Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Felt Bow Ties: Tutorial


I've been really good about finding different things to make my daughter, but I've had a harder time figuring out what to make my son. I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner since I love bow ties :) 

These are really thrown together (I had a spark of inspiration 20 minutes before his school Christmas program), so play around with this idea. I plan to make some nonfelt versions and really wish I thought of this in time to ship them to my nephews! 

Materials Needed:
Felt
Scissors
Needle and thread
Hot glue gun
Alligator clip (or pin, if you'd rather pin it on). 


1. Cut a rectangle out to be the bow. You can make it bigger or smaller, it's not really an exact measurement.  I'd start with 5" by 3" and trim to how you want it to look. Cut a smaller strip to go around the middle (about 1" by 3".

2. Scrunch it to make a bow shape.

3. Sew a few stitches just to hold it in place so gluing is easier.

4.  Wrap the smaller strip over the area you just sewed. Use a glue gun to put it on.

5. Wrap the strip completely around and trim if necessary. Get alligator clip.

6. Glue on the alligator clip. You may have to hold it open and together as it dries so it won't stick together.

Then you just clip it onto your shirt or it can even be a hairbow if you want it to :) He loved it and I loved that I could make something for him :)



Thursday, December 13, 2012

Christmas Gift Ideas: #1

If you're strapped for time and need a cute gift for a friend or coworker, this is something you could do :)



I can't claim to have thought of this, I saw many pins on Pinterest doing the same thing, and it came in handy when I had a Girl Scout leader meeting and forgot we needed to bring a gift!

I love how you can make this fit the occasion or the person your giving it to. This was a random exchange so I went with a Christmas theme.

I just made the card on Picmonkey.com

Have any frugal and easy Christmas Gift ideas? Link them here!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and GIVEAWAY!


Yesterday I posted about the Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List. Today I am SO excited to announce that Frugal Teacher Mama will be a part of all the fun!


I loved looking through the list and though I narrowed my favorites down to a few, when I saw the Big Rig Building Truck Wooden Play Set, I knew that my boys would both have so much fun with it!


I loved it so much, that I wanted a Frugal Teacher Mama reader to win one! Enter now to win your own and have one less gift to get this holiday season :) 



*Disclaimer: I am participating in a Melissa & Doug Blogger Program. Melissa & Doug provided me with a a product and will be facilitating the delivery of the product to the winner. All opinions expressed are my own. 


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and Giveaway!


Have you started your Holiday Shopping yet? I.. haven't. So I probably should start thinking about that.

Melissa & Doug toys have been household favorites for a long time, and they have come up with a Terrific Twenty List of Holiday Gifts for 2012 to make shopping for the holidays easier. I love that the list includes gifts for kids of all ages so I could find something for my 9 year old, 6 year old and 2 year old!

Not only can you find a great selection of gifts, right now Melissa and Doug are having a 20 Days of Terrific Twenty Giveaway! You could win one of the gifts on the list :) 


Sunday, October 30, 2011

A homemade Christmas

My goal this year is to handmake every gift for family. I also have a goal to get the kids a DS for free after swagbucks and other rewards programs, but mostly I want to make every gift.

I can't give away what I'm making yet, because family watch this blog, but I am very excited to have 3 sets of my gift made and a couple more almost ready to start. It has been challenging working in time to get them done, but it has been so worthwhile already. I love handmade gifts!

I am a little stuck on what to make a few of the people on my list. I have 4 boys to make things for (ranging in age from 1 year to 9 years) and it has been harder to find something that would work well. Any ideas?

Are you making any gifts this year?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

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.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Free 8x10 Collage at Walgreens

Photos make wonderful gifts, my family members love receiving them. Walgreens makes this so easy by giving free prints. 

Right now you can make an 8x10 collage for free! Use the code BFCOLLAGE at checkout and choose to pick it up at the store.

This offer is good through Saturday, November 27, 2010.
Web Statistics