Pottery Barn Kids the Frugal Way

I must admit I am a bit of a Pottery Barn junkie...and that goes for Pottery Barn Kids, too. My heart shrieks with excitement every time I flip open the mailbox and see...the catalog. However, my pocketbook does not allow the financing of such a habit, so I clip out items and pictures and put them in my "Idea" file. I use the catalog for inspiration in decorating, gifting, and crafts. Many similar items can be found at Target, Marshalls, TJMaxx, and HomeGoods, and many things in the kids catalog you can actually make yourself!! Which is what I did for my kids Valentine mailboxes.

I have been eyeing these up for the past few years, but couldn't bring myself to spend the $26+ for each. (But can you believe they sell out every year??!! Who has the money??!!) So, this year was the year...I was making them myself. And had I known how easy it was, I would've made them long ago...

1 hour and $1.08 later...

My son's mailbox...he requested I not use so many hearts or make it look so "girly"...because hearts are for "giiirrrrrllllls"..... spoken like a true 4 year old!!



My daughter's mailbox...she decorated her own and went wild with the hearts. Because she's a giiiiirrrrlllll!!!

I used an empty cereal box and cut the top flaps off. I then glued (with a glue stick) red felt around the sides, tucked in the top and taped and glued inside the top, and then wrapped the bottom like a present and glued again.
I then stitched with yarn around the sides. Then I attached the top mail flap and stitched that on the back and stitched around the sides of that as well.

Then I attached a little "hook" by stitching a strip and attaching velcro tabs as a closure. The original PB one has backpack loops, but if I used those we wouldn't be able to use them on the chairs at home, so I just made one loop. Whatever works...

Don't let a low budget stop you from enjoying the things that you like (I'm talking holiday decor, crafts, etc...) Just use your imagination and try to figure out how to make it yourself!! A little ingenuity and patience is all you need! Monica has another Pottery Barn Kids craft idea , too!! I would've tried that one as well, but my printer is all out of color ink at the moment, and I'm all outta time!! Next year!!

Visit here to see what frugal "couponing" gift I made for my husband this year!!

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!!

Linked to: Frugal Friday

Thrifty Christmas Finds

I love thrift stores. We have a few around here, and one of my favorites is at one of our local churches. Check out a few of the things I picked up last week:

A vintage ceramic Santa boot .45 cents

A Boyd Bear Christmas Moose .50cents

He fits right in on my Boyd Bear Christmas tree. (We have two trees...an heirloom, heritage tree in our Living Room with all of our family treasured ornaments, and a "kids tree" with my Christmas Boyds and all of the kids favorite ornaments in the Family Room).

I also picked up a vintage Santa metal serving tray in excellent condition for .10cents! No scratches, etc, so I will be using it next weekend for our Open House! It's beginning to look a lot like an old-fashioned Christmas!!

Linked to: Finer Things Friday and Frugal Friday

Plan Ahead for Outings

Today we're heading out to central Pennsylvania to Hershey Park, a few hours drive, for one of our planned "Daycations". We visit every December to celebrate my daughters birthday at Christmas Candylane, but it's been a few years since we've been there in the summer and we are excited! We'll hopefully get to meet up with an old friend of mine I used to teach with who moved out there. We were pregnant together with our oldest girls, and pregnant at the same time again with our second children. We try to see them each year when we're visiting.

With Hershey Park comes the "chocolate characters", the shows, and of course, the candy. We'll be surrounded by everything chocolate...hey, they don't call it "The sweetest place on earth" for nothing! But rather than paying the premiums for the chocolate right there at the factory (okay... they will be getting a free bar at the end of the tour ride, so they won't totally be denied the satisfaction of actually getting Hershey's chocolate from Chocolate World), I purchased a few packages of mini sized treats, regular sized Hershey bars, and some chocolate milk boxes before we left. They'll be packed in the cooler for dessert with our picnic lunch.

Using a $20 off coupon for the $166 admission, buying cheaper treats off premises, and packing a picnic lunch helps to keep an already expensive outing a little less expensive.

Post linked to: Works for Me Wednesday and Frugal Friday

Go here for an update on our trip...

Summer Fun...

Anyone remember this??!!

It's the Snoopy Snowcone Machine, and when I was a little girl I wanted one so badly it hurt! Well, I never got one (obviously never forgot about it either!), but my next door neighbor Jennifer had one so I joined her to make snowcones. While in WalMart the other day I found the next best thing...Mr. Snowman. The same idea as the Snoopy Snowcone Machine, a hand powered snowcone maker. I just had to get it.

So now, in the heat of the summer, I pull out Mr. Snowman (an initial $10.97 expense) and a few bottles of flavoring syrup (already on clearance for $1.50 each) and some ice cubes...free!! My arms get a little workout (b/c kids get tired of it taking so long to crank it themselves), and they get a cheap treat...not to mention the memories of making their own snowcones! (Hey...after all these years, I didn't forget!!)

Frugal Summer Fun...A Finer Thing!!

Make it an even more frugal investment: Find a snowcone machine at a yard sale or thrift shop!

Linked to: Frugal Friday & Finer Things Friday

Frugal Friday: Hop in Your Thinking Chair and Get Creative!

When my oldest turned two we had a Blues Clues party. In the party bag were thinking chair "handy, dandy notebooks" that I picked up at the party store. They came 4 in a pack and I paid, maybe, $4-5 for them. Since then, my youngest has been begging for a handy dandy notebook. So, I ran to Party City and found out they no longer carry them. So, onto the internet we went... because you can find anything online!! I found them alright, $15 each or for $49.95 for a pack of 4!!! Apparently they've been discontinued and they're a hot item.

I of course want to encourage my little buddy's imaginative play as Joe in his thinking chair, but not at that price! So I downloaded an image of the notebook, enlarged it to the notebook size, and printed it out on cardstock. Cut it out with a back to match, then stapled copier paper inside to make a notebook. It's not bound like the 'real thing', but he loves it just the same!

Cost: maybe a dime for the printer ink used, and about a nickel for the paper. Can't beat that with a stick!!

Moral of the story...when you're in need of something and it's just too costly, put on your thinking caps, hop in your thinking chair, or do whatever you 'gotta do to create your own (or to re-purpose something else).

Visit Frugal Friday for more money saving tips!

Frugal Friday: End-of-Year Teacher Gifts

We had a great big school year of firsts around here...my daughter started kindergarten and my husband left his former school district of 12 years (an hour and twenty minute commute) for our local hometown high school (eight minute commute). What a blessing it has been to have my husband teaching locally and what a wonderful year we had all around! My daughter thrived in kindergarten and is absolutely thrilled about becoming a first grader (Oh, My!!) and my husband thrived in his new teaching environment, loving both the staff and the students he worked with all year, and loving his coaching positions as Assistant Varsity Football and Head Basketball coach.

In our tiny town the kindergarten has it's own little "green school" as it's called (it's green!!). So, at the end of the year we have many teachers/staff at the green school to show our appreciation for because remember, it takes a village to raise a child. The teacher, the aide, the nurse, the secretary/aide, the car aide (who puts her in the car each day through the "valet"), etc... As you can see, all these staff members add up, and purchasing gifts for all of them can be quite costly! (I always scour sales, etc. for items less than $5, but had no luck this year!) With one more paycheck coming until September 15th we need to conserve where we can (and still show our appreciation!) What's a budget-conscious Mom to do??!! I planned a luncheon for all of them! (And I was able to include the other kindergarten teacher as well as the preschool program staff that is also in the building!). Too bad I was so stressed for time I didn't get a picture (of anything).

Here is what I served and the price breakdown:

Cherry-Chicken Salad Crossiants (recipe below): $9.00

Country Potato and Macaroni Salads: free from hotdog promo

Bag of gourmet chips: $2

Carrot cake: $2

I arranged the crossiant sandwiches on two china platters and wrapped them in cellophane (they thought they were catered!!) and the salads in mason jars adorned with homemade "country" tags with twine labeling them of their contents, the chips in a Longaberger and the homemade carrot cake on a garden cake pedestal. I brought it in on a huge antique wooden tray. It made my country picnic theme complete!

Total was $13 and a little time. Even if I had found $5 gifts, I would be over $25...and the reception and gratefulness from the teachers was priceless! They really enjoyed it so this will be a definite plan for again next year!!

Oh...and forgot to mention...the kindergarten bus driver received a loaf of our favorite homemade banana bread (from MSM's e-book). She and her family just love our homemade gifts! (pic above) Cost: $1

Now...onto my husband! For a new teacher there's always countless paperwork, questions, deadlines, and getting to know the lay-of-the-land. Especially if you're the new head coach! Booking gym times, game busing scheduling, and starting up sports camps. The office staff and Board of Ed. staff are really instrumental in running the high school behind the scenes and are often forgotten (even when I was a teacher I never forgot my office staff come gift time... the school would be lost without them!) So this morning I put together two big Longabergers full of baked goods... one for the HS office and one for the Board office.

In both baskets were (and the total cost for both):

Dozen cinnamon rolls (fresh from the bakery...I would've made these, but the price was so reasonable it was just better to save me some sanity!!): $6

Loaf of banana bread with and without nuts: $4

Loaf of blueberry bread: $2 (I purchased these at our great supermarket bakery and they scanned the wrong price at checkout so I received one for free!!)

The total was $12 and not much time...the hardest part was waking at 5am to assemble the baskets!! Hence, no picture again. I barely had one eye open to basket up the buns!!

So...all-in-all our end of year teacher/aide/secretary/bus driver gift total came to: $26

You too can still give to others, and on a budget! All it takes is a little creativitiy, planning, and deal- seeking/couponing!

Happy Summer!!

I'm always looking for frugal gift ideas, so feel free to share!!

Cherry-Chicken Salad Crossiants:

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, poached (boiled) cooled, and cubed

2/3 C. dried cherries

1/3 C. chopped celery

1/3 C. chopped granny smith apples

1/3 C. chopped pecans, toasted

1/3 C. mayo

4 t. buttermilk (I did not have so I sub. sour cream)

1/2t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

2 doz. mini crossiants (or 12 large), split

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cherries, celery, apple, and pecans. In another bowl, combine the mayo, buttermilk, salt and pepper; add to chicken mixture and mix well. Spoon heaping spoonfuls onto each crossiant.

Visit LifeasMom for Frugal Friday!

Pick a Color, Any Color...

I love a great deal, and I love hearing from and sharing tips with my readers and friends. So when a reader and longtime friend wrote with this frugal tip, I just had to share...

"I am trying to pick a paint color to complement my pretty new bathroom. I prefer Benjamin Moore paint and have found it useful that they sell those little paint samples for $3.50 a piece, but sometimes you buy 2 and they aren’t good…so you buy 2 more…and they don’t work and then you think you like this color that they don’t actually have a sample for (they only sell samples for the top 250 or so colors) and resort to buying a quart of paint. It works out to be a lot of $$$ wasted testing paint colors. What's a girl on a budget to do??
A frugal solution…
Call Benjamin Moore. They will send you for FREE (I love FREE) larger paint chips (8 x 8). You can order as many as you like of as many colors as you like. You can then tape the 8x8 samples of the same color together and tape that to the wall. Much easier and FREE!!! They didn’t even charge me for shipping!
This is the direct # for Benjamin Moore paint chips: 1-888-854-9889.
I called and requested 4 samples each of 10 different colors. They said it will go in the mail today…I should have them in 3-5 business days."

Thanks KB for the tip! I wish I had known that before I bought my 10+ tester jars!!

For more Frugal Friday tips, visit here.

A Second Time Around

I love Pottery Barn! Everything about it...the look, the simplicity of the pieces, the organizational methods, the prints, the colors, everything! But, I don't love the price!! My husband's teacher salary doesn't get me far in that store, that's for sure. So, whenever I have the opportunity to recreate a Pottery Barn look with something I already have I do. Or, when someone hands-us-down a piece, that's even better. It may not be new, but it's new to us!

Case in point: I've been wanting to get my daughter a desk to go in her room. I looked at Target and Walmart, who both carry a lot of pieces that replicate the PB type of furniture, but their prices were over $100, and the quality wasn't the greatest. So when my father called and said someone at his golf club was getting rid of a desk and it's in great condition, I quickly said "We'll take it"! Well, what a beautiful find it was! It is the perfect style, down to the knobs. It is so well made and even has dividers built in to the bottom drawers for file folders! My husband painted it white to match her "little girls room". It came out beautiful! Of course, though, we needed accessories. So, I went to my collection of inspirational pictures from the Pottery Barn catalogs I've been keeping over the years, and got some ideas. They've been showing a lot of "pots" and buckets for supplies recently. I had two green tin buckets that would've been cute, but I use them a lot during the summer for our table outside and they took up so much room on her desktop. So I looked around for what we already had and I found an old formula powder can (perfect for markers) and some canned vegetable cans ready for recycling. I went through my cache of scrapbooking paper and ribbon, picked the perfect papers, and covered them. I then found an old picture and frame that I was actually donating to the church thrift shop, took it apart, wrapped the backing board in an old washcloth and covered with some more paper and matching ribbon to make a message board. The only things that were missing and had no solution for were a desk blotter and little desk lamp. I could only find a blotter for $19.99, so I purchased a plastic poster frame with a removable frame for $5 and just used the clear plastic as the blotter and put some pretty scrapbook paper underneath. As for the lamp, I was originally going for a pink one, but when I came across this brand new stainless steel one on clearance at Walmart for $3, I couldn't pass it up. And the chair...we had it in the attic...along with 5 others to match our original table from our condo-living days when we were first married. I knew they would come in handy someday!!

Moral of the story...hand-me-downs are such a blessing and a "fine, frugal thing"!

This post is linked to: Frugal Friday and Finer Things Friday

A Fine Haircut

Inspired by my little girl earlier in the week I decided to make a change... I've been feeling a little in a "beauty slump" for a while, not being able to do anything with my hair. It was so long, without a real style, and, well, lifeless. My daughters "bob" cut looked so cute, bouncy, and "full of life" that I decided to get one as well! I got eight inches cut off and what a great cut it is! It's so easy, and can still be pulled back or up on the sides. And, even better, my cut cost just $13.95 (wait for a cheap day at one of the local salon chains) What a fine thing!! Now, if only I could figure out a way to score some highlights on such a deal!!

Oh...please excuse the pj's...I took this at 1am!! And, no, I don't always sleep in my pearls!!

This post is also linked to Frugal Friday...it's all about saving money!!