — all in frugal style, of course. Get the kiddos involved for some crafting fun! Handmade Gifts for Him: Macho Manly Man Pocket Handwarmers for Men – Kids can help stuff these with […]
Lil’ Mushroom House
November 10, 2010 by
This sweet lil’ mushroom house was so easy and so much fun to make! Plus, it’s made using recycled materials — making it a super-frugal project! It would make a great handmade holiday or birthday gift, and there is only a little hand sewing involved. I used an empty oatmeal canister for the base, and […]
Pumpkin Gift Bags
November 5, 2010 by
Clara and I had a lot of fun with this little (frugal) project — we made up some gift bags to give to friends who come over for play dates! I think they would also be very nice to wrap hostess gifts for any sort of gathering this time of year. She was having a […]
Handmade Holidays – Soft (Felt) Pretzels
October 25, 2010 by
I sewed some quick and easy soft pretzels for the girls using just two 9″ x 12″ sheets of craft felt and some stuffing. It’s been a great addition to their fold up kitchen set! The pretzels are just long skinny tubes sewn from the felt (no measuring, just eyeballed it), stuffed (by Mark, thanks, […]
Falling Leaves Wrapping Paper
September 14, 2010 by
September marks the beginning of the birthday season for many members of our family, so Clara and I made some fun autumn wrapping paper this afternoon! This is a super-simple project that even the little ones can do with great success. All you need to make your own are some toilet paper rolls, paint, and […]
Nesting Shoebox Dollhouse
August 16, 2010 by
While playing around with some empty kid shoeboxes, I came across these two that nest together quite well — a fun find that lend to some creative dollhouse making! I covered them up with wallpaper samples (discontinued wallpaper sample books are available at most paint stores for free, just ask for them!), and scraps of […]
Weekend Rewind — Back to School Edition
August 14, 2010 by
It’s that time of year again — time to get the kiddos ready to go back to school, and here at FFFB we’ve got you covered! From the archives, here are some super-fun (and frugal) crafts and activities just in time for back to school. We’ve got lots of exciting NEW things planned too, so […]
Rainbow Village Printable
August 9, 2010 by
As soon as I finished designing one of these adorable paper cottages, the girls went off to play with it while I made a bunch more! We had lots of fun playing with these, and then took them apart and stored them flat in a file folder for future play times. They are very frugal […]
Quilted Color Match Game for Tots
August 2, 2010 by
I sewed up this little color match game for Clara to practice identifying her colors. It ended up being a great quiet game for keeping both of the girls occupied while I was in the kitchen making dinner. It is so colorful! I sewed the color mat using pieces from fat quarters (very inexpensive), and […]
Super-Easy Cool Comets
July 19, 2010 by
Faced with yet another hot afternoon, we made up some comets, dipped them in a bucket of water, and the girls had a blast hurling them at each other until they were soaked! It started off innocently enough with Emily tossing a comet at Clara….. ….but Clara wasn’t about to take that sitting down. Once […]
Sunday Snapshot — You MUST Try This!
July 18, 2010 by
If you do only ONE thing this Summer, you MUST do this!! Everything we needed to make the bubble wands came from the hardware store — eye hooks, wooden dowels, butcher’s twine, and a washer. That’s it!! A game of bubble tag just never gets old! Here’s a short video showing how to make mega […]
Watermelon Wrapping Paper
July 10, 2010 by
We have some special packages to mail out to friends, and I thought it would be fun to dress them up a bit. Emily had so much fun making this watermelon wrapping paper!! With just a bit of grown-up help, toddlers can have a go at this one too! We used a potato to make […]
DIY: Summer Party Invites
July 8, 2010 by
After the girls were in bed, I sat down with some color coding labels (one of my fave art supplies, since they are sooooo frugal) and drew up some cute watermelons! They are so EASY to do: Cut pink color coding labels in half. Use a fine tipped green marker to draw the rind. Add […]
Father’s Day Gifts Kids Can Make — Circuit Board Pencil Holder
June 17, 2010 by
This was a fun stamping project Clara enjoyed, and we made a Father’s Day gift from it as well! We used some Mega blocks as stampers with white paint on green paper (to mimic the look of a circuit board). She had so much fun!! Stamp, stamp, stamp!! I cut up some pieces of masking […]
Father’s Day Gifts Kids Can Make — Fish Magnets
June 14, 2010 by
For some reason, I tend to associate fish with dads. I think it’s because of Mark’s fish tank, and also my own father’s love of fishing. Emily and I had so much fun with this simple and frugal project — fish magnets! They are made using handles of old paintbrushes. In mind was this cute […]
Father’s Day Gifts Kids Can Make — Fish Card
June 7, 2010 by
This Father’s Day card was inspired by Mark’s fish tank! To make your own, fold a sheet of construction paper in half as shown. I cut some blue construction paper and made waves for water on the top edge. Emily used some masking tape to adhere it to the paper. Lookin’ good! Next, we used […]
