DIY Sesame Street Birthday Party {on a budget}

Levi is 2!

I can hardly believe it!

And so far....2 has been absolutely terrific.

I LOVE this age!

We celebrated Levi's birthday with a Sesame Street birthday party.

With a very low budget, we were able to pull off a cute and fun party for Levi, family and friends!

Here's some pics with a few tips to keep costs low!

We used our church to hold the party.

Our home is small and we had about 25 people invited.

This cost us nothing to use (just had to clean up!)

and allowed us access to a full kitchen and gym for the kids to play in

No need to feed a full meal!

A few snacks that are toddler friendly, something sweet and a drink is plenty!

And we skipped the ice cream...just another mess and expense!

Check Dollar Tree and Target's Dollar Spot for favors!

{and favors are totally optional too!}

We included a Sesame Street cup and an Elmo book with included CD.

Each goody bag was $2 each!

 and a few extra pics of the day

Levi thoroughly enjoyed his party and our whole family just got to have fun and celebrate together.

It was a perfect way to celebrate our big 2 year old boy!

The ULTIMATE List of Toddler Stocking Stuffers

                        

TOYS

Play Dough

Finger Puppets

Masks

Little People

Small Doll

Bubbles

Blocks

Bath Toys

Bath Crayons

Egg Shakers

Toy Balls

Matchbox Cars

Slinky

ENTERTAINMENT

Books

DVDs

CDs

Tickets to Local Event

ART SUPPLIES

Markers

Do A Dot Markers

Coloring Book

Crayons

Paintbrushes

Washable Paints

Art Smock

Stickers

PRACTICAL

Sippy cups

Utensils

Bibs

Fill Yourself Food Pouches

Bowls

Plates

Snack cups 

Stickers

Washcloths

Cloth Wipes

Bath Soap

Lotion

CLOTHING

Socks

Slippers

Scarves

Hats

Mittens

Tights

Leggings

Headbands

Festive cloth diaper

Play Jewelry

Play Purse

FOOD

Applesauce Pouches

Goldfish

Granola Bars

Dried fruit packets

Apple

Orange

Do you have anything you'd add to the list?

DIY magnetic train board

                          

Levi is currently LOVING playing with his "toot toot". (Thats what he calls his train set he got last year).

I love seeing him creatively play with it. It is adorable.

The one thing I don't like? How the pieces come apart and he screams in frustration because he's not quite old enough to piece the track together. Frustration for all.

I love the many train tables that are available for kids, but they are pretty pricey and take up a LOT of room. Room we don't have. Plus, I don't know how long he will be in his "toot toot" phase.

So I had seeen on Pinterest ideas for train boards. Basically taking plywood, painting it and then screwing the train tracks onto the board. The great part? It can just slide under the couch for storage.

The part I didn't like? The fact Levi wouldn't be able to move the tracks and items around when he gets a bit older.

I had also seen on Pinterest the idea of buying a giant Oil Drip Pan from the automotive section at Wal Mart and using it as a magnet board.

So I just merged the ideas together!

So here's how I did it;

                     

You can buy the drip pan for around $12 at WalMart. An amazing price considering its size,

Layout your train set and make sure it will fit the way youd like it to be set up.

                    

I then hot glued magnets to the bottom of the tracks.

No, it isn't a permanent way to keep the tracks together, but it does help and I want Levi to be able to recongifure it (rumor on the street is his grandma is getting him some more train pieces...)

                    

So I hot glued magnets on all the pieces and also numbered them in the order of putting the set together. I don't know why I didn't do that sooner....makes it MUCH MUCH easier!

                   

I then took all the pieces off and spray painted the drip pan a fun green.

I wanted it green to look like grass, but not a dark green. I wanted it fun and cheery.

Here is the spray paint I used

                    

It was like $4 at Wal Mart.

My next step was making accessories for his landscape.

I used some odds and ends I had in my craft stash.

I took blue foam and cut the shape of lakes and ponds, then hot glued magnets to the back.

I also cut out bushes from green foam and stiff felt. Attached magnets and glued some colorful buttons on a few to look like flowers.

                       

It was still missing something.

So I headed to Hobby Lobby to find some buildings and trees to add some dimension.

I forgot to take a picture, but I got 2 already painted trees. A 6 pack of wooden unpainted pine trees I painted and a 4 pack of unpainted wood houses I painted as well.

                      

I hot glued the trees and houses to some foam and then hot glued magnets to the foam.

They stood up! I was a little nervous about that!

                        

I think it looks much better with the trees and houses. And I know Levi will love arranging them!

                            

The hard part is going to be waiting til Christmas to give to him! It's hidden under our couch until Santa brings it to him next month.

I can't wait!!!

summer fun ideas for toddlers

2.5 weeks until summer!!!!

YAY!!!!

Our little family is very blessed during the summer.

Mr. Free and I are both teachers, so that means our little family of 3 have 2.5 months of quality time together!

We may not make much money (though the Lord has provided for our every need and many wants!), our time together is absolutely priceless!

With this soon freedom, I knew I wanted to generate some fun ideas to make some memories!

I found this schedule on Pinterest and thought it was a great idea!

Here are some ideas for the different days!

Monday

condensed milk painting

homemade finger paint

chocolate edible play dough

shaving cream paint for bath tub

paint on foil

kool aid play dough & many other great recipes

(moon sand, flubber, etc)

Tuesday

Water Table

Cozy coupe outside

Dog Park

Zoo

Sand box

Pool

Splash Park

Hike in woods

Wednesday

Help mommy with dinner and special dessert

Thursday

Local library storytime

Pottery Barn Kids storytime

Friday

Zoo

(we have zoo passes, so will do this a lot!)

Wonderscope

Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

Kaleidoscope

Lil' Monkey Bizness

Pool

Splash Park

Baseball game

Farmer's Market

Mall Play Place (for too hot days)

(or Chick Fil A, McDonald's Etc)

Kids Movie Matinee

Visit local ice cream shop

Visit local dairy farm

We also hope to do a little mini camping trip as a family.

It may just be in the back yard

(or may get adventurous and try and actual camping adventure!)

So we have lots of different options of fun and low-cost things to do.

This schedule will really help us maximize and make a low-stress summer for our family!

What's on your summer bucket list?

Anything you'd add?

DIY alphabet wall art

This project takes next to no time and for hardly any money.

It would be perfect in a nursery, toddler/preschoolers room or a playroom!

All you need is:

Color printer

Scissors

Washi tape (optional)

Pins

Corkboard (optional)

I knew I wanted to add some more art over Levi's crib.

The past prints he had hanging were too low and he would swing them and tear them down while he was in his crib.

(And yes...our walls took a beating!)

And for some reason I was on a big alphabet kick and decided to do a little educational wall decor.

I googled and googled alphabet printables and first found this one and fell in love.

{source}

Totally adorable and I loved the vintage vibe of it.

However....it had too much pink.

Too much for my little man's room.

Sad day.

So, I continued my googling and pinteresting (not sure that those are proper verbs..)

and found these printable flash cards

{source}

I liked their simplicity, colors and rounded corners.

So I printed them off and got a'cuttin.

After they were all cut out, I tried to figure out how I wanted to arrange them on the wall.

My first thought was to simply tape them up with Washi tape for a casual look.

But I wasn't completely diggin it.

Then I thought about hanging them in an empty frame clipped to jute twine like my photo display in the living room.

 But I didn't have a frame that would be big enough...

 But I did have a cork board!

 I like the simple look of it.

I simply pinned all the letters to the board.

They fit perfectly!

 The wall definitely needs a bit more to it. It looks kind of bare.

I'm thinking of hanging Levi's HammerPress post cards on either side.

But I am very much enjoying the colorful and fun alphabet with that playful  banner over his crib.

{And I know it's up kinda high, but it's that way to be out of his reach!}

What do you think?

Have any frugal wall decor you've found lately?

diy chalkboard coffee table

For our playroom I knew I wanted chalk paint SOMEWHERE.

However, I didn't want the typical black or green chalkboard paint.

Plus, I could only find it in spray paint and knew I wanted to brush it on.

I found the best stuff ever, called Clear Chalkboard Coating at Hobby Lobby. It can be brushed on over any painted surface and makes it a chalkboard!

Much more possibilities!

Since our budget was "cheap.as.possible", I decided to use a hand-me-down coffee table we had been given.

We had originally planned to use this coffee table in the family room.

I had sanded down the top and tried a stain, but it didn't turn out how I wanted.

But it's perfect in the play room.

Here's what I used:

A sample can of Lowe's paint + primer in Magnet Dapple (on sale for $2)

A bottle of Clear Chalkboard Coating from Hobby Lobby ($4 with 40% off coupon)

And a brush

I forgot to take lots of in-progress pics, but here's what I did:

Applied 2 coats of the Magnet Dapple paint, letting it dry for an hour in between.

Then applied 2 coats of Clear Chalkboard coat.

The first coat goes horizontal, the second brushed on vertical, allowing an hour dry time between coats.

 See how great the swatch matches?

After letting dry for 24 hours, you take a piece of chalk and rub it's side along the whole chalkboard surface, then erase.

It's ready to go! 

It works really well! I was skeptical of the "chalkboard coating" at first, but it does fantastic! 

I can't wait until Mr. Levi can draw all over it!

Nearly-Free Playroom: Reveal

Come on in!

The playroom is an unfinished storage area in the basement right off our new family room.

I forgot to take "before" pictures, but imagine bare concrete walls, bare concrete floors and filled to the brim with JUNK!!!

We did some major purging and craigslisting to get to an empty space!

Keep in mind....this room was created for nearly nothing. We didn't finish the walls or install carpet. We repurposed old furniture we had.

So with that...

 The couch was a hand-me-down and we actually had the slip cover. $0

I bought the red and white striped pillow at HomeGoods for $10.

The stool is hand carved with the motorcycle (I knew Daddy would love it!) for $15 at HomeGoods.

 The shelving we already had and it was already painted. Perfect and $0

I got the blue and white basket, blue wire basket and blue chalkboard basket at HomeGoods (I love taht place for a total of $21.

The green basket was from Dollar Tree.
Luckily, many of the baskets are EMPTY. 
This will be great, especially once Christmas and Birthday rolls around...

The green stool I had had since childhood. $0.

 The coffee table was Mr. Free's parents.

It's a great coffee table, and we had sanded the top to use in the family room with a darker stain, but went a different route. I painted it and then added a Chalkboard laquer on the top, so it'll be fun for Levi when he gets a bit bigger to draw on! ($6 for paint and chalkboard)

Red basket from HomeGoods $5

I will have a post soon on how to DIY your own chalkboard table.

 Mr. Free had painted the mural of the KC skyline a while back, so it became part of the "theme" if you will of the room. City and transportation.

I thought something hanging from the bare rafters would be fun, so found these flags at Hobby Lobby for $4 a piece. (Then used 40% off coupon!)

 We have my dad's old headboard we needed to store, so we put it behind the love seat with a painted board on top. On top are the cars and planes my dad and I built together.

 The rug is from Target and is $25, but I used a gift card I had. 

I know it'll be so fun for a little boy and his cars!
The carpet and padding were leftover from finishing our basement, so we just laid them down to make a cushy play space. $0

 In the corner is a Little Tykes slide that was graciously given to us! $0

 The "entertainment center" is just a vertical storage piece on its side. 

Creative, huh?

The stereo and TV were Mr. Free's and thought they'd be just fine for a playroom.

The white storage shelves we already had. $0

The green basket from the dollar store and the blue wire basket were $8.

The little man has sure enjoyed this space!

It may not be the prettiest but it is sure functional.

It's great to have a place to store all his things right next to the family room.

And not have to be in the family room.

Grand total: $72

Not shabby!