I recently saw this DIY kiddie furniture project and totally fell in love. You won’t believe that a mama made this with reusable and recyclable materials - it looks like it came from some upscale mod boutique. Take a look:

This table and chair set was made by blogger Maya Luna and instructions are posted at her crafty cool blog, Maya Made. The set is made with easy and cheap items that can be reused again such as cardboard, a pizza pan, and fabric (think old scraps of fabric). You can make this for very little money and then recycle or reuse the items when you’re done. A green and thrifty project!

I think this is an excellent child-minded DIY project all around. If you take a swing at it, let me know in the comments.

Learn how to make this adorable table and chair set!

[image via Maya Made]

Dry beans of all sorts are not only great for inexpensive meals but also good for all sorts of kid-time-fun. Karen’s post on Thrifty Use for Old Jeans got me thinking about jean bean bags. Jean bean bags can be quickly and easily made with old jeans and old beans.

Grab those beans that aren’t looking so hot anymore - the really hard, shriveled kind. Grab some old jeans that are beyond repair. Cut the jeans into small squares, or another shape and stitch them together (wrong side together). Leave a small opening. Stuff with beans and stitch closed. You can decorate them with patches or fabric paint if you like.

Jean bean bags are really nice when compared to basic fabric bags because they’re far more sturdy. If a small tot gets a hold of one, it’s less likely they’ll chew through too. We don’t want that as beans are obviously a choking hazard.

You can make a bunch for a bean bag  summer outdoor birthday game even. Grab a large cardboard box. Decorate with a happy face, clown face, whatever you like. Cut a hole in one part of one side of the cardboard box and there you go. You might want to weigh down the inside with some large rocks so that the box doesn’t go flying when kids toss the bean bags at it.

Here are some more fun (and cheap) bean projects to make:

• An awesome bean mosaic
• Napkin rings
• Rice and beans bracelet
• Bean shaker instrument

What other thrifty ideas do you have for dried beans?

[image via stock.xchng]

Michaels is having another free family ”The Knack” event from 10 am-1pm this Saturday, April 18.  Kids will create their own bunny or spring chick for some sunny spring fun.  One page I read said that this was for all ages and another said that it was for ages 5-12.  Honestly, this looks like a very easy craft, so it may be for the younger ones too. 

You can stop by The Knack website for free printables.  There are over 200 to choose from.  There are also loads of project ideas.  Click on the spring project idea list and you’ll have plenty of ideas to keep your kids entertained and crafty.  This might come in handy during the Easter breaks from school.  The projects ideas helpfully tell the age range, messy level, and craft time.

Have fun!

image from michaels

Xerox has a great campaign going on right now that allows you to send a thank you card to a soldier at no cost to you.  Please stop by and send one from yourself and one from your kids too, if you want.  I filled one out for each member of our family.  They do so much and sacrifice more than we will ever know.  This is true regardless of whether we agree with the mission or not.

I am attempting to quilt these days.  Not very successful since I don’t have but a few minutes a day.  But I was so frustrated when my thread would break or tangle up.  Then a co-worker mentioned to me about Thread Heaven.  I am now in Heaven myself.  I love it.  It keeps my thread form breaking and tangling.  This saves me time by not having to untangle my thread and rethread it when it breaks and money by not having to throw away broken thread.  Just thought I would share this little tip for you if you are thrifty and sew a lot.  I spent about $3.50 but save more than that in time and money.

Hi. My name is Jenn, and I’m a scrapaholic. Yes, I have a room full of funky scissors, expensive paper, ribbons, leetle flowers and WAAAAY too many stickers. And I NEVER use them. But I scrap every day! Yes, I’ve gone digital.

I imagine over the years I’ve spend hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on all that stuff gathering dust in my craft room - but I avoided using it because it was too much work to get it all out; I didn’t want to just have to clean it all up again in order to eat dinner, the kids would get into it and make ‘art’ with $1 sheets of paper… too many excuses. I was working at a scrapbook store, when I realized I hadn’t done any personal scrapping for TWO YEARS!!

Then I went digital! I have always used Photoshop as a retoucher, and had moved into laying out my kids’ school yearbooks - when I had that D’OH! moment… laying out a yearbook is… yes… SCRAPBOOKING!! I started looking around online, and realized lots of other people had already figured out how to scrap digitally, and were doing a WAY better job than I was!

I started learning and scrapping, and was able to tell my story again! (CLICK HERE to see a slideshow of some of my favorites.)

Digiscrapping fits into my new thrifty lifestyle because:

• Once I purchase a page kit (papers and elements), I can use it over and over!
• I can make my own backgrounds (papers) and titles and elements - it’s fun!
• I can stop and start whenever I want - no cleanup! Just hit ‘Save’!
• I can wait for sales or free coupons to print things (just got a free 20 page book from Shutterfly!)
• I don’t HAVE to print - lately I’ve been making slide shows from my layouts and sending them to the grandparents on DVD. Easy for them to view - everyone can see at once, no crowding around the book!
• I actually DO it now!

You can’t put a price on preserving your memories.

One day I was telling my son that we were going to host a couple of high school kids from a choir that was visiting our church. I asked him if he remembered when we did that the year before.

“No, I don’t remember.”

“Sure you do, remember they slept in your room and you bunked with your sister?”

“Nope.”

“Of course you do, remember we took them to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream?”

“Did you take pictures? Can I see them?”

“No honey, I don’t think we took any photos.”

“MOM, if you took PICTURES, I’d REMEMBER!!!”

Out of the mouths of babes.

So, if you’re not crafty, can’t stand the idea of little stickers and glue sticks - try digiscrapping. If you paper-scrap but can’t seem to find the time or space - digiscrap! If you’ve got a story (and we all do) - tell it!

Jennifer White is the owner of ScrappersWorkshop.com, a learning site for digiscrappers. She also designs scrapbooking supplies, catch her blog at http://www.scrapkittydesign.com/blog. If you’re new to digiscrapping, (or even if you’re not!) free samples and tutorials are available at http://www.scrapkittydesign.com/ScrapKittyDesignNewbiePage.html

Now that Mother’s Day is coming in a few days, I thought I would share a few thrifty ideas for Mother’s Day.

• Karen has already talked about a great craft idea of painting something for mom’s.
• A family portrait from Sears is very reasonable.  Just go to Sears Photo and find the coupons for free portraits.
• There is usually a small indulgence that mom wants like a box of chocolates or a pair of shoes she would never buy for herself.
• Babysitting is usually a great idea.  Surely you know a teenager that wants to earn a little extra money.  Offer to give mom a day out or a date night.
• Go out and find wild flowers to cut for a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
• Go to Michael’s or your local craft store to get a collage using a coupon and fill it with photos.
• Give her a basket of plant seeds if she likes to garden.  They are cheap and she can pick and choose what she wants.

These are just a few thrifty Mother’s Day ideas that you can use to make your mom feel special.  But whatever you do or spend, Just make sure you don’t forget her.  That will make for a very sad mom.  All I want is to sleep until 8 AM and then have my kids hug me and tell me they love me.  I’ll settle for a wet drool kiss from Little Man.  Who would have imagined I would want spit for Mother’s Day?

I was amazed when I found this post on how the craftster made a wedding dress for $10 from the dollar store.  She totally impressed me.  The dress, although not the most beautiful dress I have seen, is very doable and she gives great ideas on how to make a wedding dress for under $20.  You could actually replace the shower curtain with fabric and still come under $20.  Anybody up for the challenge?

Thank you, The Creative Bride, for the tip and fun reading. I will be back.

Wish I could show you the dress, but I don’t want to step on her toes.  Go over and see for yourself.  She looked like a bride.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.  Since you’re here, you’re obviously looking to be a bit more frugal.  I’ve been surfing around and I’ve found 50 links to help you with Valentine’s Day.  All of these items are inexpensive and most of them are do-it-yourself.

Crafts

• 50 Nifty Valentines
• Heart Collage
• Conversation Heart Votive Candle Craft
• Play Clay Hearts
• Barrettes
• Bracelets
• Napkin Rings
• Felt Fortune Cookies
• Heart-Shaped Soap
• Hanging Valentine Card
• Photo Card
• Message Pillows
• Heart Wreath
• Lavender Heart Card

Printables and Other Fun Stuff

• A Kid’s Heart
• Heart Pattern
• Star Pattern
• Connect the Dots
• 10+ Valentine Games
• Bingo
• Bookmarks
• Printables from Jan Brett
• PBS Valentine Printables
• Nick Jr printable valentines
• Nick Jr stickers, paper chain
• Custom Coupons
• Word Search
• Maze
• Jokes
• Coloring Pages
• e-cards
• 30 Romantic Movies

Read more

1st turkey - I know this one looks a little funny, but it was done by my daughter when she was only 16 months old.  We made our own patterns for this one.  We just drew the turkey body, cut out some feathers, and that little red gobbler thing under the turkey’s chin.  What is that thing called anyway?

Click to read more. Read more