Fun Frugal Friday- Scapbooking Scissors

I was at Target browsing the dollar bins and I came across scrapbooking scissors for $1.00.  These scissors are great to use with preschoolers.  They love the neat designs they can make with the scissors and it helps their fine motor development. 

Fun Frugal Friday- Homemade Counting Tool

This week I wanted to share a counting tool that I made for Little Sweets.  I took a large piece of wood and had it cut into 5 pieces around the same size.  Then I wrote a number from one to five on the top of each piece of wood.  I used a drill to drill the number of holes needed for each block of wood.  Little Sweets will be putting golf tees inside each of the holes.  I intend on using this tool to teach counting, number recognition, and fine motor skills.

* Please note I will supervise Little Sweets as she plays with this new toy.  The tees are small and a bit sharp and I wouldn't want her to get hurt.  Please use parental supervision if you make this activity. 

Fun Frugal Friday- Homemade Counting and Patterning Tool

Homemade Counting and Patterning Tool

This was so easy to make. I bought a piece of wood from Lowe's for around $1.50. I had someone in the wood department cut it down to size. He cut the larger piece of wood into four pieces for me just in case I messed up. I did mess up and was glad to have the extra pieces. When I got home I drilled 4 holes in one piece of wood and 5 holes in another piece of wood. ( I tried not to go all the way through the piece of wood.) I messed up a few times. Then I cuts some doll rods to the length I wanted, put some wood glue on the ends of them and stuck them in the holes. I got the lacing beads from the dollar tree. Overall, this item cost me around $2.50 to make two tools. I had the doll rods and wood glue at home. I don't think this would cost more than $6.00 or $7.00 total to make.

I actually made two different tools. The first one I will use to teach patterning. The second one I will use to teach counting, number, and color recognition. Right now Little Sweets is just working on her fine motor skills as she places the beads on the rods. She absolutely loves her new toy.


As with any toy be cautious if you make this and allow your child to play with it. I supervise Little Sweets so she doesn't poke herself with it or fall on top of it.

Fun Frugal Friday- Babysitting Swap

Do you date your spouse?

I am very excited because my husband and I will be going out on a date night tomorrow. The great thing is that we don't have to pay a babysitter. This is because we swap babysitting with some friends of ours. We watch their kids so they can go out and then we get a time to go out. This has worked out great for us. I can't wait to get dressed up and go out with my hubby. : )

I highly recommend "dating your spouse." If money is an issue ask some friends if they would like to swap babysitting with you. I think you would be surprised how many people would be willing to do this. We've had to limit the number of people we swap with because we just don't have the time to swap with everyone.

Over the years we've learned that you don't have to spend a lot of money to go out on a date. If we can't afford a dinner out, we do something simple like go to the book store and share a cup of hot cocoa or have a picnic in the park. The most important thing is that we are spending time together. My husband and I firmly believe that one of the best things we can do for our children is build a strong, healthy marriage. We believe dating each other is one way to build that kind of marriage.