Summer Butterfly Craft For Kids

This is a great project I just did with my Nephew. He turned 2 in April, and simple projects like this are a great way to get little ones excited about crafts. He loves to get creative and this little project is fun for the preschool set.

Egg Carton Butterfly Craft:

* 1 Egg Carton (Cut three slots for each butterfly you are making. So one egg carton could make 4 butterflies)
* Paint & paint brush.
* Coffee filer
* Markers
* Any type of glue (hot glue is better but whatever you have around is fine)
* Optional - Magnet

Give your child a coffee filter and tell them to color the filter with the marker any way they want. It doesn't have to be fully colored either. And when I mean color, even lines will work. Trust me, the magic will happen in a minute. Kids will love this craft because there is plenty you can do with coffee filters during the fall months. After they are finished, wet your kitchen sink and place the coffee filter in the sink. The coffee filter absorbs the water and you will notice the colors are blending together. Have your child watch you do this. Then squeeze it out and place it on a paper towel to dry.

While the coffee filter is drying let the child paint the egg carton that you have cut. If you have a little one you are working with like I did. Just let them paint somewhere safe, like the kitchen floor. Guide them but don't help them. Just make sure they stay on the egg carton. My nephew loved it, and each craft I do with him he gets better at using the art tools.

Make sure both items, the coffee filter and the egg carton are in a sunny place to dry. Should take about 30 minutes to dry. The last part is fun to do maybe while your child naps, then when they get up they try to find their butterfly "hanging" around the house.

Put glue all around the bottom of the egg carton. Then place the egg carton onto the colored coffee filter. After the glue has dried cut the coffee filter to resemble the letter "B". This will become the butterflies wings.

Then add a magnet (if you have one) to the back of the butterfly. It's a nice touch. You can have it hanging from a lamp, window frame or the refrigerator. Have your child look for their butterfly that they created.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife Michelle.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife Michelle.

Organizing Tip of the Day - From Martha Stewart

Had to share this, for anyone who might be having a party. Kids and adults!

Martha Stewart - Organizing Tip of the Day

Is Extreme Couponing Affecting How Stores Accept Coupons?

You knew it wouldn't be long before stores had to make changes to their current coupon policy. I have always been a coupon user but never to the

extent that the people on the popular TV show Extreme Couponing go to. I admire the people on TLC's popular reality show, where they are spending 40 hours a week cutting coupons to get $1000.00 worth of groceries for dollars, but this practice might be causing more harm than good in the real world. Here is an example of extreme couponing from a post I did earlier in the month.

On the retail front, some big retailers -- wary of couponing copycats -- are pushing back on former coupon allowances for ordinary shoppers. The problem, stores are coming across people who are not playing fair, those people who are trying to get $600.00 of groceries for $1.00 are really going to extremes. Stores are finding that people are copying coupons, which is not valid. And people across the country have been reporting that their Sunday paper that is delivered to them is missing the coupon inserts. And thefts at the corner coin operated newspaper racks are up.

• At Rite Aid, shoppers can no longer combine buy-one-get-one-free coupons or promotions -- a strategy that, in the past, allowed customers to get two free items. The chain is also limiting the number of coupons a shopper can use per item to four, as long as there is enough stock. Before, the store accepted "multiple identical coupons for multiple qualifying items."

• Target now forbids "stacking," the act of combining manufacturer and store buy-one-get-one-free coupons, in order to receive both items for free.

Across the country Frys / Kroger stores have a great policy on accepting all competitor coupons. This really is a great deal, you can present those $5.00 or $10.00 off your order from other stores and use multiple coupons. That savings is huge, but to be honest I have been worried that soon that policy would vanish because of the increased use of coupons. Everytime I go shopping I always double check the Frys policy to make sure nothing has changed since my last visit.

Below are some major grocery stores, and links to their coupon policy.

Remember always check the coupon policy before shopping at a store, and to be safe, print it out and bring it with you.

Safeway
Albertsons
Frys/Krogers
Walmart
Winn-Dixie
Costco. While I am not a member of Costco I was curious as to what their policy is on coupons. Since there is no information anywhere on their website about coupon use, I wanted to get a response directly from Costco. And here it is:

Dear Joe,

We appreciate you taking the time to email Costco Wholesale.

Costco Wholesale does not accept general manufacturer coupons. We have our own coupons and promotional offers, which are distributed to members in the mail and at our locations at various times throughout the year.
We are able to offer consistently low prices because our buyers negotiate the best deals with our vendors. Manufacturers often will simply ‘load’ the cost of a coupon program into the original pricing of their product. We will not permit our vendors or buyers to do this since there is no advantage to the member.

Thank you for your interest and please let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.

Thank you,

Costco Wholesale Corporation

What to do? Maybe a talent show or movie night...

Summer is here and kids are already enjoying their summer break. So they have probably already come to you saying they are bored. I grew up in California and summers were nice, maybe on a hot day it was 90, but the evenings were cool. Here is a great idea for kids and families to enjoy the nice summer evenings (unless of course you live in Arizona like we do).

Backyard Movie or Talent Show

The idea is the same. You set up rows or chairs with an aisle down the center, just like in the movie theaters. Or if you have a nice lawn lay

out some old blankets. Set up a card table or even some boxes and make that your snack table. Maybe bake cookies or serve popcorn and lemonade.

If you are showing a backyard movie its pretty easy. Check with your friends or family have a projector you can borrow. They hook right up to DVD players. Hang a white bed sheet in the backyard, the sheet becomes your movie screen.

You could keep the white sheet up and use as a backdrop for the talent show. You would be surprised as to who would participate in a talent show. Maybe the kids, your 80 year old neighbor and even the dog. I grew up holding talent shows on my street and they were so much fun (and yes I can laugh at the pictures that exist of me in the talent shows, even this one in all pink).

What we would do is go door to door and leave a flyer at each house in our neighborhood. The flyer would state we were having a talent show and anyone who would like to watch or participate could do so on a particular date and time. It was so much fun, and talent shows turned into lip sync and actual plays. There is always something to do during the summer, help your kids bring out their creative side.

More fun summer ideas all summer, check back often and follow our twitter feed to stay up to date.

Father's Day Gift

This is the gift my daughter made me for Father's Day! This hobby she loves is called Decoden. It's a complicated but really beautiful way to craft. You can go into your local craft store or check online for info on decoden.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Dad and Bill! Enjoy your day!!!!