Dollar Store Recommendations Part 2

About 6 months ago I shared with you my list of dollar store recommendations specifically from the

 Dollar Tree Store.  Today I wanted to share a part 2 of that series because I keep finding great things that I love from that store.  I also have a few at the end of the list that I couldn't find on the website but you might be able to find them in a store near you so don't just go by the pictures-check out the whole list.

1. Spray bottles: I honestly don't know what the going rate of a spray bottle is at any other store but when I saw these at the dollar store my only hang up was, "Do they work?" and I am here to tell you that they do work-GREAT!!

2. Microfiber Dish Cloths: These work great for mopping floors, washing dishes and as rags.  

3. Printed Shelf Liners: I don't actually use this as shelf liners but use it to cover things (boxes, binders etc).  I couldn't find it on the website but I have also bought the clear contact paper and it works great for at home "laminating".

4. Stor It Cover Ups: They are like little shower caps for your dishes.  They are super handy, I wash mine so they can be reused and the box comes with 3 different sizes in one.  I think it is a great buy.

5. Muffin Liners: Depending on sales and coupons you may find these for cheaper elsewhere.  These ones are great too.

6. Hawaiian Punch Singles To Go: These are a fun "reward" for kids on long trips.  We dump one into a water bottle and it seems to provide enough excitement to keep a kid happy for a while longer.  And they are sugar free if that makes a difference to you.

7. Clear Decorative Rocks:  I use these a lot to make magnets (decorative ones, or job chart ones etc.)  Once in a while you find a dud but overall you get your moneys worth for sure.

8. Dry Erase Markers: I know these are one of those items that you would for sure wonder if it is worth it but I have some that I bought for my in home preschool and they work great.  They last a long time, hold up pretty well (even when being smashed by a 3 year old trying to write) and the marker doesn't just immediately rub off of the whiteboard surface.  I think they are a great buy.

9. Kid scissors: I particularly like these ones because they have a little spring that you can put in place to help kids first learning to cut.  The spring helps the scissors spring back.  We have had the same pair for 3 year and they haven't had a single problem.

10. Glitter Glue: To me this is one of those items that it doesn't really matter how good the quality is if you are getting these for little kids because they are going to think it is cool, squeeze out a whole blob on a paper and then repeat on a million more papers until it is all gone.  $1.00 to entertain like that for a 1/2 hour is well worth it to me.  I even found some in pastel colors: pink, yellow, green, blue and purple.

11. Flash Cards: I haven't bought these particular Sesame Street ones but I have bought flashcards from the Dollar Tree and I love them.  They have so many kinds to choose from.  I hole punch the corners and put them on a ring to keep them all together.  

12. Bubble Bath Books: I use these for a teething baby; it's better than ruining a good book with baby drool.

13. Strawberry Shortcake Coloring Books:  I am not sure of the going rate of coloring books at any store really but I love these ones and my girls do too.  They are good quality and so stinkin cute.  Makes me want to take up coloring again.  Great for gifts too (just don't buy the crayons or colored pencils at the Dollar Tree to go with these :)

14. Bingo Dabbers: I use these for preschool.

15. Muffin Pans: I am not sure how great these are for baking (though I am sure they are okay) but I use them for gifts like burp cloth cupcakes, or cupcake onesies and also for preschool for sorting colors, counting objects, or holding supplies.  

16.  Foaming Hand Soap: They didn't have a picture of the foaming hand soap so I used this antibacterial hand soap picture instead but I really want to tell you about the foaming hand soap.  It is awesome and I keep reusing the bottles by making my own hand soap to go in them.  I have found a pomegranate scent, a coconut lime scent, and a fresh laundry scent.

17. Barbie Tooth Brush (not pictured): I just found these for my girls.  A barbie tooth brush, with a little cover and a cute little case.  They were in heaven.  I mean if a new toothbrush can bring so much joy then I will be happy to stock up.

18. Boxed Milk (not pictured): The brand is Gossner.  It comes in a tetrapack.  I have not actually drank it just by itself but I am sure it is comparable to reconstituted powdered milk or better.  I do however use it in baking ALL THE TIME.  I would recommend this as something to have in your emergency storage-for those times when you run out of milk and can't get to the store, or an after hours baking spree in which you don't want to use up all the regular milk.  I have used it on my girls oatmeal and they didn't seem to notice.  It is easier to use than powdered milk and super handy to have.  

19. Soy Sauce (not pictured): just saying that I have used it and it tastes totally normal to me and it is a decent amount for $1.00.  

20. Stor It Jumbo Freezer Bags (not pictured): I just happened to find these when I was looking for paper bags one time in the store.  They are freezer bags that are bigger than the 1 gallon size.  I mean, how many times do you have something that is just a hair too big for a gallon sized bag?  Happens to me a lot.  These are perfect.  I think there are like 10 to a box or something.  Maybe I am just a sucker for a zip top bag, but these are great.

Ok, so there you have it and I will keep shopping so I can get back and post a part 3 (because they always get great new stuff).

Have you tried anything from the Dollar Tree store that you just love?  Please share.

Kool-Aid Dyed Coffee Filter Wreath

Who knew that coffee filters could be so crafty but I have seen all kinds of crafts popping up made from them.  And you know they are a fairly cheap crafting medium so I say the more ideas the better.  Well I have  seen some coffee filter wreath ideas lately and I was in need of a spring wreath for my door so I decided to give it a try.  I did a little research first on dying coffee filters and found lots of different ideas including coffee, tea, fabric dye, watered down paint and crystal light.  I decided to try Kool-Aid.  Like I read on one blog, "if it dyes my fingers it has got to be able to dye a coffee filter."  Well Kool-Aid definitely stains everything it comes in contact with so I figured it would work.  Only I didn't know just how well it would work and how easy it would be.

Here are my color choices (because I wanted a couple of shades of pink and yellow)

I poured the entire contents of the package in a tall container, added some water (didn't really measure-not too much-probably a cup and a 1/4).

Now take a bunch of coffee filters

and submerge them into the liquid (you only need to leave them in there for 30 seconds-it goes fast)

 then take them out, squeeze out the excess liquid (over the container) and lay them out on a cookie sheet.  If I used a really thick bunch then I separated the filters to make sure the very middle ones got colored.  If not I re-submerged them.

 Here are all the ones I did.  Don't be alarmed if the color is a lot brighter than you wanted when they are wet-it will lighten as they dry.  

 They hold the stain so well-I couldn't believe it and the whole thing too me about 10 minutes.  I did a full package of (I think close to 200) and another half package.  The only problem is that you may end up with colored fingers too but even that wore off after a day.

 Now here is the genius part.  In all the tutorials I read online people were putting these on cookie sheets all over counters to dry, or hanging them on fences and clothes lines, or lining their entire floor with them.  Listen-it is all unnecessary.  I put the whole works into my dryer, set the low heat cycle for 10 minutes and then an additional 5-7 (it depends on how many you have in there) minutes and they were completely dry (and the dryer smelled fruity fresh).

 And it was onto the wreath making.  I used a Styrofoam wreath cut in half for my wreath base.  I tried gluing directly to the Styrofoam but it and the filters do not hold the glue well so I found it was better to wrap the wreath base in cloth first and then glue to that.  I also found that this is a super messy hot glue project so put something below the whole thing to catch all the drips.  I tried gluing the coffee filters individually but that took forever and I was way over crowding them so I ripped them all off and tried gluing them in premade little bundles and that worked much better.

 To make the bundles take 3 or 4 coffee filters and lay them on top of each other.

 Fold them in half

 and then in half again.

Cut off the point.

Run a few beads of hot glue down in between a few of the layers to hold it together.

 Then add hot glue to your wreath base first (be generous) and stick the bundle down tucking it under the other filters but not too tight-loose looks better.  Go all the way around.  If you are adding a ribbon hanger do it before you cover the spot with filters.

 And there you have it-beautiful, simple, springy (and frugal too).

 I can't even tell you how much I love this project.  I have a feeling there will be more of these popping up through the year and you can bet I am going to think of a few more ways to use dyed coffee filters.  My mind just won't stop thinking of possible color combinations.  

Kool-Aid dyed Coffee Filter Wreath-my new favorite for 2013.

Family Goals for 2013: A Better Job Chart and Warm Fuzzies

This year I wanted to incorporate a few ideas into our family that will hopefully be helpful to both kids and parents.  I am big on traditions or things that are repetitive for my kids (like things they can count on happening daily or weekly).  I wanted to improve our job chart (to make it something that was user friendly for my kids and made them more accountable) and I wanted to create a new daily tradition for our family for the dinner table that encouraged positive actions and words.  Here is what I did.

#1. The Job Chart

I found this chart at Walmart in their back to school clearance for .98 cents.  I modified it a bit by dividing the chores section into two columns (one for the to do's and one for the jobs done).   

I did a search online for job chart ideas and let me tell you there are plenty of them out there.  I needed something that was visual since my kids can't yet read.  I also needed something that I could make rather quickly.  I didn't want the process of making the job chart to be a waste of my time.  There were some really cute ideas online but I kept telling myself, "I want this to be user friendly and don't want to worry about my kids wrecking it in the process of using it."  I found this fantastic set of job pictures here at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  I printed off two sets but had them print so that I was getting 2 pages on one (because I wanted small pictures to put on my glass rocks) and I also printed out the blank cards so I could draw some of my own job ideas.

 I cut out the pictures that I wanted from the job chart cards.  I picked jobs that would be my kids everyday jobs plus a bunch of others so that they could choose two extra jobs each week.  I used a glue stick, rubbed it on the picture side, stuck it to the flat side of the glass rock and added a magnet with some superglue.

 So the idea is that they have 5 jobs which are their everyday jobs (make bed, brush teeth, get dressed, pick up toys, and preschool).  Then they each choose 2 extra jobs for the week (fold laundry, put away groceries, clean the art center, clean dollhouse area, clean bathrooms, help mom cook etc.)  Each day when they accomplish a job they move their marker to the done side.  I want to make them more accountable with their job chart so that I can say things like, "no you can't have that until I see that you have 3 jobs done."  I think the visual reminder will be really helpful to them.  I also included jobs for mom and dad because in our house everyone does jobs and some family members (dad in particular) need a little reminder of what his or her jobs are as well.  Each week at Family Home Evening the kids will choose new "extra" jobs and we will assign mom and dad new jobs.

 Idea #2: Warm Fuzzies Jar

I came up with this idea to encourage everyone in our family to focus more on the kind and positive things in our family.  Every parent knows how easy it is to tell your kids to "stop", "don't", "quit it" and to find all kinds of things that are annoying, bossy, rude or unkind.  But it harder to recognize and acknowledge all the good things (well at least it is for me-I want to but I don't always do it).  The warm fuzzy jar sits in the center of our table.  Each night at family dinner we take turns sharing kind things that we saw happen in our family during the day.  Each family member can technically share as many kind things as they want to but at some point there may have to be some monitoring if the ideas are just being shared so that someone can hear themselves talk or put a cool pom pom in a jar.  When the jar is filled we will go and do a fun family outing like go swimming, go to a movie, go out for dinner and ice cream or go to a kid museum then we will empty the jar and start again.  I am hoping that what ultimately happens in our home is that everyone works a bit harder to be kinder and to notice the kind deeds we do for each other. 

Dollar Store Recommendations

No I am not getting paid to do this, but I once read a blog article on Dollar Store do's and don'ts and I found the recommendations so helpful that I wanted to share my own list of things I recommend purchasing from the dollar store.  In this case these are all things that can be found at Dollar Tree.  I think that is the best dollar store out there.  It is a true dollar store, as in-everything cost $1.00.  

1. Kids tooth brushes.  Unless your child is super set on a specific character getting a 2 pack of kids tooth brushes for $1.00 is a great deal especially since they are going to chew the heck out of them and you will need new ones in just a matter of a couple of months.  I once found Care Bear tooth brushes that play a little song at the Dollar Tree and they have been one of the biggest hits at our house.  I only wish I had the foresight to have bought all of them because I haven't found them since.

2. Kids shampoo/body wash.  You go through a lot of this.  You can sometimes get it for a good deal at Walmart but this is a good deal also.  I don't feel bad making bubbles with it in the tub or letting the kids wash themselves with it for this price.

3. Large storage bags.  These come in large, XL and XXL sizes.  There are 2 to a pack and they are good.  I am not going to say they are the best quality but I have used them for excess toys and also for craft supplies and I love them.  They are handy to put things in to store in a dirty basement or under your bed.  And they are big.  One of my fav's from the $ store.

4. Worcestershire Sauce.  Gourmet cooks everywhere would gasp if they knew you bought it at the dollar store but if you are like me and only use it for a few recipes it is a good deal.

5. Pretzels   I only buy them at the $ store.  Even the cheap ones at Walmart are more than $1.00.  

6. Paper cups.  Now if you are needing a ton of paper cups this would't be a good deal but if you are wanting only a few to decorate for a party with, or to repurpose into something else then these are a good deal because you can get a lot of different colors and they are good quality cups.  I intend to make a set of mini light lanterns with these (so stay tuned for that).

7. Serving trays-but not to serve on.  Rather buy them, spray paint them, make a cute set of magnets to go with them, pick up a picture stand while you are at the Dollar Store and you have an instant gift-a mini magnet board.  These are the perfect size for magnet recipe holders too.

8. Quick erasers   These are like Magic Erasers only a fraction of the price and they work like a charm.  I was skeptical but I have been impressed.  In fact because they have a sponge on one side of them I find they actually hold up better-but that is just my opinion.

9. Kosher salt-again the gasps from the gourmet cooks.  Really people, in my very plain jane, middle of nowhere opinion-salt is salt.  This salt just happens to be $1.00-that's all I am saying.

10. Minced garlic-gasps again.  It is super handy for a lot of recipes and comes in small jars so that you don't have a vat of minced garlic sitting in your fridge forever.  

11. Chicken broth (now the gourmet cooks are completely disgusted with me and have quit reading).  I don't know that there is that big of a difference in the taste of chicken broth from one brand to the next (don't answer that) but this is $1.00 for a large tetra-pack carton and that in my opinion is a great deal and I like the flavor.  

12.Pop up lid storage containers.  We use these for cereal, snack bags and even one for a trash bin in our van.  

13. Cookie sheets.  Don't buy these to use to bake on-they are much too flimsy for that.  Buy these to make magnet job charts for your kids, or a magnet photo board, or a magnet advent calender or...(the list goes on-search Pinterest).

14. Kitchen shears.  Could a pair that you pay only $1.00 for be that great??? Yep they can.  I love my pair and maybe they can't cut through chicken bones or anything but they can cut bacon, they can cut meat, they can open packages.  You could have 4 pairs (1 for each different job) for that matter and price.

15. Pom Poms.  I am not constantly on the look out for the cost of pom poms so perhaps you can get them cheaper some place else.  I find that these are a great deal.  They have lots of different colors and it is a good sized package.

16. Googly eyes.  Again I don't know if you can get them cheaper some place else but for a large assorted pack of googly eyes I think $1.00 is a perfect price.  I love them.

17.Styrofoam balls.  Look any place for styrofoam balls and you will be shocked at how much they are-like $4-5.00 for a pack of 4. It is just nuts.  This picture shows and assorted pack, but I recently found 6 packs of both large and small balls (and in fact the smaller size had more to a pack) for $1.00.  If you are lucky enough to find these stock up because they are hard to come by.  What a deal.

18. Kid puzzles.  These are 25 piece puzzles but they also have 50 and 100 piece puzzles and then wooden puzzles too.  My girls love doing puzzles.  These are fun to pick up as a "what did you bring me?" prize.  They are good quality puzzles and they have a ton of varieties.

19. Pregnancy tests.  I am just saying-I have used one and it was accurate and I have a 3 month old to prove it.  As my friend says, "if you are pregnant-you are pregnant." Just adding that I am not guaranteeing anything-so don't hold me responsible.  I would buy one of these when you pretty much already know you are pregnant but you just want to pee on a stick to make it official.

20. Preschool work books.  I love these.  There are so many different kinds.  I want to buy every one of them.  They are so helpful when I do preschool with my girls.  We don't use these exclusively but they have so many neat things in them.  The Strawberry Shortcake series is our favorite.

A few other things I always buy: 

balloons-I keep a bunch in stock for playing with.

foaming hand soap.  I buy a couple of containers and then refill them with my own homemade version after

dish soap-it is too cheap to wash dishes with but it is good for making shower cleaner with (they recommend using the good stuff but I made it with the cheap stuff and was still impressed with the results).

Kids socks and kids character face clothes.

And now for just a couple Dollar Store Don'ts:

-playdough-it is cheap and awful

-crayons-they don't work worth beans

-candy bars-don't be fooled.  You can get them cheaper almost any place else.

-Cleaning wipes-they are not worth your money

most of the toys-I still buy them occasionally but I don't expect them to last too long

-

Ruffle Front Christmas Towel

I wanted to make a set of Christmas towels for my kitchen that were festive and easy. You may recall my ruffle front apron tutorial from almost exactly a year ago this time-well it became my inspiration for these towels.  They are really simple to make and super festive for the holidays coming up.

You will need:

flour sack towels (I got a pack of 2 at Walmart for $1.79 but you can get a 12 pack at Sam's Club for $12.98)

1 pot holder for each towel (I got a set of 2 at the dollar store)

Fabric ( I found a fat quarter pack at Walmart I believe it was)

 Begin by cutting 3 strips from each fabric that you want to use.  I decided to go with 3 different prints.  My lowest ruffle and the one I sew on first was 3 3/4" wide.  The second was 3 1/2" and the third was 3 1/4" wide.  Press these with an iron and then sew them end to end to make one long strip.

 If desired you can fold and hem them but I decided to just serge the edges.  I like how it looks and it is easy that way.  Which ever you choose-finish all your edges.

 Now on your towel mark with dashes a line where you will attach your ruffle.  Mine is 3 1/4" up from the bottom of the towel because I want my bottom ruffle to hang over the edge.  Spacing is really up to you.

 Normally I would just use my cheaters method for gathering but the towel fabric is too light weight in this case so I sewed a basting stitch along one end, pulled my strings to gather the fabric and then pinned it in place.  Next sew along the top edge of the ruffle.  Then repeat the same process with the remaining fabric strips making sure to overlap each ruffle slightly.

 When you fold your towel into thirds it should look pretty and frilly like this:

 Now with the towel still in thirds, fold the whole thing in half vertically and press with an iron to get a center crease.  Pin the towel layers together on this crease.

 Sew along the crease with a basting stitch.

 Pull the strings in order to gather the towel to be slightly narrower than your potholder.

 Fold the pot holder in half to find the center.  I ironed it to get sort of a crease line to use as a guide.  Pin the pot holder in place with the pattern side down and the loop hanger at the top like this:

 Sew along the pot holder.  If you look closer I didn't start at the exact edge of the pot holder but rather just inside the seam binding.  That is where the edges of my towel meet the pot holder-making the hanging holder part just a bit wider than the towel.

 It will look like this now.

 Finally sew a big button to the outside of the potholder on the ruffled side of the towel.  Then wrap the pot holder around your oven door handle, and wrap the loop hanger around the button.  DONE!!!

Pretty festive don't you think!!

Monkey Party

My little pumpkin monkey turned 3.  I decided to throw her a monkey themed party because she can be found swinging on door handles, scaling kitchen cupboards, dangling from cupboard edges, jumping off couches and doing summersaults all over the place.  A monkey party was the only fitting theme. 

In case a monkey party is a suitable theme for one of your children I'll share a few of the details.

This coloring page was my inspiration for most everything.  You can find it by going here

I used the coloring page monkey to design and create the invites.  The mouth opens to reveal the party info.  I printed the party info onto a sticker sheet (I found them at Office Max).  I cut around the information and stuck it inside the monkey mouth.  A link to print off the monkey card pattern is at the end of this post.

Snack cups-filled with my monkeys favorite: Dorritos.  These are Martha Stewart inspired.  The monkey face is created with circles (one large for the mouth-cut in half and two small for the ears).  The eyes and nostrils are drawn on with black marker.  The cups are from the Dollar store.

Party guests included these super adorable Dollar Store monkeys.  I added pink tutu's and hair bows for the girls and bow ties for the boys (see end of the post).  The hair bows and bow ties are attached with a piece of sticky velcro.  The monkeys were a huge hit as a take home prize.

I wanted to create monkey treat bags but didn't have time to cut out all the pieces from the monkey face invite to put on the bags so instead I printed off the monkey from the coloring page, chalked it, cut it and hung it by it's tail on a ribbon.  The treat bags held non-edible prizes mostly (since her birthday is on Halloween and the kids don't need any more candy).

Toilet tissue roll binoculars were for the banana hunt and monkey hunt we did in the yard.  I wanted to make these super cutesie but I got a reality check and decided that since they were for 7 kids under the age of 5 they didn't need to be fancy.  Duct tape did the trick.

A simple monkey cake.  For some reason a cake and candles are the last thing on my mind with birthday parties.  I almost always forget-hence the super simple cake design.

Monkey cupcake toppers on chocolate cupcakes watched over by this handsome and furry guest.

We played pin the tail on the monkey

Then each kid got a pair of binoculars so we could head to the backyard to find all the bananas those silly monkeys spread everywhere.

The bananas were made out of Dollar Store paper plates.  I taped candy on the backs of some and spread them all over the yard.  The kids had to find some and put them in their paper sacks so they could feed the monkeys later.

After they found all the bananas they set out to find the monkeys.  It just so happened that there were a bunch hanging from this tree.

Each kid got to pick their own monkey pal to take home.

Then there was cake and goodies and opening presents.  It wasn't until the presents part that my little pumpkin monkey finally decided having a birthday party was alright.  The mom's loved all the details even if they were lost on a 3 year old.  

Here's a close up of the treat bags.

Mr. & Mrs. Monkey

Here is the link to the coloring page I used to create the birthday girls special shirt

And lastly here is a copy of the monkey card pattern pieces.  Happy party planning.

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