Tips and Snippets

Cute Snowman for your Wall or Outdoors

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:01:00 +0000

He's a cutie, right? Easy to make, cheap to make- do you notice a theme with my projects? lol!

I found all my grapevine wreaths at thrift stores and spent about $3 on them, but 2 of them were covered in ugly outdated fake flowers that I just ripped off. One of them looks like it is made from briars (huh) but it works! The hat is from the Dollar Tree and the scarf is a piece of felt. I did not hook the wreaths together, but you could with wire, heavy gauge fishing line, etc. As you can see, I hung mine outside but this snowman would be cute inside too.

Here is my inspiration, both are beautiful. I just made mine easier for me to do. Both are from pinterest. Imagine that!

http://pinterest.com/pin/75505731222254506/

http://pinterest.com/pin/75505731222287105/

Hanging Lanterns Wall Art

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:05:00 +0000

The "make do with what you have" side of my brain met an idea that led to this, a big wall decoration and it costs me nothing! Look for more wall art ideas in upcoming posts.

I had these lanterns and the curtain rod. My last house had built ins and this house does not, so I am left with too many things that need surfaces to sit on, but I love my lanterns and this was the perfect solution. I hung them with baling twine, the stuff used to hold hay bales together. The inspiration came from HGTV Design Star Season 6 highlights.

Last Minute Handmade Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Here is a round up of easy, creative handmade gifts with links to instructions and fabulous photos. There is still time for handmade, it might be easier than running around in search of the perfect gift!

A custom dry erase board using a store bought frame and scrap book paper found here.

Candy Cane Vodka, it looks very festive and very easy, but you need 2 days to let it soak. Find it here.

Pretzel Turtles- 3 ingredients, 883 5 star reviews (that means its good) and they are unbelievably yummy and so easy.

For kids personalized gripper socks, easy enough if you have a steady hand. I did this with names, dots, squiggles. She got more fancy here, but its an easy project.

Rice Sock (microwave heat pack)! These are great for kids or anyone and there are all sorts of fun socks out there! This video shows you how to make one in under 1 minute, so make several!!!

Instant Russian Tea is always a hit. There are hundreds of recipes so to make it easy and trust this 5 star recipe at allrecipes.com

And here is my Gift category on this blog, some are very quick!

Cute snowman wrapper for an easy, cheap gift

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:41:00 +0000

I was once again inspired by something I saw on pinterest, imagine that! I needed 10 gifts that were cheap and easy and this is what we did. This is one pack of microwave popcorn wrapped in one sheet of copy paper with one pair of knit gloves as the hat. The kids are giving these as gifts so I let them draw the snowmen and I think they turned out cute! One sheet of felt was cut to make the ties for the hats. I scored the gloves in a 2 pack at the Dollar Tree and had the kids put one glove inside the other and slipped it over the top. I don't know exactly how much I spent but I am thinking it was less than $1 per gift.

The possibilities are endless here. You can wrap up hot cocoa, chocolate bars and so much more. The idea came from here and she has a printable for the snowman that looks nice. But I am never one to have ink in my printer and I wanted to kids to have fun with it too. We made 10 gifts in less than 30 minutes. You should try it! Let me know if you do!

Unique, Easy Handprint Gift for Grandparents

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:23:00 +0000

To make this easy, cute keepsake gift you need an 8 x 10 frame and some scrapbook papers. I traced the hand prints of my 3 kids on to pretty papers I thought would match the decor of their grandparent's house. I stacked and adhered them and it was complete in less than 15 minutes, start to finish. I spent less than $3 on scrapbook paper and I bought cheap frames so each gift cost me under $5.00 to make. I was impressed, haha! The only thing that bothered me was I didn't even think to do one for myself!!!! Oh well, it is easy enough to repeat one day soon!

Here is what inspired me

Crockpot Cheese Tortellini

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:03:00 +0000

One of my facebook friends, Jennifer, posted this recipe and declared it was a hit it with her family. I jumped on it, added the ingredients to my grocery list and made it the next day. I love it when good recipes come from friends. So here you go, its so easy with only 5 ingredients!

Crockpot Cheese Tortellini
1 box chicken broth
2 cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained ( I used regular diced tomatoes and didn't drain and I added a teaspoon of Italian seasoning)
¾ bag of fresh spinach (I used a whole bag of baby spinach, it will take up the whole crock pot but cook down)
1 lb. of browned sausage (I used Italian sausage that was not spicy )
1 bag of frozen cheese tortellinis ( I couldn't find frozen so used the fresh kind, Brutoni 3 cheese family size)

Put everything in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours. I did 5 and it was good, you do not want your pasta to turn to mush so don't overcook. Melt some shredded mozzarella on each serving and serve with a crusty baguette to sock up the juices, yum!

I think it would be easy to make this vegetarian, just use vegetable broth and don't add the sausage. I also think you could make this on the stove top and it still be easy.

The taste was great! The kids ate it too and remarked the spinach didn't even taste like spinach! Leftovers were good too so I will definitely make this again!

Pumpkin Crisp or Pumpkin Dump cake

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:14:00 +0000

This is good and easy recipe or I would not sharing it with you. It makes a big 9 x 13 sized dessert which makes it great to take to a covered dish affair. Enjoy it!

MIX:
3 eggs
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
1 29 oz. can pumpkin or 2 15 oz cans
1.5 cups sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger

THEN pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish

Sprinkle the contents of a box of yellow cake mix over this

Sprinkle a cup of chopped nuts over this

Melt a stick of butter and pour over that and then bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes

Mix 8 oz softened cream cheese, 8 oz cool whip and 1.5 cups of confectioners sugar

Ice when cool and eat it all up, hahal! Refrigerate leftovers.

Halloween Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:25:00 +0000

I know Halloween is here! Maybe you planned to be more festive and time just got away from you or maybe you are still trying to find ideas for your party; check out all the fun and easy Halloween ideas I have collected on Pinterest. Have a great Fall weekend!

http://pinterest.com/selinaj/halloween-fun/

Hello

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Sun, 22 May 2011 03:03:00 +0000

I moved across the country in March and have been vacant from this blog for awhile. We are renting for one more month and then moving into the house we are buying so I'll be back and I'll have soooo many home improvement and decorating ideas to share with you.

Don't forget you can always send me your great tips to share with others!

Getting Your House Ready to Sell

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:16:00 +0000

If your are ready to put your house on the market, you need to be serious about making your house looks its best. Work with what you have and what you can do inexpensively. This article will focus on how to make the interior of your house look better for potential buyers, but do not neglect the outside of your house.

First and most importantly you need to do what I call pre- packing so gather boxes and supplies and in most cases you might need to rent a storage unit to put all the extra stuff. You are going to make your house look bigger, lighter and cleaner. You are going to make your house more neutral by taking out many of your personal items. We want buyers to picture themselves in your home and that beautiful large photo of your children on the wall makes that process hard for them.

Pack up your collections. All of them, just do it! What you love is just visual clutter to someone else and by packing it all up, you have less to dust and clean.

Pack up book and music. Potential buyers don't need to know your personal taste in literature or music. And it can also look like clutter.

Pack up most of the personal photos. I know its hard, but it is not forever.

Clear the corners! When you walk in a room, make sure you can see at least three of the corners, preferably four.

Edit your furniture to the basics and send small unnecessary pieces to storage. You should be able to easily move around the rooms.

Overhaul your closet. The goal here it to see the floor and ample room with uncrowded rods. Pack up a third to half of what is in every closet so they look big and roomy. People love houses with storage and crowded closets do not look big.

If you have kids pack up at least half the toys. This one is very important. Big toys, little toys- what your house needs to show well is less toys. The great thing about this is when you unpack them your kids will have hours of entertainment with these forgotten toys.

Make your counters bare. You can leave the coffee pot and that is it. If you don't have room in your cabinets for the things on the counters, get to packing things you don't use often. While you are in the kitchen organize your cabinets so they look neat and spacious when they are opened.

Make it lighter. Open all the windows and turn all the lights. Look for dark places. If closets do not have lights you can buy those pop on lights. Do you need to add lamps to a dark room?

When you house is decluttered and prepacked, get busy cleaning. Deep, serious cleaning and hiring a professional for this task is a great idea. Windows, light fixtures and bathrooms need to be sparkly clean. Walls and floors should be scrubbed and maintained. Kitchen sinks and counters need to be so clean it looks like no one uses them.

Even if your house needs updating, you want buyers to see the potential of your house. Good luck!

EASY gift to make- Button Wine Charms

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:32:00 +0000

I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor flipping through a magazine. I saw this idea and thought it was so cute and easy so I took a picture of the short article and photo with my cell phone so I would not forget this idea. I searched and found several variations online, but Rita at MAY DAYS: Button Wine Charms has the exact idea with great pictures, like this one.

http://ritamay-days.blogspot.com/2010/11/button-wine-charms.html

You only need buttons and earring hoops (sold at any craft store) . Think of the color variations and how great this can look, but it will only take you a few minutes and cost very little. Click this links above to see more pictures and a little more detail.

I plan to try this, just don't know for who yet. Share with me if you try it too. This idea is a keeper!!

2 Ingredient Recipe: Roast with Golden Mushoom Gravy

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:16:00 +0000

Another easy, easy recipe. I use the slow cooker, but you could also cook in the oven. This is soooo good! The kids loved it!

You need:
A Beef Roast of your choice
2-3 cans Golden Mushroom Soup

Season the roast with salt and pepper and brown. Then put it in the slow cooker and add the soup on top. If you have a large roast use 3 cans and a small roast will be fine with two. Cook all day on low. Serve the meat and gravy over rice, yummy!

I bought a sirloin roast and cut it in half and used half with 2 cans soup, I froze the other half for next time. Next time I will try a cheaper roast, I don't think you can go wrong when you use the slow cooker and a roast. When you brown the meat, which is not a must, you could also use garlic powder to season in addition to the salt and pepper.

2 Ingredient Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:53:00 +0000

This is very easy... easier than a muffin mix! The kids and I liked them, a few of us loved them.

http://flic.kr/p/7xQZGR

You need
1 spice cake mix
1 15 oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Preheat the oven to 350 and mix the ingredients. Pour into cupcake liners or grease your cupcake pans well and bake for 18-22 minutes. I think this made 18 muffins, maybe a few less.

You can vary this hundreds of ways, but don't lose sight of the simplicity of 2 ingredients. I will make them again and without measuring I might add a few sprinkles of cinnamon, a handful or raisins, or a few chopped nuts. Heck I might even add them all if I had it within reach.

Coming soon! 2 and 3 ingredient recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:19:00 +0000

I am in the process of collecting and trying some 2 and 3 ingredient recipes and I will share my results and recipes with you soon!!

Please share your favorite 2 and 3 ingredient recipes with me and others by sending them to me in an email in a comment below.

Thanks!

Gift Exchange Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 04:17:00 +0000

Most of us are involved in at least one gift exchange at Christmas. They can be fun, try to make it that way! There are many ways to do a gift exchange, my favorite is Dirty Santa style. This is called many things but starts with everyone drawing a number and opening presents in that order. There are rules about stealing gifts that make it fun. One of the most important things to do in a gift exchange is to set a price minimum or maximum or both. Once you know how you will exchange, here are some neat ideas to get you out of your traditional gift rut.

Made in the USA - This would be fun for a proud, patriotic family. You'll have to do your research to stay within budget and know where to look to find items Made in the USA.

Game Exchange- New and classic board games and card games can be exchanged.

Dollar Gift Exchange- Whatever you can find that would be useful or funny for a dollar. Shopping could be from second hand stores or dollar stores.

Has to be Handmade by You- You need to encourage other to think outside of the box. Crafty folks will love this idea and others will absolutely cringe. Remind them handmade can include photos, poems, songs, baked goods, home-canned items, and the list goes on and on!

Alcohol Exchange- Everyone brings their favorite drink to exchange. You should end up with a good mix of beer, wine, liquor and even drink mixes and of course this one will not work with all groups.

Support local businesses exchange- The rules should be you can't buy anything you could buy from a big retailer. Don't forget to check with local artists to see what they are selling.

Re-Gift Exchange- Did you plan to get together with a group and ran out of time before the holidays? After the holidays is a great time to do a re-gift exchange.

Share your gift exchange ideas with us!

10 Creative Way to Give Gift Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:25:00 +0000

Music gift cards can be wrapped in CD cases, album covers, or cassette cases to represent the way you bought music

Divide the gift card amount into $5 increments and decorate a small tree with them.

Book store gift cards can be placed inside a magazine or book as a book mark.

Place gift cards inside gloves or mittens, even work gloves for a hardware store gift card.

Restaurant gift cards can be wrapped up in a take out container.

Wrap a card up with a to do list and make go shopping appear first in the list.

Any gift card can be wrapped up in a box of chocolates or a candy bar.

Gift cards for shoes can be tucked in a pair of socks.

If you are creative you can make a replica of the gift card on a bigger scale on foam core board or poster board to wrap up and present.

Buy a nice frame or a frame that suits the theme of the card and pop the card in.

And a Bonus:

If you are buying a gift card for a clothing store, find the ugliest, tackiest, and cheapest piece of clothing for this person you can find. Think of looking at thrift stores and dollar stores. Wrap it up and place the gift card inside. Let's hope you and the recipient have a sense of humor if you do this!!

Tis the Season for Gift Giving!

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:58:00 +0000

I plan to post a few more easy gift ideas soon! In the meantime check out my 11 other posts with gift ideas. Some are gifts ideas that are free or very cheap, some are for kids, and some can be adapted for anyone on your list.

11 Gift Ideas on Tips and Snippets

I welcome Tips and Snippets from readers! Consider sending me your great ideas to share with everyone. If you don't have tips to share but would like me to consider a post about a certain topic, send me that too. There should be a email link to your right :)

I also love comments.

One Pot Wonder: Polish Bake

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 04:49:00 +0000

Easy, delicious, and it smells great while cooking! What more could you want in a recipe- well maybe a better "recipe" than I am going to give you :) Just remember you can change it up and you really can't go wrong here.

You'll need:
Potatoes
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Polish Kielbasa or smoke sausage- 1 or 2 of those links

Peel the potatoes, onions, and carrots- the amount depends on your crowd. Chop the carrots and potatoes in bite size pieces. Place in bottom of 9 x 13 casserole dish. Cut the onions into wedges. They will cook apart get very tender and bigger pieces can be avoided by those onion phobic children and adults. Chop a clove or two of garlic and toss in or use the kind in a jar. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper. I use seasoned salt most of the time and also add a teaspoon of dried rosemary.
Slice the sausage to the thickness that you like and toss on top of the veggies. Cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 45-50 minutes. Test to see if the potatoes and carrots and tender.

Enjoy!

You can use turkey sausage but I find you need to add olive oil or it sticks to the pan and lacks some flavor.

The Top 10 Things Children Really Want Their Parents To Do With Them - Stepcase Lifehack

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 02:10:00 +0000

The Top 10 Things Children Really Want Their Parents To Do With Them - Stepcase Lifehack
By Erin Kurt

What do you think matters most to your children? You driving them to lessons and practices, or is it the smile and hug you greet them with after school? If you guessed the latter, you are correct.

Sixteen years of teaching and giving the same assignment every Mother’s Day has led me to the exact same conclusion. You see, every Mother’s Day I would ask my students to give me advice on being a mother. They were to think about things their mother or guardian did for or with them that made them feel happy or loved. The classroom would go silent as the students wrote intensely for longer than they had ever written before. Often smiles would appear on their faces as they reflected on the happy experiences they were remembering. After reading their responses I would add to my list all the ideas they mentioned. Surprisingly, many of the responses were the same. Year after year, in every country I taught, and in every type of demographic, the students were saying the same things and had the same message: It’s the small things that their mothers did that meant the most and that they remembered.
Many moms today feel as if they are not good mothers unless they are racing around, shuttling their children from lessons, to practices and back to lessons again. I’ve had mothers tell me that they want to give their children every opportunity they did not have. While this thinking might bring the mother some comfort, it really does not do the same for their child who is potentially feeling overextended, stressed and tired.
After speaking endlessly about this topic with my students, it became clear to me that children today are involved in too many activities and are in turn becoming less in touch with themselves and their families. In addition, my students told me they really wished for more time to “just play”. Of course many of them enjoy their extra curricular activities, but it is not necessary they said to be allowed to do everything. What they enjoyed most, and what made their hearts happiest was when their mothers did simple things for or with them.
Here is a list of the top ten things students around the world said they remembered and loved most about their mothers.

Come into my bedroom at night, tuck me in and sing me a song. Also tell me stories about when you were little.
Give me hugs and kisses and sit and talk with me privately.
Spend quality time just with me, not with my brothers and sisters around.
Give me nutritious food so I can grow up healthy.
At dinner talk about what we could do together on the weekend.
At night talk to me about about anything; love, school, family etc.
Let me play outside a lot.
Cuddle under a blanket and watch our favorite TV show together.
Discipline me. It makes me feel like you care.
Leave special messages in my desk or lunch bag.

Children are incredibly wise and tend to see the world more simply than we do. Perhaps it is time we start taking their advice. Maybe we would all feel a little less stressed and be satisfied with the fact that doing little things really is… good enough.

Grilled Vegetable Packets

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:42:00 +0000

This is a highly customizable recipe- use whatever is available fresh and sounds good to you. I don't think you can mess it up.

You'll need:
2-3 potatoes- cubed
1 small onion- sliced
1 carrot sliced
1 zucchini sliced
2 tomatoes chunked

You'll need 4 pieces of foil large enough to make packets. On each piece of foil divide all the ingredients evenly. You can put a pat of butter and/or a drizzle of olive oil over the veggies. Season to taste with whatever sounds good to you, but just salt and pepper is delicious. Fold the foil up and seal the edges tightly. Grill for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Great to prepare when you are grilling meat and clean up is so easy!

Slow Cooker Long Grain Chicken and Rice Casserole: Recipe Worth Sharing

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:34:00 +0000

This is a recipe I have scribbled on a piece of paper years ago but I never tried it. Now that I have it will be on our menu often, it was a hit with the kids! It is a good, creamy, comfort food type dish and so easy. It is not gourmet or low sodium ( but you can lower sodium levels by using low sodium broth and soup)! See my notes at the bottom

You'll need:

1 1b chicken ( I used 2 large chicken breasts)
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice
1 1/2 cups water

Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown on both sides. Add all ingredients including the seasoning packet from the rice to the slow cooker and cook on high for at least 4 hours.

That is the recipe I had, but my chicken went in frozen and it was fine. The chicken was very tender at the end so I used my big spoon and broke in into smaller pieces. I would say this recipe feeds 4 ( it fed us with leftovers, 2 adults and 3 kids), and would be easy to double.

Enjoy!

Reader Tip: Easier Mashed Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:20:00 +0000

My friend and blog reader, Julie, has a new and easy way to make mashed potatoes. Her tip is to use microwaved baked potatoes. After they are cooked, cut the potatoes in half and let it cool enough to be able to squeeze the potato out of the skin or you can use a spoon and scoop it. Put in in a mixing bowl,mash it up and add your usual ingredients for your mashed potatoes, milk, butter, salt and pepper. I tried it and wow, it was easy and far less dishes to wash at the end. I didn't use my vegetable peeler, my cutting board, my big pot that takes up so much room in the dishwasher, or a colander!

The mashed potatoes tasted great and I will make them more often now because of this tip!

Remember the size of your potato and the kind of microwave you have will determine how long they need to cook.

Thank you Julie!!!!

Please send me your favorite tips that make your life easier and I might use them in a blog post.

Organizing Kid's Art

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

If you have kids, chances are you have many of their art projects, and chances are you have wondered how to get a handle on that ever growing pile! I have struggled with this, but I finally feel like I have it under control. I am keeping and storing some of their art. I am displaying some art for everyone to enjoy. I am giving away some art for others to enjoy and I am keeping some art digitally to save space.

I don't think any of my ideas are original, I have read about this topic for years and here is my attempt to pass along some of the best ideas to you.

One of my favorite ideas came from Family Fun magazine recently. I taped some beautiful creations to the inside of my cabinet doors in the kitchen. It makes me smile every time I open the cabinet doors and I think I appreciate it more because I don't see it all the time. Our guests will see it too when we offer them a drink and open the cabinet to get a glass and it will be a nice surprise for them too. I plan to add more to inside of closet doors too!

For the kids' rooms I took large poster frames and covered the cardboard backing board with a great product I found a Michael's, a small roll of fadeless paper large enough to cover a bulletin board. I think arranged their art pieces on the solid background color and adhered it in a collage format. It looks great and they enjoy having some of the art work from years ago on the wall. Everything stays put, corners of paper stay down, and the art work is protected from the chaos of kids' rooms!

I have found art projects that have cotton balls, googly eyes, lots of glitter, popsicle sticks or other dimensional qualities do not store well. I think it is best to take a picture of theses art pieces and keep the picture, not the piece! Digital photo frames are a great way for kids to see their art work again! If you are going to photograph artwork, take a few minutes to set up and use a solid color sheet or towel on a table or against a wall and zoom in as close as possible for the best outcome. It makes the creation looks even more special. You can put all of the photos together in a photo book, check out my older post on this subject here.

If you are going to mail pictures or cards to family members, throw a masterpiece in there too! They will love it! Look at your kid's art pieces and scribbles, you may want to cut out one part of it that will fit in a envelope.

It's important to have an area to put art for the short term, as in at least half the school year. I have emptied a file cabinet drawer of "junk" for this purpose. I have used a magazine holder for this too, the kind you might set beside a chair. I have used a decorative box about the size of a paper box- TJ Maxx is a great source for pretty boxes and containers. I put almost all the artsy stuff they bring home in my spot and then later I go through it and decide what to keep and what to toss. After the school year ends and I have already done all the above, then I store what is left for long term storage. Don't forget to label what you are keeping with a name and year or grade.

There are hundreds of other ideas out there too! Good luck taming the pile!

Thoughtful Homemade Gift for Kids: Card Making Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 03:15:00 +0000

A card making kit makes a great homemade gift for kids, especially young girls. To start you need a container to house your kit in and I like the desktop 3 drawer organizers like you see pictured above. The small ones work well, it does not need to be large enough to hold full sheets of paper. Then you need blank cards, you can buy these with envelopes in most craft stores or you can make your own with folded paper. After that have fun filling with lots of goodies that will allow a young person to create their own cards for any occassion. Here is a list of things you can put in your kit:

Cool Pens
Small pieces of colored paper
Stencils
Adhesive
Fancy scissors
Stickers
Fronts of old greeting cards
Ribbons and yarn- take a popsicle stick and wind a small amount of yarn on it for the kids- less to get tangled!
Scrapbook accessories or other things to glue on cards like buttons
You could take the time to cut out some images out for them from magazines or old calendars

Include a sample card to the child using the supplies in the kit.

If you are a crafter or scrapbooker and have extra supplies on hand, this could be a very cheap gift to put together. Remember kids don't need all the fancy things you will see in the craft stores for this, take a trip to your local dollar store and be creative while saving lots of money

Money Saving Tips for Children's Birthday Parties

noreply@blogger.com (Selina) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:00:00 +0000

It seems every child's birthday starts with a theme and from there it can get kinda crazy and expensive. Whether you are looking online or in a store, if you choose all the items that match your theme, you could spend way too much money on things that will be thrown away.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/strupler/3855686401/

For a fraction of the cost, you can transform a roll of themed wrapping paper into cool party decor! Forget about themed plates, cups and napkins and buy the cheaper solid colors instead. You can use the wrapping paper like a table cloth or you can cut into rectangles for place mats, fancy scissors would make a pretty edge. You can decorate the door of your house with wrapping paper (if it is a home party) or make a nice background for birthday banners and signs on the walls. Get creative and remember it takes very little for the idea of a theme to show through.

Another money saving idea for party decor is to use what your kids already have. Young children's toys can be used to create a centerpiece for the table- dinosaurs, super heroes, princesses, trucks. Older children's sports memorabilia or bedroom decor can help create a theme around the party area.

And one last note about parties- stop the treat bag insanity!! I understand the concept, but what parent today needs a bag of small junk to trash later. If you feel you have to do a treat, do some research and be creative. Most parents don't mind a treat bag of snack type foods, they can keep these in the car or throw in lunch boxes. Photos make great "treats", a photo of the whole group, or with the bithday kid.

Hope one of these tips help you plan a great birthday party!