Christmas on a Budget, Part 2

Okay, let's talk more about those Easy Bake ovens today.

Have you looked at the prices on the Easy Bake mixes? The cheapest I found online were $0.50 per mix, plus shipping. All of those were already out of stock. They had been discounted from $2.50 a mix!

If your daughter likes to make things from scratch, here's a wonderful resource of recipes for an Easy Bake oven. But if you're just wanting a super-easy way to make some mixes, here's an idea for you. (I got part of the idea from the Budget 101 site.)



I bought a cake mix, brownie mix and cookie mix from the store. I paid $3.81 for all of it.

For brownie mixes, package 1/4 cup of the mix into resealable baggies and decorate the packaging as desired. I made little boxes out of cardboard I've been saving from cereal boxes and what-not. The boxes are about 4x2.5". Here's what they look like, including the baking instructions:



And cake mix is exactly the same, just using the cake mix:



I got 14 cake mixes from one box of cake mix and 16 brownie mixes from one box of brownie mix. That averages out to $0.08 per mix. Not bad!

Cookie mix is pretty much the same, but you only use 1/8 cup (2 Tbsp) to make 4 cookies at a time. I used tiny bags and made a hangtag for those with the instructions. Here's the front:



And here's the back, with baking instructions:



I got about 16 mixes out of that one pouch of cookie mix (give or take a few, since I had to experiment to get the recipe just right). That averages out to $0.09 per mix. Again, that's a great price!

Now, scroll back up to that first picture of all the mixes. There are 43 mixes there, and I only paid $3.81. I know a niece who is going to be thrilled to death with this gift! In fact, both of my kids now want an Easy Bake oven ... :)

Of course, you can make it even easier by making your packaging a little less fancy. I just really, really wanted to make those little boxes, even though they took awhile.

Christmas on a Budget, Part 1

I haven't posted in a few days, but I'm running around trying to get everything done before Christmas, so please bear with me. I really wanted to share some gift ideas I'm using this year, in case it might help someone else who doesn't want to (or can't) spend a lot of money on gifts.

First of all, I'll admit that my children (and nieces and nephews) don't mind a bit if their toys and gifts come from secondhand shops. That gives us a lot of freedom since we can gather a wish list of items that would usually cost around $20 and often find them for less than $5 at a thrift store.

For instance, my nieces and nephews gave their wish lists to my parents. I took the list with me on vacation last week (yep, I was away!), and we found over 3/4 of the items on the list! Not only that, but I don't think those items cost $20 altogether.

Some of the items I found: 2 Easy Bake ovens ($1 and $2), Baby Alive doll ($0.78), hardcover Hardy Boy books ($1 each), Barbie house and cafe ($1.50 for all), Polly Pocket limousine ($1), Polly Pocket laminate-style house ($1.50), Tolly Tots doll ($3 - like American Girl) ... You get the idea!

So let's start with those Easy Bake ovens ... When you buy secondhand, you don't always get all the original pieces. Never fear, there are usually easy alternatives. For example, the Easy Bake ovens didn't come with the pans. I had an awful time finding a pan that would fit inside, but I finally hit on the perfect solution: Pampered Chef bread tube ends.

What am I talking about? These:



See how the ends come off? They're the perfect size for the Easy Bake pans!



This might not seem like the most frugal idea to you, but I see these all the time in thrift shops. In fact, my husband just picked up three of them tonight for $2 each. That comes out to $1 for each Easy Bake pan. Not bad, considering they're $1-1.50 plus shipping from the manufacturer!

Please note that Easy Bake oven sizes vary. I found two different ones, and they both take different sizes of pans. The larger ones aren't hard at all to find alternatives for, but these smaller ones are a lot harder!

I'm making a lot of gifts this year, so look for more ideas in the next few days.

A "Christmasy" hostess gift

I'm always on the lookout for inexpensive gift ideas, and this one is perfect for this time of the year!



It uses peppermint-scented tealights I found at Dollar Tree, a stamp, some tissue paper, waxed paper, and a heat gun. You can find the tutorial here!

Antique Truck Birthday Card

You can never have too many masculine birthday cards, right? I recently thought I had used the last one in my stash, so I made a few of these to have on hand ... then promptly found a stash of about ten "big buck" cards. Oh well, at least I'm well-stocked for awhile! :)



These are big (5.5x8.5"), and they utilize those inexpensive graduation cards I bought a few months back.

Since I had to cover up the "Class of 2009" on the inside (I turned this one inside-out), I also decorated the inside. Here it is:



This is probably one of my favorite card insides in awhile. I don't usually decorate them, but I've seen others who do, and I love the effect. So now I'm trying to do it when I think of it.

Sorry about the lack of fine details, but I can tell you I used a Tim Holtz stamp set, as well as the clock stamp set (Kelly Pannacci?) that I got at a flea market a few months back.

Biblical Sympathy

I really like this clear stamp set from Inkadinkado! I can see all kinds of uses for it, but this was my first project:


Supplies: stamps (Inkadinkado, Studio G); BIC markers; papers (Provo Craft, The Paper Company); EK Success fleur de lis border punch.

It seems I'm always needing sympathy cards. I guess it's one of the things about being in the ministry - you know a lot of hurting people. I made ten of these cards, and I've already used two.

One of my favorite details about it is the gold leafing on the Bible. I used a Krylon gold leafing pen I picked up at Ollie's for $0.99. It really adds to it, since most Bibles have that gold leafing on the pages!

Another anniversary card

You're probably in Christmas mode right now, but I'm in anniversary mode! :) Here is my favorite anniversary card to date:



I don't have the Boards & Beams stamp set that I love (from PTI, I think), but I did find this free digital image online, and it works as an acceptable substitute.

The trees were created with one of my Cuttlebug flower dies (one with several on a long strip) and a Cuttlekids stem/leaf die.

After I colored the image and assembled the card, I added Paper Glaze to the windows to make them look real. Here's a closeup:



I love this little house!

Our 7th Anniversary

Today is my husband's and my 7th anniversary. In honor of that, here are a few anniversary cards I made with the Bigz Heart Locket die from Sizzix:





I think the first one is my favorite of the two.