DIY scrap wood picture holder - no fuss quick and easy to make

Needing a quick & easy picture holder using reclaimed wood? This DIY craft might be what you are looking for.

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This scrap wood picture holder was insanely easy to make. While I love painting there was no painting, no drying times, no staining, literally no fuss! I had it up and holding pictures within minutes.

I’ve been redecorating our master bedroom on a shoe string budget. From the paint to the décor my goal is to spend less than $100 to redo our bedroom. This DIY craft most definitely fits into the budget since I only had to pay for the photo prints (they were a whopping .09 a piece).

I can’t wait to get our room all finished up and show you guys how it turns out but for now I will show you the DIY picture holder I made to go along with the rest of my frugal décor in our room.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

—-> Check out more scrap wood projects, click here <—-

Here’s what you need to make your own DIY RECLAIMED WOOD PICTURE FRAME HOLDER

• a piece of reclaimed wood

• clips like these (I got mine from the Dollar Tree in the office supplies section)

• hammer

• hanging hardware of choice

Click here to learn how to attach a sawtooth hanger. It’s super simple especially if you have a piece of painter’s tape.

1.GATHER MATERIALS

I didn’t have any sawtooth hangers so I used some fancy picture hanging hardware and it required a drill.

2. LAY OUT YOUR PHOTOS

To be sure I had the spacing right I laid my 4x6 photos out on my reclaimed wood. I just eyeballed this but if you want yours to be perfect and exact you can use your tape measure to perfect your spacing.

3. HAMMER IN THE CLIPS

The clips I used already had nails attached to them. They were a little difficult to hammer in to the wood though. I am fairly certain, since the clips I used were in the office department of the store, that they were made to push into a cork board and not wood. But hey, it worked!

4. ATTACH HANGING HARDWARE

If you need a visual on how to attach a sawtooth hanger check out this post. I used my Ryobi drill to screw in my hardware but a drill isn’t completely necessary, a screwdriver will work too it’s just not as quick and easy.

5. ADD YOUR PICTURES & HANG ON THE WALL

This reclaimed wood photo holder is going in our master bedroom so I tried to choose photos that were good ones of both my husband and myself.

I hope you found this tutorial both simple and motivating to use up some scrap pieces of wood that you may have lying around. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Check out more posts below. Happy Crafting!

Rusty old metal cabinet / locker turned mudroom shoe storage

$20 vintage locker repurposed for the sunporch / mudroom

Antique stores have the best finds! I scored a gorgeous old metal locker / metal cabinet at my local antique shop last week. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with but after seeing it’s $20 price tag I knew it had to come home with me.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I took the tag inside, paid for it, then loaded it up in our brand new to us fancy minivan (literally the nicest car we’ve ever owned and I still can’t believe it’s ours!!). Thank goodness I had just put this cargo liner blanket thing in there so it kept my van from getting gross stuff all over it or scratched up. Three of the four daughters were excited about our new find but one of them…not so much lol!

A week after bringing it home I finally had time to do something with it. I decided I was going to turn it into a muddy boot/shoe holder for our sunporch / mudroom. Oh my goodness it turned out so freaking cute!

I have seen others paint their metal cabinets / lockers that look like this but honestly I loved everything about this piece as is. I didn’t want to scrape off any of the old paint or add anything to it. I thought it was perfect just the way it was. The only thing I did to it was remove the door and clean it up a bit.

It was full of crunchy old leaves, spiderwebs, and lots of dirt, rust, and chipped paint. I used my vacuum to get all of that out of there. I didn’t see a need to wipe it down with any spray cleaning agent. I mean, after all it will be holding shoes that have just stomped through a chicken coop.

With just a light cleaning this metal cabinet looked a million times better. I did vacuum off the big chipped paint spots. I figured those will end up falling off anyway soon from putting shoes in there.

The legs on this piece were in pretty good shape but because our sunporch slants down for drainage the cabinet sat lopsided. To fix that I put a small piece of scrap wood under two of the feet. That worked great!

On one of the shelves I added a bucket to store bug spray and sunscreen. It took me forever to find a piece of chalk so I could write sunscreen & bug spray on the front of that lol! Oh the mom life, gotta love it! Next to that I put a wire basket and filled it with the bubbles and jump ropes that the girls got for Easter. If you need a cheap Easter craft for your rustic home decor check out this adorable moss bunny sign I made this year.

I don’t think I could have found a more perfect shoe holder for this space. It’s unique and beautifully imperfect just like our family.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

family water tracker + FREE PRINTABLE

FAMILY WATER TRACKER + FREE EDIT FRIENDLY PRINTABLE

Do you struggle with getting your kiddos to drink water throughout the day? Yes, same momma! I am right there with ya. I feel like a broken record always reminding my girls to drink more water on a daily basis.

So much so that I created a printable {that I’m giving to you for FREE;) } so that my girls can start tracking their own water intake. I’m hopeful that this works and that it makes us all more aware of how important it is to keep our bodies properly hydrated.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I made my custom water tracker in Canva. If you’ve never used that site before you are missing out. The version I use is totally free but if you want to upgrade to their paid for version you can do that too.

This water tracking printable is completely EDITABLE! Click here to get access to the link in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY.

After you open the link it will take you to editable version in Canva. There you can completely customize this print to fit the needs for you own household. I just used letters for my girls but you can add your kiddo’s names, and change up the size of the font too.

When you are all done click the download button to save it to your computer, open the document then send it to your printer. If you need to adjust the size of yours you can do that there. I printed mine at 83% on my print settings. I used a simple HP printer and regular copy paper to print out my family water tracker.

I trimmed my printout down using this paper trimmer. I LOVE this handy tool. I didn’t realize how often I actually would use it till I bought it.

I placed it in a picture frame I picked up on clearance at Walmart. I have a dry erase marker by it, one with a felted cap eraser, sitting by it so the girls can mark off the glasses they drink daily.

I’m so hopeful this helps all of us make better choices to keep our bodies hydrated and I hope that I can keep some of my sanity by not reminding my girls to drink water instead of chocolate milk or tea on a daily basis.

I hope you enjoy this free printable. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

DIY bible tabs + FREE printable

Printable bible tabs

Make your own easy diy bible tabs at home. Print them from any home printer see how to make them yourself.

Need a free bible tab printable? I was looking all over Pinterest for DIY bible tabs and didn’t really find exactly what I was looking for with my budget. Then it hit me ‘Megan, why don’t you just make your own?!’ And so I did.

These are permanent bible tabs, so if you want something you can change out you can still use my bible tab printable you’ll just want to attach it using a different technique.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

Of course my main goal for these bible tabs is functional but I also wanted them to be pretty. I went for a more minimal theme with them. I used muted colors on the tabs with varied cursive fonts, simple florals and accent lines. Some of the tabs I’ve seen are gorgeous but they are a little hard to read with the busy prints that are on them.

Most of the DIY bible tabs I’ve come across were going to cost me more money than I wanted to spend. I wanted to use materials I already had at home. I have already spent more money than I realized on new bibles, covers, and bible friendly markers for me and my girls so buying bible tab labels just seemed a little overload when it was something I could do myself.

MAKE YOUR OWN BIBLE TAB LABLES

Here’s what you need

• printer

• printer paper

• free bible tab printable

• scissors

• paper cutter (this isn’t a must but it sure is great to have)

• tape

This free download comes in two parts: pages 1&2 and page 3. Because the file is print quality it is larger than normal files that I upload and the fact that it’s three pages and not one. So be sure you click to download all three pages.

I used Canva.com to create my labels in. Then I printed them off on my simple hp home printer. I also used these same tools create and print this FREE PROVERBS 31 PRINTABLE to put in my girl’s lounge area.

After I had all three pages of tabs printed off I used my Swingline paper cutter to cut and separate all the little tabs. Having this inexpensive tool has made my life so much easier! I never realized how often I needed to cut straight lines till I had this office tool.

{side note…don’t mind my paint stained sweatshirt. I had been painting earlier that day and I always try to wear old paint clothes because as you can see I tend to be slightly messy sometimes when I paint}

I made muted colored squares to go around each of the labels so that they are much easier to cut.

To make it easier to find my printed bible tabs I put them in alphabetical order…well kinda, I grouped them in order. Then I started in Genesis and worked my way to the end of the bible adding tabs. You can certainly do yours differently but I wanted to easily find things and know the order in which to find them so I thought this was the best way to do that for me.

These tabs are double sided. To apply them the easiest way fold the tab in half first then open it back up. This way you will have a crease already on the tab making it easier to fold over once it’s on your bible.

I used packaging tape but you can use whatever tape you prefer. I know this tape isn’t ideal but it’s what I had on hand and it acts as a laminator so the tabs won’t rip off easily. I took a piece of tape then placed my unfolded tab face down on the sticky side.

Then I trimmed off the extra excess tape around my bible tab. I left just enough so I could attach it to my bible page.

This part was a little tricky and honestly I probably should have taken more time to get these on there so they were precise. But then again I’m not really a precise, perfect kind of girl so this process fit me perfectly! I eyeballed my tabs and stuck them on their coordinating book of the bible. I placed them on the backside of the page first.

Then I pressed the bible tab over so that the page was sandwiched in between.

I placed all of my tabs on the right side of the books of the bible. So if a book started on the left side I still placed the bible tab on the right hand side. You don’t have to do this but I did so that I wasn’t having to flip to find which side of the tab the book started on. Just a little way to keep myself slightly organized.

I am so glad I took the time to add these DIY tabs to my bible. This will make it so much easier when I’m in the word at church and at home. I’ve been doing a weekly bible study using this prayer journal for women. Not only is it gorgeous but there was a lot of thought put into the content.

I hope this affordable bible tab option works for your needs. If you have any questions let me know in the comments below.

Happy Crafting!

FREE Printable- PROVERBS 31:10 + Ross CLEARANCE picture frame revamp

PROVERBS 31:10 PRINTABLE - freebie

Need a Proverbs 31 printable? Use this one, it’s FREE!

My girls have this weird hallway/lounge area space in between their bedrooms upstairs. For the last 6 months, that’s when we bought our home, that space was just a play area. Now that the holidays are over I am making time to revamp this space for them.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

The one thing I was absolutely certain was that this space NEEDED to be filled with affirmations, sisterly love, and God. When they are in this space I want them to see God’s truths about them. Pictures of all 4 girls together. And words of love.

I love the Bible verse:

she is far more precious than jewels

proverbs 31:10

So I made a printable in Canva.com to print off and put in the frame.

Canva has SO MANY great free templates, images, and fonts to use. I use it a lot in my business to do photo mock ups, printables like this Proverbs print, and images for my blog. This website has been a wonderful tool to use.

If you’d like the FREE PROVERBS PRINTABLE you can get it from my free resource library. CLICK HERE.

I saved this document as an A4 but after you’ve downloaded the pdf you can adjust the size to fit your needs. Before you hit the print button, if you want to adjust the size of your printable, select more on your printer settings and it will give you lots of sizes to choose from. I adjusted mine to a 5x8 to fit inside of my picture frame. Be sure if you change the size of your Proverbs printable that you also check the tab circle thing for the FIT TO SIZE so that it prints the whole printable and not just a portion.

Since I’m a frugal momma I actually found a frame that I loved at Ross on the clearance shelf. Even though I didn’t love the print that was inside the frame I snagged it up because it was just a few dollars and I knew I could easily change the print out.

Here’s what the frame looked like when I bought it. It’s one of those double glass picture frames, your print gets sandwiched between the two pieces.

I used my simple hp all-in-one printer, nothing fancy at all, to print my printable on regular office printer paper.

This little portable Swingline paper cutter has been a dream to have! It doesn’t take up much space and it cuts paper so much straighter than my shakey when I’m concentrating hand and a pair of scissors lol!

When you’re done reading this Ross frugal clearance find be sure to check out my Hobby Lobby wooden frame makeover —->click here<—-

I cleaned my frame with rubbing alcohol to get all the finger prints and stickers off of it. This is super inexpensive but works great!

Ahhhh it’s so pretty! I love this proverbs printable so much that I almost wanted to keep it downstairs in my living room. With the lighting in there it looked absolutely gorgeous!

But it looks better in their girly lounge space <3!

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below. Check out more from my crafty frugal momma blog.

Kid's gingerbread house decorating party

Kid friendly gingerbread decorating party using graham crackers

Christmas with kids is always fun. There’s so many traditions you can start with them. Like baking cookies, making Christmas stockings, and decorating gingerbread houses to name a few.

We made graham cracker gingerbread houses last night and it was so much fun! And my stress level was at a ZERO! Yes, a zero. If you are a momma of multiples, especially multiples that are stair steps, you know what I’m talking about. Things like this can stress us out. My secret to a no stress gingerbread making party? Let the kids have fun and don’t worry about any of it being pretty or perfect. That’s it!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

Don’t get me wrong the pictures on Pinterest with the perfectly decorated “kid” made gingerbread houses are absolutely adorable. A picture perfect graham cracker house with a tiny little spill of sprinkles on the table and a dab of out of place frosting is oh so cute…but let’s be honest that’s not likely to happen in most homes with little ones. As a mom of 4 I KNOW this lol! And really, where’s the fun if there’s not a GIANT MESS of sprinkles, crumbs of graham crackers, frosting smeared on their faces and broken candy canes to pick up?

So let’s ditch the vision of perfectly put together Christmas gingerbread houses and embrace that beautiful chaos. Those are the moments you are connecting with kids. Those are the moments your kids are learning. Those are the moments that matter.

GRAHAM CRACKER GINGERBREAD HOUSE YOUR KIDS WILL ENJOY MAKING

Most of the supplies I picked up at my local Dollar Tree. Here’s what we used

• graham crackers

• 2 tubs of cream cheese frosting

• green food coloring

• mini candy canes

• gumdrops

• assorted hard candies

• large spree candies

• twizzlers pull and peel

• red and white round peppermints

• green and white peppermints

• mini & regular sized marshmallows

• jellybeans

• traditional pretzels

• large & mini pretzel sticks

• sprinkles

Other supplies that we used:

• 2 Wilton piping bags

• 2 sandwich bags

• paper plates

• glass condiment bowls

• 4 oz mason jars

• cake stands (these are similar to what I used)

• assorted bowls & dishes

• rubber bands (to tie the frosting bags closed so it doesn’t come out)

To free up space we used cake stands to hold the candies that were in these little glass condiment dishes. I love these little dishes. They are super cheap, only $.25 each! This got them up and off of the table so that the girls would have more space to create.

We used another cake stand to hold the sprinkles and the bags of frosting. The frosting I used, generic cream cheese frosting in a can, wasn’t really the best for this but it works. It doesn’t set up/dry super fast but it works. We also stuck the bags of frosting in the fridge about an hour before we started decorating so that the icing would be more firm to work with.

Each daughter got a paper plate to make their gingerbread house on.

They played around with different designs then started “gluing” their pieces together using the bags of icing.

After their houses set up, the frosting had hardened a bit, they decorated their little hearts out!

I always love seeing their creativity take flight. They kept adding and adding candies thinking of new ways they could use all the different colors and shapes.

My third daughter was the only one to make a snowman out of the marshmallows. He was adorable with his little hard candy hat and twizzler scarf.

I love the doorway my first born daughter made using the marshmallows.

And this super creative door crafted by daughter number 2 made into the shape of a heart using mini peppermint sticks. Adorable!

Last but not least is the masterpiece from daughter number 4. Oh the love that was put into this. It may look like a mess to others but she had THE MOST fun making this. After her original house fell she turned the rubble into a work of gingerbread house art!

Sure our houses weren’t perfect by Pinterest standards but it doesn’t even matter. For a couple of hours our family sat around our kitchen table and had the best time singing random songs, cracking jokes, teasing one another, and making memories. AND there wasn’t an argument one! I know, super rare for a family with 4 kiddos. It was a perfect Christmas themed evening.

Check out more kid friendly crafts below.

Interchangeable Christmas pallet sign

INTERCHANGEABLE WINTER PALLET SIGN

I love decorating for the holidays. Especially Christmas. Now that I have a bigger home to decorate I’m finding it a little challenging to do AND keep it in budget. I have always had the heart of a frugal women so spending an arm and a leg to put up Christmas décor just wasn’t happening.

That’s why in the fall I made this lightweight faux pallet sign. It’s a blank pallet style sign that I can change out with the seasons. It’s a big statement type piece that I prop up on my dining room hutch. I love this so much. Best of all the planks I used to make this sign were left over from this plank wall project.

I really tried hard to spend minimal funds for Christmas decorating. So, for Christmas I had this great idea to make stars from twigs I had in the backyard. And they turned out so cute! I want to make more!!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I made 2 smaller twig stars and 1 medium sized star. You can see how I made my twig stars click here.

I was so glad I snagged up a package of silver bells from the Dollar Tree prior to making this craft because without them I don’t think it would have turned out so cute or looked as festive for Christmas.

Here’s what I used

• 3 twig stars

• pallet sign

• jute

• 2 silver bells (these are similar to what I used)

• pushpins

• scissors

1. PLACE THE DECORATIONS

The first thing I did was place my twig stars and bells on my pallet sign to see where I wanted them.

2. MEASURE

Next I measured out how much jute I would need to hang my decorations from the backside of my sign. I doubled the amount of jute since I was looping it and hanging it from the backside.

3. ADD THE JUTE

The stars were easy to add the jute to. I just fed the jute through the top of each twig star. The bells were a little more difficult. I wanted to see the snowflakes that were on the bottom side of the bells so I had to hang them sideways.

I fed the jute through one side of the bell and then out the other side and tied the two ends of the jute together.

4. HANG

I hung my twig stars and silver bells from the backside of my pallet sign. I just kina eyeballed where I wanted them to be. Placed a pushpin there and pushed it in as far as I could get it.

Then I looped where I had tied the jute ends together around the pushpin and draped it over to the front side of the pallet sign.

I prop my pallet sign up on my dining room hutch, which one day I need to make time to give a makeover and I will most definitely post the before and after for you to see on here:)!!

Happy crafting!

Check out more below

Making leaf art with your kids

MAKING LEAF ART WITH YOUR KIDDOS

Whoa what a school year this has turned out to be for all of our kiddos. I know that virtual learning can be a lot of screen time but it also means that we get to have a lot of creative fun time with our kids too.

While we are learning at home I’m trying to plan fun things to do for the older kids and also things that will keep daughter #4 busy too since we are doing pre-k at home instead of the traditional pre-k we’ve always done. Today we made art. And not just any art, we made people and animals with leaves and other nature items.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

CLICK HERE for more KIDS PROJECTS

And it was SO FUN!

We’ve done something similar before, painting with nature click here to see how fun that turned out. But today we didn’t break out any paints. We just used the colors (and the option for markers for faces) that we found in the things that God gave to our backyard.

The older girls actually enjoyed it way more than my pre-k girl did which completely surprised me. I figured they would think it was “baby-ish” but they fully enjoyed this crafty project.

Making leaf art with your kids

STEP 1

Gather pieces of nature. We took a small basket outside and filled it with all kind of things (I purposefully didn’t take a big basket out there because I knew they would fill it FULL lol! The small one was more than enough materials for them to create with)

• colorful leaves

• twigs

• some pine cone looking things

• blades of grass

• berries

• vines

• and whatever else the kiddos want to grab

STEP 2

Bring it inside and set up a place where the kids can get messy. We used our dining room table and since we weren’t painting I didn’t mess with putting a drop cloth down.

I brought out our metal bin of glues, squeeze glue bottles and glue sticks, washable markers for if they wanted to add faces or anything their imaginations could think of, kid friendly scissors, and copy paper.

STEP 3

I helped my preschooler at first, showing her how we could create a Thanksgiving Day turkey out of the leaves and although she thought that was really cool she just wanted to glue whatever, and most importantly wherever to her piece of paper.

We took a round leaf and glued it down first

Then we took longer more oblong looking leaves and glued them behind the round leaf for the Turkey feathers.

My pre-k girl wanted to use a piece of bark for the head so that’s what we used.

For the gobble we glued a small skinny leaf like thing down and pushed it up so it was under the bark head.

For the legs we just added a second stem from another leaf and glue it in place using a glue stick.

The most important step of all though is to just enjoy this crafty art time with your kids. Let them make a mess. Let them create. Let them make mistakes and not feel like they have to be perfect.

Here are a few finished leaf art pictures my girls made. I LOVE them! They were so creative and really took time to enjoy the whole process of this leaf art project. I can’t wait to do the next just for fun creative activity with them.

If you enjoy this craft with your kiddos be sure to check out this post on painting with nature.

A Christmas gift teens & tweens will LOVE!

DIY SPA KITS FOR TEENS

What does you preteen (tween), or teen want for Christmas? I don’t know about your kiddos but my girls are getting harder and harder to buy for the older they get.

I’m a momma of 4 girls, three of which are all with in 3 years of one another. They are stair steps and I love having them so close in age. One of the benefits is they are all kind of into the same things at the same time. But, this year the older 3 girls had just a few items on their Christmas wish lists, which isn’t a bad thing but it does make for more challenging shopping.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

Anyway, I thought long and hard about what to get the girls for Christmas. I just know with 2020 being what it is, that we are going to have a TON of time at home.

So I decided we would gift them things they that would keep them busy over winter. On the list of items bought so far are lots of books, board games, art supplies and….. a SPA KIT! But not just any spa kit, this is like the ULTIMATE SPA KIT for teens!

I looked online and didn’t really find exactly what I was looking for so I thought I’d put together my own. So fitting for a frugal DIY momma.

So, how do you make a DIY SPA KIT you ask?

It might be easier than you think. If you are great at shopping online you can easily put one together too!

I started with this book, Girls' Home Spa Lab: All-Natural Recipes, Healthy Habits, and Feel-Good Activities to Make You Glow

It’s amazing! It has tons of recipes and other good for you activities. And since it’s written and illustrated for teen and tween girls they will extra love it. There’s no old fashioned old lady vibe with this DIY book. It has a fresh and modern look to it that’s super attractive and it makes me want to read all of it and make my own spa products.

Since this was just the book, no ingredients or anything, I read through it and picked out ingredients that were repetitive throughout the book. I didn’t want to buy every single ingredient in the book because that would be expensive and we keep several of the ingredients like olive oil and witch hazel on hand at home. I bought the main ones I kept seeing that we don’t usually have at home.

Here’s what I bought

1. ESSENTIAL OILS

2. ASSORTED DRIED FLOWERS & DRIED LAVENDER

3. COCOA BUTTER

4. BENTONITE CLAY POWDER

5. ARROWROOT POWDER

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Non ingredient items I ordered:

1. MORTAR & PESTLE

2. HANDHELD MIXER

I have a fancy Kitchen Aid stand mixer but I really didn’t want it taken over. I opted for this handheld mixer AND I was sure to get the one that has attached storage for the beaters. That way there’s less chance they will loose them.

3. DOUBLE BOILER

Just like with the mixer I really didn’t want the girls to use my double boiler for bath and body ingredients. I looked on good ole Amazon for double boilers and found this gem! It was exactly what I wanted!

This pot is great because it will fit in any pot we have at home. We have a few different small sauce pans and this double boiler option will work perfectly with all three of them.

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Of course the spa kit wouldn’t be complete without containers to put all their new spa products in. If you search on Amazon there’s a ton of different things to choose from. Here’s what I ordered for my girls. No judgements on the glass containers please ;) if you don’t feel comfortable with yours teens having glass there are other options out there. We typically will always choose glass over plastic, it’s just a personal preference.

4. SMALL PLASTIC CONTAINERS WITH SCREW ON LIDS

5. AMBER GLASS MINI SPRAY BOTTLES

6. 10ml AMBER GLASS ROLL ON CONTAINERS

7. 8OZ CLEAR SPA CONTAINERS

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As I’m writing this it’s early November so I have not packaged any of the gifts yet to put under the Christmas tree.

The girls know that one of their gifts is one big gift to share. So I think I’m going to wrap all the spa ingredients individually then put everything in a big box that will be wrapped too. You know, make it more fun for them to open it.

This gift is going to be amazing for the girls this winter and I can’t wait for them to start experimenting in the kitchen making their own bath and body products.

I’d love to know, is this something your teens/tweens would love? Let me know in the comments.

Plank wall on a budget

FAUX PLANKED WALL DIY USING PLYWOOD

Are you planning a new planked wall project? Want to know how to DIY A faux plank wall on a TIGHT budget? See how we spent less than $50 to plank a bedroom wall and learn what not to do so you don’t make the same mistakes we did our first time around.

Recently my husband and I bought a gorgeous old home that was built in the year 1900. Of course we got an inspection on it before we bought it to make sure it was sound and the house wasn’t in need of any major repairs before we made an offer. To our surprise it was totally sound! The house was mainly in need of cosmetic repairs and since we got such a great deal on it we snatched it up decided we could tackle those on our own one project at a time. Our first project being a room that had 6 DIFFERENT prints of wallpaper on the walls. Because the house is so old, 120 years to be exact at the time I’m writing this post, nothing in the house aligns perfectly. We love the house but it drives my construction worker husband absolutely bat shit crazy that nothing is even. He likes walls that are square and I love all that old character!

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See how I easily removed the old wallpaper using just my steamer

Once we started pulling off the wallpaper we realized the true reason why there was so much wallpaper and so many different prints. The wallpaper was just a band aid for the big cracks in the walls and it looked like they just put any scrap piece they could find to cover the walls. Honestly we expected the walls to be in rough shape because it’s such an old house but we weren’t expecting it to be that bad. Really we needed to replace all of the walls in the room with drywall but we were on a time crunch and opted instead to replace 2 walls completely for now and apply a bigger band aid than wallpaper to the other two walls. We thought making faux plank walls would be the perfect thing to use on the other two walls for right now.

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One wall finish we chose was a faux plank wall. Working with a limited budget we knew we couldn’t opt for the premade planks you can buy at any home remodeling store or even this peel and stick wooden wall option. Instead we opted to buy a thin plywood and cut it ourselves.

We definitely made mistakes on this one but my hope is to share those with you so that you don’t make the same mistakes if you decide to do a faux plank wall too. Really it was because we didn’t fully prepare for this remodel. I honestly was just planning on taking off the wallpaper and before we knew it two walls were totally gone lol! So we had to finish what we started before my husband had to got out of town in two days for a job. Yeah…we were completely unprepared for this big project! But the good new is if we decide we want to change it later we can easily pop the planks off the wall and do something different.

Here’s how we made our affordable faux plank wall

First, I need to start off by saying this requires the use of power tools. If you are not comfortable with using power tools this project may not be for you. But it is a fairly simple project to tackle if you are just starting out using power tools. If you can cut a straight line and use a brad nailer you shouldn’t have too much trouble DIYing your own plank wood wall.

Like I said above we were working with a super short time frame. We had a weekend to get the bulk of this bedroom done and were working our butts off to meet that deadline. So we didn’t do things exactly perfect but at the end of the day we are overall happy with the outcome. And nothing is ever perfect so there’s that lol!

Here’s what we used to make our faux plank wall

• thin plywood, I believe we used 1/4” and purchased it from a local home improvement store

• circular saw

• miter saw

• jigsaw

• clamps

• brad nailer

• 2” brad nails

• pennies

• measuring tape

This is not the way it really should be done but to save time my husband stacked the plywood and cut them into strips that way. I wanted thicker planks so he cut them at 5” wide.

After he cut the strips I cut them down using my miter saw into smaller sections. I measured them anywhere from 6”-24” and looking back I would not have cut anything less than 12”. After I got them on the wall I realized the smaller ones just looked awful so I had to remove those sections and replace them.

Then I started attaching them to the wall starting from the bottom and working my way up. I used pennies as my spacers between my plank pieces. I have to say that worked out GREAT! You use the pennies just like you would any other spacer. Place them in between the wood planks so that you get the same even spacing between the planks.

I used my Ryobi brad nailer to nail the planks to the wall. We chose to use 2” brad nails so that it would hit the wood underneath from the lathe and plaster so they wouldn’t just fall off. And since the brad nails are not like a regular nail they come out of the wall easily if you decide you want to remove them later. This is also why we opted not to use any glue like I’ve seen on other tutorials. We didn’t want this to be a permanent fixture in the room, just a fun accent wall for now to cover the lather and plaster wall. Years down the road we will replace it with drywall but for now the faux plank wall is a perfect temporary fix.

Around the windows I had to cut custom pieces and I used my jigsaw for that. I am not a measuring kind of girl lol! It killed me to have to be exact with this and to use real measurements so that the pieces would come out right. Usually I eyeball my cuts and that’s that, it drives my husband nuts that I do this but it is what it is, I’m not a perfectionist lol!

Making our own faux plank wall saved us so much money! When we bought our plywood we paid $17 a sheet, a lot cheaper than any premade version. We bought 5 sheets total to redo 2 walls in this room and 5 plywood sheets covered it! Less than $100 to redo them. Granted we did have a lot more work to do but when you’re on a budget hard work is worth it to not have that extra money going out!

This was such a great option for us right now. It’s not as much work as drywall and definitely not as hideous as the wallpaper that had been on the walls. While it’s still technically a band aid it’s a much prettier band aid!

I hope this post helps you to DIY your own plank wall and learned what not to do with some of the mistakes we made DIYing our own plank wall.

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How to make beeswax wraps, reusable cotton saran wrap

Make your own reusable cotton food wraps

I gotta say I am impressed with these simple yet useful beeswax reusable cotton wraps. If you’ve never heard of these before you’re not alone, my husband had no idea what they were and I’m pretty sure he thought I was crazy when I told him what I wanted to make. You use these cloth wraps in your kitchen to replace saran wrap…genius I know! I had never used beeswax or pine resin before this DIY, I actually had no idea pine resin was a thing to buy until recently. But after seeing how easy this project was I am eager to try others that use these ingredients.

I read several different articles telling how to make them. They all basically used the same three ingredients: BEESWAX, PINE RESIN, JOJOBA OIL. Some however didn’t use the pine resin, or any resin at all, and what I read, and now agree with since I have made them myself, is that you won’t get that sticky saran wrap feel unless you use the pine resin. Technically you can just use beeswax but I wouldn’t recommend it.

If you enjoy this money saving tip be sure to check out these reusable oil bottles for the kitchen.

DIY EASY BEESWAX & RESIN SARAN WRAP

Here’s what you'll need

• beeswax pellets

• pine resin

• jojoba oil

• 100% cotton fabric

• pinking shears

• chip brush

• sauce pan

• wide mouth half pint mason jar

• measuring spoons

• measuring cup

• aluminum foil

• cookie sheet

• cooling rack

• flexible squeegee

• preheated oven at 215 degrees

This is the recipe I used

• 1/2 c BEESWAX PELLETS

• 2 t PINE RESIN

• 1/2 t JOJOBA OIL

The first couple of wraps I made I only used 1 teaspoon of the pine resin and I did not like the way those wraps turned out. So I doubled the resin for the next batch and they turned out SO much better!

1.MELT THE INGREDIENTS

Preheat your oven to 215 degrees. Then mix 1/2 cup of beeswax pellets, 2 teaspoons of pine resin, and 1/2 teaspoon of jojoba oil. The BEST way to do this is to melt it all in a double boiler. I used an old sauce pan and a short mason jar for this. I put a small amount of water in the sauce pan because I didn’t want the jar to float and I knew since I was making a small batch it wouldn’t take much to heat of the jar to melt the beeswax. I used a thin chip brush to do all of the stirring.

2. CUT YOUR FABRIC

while my ingredients were melting I cut my fabric into pieces I thought would be good sizes for what I wanted to use them for. I cut a few small ones that would fit around the top of a jar. Several medium sized ones that would be good to wrap around food. And a couple of large ones that would fit around my larger sized mixing bowls. I used my grandma’s old pair of pinking shears on the edges of the fabric so that the edges wouldn’t fray once I start using the food wraps. Also, you want to be sure you are using 100% cotton.

3. BRUSH ON & BAKE

Line your cookie sheet with foil, shiny side down. Place a piece of your fabric on the cookie sheet. Use the chip brush to brush on the melted mixture. Then pop it in the oven for 5 minutes or so. Do not skip placing it in the over. If you just brush the wax mixture on your food wraps they will be stiff, the mixture won’t be on the fabric evenly and it will result in them not working quite right. Placing them in the oven allows the wax to melt completely into the fabric and giving you a nice even coat over the entire piece of fabric.

4. REMOVE EXCESS WAX

Remove your cookie sheet from the oven. Use a squeegee, here's the kind I used, and squeegee the excess beeswax mixture off of the fabric. I didn’t do this for the first couple of wraps I made and I didn’t like how they turned out, for two reasons - there wasn’t enough resin AND they were WAY TOO stiff and waxy. None of the tutorials I read said to do this step though. So maybe they know something I don’t. But I do know when I went to use the first two to try them out before I made more they were kind of blah and I wasn’t impressed at all with them. After I squeegeed the excess off it made all the difference in the world! I didn’t let the excess go to waste either. I scooped it up and placed it back into the mason jar so it could melt back down.

5. REMOVE & LET DRY

Immediately take them off of the baking sheet and place them somewhere to dry. I lined a cookie drying rack with a piece of foil and then placed the finished wax wraps on there to dry. It didn’t take very long at all for them to completely dry on the drying rack.

6. USE

Once your food wraps are dry you can start using them immediately. I was so surprised at how well these turned out! I’m even thinking about making some to give as gifts to family and friends.

Like with all of my DIY posts if you have any questions please feel free to ask. If you make these at home I’d love to hear how yours turn out!

Happy crafting!

Reusable oil spray bottles + FREE SVG file

The days of buying cooking oil spray bottles are over. I don’t know about you but I really dislike buying Pam at the grocery store, actually it’s never name brand because I’m super frugal and have a big family to feed lol! Buying that spray always feels like such a fat waste of money and in our house cooking oil spray doesn’t last very long anyway so we are always running out at the worst time. Yes, using a paper towel with oil on it will get the job done but sometimes it would just be one less thing to stress about when you go to pull it out of the cabinet only to find one of the oldest of the four daughters put it back in there with barely a squirt left in it.

So I got on Amazon and found some heavy duty looking spray bottles that looked perfect to hold our veggie and olive oils.

Even though you can totally tell which one is which I thought it would still be a good idea to label them. I figured it would at least save me from having the same conversation a couple times a week as to what one is olive oil and what one is vegetable oil.

I really like the skinny type fonts but since the labels are going on oil bottles I thought a thicker font would work much better. If a little oil gets under the vinyl decals of a thin font they will come off super easy. If you want to use the same SVG I used you can get it here in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY.

Watch my video on my YouTube channel or keep scrolling for the written/photo tutorial

DIY LABELED OIL BOTTLES FOR THE KITCHEN

Here’s what I used

• Cricut cutting machine (I have an older explore and it works perfectly for projects like this)

• Cricut cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• 651 black vinyl

• transfer tape

• xacto knife

• lint free cloth

• isopropyl alcohol

• vinyl squeegee

• food grade glass spray bottles (I used 2)

• olive & veggie svg file

1. Cut out your vinyl decal. I used my Cricut Explore set on the vinyl cut setting and the green cutting mat. I used Oracal 651, permanent outdoor grade vinyl, in black matte finish. I measured out the length of the spray bottles I was applying it to and made it a little shorter in length. I keep most all of my scraps of vinyl in a plastic tote just for projects like this. You never know when you’ll need a small piece of vinyl lol!

2. I like using an xacto knife to weed my vinyl projects. You can use a fancy vinyl picker like this one but I think these are a little more difficult to hold than a simple xacto knife. Be sure when you weed your design you are weeding out the background, not the letter themselves.

3. I completely forgot to wash the bottles before applying the decals but I was sure to wash them before I added the oil to them ;). You want to wipe down the area of the bottle you are applying the decal to with isopropyl alcohol. This will remove any dirt or oil and allow for the best adhesion of the vinyl.

4. Apply transfer tape to the front of your decal. Use your vinyl squeegee to remove any air bubbles then peel the paper backing off of your vinyl decal.

5. Place your vinyl decal where you would like it to go on your glass spray bottle. I like to hover it over where I’m thinking about placing it first. Once you place vinyl down, especially small decals like these, it’s really difficult to get them to come up without ruining them.

6. When you have your decal where you want it to go place it down gently starting from the middle and work your way out. This will help to keep the air bubbles to a minimum. Use your vinyl squeegee to remove any air bubbles you see then peel the transfer tape off of your vinyl decal.

7. Fill your bottles with oil and enjoy!

I know we are going to get A LOT of use out of these reusable oil spray bottles!

If you have any questions please ask away:)!

How to make your own corsage with faux flowers

DIY YOUR OWN CORSAGE WITH FAKE FLOWERS

Real corsages are gorgeous! But they can be a little pricey, especially for being a small part of the fancy attire. Our small town held a father daughter dance and I really wanted my girls to feel extra special and wear a corsage. Since my husband was taking three of our four daughters I figured it would be more cost effective if I ordered them from a big chain grocery florist. I looked online and they were $20+ per corsage plus $20 for my husbands boutonniere. A total of $80 for accent flowers…that was not in the budget. What I did instead was take a trip to our local Walmart and picked out some inexpensive flowers, hair ties, and floral tape. I spent a total of $13 and everyone got a beautiful corsage/boutonniere to wear to the fancy daddy daughter dance.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

I’ll be honest, I tried to make one for the oldest of the four daughters when she was in the first grade and it turned out awful! I used a real flower that was WAY too big and it seriously looked like a Pinterest fail! This time around I extra crossed my fingers they would turn out as a win and thank goodness they did! The girls got SO MANY C0MPLIMENTS on them at the dance.

DIY FLOWER CORSAGE

Here’s what I used

• faux round roses

• faux babies breath

• faux spring flower bunch

• green floral tape

• felt

• scissors

• wire cutters

• black hair tie (pony tail holder)

• hot glue gun

• gorilla glue hot glue sticks

Make this DIY even more inexpensive by visiting your local DOLLAR TREE. They have a great floral selection depending on the season.

I found everything I needed at Walmart. I already had the glue, glue gun, and felt on hand so I didn’t need to pick those up. I also had a ton of supplies left over. I used some in their hair for little accents and then still had some left over. I couldn’t believe it cost around $3 per corsage to make. That beats $20/ wrist corsage any day!

1. I cut a rectangle that was smaller than the width of one of my daughter’s wrist. This is what I glued my flowers to. Then, I cut a second rectangle that was a little smaller than the first rectangle.

2. I picked out 2 main flowers for the corsages. I used these gorgeous round roses I found at my local Walmart that were about $3 per stem. I used 2 per corsage and 1 for my husband’s boutonniere. I made these round roses the focal point and added the other flowers as accents. I pulled the round rose flower heads off of their stems then I cut them flush at the bottom of the flower so that the bottom side of the flower was flat.

3. I started layering the flowers that surrounded the main flowers. This took me a little while to get the flowers where I wanted them to go. I used a combination of baby’s breath, lavender, and a spring flower bunch. I had to trim them up here and there, so don’t be afraid to do that too. This will keep your corsage from being gigantic. See the picture below, I had to trim down the lavender stems so that they wouldn’t be so long. I did this carefully making sure I wasn’t removing too much.

4. I attached the accent flower stems together. Basically I made double ended floral stems. I tried to make them somewhat similar in size in both length and width so that the corsage wasn’t lopsided. I didn’t make them identical, I used different accent flowers on each end but was sure to incorporate baby’s breath on each end. Then I wrapped the middle of the double ended floral stem in green floral tape to keep them together.

5. I placed them on the bigger rectangle to see where exactly I wanted to place them before I started gluing anything down. This is the time to trim your felt down if you need to.

6. Then I used my glue gun to glue everything down to the felt. I first glued down the double ended floral stem I made. Let that dry so that it gets secure. Then I glued down the main focal point flowers, the round roses.

7. Fill in the gaps. After I got the roses glued down and the glue dried I added in more accent flowers where I thought the corsage was bare. I even cut off single leaves, this spring bunch I picked up had the most beautiful soft lambs ear like leaves. I added in several of those leaves where I thought they would look good. I attached some to the sides of the roses. I also did this with the baby’s breath. Before I glued them down I was sure to double check I liked that placement. A tiny dab of glue is all you need for these little pieces.

8. Once I was happy with how it look and the glue was dry I flipped it over and added a thick hair tie. While recording this tutorial I actually attached my hair tie the wrong way. For the most comfort I suggest gluing on the hair tie so that the corsage lays vertically against the wrist. So you would want to attach your hair tie so that it would sit on the rectangle horizontally. Once that glue dries glue the second rectangle on top of the hair tie so that the hair tie is sandwiched in-between the two pieces of felt. This will make it really secure and will be difficult for the elastic to come off.

I hope you enjoyed this inexpensive tutorial. Like with all of my posts, if you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to ask.

Happy crafting!

DIY Dollar Tree work for hire chore chart

Easy work for hire board

I don’t know about you but in my house we don’t do allowance. Well, not the traditional allowance anyway. Instead, we have a work for hire board. And I so wish I would have made this sooner. For years my girls have been asking “what needs to be done” for them to earn money for the not so everyday chores around the house. Of course they would ask at the times when my brain was on anything but that and I would have to stop and think hard about what needs to be done and how much to pay for that chore.

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Now my brain doesn’t have that extra stress (yes, it’s a stress when your sweet daughter is asking to do work around the house so she can make some cash and your brain just draws a blank :(! ) Having this work for hire board is WONDERFUL! I clip the money to the chore that needs to be done. Then they do the chore and take their earnings. This gives them so much independence and instills a good work ethic that they will carry with them through adulthood. Everyone is happy! They get paid and I didn’t have to wash the windows lol!

Now, I don’t pay the girls to do everyday things like washing dishes, picking up the living room, washing their clothes. Those are everyday kind of chores. The chores on the work for hire board are more like washing the windows, wiping down the baseboards, deep cleaning the bathroom, organizing the stockpile, etc.

And to make it even better was that I picked up the metal tin I used for the work for hire boar from the Dollar Tree! All together this DIY cost less than $5 for everything. See more of my DIY Dollar Tree crafts.

FREE PRINTABLE- 36 work for hire chore ideas for you to print off. Click the photo below to get the password for instant access to my free resource library.

How to make a kid’s work for hire board

Here’s what you’ll need

• round metal pizza pan, I got mine from the Dollar Tree

• small magnets

• chalk paint

• acrylic paint

• clothes pins

• paint brush

• oracal vinyl (this is where I got mine)

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• clear finishing spray

• wide ribbon

• work for hire svg

• E6000

Helpful tools

• CRICUT (I use an explore)

• CRICUT CUTTING MAT

• CRICUT ACCESS

ONE-

Use chalk paint and paint the entire front of your pizza pan. I painted two coats on mine, letting the first one dry completely before painting the second coat on. To add a little rustic feel I added some cream colored accent markings to mine. I did this while the second coat of paint was still wet and just liberally added in strokes of the cream colored chalk paint. Let your painted pizza pan dry. I let mine day for several days because I had other things to do before I could finish it up. After mine dried I gave it a quick spray with a clear sealant to give it a protective top coat.

TWO-

Paint your clothes pins. I just used two colors, pink and gray. I painted my clothespins with two coats of acrylic paint to get a good coverage on them. Let them dry.

THREE-

Add a vinyl decal to the top that says ‘ work for hire’. You can make your own or grab one similar to the one I used, get it in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. I used gray oracal 651 vinyl for mine. Even though I allowed my painted pizza pan to dry for several days I wasn’t sure if the transfer tape would remove the paint so I applied my decal very gently. I tried not to push the transfer tape down too much and focused on just the decal. Thankfully none of the paint came off of my pizza pan when applying the work for hire decal.

FOUR-

Write the chores on your clothes pins. Ours don’t change too much, they are pretty much the same things that need to be done every month so I used a fine point sharpie to write on mine. When I made mine I wrote on the painted clothespins after I glued the magnets to them…big mistake. It would have been far easier to write on them first, glued magnets second. But now I know for next time AND I know the right way to tell you how to do it so you don’t make the mistake I did.

FIVE-

Use E6000 and glue a magnet to the backside of each of your clothespins. If you’ve never heard of E6000 it’s basically a really strong glue. It does take about 24 hours to fully dry though. Oh, and it does have a bit of a weird smell to it but it is good for crafts lol! Set your clothespins somewhere they won’t be disturbed so they can dry properly.

SIX-

Add a ribbon hanger to the back. Make sure it lines up with the front, you don’t want a lopsided chart hanging up after all this hard work. Use tape to hold the ribbon in place on the backside. Glue to the back side of the pizza pan using E6000. I used the discarded piece of backing from my vinyl to press the ribbon into the glue. I didn’t want all of that on my fingers. That worked great for me! Just like with the clothespins, set the pizza pan in a place it can fully dry without being disturbed.

SEVEN-

After everything is dry hang up and add your clothespins with the money attached to them.

I hope you enjoyed this crafty tutorial and that it helps and inspires you to create your own. As with all of my posts, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Happy crafting!

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Decorating your porch for FALL on a BUDGET

I’ve never been one to spend a lot of money on decorations. And this year is even more a reason to keep the fall decorations budget to a minimum. My husband and I are on track to be totally debt free by the end of 2019! This is something we’ve been working on for awhile {with a few setbacks though} and we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! So this year for the fall decorating budget we put aside $20…yes TWENTY dollars to create a beautiful fall scenery on our uncovered front porch.

And truthfully I wasn’t worried at all because I knew I could make that happen! A few things I knew I wanted were fresh mums and pumpkins. A bale of straw and some dried corn stalks would have been icing on the cake but sadly there was no room to splurge for these…maybe next year.

How to decorate your uncovered front porch on a BUDGET for fall

If you’re like me and don’t have a lot of money {or maybe nothing at all} to put toward your fall porch decorations here are some tips to help you to create a beautiful porch on a budget.

FIRST use what you have. This is a rule I use for decorating year round. If you incorporate things you already have you are literally spending nothing.

SECOND this one is a favorite of mine…if you have relatives that are tossing things out ask if you can have them. My father in law had this AMAZING pile of, well junk, on his property and every time we would go over there I would search through his junk pile lol! He gave me full permission to take whatever my little heart wanted and boy did I always find good stuff to take home. My husband didn’t always agree ha! A couple things I picked from his pile that I used in my fall porch décor

• the rusty old chair

• old broken window

Both of these things I keep on the porch year round and thank goodness I rescued them because they are absolutely perfect!

THIRD check your Facebook swap n shop pages/groups. People love getting rid of things, even for free. This is so my personality type too! When I’m tired of looking at the clutter I go in full on purge mode lol! Just this last weekend the overwhelm from daughter # 4’s bedroom was really getting to me. So, naturally like a lot of moms do, I took in the roll of trash bags and just started tossing anything and everything that I hadn’t seen her play with since the start of summer. It’s a little embarrassing but I filled 7 kitchen sized trash bags full of gently used toys and some clothes that he had outgrown.

FOURTH shop around for the best prices. Even though supporting small business is always on my mind because I own a small business, I do shop at Walmart. And I don’t feel guilty about it. One day when we are rich we will be able to shop small all day everyday but for now, while raising four daughters, I have to pick and choose when we can afford to support small business.

FIFTH make your own décor. If you’re crafty jump on some DIY PINTEREST boards to get some ideas of what to make. I suggest skimming your crafty stash to see what you have too. The OG barn wood looking sign is one I made, DIY PALLET SIGN for our front porch for fall. It’s actually a school spirit sign. We live in a pretty small town and school spirit is alive and well here. Since our school colors are orange and black I try to incorporate school spirit into our décor. It makes it a little more fun for our girls too because we are visually saying ‘go school’ and I know that’s encouraging for them. Just be sure whatever pieces you put out there that they are protected from the elements if needed. To make this sign I just used leftover pieces from other projects, check out these SCRAP WOOD PUMPKINS

Now that you have some tips on how to make the most of your budget here’s how I spent my $20 for my DIY fall porch decorating

• $3.98 large pumpkin at Walmart

• $2.98 bag of mini gourds

• $4.84 mum x2

• 3.96 orange spray paint, I only used 1/3 of it

Technically I went over the $20 by .60 BUT I do have 2/3 of a can of spray paint left over for another project, so in my mind I only spent 1/3 of the price for this project lol!!

I really wanted fresh mums but I couldn’t afford the GORGEOUS ones from the local farms. Just one mum would have taken up my entire budget. I opted for the cheapest large mums I could find at Walmart but they had UGLY bases. The green/brown color that just screams cheap flowers. I loved the more decorative bases but those too were not in the budget. Instead I grabbed a can of spray paint, and not the $1 can because I knew the coverage on that would be awful, and sprayed the bases orange in matte finish. This was the PERFECT solution!

See my video below on how to easily spray paint your ugly fall flower bases.

I’d love to hear how you are planning to decorate your front porch for fall. Leave a comment below ;)!

DIY make a wood CUPCAKE base using your Cricut

Use your Cricut & scroll saw to make a wooden cupcake base in the shape of a mermaid tail

I love throwing birthday parties for my four daughters. I love the excitement in their eyes when they see all the work and thought that’s been put into THEIR big day! I love sitting with them and planning out the details. And when the oldest three were much younger I LOVED making their cakes. As the years have passed though, I found my self getting busier and busier and it was just easier for me to run to Sams club and grab a cake from there.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

But this year when the second oldest was planning her birthday she asked if I would make her cake. I felt so honored. Really? She didn’t want a store bought cake but one that momma made! Seriously bring on the happy tears!

She had been pinning on Pinterest for a couple of months and decided she wanted a MERMAID cake! As soon as she said those words I knew what I was going to do to make that happen… MERMAID PULL APART CUPCAKES! So much easier than an actual cake and less mess on the day of the party. Years and years ago I did a similar one for the oldest daughter when she turned 4. I made pull apart cupcakes in the shape of a 4 and it was ADORABLE and SOOOOOOO easy!

Thank goodness for tools like Cricut and Ryobi, if I didn’t have those then her cake might have turned out a little….less than edible looking lol!

If you want more little girl birthday party inspiration be sure to check out these ADORABLE UNICRON party centerpieces I made using my Cricut too!

Don’t feel like reading the full tutorial? Skip to the bottom to catch the video or go here ——-> MERMAID TAIL CUPCAKE BASE on my YouTube channel

How to make a wood base for pull apart mermaid cupcakes

Here’s what you’ll need

• CRICUT EXPLORE AIR

• CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

• RYOBI SCROLL SAW

• RYOBI SANDER

• 120 grit sandpaper

• CRICUT CUTTING MAT

• 1” thick pine board {or whatever wood you prefer}

• masking tape

• 12”x12” cardstock

• pencil

First select your design in CRICUT DESIGN SPACE. If you are like me and create a ton of projects each monthly I highly recommend signing up for CRICUT ACCESS. You will have access to thousands of images, fonts, and projects for a small monthly fee…and it’s SO worth it!

Here’s the mermaid tail I chose in Cricut Access. I just simply searched MERMAID TAIL and chose one that I liked.

I chose the pink one on the bottom row. I really like that this one had some movement in it. But I didn’t really like the white spaces on the mermaid tail. So after I added it to my canvas I used the CONTOUR function to hide those white spaces. I also adjusted the size of the mermaid tail so that it was 11.45” wide. I left the size lock on so that it would adjust the height for me so that everything would be proportionate.

Since I was using cardstock for my stencil and I didn’t have a piece big enough I butted two pieces together and taped the seam so that it would be like one big piece. Feed your mat through your Cricut machine and press GO when the button starts to flash.

I used a piece of scrap 1x12 to make my mermaid tail cupcake base out of. I had some plywood which probably would have worked just as good {and would have been cheaper to use} but I knew I most likely wouldn’t use this again and I wanted my daughter to be able to use it to hang in her room after her party.

Trace your mermaid tail cardstock stencil out on your piece of wood.

Then cut the mermaid tail out using your Ryobi scroll saw. You can use a band saw, and even a jig saw for this step if you don’t have a scroll saw.

Then you want to smooth it out using your Ryobi sander. I used 120 grit sand paper on mine. I also slightly rounded some of the edges so that it wasn’t so pokey.

Add your cupcakes and decorate. I just slapped a little bit of frosting on the bottom of each cupcake to stick them to the board.

. I used a combination of purple, teal, and white for the frosting colors and I didn’t even use any fancy piping tips {I was a little pressed for time lol}. For under $10 I was able to make the cake of her mermaid themed birthday dreams!

Watch the video tutorial below on how to make your own MERMAID TAIL CUPCAKE BASE

Ultimate Dollar Tree birthday gift idea

The best kid’s birthday gift idea when you’re on a budget

It’s no secret that my girls and I LOVE the dollar tree. Seriously, we were just there today and when we got home my oldest couldn’t believe that we spent and entire HOUR in there and it literally felt like only 20 minutes had past lol! Yep…raising those girls right!

Our sole purpose of the trip was to find a couple gifts for the oldest daughter’s friends for their birthday parties. Raising a family of 6 isn’t a cheap task. So, things like friend’s birthday parties typically have a pretty small budget of $10 per kiddo. At Walmart $10 doesn’t get you much from the toy aisle or any aisle that a kid would be interested in anyway. But, I have to say over the years we have gotten really good at whipping up some amazing birthday gifts on the $10 budget. And I can’t wait to share the latest gift that comes in WAY under budget! Under budget meaning 70% lower than what we typically budget for friend’s birthdays.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

How was I able to create two gifts for kids for under $6?

Well, first the Dollar Tree. It is FULL of really amazing things that on their own may not be all that amazing but when paired with something else, like let’s say a personalized wood letter cut out, can be one of the best gifts ever! And second, I just purchased a scroll saw last weekend with the money that comes in from my handmade business so I used that to create the customized gifts for her friends.

My only regret is not buying a scroll saw sooner. If you’re curious about the one I purchased you can see more about the Ryobi scroll saw here. And if you wanna know about the other tools I have in my shop I’ve written a break down of which tools every crafter needs.

I used my Cricut Explore to cut out the letter E and the dog from cardstock. Then I outlined them with a pencil on a scrap piece of 1x8 that had been sitting on the wood shelf in the garage. Using my new handy scroll saw I cut out the shapes. Gave them a light sanding and they were ready to add to the items we picked up at the dollar tree.

Here’s what we picked up from the dollar tree

• 1 package of purple/pink 6 pk glitter

• 1 package of blue/green 6 pk glitter

• 1 package of purple/pink sequence

• 1 package of small containers

• 2 paint pots

We bought the small containers to fill with white paint and glue {which we have a TON of at home} . Since the paint pots don’t come with white paint and sequence doesn’t stick well to paint we thought those additions to the birthday gifts would be a good idea. I wrote on the outside of the containers which one was glue and which one was paint so there wasn’t any confusion when the birthday girl goes to use her new craft kit.

The glitters and sequence were individually wrapped so we pulled them off of the original packaging {they were just taped to the thin cardboard} and gave each birthday girl 4 glitters and 2 sequence.

To keep the birthday crafts looking somewhat professional I packaged the craft supplies in a clear goody bag {the party favor kind} that we already had left over at home.

I am so excited about this new DIY birthday craft idea! It’s absolutely perfect for the crafty kiddo in your life and it costs just a few dollars to create! I can honestly say that our girls loved this idea so much they each want their own.

———> Want more crafty gift giving ideas? Check out my post on these top selling kid approved DIY CRAFT KITS FOR KIDS

——> Also, you don’t want to miss this a great list of the PRE TEEN CRAFT IDEAS, because they can be so hard to buy for sometime

DIY clearance shoes, how to paint them for fall

I LOVE the frugal life. So when my friends tagged me in a post about our local Walmart putting select kids clothes and shoes on the $1 clearance rack I couldn’t get there fast enough! Thank you sweet friends btw! Boy did we find some good deals! Including these adorable little black shoes for my 3 year old daughter.

I had never painted on shoes before but I was up for the challenge. Such a perfect blank canvas and even if I mess them up they were only a DOLLAR so it’s totally ok and I wouldn’t feel one bit bad lol.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I’m sure I didn’t use the right kind of paint {I used straight acrylic paint, not watered down} but that’s ok. My daughter won’t be wearing them very long, she’s three after all lol so she’ll outgrow them in no time.

Here’s what I used

• acrylic paint

• clearance canvas shoes from Walmart

• paint brush

• round sponge brush

• assorted orange and black ribbon

• E6000 glue

• paint pens

Pin me for later

How to paint on canvas shoes for fall

1. REMOVE THE LACES before you start painting so you don’t get paint all over them.

2. THEME unless you are just going to let the creative juices flow as you go along it is best if you have a plan prior to painting on your canvas shoes. I had an idea right before I started painting and I ended up changing it up as I went because I wasn’t totally loving the way it looked. I painted more on the back and sides and moved the bows and added the front dots after I filmed this tutorial. I LOVE the way they turned out and more importantly my toddler does too!

3. PAINTING TIPS

• if you are painting on black shoes it is best to paint a base layer of white then once that’s dry paint the actual color you want. So on mine I wanted the backs orange, I painted them white first then after they dried I painted them orange. This will help your colors to not be dark and diluted.

• use a variety of brush sizes to fit your painting needs

• don’t use too much paint. Paint in thin layers and if doing more than one layer only paint over dry paint.

• paint pens are your friends <3 ! I used paint pens to add the lines on the candy corn and pumpkin after painting them their main colors.

• use both end of your paint brush. I used the non brush end of my brush to make the small dots on the front of the shoes. This was the perfect size for these cute little dots.

4. ADDING ACCENTS if you add any accents E6000 works great to have a long lasting hold. I’ll warn ya though, it doesn’t dry fast at all.

5. LACES I opted for a more untraditional lace for these shoes but you can keep the original laces in. I thought they would be too white for this pair so I traded them out for 2 thin pieces of ribbon in orange and black on each shoe. They actually hold up pretty well too! And this type of ribbon is really inexpensive so it wouldn’t cost much to replace if I need to.

Didn’t these clearance shoes turn out sooooo adorable?!!! I wasn’t sure how I’d like that they don’t match on the fronts but I actually do love it. It screams “I don’t have perfection issues” lol!!!

I hope you find this tutorial helpful for your shoe painting adventure! I’d love to see how yours turn out! Share a pic in the comments.

Check out the video tutorial below

DIY sensory activites your toddler will love

What is sensory play for toddlers?

Sensory play is crucial for your child’s development. I’m not going to spout out all the scientific reasonings sensory play is huge for your toddler…because I am not a doctor or licensed in this field in any way. I am, however, a momma of 4 and have seen what it’s done for our own daughters. And since I’m super frugal and crafty I am going to share with you how you can make your own DIY sensory activities on a dime! If you’d like to read a little more science behind sensory importance read this article from Heather at Growing Hands-On Kids.

Sensory play touches on these five senses

• sight

• smell

• touch

• taste

• hearing

When we let our kiddos explore the things around them they start to understand their bodies. They start to understand just how all these different things work. So when all you see is a mess what they “see” is so much more. They are learning through play. Just as you would learn through doing something, say a new craft technique, or a task at work. We learn when we do and our babies and toddlers are no different. So, don’t focus on the mess. Focus on the wonderful things that are happening inside your little one’s brain.

And a plus is that it’s SO easy to make your own sensory activities at home. More than likely you already have everything you need to create these too.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

If you love this article you’ll also love my post on toddler apple stamping canvas art. This is sensory oriented and makes an adorable keepsake for you!

Here are my top sensory activities to do at home for toddlers

1. Colorful fluffy paint on foil

Here’s what you need

• containers

• paint brushes {or they can use their fingers}

• pan

• foil

• food coloring

• cool whip

Cover a metal pan in foil. Fill containers half way with cool whip. Add a few drops of food coloring. Let them paint. You can wipe off the foil if there gets to be too much cool whip “paint” on it and let them do it all over again.

2. Color sorting with noodles

Here’s what you’ll need

• colored noodles. I made these by placing them in ziplock bags, adding food coloring and shaking. Allow them to dry overnight prior to using.

• bin or bowl

• colored paper to coordinate with the colors of noodles you have

This is a really fun game for kids. This would literally keep our youngest daughter busy for a solid hour! You can even add some drops of essential oil to the noodles when you color them to make it an even better experience for your tot.

3. Racing cars in paint

Here’s what you’ll need

• trash bag

• tape

• toys with wheels

• non toxic paint

Cut the bottom off your trash bag and a slit in the side, so that the bag opens flat. Tape it to the floor, a solid ground not the carpet. Add some paint and let your kiddos explore what it looks and feels like to run wheeled things through it. Even better because they see what it looks like when they start mixing the different colors together. This is super fun!

4. Scented Playdough

Here’s the recipe I used for DIY playdough. I did add food safe scented oils to mine. You can see this one is still a big hit with our older daughters. We bring out the cookie cutters, rolling pins when we play with our DIY playdough. Don’t worry if they mix all the colors together, it’s apart of the fun for them.

5. Water Play

Here’s what you’ll need

• bins

• water

• measuring cups

• floating balls

• large kitchen ladles and anything else that looks like fun to use in the water

This one was HUGE with kids! They love playing in the water. Show them how they can pour a scoop of water from one thing to the other. There are so many senses that are used during water play.

6. Rice Bin

Here’s what you’ll need

• rice, LOTS of rice

• pvc, solid pieces, elbows, and T’s

• funnels

• scoop spoons

• large bin

I saved this one for last because is has been the ALL TIME FAVORITE with the girls! I don’t have exact plans for this DIY sensory rice bin but it didn’t take too much thinking to put together. I just cut pieces for sides, two pieces for the top bar, added some elbow’s, t’s and it was ready to go. I did not glue this together as I wanted to be able to take this apart to store away. You could even do something like this for water play!

There you have it, my top 6 sensory play activities for toddlers from a mom’s point of view. Most of the materials for these activities you probably have around the house, talk about frugal toddler fun! Yes, they are messy but let them get messy. Let them learn. Let them explore. Let them be toddlers and enjoy this time you have with them.

Check out more kid friendly posts below

The EASIEST way to remove labels from wine bottles

Remove labels from wine bottles the super easy way

Old wine bottles and glass jars can be used for SO many different craft projects. The possibilities are endless. Take an empty pickle jar and turn it into a fairy lantern or make an adorable set of pumpkins from wine bottles. But you’re probably thinking that removing the labels from the empty glass containers is just too much headache.

But, I’m here to tell you taking the labels off of glass is actually much easier than you think!

How to remove labels from glass bottles

Here’s what you’ll need

• glass with the label on

• hot water

• Dawn dish soap

• kitchen scrub brush (this is similar to the one I used)

Fill your sink with hot water, as hot as your hands can handle, WEARING KITCHEN GLOVES IS A GREAT IDEA BUT I DIDN’T HAVE ANY ON HAND FOR THIS TUTORIAL. Add a several drops of Dawn dishsoap

Apply Dawn dish soap all over the label then slowly submerge it into the water letting the inside of the bottle fill with water. You want your bottle to sink to the bottom and be completely submerged in the hot soapy water, not floating on the top.

Let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Lift the bottle out of the water and start peeling off the labels. It’s so important to know that not all labels are put on with the same glue and also, glue clings more to different label materials. Like with this bottle the circle label came off with no problems and took all of the glue with it. But the paper labels left some of the glue behind.

After you remove all of the labels from the glass bottle take your scrub brush and just give it a good scrub. The glue will come right off with the Dawn dish soap.

Once all the adhesive is gone, empty the bottle, rinse and dry it with a dish cloth.

Now you have a squeaky clean jar to reuse!

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