Make Recycled Gift Tags From Old Holiday Cards

When I first got married, we did  not have a lot of money for the little things, like tags for presents. My husband's grandmother, Grandma Fuller, taught me how to make pretty Christmas gift tags, using old cards that had been mailed the year before! This is a very easy and cheap way to finish off your presents. In my opinion, they look a bit more personal than the store bought tags! 

Materials Used:
Old holiday cards
Scissors or paper cutter
Hole punch (optional)
Marker or Pen, for labeling

Step 1: Collect Card Covers

Gather up your collection of old holiday cards, and either cut or tear the covers off, along the crease. You can usually get 4 good size tags from one card cover! 

Step 2: Cut & Punch

Cut your Tags! 
This is where making the decision to use scissors or a paper cutter is crucial...if you cannot cut straight lines (like me!) you may want to use a paper cutter. Or you can have slightly wonky ones, like I do, and call them "rustic". Large cards that have a scene that would not look quite right cut into two tags, can become a folded gift tag! (See picture below).

Step 3: Write & Ribbon

Use a pen or marker (I chose red marker so it would be easy to read) and address your tag. Attach the tag to your gift with ribbon or tape. I  use fabric gift bags that have ribbon attached, so this was really easy.

You can omit punching a hole in the corner and just tape the corner to the gift, just make sure to make the cards large enough to flip. 

This work by Little Mom on the Prairie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

10 Things to do with Kids This Summer ~ FREE!

These days, "fun" and "free" don't seem to meet up enough. But there are plenty of ways to have fun with your kids this summer, without having to spend a lot of cash! You just have to get creative. the key is to make ordinary things more fun! Like my first item on the list...

Beat the Summer Time Blues with Free Fun Activities!

1. Have a picnic! 
You have to eat anyway, so why not make it fun? You don't have to invest in one of those cool picnic sets to have a blast (even though they are pretty cool). Make some sandwiches, grab some chips and juice and head to your back yard or local park. Or you could even grab take out and go to a park, the idea is the same and you get to eat while taking in the scenery. Plus the kids can work off some energy before you head home! Bonus!

2. Expand their horizons...for free!
Many cities have free concerts in the park, some even have free (or cheap) movies in the park. We have seen several free plays by local colleges. Check your local paper or go to About.com's local site for your area to find these events near you. Invite friends and it becomes a party (that you don't have to host). Many of these are evening events, so they won't cut into work time. You can bring your own snacks, too. 

3. Educational fun
Most museums have free or deeply discounted days during the summer. Often it's on a regular basis, like the first Tuesday of the month, but sometimes it's just a once a year event. Go to the websites of attractions in your area and search using the keyword "free" and see what come up. Make a list of what's free and when in your area and refer to it often.

4. Learn to Skate
There are dozens of roller skating rinks nationwide that participate in the Kids Skate Free program—which is just as it sounds: a way for children to skate, and therefore get some good exercise, for free this summer. Visit the Kids Skate Free website to find a participating rink near you. You’ll find rinks in 30 states.

5. Take up Bowling
There are dozens of roller skating rinks nationwide that participate in the Kids Bowl Free program ~ if you sign your kids up at the Kids Bowl Free website, that’s exactly what you’ll get. Some bowling alleys have free or cheap shoe rentals as well. 

6. Earn Free Books & Prizes
A great free activity for summer has always been free summer reading programs at your local public library. This summer, your young reader can participate in Barnes & Noble’s own version of a free reading program, and earn a free book in return. All the details, including a book log to use, are on the Barnes & Noble website. 
This summer, my daughter completed the reading programs at both our library and B&N, she earned 4 free books and a few fun trinkets, like a bracelet, bookmarks, and a reading pillow.  She loves getting in on freebies, and loves books!

7. Camp out
Either use a tent you already have, borrow one, or make one out of blankets - it doesn't need to be fancy to be fun! You can even roast marshmallows over a little hibachi grill, tell stories, or play games. Plus, if you need the bathroom or the weather takes a turn, you can run indoors. This is great for most age groups. 

8. Have a scavenger hunt
This is something that can also be modified by age group. Clues and hiding spots can be made more difficult for school age kids, or they can help younger siblings complete the list! Make it fun, going through the house and the yard.

9. Grow a Garden
Check with your neighbors, or your local Craigslist "free" listings, for free plants and gardening supplies. My daughter and I have a little container garden that we put together from peoples' leftovers, and it has given us a fun thing to do together every day.

10. Build a back yard water obstacle course
Another idea that can be changed depending on the age of your kids. Use (safe) items from around the house to mark off a course, with fun tasks. Borrow things from neighbors and invite their kids to join in, too! Use a wading pool, lawn chairs, laundry baskets etc as obstacles. Make it more fun by adding sprinklers to run through, or have them carry a full water balloon through the course - the idea is to not drop it! The kids who make it through with an intact balloon get a prize - getting shot by the adults with the hose!


This work by Little Mom on the Prairie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Free Letter From The Easter Bunny

"Create a free letter from the Easter Bunny and make this Easter a magical experience for your child. Imagine the smile on your child's face when they receive their own personalized Easter Bunny Letter. Using our fun, free and easy online letter creator, you can customize a letter for each of your children and print them out using your own computer and printer. An Easter Bunny Letter will be one of the most memorable gifts you'll give this Easter. So don't delay, create your loved ones a letter from the Easter Bunny today!"

10 Ways to Get Creative with Easter Egg Hunts

Easter is this Sunday, (March 31, 2013), and it is time to devise our Egg Hiding Strategies! Instead of the old stand-bys, like hiding the eggs in the grass, try some of these fun ways to spice up the traditional Easter Egg Hunt! 

First, you need to decide if you are going to hide hard boiled & dyed eggs, or plastic prize filled eggs. We use the plastic eggs for The Hunt in our house, because half the fun is opening them and seeing what sort of goodies you got! Plus, I am afraid we will miss an egg and end up with a horrible smell! If you do use boiled eggs for your hunt, make sure you write down the location of every egg. 

If you are also using plastic eggs, try some of these fun tricks and tips:

1. Hide handmade coupons good towards a special treat inside a few of the eggs. (Examples: "Good for one free hour of TV", "Good for one free hour of uninterrupted mommy/daddy time" or "good for staying up 30 minutes past bedtime" are a few I have used.)

2. Add in temporary tattoos, fun shaped erasers, tiny nail polishes, plastic dollar store toys and other non-candy treats inside your eggs.  One reader wrote in that she sometimes puts a dollar inside a few of the eggs! She also noted that adding quarters made the eggs pop open. (Thanks Suzy!)

3. I just got a bunch of Free Food Certificates to add to our eggs for The Hunt. Each book costs $1 and comes full of coupons for free burgers, drinks and ice cream. 

4. Make an Easter themed scavenger hunt by hiding clues in plastic eggs. Give each person an egg with a clue to the first hiding spot. At the first spot, hide an egg with a clue to the next spot. Hide as many clues as you would like. Put a prize at the end of The Hunt as a reward. If you a lot of people playing in the scavenger hunt, you could create multiple hunts.

5. Hide a prize filled egg on their chair before breakfast - they will start their day with  their first egg of The Hunt! Put a few gummy vitamins inside! 

6. Have your Hunt at night and put mini glow sticks inside each egg! The kids will have a blast seeking out the glowing spots in the yard. 

7. Instead of using baskets, try having the kids decorate a pail, then use them to collect the eggs during The Hunt.  

8. Get creative with hiding places! Pick a part of the house to be the focus of your Hunt, I suggest the main living area. Then, pick unusual places to stash the eggs! Inside shoes, under the couch, tucked between books on the shelf...

9. Make it a little more challenging for older kids by stepping it up a notch with the hiding spots. Tuck an egg inside a paper towel roll, inside a coffee cup, inside coat pockets or cleverly hidden among a cluster of objects on a table. 

10. Get adults involved! Hide a few special eggs (maybe a different color or mark them with a marker) with fun adult goodies inside, like cash or a gift certificate to a local restaurant or coffee place. Everybody likes being remembered on Easter! Make the adult eggs very hard to find! Place eggs inside hanging light fixtures, on top of the fridge or other high places. 

This work by Little Mom on the Prairie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

How to Plan a Perfect Easter Egg Hunt

Step 1: Location
The first thing to think about when planning your Easter egg hunt is where the focus of the hunt should be. This activity can be held indoors or outside in the yard depending on the weather. If you decide to have the Easter egg hunt outside, choose an area that is safe, like a yard free of debris and animals. If indoors, I suggest the family/living room as a good place to have the hunt. 

Step 2: Egg Preparations
Buy small plastic Easter eggs, based on the number of people that are going to be at the hunt. A good rule of thumb is to have between 15 and 20 eggs per person.  If the hunt is with older children, or if you want it to be a more challenging activity, buy more eggs to hide at the hunt. You can color coordinate by child, or by age group. 

Step 4: Hiding Spots
Keep track of where you hide the eggs, and how many eggs you have - especially if you are using hard boiled eggs. You can get creative and try to use harder hiding spots for the better prizes or for the older children’s eggs. Read this article on 10 Ways to Get Creative with Easter Egg Hunts.

Step 5: Collecting 
Hand out tote bags, pails or sturdy baskets for the kids to use at the egg hunt. If you see a kid having trouble finding eggs, help them out. You can use the "getting hot...hotter...no, colder...hot...hotter" method of guiding younger children if they have trouble finding eggs. Use hints for older kids if necessary. An Easter egg hunt is meant to be a fun activity for everyone involved! 

Step 6: Prizes
Try non-candy alternatives, cash, gift certificates, or handmade coupons good for fun activities. Decorate one plastic egg and fill it with a special prize, whoever finds that egg gets the extra special something inside. Get adults in on the fun, hide adult prizes in different colored eggs and hide them up high, where only adults can reach! Prizes could be a gift certificate to a coffee place or cash. 


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Build a Free Easter Basket

Easter is around the corner...

we have a double whammy, my daughter's birthday is the day before Easter...so I had to get creative with Easter Basket ideas, for free or darn cheap! I am sharing the basket I've built for my daughter, and if you hurry, some of these deals (or deals like it!) are still available! Get them while supplies last!!

Free Valentine’s Day Personalized Greeting Card

Treat.com is offering a Free Valentine’s Day Personalized Greeting Card – Select “send it to me first” and shipping will be free!

Enter promo code MYHABIT to make your card free! 

Love is in The Air (Another Craft Round Up) Valentine's Day

I have never been as into Valentine's Day as I am this year...maybe it is because I write the blog now, maybe it is running the party for my daughter's class...in any case, here is yet another V-Day Round Up of Craftiness! 

Valentine Paint Chip Banner by Domestic Super Hero

Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts by Taste of August

Kool Aid Lollipops by Whistle and Ivy

&

DIY Lollipop Molds also by Whistle and Ivy

 

Candy Corn Mason Jar Gift by Shaken Together Life

Felt Rose Topiary by Life on Lake Shore Drive

 

Coffee and Cocoa Soap by Nature's Home Spa

(YUM sounds like it would smell Heavenly!)

DIY Valentine's Day Stove Burner Covers by I Gotta Try That

(OMG I love this idea! I, too, have an older stove with burners 

and these are freakin' adorable!)

Do you have any Valentine's day Crafts you would like to share? Click the 'click here to enter' link below to submit your blog post! 

Free Printable Valentine Trading Cards

You can customize these Valentines with photos, and edit the text with your own creative sayings. Perfect for printing at home for friends and classroom Valentines. 

Free for a limited time!

FREE Printable 6 Gift Tags Download

I just made these up on my computer, using my hand drawn designs and scanning them in, creating a kind of digital 'stamp' out of them! 

Open publication - Free publishing - More cards

Print your tags on standard printer paper or on nice card stock. I used a hole punch to attach ribbons, and wrote out our names. You can see them in action here, shown on my Custom Made Gift Bags from It's a Wrap! Gift Bags. 

This work by Little Mom on the Prairie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Toilet Paper Roll Gift Box

The holidays can tap you out, leaving you to have to be creative with your gift wrap! For small gifts, this is a super cheap DIY gift box made from an empty toilet paper roll. It is also a great way to use up those scraps of wrapping paper!

Materials:
Toilet paper tubes
Gift wrap
Scissors
Invisible tape

Pencil & ruler optional but helpful!

Step 1: Measure Wrapping Paper 



Measure the length of the roll,  and cut the paper  long enough to go around the tube one and a half times. Make sure the paper covers the ends on either side. 



Tape one end evenly to the roll, with invisible tape. 



Step 2: Roll Your Roll



Roll the paper around the roll, and tape the seam. Try to keep everything nice and even - you can trim the edges with scissors to even it out if need be. 

Step 3: Pinch and Tape



Pinch the roll at one end, like shown above. Fold the end neatly, and tape closed. 



Fill the tiny box with goodies, then repeat the folding and taping procedure on the other side. Attach a cute little tag and give your gift!

 diapers

This work by Little Mom on the Prairie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. All photographs are under same copyright.

15 Handmade Gifts They Won't Hate Receiving

Whenever most people think of handmade gifts, they think of ill-fitting knit hats or hideous reindeer sweaters, or inedible jams. I,however,have to admire people who make bunches of their own holiday gifts. If you do it right, it can save you money, and there’s also just something about homemade presents that says you really care...as long as you get it right! At any rate, it is more thoughtful than a gift card in most cases. 

These artsy-craftsy folk got it right, in my opinion! Here are 15 awesome handmade gift ideas that are sure to please every man, woman or child on your list! There are even gift ideas for cats and dogs!

1. Leather iPod Touch Case by gmjhowe graphic design

2. Wooden Necktie (and Bowtie) by laxap

3. Office Foot Stool from an old Tray Table by Alan Casey

4. TREAD BELT by opendesignclub

5. Homemade Earring Organizer by eolough

6. Cargo Scarf by lovefromvirgil

7. sew an adjustable chef's apron  by compwalla

8. Recycled Teacup Soy candle by cheekysttich

9. Finger puppets for all reasons! by stinkymum

10. Kids Snuggie by scoochmaroo

11. Fridge Magnets by hethlee 

(I think of Alphabet magnets for kids)

12. MINI-MUFFIN CRAYONS by AlwaysAllTheTimeCrafting

13. Kid Crane Riding Toy by stevemoseley

14. Rope Dog Toy by mattrush

15. Knotty Mouse for Good Cats by J3443RY

coupons  

Use Your Freebie Stash to Make Holiday Gifts - The Classy Way

Originally Posted at Little Mom Saves
Sometimes we get to the holidays without a whole lot in the gift budget! To save a few bucks and bust that freebie stash, here is a few things you can do to give nice gifts without costing yourself anything but a little time. 

Do you have a box full of Sephora, Origins, Lancome, Clinique or other beauty samples? Sometimes you can print out a "coupon" from some these company's websites or Facebook pages for free facials (in-store). Find a cute basket and arrange the samples and free facial coupon inside. Maybe add a few cheapies, like a scrubby pouf or scented body spray. Great for co-workers, lady pals or even teens!

If you cashed in on either of the Sleep Number freebies this year, they would both make excellent gifts! The scented candle is soy, and smells lovely. If you add a pretty (handmade?) pillow cover to the travel pillow, it would make a thoughtful gift for someone who travels a lot. 

ANY of the items in your Bath & Body Works freebie stockpile would make great stocking stuffers, co-worker or Secret Santa gifts, or be nice for a family member or teen. Some of the freebies we have seen this year are travel size lotions and body sprays, mini candles, and coupon deals where you make a purchase of $25 and get various full size freebies. 

I got these 3 candles FREE, and the candle holders were half off (normal price $3 each) so for 3 small gifts for neighbors, I paid $4.50! Plus I have various lotions and sprays to give to the ladies on my list. 

Victoria's Secret might seem like an odd store to do holiday gift shopping in, but they do sell more than just panties! When you get your birthday freebie (after signing up for their email list) you will get 1 free panty and $10 off any purchase of at least $10. I got my sister in law this cute t-shirt (she loves purple) off the clearance rack at our local store (marked down from $24.95 to $9.95), and it was FREE!

You can get a $10 off $10 coupon to World Market when you are a member of their Explorer Club! You can get a pretty decent gift for $10! 
Check out 3 of the examples I've found:

Vitacost offers a $10 credit to new members, PLUS $10 if you have a friend sign up! You can get great organic gift sets, cute baby toys, pet gifts, stocking stuffers, and even organic snacks!



This work by Little Mom on the Prairie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.