Simply Savings Workshops

Free Sample of Woolite Extra Dark Care

2011-11-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

Go on over to the Woolite Facebook Page where you can sign up to receive a FREE sample of Woolite Extra Dark Care. Just "like" them and click on the "dark Friday" tab to find the form. You'll also be entered into a drawing for a black Friday shopping spree!

Thrifty Thursday 11/10

2011-11-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

We didn't need much this week thanks to a few recent "stock-up" trips, so I went to a some stores that I don't always have time to go to...including the Goodwill store and Ollie's Bargain Outlet. I know it's not grocery related, but I LOVE to go to the Goodwill to look for books for my kids. At $0.35 a piece, it's an inexpensive way to treat them! I found some bargains today...including books by Tommie de Paola and Eric Carle, plus a hardcover Fancy Nancy book! Ollie's didn't have much except for Betty Crocker fruit snacks for $0.99 a box. We were out and my husband LOVES fruit snacks, so I bought a few boxes.

My best deal of the day was at Walgreens where I got 2 cans of Clabber Girl baking powder for FREE after coupons! (Well, I paid $0.03 for tax, but that's about as close to free as you'll get!) :)

I also went to Kroger for one set of Mega Sale items (Kleenex, Nestle water bottles, Doritos -a sick present for my hubby-, and a carton of half & half) and some veggies, milk and eggs.

And, unfortunately, I was FORCED to go to Walmart for a few non-grocery related items, so while I was there, I picked up a bottle of honey. :)

Here are my totals for the day...

Total value of all purchases (22 items from 4 stores - not including Goodwill) : $56.53
Total amount spent oop after sales and coupons : $34.63
Total amount saved : $21.90 or 39%

Money (& Time) Saving Idea: Make Your Own Baking Mixes!

2011-11-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

Recently, I was reading a post on HeavenlyHomemakers, and came across an idea that I had never thought of before but was such a great money-saving and time-saving idea!

If you're a person who likes to bake often, or if you've ever needed to whip up a quick batch of cookies or brownies or muffins and didn't have a boxed mix on hand, (or if you just don't like boxed mixes) then this tip is definitely for you!

Take some of your favorite baking recipes (I've listed a few of mine below), and place all of the dry ingredients that you need for the recipes in individual freezer-safe zip-top bags. Label the bag with all of the wet ingredients you need to finish the recipe and baking directions. Throw it in your freezer and, whala!, you have your own baking mixes that are ready to go when you need them. Not only will it save you time and money, but you will have less dishes to wash and these recipes will more than likely be much healthier than the ones you buy in a box!

I would put together several mixes at once to save you time later on. Or, if you're planning on making something anyway, while you already have the ingredients out, go ahead and make 2 or 3 bagged mixes. Here are a few of my favorite baking recipes:

Whole Wheat Cocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (This is one of my daughter's favorites!)

Cocoa Brownies

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

On Bag, Write...
Add 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla to dry ingredients. (Mix in nuts or chocolate chips if you wish.) Pour into an 8x8 in pan (or mini muffin tin) and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 min. (Baking time will be less if using muffin tin.)

Basic Muffins

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar

On Bag, Write...
Add 4 tbsp melted butter, 1 large egg, and 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp milk to dry ingredients. (Add in berries or chocolate chips.) Pour into 10 muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 18 - 24 minutes.

Walgreens Deals 11/6 - 12

2011-11-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

There are a few nice freebies at Walgreens this week!

Get $1.99 RR wyb Blistex Revive & Restore Lip Care, .4 oz @ $1.99
*makes it FREE!

Get $1 RR wyb Crest Toothpaste, 6.4 oz @ $1.99
-$1 mc (PG 10/30) (This coupon has restrictions, and I have not been to the store yet to see if any of them apply to the toothpaste on sale, so make sure you read the fine print before using it!)
*makes it FREE!

Clabber Girl Corn Startch, 6.5 oz @ $0.50 w/ in-ad coupon
-$0.50 mc printable (no longer available?!)
*makes it FREE!

You can see the rest of the Walgreens weekly deals here.

CVS Deals 11/6-12

2011-11-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here are my favorite deals at CVS this week...including Jif peanut butter for $1 with no coupons needed and more FREE greeting cards! Yay!

Get $3 ECB wyb (3) Hallmark or American Greetings cards (limit 1)
-If the $0.99 cards are inluded, makes 3 FREE!

Get $3 ECB wyb (2) Jif Peanut Butter, 18 - 20 oz @ $2.50 ea (limit 1)
-makes it $1 each!

Get $10 ECB why $20 worth of select Playtex and Schick Products:
Buy (2) Schick Slim Twin Disposable Razors, 10 pk @ $7.99 ea
-B1G1 mc (SS 11/06)
Buy (2) Edge Shave Gels, 6 - 10oz @ $2.19 ea
*Pay $12.37, get back $10 ECB....makes it $0.59 each!

Libby's Canned Pumpkin $1.50
-$1/2 mc (RP 8/28)
*makes it $1 each!

Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap, 5.5-8.5 oz @ $0.99
-$0.75 mc (SS 10/30)
*makes it $0.24!

You can see all of the other CVS deals here. Let me know if you find any other bargains!

New Kroger Coupons in my Mailbox = FREE stuff!

2011-11-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

Have you gotten any new coupons from Kroger in the mail recently? If not, be watching your mailbox! In the past week, I have gotten 2 mailers from Kroger including 5 FREE product coupons! Yay!! I'll be getting free eggs, frozen veggies, frozen fruit, and Pepperidge Farm cookies! (Not that we need cookies after all of the halloween candy the girls brought home...)

In addition to the FREE product coupons, I also recieved some great manufacturer coupons for things I buy on a regular basis. If you do not yet recieve coupons in the mail from Kroger and want to start getting them, you can sign up for an account here.

Weekly Menu 11/6-12

2011-11-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

Unlike last week when I hardly cooked at all, this week I will be cooking almost every night! But, I'm planning on making the most of it by making double batches of a few things!

Sunday
Breakfast: breakfast basket
Lunch: Out!
Dinner: spaghetti & meatballs (from the freezer) / salad / garlic toast

Monday
Breakfast: muffins (from the freezer)
Lunch: PB&J / chips / fruit cup
Snack: Brownie Bites (from freezer)
Dinner: Country Fried Steak / mashed potatoes / steamed broccoli

Tuesday
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: Lunchable (from recent Kroger sale) / yogurt
Snack: apple slices (from local orchard!) w/ peanut butter
Dinner: Chicken Empanadas (using bread recipe from here -I'm planning on making extras to freeze. If it goes well, I'll let you know!) / steamed corn / salad

Wednesday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs / toast
Lunch: turkey sandwich / pretzels / applesauce
Snack: Mudballs (we never got around to making these last week!)
Dinner: Out with family!

Thursday
Breakfast: pancakes
Lunch: school lunch
Snack:  Peanut Butter Honey Bars (from freezer)
Dinner: chilli (making a double batch to freeze - of course!) / baked potatoes

Friday
Breakfast: potato cakes (from freezer)
Lunch: school lunch
Snack:  Mudballs
Dinner: Out!

Saturday
Breakfast: cinnamon rolls (from recent Kroger sale)
Lunch: sandwiches / pretzels / fruit
Dinner:  Chicken w/ garlic sauce / green beans / seasoned rice

Freezer Cooking Plan
applesauce bread (using homemade applesauce)
mini chicken meatballs (didn't get around to making these last week either!)
whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip pancakes

FREE Sample of John Frieda Hair Care!

2011-11-02T04:47:00.000-07:00

Right now, you can get a FREE sample of John Frieda Full Repair Full Body shampoo and conditioner here.

Dollar Tree Deals

2011-11-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

The next time you're in your local Dollar Tree store (probably buying your Sunday paper or items for a Busy Bag!), you may want to take a stroll down the food/snack aisle! Lately, I have been finding lots of great snack items - especially things that have been nice to have for my daughter's lunchbox and for after school snacks!

And, of course, you can't beat the price!! :)

Here are a few things I've found recently:

In addition to these items, I have also seen 10 ct. bags of Snyder's mini pretzel twists AND Nature's Own bread (loaves, buns, sandwich things, bagel thins, etc.)!

Just another reason why I LOVE my Dollar Tree store!

Money Saving Tip: Make your own reusable Swiffer Sweeper cloths!

2011-11-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I love anything that saves me time (and effort!) when I'm cleaning the house. It is, of course, one of my least favorite things to do!! That's why I LOVE my Swiffer Sweeper. I have had it for years and it still picks up dust and dirt off my floor better than anything else I've tried.

The only bad thing about my Swiffer is that the dusting cloth refills are so darn expensive!! I refuse to buy them unless I find them on a great sale, which means that I run out a LOT! Recently, however, I had one of those "aha!" moments and realized I could make my own Swiffer cloths that I can wash and reuse!

Here's what you do...

First, head to one of my favorite stores...you guessed it....the Dollar Store!!!! Look in the kitchen section for any kind of microfiber dusting cloth. (I've tried several times to upload a picture of the one I bought. It isn't happening...sorry. They had several different kids to choose from.)

Next, attach the cloth to your Swiffer Sweeper just like you would one of the dry refills, and start sweeping!!

See how much it picked up?! (WOW! My floors were dirty!)

At this point, I usually shake the cloth over my trashcan to get rid of all the large clumps of fuzz, hair, etc. Then, I throw it in the washing machine and it's ready to use all over again!

No more need to buy expensive refills! Hooray!

Have any money-saving tips of your own? I'd love for you to share them!

FREE Greeting Card from CardsDirect.com!

2011-10-31T18:08:00.000-07:00

Right now, when you "like" CardsDirect on Facebook, you can choose to receive either a thank you card, birthday card, or congratulations card with matching envelope shipped to you for FREE!

FREE Kleenex Cool Touch sample!

2011-10-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sam's Club Members can currently get a FREE Kleenex Cool Touch sample here!

Weekly Menu 10/30 - 11/5

2011-10-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is going to be kind of an odd week for us. I planning on cooking dinner only three nights as we have several evening activities going on this week.

This week, I decided to add in my afternoon snack plan in addition to my usual breakfast, lunch, and dinners. Every day, my daughter gets off the bus starving, and I have found that it makes my life much easier if I plan out ahead of time what to feed her every day! (It also allows me to make healthier choices instead of grabbing the first thing I find in the pantry!) I don't plan snacks for Saturday or Sunday because our weekends are so crazy, we usually don't end up needing them.

So, with that said, here's what we'll be eating this coming week! (Remember, the lunches listed are only for my daughter who is in elementary school. My younger daughter and I usually just eat what we find in the fridge!)

Sunday
Breakfast: Breakfast Basket (I keep a basket filled with breakfast items - cereal bars, poptarts, fruit, etc. that the kids can choose from when we're in a hurry. Usually things I've gotten on recent sales at Kroger!)
Lunch: (Out! A Sunday tradition!)
Dinner: (Out with Dad - I have a workshop Sunday night)

Monday
Breakfast: Potato Cakes (from the freezer)
Lunch: PB&J / chips / strawberries / fruit snacks
Snack: microwave popcorn / yogurt smoothies (from a recent Kroger sale)
Dinner: (Chilli & Grilled Cheese at in-laws house. A HALLOWEEN tradition!)

Tuesday
Breakfast: muffins (from freezer)
Lunch: Lunchable (from a recent Kroger sale) / yogurt
Snack: Mudballs
Dinner: "Easy Bake" pork chops / roasted asparagus ($0.99 at Kroger through Satuday) / hashbrowns (from freezer)

Wednesday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs / toast
Lunch: Turkey & cheese sandw. / pretzels / applesauce / candy (from Halloween stash)
Snack: apple slices w/ peanut butter
Dinner: (Out! This is my birthday so I'm not cooking!)

Thursday
Breakfast: cereal w/ milk
Lunch: school lunch (we allow our daughter to buy lunch twice a week)
Snack: Mudballs
Dinner: Spaghetti with meatballs (from the freezer) / salad / rolls (from the freezer)

Friday
Breakfast: pancakes (from freezer)
Lunch: school lunch
Snack: Homemade cheese crackers / yogurt smoothies
Dinner: (Out! Another birthday dinner!)

Saturday
Breakfast: muffins (from freezer)
Lunch: (Birthday party)
Dinner: Turkey Sloppy Joes (from freezer) / baked french fries / left over salad

Freezer Cooking Plan
Hashbrowns
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Chicken Meatballs (Found in a recent magazine article. Will let you know how they turn out!)
Homemade Cheese Crackers

Busy Bag Idea: Fuzzy Marble Scoopers!

2011-10-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

The first time my oldest daughter saw a pom-pom ball, she called it a "Fuzzy Marble," and the name has stuck ever since! So, that's why I call my newest Busy Bag creation "Fuzzy Marble Scoopers!" I sometimes struggle to come up with busy bags that keep my 2 year old occupied for very long, but she LOVED this one and has played with it several times since I first put it together.

This busy bag is super simple to create and can, once again, be made using items you probably already have or can purchase at your local dollar store.

Makes me wonder why we spend so much money at Christmas.....

Here's what you need:

2 plastic bowls (of any kind/size)
pom-pom balls
plastic spoon
small tongs (I added chopsticks later and the kids love those too!)
gallon size zip-top bag

Here's what you do:

Place the two bowls out for your child. Fill one up with pom-pom balls. Give your child the spoon or the tongs/chopsticks and have them transfer the pom-poms from one bowl to the other. THAT'S IT! When they are done, store it in the zip-top bag.

I told you it was simple! You will be amazed at how long your child will do this!

My 5 year old even got in on the action one day!

If you missed my original post about Busy Bags, you can check it out here. These are a life-saver for me when I'm cooking dinner in the evenings!!

Have you had any great ideas for Busy Bags? I'd love to hear about them!

Upcoming Walgreens Deals 10/30 - 11/5

2011-10-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

Walgreens has a couple of FREEBIES and other good deals coming up next week. Here are my favorites!

Get $2 RR when you buy Ricola Dual Action Crops, cherry, 19ct @ $2
-FREE Ricola 19-30 ct bag wyb Dual Action, max 43.99 (SS 10/02)
*makes 2 bags FREE!

Get $5 RR when you buy (2) Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste, 4-4.1 oz, or Oral-B CrossAction Toothbrush at $3.50 each.
-$1 off Crest toothpaste (PG 10/30)
-$1 off Crest toothpaste (PG 10/02 - EXP 10/31)
*use (2) $1 coupons, makes both FREE!

Get $1 RR when you buy Advil LiquiGels, 20 ct., or Tablets or Caplets, 24 ct. @ $2.99
-$1 off Advil or Advil PM 32 ct+ (Kroger Home Mailer)
*makes it $0.99!

Get $2 RR when you buy Nivea Body Wash Touch or Men's, 16.9 oz @ $3.99
-$1 off Nivea Body Wash (RP 10/30)
*makes it $0.99!

Viva Paper Towels, 6 rolls @ $5.99
-$1 off Viva Paper Towels, 6 pk (November Walgreens in-store coupon booklet)
-$2 off Viva Paper Towels, big roll + (September All You magazine)
*use both coupons, makes it $2.99! LOVE these paper towels!

SoBe Lifewater, 20 oz @ $1
-$1/4 SoBe Lifewater (November Walgreens in-store coupon booklet)
*makes it $0.75 each!

Domino Confectioners or Light Brown sugar, 1 lb @ $0.99 w/ in-ad coupon
-$0.50/2 Domino Brown or Confectioners sugar (RP 8/28 or 10/16)
*makes it $0.74!

Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup, 10.75 oz @ $0.59 w/ in-ad coupon
-$0.40/4 Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup (SS 9/11 or 10/02)
*makes it $0.49 each!

You can see the rest of the weekly deals here.

Let me know if you come across any great deals when you're shopping at Walgreens next week!

Upcoming CVS Deals 10/30 - 11/5

2011-10-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

This weeks looks to be a little better at CVS as far as the deals go with several freebies! Here are all of my favorite deals that start Sunday, Oct. 30!

Get $3 ECB when you buy (3) American Greetings or Hallmark Greeting cards (limit 1)
*makes $0.99 cards FREE if they are included!

Get $1 ECB when you buy Crest Complete Toothpaste, 4.2 oz @ $2.99 (limit 1)
-$2 off Crest Complete toothpaste (SS 9/11)
*makes it FREE!

Get $4 ECB when you buy Schick Quattro for Men or Women Razor Refill, 4 ct. @ $8.99 (limit 1)
-$4 off Schick quattro for Women refill (SS 9/25)
*makes it $0.99!

Get $2 ECB when you buy Listerine Zero, Advanced, or Total Care 500 ml @ $3.99 (limit 2)
-$2 off Listerine Total Care Zero (RP 10/09)
*makes it $0.99!

All Cover Girl Cosmetics B1G1 50% off, starting at $3.49
-$8/2 Cover Girl face products (PG 10/02 - EXP 10/31)
*makes all items $4 and under FREE!

Jif Peanut Butter, 18 oz @ $1.67

You can see the rest of the CVS weekly deals here!

Let me know if you come across any other good deals in store!

Weekly Menu 10/23 - 29

2011-10-24T05:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at what we'll be eating this week!

Each week, I like to post what we'll be having so you can see that, even if you're couponing and shopping store sales, you CAN eat normal meals!!! I try to feed my family healthy food, though we do splurge every now and then - yes, we even let our daughter buy lunch at school every once in a while! I also like to make meals we like in bulk and put them in the freezer to save cooking time later on! Each week I plan to make a few things just to go into the freezer for future meals!

Sunday
Breakfast Basket (kids choose something for themselves out of a basket I keep filled with cereal bars, poptarts, fruit, muffins, etc.)
Lunch out!
Marinated Baked Chicken Breast / Baked Potatoes / Corn on the Cob

Monday
Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Lunchable (from recent sale at Kroger) / Yogurt
Lasagne Casserole (from the freezer) / Salad / Bread (from the freezer)

Tuesday
Cinnamon Rolls (from recent sale at Kroger)
PB Sandwich / Pretzels / Banana / Cookies
Chicken Nuggets / Macaroni & Cheese (This is a kids-only meal. Hubby has a ballgame so I won't be cooking a "family meal.")

Wednesday
Cereal
Turkey Sandwich / Chips / Cheese Stick / Fruit Roll Up
Dinner out! (Kids have a late appointment for a hair-cut, so we're going to eat while we're out. Anyone know where kids eat free on Thursdays?!)

Thursday
Scrambled Eggs / Toast
School Lunch
Roast Sausage (from the freezer / Green Bell Peppers & Onions / Hashbrown Potatoes (from the freezer)

Friday
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins (from the freezer) / Fruit
School Lunch
Dinner out! (A Friday tradition for us!)

Saturday
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes (from the freezer)
Hotdogs / Chips / Fruit
Dinner at Halloween Party!

Freezer Cooking Plan
Meatballs
Taco Meat
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins (adapted from Tuesday's bread)

Easy and CHEAP Chore Chart!

2011-10-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

While I was looking around at moneysavingmom.com today, I saw a post about an adorable ice cream cone chore chart for kids. I thought this was a great idea and something that could be done very inexpensively! I am definitely planning on making this, but, instead of fabric, I'm going to use posterboard and laminate the pieces. That way, I can use a dry erase or overhead marker to write the chores on the back of the "scoops." They can then be easily erased and changed when needed.

I'm also thinnking I'll attach magnets to the back of the pieces so the kids can "build" their ice cream cones on the refrigerator!

Don't need a chore chart? Think about using it as a behavior chart (child earns a "scoop" for good behavior) or as a way to track achievements (child gets a scoop for each Bible verse or multiplication fact they learn), etc.

Any other ideas for how we could use this cute idea?

FREE Sample of Truvia sweetner!

2011-10-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Head on over here to get a FREE sample of Truvia sweenter!

Thrifty Thursday 10/20

2011-10-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that this wasn't the thriftiest Thursday I've ever had. My Kroger trip included only 2 coupons! (I know, I can hardly believe it myself!) And, I made a quick trip into Big Lots for some bath mats and ended up splurging on some treats for the kids which threw my budget off quite a bit. However, my CVS trip and a few Food Lion deals helped to make up for it!

CVS had Almay cosmetics on sale this week, and I happened to have a $5/2 Almay Cosmetics CVS coupon AND a $3/1 Almay Cosmetics CVS coupon AND a $3/$10 cosmetics purchase coupon, so I had quite a money maker on my hands this week! I used the extra ECBs I earned plus a $5 store coupon to buy some pull-ups and diapers!

Total value: $43.72
Total spent oop: $1.82
Total saved: $41.90 or 96%!
(I used $4 ECBs on this purchase and got back $12! A $8 money-maker!!)

I also made a trip to Food Lion yesterday. I am beginning to find that I like Food Lion's produce section much better than Kroger's. Plus, they tend to have a lot more meat marked down than Kroger does. This week, they happen to be having their "cart buster" event - which is basically the same as a "mega sale" at Kroger. When you buy 10 things, you get $5 off your total purchase.

One GREAT deal they had was on single rolls of Brawny paper towels. They were on sale for $1 and, if you purchase 10 participating "cart buster" items, you get them for $0.50. There happened to be a $0.50 coupon for Brawny paper towels in the 9/25 SmartSource insert, which made them FREE! I ended up getting 9 rolls (I only had 1 other "cart buster" item I wanted to buy) & I had coupons for 4 of them, making it $2.50 for 9 rolls of paper towels! Not bad!

Total value of all purchases at Food Lion: $59.59
Total spent after sales and coupons: $26.38
Total saved: $33.31 or 56%!

How did you do on your shopping trips this week?

Busy Bag: A Cheap and Easy Way to Entertain the Kids!

2011-10-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I was introduced to the idea of "Busy Bags." Immediately I had one of those "why didn't I think of that?!" moments. (That happens to me a lot, actually!) :)

Have you ever been cooking dinner...at the last minute....when you're supposed to be somewhere in an hour....when all of a sudden your kids melt down? In my house, the kids usually play together BEAUTIFULLY until the very minute the pasta boils over or something HAS to come out of the oven before it burns. You've been there....It's like the minute you step into the kitchen, a fight breaks out, a boo-boo needs attention, or a drink is spilled, etc.

This is EXACTLY when a Busy Bag can save the day! They are, in a nut shell, zip-top bags filled with simple, inexpensive, and age-appropriate activities that will keep your child busy for a short period of time! Since I learned about them, I have been creating Busy Bags and placing them in a plastic tub in the floor of the kitchen. Then, if I'm in the kitchen and the kids start to get rowdy or bored, I tell them to choose a Busy Bag to play with. They go to the box, pick out a bag, and sit at the table and play with it while I finish cooking dinner. I mean, just the sound of the bags being pulled open is like hearing a giant "SIGH" in my home!

Can you hear it?! :)

Even if you think you're not a crafty or creative person, you CAN make your own Busy Bags! Most of the ones I have made include materials I either already had in the house or that came from the Dollar Store.

Let me give you an example...

The newest Busy Bag I made was for "Lacing Shapes." All of the materials I used for this Busy Bag came from the Dollar Store.

Here's what you need:

-foam shapes (I found rectangle and flower shapes at my store. If you can't find the foam shapes, you can buy a piece of posterboard and cut it into shapes yourself.)
-shoelaces (I found a package of 8 sets of shoelaces in the "beauty" aisle at my Dollar Store)
-a hole punch

Here's what you do:

-Use the hole punch to punch holes all around the edges of your shapes.
-Take the shoelaces and tie a knot in one end of each one that is big enough so the laces can't be pulled through the holes.
-Place the hole-punched shapes and the knoted shoelaces into a zip-top bag.
-When your child is ready to play, show them how they can pull the laces through the holes.

INSTANT FUN!

Here's how mine turned out...

I'll be bringing you some more busy bag ideas in the future. In the meantime, if you have any ideas for fun, kid-friendly activities, I'd love to hear them!

DIY: Ranch Salad Dressing and Dip!

2011-10-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

The hubby and I have been watching our diets as of late and I've found that often times I miss just being able to MUNCH on something without having to think about how many I ate or how many calories it was.

That's why I was so excited to find this Ranch Dip recipe! It's simple to make and very healthy for you! In fact, if you're on the Weight Watchers diet plan, you can have 2 tablespoons of this with veggies for 0 points! (And, for dip, 2 tablespoons is a lot!)

And, of course, it's CHEAP to make! :)

Here's what you do:

Ingredients
5 tbsp dried minced onion
7 tsp parsley flakes
4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

-Mix all the ingredients stogether and store in an air tight container. (I used a small jar I had on hand.)

To make dip:
Mix 2 tbsp dry mix with 2 cups fat free sour cream. Allow to chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving so all flavors blend well.

To make salad dressing:
Mix 2 tbsp dry mix with 1 cup mayo and 1 cup buttermilk or sour cream. Allow to chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving so all flavors blend well.

What a yummy, healthy, and CHEAP treat! It's great to keep on hand as something you can easily whip up when company is coming over. Plus, you can make as much or as little at a time as you like, so half of it doesn't end up being wasted!

I also think this would make a super cute gift for family, friends, teachers, etc. Just tie a tag around the jar with directions for how to make the dip or salad dressing!

If you try this recipe, let me know if you like it! You can see the original recipe here.

FREE Seventh Generation Dish Soap Samples!

2011-10-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

You can currently head on over to the Seventh Generation Facebook Page to request 4 FREE dish soap samples!

I love to hang on to these kinds of samples and take them on vaction with us!

FREE Halloween Greeting Card from Tiny Prints!

2011-10-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Right now, you can get a personalized Halloween greeting card shipped to your door for FREE from Tiny Prints! Just create an account or login on the Tiny Prints website, choose a Halloween card, personalize it, and enter code Autumn11 during checkout!

If you want the card to be shipped directly to the recipient, you can pay $0.44 extra.

Barista Prima K-Cup Samples!

2011-10-17T05:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a great FREE sample for all you coffee lovers!

Head on over here to get a FREE Barista Coffeehouse Prima K-Cup sample from Target!