Pennies and Pics

  Sydney Turns 1! How I created an Owl themed party for my daughter's 1st birthday: Birthday Highchair Free Owl printables: banner, water bottle labels, and more The bib is from Kohl's and the personalized owl placemat from :  http://www.InkGarden.com/ Orded this custom personalized invite from Etsy Invitation Prints (Print your own/ customize and get download for $3) Treat Table: The cake was in the fridge A bunch of FREE Owl printable labels, cupcake toppers, cards, and more! Some snacks included: worms in dirt, ants on a log, and goldfish Make your own trail mix station  I used animal crackers, Teddy Grahams, Pretzels, Yogurt covered raisins, nuts, and more! Created a photo timeline 0-11 months and used cinnamon apple water instead of water bottles Apple Cinnamon Water Recipe Printable numbers for the timeline banner (Don't print all of them; just 1-11) A kid's station with edible play-dough, owl books, b...

For my sister-in law's baby shower I wanted to make her a Hospital Survival Kit without spending a lot of money...here is what I came up with: (The most expensive thing I bought was the $6 bucket @Michaels without coupon). All the goodies So I scoured my bathroom and pantry to find unused items I already had to add to the kit. Sleep Sheets sleep aid (free with instant rebate from Walgreens) for DAD, NOT MOM Loofa (in a shower gift pack I bought after Christmas) Revlon nail file (used coupon got it for a few cents) Hand sanitizer ($1) Secret deodorant (used coupon almost free) Free samples Treseme shampoo/conditioner)  Free samples Body soap Mouthwash (used coupon almost free) Disposable razor (from value pack) Chapstick Body lotion  Hair ties/head band (from value pack) Free sample face wash Gum ($1) Granola bars/snacks (from my pantry) Victoria's Secret beach bag (free with earlier purchase I made, I have tons of bags, so I kept it in the package for ...

For a DIY easy & cheap baby gift: make a big sister or brother kit. Here's what I used: Supplies Finished Product (also add ribbons or a bow) Closer Look Chinese takeout gift container (@ Michaels around $3) "Big Sister" T-shirt:  See how to make in my other post here (not yet finished). Berenstein Bears "New Baby" children's book   Buy Book Here  (about $4 on Amazon, another good one is Mercer Mayer "The New Baby".  Crayons & notebook ($1 each) Color activity kits ($1 each) Hand Sanitizer ($1) Snacks: I used goldfish got for $1 from Target $1bin Baby gift so she can give to her new baby brother: from Dollar Store Disposable camera for pictures of the new baby...and other stuff...(not pictured here)  Stickers for the name, gift tag, and a printout of the contents. (I used Pages to create the document and the "Chalkduster" font  

For my brother's 21st birthday I wanted to either give him $21 or lotto tickets and also make a hangover kit. I started looking around my house for containers, I found a coffee and candy containers, ribbon, bows and printed some labels from my computer and was all set. I then went to purchase 21 lotto scratcher tickets and items for my hangover kit. Lotto pull bucket: 21 scratchers tape printable label tape ribbon bow I made a label using Mac's Pages application by inserting a rounded rectangle on the page and measuring it to cover the label from my coffee container. Then I added text that said "Happy Birthday Sam, 21 is a lucky number! ". I placed the tickets into 3 piles (I had 7 , 3 different kinds of tickets and placed them into piles so I can make a pattern and alternate the kinds of tickets: 777, Hot Chili, Gold, 777, Hot Chili, Gold, etc....) then place them scratcher side down and tape them all together long ways. Then I used a knife and carefully...

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I have the best husband ever! I am lucky he is so crafty and a hard worker. We have a laundry room with enough space for a desk, so I showed him some other craft rooms I've found on Pinterest and he got inspired! Here is my craft/wrapping/couponing space.                                                   BEFORE: Laundry Room Space Before Home Depot wood pegboard paint (white and "feldspar" Behr) I bought a whole gallon of the wall paint-half would have been plenty pegboard baskets (set of 3) + extra hooks     Other stores mason jars (purchased at grocery store) Photo stand (Michaels Craft store on clearance for $2) use to put iPad or books on "Imagine" wall decor (TJ Max) multi-plug outlet (already had, but you can find at a hardware store) Chalkboard Cookie sheet (used an old cookie sheet and sprayed it with chalkboard ...

Another great Pinterest find! I was browsing through DIY stuff to make for a classroom and came across a DIY wipe board. I followed the video and then decided to use it for my house since I still don't have a classroom of my own....yet... See the step by step video here:  DIY Dry Erase Boards Video Here is mine: I found a cute Morning Checklist Printable: childreninspiredesign.com This website uses a glass picture frame to hold the printable, I don't have space and would rather put mine on the fridge with a magnet- but the frame way is cute also... For the classroom I would use this printable for Pre-K-2 (find a cursive one for 3rd): printactivities.com This would go great in a "Writing Center" or as a "May Do" when students are done with work early...

I have always wanted to learn how to make a diaper cake for a baby shower. I decided to go to YouTube to find a good instructional video to get started. This is the one I watched that helped me learn how.. Diaper Cake Tutorial Here are some pictures of how I made mine. I used ribbon from Michaels dollar bin and got the ladybug plush animal/rattle from Kohl's (that was the most expensive thing I bought). You could just top it off with a bow if you wanted. I used all the diapers I had left over that my daughter never used. It was a bit more difficult because the cake wasn't level (some newborn diapers mixed with size 2 were an issue). So I recommend using the same size and brand for the whole cake if you can. Also double sided tape didn't really hold up the ribbon around the cake. I wish I could find my hot glue gun...so I improvised and used cute baby clothes pins (mini ones left over from a game I had at my shower) to hold them up. Good luck and have fun! The bottom ...