Frugal Gift Idea: Diaper Cakes

Packages of diapers come in handy. Getting them in advance helps a lot because you can avoid the unexpected trips to the store when your baby outgrows a size suddenly. I know this really helped for me, since my son was barely in Newborns and then flew through Size 1s. Having the next size up on hand helped me diaper frugally because I didn't have to pay retail, I shopped sales and bought when they were a good bargain throughout my pregnancy.

Buying a pack of diapers would be so appreciated at most baby showers, many showers are just "diaper showers" especially for second or more children. Getting diapers that are not the Newborn sizes would probably be even more appreciated because they help start a stockpile for the parents to be. Just the diapers are present enough, but if you want to do it a little differently, you can make a Diaper Cake.

The first step when making a diaper cake is to decide what size diapers. My friend and I have made many for the mothers in our group and have found that 2-3s work best. You can make a good sized cake out of a Jumbo package of diapers. Plus the new mom won't have to take it apart right away to use it.

What you'll need:
1 Jumbo package of diapers (size 2 or 3)
4-5 cloth diapers (the thin ones that are used for burp cloths are perfect)
1 large package of rubber bands
Hot glue gun
Pins
Dowl rods (to help provide support)
Ribbon + decorative items

First your wrap the diapers up by rolling it from the open end to the bottom and secure it with a rubber band. Do this with all the diapers.

Then gather the diapers together to make the cake layers. The top layer will have fewer than the middle and bottom layers. Start with about 7 diapers for the top, put a large rubber band around all 7 binding them together, then add more as needed. Start with 7 for the middle and add more around, then do the same for the bottom layer. Depending on the size of the diapers and the brand you could need fewer or more diapers to make it look right.

Then wrap the outside of the layers with a cloth diaper folded in 4ths. Pin this to the diapers (that will be the back of the cake). The bigger layers may need more than one diaper. *Please be sure to let the mother know there are pins!* This step can be skipped, but it makes it look better.

Hot glue ribbon around the layers and decorate as desired. You could also add baby care items to the cake. This is really just a basic guide and you can make it as big as you want to. You can make it part of the baby shower theme, match the nursery decor, etc.

Insert the dowel rods and plan to have a base for the cake to make it easier to transport. Usually tissue paper covering a piece of cardboard works well.

The end result is a beautiful diaper cakes that is both fun and functional.

LUVS Wipes- Review

I have been so excited about my LUVS wipes deal (it ended up being 50 cents per 3 pack, shipped to my door!), but the true test is how well they work. I could get the best price ever, but if they are bad quality, then it really isn't a deal. I have never tried LUVS wipes before, so this is based off of my first time using them.

For the record, I prefer Huggies wipes over every other brand that I have tried from Pampers to store brands. They are thick enough, have a nice scent, and I use fewer wipes. I do not care for Pampers wipes. They are almost too soft and I end up using 3 or more when 1 Huggies wipe would have done the job. My second choice wipe is Parent's Choice, from Walmart, because they are similar in texture to Huggies, but they don't pop up in a container and the scent isn't as good.

With that in mind, I did like the LUVS wipes. They were somewhere between Parent's Choice and Pampers for me. They had a similar texture to Pampers, but I didn't need to use multiple wipes to get the job done. So if you like Pampers wipes, I would give these a try. I did not care for the scent at all. It pretty much stunk (it was overly perfumed) so if your little one has a sensitivity to scents, you may want to avoid these or check to see if there is an unscented option. These are not on par with Huggies wipes, in my opinion, but for the price I bought them at I feel like they were well worth it. I would even pay a bit more than I did for them, but if I had the choice of paying between $0.01-$1 more for Huggies, I think I would pick to spend a bit more on Huggies.

This is completely my own opinion, based on using the wipes this morning. I was not given anything for this review. I plan to continue use the LUVS I have and will keep looking for deals on them. I hope to find an unscented variety though.

Luvs Baby Wipes

I am so happy I got in on a deal posted on Money Saving Mom! These wipes were priced at only $7.00, now they are $30.24!, and I used a $5 Swagbucks giftcard making them only $2 for 864 wipes!

I have been having a pretty blah day, so when this arrived on my doorstep it made it that much better. Though now I'm a little embarrassed that a delivery of baby wipes can make my day better ;)

Luvs Wipes- Mini Brag

I feel so awesome right now. I ordered Luvs Wipes from Amazon.com because of a post on Money Saving Mom (the original post is gone). There was a lot of confusion based on how the wipes were described and some were saying it was only 216 wipes for $7 while others said it was 864. I ordered it just in case (and used my Swagbucks to make the price only $2) since for $2 it was worth the risk.

I emailed Amazon and got this response today:

I'm writing to follow up on our conversation about your order. I checked our records and can confirm that the Luvs Ultra Clean Wipes comes with 864 wipes (216 Count * Pack of 4).

Awesome! I am really happy that I was able to make it in time for this deal and took the chance :)

I'll have to update when they actually come, they are on backorder until later this month.

Sales on Hold

Blogging has been difficult since the birth of my son. He will be 2 months on the 16th and in the whirlwind of having not only a long pregnancy but a difficult delivery and recovery, I haven't been able to focus on sales as much as I used to! I have also learned that you can't do everything. Pick what works for your family and in the end if you're saving money and able to have a life, then you're winning. Even if others save more- what matters is how you make it work for your family.

I miss it, but in some ways my life is a little more simple when I make a list, make a menu, and just go with the flow in that way rather than match sales to coupons, organize multiple trips, and walk out with a lot of stuff but not enough to make 2 weeks of meals with unless you have other stuff stocked up already. That doesn't mean that I don't feel a twinge of jealousy when I see friends posting about their coupon freebies!

I still plan to keep this blog going because there is more to life than coupons and even using them wisely can really help in the long run. I still don't have to buy pasta at full price and enjoy a bagel with free cream cheese each morning ;)

Some things that I hope to bring up on the blog in the future are:

Winter Entertainment
Christmas Activities
Frugal Gift Ideas
Menu Planning
Freezer Cooking


I do have to say that stocking up on diapers while I could watch the sales was a great idea. We went through them and I was left trying to find good deals as we needed more, which is more difficult. I did join Amazon Mom which gives 15% off of many diapers and by using that, the subscribe and save option (another 15% off), AND coupons found in magazines I was able to get Pampers for 10 cents a diaper. Add in the fact that I used my Swagbucks, not bank account, to pay for them and you've got cheap AND free diapers :D

So stick around to see more of how I make one income work with 3 kids :)

More Huggies + Free

I went back to Kroger to find another Huggies deal. That is the brand I prefer for wipes, so to be able to have a good supply on hand just made sense to me. I use them now and know I'll use even more when the baby comes.



For this you print the other $2/2 Huggies wipes coupon twice (found here- this one will be off a 64 ct box AND the refills, not off any) and buy 2 packs of wipes and 2 refills (the wipes are on sale for $1.99 each, the 3pk refills are $5.99 each). This will make your total $15.96. Then you'll get $3 off your order for buying $15 in Huggies making it $12.96, then you'll use $4 in coupons making it $8.96 before tax for 2 boxes of wipes and 6 individual refills. That's pretty much getting a 3pk refill and a box of wipes free if you buy at regular price.

I also was able to print a $2/1 Dove deodorant coupon before it reached the limit. Kroger had Dove deodorant on sale for $2/4 so I was able to get both just for the tax! This deal isn't free, but if you print the $1/1 coupon found here, you will get it for $1.

I also saw that my local Kroger had clearanced Colgate Total toothpaste. I went on their website (here) and printed a coupon for .75/1 making the toothpaste 25 cents before tax.

These are all things we will use. Dove is my preferred brand of deodorant and I like Colgate Total, so I felt like these deals were even better because it wasn't just something for cheap- it was something I really would use for cheap. I think it can be easy to get caught up in getting a deal, but if you won't use the items it really isn't that great of a deal.

Huggies Deals

Since I am expecting a baby in September, I planned on starting to stock up now for when the baby is here.



I got this for only $12.94 before tax! $13.85 after. I ended up saving $17.16!

The before tax price on the diapers were $4.49 a pack ($9.77 original price, $8.99 on sale) and I got the wipes for $0.99 a box ($2.64 regular price, $1.99 sale price). When you spend $15 or more in one transaction you get $3 off your order!

To do this sale you need the $3/1 coupons for Huggies Little movers/snugglers (I found these here and here), and the $2/2 coupons for Huggies wipes (the one off any 2 64ct or bigger). Print 2 of each (your limit I think). Buy 2 packs of diapers and 4 boxes of wipes. Get $10.00 off in coupons and $3.00 off for spending more than $15 on Huggies.

I ended up doing this deal twice, but getting size 2 and 3 diapers the second time.