Sunday, May 30, 2010

Sunday Snapshot -- Flying Fun

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!


Friday, May 28, 2010

Beautiful City Silhouette Painting

Now that Emily is finished with her school work for the Summer, we've been taking advantage of these pockets of time during Clara's nap for some one-on-one crafting fun. This project is very easy (and frugal) to make!

Begin by folding a sheet of paper in half as shown.


We used kitchen sponges (pack of 12 for $1) from the dollar store, and cut them up to make different sized buildings. Emily stamped each sponge twice -- once above the fold, and once directly below it to make the reflection. I love that she chose the color pink for the buildings! 

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Cheap Thrills -- Airplane Racers

For a fun time, make up some paper airplanes (Emily has a slight obsession with making these lately), attach some bent paper clips and tie a long piece of string. Race your airplanes!!!


Emily thought this was so much fun, and Clara was quick to pick up on the racing fun too! Since Clara isn't quite old enough to be able to throw a paper airplane, having a string to race them along worked perfectly.


Shake, shake, shake your string!!


Ready.... set........


.................GO!!!!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Shop Update! And the winner is....

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has been voting for me this past week!!! The results should be available in the next couple of days. However, I just couldn't wait any longer to announce that the winner of the Kid's Travel Kit Giveaway is.... Heidi!!! Congratulations!!

I received so many requests for these, so if you didn't win, don't worry! There are now a few Kid Travel Kits available for sale in our Etsy Shop! That was quick! Thank you, Lindsey!


If you're planning a road trip with the kiddos this Summer, you will want one of these.

We took ours for the road trip to Pittsburgh last weekend, and I'm so glad we did. Mark and Emily played several rounds of this Roadside Scavenger Hunt game, switching cards in-between rounds. It made the trip go by a lot faster!

Plus, they are super-cute!! To check out the shop, click here.

Last Day -- Get Your Vote In!!


Voting ends TODAY @ noon EST. Please help send me to Vermont for the Stonyfield Barnstorming Tour by voting for me here! As an added bonus, if I make the top 3, Stonyfield will make a $5000 donation to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. ((fingers crossed!))

You are allowed one vote per day per valid email address.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who is voting for me!! I truly appreciate it!

Be sure to check back later this afternoon for more frugal crafty goodness.... fun!!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Rainbow Slides

On the drive back from the Pancreatic Cancer Symposium last weekend, we were so lucky to spot a fantastic rainbow!! (A sign I took as a good omen!) Emily remarked that she wished she could slide down the rainbow, and I thought that was a great idea!

First, take some photos of the kids pretending to go down a super-fun rainbow slide! Ya-hoo!!!


Cut up some small pieces of colored paper to make your rainbow mosaic picture. We focused on one color at a time. This was great cutting practice for Emily! And it's a good exercise for fine-motor skills too!

Clara was soooo happy to see the glue!!


Glue on the cut-out photo, and admire your FUN artwork!! Emily thinks Clara's picture is soooo funny!


Weeeeeeeee!!!


We also found that leftover confetti makes for some fun pixie dust!


Have fun!!


Please help send me to Vermont for the Stonyfield Barnstorming Tour by voting for me here! As an added bonus, if I make the top 3, Stonyfield will make a $5000 donation to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. ((fingers crossed!))

You are allowed one vote per day per valid email address, and voting ends TOMORROW @ noon EST.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who is voting for me!! I truly appreciate it!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Sunday Snapshot -- On Your Mark, Get Set...

......Go!!!




Wishing everyone a fun weekend! I'm still trying to catch my breath from all these races!!


Please help send me to Vermont for the Stonyfield Barnstorming Tour by voting for me here! As an added bonus, if I make the top 3, Stonyfield will make a $5000 donation to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. ((fingers crossed!))

You are allowed one vote per day per valid email address, and voting ends May 25th @ noon EST.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who is voting for me!! I truly appreciate it!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Giveaway -- Kid Travel Kit (Super Cute!!)

Like many families around this time of year, ours is gearing up for a few road trips this Summer. I thought it would be fun to make a little travel kit for Emily -- this one has a Roadside Scavenger Hunt Game! I sewed up a fun looking wallet to store everything. (Special thanks to Jennifer Casa for the inspiration!)


I illustrated the cards myself (because I'll take any excuse to get crafty!) There are four of them, and they are laminated with clear contact paper. The first player to have four items marked off in a row is the winner! I included a spot for 2 wipe off markers.


I love how everything folds up so neat and tidy!


We took it for a test run earlier, and it was a big hit! (Although Emily seems to be quicker at finding things than I am!!) I had flashbacks of playing a similar game when my brother and I were little... and we went for some looooooooong car rides then. It's a miracle we didn't kill each other, really!


The markers work really went on the contact paper, and they wipe off easily with the eraser that is attached to the marker.


And it's so easy for the kids to keep everything all together! Love that!!


You know how I LOVE to share a good thing!! There are a few Kid Travel Kits available in the Etsy Shop.

Now the fun part -- One lucky reader will win a Kid's Travel Kit just like this one!! Kit includes the fun wallet (sewn by me), 2 wipe off markers, and 4 laminated Roadside Scavenger Hunt cards (illustrated by yours truly). How FUN is that???


There are LOTS of ways to enter (giveaway is open to all US residents):


1.Go to Stonyfield's Blogger Barnstorming page and place a vote for Frugal Family Fun to help send me to Vermont (and a $5,000 donation to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network). Then come back here and leave a comment that you voted. You can vote once per day per valid email address. Already voted for me today? No problem, just leave a comment on this post saying that you voted...


And/OR....


Come back and leave a comment for the following entries....


2. Send out the following Tweet:
Help send Valerie to Vermont and $5000 to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network! Vote 4 Frugal Family Fun! http://tinyurl.com/3yqq3cy @FamFunBlog


3. Post the following on your Facebook Page:
My friend Valerie wants to go to Vermont! Help send her there by voting for Frugal Family Fun for the Stonyfield Blogger Barnstorming Tour. http://tinyurl.com/3yqq3cy


4. Include the following message on a blog post:
Help send Valerie to Vermont and $5,000 to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network! Vote for Frugal Family Fun for the Stonyfield Blogger Barnstorming Tour! http://tinyurl.com/3yqq3cy


5. Send the following email to 10 other people -- bcc me on the email valerie (at) frugalfamilyfunblog (dot) com:
My friend Valerie from Frugal Family Fun Blog wants to go on the Stonyfield Blogger Barnstorming Tour, but needs our votes to get there! Please vote for Frugal Family Fun! You can vote once per day per valid email address. Go here to vote: http://www.stonyfield.com/barnstorming
That's it! Enter as many times as you would like! This giveaway ends Tuesday, May 25th @ noon EST and winner will be selected via random.org.


Good luck!!


Giveaway is now closed, and the winner is... Heidi!! Congratulations!

There are a few Kid Travel Kits available in the Etsy Shop.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Cheap Thrills -- Simple Bean Bag Game

For a fun time, sew up a few easy bean bags. Then take them to your driveway for a test run with some targets drawn with sidewalk chalk!


It's so much fun, and a great way to practice addition by keeping score!


It's not solely about the execution.... bonus points for style!


Extra bonus points for joining the kiddos!


Fun!!!



Please help send me to Vermont for the Stonyfield Barnstorming Tour by voting for me here! As an added bonus, if I make the top 3, Stonyfield will make a $5000 donation to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. ((fingers crossed!))

You are allowed one vote per day per valid email address, and voting ends May 25th @ noon EST.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who is voting for me!! I truly appreciate it!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Sunset Silhouette

I have been playing around with the idea of a tree silhouette at sunset painting for some time now, but I was struggling to find an easy way for Emily to do this and get good results. Then I had a "eureka" moment this afternoon while playing with some rubber bands. Let me explain...


First, break out the water color paints....

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Help Send Me to Vermont!!

I have some wonderful news to share -- I was selected as one of ten finalist for the Stonyfield Blogger Barnstorming Essay Contest!! Voting is now open to the public to select the three winners who will tour the organic farms Stonyfield uses to make its yummy organic products, meet the farmers and their families, along with a tour of the factory itself. This is an amazing learning opportunity, and I would love to share the information gained with all of you as well, but to do that I NEED your vote!

As an added bonus, if I make the top 3, Stonyfield will make a $5,000 donation to the charity of my choice -- The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. How fantastic is that??

If you have been enjoying our little bloggy-blog-on-the-internet-blog, please consider voting for me!


You are allowed one vote per email address per day, so please consider writing yourself a note to get in as many as seven votes per email address all this week. Pass along the link to the this post to your friends/family/post on Facebook, etc. Every vote counts!!! With any luck, I'll be packing my bags for Vermont!!

If you vote, be sure to come back and leave a comment here so I can visit your blog and thank you!

Milking cows at 4:30am? Bring it on!!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Photo Puppets

These photo puppets were so much fun to make, and I think the girls will enjoy making scenery to act out plays with them. What little girl doesn't like to imagine herself as a flying fairy? For boys, try this same technique, but turn them into superheroes instead. Not that there's anything wrong with boys who want to be fairies or anything... I'm just sayin'.


This is mostly a Mommy/Daddy craft, but you didn't think we let the girls have ALL the fun, did you? Heavens, no! Mark took some photos of the girls playing with magic wands and I cut them out.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sunday Snapshot -- High Tech Toddler




We purchased this refurbished ancient iMac on eBay years ago as Emily's first learning computer. This week, it has been officially passed on to Clara! It takes a lickin'... and keeps on tickin'!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Pretend Play on a Dime -- Garden Center

Emily loves to pretend that she works at a garden center. She can spend hours arranging and re-arranging the flowers (as seen here), planting pretend seeds, and caring for her pretend plants. So Mark and I put together a little store front for her about a year ago, and she has been playing with it virtually every day since!


Mark put together the frame for the store front using inexpensive PVC pipe (thanks, honey!), and I sewed a banner from an old bed sheet. I painted the lettering using a freezer paper technique. 

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Giveaway -- Custom Poster Print from UPrinting.com

Yay! It's time for another fun giveaway -- this time from our very generous sponsor UPrinting.com! One very lucky reader will win a custom poster print!! In exchange for hosting the giveaway, I'll be getting one too, and I already have in mind which photo I'm going to use. Can't wait! Of course, these custom print posters make great gifts too! Teachers, you can design your own poster for use in the classroom... so many possibilities! UPrinting always does such a fabulous job with color printing!


Now the fun part -- One (1) winner will receive one custom (18 x 24 inch poster) on your choice of high-gloss or semi-gloss paper! Free UPS ground shipping is included. Giveaway is open to US residents 18 years of age or older.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Ladybug Cuteness

This fun ladybug picture was inspired by a recent ladybug sighting at the playground a few days ago. In our household, we are all about celebrating the little things in life! The best part -- this project is very low cost!!


Did you know that Home Depot has paint chips in the shape of leaves? Fantastic! If you don't already have some, you can pick some up for free! Invite your child to glue the leaves on a sheet of construction paper. Emily loves to use glue!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Finger Painted Strawberry Prints

For a colorful and fun project, roll out a long piece of freezer paper, and dip your child's thumb into some red paint. We used Crayola Washable paint. Make two thumb prints next to each other to make a heart shape.



Have your child dip their pinkie finger into some green paint and write a "W" on top of all the heart-shapes.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Easy City Scape Mural

During taping for a segment on today's 10! Show, I had the pleasure of meeting Eren Cannata, a very talented singer/songwriter who was today's musical guest. Eren performed his title track from his latest CD "Blame it on the City" -- a fantastic song, and it was the inspiration for our lovely city scape mural!


Emily and I put the mural together using inexpensive masking tape, construction paper for buildings, and Post-It Notes of various sizes for the windows. I love how bright and colorful it looks in our living room!

Added bonus -- it makes a super-fun backdrop for spontaneous jumping on the couch sessions!!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Sunday Snapshot -- Happy Mother's Day!


................from my brother's puppy, Storm!!  

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Last Minute Mother's Day Gifts Round Up

In case you missed some of our FUN Mother's Day gift idea posts, here's a quick round up!



From Left to Right:
1. Super-Fun Tea Tags
2. Lavender Scented Bath Salts
3. Chocolate Nut Bark



From Left to Right:
1. Hand-Painted Pendants
2. Ceramic Trivets
3. Flower Printed Wrapping Paper



From Left to Right:
1. Reusable To Do List
2. Laminate Bookmarks
3. Recipe Journal

Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day!!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Personalized Pendants

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and we have been crafting up a storm in our household! Emily made a whole tray of these personalized initial pendants for her grandmothers and several friends, and I made a bunch too. They are lots of fun to make!

First smooth out some oven bake clay to about 1/4 inch thickness between two pieces of waxed paper. One package of clay can make a LOT of necklaces!






Next, we used alphabet stamps for the letters! If you don't already have these, they are worth investing in as we have gotten so much mileage from them for various craft projects and for handwriting practice. We use Melissa and Doug's set, found here. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Alphabet Stamp Set

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

Clara's Top 3 Frugal Fashion Tips for Cinco de Mayo:

1. Cinco de Mayo is the perfect excuse to dress up in bright colors and fancy shoes! Yellow is very hip this season. Be confident -- Walk that catwalk and strut your stuff.






2. A smile is the best way to dress up any outfit, and it doesn't cost a penny!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Quick Craft -- Piñata Suncatchers

It's almost time for Cinco de Mayo -- one of my favorite holidays! I love the food, the music, and all the bright beautiful colors! We made fun pinata suncatchers today to make our kitchen look a little more festive. I drew an outline of a donkey onto some construction paper, and Emily cut out the shape leaving the outlined frame.


Lay down a sheet of clear contact paper, sticky side up, and place the outline on top. Then let the kiddos go to town placing bits of tissue paper confetti on top!!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- To Do List

These To Do Lists are such a useful gift for Mom -- plus they are reusable! The girls had so much fun making these, and you only need a few materials to make one of your own.


I took an ordinary sheet of construction paper, folded it in half, and drew a 1 inch margin around the border. Then I let the girls decorate them with some markers!! 

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Sunday Snapshot -- Happy 30th Birthday, Sesame Place!

A big thank you to Mom Bloggers Club and Sesame Place for organizing such a fun Tweet Up and allowing us to take part in Sesame Place's 30th Birthday celebration during opening day yesterday by providing free admission tickets for our family and a complimentary lunch!! We all had a wonderful time! Sesame Place is the only amusement park featuring all of the fun characters from the much-loved PBS program Sesame Street. Emily LOVED meeting Grover!


Of course, there were plenty of big hugs to go around to Zoe too!
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