Super Cute Winter Snowflake Activity For The Whole Family

While searching for fun family activities, I stumbled across the cutest snowflake decoration ideas—and trust me, these are not your kindergarten snowflakes. Oh no. These are pro-flakes.

Check out these super-cute decorating ideas using homemade snowflakes. I bet you'll be busting out the coffee filters before sundown.
                                                   

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Turn snowflakes into sun catchers! TIP: Use various blue, grey and white shades of tissue paper to kick the sun catcher snowflakes up a notch. Here is a complete how-to, here.

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I have every intention of making this with the Aussie and The Kid. I think it will be so cute in our hallway. Check out the how-to, here.

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This is a fantastic idea for a baby mobile—just on a much, much smaller scale. Grab a tree branch, paint it, and hang a few delicate snowflakes from it. Tip: Use bold-colored paper for the snowflakes to tap into a baby’s love of bright, playful colors! Find the full how-to here

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I think this would be a cute idea for a winter party. Maybe add hanging white Christmas lights in between the snowflakes. Find the how-to, here.

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                 This is a super cute idea. Add a little glitter for extra sparkle!  Find the how-to, here

Before you think there is no way you can make such beautiful snowflakes, check this out:

If you make a snowflake decoration or have a template for an awesome snowflake, please upload it to the FTM+D Facebook Fan Page, here.

15 Fall + Halloween Crafts For Kiddos

Welp, there goes summer. Every year of my life seems to always go faster than the last. Do you just blink in your 80's and have a birthday? Shhhheeeeesh! 

To kick off the fall madness, I’ve rounded up 15 fun and festive family crafts to get you in the spirit of the season! BONUS: These crafty ideas are super budget-friendly and simple enough for the kids to join in on the fun.

If you are looking for adult fall fun... check out these five-star chili recipes. 

Are you ready for some cheap and easy fall fun that will make you feel like a fabulous parent??  Here you go:

1. Q-tip Fall Tree Craft bundle a bunch of Q-tips together and voila! Instant paint brush perfect for even the littlest of hands.



2. Autumn Handprint Tree - Use the Q-tip hack from #1 to make the leaves, or let it be a full-on finger paint free-for-all.

3. Autumn Leaf Mason Jar Candle Holders: These are so freaking cute!

4.  Pumpkin Salt Dough Handprint Keepsake I LOVE THIS! Make Christmas tree ornaments while you're at it, for an inexpensive super cute gift idea...

5. Craft Stick Spiderweb

6. Tin Can Ghost

7. Glow-in-the-dark Pumpkins.

8. Bubblewrap Corn Sun Catchers

9.  Fall Leaf Sun Catcher 

10.  Salt Dough Leaf Impressions

11. Halloween Glitter Slime Monsters

12. Preserved leaf mobile

13. Fall Leaf Painting 

14. This leaf people craft is a great idea for a family park activity!

15. What fall craft list would be complete without a DIY pine cone bird feeder?

Tips To Save Buku Bucks On Spring Beauty Purchases

Yesterday. I covered spring money-saving hacks for kids' stuff, so now it's time to talk about mama's stuff! 

Spring is in full bloom, so I thought I would share a few of my top tips for buying champagne-style beauty products on a beer-budget. (Aveda, Trish McEvoy, Lancome, Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Sephora, OPI...) Or, how I rarely buy high-end beauty products at full price and get a lot of awesome free stuff in the process, and not because I'm a blogger. Let's just say, I'm a product whore with a laughable budget and years of buying experience. 

1. First and foremost, sign up for email alerts from your favorite brands. This alone makes it easy to get the most bang for your buck from your go-to brands. FACT: Department/Beauty store brands (Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Trish, Laura...) promote 'gift with purchase' specials YEAR-ROUND. TIP: Check your favorite brand websites for the weekly gift with purchase specials and free shipping... add a coupon code and SCORE BIG!! 

2. NEVER Buy anything without getting something free! I'm not kidding. I have yet to buy any products without getting free samples. If the brand website is not offering 'gift with purchase' specials, stores like Sephora, Ulta, Nordstroms, and Macy's may offer in-store/on-line promotions for the multiple brand's products. Do you see where I am going with this? Research your brand-loyal beauty products online before heading to the store. Always.

3. Print Monthly In-store Coupons. Love your Cover Girl Mascara or Almay Tinted Moisturizer? Before you shop for shadow and gloss, spend some time downloading + printing coupons. If you play your coupons right, you might score big by combining it with an in-store promotion. 

4. Reap the Rewards, Reviews + Ratings. Thanks to stores like Sephora, Ulta, and Amazon, getting the 411 on products is easier than ever. Amazon is a gold mine for finding reviews, photos, and deals on beauty products. Sephora is the spot for finding new products and scoring a loot bag of sample-size products. Ulta sends coupons for discounts on a single item or entire purchase via snail mail and email, so signing up for the email list is worth it for that alone. I use this for self-tanner and nail polish purchases!

5. Google What Gets You. The next time you want to splurge on a new miracle cream, Google it before buying it. But try googling the specific need, "dark circles," "deep wrinkles," then look for best sellers, then read the reviews. There is no reason to spend a month's salary on an eye serum with so many great options available for a fraction of the cost. Did you know Amazon's best-selling serum costs $15? It does. It also has 4300 reviews and 4.5 stars. 
                                                               

6. GET CASH BACK! Last, and my biggest and best shopping tip, RAKUTEN. I promise I am not getting paid to say that. I cannot recommend enough signing up, then downloading the browser plug-in. Then, every time you shop online, you're automatically notified of the percentage of cash back you get for purchases, and then at checkout, coupon codes are auto-loaded. IT'S AWESOME! I've been a member since 11/19/16 and have a lifetime cash back balance of $695.11 CASH!!!

Seriously... sign up. Download Rakuten then install the plug-in to your browser, 

and that's it! 

5 Ways To Get Festive For The Holidays

I just can't get my head around the fact the month-long Holiday adventure of December is here!

HOW?

Wasn't it just, August?

I am so not ready!

If, like me, you are freaking out and need to get your festive-on and fast, below are a few fun ways to get festive for the holidays!

1. Be Unconventional

Think: The hottest Christmas trend of 2017, the pineapple Christmas tree! (I swear I'm not kidding!) Head over to Pinterest on your lunch break (Or bored and want to look busy) and look for inspiration. Make the theme all your own! Screw the stockings and garland, go for Pineapples and sunnies!

2. Buy out the dollar store

Decking the Halls doesn't have to break the bank. Stop at the Dollar Tree after work and go wild on ten bucks.

First Time Dad Tip: When you get home, coat the walls with adhesive spray, throw the decorations in the middle of the floor and fire up the leaf blower. #GoodTimes

First Time Mom Disclaimer: We cannot and will not be held accountable if your dumb enough to try it. #Dumbassery

3. Don't feel like going through the work hanging lights? In less than thirty seconds you can light your house up like Clark Griswald with a Christmas Light Projector

Remember when we were kids and most decorations were made of foil or we had to string a thousand pieces of popcorn to make our own garland? Not. Any. More. Shove this sucker in your yard, plug it in and done!

(This one is $23 on Amazon with $5 off coupon)

4. Test out new recipes for holiday treats.

Kick the cookies up a notch. Raise the bar on brownies. Plan now so you blow everyone away at the holiday party or cookie exchange.

This year I'm trying these Christmas Tree Brownies! 

5. Craft something with the Kiddos!

Spend the frigid weekend inside making a winter wonderland!




Check out my Homemade Holidays Pinterest Board for a ridiculous amount of winter and holiday crafts, cooking, homemade gifts and decoration ideas!

This Star Wars Lightsaber Valentine Will Win Your Child's Heart And The Class Party

Last year, I made Star Wars Lightsaber Valentines for Ollie's class that teachers and a few parents complimented me on! They were pretty cool if I do say so myself, and super cheap to make! I thought I would share the idea for the other parents out there with Star Wars obsessed littles. 

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because this valentine is so easy, your child can help! Four simple steps. 

1. Find the Star Wars Valentines that suit you. I picked ours up at The Dollar Tree, but have seen them everywhere else! Look for a design that will be easy to incorporate a lightsaber. 

2. Have your child fill out the valentines. I know it can be annoyingly slow process having your child fill them all out, but chill out, this is a great learning opportunity and penmanship practice! 

3. Pick out red/yellow/blue/green glowsticks from the pack. Use those first. You can either crack them the day of the class Valentine exchange, or wait, and let the child crack the glow stick. The latter is my son's preference. 

4. Cut a small slit where you want the glowstick to slide in the card, and that's it.

There you have it, one trip to the Dollar Tree and the Super Cool Star Wars Lightsaber Valentine can be yours for under five bucks!



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All-natural DIY lip balm for even the most sensitive lips

Being that I live in a state where frigid temperatures and snow stick around for months on end, dry skin, hair, and lips are my life. I'm seriously two scales short of being considered a lizard by the end of February. My son isn't in much better shape. 

As if that's not bad enough we both have ultra sensitive skin, so pretty much anything with fragrances and fake shit destroy us. Chapsticks and lip-balms often being the biggest offenders. It's crazy, but most dry my lips out and leave them in worse shape. So, I started making my own. It's fantastic, and when I lose a stick, I don't cry about it, I make a new one.  Here's how:

My new go-to is Everyday Roots, Natural Healing Lip Balm.  It seriously blends earth's best to create the best lips possible. 

What you need:

-1 tablespoon grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles

-1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil

-A dash of organic raw honey

-2 vitamin e capsules

-several drops of essential oil (optional)-I added peppermint!

See how-to here.

Once I'm finished crushing on my Peppermint healing lip balm, I'm going to give a few others try.  

1. Thank you, Beautilish, for this super yummy and moisturizing, Peppermint Lip Balm. There are only three ingredients! THREE. Do this. 

2. Have kids with constantly chapped lips? Style Me Pretty, has the answer, Kool-Aid Lip Balm! Yes, Kool-Aid. It's as easy as, mix Bees Wax for a natural SPF, Coconut oil for serious moisturizing and then a tasty Kool-Aid. Use small containers, so if they are lost or filled with dirt, not too much is lost!

3. I want to try this, Mint Chocolate Lip Balm from, Food Plus Words, but I'm afraid I will eat it! What an incredibly tasty Lip Balm this must be! 

4. Free The People, offer an amazing Tea Tree and Coconut Oil Lip Balm. Super healing. 

5. girl. Inspired. Offers the essential guide to creating every single Petroleum Jelly DIY Lip Balm you can imagine. She also gives tips for what mixes and well, and what doesn't. This is the essential guide petroleum lip gloss. DIY Lip Gloss: Each of these balms uses the same basic recipe. But this post has a great guide to different flavors and colors you can mix in. It’s basically a toolkit for creating your own recipes. (via girl. Inspired)

6. Love You Madly, shows how easy the 2-Ingredient Lip Balm is. That's right, TWO.

Think Petroleum Jelly + Kool-Aid! 

7. The Raspberry Lemonade Lip Balm from Dear Crissy, is a Summer-Do. So refreshing.

Get this, just four ingredients make this magical mix!

For more ideas, check out my Natural Beauty Pinterest Board.What's you favorite DIY Lip Balm Recipe?

Motivated to try, but need all the stuff? Here are a few things from Amazon I found to get you started, or atlas thinking...  

1. A complete DIY Lip Balm Kit

2. Have everything, but need the containers? I ordered the Keepie Factory Empty Lip Balm Containers  FDA approved, 100% non-toxic, made int he USAclear plastic lip balm containers.

 Note: these are tubes. 50 per bag. ($10)

3. Prefer, 5 Gram Plastic Cosmetic Containers, With Lids for your lip balm? Here's an option from Amazon, with prime. $10. 50-count

                                                         







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