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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
As Seen On The 10! Show
February 16, 2009 by
Happy President’s Day! Emily and I had an exciting morning over at The 10! Show’s studio in Philadelphia to talk about frugal family activities for winter. They featured several of the crafts and activities I have posted about on this blog. In case you missed the show, here is a clip of our segment. A […]
Indoor Sandbox
February 15, 2009 by
One of the things Emily misses the most about Spring and Summer is playing outside in her sandbox. I created an indoor version that was a big hit for both of my girls. You might already have an inflatable pool (most likely it is hanging out in the garage for the winter). We brought ours […]
Spring Baskets
February 11, 2009 by
This was such a simple, easy project and it made Emily and I feel a little closer to Spring. This afternoon we worked on Spring baskets made from strawberry cartons, ribbon, and pipe cleaners — all found in our Invention Kit. We filled them with some tissue paper and a bunch of Hershey’s kisses — […]
Tissue Paper Bouquet
February 9, 2009 by
Can’t wait any longer for Spring to arrive? We had a great time creating this flower bouquet from tissue paper and pipe cleaners. Don’t they look beautiful? So simple to make and extremely frugal! Spray with a little perfume and they will smell fabulous too. These tissue paper flowers are so colorful and are sure […]
The Frugal Princess
February 7, 2009 by
I found these templates for princess gear from HP and they are FREE! We printed this beautiful wand and this personalized tiara and put them together in minutes. They do not even use a lot of printer ink! Tip — I found these go together much easier using tape instead of glue. Emily could put […]
Free Stickers!
February 7, 2009 by
Visit the Gmail blog for some free stickers! Just send a self-addressed stamped envelope. Click here for details. These look really cute!
Frugal Fun Outdoors – Snow Painting
February 6, 2009 by
This afternoon, Emily and I took some spray bottles filled with a few drops of food coloring and some water to do snow painting. This was a big hit! I had to bribe her with some hot cocoa to get her to come back inside. I helped her spell her name out in the snow… […]
Frugal Valentine Mobile Project
February 5, 2009 by
I spent some time with Emily yesterday creating this Valentine Mobile for our dining room. It is so simple and easy to make (and extremely frugal). To make your own mobile all you will need is some tissue paper, white glue, a paintbrush, embroidery floss or ribbon, scissors, a marker, and a zipper storage bag. […]
