Creative Frugal Living

Fun and Frugal Things to Do with Toddlers

Fun and Frugal Things to Do with Toddlers

A trip to the toy store can be a real budget crusher! It seems that most items are over-priced, poorly made, or contain small parts that are hazardous for children.

Still, play is very important to children. It is how they learn about the world and develop their physical and mental skills. Play creates opportunities to socialize and interact with others.

Do you wish you could find fun and unique ways to let your toddler play, learn and explore on a shoestring? Well, read on!

Following are six easy and inexpensive things you can make and do with your child using items you generally have on hand in your household. These activities are tactile---using bright colors, touch, taste, and smell---to make the experience pleasant and engaging for you both.

Are you ready for some projects that are low in cost and big on fun? Then roll up your sleeves and begin!

Make a potato picture:

Cut a potato in half, and carve a simple shape or design into it. Let your child dip the potato into finger paint and press it on a clean piece of paper, aluminum foil or on a paper bag. Use the finished masterpiece for a homemade card, wrapping paper, or trick or treat bag.

Paint with Ice Cubes:

First, cover the table with plastic, for easy clean up. (Painting can be messy!)
Put dry tempura paint of various colors into salt shakers for sprinkling.
Let your child shake some paint on a piece of paper or on a paper plate.
Put an old pair of mittens on your child's hands to keep them from getting too cold.
Have them pick up an ice cube and swirl it around through the paint to make a pleasing design.
Let the paintings dry and hang them on the refrigerator or other place of honor, reserved for great works of art!

Create critters and things from edible clay:

To make the clay, you'll need:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup dry non-fat milk solids
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

For eyes, ears, tails, hair, and other finishing touches, try using:

grated coconut, chocolate chips, banana or apple slices, carrot curls, celery slices, etc.

For easy clean up, eat the results!

Make treats to feed the birds:

Pine Cone Bird Feeders

You will need:

Large pine cones
A butter knife
Yarn or ribbon, cut in 12 inch lengths
Peanut butter
Bird seed or sunflower seeds

1. Spread the pine cone with peanut butter.
2. Roll the pine cone in a tray of seeds.
3. Tie yarn or ribbon around the bottom of the pine cone.
4. Hang from a tree branch
.
Little Bird Bowls

You will need:

A small ice cream scoop
Orange halves (with the insides scooped out)
Crisco shortening
Bird seed or sunflower seeds

1. Cut the oranges in half, and scoop out the fruit.
2. With the ice cream scoop, scoop out a ball of shortening.
3. Roll the shortening ball in a tray of seeds.
4. Place the seed ball inside the hollowed out orange half.
5. Put the "bird bowl" in the crook of a tree.

Hanging Bird Food Ornaments

You will need:

Yarn or ribbon cut in 12 inch lengths
A Straw
Cookie cutters
Some stale bread
Peanut butter (optional)
Bird seed or sunflower seeds (optional)

1. Cut the stale bread into pretty shapes using a cookie cutter.
2. Using a straw, poke a hole in the top of the shape.
3. Thread the yarn or ribbon through the hole and tie both ends together to form a loop.
4. If you like, put peanut butter or peanut butter and seeds on the bread.
5. Hang the ornament from a tree branch.
** Or you can hang pretzels or little donuts from the yarn if you like!

Make some goofy recipes:

Frozen Fish Popsicles

Make blue Jell-o according to package directions
Pour it into popsicle molds
Drop in a few gummy fish
Add the sticks and freeze

or for a variation, put the jell-o in individual clear plastic cups. When it is soft-set, add several gummy fish to each one.

Worms in Dirt

Make instant chocolate pudding according to package directions
Pour into individual clear plastic cups to set
Sprinkle the top of the pudding with cocoa powder
Add chocolate sprinkles if desired
Drop in a few gummy worms

Make your own jigsaw puzzle:

Have your child draw a picture, or find a nice one in a children's magazine. Glue the picture onto a piece of heavy paper or cardboard. After the glue dries, carefully cut or tear the picture into five or six large pieces, and have your child put it together again.

Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

Don't Throw Those Papers Out, Turn Them Into Frugal Gifts!

Don't Throw Those Papers Out, Turn Them Into Frugal Gifts!

If you are like me, you find yourself, from time to time, buried under mounds of paper!
I have the best of intentions to either sort through it and file it away, or toss it out entirely.
But alas, it is one of those dreaded tasks I never seem to get around to.

One day, in desperation, I decided to grit my teeth and to sort and stash that mountainous mess. But then it dawned on me. I was merely making a more organized pile and shifting it to a new location!

Surely, there had to be a practical use for all this stuff?

I fixed myself a cup of Earl Grey tea, sat and had myself a think. Then, eureka! The idea came. Why not turn all of this paper trash into priceless, unique, and practical treasures my family and friends would enjoy?

Do you have:

Recipe clippings

Old greeting cards

Leftover pretty wrapping paper, ribbons and gift tags

Artwork from your kids

Newspaper and magazine articles you've saved

Photos you never got around to putting in an album

Exceptional homework, track meet ribbons, school music programs etc. you have saved for your kids

Maps, brochures, matchbooks and postcards you saved from a great family vacation

Why not turn them into attractive, one of a kind placemats and give them as gifts?

Do you know a mother-to be expecting her first child?

Take those great articles you saved on emergency medical tips, parenting advice, and child development milestones, group them by themes, and make a set of helpful placemats. They won't tear or fade, they wipe off, and they can be kept in a place that is always handy for the new (and probably frazzled!) mother.

Do you know a Grandma or Grandpa that lives far away and is sad they can't see their favorite kids very often?

Make them a placemat that is a collage of school pictures, recital programs, pre-school finger paintings, honor roll certificates or ribbons won in sporting events.

Do you know a new bride, or a young person getting their first apartment?

Put those recipe clippings to practical use, and turn them into placemats featuring Yankee pot roast, chocolate chip cookies, and tips for fixing a memorable holiday meal.

Did you go on a second honeymoon? Travel home for a family reunion? Just get back from the best vacation of your life?

Preserve those memories in a set of placemats. Include postcards, seashells, room receipts, matchbook covers from a hotel or restaurant, and photos you snapped from the tour bus.

The possibilities are as endless as your own imagination. And the process of making placemats is easy and fun.

All you need to do is :

Take a large piece of construction paper or card stock, and attractively arrange the items you want to use on it.

When you are satisfied with the result, glue the elements to the paper and let it dry thoroughly.

Sandwich the construction paper between two pieces of clear contact paper that you have cut slightly larger than the paper itself.

Voila! You have a beautiful, unique, and frugal gift that is sure to please.

Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

14 Frugal Food-Rescuing Tips from Grandma

14 Frugal Food-Rescuing Tips from Grandma

My grandparents, and probably yours too, lived through the horrors of the Great Depression, and two world wars. Times were hard, money was scarce, and sometimes foods were rationed. They simply could not afford to throw away slightly stale groceries, or toss a recipe that wasn’t turning out right.

As a result, Grandma learned how to keep things from spoiling, or how to "revive" foods that were older and losing their freshness. The results were perfectly edible, and these simple tricks sure helped to stretch an already strained food budget.
Why not try a few of these time-honored and tested tips yourself?

If you are one egg short when baking a cake, substitute one teaspoon of cornstarch instead.

Do you want to prevent mold from growing on cheese? Wrap it tightly with a sugar cube, and store it in the refrigerator. If your cheese is already moldy, simply wipe it off with a vinegar-soaked paper towel. The cheese will then be edible, and the flavor won’t be affected.

Are you out of oil, and need to grease a skillet? Rub it with half a potato. Pans "greased" with potato don’t smoke at high temperatures like oiled pans do.

Does your brown sugar harden like a concrete block? To keep it soft, store it in a glass jar in your refrigerator, or in a plastic bag with a piece of bread or apple inside.
Don’t let insects ruin your dry foods! Put a bay leaf into containers of pasta, flour, rice and dry mixes to keep them away.

If your mayonnaise separates or curdles, mix 1 teaspoon mustard and 1 tablespoon curdled mayonnaise in a bowl. Beat it with a wire whisk until it is creamy. Add the rest of the mayonnaise slowly and blend well.

To keep a fresh fruit salad from turning brown, sprinkle the sliced fruit with lemon juice.

Is your granulated sugar lumpy? Place several saltine crackers in the container and cover it tightly.

If you have a block of cheese that has dried out, don’t throw it away? Store it in freezer. When you need to grate it for a recipe, slice it thinly, without thawing. Frozen cheese crumbles easily. It is perfect for making macaroni and cheese.

Do you need to freshen dried out coconut? Place it in a strainer over a steaming pot of water for a few minutes.

If you don’t want to throw out a stale loaf of bread, sprinkle it with water or milk, and wrap it in aluminum foil. Bake it at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes to soften it. Loaves of Italian or French bread need to be baked for 3-5 minutes more, with the foil open for the last few minutes.

Sticky rice? Rinse it thoroughly with warm water to wash out the excess starch. This will cause the grains to easily separate.

Sticky pasta? Add salt or oil to noodles while the water is boiling.

Did you over-salt a recipe? Add a little vinegar and sugar, and then taste. If it is a recipe for stew or soup, add a raw potato to absorb the excess salt.

Does your recipe have too much sugar? Add a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar.

Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com