DIY: Wood Chalkboard Clips

Aren't these Wood Chalkboard Clips adorable? Happy Clippings shows you step-by-step how you can make your own, and several creative ways you could use them. I definitely want to try and make these sometime! I'm already thinking up the many ways I could use them around the house!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

McDonalds: $.50 Ice Cream Cones

Right now you can get $.50 ice cream cones at McDonalds. This is a limited time offer, but right now I can't find anywhere that let's me know when it will plan on ending, so definitely check first! We had a fun "family night" this week, and it only cost $1.50 for all three of us to get a yummy treat! Of course, our toddler didn't eat the whole thing himself. Daddy helped!

Crayola 50ct. Markers: $3.33 at Toys 'R Us (through Saturday)

I posted earlier this week about the Crayola sale at Toys 'R Us this week, and wanted to give you the heads up on one more good deal there... The Crayola Washable 50ct. marker sets are priced at $9.99 (not sure if prices vary from store to store or not). So when paired with the Buy 1 Get 2 Free sale going on this week, you can get three packs of 50ct Crayola markers for $10, or $3.33 each. This sale ends Saturday, August 27th.

I seriously never used to shop at Toys 'R Us before, but they have had some good sales recently as I stock up for Christmas gifts! My sister-in-law has five daughters, and is expecting her first son at the beginning of December. So I have decided to give each of my nieces tubs filled with craft supplies for Christmas so help keep their little hands busy. Basic things like markers, glue sticks, tape, doodle paper, cards to decorate... And right now is the time to shop for those type of supplies!

Busy Bag #5: Family Photo Magnets

When I saw this idea over at Engaging Toddler Activities, this was top on my list to make for my son. Both my husband's family and my family live long distance, so learning names & faces of relatives inbetween visits is important to us. Family Photo Magnets are a great way for Levi to play and learn family faces at the same time! Find the complete directions here.

Supplies I Used:
- Photos of family members 
- Magnetic tape
- Clear contact paper or a laminator (since I don't have a laminator, I substituted clear contact paper that I already had on hand)
- Thin cardboard to make the photos more durable
Total Cost: Depends on what you already own
Time: 15 minutes or more, depending on how many relatives you're doing, and if your toddler is around to try and "help"

Thanks, Engaging Toddler Activities for this great idea!

Other Busy Bag Ideas:
#1: Chalkboard & Chalk
#2: Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle
#3: Colors & Shapes Magnets
#4: Counting & Colors with Pom-Poms

Busy Bag #4: Counting & Colors with Pom-Poms

Here is another easy, cheap, & fun busy bag:

Supplies:
- Various colored "pom-poms" (you can buy large ones so there is less choking hazard)
- a small container w/ lid (I used an extra snack container)
Total Cost: $1-$3 depending on what you already have!
Time: 2 minutes or less

Put 10 or so "pom-poms" in the container, then put the whole container in a quart-size plastic bag until ready to be taken out to play with.

The child can count the pom-poms as he/she puts them back in the container. Go over colors, counting, and even how to open/close a container with lid! Again, very simple. But fun! I got the idea of using pom-poms from "My Delicious Ambiguity", as website with lots of Busy Bag ideas, but changed it to a container instead of a bottle to adjust to my 18m old's abilities (it doesn't help mommy out very much if I have to be the one pulling the pop-poms back out for him to play with!)

Other Busy Bag Ideas:
#1: Chalkboard & Chalk
#2: Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle
#3: Colors & Shapes Magnets

Staples $.50 Ream of All-Purpose Paper (8/14-8/20)

If you need some cheap printer paper for coupons, kids doodling, etc... Swing by your local Staples because they have a great deal on paper: Hammermill CopyPlus paper is $.50 after rebate... I really don't mind Staples Easy Rebates, because you can fill out the rebate online! No hassle with having to remember to send it in the mail... And every time I've done one of their rebates, the check was waiting for me in my mailbox within 2-3 weeks. The other part about this deal I like... Each customer is eligible for TWO rebates on the paper, so you can get two reams of paper for $1. Now that's a little more worth me dragging my pregnant body and toddler through another store!

Other deals I snagged at Staples:
- 2ct. Sharpie Markers: $.25 (limit 2)
- One subject notebooks: $.01 (limit 6, with a $5 purchase)

I bought one ream for myself (coupons, of course!) and another ream for my 5 nieces for Christmas! I'm making them "craft" buckets, filled with doodle paper, colorful scrapbooks paper, glue sticks, new markers, blank cards, etc... And what better time to shop for this stuff than during Back to School Sales?

Busy Bag #3: Colors & Shapes Magnets

Here is another simple Busy Bag you can put together to have on hand for busy little fingers and eyes. I just called it "Colors & Shapes Magnets". This is a spin-off of the family photo magnets I found here (and I plan on making next time I get around to having pictures developed, because both my family and my husband's live long distance).

Supplies:

- Several colors of Crafting Foam Paper (Around $2 for 15 sheets or so I think? I also recently saw foam shapes/colors in the Target $1 that look like they would work great!)

- One-sided magnet tape* ($2.50 or so at Hobby Lobby. Remember Hobby Lobby has weekly printable coupons, often 40% off one item)

- Scissors 

- Permanent Marker

Total Cost: Minimal, considering how many you can make from just $5 in supplies!

Directions:

- Using scissors, cut out various shapes (I cut out two of every shape/color so we could possibly play matching down the road)

- Cut 1 inch pieces of magnet tape and stick to the back of the shape*

- Write "(Color)" or "(Shape)" on the front (or both)

- Put all the pieces in a quart size ziplock bag!

Have fun! This can be a travel activity if you bring a small metal cookie sheet to use as the board. Fridges & dishwashers work great in the house!

Other Busy Bag Ideas:

#1: Chalkboard & Chalk

#2: Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle

*My 18m son already figured out how to pull the magnets off and tried eating them... so keep an eye on your child when playing with these (as with anything else). I'm going to try hot glue or super glue to see if either of those work better than just the standard adhesive on the back of the magnet. As a child gets older, this shouldn't be as much of an issue.

Busy Bag #2: Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle

Here is Busy Bag #2: Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle. This idea I got from the blogger at "Engaging Toddler Activities". To see the complete tutorial, head over here. 

Supplies:

- Pipe Cleaners

- Plastic container with lid

Total Cost: Depends on what supplies you already have* (Mid-range pipe cleaners were $.79 a pack at Hobby Lobby, but were 50% off, so only $.40. I used a food storage container I already had)

Modifications I made for my son...

- Used a shorter container. I originally made it with a "Puffs" snack container (like the one in the tutorial). Levi wasn't getting the hang of stuffing the pipe cleaners all the way down, so they were bending and he was getting frustrated... definitely not my intention! The shorter container also doesn't flip over as much.

- Bent & twisted pipe cleaners to make them thicker. To help with not bending as easily, I folded the pipe cleaners in half and twisted them. You could do this for the tall container by twisting two pipe cleaners together. Whichever you choose, don't forget to bend the little ends up to help with not having sharp tips.

Levi loves playing with this. He loves sticking straws in and out of cups, and this is the same concept. Very easy to keep in a bag, and you can store the pipe cleaners in the tub when not being used!

Other Busy Bags:

#1: Chalkboard & Chalk

* When making any of these busy bags, look around your house, kitchen, and craft room to see what you can re-use or re-purpose! Saves a ton of money and helps move things on to a new home! Your activity might look a little different than the original, but your 18m toddler won't know the difference, right? As always, feel free to share ideas in the comments below!

Busy Bag #1: Chalkboard & Chalk

Last week over on my facebook page, I mentioned that I would start experimenting with making age appropriate "busy bags" for my little boy, age 18m. I successfully made 8 or 10 little activities for our recent family vacation (an 8hr. drive into the mountains to go camping), and I can say they are successful because my little man loved all of them! So I'm going to share them with all of you other moms & caretakers, because most of them use basic household supplies or inexpensive craft supplies! 

The first one I will share was the easiest... a mini chalkboard & chalk. Simple, I know. If the child "accidentally" colors on the couch, carseat, floor, etc... chalk wipes right off! 

Here are the supplies you need:

-  Small chalkboard (this double-sided one was $1.75 on sale at Hobby Lobby)... It counted as an "unfinished wood" piece, so it was 30% off the normal price of $2.49. 

- Chalk (4 boxes of chalk, 12ct was another $1.49)

- Total Cost: $4 (I actually bought a second one for a friend's daughter, and split all that chalk between the two bags)

The concept of activity bags are to provide simple, inexpensive activities to keep little hands busy for 10-15 minutes, while also introducing various learning concepts (like colors, counting, matching, etc...). Put each activity in a bag (I used quart size ziplock bags with the slider top), then put all the activities into a tote or large bag. Only pull one out at a time, then put it back into it's bag and switch it out for another activity!

Stay tuned for more of the activities I put together! I will share links of various sites where I got ideas. Isn't the internet such a wonderful resource for moms?

Saving Cents on Scents & Shaving

If you got last week's Sunday coupons (8/22), then you might have clipped some of the coupons I used on a Target trip last week. Target's coupon policy allows you to "stack" a Target Coupon with a Manufacturer Coupon. Before learning this policy, I rarely shopped for household goods like cleaners, food, or toiletry items because I think their regular prices are kind of high. Well, since starting couponing, I have gotten quite a few fantastic deals. Here's last week's steals:

Airwick Twin-Pack: On Clearance for $3.48
Used $1/1 Airwick Twin Pack from SS (date unknown)
Used $1/1 Airwick Twin Pack from Target
Total Price: $1.48


Glade Premium Room Spray: $2.79
Used $1/1 Glade Fall Seasonal Item from Target
Used $1/1 Glade Premium Room Spray from here (to avoid looking through tons of pages, just click on the glade savings on the left-hand side of the page)
Total Price: $.79 each (bought 2)


Skintimate Shaving Gel: $2.24
Used $1/1 Target coupon from 8/22 SmartSource
Used $.75/1 from SmartSource (date unknown)
Total Price: $.49 each (bought 2)


Edge Shaving Gel: $1.97

Used $1/1 Target coupon from 8/22 SmartSource

Used $.75/1 from SmartSource (date unknown)

Total Price: $.22 each (bought 1)


Total Target Trip: $4.90 (including tax)


Check out the Target because there have been some great coupons I have printed every time they put them out, like:

•  $1/1 Chef Boyourdee, which makes cans of Ravioli completely FREE
• $.50/1 SoBe, which you can print two per computer, stack them with a B1G1 from Sobe's Heads or Tails game (you can play once a day for free, but it ends soon)
• $.50/1 PaperMate products, for cheap or free pens (I bought 8 free packs while they were on sale for $.50 and donated them to our church youth group)
• $1/1 Bic Stationary Product, stacked with $1/2 Bic Stationary Coupon, for more free or cheap pens (donated several more free packs to the youth group)

A Cup of Morning Coffee!

As a friend in college jokingly told me, I like my coffee so "blonde" (with cream), that it's albino! And it's true. I especially love flavored creamers. I discovered this summer that Coffee Mate has coupons at their website regularly. My favorite is the $.75/1 coupon. You have to give your email address (which is another time when having an email address for coupons/freebies is very handy), and if you hit the back button, you can print the coupon twice. I have been able to print this off every month this summer. I use this at Giant Eagle (which doubles coupons under $.99) or Walmart, and am able to feed my addiction for a lot cheaper!

To make this even sweeter, I discovered a few weeks ago that using the baby food processor someone gave us (which is great for small amounts), makes a very frothy, sweet morning treat! I only drink one 12oz. cup of coffee every morning, and this has made my morning routine really fun! I added up the calories the other day, and it's only 120 (which I think is pretty good for a coffee treat compared to coffee-house calories). I add two tablespoons of flavored creamer (70 calories) and 1 tablespoon of caramel topping (50 calories) to my cup of coffee, then blend it for thirty seconds, which gives me a very frothy cup of coffee! A normal counter-top blender would work, too, just a little harder to clean quickly! I do that when making an blended ice coffee treat.

What are some coffee/hot drink treats that you've learned how to make at home?