Things to buy at the Dollar Store...and a few things to avoid

I live way too close to The Dollar Store

I end up spending a lot of time there

Which means I also tend to spend a lot of money there too.

I've bought a few things that have been worth a dollar.

And I've bought a few things that are totally not worth a dollar.

So stroll with me through the aisles and I will tell you all those things you should snag

and all those things you should avoid.

Tissue Paper-Snag it

It's so much cheaper at The Dollar Store and works great in those 

recycled gift bags we all have laying around.

Scotch Tape-Snag it

Is it just me or does your house go through tape like it's going out of style?

 Thumb Tacks-Snag it

You probably don't need these every day, but I did do a project recently and wish I knew they had them at The Dollar Store because I paid too much.

Furniture Polish and Window Cleaner: Snag it

Both things I use often, both things worth picking up
Windex does not corner the market on window cleaner and Pledge doesn't either

You can read about Anna's top secret cleaning tip (hint, it involves furniture polish) here.

Estracell sponges-Pass
While they may look like the scotch brite sponges, they are not the same.
 Don't waste your money

Sun dishwashing liquid: Pass

This stuff is so watered down that it's cheaper to buy the name brand

Stor-it sandwich bags: Snag it

We don't use a lot of these baggies (I use my reusable ones instead)
but when I do need them, they do the job

Potted Meat: Pass

I'm pretty sure potted meat is never a good idea

also, any "meat" at The Dollar Store-gross!

Pretzels: Snag it

These are great for lunches and so much cheaper than at the grocery store

Kids Shampoo: Snag it

If you have kids that wash themselves you know how much shampoo you go through.

Shower Curtain: Snag it

Now I'm not saying you should use just this shower curtain in your bathroom,

but under your fancy shower curtain, this one for $1 is perfect.

Washcloths and Towels: Pass

So thin and so not worth it

Extra Healing Lotion: Pass

It may look like Vaseline's healing lotion, but it is not even close.

Find a sale and buy the real deal

Bobby pins: Pass

Honestly didn't know anyone could screw up bobby pins

but they did.

Don't bother

Cotton Swabs: Pass

Stick with Q-tips

These guys bend before you even stick 'em in your ear.

It's like they are scared or something.

Pregnancy Test: Snag it

Who knew?

Seriously, the best $1 deal in the store

Compare them with other brands here

Glue Pens-Snag it

I always peruse the craft aisle you never know what you will find

I know I've bought these at Michael's before for WAY more!

Colored Pencils: Pass

These are awful! They won't sharpen and they get dull in a nanosecond

Crayons: Pass

There is something to be said for Crayola.  They have crayons figured out.

These are just waxy and yuck

Dough Pate: Pass

It's called Pate...seriously...skip it.

It's not play doh

Bubbles: Snag it

I buy these by the armful during the summer

Cheap, big and full of fun

So what dollar store items did I miss?

Good or bad I want to know!

Valentine's Day recap

I'm a little slow, but I wanted to share our Valentine's day recap with you.

I'm not a huge fan of the holiday. 

Restaurants are always crowded

babysitters are expensive and hard to find

there is too much candy

roses are overrated 

and stuffed animals give me the creeps

We have a family tradition of celebrating the holiday together in a very simple way

I gave each of the kids their favorite candy and put it in a pretty package

I spent the week before planning our menu for our fancy family dinner.

While pasta wasn't on the menu for Valentine's day, the heart shaped pasta was too cute to pass up so we had it the night before

The younger two kids said their classmates really loved their Valentine's.
Nothing like a little lick 'em stick on the lips and teeth to show me what Owen was doing on the bus.

When I wasn't helping in the kids class on Valentine's day, I was cleaning up the house.

I wanted them all to feel like my special guests for the evening.

I followed this steakhouse recipe I found via pinterest from Amuse Bouche.
It was so good!

Isabella wanted to get in on the action and was our waitress for the evening.

Remember her skirt from two years ago?

It was such a fancy night that mama put on a dress!

We even got to eat in the dining room.

We have lived in our house for 14 months and this is the first time any of us has eaten in the dining room!

Our guests have eaten in there before, but us...nope.

We even lit candles 

(which I later regretted because my 6 year old blew wax all over the table...guess we aren't ready for dining room eating yet!)

We capped off dinner with chocolate fondue!

The kids were super excited for desert but after the wax incident, we moved desert into the kitchen table.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Check out the expression on my husbands face 

as he looks on at my 13 year old who has just shoved a whole marshmallow down his gullet!

It was the perfect evening with my perfect valentine's.I can't think of anyone else I would rather have spent it with!

Every Little Thing

I love cheap art.

This sign cost me about $1 to make.

It's probably my newest favorite thing.

The steps to make it were similar to how I made my Sunshine art.

Step 1: Find a board (mine was 20x20) I got it at a garage sale for about a quarter (it was lumped in with other goodies)
Paint your board (I used free paint I got from the side of the road! Score!)

Step 2: Cut out vinyl (the vinyl came from a garage sale-you can read more about that here) I used my silhouette and put it in place on the board.

Step 3: Paint over the whole board (I used white paint-also from the roadside-double score!)
Sand over the whole thing (should I tell you I got my sander at a garage sale too?)

Step 4: Peel off the vinyl letters and you are DONE!

Now to find a place to put it.

I like it paired with the old window

But for now it's found it's home in the bonus room with all kinds of other fun funky "junk" that my husband hates.
Don't you just love it?!Happy Valentine's Day!

Two Major Milestones! 1000 Followers and my 500th post!

I'm hitting a few blogging milestones today.
This is my 500th post!
500 times I have hit that schedule button
I've shared projects that I am working on,projects that I find inspiration from,and random things that are on my mind.And yet you still continue to read!

And even though google friend connect is going away,I am happy to report I hit the 1000 followers milestone I was so excited about.That's a lot of people who have stumbled upon my blog and have liked what they have seen.

I am thankful for each and every one of you who read along.It feels like such a celebration!

Thank you!

Handmade Valentine's

There are lots of great ideas for handmade valentine's.  

I pinned a few then asked the kids what they liked.

Of course they both gravitated to the mustache valentine's.

I was inspired by this one from Six Cherries On Top

With Picnik closing soon, I was able to recreate a personalized version for Owen

Once I printed it, this is what it looked it.

I wanted to pair it with a felt mustache for the kids, so I used this printable from Ewe Hooo

I pinned the pattern on top of the felt and cut around it

Here are a few that I cut out

I added a sticky dot to the back of each mustache so the kids could wear them

And of course, a valentine's day gift isn't complete without chocolate!

All that was left was adding the "to"

That's it! 

All bagged up and ready to give to his friends

My daughter really liked these heart bookmarks from Thirty Handmade Days

But we didn't think the fourth grade boys would be too excited to get them so I printed up the ones from Six Cherries On Top

And I made these for the girls

And now to personalize them

and they are ready!

Don't forget to follow me with linky followers.
You would be my favorite valentine if you did!