Halloween Jack-In-A-Boxes For Under $2

Okay.  I'm running a little late on Halloween.  (As the lack of creativity should show, as I didn't doll up my kiddo's hair in the pics, nor did I create this beautiful vignette to display this project.  I just hurriedly got it done so I could post it on here!)  But this is nothing new though.  In fact, I still have a gingerbread kit from last Christmas that was going to end up as a candy heart village for Valentine's Day, an Easter Village a few months later, and now it looks like it'll end back up as one for Christmas again.  (Fortunately, it's still intact and nothing has molded!)

Anyways, this project for my kiddo is something that I've been planning to do for the past month, but haven't gotten around to do yet, since other things keep getting in the way.  (Like that couponing thing I was mentioning!)

However, I "pinky" swore to my daughter that we would do it today, on the account that her room got cleaned up.  (Yeah-- right!)  So, while she's supposedly in her room-- cleaning right now (aka, watching cartoons, where I'll say "can I check your room" and she'll reply "not yet!  I'm almost done though"), I'll blog how this project turned out.  (It's really quick, as it only took us about a half hour to put all this stuff together.)

First of all, you'll need these supplies~

• 3 Craft blocks (They usually sell three for $1.)
• Paintbrushes or Spongebrush (With a 5-year old, I learned the spongebrushes work best.)
• Construction paper
• Acrylic Paint (Which usually runs 2 for a $1.)
• Glue stick and/or double-sided tape (not shown, because I forgot to include it in the photo)

The first thing you want to do, is paint your blocks.  Acrylic doesn't take that long to dry, so they'll be holdable after about 10 minutes.

I'm surprised she wanted to participate.  Usually, she's concerned about getting her hands dirty.



 While you are waiting for the paint to dry, cut out two strips of paper (about 1/2" wide, and the entire length of the piece of construction paper (11.5").  Using a glue stick (or double-sided tape, to avoid frustration), make a "V" like this:

And overlapping back and forth, keep going, until you reach the end.  (You might need to trim off a little excess of paper at the end.)  Fasten with the glue, or the double-sided tape, and you should end up with this~

Such a dorky smile!  "No.  It's not an accordian for your Barbies!"

Afterward, cut out shapes (like ghosts, pumpkins, bats, etc.), making sure that you leave a tab at the bottom, to fold under and glue to the 'spring' that you just made~

Since this is a project for my 5-year old, I can't get all elaborate, making these darling, like something you'd see from those vintage decorations from the 1900's, etc.  So because of that, I have to make this project as simple as possible. 

To make the lid, get a piece of construction paper, and cut a rectangle that can be folded over.  (Cut it to the size of the block, of course.)  I had a hole puncher, so I just punched out a couple holes from the other paper, for my kiddo to glue on. 

And, when you've got the lid attached (through a rubbed on dab of glue stick), glue the bottom of the spring, and attach to the block~

And look at the insane joy this can bring to a five year old child!

Happy Crafting!

Couponing-- Who Knew It Could Be So Addicting?

It's been a couple weeks since I've done anything on here, and I have a reason.

Clipping coupons.

It's been so bad, that my 5-year old says I need to go trick-or-treating as one.  But if you haven't tried it yet, get a Sunday paper, and go through the coupon insert sections.  Did you know that you could not only save what it says on the manufacturers' coupons, but (what they refer to as) "stack" them with the stores' coupons, thus saving more?  Even getting them for free by taking advantage of their 'buy 1 get 1' offers.  You can also add those deals onto the stores' deals (like Walgreens' Register Rewards or Rite Aid's Up plan, and get money back to spend on other items in the store. 

I mean, check out this video from Hip2Save's trip to Walgreens:

(Do you hear how fast she's talking?  It's from the adrenaline rush you get from all the savings!)

I'm amazed at this! 

(Check out the part at frame 5:00, where she's at Toys 'r Us.  Do you see how she was able to take advantage of a 'buy 1 get 1 free' promotion in the store, and stack it with a paper's 'buy 1 get 1 free' coupon?  She totally saved $11 doing it!)

So for the past couple of weeks, that's been what I've been trying to do.  My biggest save, was going to Rite Aid, and purchasing $32 worth of makeup, using their Buy One Get One 50% off and an two $8 off of two coupons.  (If I had bought eyeshadows instead of powders, etc. I would have got them for FREE!

Incredible!

I could have been saving money for craft projects-- or just putting the money away in savings all this time!

If you want to try this out, check out The Krazy Coupon Lady's(https://www.facebook.com/#!/TheKrazyCouponLady), Totally Target ( https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/TotallyTargetcom/213500492508), and Hip 2 Save's (https://www.facebook.com/#!/Hip2Save) profiles on Facebook.  Click 'like', and every hour, you'll get updates on how to put your coupons to work.  (There are other couponing sites around, but I'm still learning, and sometimes, they are named in the deals that the aforementioned put up.)

For those of you who missed out on Sunday's paper, but still want to get in on the action, you can, but your choices will be a little limited.  (As in the good deals on the good stuff are in the Sunday paper.)  These sites can be found at http://www.smartsource.com/ and http://www.redplum.com/.  There are other sites available (like the grocery stores, for example), but they usually have the same products that these other two have, since they are the main coupon providers. 

A rule of thumb to go by, as you see these deals, is that you may notice how the stores are having sales with the same products as the coupons are for that week.  It's not coincidence, but a strategized marketing tactic.  They want for you to use these coupons with their sales.  That way, when you blow them all that week, they can do the real markdowns later on, and that's where you lose out on making your steal.  So if the deal doesn't sound that great-- put the coupons away for later.  It's a gamble, but as I'm learning, I'm seeing how this is the general rule.

So, I will try to get back on here by the end of the week for some projects, but right now, I totally need to do some shopping!

(**Note:  These sites will ask you to download their 'printer'.  I was reluctant to do this at first, but I realized that it's the company's way of keeping track of how many coupons are being printed.  And also a word of warning, I found out that it is against the law to reprint coupons on your own, as it is viewed as coupon fraud.)