My son is obsessed with the Luigi’s Mansion game on his Nintendo. So a few years back, he begged me to not only be Luigi for Halloween but to make him the Luigi’s Mansion costume specifically. Warning: Let me start this post by saying that if you are a Luigi’s Mansion SUPER FAN, I’m going…
When I was a kid, my mom went all-in on Christmas decorations. The house was literally transformed. Now that I have kids, I want to transform our home in an enjoyable way, so I’ve started the tradition of a Grinch themed everything. From my “Grinch Tree,” to my mantel, to my collage wall art and…
Ornaments are to Christmas like Fireworks are to the Fourth of July. They have been decorating our trees for hundreds of years. They first started in the 16th century as small decorations that eventually bloomed into the amazing holiday displays we see every year. Fun Family Christmas Tree Decorating Traditions are important and I want…
From my childhood, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was one of my favorite movies for the Holiday. Now that I have kids I wanted to transform my living room with a Grinch Christmas Tree that my kids would always remember! I wanted to bring the whimsical and quirky nature of the classic holiday story into…
With the winter holidays here, I am ready to decorate! I love the fragrant smell of pine and cinnamon and the bright red, beautiful blossoms of poinsettias. That means it’s wreath time. Being a mom of 3, I don’t have heaps of time to spend on making one. He’s how I make a 15-minute poinsettia…
Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year. It’s a time when I host backyard fire pit gatherings, outdoor movie parties, and pumpkin homebrew days. To prep my home for not only my enjoyment but as a warm welcome to guests, I make an extra effort this time of year to decorate. The beauty of…
The invite is on your fridge or in your Facebook account and now there’s a Halloween, church or costume party in your near future. You’re super excited of course, but then there is the stress of what to wear! But have no fear, the perfect costume is out there and it may be closer than…
I love December because it gives me so much fuel to mesh my two favorite things: quality time with family and crafts! As you know, I’m the queen of quick, 15 minute craft projects! So of course Christmas would be no different. In the post I want to show you 5 crafty dollar store activities…
I love crafting! But I’m not gonna lie. I can roll up in the craft store, be inspired, and come out with 15 craft projects I’m gonna make happen. Only… I start these projects and never complete them. And you want to know why? Because they take too darn long to finish, and I lose…
Keeping family traditions alive can be harder and harder as kids get older. Between their likes and dislikes changing, it can be a challenge to find items your teen will actually be excited about in their Easter basket! Has your teenager requested “no more candy” in his/her Easter basket? Do you and the Easter…
I love to add a handmade feel to my gift wrap each year. Last year I went with dollar store butcher paper and rubber letter stamps. This year I was wandering through Hobby Lobby and kept seeing all kinds of adorable chalkboard decor. As I got to the Christmas wrap section the thought struck me,…
If you love the look of wrapped gifts, but feel like you are all thumbs when it comes to actually wrapping them then this post is for you! From tips on purchasing to step by step instructions, you’ll be wrapping in no time! Just gather all of your tinsel tools and make sure you have…
Just like Eric Carle’s Very Busy Spider, I’ve been “very busy spinning my web” or so it seems this Halloween! I asked a few friends if I could help them decorate their mantels for you to view/enjoy/copy and they so graciously allowed me to do so and take pictures too. In true ‘thrifty’ style, the…
It’s October and that means that Halloween is on its way. This month brings all sorts of fall fun for everyone whether you are a trick or treat kind of family, a trunk or treat kind of group, or even if you prefer fall festivals. However you celebrate fall with your family, I wanted to…
Chalkboard. It’s all the rave right now. I see it everywhere and it’s awesome. It’s adorable! While picking up a few things at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago I found this super adorable wooden pumpkin that screamed “spray me with chalkboard paint and make me amazing!” Not literally, but in my head it did!…
When I think about awesome homemade Halloween costumes, I always think of my friend Rhonda. Rhonda is the queen of how to make your family costumes. Here’s her post that I hope you will love! Store-bought costumes can be so cute, but I have to admit that I love to create clever, inexpensive family Halloween…
So to be honest, I don’t really decorate for Halloween that much. I usually just slap a monogrammed pumpkin on my porch, put up my Happy Fall flag (that looks like it says Happy Fail from the road), and go to my church festival, trick or treating, or a friend’s party. Every year that I’ve…
I love the Easter Bunny, not so much the picture-taking Easter Bunny, but the hare who brings the basket and leaves without being seen. As a kid, the Easter Bunny built awesome baskets for me. I always ate the candy and pretty much destroyed the trinket toys. Now that I’m a parent I have…
Before you go on your drug store quest to find the perfect box of chocolates this Valentine’s Day, consider giving a gift that keeps on giving! As a new-ish mom, I can say that the most valuable gift my husband can give me at this stage in my life is time. Even though I stay…
I used to make these roses all the time as a kid for my school Valentine’s Day swap. In fact I made them all the way through High School to give away to all my friends and teachers. I was born with a crafty gene or something. I just can’t help it. These are great…
Have you ever wanted to come up with a cute, inexpensive, crafty gift for a co-worker or teacher? There are just some days in life, no matter who you are, that you could use an emergency chocolate fix. With that in mind, I put these cute little Emergency Chocolate kits to give away. Consider making…
Valentine’s Day is a fun holiday for kids. They just like it because they get lots of free candy and get to make stuff. They haven’t actually had their hearts broken or been single on a holiday when everyone else is gets pampered, showered with roses or loved by someone. (Not that I was bitter…
Last week I wrote a post about making large handled glasses from the dollar store into personalized drinking glasses with simple painting techniques. On the same visit to the dollar store I found some really adorable star shaped glass bowls. They are cute as is, but I thought with a little glitter paint and some…
I have a thrifty little secret for you…well it’s actually a freebie!!! For the last few years during the Holiday season, I can be found in front of the Lowe’s garden center rummaging through their tree trimmings bin. The one not too many people know about that has a small sign that says, “Help…
This post on how to make your own sweater stockings was written my life long friend Jessica. When Kim asked me to contribute to Thrifty Little Mom’s “Getting Into the Holiday Spirit” series, I knew exactly what I wanted to create. I’ve had these DIY sweater stockings on my mind for quite some time. However,…