[QponFREAK]

Easy to make Sidewalk Chalk:

• 8 Egg shells
• 1 teaspoon hot water
• 1 teaspoon Flour

Wash the eggshells and let dry completely.

Grind up the eggshells using a mortar and pestle until it is a fine powder. Pick out any bits of shell that are not ground. Combine the water and flour in a bowl until they form a smooth paste. Stir in the powdered egg shells and mix well. Form mixture into a ball or log. Place on waxed paper and let dry for 3 days. When chalk is dry, it may be used to draw on sidewalks or other concrete surfaces. Note, you can also add a drop of food color for colored chalk.



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Homemade Crayons:

• Broken crayon pieces
• Muffin tin, candy mold or cupcake pan
• Cupcake liners

Place crayon pieces into muffin tin, candy mold or cupcake pan. Heat the oven to 400F degrees. Leave in oven long enough to melt. Turn off the oven and leave in the oven or take out very carefully so as not to mix colors if you are not making multi-colored crayons. Wax will be very hot.

[QponFREAK]

These do take a few days to a week before they are ready.


Soap Crayons

1 c Ivory Snow Soap flakes
Food colouring
2 tb Hot water


Have one large bowl and several small bowls, one for each color. You will also need an ice cube tray with different sections, or containers to act as small molds.

Put soap flakes in a large bowl and drop the hot water into the soap flakes, stirring constantly. The mixture will be extremely thick and hard to stir.

Spoon some of the soap into each of the small bowls and color each separately, adding the color by drops until the soap has the consistency of a very thick paste.

Press spoonfuls of the soap into your molds and set the crayons in a dry place to harden. They should take a few days to a week to dry completely. When dry, remove from the molds and allow to dry for a few more days before using.

[QponFREAK]

Originally Posted by queenofthehivemomof5

Frugal tip for dried out markers!
Don't throw out those old, dried out markers. Let the children dip them in water and use them like watercolors. When the tip turns white---It's time to throw them away!

OMG I forgot abot this one , I do it all the time. I also try to pull the stopper out on the top of the marker and pour a bit of water inside to get the ink sponge wet, lasts a bit longer than just dipping the tip in water.

[SweetGaPeach]

I buy Lainey's nightgowns a size too big. They are a little long the first year and then after the growth spurt they are the right length and then a little short after the next one. Then we graduate to a new set of jammies.

[Tyandmacsmom]

We always "recycle" clothing within our family. My aunt's children are the same ages within months of mine, so when one outgrows something, we hand it over. Much cheaper than purchasing everything, and if it gets ruined, no one is out a ton of money.

[siageah]

The best place to find play clothes (and some dress and school) is a church thrift store. We have several nearby that have clothing for babies/toddlers/children for 25c each piece...and then about once every couple of months they'll have half price days! Usually church stores close for the summer and then they'll sell everything for a buck or so a bag, trying to empty out for the summer. Great deals are to be had at a fraction of the cost of Goodwill!

[marmis]

We have a little rubbermaid container that we save our mis-matched socks in. When the kids need an eraser for their dry erase board, we give them one of the socks to use.

I keep a large supply of school items in my closet. I stock up on notebooks, pencils, erasers, glue, etc. when they are cheap before school and then when the children need new supplies at school I have those. I hate purchasing a simple notebook for $1 so instead buy alot of them when I get them on sale for $.10.

My sons old button down shirts get saved and used for paint smocks for the younger kids.

When my shamoo bottles get to the point you can't get the shampoo out of the bottom, I add a drop of water - shake well and add them to the main bottle I have in the cupboard...the kids use this in the tub for bubbles.

I purchased a clippers set on clearance for $25 and now cut my sons hair. With the many attatchments, you can select the length. After 2 haircuts, the clippers paid for themselves and now the haircuts are free.

[hrivas]

Great tips everyone, keep them coming. I was stupid w/ my first baby because I was such a snob and thought that everything had to be brand new or I was being a bad parent...I won't even beging to tell you how much $$ I spent on toys for my baby....w/ the second one I've been much more relaxed, but I'm still learning so I love to read all of these money saving tips.

after all, I guess it's not so much about making sure they have a good time now, but rather ensure that they have a great time later on in their lives, right?

[splishiesplash]

A simple one but it entertains my toddler, we cut brown paper grocery bags into different shapes like circles, squares, lilly pads (and pretend to be frogs), or for St Patrick's day potato shapes and jump around to each one. With a group of kids you can line them up and do relay races.

Scrap constuction paper is great for making collages and you don't feel like you're wasting anything. I keep a ziploc bag of all the bits and pieces that are leftover from making projects. Just having the younger ones cut these scraps helps with their fine motor development too

For leftover crayon scraps I've heard that you can use an old egg carton and put the unwrapped bits and pieces of crayons in them and let them sit in the sun for a day and you end up with multicolored crayon chunks, I have yet try it but plan on doing so this spring/summer.

[majestic]

Thanks for all the great tips!