Make your own snowglobes!

I just had to post this today because we made a snow globes yesterday and they really are so much fun! You do not need to spend a lot of time or money on these. We saved a jelly jar and a spaghetti sauce jar . . . ran them through the dishwasher and used goo gone to get any sticky residue off of the outside.

The Dollar Tree is the perfect place to find something cheap to stick inside if you don't have something around the house. We used a ninja for one and a Christmas tree in the other. The Dollar Tree has great little village pieces with snowmen and carolers perfect for this project. They also have super glue and the glitter you will need!

Here is a link to Make a Homemade Snow Globe! Next year we may try using photos!

Back to School price list!

Your Retail Helper has a weekly post on the best back to school prices and coupon match ups. . . check out this weeks post with sales through August 7th.

Father's Day Photo Idea

The Amazing Mess has an adorable Father's Day photo idea check it out here . . .depending on how many kids you have you may really need to get creative

Mother's Day Photo Gifts Specials

Because I'm a new mother (my daughter turned 6 weeks old on Wednesday) my radar is up on cool gifts with which I can use the oodles of pictures of our baby. Here is a couple of things I've found at babycheapskate.com (because I'm a new mother, I also only have time to link to the posts speaking of these special rather than list the all the details out myself! :)

Shutterfly free Mother's Day photo card (babycheapskate) - expires 4/28

Snapfish B1G2 free photo books (babycheapskate) - expires 4/18

Resurrection Eggs

One of our favorite traditions at Easter is going through our box of Resurrection eggs. We made our own out of an egg carton, Easter eggs we already owned and things we had around the house. We drew our own top on construction paper with three crosses and put together our own eggs filled with a sponge, a nail etc. that remind us of the days leading up to the empty tomb. We included a verse or saying regarding that item.

You can buy them from the amazon link above or do a google search and assemble your own for free! The local christian bookstores usually carry them this time of year too.

Children's Place Free Shipping & 15% off

Children's Place is doing it again: free shipping on any order today only! If you order today, not only will you get free shipping, but it's guaranteed you will get it in time for Easter! Just use coupon code FSSPRING2011.

There are also some 15% off coupon code, though I haven't personally tried them yet. Here are a couple that seem to work for people:
A6D2011 - this is the one I used
K3DAZNNF3C

I can't go check it out now, but I'm going shopping later today on the site! Hope I can find something cute for cheap!Update: I did find a cute dress for a wedding we are going to in May and a cardigan for the fall to go over all the short sleeved 6-9 month clothes we have! The bonus was that I had some money in Paypal from my survey taking, so my OOP was about $6!

Easter Dinosaur Eggs

These are adorable and easy. Dinosaur Eggs!

Fabric Easter Basket

Check out this fun fabric collage Easter basket you can make with your kids! This should be pretty frugal too if you just find fabric scraps in your house.

Easter Crafts

With Easter fast approaching we wanted to post some Easter Crafts and activities for you and your family to enjoy.

Of course, desserts are a great place to start! Here are two desserts my kids and I will be attempting for this Easter. The real shocker they both involve chocolate cake. :)

The first recipe is from Bakerella, Spring Chicken Cakeballs!

The second recipe is from No Time for Flash Cards, Easter dirt cupcakes!

Freelance Friday - Ask the Readers About Kids' Clothes

Now that we have a new baby girl in our lives, I'm going to have to start shopping for clothes for her. Well, actually, we have been so blessed with gifts of clothes that it may be a few months before I have to start down that road! What a blessing.

This is where we want you to chime in and give us your tips and tricks to kids' clothes shopping.

- Where do you find the best deals on new clothes?

- What are the best thrift stores / resale shops around the Rockford area for kids' clothes?

- What do you consider good prices? (I'm sorry but I have a hard time paying $20 for a sweater for myself, let alone one for my daughter that she can only wear for a few months).

- What brands (gasp, yes let's get brand snobby here) do you find last longer / wear better?

Can't wait to hear your comments! Fire away!

Tuesday Tips - DIY Cute Barrettes

Since we're expecting our first baby girl, I've been going a little crazy on the "Martha Stewart" front! The latest thing I've been having fun with is making barrettes using alligator clips. It's fun to make because I know I can use them right away by clipping them to a baby stretchy headband, and I can use them when she's older and has more hair!

Here's the website where I first got the idea (it has step by step instructions) . . . and here are some of the barrettes I've made! I spent just over $4 for the alligator clips (pk of 25), the headband, and the 3 flowers. The rest (ribbon and bling) is just stuff I had around the house. I can make lots of barrettes with that!

Wacky Wednesday - Psalm 23 Southern Toddler Style

This little girl's southern accent is WAY too cute! And this video also makes me look forward to some day being able to teach our daughter some scripture passages (both in French and English)!

Printable Huggies Wipes Coupon

Go here and print 2 coupons for $.75 off Huggies wipes. There is no size restriction and this is a manufacturer coupon which prints without a Target logo . . . so it can be used anywhere.

The small travel packs are usually $.97 and tubs are around $1.99 at Walmart and Target which make for some cheap wipes. Your target price for wipes should be around $.02 a wipe - that is a stock up price. Most times it is better to buy smaller packages or the tubs with coupons than a large refill bag. Manufacturers want you to buy the refill bags and want you to think it is the best deal but most times the price per wipe is more.

New Website for Rockford Parents!

Looks like there is a new website for Rockford parents. It has book reviews, coupons, calendar of events, local chatter forum, art projects and other local information. Not a lot a yet but it looks like they are trying to build readership. Check them out here!

Valentine's Day Tree Countdown!

This is an adorable Valentine's Day countdown tree! So easy and cute and more than likely you won't need to go buy a thing to put it together!

Go here to s.b.creatively to get the instructions. We may change ours up a bit because we have heart stickers from the $1 spot at Target and then I won't need to cut out 14 hearts and we may add a love is kind or is not rude to each heart . . .

Parents Magazine 1 year subscription: $1!

With all the different baby/parenting magazines having cool coupons for Amazon.com, I'm always on the lookout for free or almost free subscription. Here is the latest one I've found.

Mamapedia (similar to Groupon but mostly "mommy stuff") is offering a one year subscription to "Parents" for $5, which is 50% off the retail price. When you use the coupon code FATWALLET4, it will take another $4 off, making your subscription only $1!

Thanks for the head's up TheFrugalFind!

Target Diaper Deal today through Saturday the 29th!

Target this week has Pampers and Huggies Diapers/Pull ups on sale for $8.99 PLUS when you buy 3 you get a $5 gift card.

That's $26.97 total then factor in you will be getting a $5 gift card = $21.97 NOW throw in some coupons!

Today's paper had a $2 off Huggies, $1.5o off Huggies
The 12/26 P&G insert had $1.5o off Pampers Diapers of Pull Ups
Click here for a printable $1.50 off Huggies Diapers (print 2 per computer) - I found it on page 3
Click here for a printable $2 off Huggies Pull Ups (print 2 per computer)

If you use 3 $1.50 off coupons that makes them $5.82 a pack! If you happen to have any Target Huggies or Pampers coupon make sure you use those too! One Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon per pack of diapers!

Amazon Deal on Pampers!

Check out this great post from Common Sense with Money on how to score a great price on Pampers diapers. It takes a few steps but it may be worth it because good deals on diaper prices are getting harder and harder to find! PLUS, they get delivered to your house for free no need to bundle anyone up in this cold weather just for diapers!

The first two people to contact us will get a code for 20% off to use on this Amazon deal!

Children's Place Free Shipping & 20% off

The Children's Place is having free shipping today only (with code FSJANUARY) and you can also use this code for an extra 20% off your total (P7C2011). Since their Monster Sale is going on right now, some good deals are to be had! Thanks for the heads' up Lacey!

That was the pertinent information. If you have an extra minute, below is a little story for your entertainment.

A day in the life of a new "pinch-a-penny" mommy:
New as in new mommy-to-be, not new at pinching a penny. I have to admit, this is new territory for me . . . children's clothing. Eek! I don't really like to pay more than $5-$10 for a clothing item for myself, so I mistakenly thought that baby clothes (so much smaller and using less material - "less threads than in my sock" as my husband put it) would follow suit. Hmmm, not so! $22 for a cardigan? Seriously?

I'm now discovering that $8.50 isn't a half bad price for a new cardigan that my daughter will only be able to wear for a few months. Wow! I really have to teach this old dog new tricks! A new challenge for me, and the cool thing is that it's FUN!!! I'm loving it!

Picture this scenario: I decide that I really should have a plain 0-3 month cream or white cardigan for my daughter. After all, I'm practical: it goes with everything, will be useful for the "in between seasons" when it's neither cold nor hot (since she's due at the end of February), nice for layering over a short sleeve shirt, etc. You get the picture.

Last week, I chose to skip the "free shipping plus 15% off" deal at The Children's Place thinking I could do better than their $8.50 sale price on an adorable cardigan. I went to multiple stores trying desperately to find an equivalent. FAILURE! The stores either didn't have one, or they were $12 - on clearance!!! I'm starting to regret that I didn't take advantage of that deal last week!

Then today, my good friend Lacey (who went with me to help me register at BabiesRUs and saw my desperate search for a cardigan) texts me and tells me The Children's Place is having free shipping and that there is a 20% coupon code. I quickly go to the site and order that cardigan, hoping it's still there. It is! I quickly purchase it and one other item and am thrilled when the 20% gets taken off the total (hey, that's better than 15%!). Woohoo! Lacey saves the day! What makes the deal even sweeter is that they take PayPal and I have some money in PayPal from the surveys I take. Out of pocket cost? $2.

Well, this mommy-to-be definitely needs to learn new tricks, but for today she conquers the "don't pay over $5 per item" rule she has. It's a good day!

Although now I'm wondering if I should have ordered one in each size available . . . hmmm . . .

(Disclaimer: For you thrifty mommies out there, I do intend to hit a lot of thrift shops and watch for their "half off" days, but this time I was looking for something VERY specific so I splurged a little. You'll excuse a new mommy, won't you?).

Babies R Us Coupon!

Here is a great coupon for Babies R Us! Get a FREE Reusable Tote bag PLUS 40% off all clearance clothes and shoes you can fit in the bag!

Babies R Us had this great deal last year too - I am glad to see it back in 2011! Coupon expires 1/23/11!

Thanks to Deal Seeking Mom for the coupon!