Frugal Coupon Living

Stretching Your Pennies, Saving Your Dollars

Back to School Sharpie Tie Die Book Cover Art

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

by Filed Under: Back To School, Crafts, Education, Pinterest, Summer

published date: August 02, 2012
modified datt: August 22,2014

SHARPIE TIE DIE BOOK COVER ART
Pin to Pinterest

Who doesn’t love school supplies? We love them as much as teachers as we did as students, and now we like to find lots of creative ways to use them. At the beginning of each school year it’s a tradition to cover your textbooks. Gone seem to be the days of boring brown paper bags, and now book covers show a student’s style. Why not combine a cool school supply art project and a way to re-purpose something old?

Grab an old t-shirt that you’re going to toss and make it into a one of a kind book cover!

All you need is:

  • 100% cotton t-shirt (preferably white)
  • Sharpie markers (a variety of colors)
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Medicine/eye dropper
  • Cookie sheet
  • Clothespins

Cut your t-shirt down to a rectangle that is long and wide enough to create a cover for the book of choice. Lay the t-shirt flat and clip to the sides of a cookie sheet using clothespins. Make sure to pull the t-shirt as taut as possible while clipping. Using your Sharpie makers make designs such as the circle and dot pattern seen above. Pour rubbing alcohol into a small bowl. Fill your eye dropper with alcohol and then start dripping in the middle of each design. The more you flood the center area, the more the design spreads. There is no way to mess this back to school art project up, so have fun!

We love how our book covers turned out, but you could do tons with Sharpie art. Cut the shirt into smaller pieces and slide into the front cover of your binders. You could make artwork for your locker, recover an out of date lunch bag, make patches for an old backpack, and more.

If you are going to wash the item that you’ve designed it is suggested that you set your artwork with a hot iron first and wash on cold separately.

For more back to school inspirations and creativity for kids visit us at  www.simplysprouteducate.com and our newly opened Teacher’s Notebook store.

free-first-day-of-school-printables-signs-frugal-coupon-living-with-boarder

Do not forget about the First Day of School Printables. Pin to Pinterest for next year!


WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

Lemon Cake with Fresh Strawberries

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

by Filed Under: Crafts, Education, Pinterest

published date: April 06, 2012
modified datt: August 20,2014

Pin to Pinterest

Spring is in the air, and what better way to welcome a new season than with this delicious lemon cake with fresh strawberries. A local farmer’s market always lends itself to a great family outing. Point out seasonal fruits, like strawberries, to your children. Introduce your children to the men and women who grow food that we eat. This recipe combines the simplicity of a box mix with the sweetness of the season.

Ingredients:

  • 1 box lemon cake (oil, water and eggs as per package instructions)
  • oversized cupcake pan
  • strawberries
  • cream cheese frosting
  • lemon frosting

To make these mini lemon cakes use an oversized cupcake pan and your favorite lemon cake mix (why reinvent the wheel and spend all your time baking in the kitchen while your family is outside enjoying this beautiful weather, save time and use a mix). Follow package instructions for baking. Once cupcakes are done cooking let them rest on a wire rack to cool down. Once cool slice cupcakes in half and spread on a generous amount of cream cheese frosting. Cut strawberries into thin slices and layer onto cupcake. Place top of cupcake on and use lemon icing to decorate your mini cake. Get creative and use a piping bag to add a little flair to your frosting. Top your cupcake off with a strawberry. Filled with a burst of flavor, this delicious dessert goes well with vanilla ice cream and is sure to be a crowd pleaser this spring.

When trying out your favorite new recipes have your little ones help you in the kitchen. Break out the measuring cups and turn cooking time into learning time. For more ideas on how to get your little ones involved and learning visit www.simplysprouteducate.com.


WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

DIY Uncrustable Sandwiches – Back to School Lunch Series

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

by Filed Under: Back To School, Back to School Series, Birthday, Crafts, Pinterest, Recipe

published date: August 10, 2014
modified datt: August 14,2014

BackToSchool

DIY-uncrustable-sandwiches-frugal-coupon-living-back-to-school

DIY Uncrustable Sandwiches

Pin to Pinterest

More in our Back to School Series – Project Lunchbox! This week we are using Homemade Uncrustables PB&Js. I used a Wonder Sandwich Sealer N Decruster, but a knife works well too (doesn’t seal as well but definitely gets rid of the unwantable crust!)

Ingredients:

  • Sandwich Cutter and Sealer
  • Bread
  • Peanut Butter
  • Jelly
  • Sandwich Bags

Directions:

  1. Make sure you get bread that is large enough to trim without hitting the crust.
  2. For each sandwich, get two slices of bread.
  3. Spread peanut butter on each slice of the bread, being careful to stay in the center and avoid where the cutting and sealing occurs.
  4. Apply jelly to the middle of one slice.
  5. Place the peanut butter only slice on top of the peanut butter and jelly slice (peanut butter side down).
  6. Place cutter on top of sandwich and press down firmly (make sure crust is completely cut away).
  7. Remove crust while cutter is still in place.
  8. Make sure you have pressed down completely on the blue center sealing piece.
  9. Lift off cutter and place sandwich in sandwich bag and place in the freezer.

Do not forget the FREE Back to School Lunch Note Printables – a sweet note is always a great addition. Find more Back to School Series including…

Check out these other Back to School Frugal Coupon Living FREEBIES and Crafts:

1.) Introduction – Project Lunchbox – Pin It

2.) ABC School Days Theme – Pin It

3.) Shark Week Lunch Theme – Pin It

4.) Camping Theme Lunch – Pin It

5.) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Theme – Pin It

6.) Bug Lunch Theme – Pin It

7.) Birthday Lunch Theme – Pin It

8.) Keep Calm and Teach On FREE Printable and Pencil Vase – Pin It

9.) Face Fruit and Food Stickers and FREE Lunch Notes – Pin It

10.) FREE First day of School Printables – Pin It (Last Day of School too – Pin It)

11.) DIY Lunch Sack – Pin It

Also check out Back to School Deals on Frugal Coupon Living.

green-signature

 

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

DIY Halloween Crafts and Decorations

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

by Filed Under: Crafts, Halloween, Pinterest

published date: September 15, 2013
modified datt: August 09,2014

DIY-Halloween-Crafts-and-Decorations-frugal-coupon-living

Pin to Pinterest

As Halloween gets closer, everyone is searching for ways to have fun and get involved! We have created a wonderful list of some fun Do It Yourself craft activities, DIY Decorations, and so much more!

Have a Halloween blast with your family and try some of these creative ideas at your house!

DIY Halloween Stamps

DIY Halloween Rag Wreath

DIY Twilight Inspired Halloween Display

DIY Tulle Spider Wreath

DIY Halloween Candy Cupcakes

DIY Halloween Decoupage Treat Bucket

DIY Spider Web Votive Candle Holders

DIY No Tricks Just Treats Jar

DIY Puffy Paint Halloween Pillow Covers

DIY Fabric Scrap Wreath

DIY Halloween Hoop Art

DIY Fall Scented Pumpkins

DIY Spider Web Candles

DIY Halloween Window Stickers

DIY Hello Kitty Pumpkin Tutorial

Halloween-Crafts-and-Treat-Activities-Frugal-Coupon-Living-Pinterest

For more DIY Halloween Crafts and Decorations, don’t forget the fun round-up of Halloween Craft Activities for the kids.

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

Dollar Tree Halloween Decor – Decorate with Spooky Candles on a Budget

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

by Filed Under: Crafts, Halloween, Pinterest

published date: September 28, 2013
modified datt: August 09,2014

Dollar-Tree-Halloween-Candle-Decor-frugal-coupon-living-url

Pin to Pinterest

Sometimes your décor calls for a touch of the spooky. If you want to add a little macabre to your decorations try out one or all of these ghoulishly fun candle holder ideas. Simple and inexpensive to make- all items were picked up at Dollar Tree or found around the home. Festive and fun decorating can be frugal too with a little imagination, and a trip or two to your local dollar store.

Dollar Tree Halloween Decor

The Eyes Have It Candle Holder

I used less than half a pack of eyeballs from Dollar tree to create this eerie candle holder. You could easily get 3-4 of these to place around your home or for your Halloween party. Fill Candle holders with eye balls, fill remaining space with water and 1-2 drops red food coloring. Place candle on top to complete the look. They also have rubber bloody fingers and toes you can use to make another similar candle holder, using the same method with the water.

spider-collage-candle-frugal-coupon-living-halloween-dollar-store-craft

The Creepy Crawly Spider Climbed Up the Candle Holder

A pack of spider web and 5 spider rings were only $1 at of course Dollar Tree, I used a very small portion of the webbing and only 2 spiders per candle holder. To recreate: pinch off about a golf ball sized portion of webbing, stretch to flatten into an approximate circle shape, place candle holder in center of webbing, pull up and stretch over candle-the webbing will stick to itself pretty well. Clip the ring portion off spiders, and attach to web.

bat-candle-frugal-coupon-living-dollar-tree-crafts

Going Batty Silhouettes

Print out THESE bat shapes or free hand cut your own bat shapes from black construction paper. In a small bowl mix a combination of equal parts water and Elmer’s glue to create a modge podge. With a paint brush apply a thin even coat of modge podge to candle holder, and the back of bat cutouts. Apply cutout to desired position on candle holder. Apply a layer of modge podge over the top of bat. Allow to dry 24 hours. This will cast delightful bat shapes on your wall when you place a votive candle to shine from behind it, place in a shadowy corner.

mummified-Dollar-tree-halloween-Decor-Frugal-Coupon-Living

Mummified Candle Holder

Too cute to be frightening this candle holder will add a touch of Halloween whimsy to your counter top, table, or shelf. Begin by hot gluing large googly eyes on a glass candle holder. Apply a thin bead of hot glue to the base of candle holder. Press the tip of a roll of gauze bandage into the glue and smooth. Wrap gauze around the candle holder, leaving openings around the eyes. Press down with a small bead of hot glue. Alternatively you can use medical tape ( that’s what I did) Then you don’t have to mess with hot glue or any other adhesive, the kids can get in on this too!

Don’t forget these other fun Fall FREEBIES and Deals!

Love the Dollar Tree Halloween Decor? Find more Halloween Craft Ideas and the Dollar Tree Fall Decor – Decorate with Autumn Candles on a Frugal Budget!

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

by Filed Under: Crafts, Pinterest, Recipe

published date: September 21, 2013
modified datt: August 09,2014

Pumpkin-Spice-doughnuts-recipe-frugal-coupon-living

Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts Recipe
Pin to Pinterest

Fall is filled with time at the pumpkin patch, apple picking and whipping up plenty of yummy treats! Doughnuts are one of those irresistible treats that easily change with every season, and pumpkin spice doughnuts are at the top of our list. It’s easy to whip up a fresh batch of doughnuts with ingredients you already have on hand and a couple seasonal treats.

Before you get started, read through the instructions entirely because frying doughnuts is a fast paced process. There are also several items that need to be prepped ahead of time to make the cooking easier.

Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts
Makes 12 doughnuts and 12 doughnut holes

Ingredients:

For Doughnuts

  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 ½ cups flour, divided into 1 cup and 2 ½ cup portions
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cups apple cider

For Doughnut Powder

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

For Frying

  • 6 cups vegetable oil

Pumpkin-Spice-doughnuts-recipe-steps-frugal-coupon-living

Directions:

1. Prepare the items that you will be using. Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Ready two large plates, one with paper towels and the other without. In a clean paper lunch bag, mix doughnut powder ingredients and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients; 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt. Mix well. In a small bowl, mix the wet ingredients; eggs, egg yolk, apple cider and butter. Mix well.

3. Pour wet mixture into the large bowl containing the dry ingredients and whisk till all lumps are removed. slowly stir in remaining 2 ½ cups flour till fully combined. Chill dough in refrigerator for ten minutes.

4. Heat vegetable oil on medium-high in a fryer or large pot till it is 375°– use a candy thermometer to safely test temperature. While oil is heating, prepare counter space with a coat of flour. Wash and flour doughnut cutter, or one small and one large, round cookie cutter.

5. Remove dough from the refrigerator and pat out onto floured surface. When dough it ½” thickness cut out as many doughnuts with cutters as possible. Gather up dough remnants, ball up and pat out again until all the dough is used up. Transfer doughnuts and holes to lined baking sheet. Should end up with 12 doughnuts and 12 doughnut holes.

6. Drop one to two doughnuts into the frying oil at a time. After one minute dough should rise to the surface. Let dough fry for one more minute, then flip and fry for a minute and a half. Scoop doughnut out and transfer to paper lined plate.

7. When doughnut has cooled enough to handle, drop it into the paper bag filled with powder and shake. Don’t wait too long or sugar will not coat the doughnut entirely. Remove doughnut from paper bag and place on clean plate. Repeat until all the doughnuts are fried and powdered. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts Recipe? Don’t forget the Pumpkin Soup Recipe – Absolutely delicious! Also check out the  Pumpkin Bars Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Find more Recipes on Frugal Coupon Living including the Freezer Weekly meals with Weekend Prep and the Fall Recipe Round-Up.

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

Welcome Back Apple Stamped Back to School Lunch Sacks

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

by Filed Under: Back To School, Crafts, Education, Pinterest, Summer

published date: August 09, 2014
modified datt: August 09,2014

Pin to Pinterest

We’re kicking off a Back to School Bash with Frugal Coupon Living this week! When Ashley asked us to share some back to school ideas, we couldn’t be more thrilled. Being teachers we get just as excited (or nervous) to head back to the classroom as the kids do. For the next several weeks we’ll share with you some fun and educational ways to get in the school spirit.

Packing lunches can be a dreaded task in even the most organized of households. Use this art project as a perfect way to have your little ones help jump start your packing parties.

Supplies:

  • Paper lunch sacks
  • Washable paint (we used red, green, and white)
  • Apple sliced in half
  • Cork
  • Scraps of ribbon
  • Hole puncher
  • Black marker
  • Paper plates

Lay out a couple of paper plates for your kids with some paint on each of them. Show them how the apple can double as a stamp. Have them cover the cut side of apple with paint and stamp their bags. They can use the cork to make polka dots. Once they’re dry you can use the black marker to finish off the design. By folding the top of the bag over once and hole punching, you’ve prepared your bag to be used as soon as school starts. Have the kids design special ones for themselves or their siblings. Let them dry and store them away for back to school time. The final touch is some cute ribbon through the holes on the top once it’s stuffed with a yummy lunch!

For more educational ideas visit us at www.simplysprouteducate.com.

free-first-day-of-school-printables-signs-frugal-coupon-living-with-boarder

Don’t forget our FREE First Day of School Printables – Pin to Pinterest!

Check out these other Back to School Frugal Coupon Living FREEBIES and Crafts:

1.) Introduction – Project Lunchbox – Pin It

2.) ABC School Days Theme – Pin It

3.) Shark Week Lunch Theme – Pin It

4.) Camping Theme Lunch – Pin It

5.) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Theme – Pin It

6.) Bug Lunch Theme – Pin It

7.) Birthday Lunch Theme – Pin It

8.) Keep Calm and Teach On FREE Printable and Pencil Vase – Pin It

9.) Face Fruit and Food Stickers and FREE Lunch Notes – Pin It

Also check out Back to School Deals on Frugal Coupon Living.

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

Happy Birthday Lunch – Themed Lunchbox Back to School Series

This post may contain affiliate links or ads. Read my privacy policy and disclosure policy here.

by Filed Under: Back To School, Back to School Series, Birthday, Crafts, Pinterest

published date: August 02, 2014
modified datt: August 08,2014

BackToSchool

back-to-school-project-lunchbox-happy-birthday-theme-frugal-coupon-living-cropped

Happy Birthday Theme Lunch

Pin to Pinterest

Welcome to the seventh post in our Back to School Series – Project Lunchbox! Today’s theme – Happy Birthday! With each series, we create a theme and strive to create fun and inexpensive lunches to give your child a little Celebration in their school day.

If your child’s birthday happens to fall on a weekday and during the school year, why not make it special? A few extra touches can really make your child feel extra loved and celebrated. Celebrate your child’s day by making a birthday themed lunch for your little cupcake.

back-to-school-project-lunchbox-happy-birthday-theme-frugal-coupon-living-steps-1-to-3

I went simple with the food this theme, but included my daughter’s favorites; peanut butter and strawberry jelly, Sour Cream and Onion chips, fruit snacks, and fruit. Our school has a no celebration policy in tact for the classroom (class)… but on her birthday, I decided to surprise her with a little sugary treat (this is straying from my daily healthy lunch)!

To make everyday lunch items special, I raided my birthday stash, most of us have gift bags, wrapping paper, bows, and tissue on hand – This is frugal and costs no additional money. I wrapped her sandwich loosely, don’t want them having to wrestle at lunchtime to get into their sandwich. To make a sweet message, scratch lightly on a banana with a toothpick . Carve out a notes  or picture, the air will darken the peel of your scratch, making your note extra visible. The cupcake went into a small lidded container, with a candle on top- not only does this make the lunch more festive but it keeps the cupcake from moving around if the lunchbox didn’t stay upright during the day.

Descent once more on your crafts stash and grab some stickers! With the stickies, I decorated the outside of the cupcake container and the pack of her favorite princess gummies. Finally, tying some curling ribbon to the handle of her drink container added some festivity to her lunch.  Nestle all contents into a tissue paper bed.

While we all might not have the Martha Stewart of decorating abilities, anything that comes with bows, stickers, pretty colors and gift wrap is sure to excite our little ones! Smiles all the way around, you might even hear a “You’re the Best Mom Ever!” when she jumps in the car that afternoon.

To bring a little pizzazz to your child’s lunches with minimal effort begin by designating a drawer or basket in your kitchen. Gather simple items such as a paring knife, some basic cookie cutters, and an apple corer/slicer. Pick up fun items as you go to add to the collection. As you go about your day and life, you will notice little things that can be used for fun accessories or tools when making your child’s meal!

Do not forget the FREE Back to School Lunch Printables – a sweet note is always a great addition.

Find more Back to School Series including…

More Themed Lunchboxes

1.) Introduction – Project Lunchbox – Pin It

2.) ABC School Days Theme – Pin It

3.) Shark Week Lunch Theme – Pin It

4.) Camping Theme Lunch – Pin It

5.) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Theme – Pin It

6.) Bug Lunch Theme – Pin It

7.) Birthday Lunch Theme – Pin It

Also check out Back to School Deals on Frugal Coupon Living.

signatureFCL (2)

 

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.