Frugal Friday #5

Frugal Friday is back! I'm glad you enjoy it and please let me know if there is anything specific you'd like to see, or see more of. Like free samples, coupon tips, etc. I have to go grocery shopping today, but I'm going to share what I've already done for the week.



Target. They have a good deal on bread this week, $.84 a loaf. We go through a lot of bread (Blake eats about 3 sandwiches on football nights) so I am stocking up and freezing it. I paid $.93 for everything you see in the photo above!

1 gallon of milk @ 3.29
2 boxes of fruit snacks @ $1.39 ea.
2 pouches of fruit snacks @ $.89 ea.
6 Degree trial size deoderants @ $.97 ea.
9 Dove Men+Care trial size deoderants @ $.70 ea.
1 Up & Up floss @ .89

OOP: $.93
Saved: $24.62



Walmart. I was going for cheap here, lol. We actually really like the Great Value chips. And if Huggies or Pampers aren't on sale, I get the Parents Choice diapers.

1 pack Parents Choice Diapers @ $5.97
1 pack GV toilet paper @ $.97
2 bags GV chips @ $1.98 ea.
1 bag GV Sugar @ $4.72
1 pack Gwaltney bacon @ $2.98
3 bottles of Head & Shoulders trial size shampoo @ $.97 ea.
1 trial size Secret Clinical deoderant @ $2.47
1 Frigo string cheese @ $.33
2 packs of Bar S hotdogs @ $.88 ea.

OOP: $15.54
Saved: $11.40



Walgreens. I had a $2 Register Reward to use and wanted to get a higher one back.

1 Colgate Total @ $3.00
1 Colgate 360 toothbrush @ $3.00
1 Snickers egg @ $.29

OOP: $2.24
Saved: $5.78
Earned: $4 in Register Rewards



A few freebies of the week: StriVectin-SD sample, a trial kit from Avon Anew, a 2 week trial of Burt's Bees Acne Solutions & a coupon book from P&G. I've received more but no photo.

For all you moms out there, I want to give you the heads up about an awesome coupon coming up. This Sunday there should be a P&G brandSAVER insert in your paper. And inside that insert, near the Pampers coupons, there will be a coupon for $1 off any Kandoo (Pampers) product! You can take that coupon to Target and score yourself some inexpensive wipes when you get the refill packages. (You may find them elsewhere, but Target seems to be the only place here that has them.)

Linked to: Weekly Totals at I ♥ Publix, Friday Finals at Southern Savers

Rainbow Slush

Earlier this month I blogged about Morgan's rainbow themed birthday party. And I promised I'd share the rainbow slush soon. Guess what? I'm finally ready to share! It's really easy and inexpensive, and the kids loved it. So here goes. You will need:



Ice Pops, a trifle bowl, scissors, a fork & a small bowl. I got my ice pops at Walmart for $2.48 (they are $1.50 now at my store!).



Seperate by color. In these packages there are some colors with two shades, like green and yellow, and then pink and red. I mixed the similar colors together.



Cut open your tubes and empty into your bowl.



Next you will take your fork and smash them up so there are no big chunks. You want to try & get it as soft as possible so it spreads evenly.



Empty the contents of the bowl into your trifle bowl. (notice my little helper sitting on the table?)



Use your fork to smooth it down evenly. Then you will just repeat with each color. Make sure you put the trifle bowl in the freezer between layers so the colors don't mix.

You can see that my blue kind of disappeared into the purple because I waited too long to put it in the freezer.

And there you have it! I told you it was easy! I took it out of the freezer a little before I was ready to serve it, so it could soften up just enough to be scooped out. It was a big hit so I will definitely be making this again. Oh, and make sure that when you are done with it, if it's been sitting in the freezer for awhile (like I don't know, a week?) so LET IT THAW before trying to clean it. I tried to hurry things along with hot water, and needless to say, the trifle bowl didn't make it. Oops!

Linked to: Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl, Foodie Friday at Little Brick Ranch, Rock Your Recipes at House of Hepworths, I'm Crafty at So You Think You're Crafty, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Sunday Showcase at Under the Table & Dreaming, Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Progress & Projects at Ma Nouvelle Mode, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Link Party #48 at Tea Rose Home, Whassup Wednesday at Elements Interiors, Idea Sharin Wednesday at Women Who Do It All, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Watcha Got Weekend at Lolly Jane Boutique, Favorite St. Patricks Day Crafts at Pink & Green Mama

Art Party Invitations

Since we're all recovered from Morgan's rainbow party, it's time to start working on Layla's art themed birthday. First up, the invitations. I browsed blogs & Etsy, trying to get inspiration on what to do. I couldnt really find anything that I loved though. Then suddenly, an idea popped in my head. The plan was to make the invitation to resemble a framed piece of art. So I started with some chipboard frames. I found mine on Etsy, from a shop called TLG Crafts. I wanted them to be colorful, so I painted them with acrylic paint. And even though this isn't an art party, I didn't want to settle for just one color.

Now for the actual invitation part. I printed up my information on white cardstock, but it was pretty plain looking. So I got out some watercolor paint.

I used a toothbrush to flick paint onto the invitations. First one color...

Then a second. (sorry for the dark photos, this was done at night)

Then I just cut them out and glued them into the frames. I added a thin piece of paperboard to the back of each for stability.

Since the frames were all different colors, I didn't want the splatter paint inside to be all the same. So each color frame has a different set of colors inside.

And this is what they look like complete.

Of course, since finishing these I've realized that 4/24 happens to be Easter. Which means I have to change the party date. But there is no way I'm redoing these, so I'm just going to reprint the date and glue it over the old one. I can't believe I didn't notice that!

Linked to: Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Projects in Progress at Ma Nouvelle Mode, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Link Party #47 at Tea Rose Home, Whassup Wednesday at Elements Interiors, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths

A Quick Spring Update

Can you believe I've never made one of these rosettes? Of course I see them everywhere, and love them, but I just hadn't gotten around to it I guess. So since it's spring I decided to break out one of the purses I got at Target last year and give it a quick update. I put a pin on the back of mine.

And pinned it on my purse! I love the bright colors and even though I don't wear orange much, I've really been liking it lately. And I love the way it looks with bright blue.

Now Layla wants some. I have a question for everyone. Would you like to see Frugal Friday continue? I've added a poll at the top of the page, just below my banner. Please take a moment & vote! And if you would like to see it continue, what sorts of things would you like to see? Thanks!

Linked to: Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming

Honey Bun Cake

I've been in the mood to bake something lately but coudln't figure out what. So finally I sat down with some of the many recipe books we have and picked out something. That something was a Honey Bun Cake! You need:

1 box yellow cake mix

2/3 C. vegetable oil

4 eggs

8 oz. sour cream

1 C. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/3 C. chopped pecans (optional)

1 C. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350° (shiny metal or glass) or 325° (dark or nonstick). Spray bottom only of 13x9 inch pan with baking spray.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds; beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Spread half of the batter in the pan.

3. In small bowl, stir together brown sugar, pecans (if used) & cinnamon; sprinkle over batter in pan. Carefully spread remaining batter evenly over mixture.

4. Bake 44-48 minutes or until deep golden brown.

5. In small bowl, stir icing ingredients until thin enough to spread. Prick surface of warm cake several times with fork. Spread icing over cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Store covered at room temperature.

Enjoy! This was really good, it tastes a lot like a cinnamon bun. I did have to double the icing to make enough to cover the cake. And watch your sugar/cinnamon mixture. It was fine for most of the cake, but there were a few spots where it must have been thicker, because the cake sank there, and was almost solid sugar at the bottom. Perfect with a cold glass of milk ♥.

Linked to: Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Whassup Whassup Party at Elements Interiors, Link Party #46 at Tea Rose Home, Idea Sharin Wednesday at Women Who Do It All, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Chic Cottage, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Foodie Friday at Walnut Avenue