Simple Farm Take-Along Toy

I had a bit of red and white wool felt leftover from the fold up kitchen set I made last week, which worked out perfectly to make this sweet travel farm set! It was an easy, quick and very frugal sewing project that gave the girls hours of imaginative play!

The animals are the free figurines that come with boxes of Red Rose Tea, and now they finally have a home. The girls loved this set so much, I couldn't keep them away from it!

The felt play mat folds up to fit inside the barn too. I added a handle to the barn so they can carry it with them wherever they go -- picnics, Grandma's house, the garden. The poor dog kept knocking on the barn door, but no one would let him in.

DIY: Travel Play Kitchen Set

This travel play kitchen set was super-frugal to make, and is perfect for small living spaces since the entire set folds up!

I'm thinking we'll take it with us for trips to the garden plot, visits with grandparents, or just playing outside in the backyard like we did this afternoon.

Sunday Snapshot -- Home again, home again!!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July holiday!!

Virtual Postcards from Vermont -- Part I

Today I took my sweet ol' time driving up to Burlington, Vermont for the Stonyfield Blogger Barnstorming Tour! A big thank you to Stonyfield and everyone who voted for me... I still cannot believe I'm really here!!

I stopped several times along the way to admire the views and take lots of photos. It is beautiful here!

I even got to take a ferry across Lake Champlain -- The first time our car has been on a ferry!

I met up with the other bloggers -- Tina, Anne, and Kristina, along with Nancy and Amy from Stonyfield at American Flatbread in downtown Burlington. We were treated to a great dinner! American Flatbread includes lots of local and organic ingredients in the food, and this Evolution salad was so tasty!

We ordered several different kinds of pizzas, but the New Vermont Sausage was the winner hands-down.

And now we're settling down at an Inn (which is amazingly beautiful -- more pics of that tomorrow). What a super-fun day... I'm still pinching myself! I cannot wait to go on the farm tours starting early tomorrow morning and share what I learn about organics with you! Mooooooooooo!!!

Packing.... and a Giveaway!

I'm busy packing for my trip to Vermont and New Hampshire for the Stonyfield Blogger Barnstorming Tour! I'll be sending virtual postcards and tweeting from the road (@FamFunBlog), and I thought it would be fun to get answers to some of your questions about organics too!

Just leave a comment on this post with anything you would like me to ask either the farmers, or the wonderful people at Stonyfield. I'll pick three people --  to bring you back a little special surprise from the trip! Won't that be fun??

Giveaway ends June 29th @ 6:30pm EST, and is open to all US and Canadian residents. You can leave as many comments with questions as you like! Good luck!! 

Giveaway is now closed: Winners are Zina, The Girl Who Painted Trees, and Tiff... Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered!! 

Vacation 2010 Highlights

We just returned from our favorite frugal vacation spot -- a cabin we rented in beautiful Montebello, Virginia! Here are some of the highlights from our week-long trip!

We enjoyed lots of fishing and swimming (well, more like splashing) in the lake.

We went exploring on several nature hikes together.

We had to visit the local drive-thru zoo and feed the animals. It isn't very frugal, but it was definitely a highlight of our trip! Emily was a bit stingy with the food at first.

This fellow was a bit more friendly!

We spent some time picking the clover flowers.

....and Clara turned 2 right before our very eyes!

We stopped by Big Spy Mountain's Overlook....

....and caught lots of breath-taking sunsets!!

...and every night ended with a special story time of passages from Shel Silverstein's Falling Up.

It was a lovely trip, and now it's great to be back! This week we'll be sharing some fun ideas for the garden, a cute nature craft, tips for frugal picnics, and a super-fun giveaway! You won't want to miss it!!

Pretend Play on a Dime -- Donut Shop

It rained all day today, so while Clara was napping, Emily and I had a nice pocket of time for some crafting. She worked on some adorable paper dolls, and I put this together -- A Mini Pretend Donut Shop!

I used tan felt to sew the donuts (and batting to stuff them), then cut out pieces of felt for the icing and even some sprinkles. I love how the shoebox lid doubles as a serving tray! 

I found an envelope to store all the icing pieces....

.... and the plain donuts also double as bagels! The girls thought the pieces of waxed paper were a nice touch.

Since all of the pieces fit so nicely into a small shoebox, I thought it would be perfect to take along on vacation just in case we have a day of rain.

Clara woke up just as I had finished putting the set together, and we played Donut Shop for hours!!! Emily and I got very specific with our orders so Clara could practice her counting, "I would like one donut with vanilla icing and 4 chocolate sprinkles, please. No more, no less!"

Oh, and she loved pretending to put sugar in my coffee. Did I mention she makes a mean mochachino?

Have fun!!

I linked this post to -- Show Us Your Best!

Sunday Snapshot -- Monkey Toes

How Clara earned the nickname "Monkey Toes".....

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!!

Thank YOU!!!! -- I'm going to Vermont!!!!!

A BIG THANK YOU to Stonyfield and to everyone who voted for me for the first ever Stonyfield Blogger Barnstorming contest -- I WON!!!!!

This calls for some serious jumping on the couch!

I'm busy packing my bags for Vermont and New Hampshire to learn more about organic farming and share what I learn with you, and Stonyfield is donating $5,000 to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network on my behalf -- Woo Hoo!!!

Stonyfield has posted a short video about me and my family -- You can view it here and check out the other two finalists as well! I cannot wait to meet Anne from fANNEtastic Foods and Tina from Carrots N Cake -- so exciting!!

Thank YOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!! xoxoxox

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.

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.

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!

VOTE NOW!

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!!

Zoo Journal

For Emily's birthday, we splurged on a family membership to our local zoo. Since we plan to make many trips there throughout the year, I thought it would be fun for her to keep a zoo journal filled with sketches of all the animals she sees!

It was a beautiful day, so most of the animals were out for us to see and sketch! She started by drawing these handsome penguins.

And look at this sweet lorikeet! He kept thinking Emily had food.

Emily's favorite part is the river otter exhibit! They are so playful and fun to watch!

She is very proud of her zoo journal, and showed everyone who would look at it!

I'm looking forward to seeing how her drawings evolve over the course of the year, plus I love how this simple activity encouraged her to closely observe each animal. We had a great time!!

DIY: On-the-Go Snack Cup from a Sheet of Paper

The girls started to get a bit hungry on the way back from visiting with Grandma and Papock. We stopped at a rest stop, and realized we had snacks, but no cups or bowls to serve them in. The solution? Mark's origami skills and a sheet of paper!

You won't believe how quick and easy this is!

Mark has graciously provided us with a quick tutorial. Thanks, Honey! Here's how to make your own On-the-Go Snack Cup.

1. Begin with a square sheet of paper.

2. Fold in half to form a triangle.

3. Pull down one flap as shown. Fold into place.

4. Bring the flap back up again, and use the crease as a marker for your next fold.

5. Fold the bottom right corner up to match the crease you just made.

6. Repeat with the bottom left corner as shown.

7. Fold one top flap down as shown.

8. Flip the cup over, and repeat with the remaining top flap.

9. Fill with tasty snacks!

Now just think of all the "oohs and ahhs" you'll get at the playground when you whip up one of these in a matter of seconds! Or... maybe that's the sort of thing that only happens in my craft fantasies.