Stretching Saturdays: Water/Soda Bottle Bracelets


How many water or soda bottles have you thrown away this week?  Did you know that you can recycle them into fun bracelets like this.

Photo credit: http://accidentallywonderful.blogspot.com

 

You can make 4 bracelets out of one bottle!  This would make a great craft and a wonderful homemade gift!  The designs are endless and it’s such an inexpensive craft, which is perfect for the budget.

I came across this you tube tutorial which inspired me, who knew you could stretch the life of a water/soda bottle.

Then when I was looking for pictures I came across this blog.  AccidentallyWonderful.Blogspot.Com and Rebekah had some wonderful photos and design ideas, including making one out of yarn, you should definitely check out.

I have lots of nieces who I know are going to love this.

 

Easter Basket Ideas under $10.00

A few years ago, I challenged myself to make my children’s Easter baskets for less than $10.00 with “useful” items.  I did this because I didn’t like the way those cheap baskets under $10.00 looked at the store.  Most of these items I found within the dollar section or dollar store.  Since I was filling several baskets while I was at the store I looked for items that had multiple things I could split up.

These are what the baskets looked like:

This is the toddler basket I made for my 2 year old. The items that are in the basket are: Disney Paint Book, Bible Coloring Book, Bat/Ball, 2 mini Sesame Street Books, Sidewalk Chalk, Crayons, Bubbles, Memory Card Game, Giant Lollipop, Gummy Lifesavers and 3 eggs with candy.

This Basket is for my 6 years olds. The items in there basket are: Glider, Sketch Paper, Disney Paint Book, Crayons, Card Game, Sidewalk Chalk, Bubbles, Crayons, Giant Lollipop, Gummy Lifesavers and 3 eggs filled with candy.
This is the basket I made for my teen. It’s a beauty basket. Enclosed is a bath pillow, foot massager, hair turby towel, body scrubber, sleep mask, face scrubber, giant lollipop, gummy life savers, and 3 eggs filled with candy.
I used clear garbage bags to wrap the baskets
Overall I spent $36.00 for all 4 baskets.  I didn’t put that much candy in their baskets because the Easter bunny hides eggs at our house and those are already filled with candy.
This year we will be having family with us this Easter and 7 children in the house!  I can’t wait and need to start planning now to see what good deals I have find!
I’d love to hear you ideas/ways you save on making Easter Baskets.

Mini Taco Bowls

photo credit: emilybites

I must say I’m a bit obsessed with Pinterest and when I saw this I had to share.

It’s one of those simple things that make you wonder, why didn’t I think of that.

Isn’t this the coolest idea to make mini taco bowls?

Emily over at EmilyBites has a great step by step tutorial on this.

 

DIY Homemade Mini Envelope and Card or Gift Tags

This is the cutest thing!

photo credit: insidestitch.com

I really dislike giving cards with gifts.  I personally find it to be wasteful especially on children.  I mean really what do you do with all of those birthday cards, year after year and to spend $4 on them is just crazy.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do give cards but on special occasions, such as reached milestones and stuff like that.  I also give cards if I don’t give a gift.  But rarely do I do both.  I get out my sharpie, use left over wrapping paper and wa-la, a cheapie card.

When I came across this, I just fell in love!  Now I can make really nice homemade cards without costing me a fortune.  I have a lot of scrapbook paper that I know this will be great on.  Plus, I’m all into homemade stuff and this would be a card that I would consider keeping because it was handmade.

If you are interested in learning how to make these, visit Insidestitch.com for a step by step tutorial.

If you just need a template for the mini envelope you can get it from HERE.

 

DIY Decorative Monogram

photo credit: insidestitch.com

This was too cute to pass up sharing with you!  If you’ve been looking for an inexpensive and cute way to make decorative monograms you’ll want to check out this post from Insidestitch.com

This would be a great addition in a dorm, kids and baby’s room without costing a fortune for those wooden one.

 

T-Shirt Scarf

photo credit: GroopDealz

Right now on GroopDealz you can get these really cute T-Shirt Scarfs for $12.00  Go Here to take advantage of this deal!

If you are a DIY $12 may seem a bit much.  You can make these for less than $5 or free if you have some T shirts you don’t use.  Plus!!  They would be perfect for last minute gifts.

With a little search I found a great video/tutorial for this project.

Check out MadeThisLoveThis.Com For how to make this yourself.

Homemade Growth Chart

photo credit: The Cellar Door

I just love homemade gifts and this is something any mother would love to have.. A homemade growth chart.

Right now, we are using the back of our door.  It’s probably not the best place considering we may move one day, I could take the door with me and replace it but that’s really not likely.

When I saw this post from The Cellar Door Stories, I just instantly fell in love with it.  The best thing is that you can find some crappy wood at Lowes or Home Depot for a great deal or even some at a construction sites for free (just make sure to get permission first) and turn it into a family heirloom.  I can see keeping this around my house for when my grandchildren come to visit.

I can’t wait to make this!  I’ll let show you mine when I’m done and how much it cost to make.

This would make for a great holiday gift!!  Hint to all the men out there!!

If you can’t wait to get started make sure to visit The Cellar Door Stories blog for instructions on how she made her growth chart.

Homemade Frankenstein Costume

If you are looking for a last minute costume or looking for ways to save on spending a costume here is a great idea of a Frankenstein costume  you can make with items you already have around the house.

Materials
  • Plastic gallon jug
  • Green acrylic paint
  • Silver pipe cleaners
  • Nail
  • Masking tape
  • 2 5/8-inch bolt/washer/nut combinations
  • 1 yard of black plush
  • Double-sided mounting tape
  • Black elastic cord
  • Old blue jeans
  • Old sneakers
  • Black T-shirt
  • Green socks
  • Old blazer
  • Green plastic gloves
  • Cotton batting
  • Green face paint
Some things you may want to supplement with instead of using a plastic gallon jug, use cardboard instead. and use glitter or grey paint to paint on the stitches. 
Go to Spoonful.com check out all of the details on how to make this costume.
Don’t want to make your own costume? Be sure to check out all the great Halloween Costumes on Amazon deals

Homemade Sweet Cream Butter

I’m so excited, my preschooler and I made homemade sweet cream butter as his science project for our homeschool preschool.  Be sure to check out your local grocery store for clearanced cream.  Who cares if it’s about to spoil.. that’s what we want!

This project was easy and fun.  My preschooler was super excited and the results tasted fabulous.

Here are the ingredients/supplies you will need.

Heavy Whipping Cream
Glass Jar

Directions:  Leave Whipping Cream out room temperature for at least 12 hours. (You want it to spoil and give a sour taste)

Pour into glass jar and cover.  Give it a good shake, about one shake per minute.  Don’t shake it all around, just give it one thrust of a shake and do this 2-3 minutes

Drain the liquid (This will be buttermilk)

Add water to the jar, give it a good shake and then drain.  This will remove any of the excess butter fat liquid.

Leaving you with Butter!  (Color will vary depending on the cream), If you like salted butter add salt.

If you are like me and need a visual check out this video!  How to make butter!

MomsLifeboat ~ Las Vegas, NV
Our Policies