Penny Pinching Peach

For the semi crunchy, homeschool friendly and totally frugal!

Category Archives: Frugal Family


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CVS Black Friday Week

Princess Peach and our score (minus her gum)

Princess Peach and our score (minus her gum)

Black Friday week savings are AMAZING at CVS!!! There are over 30 freebies, and I was able to score quite a few of them. It’s really easy compared to usual, since they’re mostly free even without any extra coupons. There are even more terrific deals than I’m sharing, if you want to do some research and scan ads, but this was what was simple for me to take advantage of with two less than patient planning and shopping companions. I riproaring tickled with my bounty as is! 🙂

I walked into CVS with $13 ECB leftover from a previous shopping trip. I paid $21.93 out of pocket, have $12 in Extra Care Bucks leftover, and still have a $12.99 rebate to send in. That being said, I am eventually going to be paid $3.06 for buying $135.40 worth of great stuff!! Can anybody give me a “WOOHOO!!!”?? LOL My four year old is not very cooperative with searching for sale items, so I had her hunting for things and toting a basket, all with the goal of earning a (free) pack of gum if she was helpful instead of acting up. Yes, she earned her gum. Yes, that is the part of the trip she bragged about the most. That and the fact that she believes we saved enough money in this shopping trip to buy her most desired gift for Christmas. 🙂

So, to break it down:

  • $13 Extra Care Bucks walking in
  • $21.93 paid out of pocket
  • 4 Transactions (I put some of the higher priced items on the first two purchases to carry the ECB to the next)
  • $135.40 Value
  • $12 Extra Care Bucks and a $12.99 rebate leftover
  • PAID $3.06 for taking these goodies off of their hands!!!

Here is your list of things you can buy for free, nearly free or even be paid to take home! I printed my list off and gave myself a rough list on the back of the main items to put on my transactions (I planned on 3) so I wouldn’t pay a ton out of pocket…

99¢ ECB wyb Ricola Extra Strength, 4 ct 99¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

99¢ ECB wyb CVS Training Pants 2 ct or CVS Ultra Soft Cleansing Cloths, 12 ct., 99¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

99¢ ECB wyb Hershey’s Theater Box, 4-6 oz., 99¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

99¢ ECB wyb Kraft Mac & Cheese, 5.5-7.25 oz., 99¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

99¢ ECB wyb CVS Pantiliners, 20 ct., 99¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

99¢ ECB wyb Advil Film Coated 4 ct., 99¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

79¢ ECB wyb Hershey’s Singles 79¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$9.99 ECB wyb CVS Probiotic 15 ct., $9.99 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$7.79 ECB wyb Rescue Pastilles stress relief 1.7 oz., $7.79 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$4.99 ECB wyb Mycratine Migraine Relief 2 oz., $4.99 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$4 ECB wyb CVS Anti-Diarrheal 12 ct, $4 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$3 ECB wyb (2) Starbucks Refreshers or Doubleshots 2/$3 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$2.37 ECB wyb Children’s Advil 1 oz., $2.37 Limit 1 If you can find an Children’s Advil coupon, this is a moneymaker. Final Price: FREE/MONEYMAKER!

$2 ECB wyb Right Guard Total Defense Deodorant, $2.99 Limit 1 Use coupons you can print at Swagbucks earning points or at coupons.com without signing up or earning points, plus you can ear Saving Star money on this. Final Price: Around 50 cents after Saving Star payment.

$12.99 ECB wyb CVS True Result Blood glucose monitoring system $12.99 Limit 1 Mine had a rebate in it to get the complete price back. Final Price: FREE or a $12.99 moneymaker

$2 ECB wyb GUM Toothbrush, 2 pk., $2 Limit 2 Final Price: FREE

$1.99 ECB wyb Somnapure 4 ct., $1.99 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$1.79 ECB wyb Total Home Detergent, 20 oz., $1.79 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$1.25 ECB wyb Glade Plugins Warmer 1 ct., $1.25 Limit 1  Final Price: FREE

$1 ECB wyb Sparkle Big Roll $1 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$1 ECB wyb Orbit Gum, 14 ct., $1 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

$1 ECB wyb Wrigley’s 5 Gum, 15 ct., $1 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE

Colgate Total 4-4.2 oz., $3 Use $2.50/1 Colgate Total CVS COUPON Printer and there are Colgate coupons in prior papers, if you have them. Final Price: FREE or 50 cents

I was also able to get some bags of Christmas Reeses candy for pretty much free after their deals and stacking grocery & in store coupons. Supreme protein bars for the hubby were only about $1 each, which is less than 1/3 of the price, after in store coupons, Extra care bucks and a printed coupon. Sodas are 69 cents apiece, so I just threw a couple of those in. I wanted toothbrushes as stocking stuffers for the kiddos, and the Clifford ones you see were extremely cheap after in store coupon and Extra Care Bucks. The coupons on the protein bars and Reeses candy coupons are available on coupons.com and Swagbucks, as well.

What are you most excited about getting for free?

If you want to join Swagbucks or Saving Star, check out my posts on those programs:

https://pennypinchingpeach.com/2013/10/04/swagbucks-savings/

https://pennypinchingpeach.com/2013/02/07/savingstar/

Thankful for savings

Thankful for savings


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Veteran’s Day Freebies!

Thanks on Veteran's Day!

Thanks on Veteran’s Day!

In honor and appreciation of all former and current military and their families on Veteran’s Day, I thought I’d share a few of the well deserved freebies & discounts available just for the vets in celebration of their sacrifice and service. Please note that most will require a military ID or proof of former military service in order to be given, so have it ready when you go to claim your goodies. Some will give it to anyone wearing their uniform. I’d suggest that you call your local restaurant or store to see what proof of service they need before going. Share with your friends & family in the military, even if you can’t benefit from these deals. They deserve it! 🙂

Food:

Chilis- November 11- Free meal from select menu on November 11.

Golden Corral- November 11 only from 4-9pm, free drink and buffet for anyone who has ever served in the military.

Longhorn- Free Texas Tonions and non-alcoholic beverages from November 11-14.

O’Charley’s- Free meal from the $9.99 menu on Veteran’s Day.

Olive Garden- Free meal on November 11.

Outback Steakhouse- Free bloomin’ onion on Veteran’s Day. Also, they are giving a 10% discount on total check from November 12 through December 31!

Red Lobster- Free appetizer with military ID (taxes not included). Good November 11-14.

Starbucks- Free tall brewed coffee to veterans, active military and spouses on Veterans Day. Please call ahead to make sure your local Starbucks is participating.

Non-Food:

David’s Bridal- 20% off of any dress for military brides or one marrying someone in the military through November 15. Make sure to see what proof you need if you are marrying a military man, since I doubt they just take your word for it.

Great Clips- Free haircut for veterans on veterans Day, or you can just stop in for your free haircut card to be used by December 31. A non-military person can pick up the card to be redeemed by a veteran later. They may be available on their Facebook page, as well.

Home Depot- 10% off up to a $500 purchase for veterans on Veterans Day.

JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store- 20% off November 10-15.

Lowes- 10% off for military and immediate family members on Veterans Day.

Meineke- Free oil changes for military and spouses on Veterans Day.

Red Roof Inn- During the month of November, a military ID will get you 15% off of your stay.

I would advise calling ahead to make sure your local restaurant or shop is participating in these specials, but most should honor them. If you are military, which freebie  or discount is your favorite? If not, I’m again encouraging you to share this list with your friends and family who have served. It’s the least you can do!! 🙂


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Free photos, anyone??

Kisses!!

Kisses!!

I just ordered a couple of the free photo bargains available right now, and thought I’d share the joy. I’m always looking for free or extremely cheap deals on getting my kiddos’ adorable pictures printed, and I’m sure it is the same for most of us who like snapshots of memories.

Walgreens has a free 8X10 photo collage you can order with the code BOOCOLLAGE. You can pick it up in your local Walgreens for free. I order these every time this deal is available, and they always turn out beautifully. This time I got one made of my two little ones in their costumes for a trunk or treat last night. The code expires 11-02-2013.

Shuttefly has 101 free prints, but you do have to pay shipping. I was able to use the code on 99 prints, which saved significantly on the shipping costs (they go up at 100 prints). It cost me $6.49, tax included, and they will be shipped right to my house. The code is SPOOKY. It expires 11-01-13, so hurry to get this great bargain!

If you miss the deadline on the 101 free prints, you can take advantage of the 50 free prints code 50FREEPRINTS. It doesn’t expire until 11-17-13. 🙂

I printed the photos I’ve illustrated this little share-a-thon with, among others. What will you use your codes to print? 🙂

Smooshy Hugs!!

Smooshy Hugs!!


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Crafty Snacking

 

Smiling With A Smiley Face Cracker

Smiling With A Smiley Face Cracker

Crafty Snacking

My daughter loves all things cutesy and yummy. Combining those two loves, I sometimes make her snacks or meals in cutie patootie delicious forms.

Princess Peach loves peanut butter on crackers. I take large round crackers, peanut butter and either craisins or raisins. I spread the peanut butter on the crackers, then make faces, flowers or sun designs with the craisins or raisins. She loves it!

Flowery Crackers

Flowery Crackers

She also adores marshmallows, so that was an obvious one to make a crafty critter out of. I took eight small pretzel sticks, painted a smiley face on a flat side with one of the pretzel sticks dipped into a drop of Hershey’s syrup, then jabbed them in the sides of the marshmallow to look like spider legs. This would be a fun and easy snack for those who celebrate Halloween.

Happy Spider

Happy Spider

We often have sandwiches for lunch. Sometimes I’ll cut it into triangle shapes and put a large cherry tomato in the middle, all arranged like a flower. I’ll also take a cookie cutter and cut three or four pieces out of the sandwich in whatever shape it is.

Flower Sandwich

Flower Sandwich

There is an endless array of cool things you can do with food! I only do the quick, easy and cheap varieties myself, since I am actually chasing around the kiddos I’m feeding, but I’ve seen some “food art” that would break your heart to eat.

Does anyone else like to get creative with food for their munchkins sometimes for no reason other than making them smile? 🙂

For more great food for kids, check out After School Snacks!

 


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No Carving Pumpkin Family

Pumpkin Family

Pumpkin Family

No Carving Pumpkin Family!

This is the first year my daughter has had a huge opinion about pumpkin decorating, and she wanted to do a family out of miniature pumpkins. She picked them out at the pumpkin stand (75 cents each- penny pincher insert 🙂 ), and was super excited to morph them into a pumpkin family to set out on our porch. I did not want to attempt carving pumpkins with two little ones. She wanted a happy family, not a spooky Halloween one, so I was thinking bright & cheerful things she could actually help with. So, I went to the Dollar Tree and got a few items I thought would work for decorating and for crafts later on, stretching my dollars further. We probably used less than $1.00 worth of supplies, so these pumpkins cost less than $1.00 apiece to make. Score!! 🙂
“Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com”

Read on to find out how to make your own pumpkin family without carving.

We used: Craft Pom Poms like these Pepperell Assorted Pom Poms, Hot Colors, 300 Per Package, Sparkly Pipe Cleaners like these Tinsel Stems 6mm 12″ 25/Pkg-Multi, Googly Eyes like these  Watch them wiggle eyes, Black(500 PIECES) – BULK , paint and glue.

I was too busy creating our cute little pumpkin family with my four year old to take step-by-step photos. I let her pick what she wanted on each one and how she wanted it. She helped as much as she could with actually doing it, like sticking on the glued pom poms for hair & noses, helping paint the eyebrows, eyelashes and mouths, and sticking on the eyes.

Sister & Brother Pumpkin

Sister & Brother Pumpkin

We just made cute pumpkins without a knife!!

Above are the first two we made- the little girl and little brother. My little girl wanted her girl pumpkin to have curls like her, so I made her hair into curls by twisting each pipe cleaner around a pencil and sliding it off.

Below are the mommy and daddy, which we did last. I just curled the very bottom of the mommy’s hair, since she wanted it to be pretty much straight and long like her own mommy’s. She chose all of the colors for everything herself. 🙂

Mommy & Daddy Pumpkin

Mommy & Daddy Pumpkin

Did anyone else decorate pumpkins this fall? Any other parents squeamish about knives, carving and small crazy people? 🙂

For a fun story time activity this fall and Halloween, try The Teeny Tiny Ghost and the Monster!


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CVS Super Savings

CVS Super Savings

CVS Super Savings

Yesterday’s trip to CVS was a booming success. If you need diapers, sodas and/or dish soap, this is a great deal!

I bought three packs of Huggies diapers, three 12 packs of soda, two Palmolive dish detergents, a small mouthwash and a body mist.

Huggies and Palmolive were part of a deal where you get $10 Extra Care Bucks if you spend $30. I bought three packs of Huggies diapers at  $9.49 each, used two coupons (if I had found the third that had fallen out in my purse, this deal would’ve been $2.00 better) and got two Palmolive dish soaps to complete the $30 minimum.

There is a coupon printing from the magic red machine for a travel size Colgate mouthwash, making it 50 cents.

I got a free body wash coupon for my birthday.

The 12 pack Coke products are three packs for $11, with $2 Extra Care Bucks for buying three packs.

I had $10 Extra Care Bucks left from a previous shopping trip a few weeks ago.

I also had a $5 off of $30 and $5 off of $15 coupons, one loaded on my card from an email and one a printed coupon, which both were able to ring on this transaction.

Total: $66.70

Cash Out of Pocket: $14.57

Extra Care Bucks for Later: $12.00

Savings Percentage: 78 (not counting the ECB to use later)

If I hadn’t had a 4 year old acting like a lunatic at the register, I’d planned to use the $10.00 Extra Care Bucks from the diapers and dish soap to pay for most of the drinks, which is what I’d suggest you do. In that case, you’d have only $14.47 out of pocket, or $12.47 if you can get the three Huggies coupons, unless you come in with the Extra Care Bucks like I did.

Want to take advantage of this deal? I’ll tell you where to get the Huggies coupons. Just make sure when you go in CVS to go to the red coupon printer for the in-store coupons. 🙂

If you want to earn points while printing these coupons, like I did, you can do so by joining Swagbucks and printing the coupons there.  You can do so by following the link here:

https://pennypinchingpeach.com/2013/10/04/swagbucks-savings/

If you don’t want to join the program and earn points toward gift cards or other great items just by printing coupons you are going to print either way, you can just follow the link below to simply print the Huggies coupons, although I am only seeing coupons for Slip-ons and Overnights, and I’d printed for regular ones on Swagbucks a few days ago:

http://www.coupons.com/coupons/Baby-%26-Toddler-Coupons-5491/

What has been your favorite deal you’ve scored lately?


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Completely Healthy Cookies?? Yes, Please!!

Chocolate chip and cinnamon craisin

Chocolate chip and cinnamon craisin

I’ve been on the search for a cookie that had no sugar, no flour and only healthy ingredients I would have readily available, while still being the yummalicious treat that a cookie is meant to be.

Tall order? Yes, indeedy! Did I try a few oh-so-healthful recipes that didn’t cut it on the yummy side of things? You betcha! Have I finally tweeked and experimented until I came up with a sugarless, flourless, healthy handful of all things gooey and scrumptious about cookies? Yeah, buddy!!! 😉

These oatmeal banana cookies are extremely healthy, sweet, moist and delicious! I made them in two varieties- cinnamon raisin/craisin and peanut butter chocolate chip. (Okay, so there is a little sugar in the chocolate chips, but that hardly counts, right? ;))

These babies passed the husband test and the kid test with flying colors and were super easy to make. They also use only ingredients that I normally have on hand, and all of them are extremely inexpensive. I am just pleased as peaches to share this recipe with y’all!! 🙂

Peanut butter chocolate chip

Peanut butter chocolate chip

“Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com” There may be other affiliate links to help my family while helping yours!

Yummy Oatmeal Banana Healthified Cookies

3 bananas, extra ripe
1/3 cup canola oil
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork until smooth. Stir in oil, peanut butter, milk and vanilla extract.

Next, mix in oats and chocolate chips until well coated.

Lightly spray cookie pan with cooking spray.

Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls on the cookie pan. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Variations: Add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 cup craisins or raisins in place of the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Add coconut and/or walnuts with or in place of the chocolate chips and peanut butter.

Makes about 16 cookies.

Enjoy! If you have any left by the time they cool, you could store them in an adorable cookie jar like this chalkboard cookie jar!

Love pure quality essential oils, but have a tight budget? I love Barefut Essential Oils, and they run some amazing specials on top of the usual great prices! https://barefut.com/?a=1116

This is a delicious cookie by regular standards. I won’t cook “health food” that tastes like crud on a stick, so trust this southern gal that these are yum-yum-yummy by the standards of those of us who are not well adapted to cookies tasting like tree bark. 🙂 You don’t even miss the sugar at all. It’s also such a simple enough recipe to whip up that it’s a great choice for cooking with kids. That’s huge for me, since my 4 year old loves helping Mommy whip up some goodies to share.

If you’ve been on the search for a kid approved, man approved, southern fried chick approved treat that happens to be extremely healthy and penny pinching friendly, this is the recipe for you! 🙂 What kind of goodies do you wish you could find a healthy and delicious version of? Are there any that you have tested yourself that passed the taste test as well as the health test?

Peanut butter chocolate chip close-up

Peanut butter chocolate chip close-up

Cinnamon craisin close-up

Cinnamon craisin close-up

Want more ideas? Check out my ideas for some fun Healthy Snacks and After School Snacks!

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Swagbucks Savings!

The mask & cape were gifts purchased with Mommy's rewards programs

The mask & cape were gifts purchased with Mommy’s rewards programs

This post has been updated to add some tricks I’ve learned since I originally posted this last year. I hope that you will enjoy Swagbucks as much as I do! Please follow my referral code at the end to join and reap the benefits of this awesome program!

I want to share one of my very favorite points earning programs with y’all! Swagbucks is easy to use, and the points add up very quickly. I actually paid for most of my daughter’s 4th birthday presents using Amazon gift cards that I earned through Swagbucks and SavingStar by doing things that I would do with or without rewards programs!! I got over $35 worth of adorable gifts for my daughter from Amazon, with only $6 out of pocket expenses after using the gift cards I’d saved up from those two programs! Talk about doing the penny pinching mama dance!! 🙂 I’m already racking up points to use for some of my Christmas shopping in a few weeks. (There are other pay-outs, but the Amazon gift cards are my favorites.)

By now I’m sure you’re wondering how it works, right? Well, let me walk you through the basics…

450 points can be exchanged for a $5 Amazon gift card. There are other payouts, including Paypal payments, gas cards, gift cards to many other popular stores, travel expenses or items in their own Swagbucks store, but this is the only one I’ve used and a simple reference for the value of the points you’re earning through your activities. It is also the best value I have found.

You earn random points by using Swagbucks as your search engine instead of one of the conventional search engines like Yahoo or Google. Just today, I got 10 points for doing a search for photo coupon codes using their site. It pops up when you do the search if you got a code, then you just type it in and enter and it is added to your account balance toward your next payout. Easy peasy!

You can shop through their shopping link with many online retailers, and earn a designated amount of points for every dollar spent. The average points per dollar seems to be from 2 to 7 points, from my observation. This is great if you are doing online shopping already! I earned almost enough for a $5 giftcard just by clicking through their links to order ink for my printer a couple of months ago. I was going to order it, anyway, so that was free money to use for my daughter’s gifts later. 🙂

You will earn 10 points for every coupon that you print and redeem through their coupons link. These are pretty much the same coupons that you get from coupons.com, but you’re getting rewarded for using them. If you’re like me, and use alot of coupons to stretch your budget, this is an awesome way to rack up those rewards quickly! Sometimes you are also entered into sweepstakes for every coupon you print. The other day when I was printing coupons for diapers and groceries, I was also being entered into a sweepstakes for $250!

Swagbucks frequently releases “Swag Codes” that you can enter in a special box in the top of your screen for bonus points. These are usually only good for a short period of time. For example, today there was one that was only good until 5pm EST, and I earned 3 points just for entering “Wagbucks” into the little magic box up there. My favorite site for keeping up with the codes is .

You can also install a tool bar, which I have chosen not to do, since I’m not too fond of tool bars in general. Every day they havea “Daily Poll”, which pays 1 point just for choosing your answer. You are able to participate in surveys, which will pay you a varying amount of points per survey. They have different “tasks” you can do for extra points, such as completing certain searches and informing them of the top 3 sites that show up. If you choose to join various programs using their links, you’ll earn points for doing that. There are video advertisements available at times to watch in exchange for more points. I’ve not taken advantage of all of these opportunities, but there are alot of different ways to keep adding onto that points balance if you have the time and inclination, most of them without spending one red cent! 🙂

Birthday girl. She had a ninja turtle/princess party. :)

Birthday girl. She had a ninja turtle/princess party. 🙂

Another way that you can earn points is through referrals, of course. If you like the program, you share it with others. If they join through your link, you will earn some points from that. If you’re interested in joining Swagbucks after my honestly enthusiastic review here, I’d be tickled pink if you’d use my referral link below. 🙂

http://swagbucks.com/refer/KeishaChelle

If you have any questions, I’ll be glad to try to answer. This really is a great program that I enjoy immensely, and I’m happy to be able to share about it with anyone who will listen! 🙂

Here is a book for Kindle users who are interested in learning more of the tricks to using Swagbucks. It’s free for those of you who have Amazon Prime, too. 🙂 Here ya go: How To Earn Swagbucks: Earn Swag Bucks Quickly to Earn Gift Cards and Cash!


*Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


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Happy Birthday Freebies!!

First Birthday

Three out of five members of our family have birthdays coming up in the next three weeks, and I’m already seeing some of the fun free stuff we are going to get in this year. There are alot of birthday freebies out there, and many of them have perks all year long. I’ve seen alot of them, but haven’t take advantage of them all. Some are not in my area, others I’m not interested in, some I just wouldn’t use. I’m only sharing a dozen of the birthday freebies I’ve actually signed up for, used myself and liked, so I can vouch for them. I’m aware of alot more, and plan to sign up for a few new ones I discovered while looking up these links to share with you, so I’ll probably update this list in the future to share some new favorites. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Which birthday freebie are you most excited about getting for your birthday or someone in your family? For free clothes, check out  Schoola Discount Clothing

First Birthday

First Birthday


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Cupcake Wrapper Flowers

Cupcake Wrapper Flowers

Cupcake Wrapper Flowers


Want a busy time activity for little ones? How about making cupcake wrapper flowers? I originally saw the idea on another blog somewhere, but adapted it to the materials we had on hand at our house and the way my daughter wanted to do it.

We used:

Cupcake wrappers
Twigs
Twisty ties (like come on loaf bread)
Buttons
Sweet smelling body spray

Feel free to make substitutions on any materials. Remember, we just used whatever we had on hand.

Stringing buttons

Stringing buttons

Stack the buttons in whatever pattern you want or even just use one button, stringing them on the twisty tie. Poke holes in the cupcake wrapper (I used an ink pen with a button as a template). String the twisty ties through the holes, attach the twig to the back and twist the ends around it firmly.

Smells yummy!

Smells yummy!

My daughter loved the next part. I let her pick out a sweet smelling body spray, and spritz all of her new pretty flowers. She loved smelling them, and had me reapply it every week or so to keep them smelling like delicious.

Tada!!

Tada!!

My daughter was so proud of her handiwork. She’d had so much fun gathering up twigs that were just the right size, selecting the perfect buttons, and helping me put it all together, she could hardly wait to show them off.

Baby food jar vase

Baby food jar vase

Of course, with such gorgeous blooms to display, I had to come up with a vase to showcase them in. What else would I use in a house with little ones other than an empty baby food jar? I let my daughter decorate the jar with sparkly jeweled sticker things, which she thought was just the right touch. She set her beautiful bouquet proudly on the shelf at the head of her bed, ready for sniffing and seeing at any time. 🙂

This is such a simple, sweet craft with materials most of us have around the house. It definitely works for both my penny pinching side and my creative side. What are some things you have lying around your house that you’d love to find a creative use for?