Fix the Broken Lid on your Crockpot

March 28, 2013 by

fix your crockpot
A few months ago the lid just snapped off my Crockpot. Since then, I have had to wrestle my salad tongs away from the 2 year old every time I need the scalding hot lid to go on and off. It was driving me nuts. Then of course, Pinterest came to the rescue. But of course, I kept forgetting to grab a knob when I was at Hobby Lobby. Finally the other day I remembered… and fixed the lid on my Crockpot!

It was a VERY easy fix:

  • I picked a ceramic knob instead of plastic. No one wants melted knob in their food.
  • Then I made my husband remove the old screw/knob. We couldn’t find the right size screw driver, so we just used a hack saw and sawed it off. I thought it would take all night, but it was aluminum so it took 3 seconds.
  • Then we screwed the new knob on. Then I made him use the hack saw again to saw the extra length off the knob. Not necessary, but it made me feel better.

And that was it.

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Dollar Tree Easter Decor

March 14, 2013 by

Easter Wreath 3
Target and Hobby Lobby are my favorite places (besides Dollar Tree) to pick up seasonal decorations. Of course, I wait until they’re about 75-90% off before I buy. Last year when Hobby Lobby had their Easter decorations on clearance, I ran in and spent about $15. I was able to score some of the CUTEST stuff. Some stuff I stole from my sister when she moved a few years ago :) and some stuff is new.  I got the teal ight holder (now an egg holder) from Dollar Tree, and the wreath.  The wreath took about ten seconds and $2 to make.
easter wreath 1
First I grabbed one of those small vine wreaths. I grabbed 2 bunches of flowers just in case I needed more. I think you could actually get away with just using one bunch, but I was nervous about being short.
Easter Wreath 2
I took the flowers off the branch, but left some stem so I could tuck it into the wreath. Then I hot glued it so they would stay secure. And that was it. It was so easy. I even grabbed some easter eggs I might add on. Or, leave the eggs off and have a spring wreath.
Easter Wreath from Dollar Tree
Canvas: Daily Deal Site// Easel: Gift // Eggs and Bunnies: Hobby Lobby // Wreath: Dollar Tree Handmade // Banner and Egg Sign: Stole from sister years ago // Tall Tea Light: Dollar Tree

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Cheap, Easy Quiet Toy

February 25, 2013 by

Cheap, Easy Quiet Toy (Dollar Store Craft from Dollar Store Deals) (4)
It’s always rough taking an ambitious almost 2 year old to church. I have been trying to find ways that are not disruptive to keep him busy long enough that I can enjoy listening to at least SOME of the sermon. When he was just 11 months I saw my friend had taken a empty sour cream tub, punched holes in the top and was letting her son stick pom poms through it. He LOVED it and it kept him busy forEVER.
Cheap, Easy Quiet Toy (Dollar Store Craft from Dollar Store Deals) (1)
Honestly, I had no desire to wash out a sour cream tub, but I did have a nearly empty spice jar I had bought at Wal Mart for just $.50… so the next time I was at Dollar General I picked up a bag of pipe cleaners for just $1. Dollar Tree carries pipe cleaners, too.  I simply cut them in thirds and voila. I had a quiet toy that fit in my purse and could go just about anywhere.
Screen shot 2013-02-25 at 11.01.07 AMThe secret to a good quiet toy is to make it special.  He doesn’t ordinarily get to play with this at home.  It’s in the car or in my purse and I pull it out when I need him distracted for a few minutes.  I have had this now for almost a year and he still plays with it.  Now that he is older he enjoys unscrewing the lid and taking the top off by himself.  We also work on our colors-I say the color as he puts it in.  When he was little it was just as entertaining and really helped him develop his fine motor skills.
Cheap, Easy Quiet Toy (Dollar Store Craft from Dollar Store Deals) (3)
The entire craft only cost $1.50-and I still have an entire bag of pipe cleaners left over. If you already had this stuff on hand it would be free :) And you can tell, it was a good investment!

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DIY Dollar Store Angel Wings

February 6, 2013 by

Follow Me on Pinterest
DIY Dollar Store Angel Wings 2I saw the cutest Valentine pictures on Pinterest and thought I’d subject my poor little boy to some as well.  I didn’t want to spend a whole lot, and I can’t find my Valentine decorations as they’re packed in a box somewhere so I knew I’d be taking a trip to Dollar Tree.  I grabbed those cute heart picks, 2 garlands and some poster board.  I originally was going to see if I could grab some fairy wings and glue some white feathers on them, but they didn’t have the wings OR any feather boas, so this was my next option…. make my own wings with poster board and tissue paper.
Dollar Store Angel Wings DIY (3)
I took the poster board and folded it in half so I’d have a perfect pair of wings. Then I drew what I thought was a good wing shape-you can see where I redrew them about 3 times before deciding which style I liked.Dollar Store Angel Wings DIY (4)This was the final result.  I meant to cut a little more shape into the bottom, but I totally forgot-thankfully they still turned out cute enough for me.Dollar Store Angel Wings DIY (5)Next I grabbed some tissue paper.  It probably took about half a package.  I am not sure, as my tissue paper was left over from baby gifts!  I still had a TON that I had saved in a box.  I am well stocked on baby boy gift bags :)  I folded the tissue paper into squares and used 2 sizes.  The larger squares were for the tops of the wings and the smaller ones for the rest of the wings.  Towards the end when I was working on the shoulders I used even smaller squares at the top so it’d have a layered affect. Dollar Store Angel Wings DIY (6)Then I just started to glue them to the poster board kind of the way you would shingle a roof, working bottom to top.  Big squares on the outside, little squares on the inside. I used hot glue because it’s quick and easy and wanted to use them right away, but you could also use regular Elmers glue.  I drew lines where I wanted to glue the feathers, that way they’d roughly be the same length.   What I found to work best for me is to sort of roll the tissue paper into a cone shape and then glue the end to the poster board.  That created a point at the bottom of the tissue paper that I think looks “feathery.”  I glued tissue paper to both sides of the poster board.  One side is more full than the other but it’s not noticeable.Dollar Store Angel Wings DIY (7)The last couple steps were to trim the tissue paper that was too long and then add some straps.  I wish  that I had elastic, but I didn’t…. so I used some Valentine ribbon I have had for a really long time.  To get the ribbon to stay securely on the poster board I moved some tissue paper around so that I could glue a square of left over poster board to the center of the wings.  Then I measure how big the straps needed to be and glued them on.  I was worried that since they need to be tight against his body he wouldn’t be able to get them on easily.  If you look close, you’ll notice one of the straps has a piece of Velcro.  That way I could slip one arm on and then Velcro the other so they would be snug against him. DIY Dollar Store Angel Wings 1
I am pretty sure he is going to hate me later on for these pictures but I couldn’t help myself!

 

OVERALL COST AND SUPPLIES FOR ANGEL WINGS:

Poster Board $.50
Scissors $1
Tissue Paper $1
Glue $1

If you had to buy everything brand new at Dollar Tree $3.50

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$2 Bath Tub Organizer

January 30, 2013 by

Bathtub organizer from Dollar TreeThe house we have been renting the last year just has the one bathroom.  That means as our little boy has grown bigger, his bath toys have accumulated and eventually started to take over the tub.  I looked at several organizers at various stores and they cost about $8-$20.  Ridiculous.  I know.  Supplies need for a $2 bathtub organizer
I went to Dollar Tree and grabbed this cute little basket. I looked for one that had a flat side so it could rest comfortably against the wall. Then I grabbed a package of suction cup hooks. With tax I think I paid $2.16, and I still have a handful of suction cup hooks left over.
bathtub toy organizer 4 (Small) (2)I first hung the basket up with just 2 hooks. A couple hours later I heard a crash and knew what it was. I was lamenting that my basket idea wasn’t working when my friend asked how many hooks I’d used. When I told her just 2 she said, “Go use a couple more!” DUH.
bathtub organizer 2
To get the basket to hang right with 4 hooks, I wet the back of all 4 suction hooks and stuck them to the wall in what I guessed to be the appropriate place. Then I hung the basket on them and arranged them in the right place.  Once I had each hook where I wanted it, I gently pulled the basket straight down.  This insures that each hook is bearing the correct amount of weight.  And wouldn’t you know it, it’s been stuck on my bathroom wall for a month now.  I’m very pleased. bathtub organzier 3 (Small)
I’d like to think he is, but I can’t say that he cared one way or another if we stepped on toys when we showered :)

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Dollar Tree Candy Train

December 19, 2012 by


I just saw this over at Frugal Living today! Isn’t this the cutest thing ever?  My friends Mom would make these candy trains, and graham cracker trains (instead of graham cracker houses) for us every year. It was literally, a sweet tradition that we missed when they moved. To make these trains a tradition in your house, you will need about 7 packages of candy.  For the trains above, she got everything she needed at Dollar Tree for $7.  Of course, you can grab the candy anywhere that is having a great sale, and use coupons for it :)

You Will Need:
Christmas Bells
Regular Mints $1.00 off 2 Holiday LifeSavers or Skittles bags (or use Life Savers for wheels)
Andes Mints
Big Red Chewing Gum (Buy 2 Get 1 FREE 3 MUSKETEERS Bars) (You could use Musketeers for the base instead of gum)
Certs (or other rolled candy)
Hershey Kisses ($1.10 off 2 HERSHEY’S KISSES or HERSHEY’S Nuggets )
Hot Glue Gun

In the past I have put the candy for each train in a pile and then glued them together, one train at a time.  They are pretty simple and easy to make and will keep the kids occupied if you involve them.  For the full instructions, head over to Frugal Living!

Candy Coupons:

$1.00 off 2 Holiday LifeSavers or Skittles bags

$1.50 off 1 HERSHEY’S SIMPLE PLEASURES Chocolates

$1.00 off 2 MARS Holiday Bags

$1.10 off 2 HERSHEY’S KISSES or HERSHEY’S Nuggets

Buy 2 Get 1 FREE 3 MUSKETEERS Bars

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Felt Christmas Tree $8

December 13, 2012 by


This is one of my favorite crafts I have made, and currently the only tree we have in the house.  That’s another story.   One of my sweet friends here in Lubbock hosted a craft night at her house.  Everyone put their kids to bed and we left our husbands home and in charge, and then we got together at her house.

She had bought all the felt in advance, which I think came from Joann’s.  They had large pieces of green felt which we used for the trees, and then she was able to grab  a few small colored felt squares for the ornaments.  Each of us kind of went with a different design for our trees-the fabric was so large we had to free hand our own version of the tree instead of using a template.  I ended up doing big, fat turned UP branches and a skinnier tree.

However, if I could go back I would make my tree fatter, and have the branches turned down more.  When I put my tree on the wall the upturned branches flopped down and required a push pin on each branch to keep them up.  Had I gone with a big, fat tree with turned down branches, there would be more room for ornaments and it wouldn’t take 10 push pins to hold it up.  Speaking of push pins, I would use flat ones so the kids aren’t tempted to pull them out.

For the ornaments and the star we traced the shapes.  You can easily find clip art in the shapes of ornaments or stars to print off, cut out and use as templates.

As for decorating the ornaments, I went with what you would expect me to.  I bought a package of 10 glitter tubes from Dollar Tree and used matching colors to outline my ornaments and decorate.  The other girls went and got really cute and crafty with theirs, but I knew if I didn’t finish my tree that night it would never get finished.  I looooove how sparkly the star looks like the gold outline.  We also had tree trunks.  I just cut my trunk out and hot glued it to the felt, although the tree would still be cute without the trunk.

I had also brought some ribbons and someone else brought pom poms, so we used those as embellishments.  Overall, the project was simple, inexpensive and my little guy loves to throw the ornaments on the floor.

Supplies, Time and Money:

Felt $8
Hot Glue and other supplies: On hand
Time: 1 to 1.5 hours

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Merry Christmas Banner

December 10, 2012 by


Last year I saw the cutest picture with a couple holding a “Merry Christmas” banner on Pinterest. I was in love. Of course, being me, I decided to make a banner the night before we went to take pictures.  And of course, didn’t bother to read any instructions or suggestions on how to make one.  I just threw one together and hoped for the best.  I think it looks cute, but if I could do it over, I would do things different.  I also wouldn’t have worn those boots, and I would have curled my hair….

To make my banner I just grabbed some 5×7 creme colored card stock I had leftover from a scrapbook, hand drew the letters on and then just started cutting them out.  As you can see, the letters look a little sad.  What I should have done was print the letters out.  It wouldn’t have been that hard.  But I was too lazy.  And in a hurry.  And probably on the phone, watching TV and listening to the radio.

I used scissors for the straight edges and a dollar store exacto knife for the tough places, and where I needed slits to thread the ribbon through the letters.  And that was pretty much it.  Very simple, even if it looked a little homemade.  After we took photos with it I hung it up in a window frame and it looked pretty adorable.  Since the banner is still in tact and looking just fine, i am not redoing it this year, but next year I probably will.  Overall the craft didn’t actually cost me anything since I had all the supplies at home, and it turned out cute for what it was!   If you are feeling adventurous I do have a few suggestions:

  • Print the letters or trace them from something!
  • Use scrapbook paper for a cute effect
  • Use card stock if possible so it’s a little more sturdy
  • Make sure you have an exacto knife or box cutter for the tricky letters
  • Don’t cut the slits the ribbon goes through too big or your letters will slide all over the place

If you have ever made one of these before, do you have any other suggestions?? 

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Snowman Handprint Ornament

December 7, 2012 by


Last Christmas we had all the grandkids together and I thought it would be classic to make an ornament to commemorate the trip. I saw these on Pinterest and fell in love. They were really easy to do, and I even did one for the dog. He’s family, too :)

Once they were all together on the tree they looked SO adorable. I had even brought along markers (much less messy than paint) so the kids could embellish their ornaments. They turned out so cute.

You will need:

  • 1 bottle of $.99 white tempora paint
  • 1 Sponge brush (or something to paint the kids hands)
  • 1 Fine point black Sharpie
  • 1 Package of colored Sharpies
  • As many plain Christmas ornaments as needed, 1 per child.

Generously paint the kids hands one at a time, and help them place the bottom of their palm on the ornament and then slowly roll their hand up. If you mess up, you will have about .8 seconds to wipe off a tiny bit of the paint with a wet paper towel. If you try to wipe the whole thing, it will smear into a giant mess. Place the painted ornament back in the tray or smoewhere where it can safely dry. Once they have dried, allow them to decorate their snowmen with Sharpies. You can use regular gel pens, but then you will have to spray the ornaments with a fixative so they don’t smear off.

I recommend getting nicer ornaments.  This is something you will hopefully have for a long time so it’s worth it if you can afford it.  I believe the Dollar Tree does have glass ornaments, but you can also grab a package fairly cheap at Hobby Lobby when they’re 50% off or use a 40% off coupon.  Hobby Lobby also has the white paint and sponges, but I can almost guarantee you the sponge brushes will be cheaper at the Dollar Tree.  I also got those cute swirl hooks for $.10 at Target’s after Christmas 90% off sale.  I buy stuff like that all the time for the next year, they always come in handy, you can also find the ribbon in the dollar section there or at Dollar Tree.

Merry Christmas :)

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Cute Way to Hang Christmas Cards with Twine

December 6, 2012 by


I saw a TON of cute ideas on Pinterest as to how to hang Christmas cards. I wanted to do the picture frame with the twine in the center, but it wasn’t big enough for the cards I had. I thought about the ribbons on the cupboard, too. I thought about covering the fridge. I thought about a lot of options. What I came up with was this.

It was easy. I had everything on hand, and I like how it turned out  By the end of the season I had 2 rows of cards on the big window, 2 rows in the kitchen and a row in the door way.  This year I am going to hang some ornaments in between the cards for an added sparkle.

Cost:

50 Clothespins at Wal Mart in the Laundry Section $1
(Be careful, they’re $2.50 if you buy them by the twine!)
Twine $2??
I had it from a Cub Scout project a while back!

 

How do you hang your cards??  Feel free to post pictures on the Facebook page!

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