Photo Magnets

I wanted to give some of my friends a simple gift for Christmas. While I was looking for ideas I came across these super cute magnets. You can use scrapbook paper but I chose to use photos of their families. What better way to hold up your fridge clutter then with pictures of your kids?

I started out with the following items: Mod Podge, foam brushes, small round magnets, clear jumbo gems and a round punch.

I found the pictures I wanted to use and then printed them off in color.

I used the punch to cut out round picture circles.

I brushed on some Mod Podge to the back of the gem (the flat side) and pressed on the picture. Make sure to pat it down with your fingers to get the air bubbles out. I forgot to do that to a few and you can see the bubbles.

I then spread a thin coat of Mod Podge over the back of the photo. The Mod Podge goes on white but will be clear when it dries.

Coat one side of the magnet with Mod Podge and then press onto the back of the gem.

This is what the back looks like once it dries.

Once I had all the supplies it only took me about 15 minutes to do 20 magnets. They were fun to make and I plan to make some for my fridge really soon.

Reindeer & Snowman Oreo Pops

When I was asked to help with my sons school Christmas party I was so excited. I knew exactly what I was going to make. I had seen a post for these on another blog and wanted to try them. They are simple to make just takes a little time while waiting for the chocolate to harden.

1. Take double stuffed Oreos and take the top off. Put a stick into the cream and put some melted chocolate over the stick to help it stay in place. Put the lid back on and give it time to dry.

2. Dip the Oreos in melted chocolate until covered. Put broken pretzels into the sides to look like antlers. I used white chocolate chips for eyes and red M&M's for the nose. Let dry.

3. Finish up by putting a dab of black writing icing as the pupil of the eye. Let dry.

For the snowmen I did the same thing for the stick. Once dry I dipped them in melted white chocolate and let dry.

I used black writing icing for the eyes and mouth and white frosting with yellow and red food coloring (to make orange) for the nose.

These were super yummy and got rave reviews. Can't wait to make them again for a different holiday.

Monster wash clothes

I recently came across an idea for making monster wash clothes. I really liked the idea but wanted to make them a little different. I have been wanting to learn to sew and thought this would be the perfect project to practice on.

I cut different size circles out of wash clothes and sewed them together. Then I cut out the parts for the mouth, tongue and teeth and sewed them together. This was harder then I thought because they kept unravelling.

For the "bodies" I took wash clothes and cut them in half. Each washcloth made two monsters. I made some rounded at the top and some more square. I sewed the eye and mouth on and sewed up the side of the bodies. I put Velcro on the bottom of the monsters. Now I can put little soaps inside and Velcro them in. This will help kids wash up without continuously dropping the bar of soap.

Robot Birthday Banner

I have been working on the banner for my sons Robot party. I have finished it all except stringing it together which I will do closer to the party. It is made out of scrapbook paper that I cut out so it didn't cost very much. My sons favorite color is green so he insisted that his name be in green.

Smith's Trip August 31st

Smith's is running a deal where they are doubling all coupons to $1 this week. So if you have a 25 cent coupon it is worth $1. There were a few good coupons in last Sundays paper that made free or super cheap items this week. I planned to get 7 paper towels but they only had one. So I got one paper towel, 3 Barilla pasta sauce, 7 Colgate toothbrushes and 4 bags of skittles for $2.25.

Save Mart Trips

This is an awesome stock up week at Save Mart. They have select Kellogg's brand items on sale for $2.98. If you buy 10 items then $10 automatically comes off your total and then a $10 Catalina prints out for your next purchase. So far I have done 2 trips and plan to do another 1 or 2. On top of the great sale there is a Kellogg's coupon booklet out that matches perfectly. There are coupons for things like Save $2 off one gallon milk when you buy two Keebler cookies, Save $2 off store brand bread when you buy two Kellogg's fruit snacks. I love free bread and almost free milk.

My first transaction I had to buy some produce which always makes my totals higher. I paid $26.45 OOP for the above items. $10.53 of that total was produce or eggs. The things I got free are the two baggies, bread, and 59 cents for milk. I also received a $10 Cat for my next purchase. I paid $10.57 for the above items after my $10 Cat from the above purchase. Plus I got back a $10 Cat for next trip. I got the 3 loaves of bread and baggies free. It has been great to be able to stock up on cereal and fruit snacks. We are going to Disneyland in December and a lot of the snacks and juices will go with us as snacks for the boys. A LOT cheaper then paying Disney prices.

Felt Monsters

I recently mentioned that I am working on my boys birthday parties. My youngest will be 2 in March and we are doing a monster party for him. We decided on this theme because he has some cute monster puppets that he likes to play with.

While I really enjoy planning my boys birthday parties, I don't want to spend a lot. My goal is always to do as much as I can myself for the cheapest amount possible. That is why I always plan far in advance. That gives me a chance to buy things as inexpensive as I can and have plenty of time to make things without getting stressed out. I decided to make a monster banner to hang above the food table. I searched around online for ideas and then made the monsters out of felt. It turned out to be a lot of fun seeing them come to life. They each seem to have their own personality. Closer to the party date I will sew them onto some ribbon to finish the banner.