Search Results for: blog a paper bag princess

A Paper Bag Princess

Recently, we were invited to a princess party – apparently a real live princess is going to be there. It seems like an appropriate occasion for my daughter to wear the princess dress that she got for Christmas. It’s all things princess around here, although lucky for us, the discussion of beauty hasn’t played into princess talk just yet. I think that it’s all about the big dresses for now. Robert Munsch’s The Paper Bag Princess is a classic tale of a fancy princess who has to use her wits after a dragon burns down her castle. She finds an … Continue reading →

Scrap Your Magical Spring Break Adventure

If your family’s spring break escape includes a sprinkling of pixie dust, a pair of glass slippers and a castle fit for a princess, then you will likely be documenting every magical moment. No trip to a Disney theme park can take place without snapping at least a few hundred photos and collecting a mountain of memorabilia.  When you return from your fantasy vacation you’ll want create a scrapbook detailing all of the fun had with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and the rest of the crew. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a ton of money crafting a Disney-themed memory … Continue reading →

Throwing a Green Birthday Party – Part 2

Yesterday, I was talking about making your child’s birthday party green. Even if it is months away, it’s never too soon to start planning. Here are some more tips for a green birthday party: Decorations The one good thing about our son’s birthday party at this bowling alley this year is it was in the party room, so most of the decorations have been used time and time again by the bowling alley. Consider recycling decorations from year to year or at least look for those made of recycled material. Just Say No to Goody Bags Oh, this one seems … Continue reading →

The Good, The Bad, and the Creepy: Thrift Store Toys for Your Preschooler

If you’re out shopping with a preschooler who is hanging off your leg, begging for this, that, and the other thing, there’s no better place to be than a thrift store or a yard sale. Where else will your kid actually have buying power? The best thing about thrift store toys for your preschooler is the cost. Often, you can find huge bins of Lego for a few dollars. Go in with a mental list of what you’re looking for. Dress up clothes? Lego? It’s easy to leave with junk just because it’s cheap. Of course, if your child has … Continue reading →

Free Puppets

If you have been hanging in there with me through the last few days, you know that I have been exploring some frugal gifts for the holidays. We talked about putting together a nice puppet playhouse for nothing. Now, of course, we will need some puppets to go with the puppet playhouse. There are several ways to make puppets for free using common items that you already have around the house. When you make your puppets, they will have more of an impact if you choose a theme. You can choose a fantasy fairy tale theme and make a prince, … Continue reading →

Ideas for a Rockin’ Dinosaur Party for Kids

What do you do when your 4-year-old daughter begs you for a dinosaur-themed birthday party? If you’re me you consult with friends who have little boys and come up with a variety of dinosaur-related games, activities and decorations, so that your little princess can feel like a Triceratops for a day: PREHISTORIC IMPRINTS Materials: Play-Doh or homemade dough Items to imprint, including bugs, leaves, dinosaur footprints (from toy dinosaur) Shoe polish Acrylic sealer Directions: Make a rock shape from the Play-Doh. Create a smooth surface on the topside of your rock. (You can use water or the bottom of a … Continue reading →

Unique Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

If you thought those Mr. Potato Head pumpkin decoration sets were a clever way to get out of gutting a gourd while still making it look festive, then you probably don’t have a neighbor who’s into making junk-o’-lanterns. There’s a home located next to the building where my daughter attends cooking class that is lined with pumpkins decorated with, well… junk. Wing nuts, rubber from old tires, window latches, wood from old fences, curtain ties, tacks, screws, springs, hinges, you name it and the homeowner has attached it to his pumpkins to create these amazing junk-o-lanterns. It took me a … Continue reading →

Dressing a Daughter’s Room 2

Are you ready for the next step in dressing up my daughter’s room? Previously, I talked about the elements of my daughter’s room and what we have done so far, such as the colors and the furniture. Now, I’ll talk about how we went about choosing custom curtains to dress both her windows and the closet door. if you missed the previous post in this series, just click here: Dressing a Daughter’s Room So, now we are ready to move on to picking out the curtains. The first thing we did, of course, was to take measurements of the windows … Continue reading →

Dressing a Daughter’s Room

We had quite an adventure this past weekend. Now that Molly’s room is almost finished, we just need to address the windows, or should I say “dress” the windows. We also have a closet door to dress as well. Here is what we have been doing and where we found a way to make custom curtains when I don’t yet sew. Getting Molly’s room ready has been a long process that was frequently interrupted by other house projects that took priority, such as new flooring in the family room, felling trees in the yard, and fixing plumbing leaks. We can … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Month in Review: June 2008

What a happy month is June, filled with the renewal of spring and the promise of summer. In the last month, we have shared so many ideas for frugal living and saving money. This past month has seen some pretty big increases in food, gas and other items (look for an upcoming post about strawberries increasing more than 100 percent). Now more than ever, it is important to save money where we can. This is why I decided to do a month in review. June 2nd Frugal Living Review: May 26th Through June 1st Garage sale shopping has got to … Continue reading →