Save up for FREE Holiday Cards

This blog is for all those Pampers parents! I know you spend a big chunk of your family paychecks on diapers and wipes, like I do, so you might as well get something back.

You may have noticed the "Pampers Gifts to Grow Rewards" promotions on wipes and diapers.

If so, ya better start saving up those codes! I did and ended up with FREE Shutterfly Christmas photo cards (saving me more than 70 dollars last Christmas).

You don't have to use your rewards on cards, there are plenty of other things you can trade in your points in for (toys, books, coupons, sweepstakes and magazine subscriptions).

Here's what the codes look like ...

And ... the BEST part ... what for it ... you don't even have to be at your computer to enter the codes into your account!

Pampers has an I-phone app which makes the whole process that much easier! You type in the 15-digit code and submit ... it's that simple!

(I promise I'm not getting paid for promoting Pampers, I just wanted to share my experiences).

Enjoy!
Kathryn

Frugal Finger Painting Gifts

I know it has to be a "really" good day for all you parents out there to get the finger paints out of the closet!

But, when you think about what kind of money you save in gift giving ... the mess will be a thing of the past once you see their cute keepsake creations!

This is the first time my daughter painted with finger paints (washable, of course). She made pictures for her grandmas (Dea Dea and Gee-gah)!

  I armed my daughter with a smock and the deck with newspaper! 

She's not too sure about getting dirty with paint.

And, for Father's Day we made the below card for free!

(Her daddy loved the first ever handmade card from his daughter.)

The "Hands Down" finger painting card can be tweaked for teachers, family and friends.

I hope this blog will encourage you to dust off those paints on a nice sunny day ... head outside and see what your kids can come up with!

Enjoy!

Kathryn 

Gift Ideas

I have seen tons of cute ideas on Pinterest for easy and inexpensive gifts you can make for teachers at the end of the school year. But, since my 'lil girl isn't in school yet, I decided to take a few tips from others and add my own special touches for different occasions.


This first one is something we (activities committee) made for our MOMS Club board members/helpers to let them know we appreciated all the hard work they did for the club.

*If you're a MOMS Club member and you got one of these ... even though it didn't cost much ...  it's made with love :) ... just skim over the part about the freebies!

Since we didn't have money to spend on this project, we searched our houses for things. Okay, you may be thinking we just grabbed whatever we had hang'in around the house to re-gifted it ... sounds like fun, but that's not the case.


In my house, I have stashes of FREE (never-been-chewed and still in the plastic) gum and candy from my mother-in-law who used to work for a big time candy/gum company. And one of our other members had FREE boxes of lip balm from her husband's former employer. So, we created a little saying to incorporate all of our freebies. Ask around ... you never know what people have around their house to give away!

Here's what we had for free:

Mints 

Extra gum 

Lifesaver Gummies 

Starburst 

Burt's Bee Lip Balm 

Skittles 

Gift bags (leftover from my 2008 wedding!) 

Scrapbook paper, ribbon and hole punch (craft supplies)

Here's what we bought:

(we spent about $10 for a dozen gift bags)

12 snack size Mounds bars 

12-pack of Mountain Dew (cans)

Plastic gift bags to hold everything (from Michael's with coupon)

Final gift bag tag:

"Mounds" of thanks for all you "Dew" as a MOMS Club board member/helper!

We appreciate your commit-"mint" and for going the "extra" mile!

You are a "lifesaver" and a "star" (burst)!

The MOMS Club wouldn't "bee" where it is today if it weren't for you!

Love, 

Mommies and their lil "Skittles"

We had trouble coming up with a Skittles saying that would work for our situation, but I think it's kinda cute.


NEXT GIFT IDEA ...


My cousin moved from Georgia to D.C. and we were invited to a send-off / congrats on becoming a doctor party. I wanted to do something special by giving her a piece of Georgia to take up north.


Here's what I came up with ...

From Bath and Body Works ... I bought "Fresh Picked" peach hand soap and hand sanitizer (added a peach mini candle later -- not pictured). I also put in a strawberry air freshener (they didn't have one that looked like a peach) with peach refills and a "Country Chic" bath wash.


The green fruit picking tray was free from the air freshener display (shhhhh .... don't tell anyone the manager gave this to me!). You can probably check your local farmer's market or farm for some.


I put everything in the green tray and put plastic around it and a hand printed tag. I failed to take a picture of the final gift, but the tag said something like this ...

"Here's a 'lil Jaw-ja to take up yonder way!"

Of course, you can adjust this gift to fit whatever state you want. Another idea or two for Georgia could be pecans (pee-cans or pah-cons), peach vodka ... etc.


Enjoy ...  ya hear!


Kathryn :)