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Food Painting Activity For Kids

March 27, 2013 - 1 Comment

Looking for a fun indoor activity?

Try Food Painting!

Any craft that involves both paint AND snacks is kid approved at our house! This fun frugal craft requires few supplies and minimal clean up… making it mother approved as well

Gather any foods you’d like to paint. We used marshmallows, popcorn and bread. Make your edible paint by mixing milk with food coloring. I really like the McCormick Neon Food Colors, they’re nice and bright! For a thicker paint, try mixing sweetened condensed milk with food coloring. It dried really pretty and shiny!

Let kids be creative and paint away! It’s also a great opportunity to teach kids about colors and counting too!

The best part… it’s all completely edible when you’re done!

Have fun!

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By Jessica

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Filed Under: Coupon Blog, craft, Kids
Tagged With: craft, crafts, Food Painting, Frugal Crafts, Indoor Activities, Kids

Marbleized Easter Eggs

March 20, 2013 - 16 Comments

Want a fun way to dye your Easter Eggs?

I bet you have everything you need in your stockpile!

Ingredients

Neon Food Coloring
White Shaving Cream (or Cool Whip-Thanks Reader Anna for testing this!)
Hard Boiled Eggs, pre-dipped in vinegar to make the colors vibrant!

Tools

Cookie Sheet
Knife or Toothpicks
Paper Towels
Spoon
Cooling Rack
Gloves (or, you’ll dye your hands!)

Step 1

Cover Cookie Sheet with Shaving Cream and smooth down with the back of a spoon.

4-Food Coloring Drops

Step 2

Add food coloring drops, and mix into shaving cream with knife or toothpicks. I like the knife because it’s fast to clean (so the colors don’t mix) and fast to mix with the colors.

Step 3

Roll your hard boiled eggs in the shaving cream. It doesn’t take much, one tray will cover about 4 dozen eggs.

Step 4

Allow eggs to dry for 10-15 minutes.
Gently wipe off Shaving Cream with paper towel. Don’t wash them off, because then even the color goes away

PS-Thanks FAB reader Lori for pointing out that not everyone knows that eggs are porous You probably won’t want to eat these ones Don’t believe me? Open ‘em up! They are marbleized on the inside too!

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By Becky

16 Comments
Filed Under: craft, Frugal Living
Tagged With: craft, Easter Deal, Easter eggs, Marbleized Eggs

“Kool” Way to Dye Easter Eggs

March 12, 2013 - 16 Comments

How to Dye Eggs Using Kool-Aid!

Kool Aid Easter Eggs

I’m always looking for new things to do with the kids. They told me that this is THE BEST WAY to dye eggs! I think they just like the smell, but it is cheap and easy, plus it does not require any vinegar! All you need is 2/3 cup water and a Kool-Aid packet! You can usually find Kool-Aid for around $0.10- $0.20 each so it is a frugal way to dye eggs!

Easter Eggs Kool Aid Ingredients

Ingredients

1 packet Kool-Aid
2/3 cup Water
Boiled Eggs- (see our tutorial for The Secret to Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs)

Easter Egg Kool Aid Cups

Place the eggs in the dye. It only takes a couple minutes and the eggs are a vibrant color. Remove them and dry on a cooling rack or in the egg carton. Much better color than normal dye in my opinion! Plus you will have a fruity kitchen smell!

Easter Egg Kool Aid Flavors

You can see how the colors turn out. Plain lemonade is not very dark but Pink Lemonade turns out nicely, grape also turns out a little too dark. The eggs also have a subtle speckle on them too!

Nordic Ware Microwave Egg Boiler

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By Kearna

16 Comments
Filed Under: Awesome, craft, DIY, Frugal Living
Tagged With: decorating Easter Eggs, Decorating Easter Eggs with Kool-Aid, EASTER, frugal egg dye, Kool-Aid egg dye, make your own egg dye

Craft: Baked Cotton Balls

March 8, 2013 - 21 Comments

Baked Cotton Balls Broken Open

These Baked Cotton Balls are probably the most fun the Bee and I (and Auntie B) have had with a craft. Ever. They combine Finger Painting, Baking, Smashing, and Mess Making, all in one easy to clean up activity!

Baked Cotton Ball Ingredients

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 cups water
Food coloring
Cotton Balls (I used one of the 100 ct. ones I’ve gotten from Target. We could have done probably 200 cotton balls, instead of 100)
Baking pan
Cooking Spray or Baking Mat

Baked Cotton Ball Stirring Colors

Directions

Mix Flour and Water in bowl until smooth.
Divide into as many bowls as you would like colors. We found 7 worked out about perfectly.
Add food coloring and stir.
If your munchkin is old enough, you can give them the 3 primary colors and let them figure out what Mixing colors make (this is the Bee, figuring out that Green and Red make Brown)
Coat cotton balls in “paint”
Because Mama likes to stay clean, I coated mine with the spoon we used to stir
My sister and the Bee went to town mixing with their hands.
Seriously Fun! Even Clean Freak me got into it!
(Although I was behind the camera, not in front of it!)
Place Completely coated cotton balls on baking tray sprayed with Pam.
I honestly wasn’t sure what the aftermath would be, so I purposely chose my oldest pan,
and wasn’t willing to risk my Baking Mats (although the “paint” peeled right off the sprayed cookie sheet)
Bake Cotton Balls at 300 Degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. The colors will change slightly, but they still look cool!
After done baking, smash with hammer.

If your kids are old enough, let them do this, or give them a play hammer.
This was a VERY therapeutic part of the project.
Especially seeing how far I could get them to fly across the room!

Baked Cotton Balls All Smashed Up

Baked Cotton Balls broken open!

The Cotton Balls are hard and crunchy on the outside, and still soft and silky on the inside!

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By Becky

21 Comments
Filed Under: Awesome, craft, Frugal Living, Kids
Tagged With: Baked Cotton Balls, Colors, craft, learning, Preschool, toddler

Easter Idea: These Are My Peeps!

March 6, 2013 - Leave a Comment

Chocolate makes everything better, even Peeps!!

Here’s some fun ideas to make your Easter Celebrations a hit.

Using a chocolate fountain dip your peeps! Dip them all the way for added fun of decorating them.

You can dip any type of peeps in chocolate!

Chocolate Fondue Fountain – $22.97 (eligible for FREE Shipping)

Mini chocolate fondue fountain holds up to 2 pounds of chocolate
Designed with a plastic base and a 2-tier tower; easy to use
Pour melted white or dark chocolate into the base and switch on the motor
Auger-style fountain; uses a standard outlet; dissembles for quick cleanup
Measures 7-1/2 by 7-1/2 by 12-3/4 inches; 90-day warranty

Place a smaller vase inside the larger vase. Be sure that it is almost as tall. Pour M&M’s or your favorite candy in between the smaller & larger vase.

Next place a row of your favorite bunny peeps & top with larger candy. Fill inside vase with water & flowers. Such a great center piece!

Choose your favorite peeps. Place candy stick from the front of the peep to the back. Slide it down & add another until you have added as many as the stick can hold. Using a candy bag cover the peeps & tie a ribbon on the bottom. For fun add a note for a friend saying “Here’s some peeps for one of my favorite peeps!”

These are such a blast to make! Just put your smores together & place in smores microwave container. Microwave for 10 seconds then walla! My little ones had such fun making them, they even named the “chicks” before microwaving them.

Little 2 year old Toby is loving every gooey bite, his mouth is full!

Micro S’mores with 12 Classic and 12 Holiday Recipes – $7.40 (eligible for FREE Shipping)

Features include domed cover for even microwave energy distribution for the perfect melt, auto-plunger applies just the right amount of pressure to for the perfect s’more
High impact plastic base for perfect support and easy handing, easy to clean and dishwasher safe
Micro s’mores recipe guide with 12 classic and 12 holiday recipes for year-round fun
Dimensions: 5-inch by 4.625-inch by 5.625-inch, includes retail packaging

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By Ang

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Filed Under: Awesome, craft, Frugal Living
Tagged With: Amazon, amazon deals, Chocolate Fountain, EASTER, peeps, smores

How To Make Your Own Noodle Beads!

February 27, 2013 - 11 Comments

{Pin This}

I have what I like to call “busy boxes” for my little ones. Each one is a different activity that I store in a labeled $.97 plastic container from Walmart. I have about 1o right now, and absolutely LOVE them! Each time my kids get antsy and need something to do, (or I need a distraction) I pull one down and let them play! Noodle beads are my latest addition!

Noodle Beads Ingredients

Supplies Needed:

1 Cup dry, uncooked pasta per color (I used Ditalini, but you could use whatever kind you like!)
2 Tablespoons rubbing alcohol
4-5 drops food coloring (I found that the gels (like Wilton coloring gels) produced more vibrant colors)
Sandwich baggies
Toothpicks, if you are using gel colorings
Large cup
Surface to lay the wet beads on to try (I used a baking sheet covered with foil)

Place a sandwich baggie inside your cup and fold the top over the edge to hold it in place. This holds up your bag while you place everything inside. Add your pasta, rubbing alcohol and food coloring to the bag.

Zip it shut and gently shake or mix together with your hand to coat all of the beads. If you have any excess liquid, try to drain that out the best you can.

Spread the beads out on your drying surface to dry. I think this took about 3-4 hours if I remember right. Repeat with each color.

{Pin This}

I purchased some kids jewelry braiding cord for a couple of dollars in the craft aisle at Walmart but any string that will fit into the size of pasta you are using will work. I cut a few necklaces sized pieces of string and tied one of the beads to the bottom of each so the rest of the beads would stay on the string. It’s a great sensory/coordination activity and only costs a couple of dollars to make!

Have fun!

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By Jessica

11 Comments
Filed Under: Awesome, Coupon Blog, craft, DIY, Kids
Tagged With: crafts, DIY Noodle Beads, Food Coloring, Frugal Crafts, Kid's Crafts, Make Your Own Noodle Beads, Noodle Beads, pasta

How To Make Homemade Gak (Borax Free!)

February 20, 2013 - 2 Comments

Make Homemade Gak For Under $5!

Did you ever play with Gak as a kid?

I did! It was lots of ooey-gooey fun as well as an excellent sensory activity! I decided to make it for my kiddos this week and they LOVED it! I found several Gak recipes around the blog-o-sphere that use Borax as one of the ingredients. I’ve read a lot of mixed information about the safety of using Borax around kids so I was happy to find this recipe that doesn’t call for it. I made a few adjustments and it turned out great!

Ingredients:

2 (4 oz.) bottles of Elmer’s Glue (About $.75 each at Walmart in the school supply aisle)
1/2 to 3/4 cup liquid starch (About $3 at Walmart in the laundry aisle)
Food Coloring (I had on hand)

You will also need:

glass or plastic bowl
spoon
measuring cup
Something to protect your work surface (table cloth, cutting board, baking sheet ect..)

Empty all of the glue into your bowl.

Add your food coloring and stir together until blended. I only used a little bit (4 drops I think) of food coloring so it wouldn’t stain our hands when playing with it.

Gradually add the starch, A LITTLE AT A TIME, while stirring with the spoon or kneading with your fingers as the mixture thickens. The original recipe calls for a whole cup of starch but I tried that and it turned out really soupy. I made another batch with only 1/2 to 3/4 cup starch and it was just right!

Keep stirring!

You might need to get your hands in there and knead it to mix in the rest of the starch. You may not even need the entire 3/4 cup. It should look like this when you’re done!

The fun begins!

When your kiddos are done playing, simply store the Gak in an air tight container or Ziploc bag. I’ve been storing mine in the fridge but I don’t think you have to… My total cost to make two batches was $6. I still have lots of liquid starch left so I would only need to buy more glue next time. It was definitely more fun to make it than buy it!

Have YOU ever made Gak? Do you have any tips or tricks?

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By Jessica

2 Comments
Filed Under: Coupon Blog, craft, Kids
Tagged With: Activities for Kids, craft, DIY Gak, Glue, Homemade Gak, Kids, Starch, Things to do with kids

DIY: 9 Homemade Valentine Ideas for Kids!

January 25, 2013 - 4 Comments

Make Your Own Valentines!

You can get store-bought Valentines for really cheap, especially with a coupon deal. But I thought it might be fun to do a homemade Valentine this year with my little guys, so I tried out a few ideas. A nice little weekend project!

heart crayon valentine

[Read more...]

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By Melanie

4 Comments
Filed Under: Awesome, craft, DIY, Frugal Living, Kids
Tagged With: craft, crayons, DIY Valentines, internet printables, swedish fish, Valentine's Day, valentines

DIY: Homemade Valentines for Kids

January 21, 2013 - 5 Comments

Two Sugar-Free Homemade Valentine Ideas!

You can get store-bought Valentines for really cheap, especially with a coupon deal. But I thought it might be fun to do a homemade Valentine this year with my little guys. I have a 2-yr-old and a 4-yr-old, so I don’t know many kids that don’t LOVE a crazy straw or a bouncy ball!

More great DIY Valentine’s Day ideas:

[Read more...]

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By Melanie

5 Comments
Filed Under: Awesome, craft, DIY, Frugal Living, Kids
Tagged With: bouncy ball, craft, DIY Valentines, internet printables, straw, Valentine's Day, valentines

Christmas Gift Idea: Brother Sewing Machine $77.99 Shipped!

November 10, 2012 - Leave a Comment

Woot! The price just dropped on this Sewing Machine!

Amazon currently has the Brother XL2600I Sew Advance Sew Affordable 25-Stitch Free-Arm Sewing Machine on sale for just ~~$84.54~~ $77.99 Shipped! This is a great sewing machine for the price and it comes highly rated by fellow shoppers.

Free-arm sewing machine with 25 built-in stitches, each with multiple stitch functions; good for novices and everyday sewing projects
Features needle threader, thread cutter, drop-in bobbin loading, and auto bobbin winding; 1-step auto-size buttonholer
110-volt machine operates with foot pedal; light bulb for workspace illumination
Accessory storage built into free arm; includes 5 accessory presser feet and bilingual user’s manual
Measures 12-1/4 inches long by 7-3/4 inches wide by 9-3/5 inches high; limited 25-year warranty

Go HERE to view this Brother Sewing Machine

Compare to $85 at Walmart.

See our favorite Amazon Deals!

Want free shipping? Sign up for Amazon Mom!

Because Amazon’s prices fluctuate so much and some times so quickly, please don’t be mad at me if you miss this great price! Also, see why we ♥ Amazon Prime for free shipping! This post contains our affiliate link. Please read our DISCLOSURE POLICY here.

By Monica