Making playdough at home, with Jello?? yep

This stuff is made with Jello, yep, you heard me, the giggly stuff we all love. A great rainy day activity for all ages of kiddos, make your own. A cooking lesson, an art lesson, math lesson (measurements). Take the play-dough and form letters, numbers, animals, symbols from the periodic tables, you name it.

Ingredients for this Jello play-dough recipe:

white flour – 1 cup
salt – 2 tbsp
cream of tartar – 2 tbsp
cooking oil – 2 tbsp
warm water – 1 cup
Jello – 1 3oz pack
Directions for this Jello play-dough recipe:

Add all the ingredients together in a big mixing bowl
Mix all the ingredients together until consistent
Pour into a pan and stir continuously
Wait for it to thicken into a big ball and then place it on a piece of wax paper to cool
Kneed it for a few minutes once cooled with some flour
Add any food coloring or glitter to spice things up!
Start playing!

This is one of the most fun you can make so make sure to give it a try once you’ve mastered some simpler recipes!
Be careful because Jello Play-dough burns easily, so make sure you cook it on low heat and keep stirring. If you store it in an air tight refrigerated container you can keep it for quite a few days.

Want more....

Go here, there is even "Pumpkin play-dough"
http://www.playdoughrecipe.org/category/playdough-recipes/

Love her site, check out her great book too! 

Leslie

How to save money on your grocery bill

 Do you dress for shopping, no not really, this is my little diva dressed up with things she found on one of our shopping trips for party supplies. I love to save money and use coupons to shop, with a family of 5 we have to try anything to save. My kids even say "we don't have a coupon for that" when we are in the stores.

Many families around us are struggling to find the money to feed their families, this article about how to save money at the grocery store hopefully will help someone in need. I added many great links to many couponing and frugal moms sites that my favorite moms on CFM have shared with me. Enjoy!

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1. Shop In Season
If you buy fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season, you will spend less money. As an added bonus, your food will taste better too. Foods that are shipped in from faraway places so that we can eat them out of season - think strawberries, oranges, cucumbers in the winter - have the added cost of transportation to get them to the store. Resist buying that hot house tomato in January. It isn't going to taste good anyway! If you have Farmer's Markets in your area, consider shopping there for local produce. Chances are it will be less expensive, taste better and be organically grown.

2. Shop Sales
Pay attention to the sales that your store is advertising. Buy only what is on sale, instead of buying based on cravings. Most stores post weekly and monthly sales. Find out the sales cycle of your favorite grocer because they don't all run Sunday to Saturday.

3. Plan Meals around Sales
Plan your meals for the week around the weekly sales. Chicken and ground beef are on sale this week? Great - plan your menu to include chicken enchiladas, stuffed chicken breasts, tacos and sloppy joes.

4. Sign up for Store Rewards Cards
By signing up for store rewards cards, you will pay the lowest price for the items in that store. You will also be eligible for special deals and promotions and may receive coupons in the mail directly from the store itself. Your receipt will show you how much you have saved just by having that special card.

5. Sign up for Store email Notices
Many grocery stores now have online coupons and unique online specials. If you sign up for their email notices, you will be in the know about these special coupons and deals. Stores also use their email lists to notify customers of events like super doubles and triples.

6. Use Coupons
Shop with coupons. You can find coupons in the Sunday paper, online, in the grocery store fliers, on special bulletin boards throughout the grocery store, on store shelves, on wine bottles and in blinking machines situated inside grocery stores. You may think that buying generic is always cheaper, but that is often not the case. By combining sales with coupons, you can often get items for free.

7. Plant a Garden
Feed a man and he eats for a day. Plant a garden and you can eat all year long. Fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive, even in season. Buy seeds and plant a garden for a fraction of the cost. Even apartment dwellers can plant small window gardens.

8. Eat Before you Shop
Never shop on an empty stomach. Make sure you eat before you head to the grocery store. Studies show that hungry shoppers spend more money.

9. Leave your Kids at Home
Shop by yourself whenever possible. Children often ask for empty calorie foods and have no concept of cost. Many a mom has broken down and handed over as box of cookies just to get some peace and quiet. Leave them home, shop in quiet and stay on budget.

10. Take a List and Stick to it
Get out your sales fliers, your coupons and your email notices ahead of time and make a list of what you need to buy for the week. Be sure to take your list and a pen with you on your shopping trip and determine to buy only what you have on the list. You will avoid impulse buys this way.

A little extra time each week to organize and plan ahead will pay off.

Some of our favorite CFM moms savings sites are:
Southern Savers
The Krazy Coupon Lady
coupondivas.com
hip2save.com
www.budgetsavingmom.com 
www.hotcouponworld.com
www.afullcup.com
www.couponmom.com 
www.weusecoupons.com 
www.coupsfortroops.com
For great mommy support :
www.centralfoothillsmommies.com
www.themommiesnetwork.org