Borrwed Planet Cloth Diaper Giveaway Ends 5/14

Welcome to the Borrowed Planet Cloth Diaper Giveaway sponsored by Borrowed Planet Cloth Diapers and Accessories and hosted by Not Quite Crunchy Mommy!

Borrowed Planet's diaper aren't just cute, they have great features like a charcoal/bamboo inner and double gussets. You can read all about them at Not Quite Crunchy Mommy's full review. They also offer a wide selection of teething necklaces for your baby to chew on.

One lucky reader of Not Quite Crunchy Mommy and Frugal Mommy Christine will win one (1) cloth diaper courtesy of Borrowed Planet. To enter for your chance to win the Borrowed Planet cloth diaper Giveaway, simply use the following Rafflecopter form. Good Luck every one!

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The Borrowed Planet cloth diaper Giveaway is open to US and Canada resident 18+. The giveaway will end as 12:00am on May 14, 2014. One winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond. If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen. Not Quite Crunchy Mommy and Frugal Mommy Christine are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

5 Ways Meal Planning Saves You Money

I used to think that meal planning is only for the "overly organized".  Since our food budget has tightened considerably, however, I have realized that meal planning, apart from saving you from the pre-dinner scramble to put together a meal on the fly, can help you save a considerable amount of money

1.  Planning Around Sales

     
     When you plan your meals for the week, use your sales papers from your favorite store(s).  If chicken is on sale, look around the ad to see what you could prepare to go with it to make a full meal.  If there is a better than average sale on something, buy enough to make a double batch of the meal, and freeze the extra portion to use as a filler in another week's plan.

2.  Avoid Over Spending in the Grocery Store 

     By planning ahead, you know exactly what groceries you need and how much you need to buy.  If you stick to the grocery list you make from your meal plan, you will not over buy. Also, since you have a plan for everything you buy, you won't end up with food that has ruined before you can use it, which will reduce your food waste considerably.  

3.  Use What you Have

     Everyone has weeks that are a little tighter than others.  For those weeks, make your meal plans from what you have on hand.  Go through the freezer, pantry, and refrigerator.  If you have any of the extra batches of pre-made dinners we talked about when planning around sales, then you can experience not only a lighter food bill that week but also an easier week in the kitchen as those frozen meals turn into delightful homemade convenience meals.  

4.  Plan a Weekly Leftover Night

     Plan on at least one leftover night per week.  I usually plan mine for after a pasta night.  That way, I can reheat the sauce, make fresh noodles, and have a leftover night that doesn't taste like a leftover night.  Busy nights make great leftover days.

5.  Eat Out Less Often

     If you have a plan for dinner each night you will be much less likely to make impromptu restaurant trips.  Before I started meal planning, it was very tempting to just load the kids into the car and go out to eat on those nights when I was having trouble deciding what to fix.  We have gone from eating out once a week to only once a month, saving around $75 per month.

     There are many methods you can use to keep up with your meal plans.  I started out using the notebook method, where you simply write out your plan for the week on a piece of notebook paper.  For me, this wasn't nearly ''official'' enough, and I found myself breaking plan more often than not.  There are many great printables around for free (check Pinterest) and they seemed to work  much better for me.  Recently though, I found a meal planner from CarrieElle.com that has everything I look or in a planner.  

Here is a picture of my new meal planner.  It has weekly planner pages with built in shopping list that can be torn off and a monthly planner.

Pill Terminator Review and $250 Amazon GC Giveaway

**This is a sponsored campaign with Mums the Word Network and Pill Terminator. All opinions are my own**

Pill Terminator Review and $250 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

When you have young kids who are constantly investigating things by tasting them, you get more than a little paranoid (and justly so!) about disposing of medications.  The result is a medicine cabinet full of medicines that you are just too nervous to just throw away for fear that they would somehow get them and swallow them (if you are like me, anyway).

In addition to putting the safety of your kids at risk,  improper disposal can have environmental hazards.  If you flush them or put them through the garbage disposal, the medications will end up in our water supply.  If you just throw them in the trash, they can get into the ground water around the dump your garbage is taken to.

Pill terminator could not be any easier to use.  Seriously, I thought it would be more complicated.  You simply Fill with medication, fill with warm water, shake, then throw away.  By the time you get done shaking you can even tell that the pills have dissolved!  

Now For the Giveaway!  Good Luck Everyone!

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How to Add & Sell a Pattern on Craftsy

How to Add & Sell a Pattern on Craftsy

(This post contains affiliate links which means I will be compensated if you purchase after clicking these links.)

In addition to wonderful online courses and craft supplies, Craftsy also has an independent online pattern store that lets anyone upload and sell downloadable e-patterns with no fee! 

How do you add a pattern to Craftsy and start your pattern store? It’s easy! 

1. Make sure you have a Paypal account. All pattern transactions happen through Paypal, and Craftsy requires that you have a Student, Premier, or Business account in order to sell patterns.

2. Put your pattern in .pdf format. You can’t upload any patterns to the online pattern store unless they’re a .pdf file format, so if they’re currently saved as a Word doc, .jpg, or other file format, you must convert it to a .pdf before you upload it to Craftsy.

3. Include a photo. All patterns must have at least one photo to accompany them, but you can add up to five photos. Colorful, interesting photos tend to work the best for catching our members’ eyes!

4. Fill out the pattern description. We will ask you some basic questions around your pattern making it easier for Craftsy folk to find your pattern and know what your pattern is for. Make sure you have info about your pattern handy for this step.

For more information on how to sell a pattern through Craftsy, or to get started, visit Craftsy today!

Win $250 Little Passports and Melissa and Doug Prize Pack! Ends 4/25

**The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.

Little Passports 12 Month Subscription Giveaway + Melissa and Doug Toys

That's right! You can win a 12 month subscription to one of the best learning tools for your children, Little Passports. Enter now and you could have your own subscription by the end of the month as well as some of the hottest toys on the market from Melissa and Doug! 

This prize is valued at $250, but let's be serious...you cannot put a price on your child learning fun facts about the world we live in! Little Passports allows your child to develop knowledge on all kinds of different historical figures, eras, locations and traditions, turning them into a true citizen of the world. And YES...it is super fun! The deadline to sign up to win this prize is April 25th. If you miss out on this weeks opportunity, don't fret...There is one more week of giveaways to enter. Use the link below:

http://platform.votigo.com/fbsweeps/sweeps/Birthday-Giveaway

DIY Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs

Last week I was in the store and decided to pick up my favorite Easter treat- chocolate covered peanut butter eggs (you know the brand ;) ).  It is the one sweet  Easter tradition that I allowed myself to carry with me as I switched over to 'adulthood' .  After I got home, I put them in the fridge like I always do.  A few hours later when I ate one of them I was slightly taken aback.  THIS is the treat I always look forward to so much each year?  The chocolate was paper thin and the peanut butter was dry and crumbly.  I can do better I thought.  Below is the recipe I used. Even though my eggs have a little room to improve looks wise, it was really MUCH more simple than I thought it would be.  I will never buy another store bought peanut butter egg.

Ingredients

• 16 oz jar of peanut butter
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup butter softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extrace
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 4 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 TBSP and 1 tsp coconut oil or vegetable oil

Directions:

• In the bowl of your stand mixer (or other large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) , mix powdered sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, and softened butter with whisk attachment.

• Add milk, one tablespoon at a time until it becomes a nice workable dough.  It will be a little bit sticky, but will scoop nicely.

• Scoop 2 tablespoon sized rounds onto a large baking sheet or cutting voard lined with parchment paper.  If you find yourself out of parchment paper- like I did- you can use plastic wrap, but you will have to allow the chocolates to set up in the fridge or freezer.

• Flatten and form into an egg shape with your fingers.  
• When you are ready to dip the eggs in the chocolate, place the chocolate chips and coconut oil into a microwave safe glass container and heat at 30 second intervals, stirring well between each heating until melted smooth.
• Dip the eggs into the chocolate.  I put mine on top of a spoon and dipped it down into the chocolate, lifting it up and allowing the extra to drip off afterwards.
• Once you have all of the eggs dipped and placed on the wax paper (NOT TOUCHING), put the eggs into the fridge or freezer to set up.

Craftsy! Take in-depth Crafting Courses from Home!

     Have you ever wanted to learn how to crochet?  Ever wondered how to make those beautiful and crazy detailed sugar flowers on the professional cakes?  What about taking a photography class?  Well now you can take the class you've always wanted to from the comfort of your own home with Craftsy.  Each course is broken up into several individual classes to help you gain better mastery of more topics within your chosen subject.


    Most classes are $39.99, which is a great price for such an in-depth class, but there are also much cheaper choices, with several options from $15-$20 and even some  FREE Classes! There are a whopping 27 free courses to chose from, including subjects that range from Perfect Pizza at Home to Professional Family Portraits and Hand Painted Cakes.  I just finished  "Master Knife Skills" and I must say that so far I am very impressed with Craftsy.


     Sign up for a free account and browse through their Great variety today.  If nothing else, the free classes offer a perfect introduction to the process. . . and helps you brush up on or develop your skills!


COMMENT: Pop on over to the site and tell me which class you would most like to take!


     From now until April 22, you can also get up to 75 % off supplies with their big Easter Sale.


Happy Crafting!

Disclaimer:  All posts on Frugal Mommy Christine may contain affiliate links, or be compensated in some way.  For bloggers, get information about shareasale.com and the Craftsy Affiliate Program.

Upcycled Coke Bottle Jellyfish- Kids Craft.

Yesterday, my daughter was begging for a craft.  I asked her what she wanted to make, and immediately said that she wanted to make a jellyfish.  After a quick inventory of my supply closet, and my recycling bin, we decided to make it out of a coke bottle.  This craft is pretty simple, and only needs a handful of supplies that you probably already have.    The hardest part of this craft for my 3 1/2 year old was waiting for the glue to try between steps.  I recommend having snack time or some other distraction ready while you wait.

You will need:

2 Liter Plastic Bottle-washed with label removed

Scissors 

Bottle of Glue

Glitter

1 Foot Long Pieces of Ribbon (I used around a dozen or so)

Hole Punch

Googly Eyes (if you don't have googly eyes, construction paper eyes would be cute)

Newspaper Page

Step 1- cut the bottle bottom off using scissors. This will be the 'body' of your jellyfish.  There is no correct height for this, but I did mine pretty long.  As long as you have enough room to put your eyes on, and to tie the ribbons on it will be adorable. Use a hole punch to punch holes around the bottom (as few or as many as you like.  I did 8 or so.

Step 2- Lay the newspaper page down on your work surface. Sit the bottle bottom on the paper, open end down.   Using the bottle of glue, let your child make a design of glue on the bottle.  My daughter did some pretty loopy type lines, but there is no wrong way here.  

Step 3- Immediately help your child sprinkle glitter over the bottle, making sure to get all of the glue lines.  Shake off excess, and try not to smudge the glue lines.  Allow to dry.  This was when we ate our snack and went outside to play.

Step 4- Once dry, help your child tie 2 or 3 ribbon pieces to each hole.  Lay the jellyfish on it's side and glue the googly eyes on.  If you leave it standing up, the eyes will slide down.  Except for drying, the jellyfish is done.  We had nap time right after this part, so she wouldn't be tempted to play with it before it was dried.

I would probably recommend this craft for ages 3 and up.  It would also be perfect for preschool or kindergarten classes!  Just have everyone bring their own coke bottle!

I have some ideas for a few more Coke bottle crafts, so be on the lookout for more of them to be put on the blog this week.  If you don't want to miss them, you can subscribe to Frugal Mommy Christine using the Widget on the right side bar of this page.  

Who would you do this craft with, and what, if any, changes might you make to yours?

California Delicious Giveaway- Ends 4/25

Welcome to our California Delicious Giveaway~

Frugal Mommy Christine is please to promote this giveaway hosted by Tammie's Reviews, Giveaways and More and sponsored by California Delicious.

Frugal Mommy Christine is pleased to help bring you this giveaway! California Delicious has some amazing gift baskets and products to chose from.  There are many different items you will be able to get with your $50 gift card.  Good Luck!

You can read Tammie's Reviews, Giveaways and More's review by clicking HERE. I cannot think of everything better than then finding the perfect gift basket for that special person on your list. They can be tailored to the recipients tastes or likes. I like how unique they can be.

On to the giveaway~

This giveaway will be live from 4/11 and will end on 4/25, starting and ending at 7 p.m.

This is open to US ages 18 and up only. No P.O. boxes. All entries will be verified. Winner will be chosen via Random.org

Winner will have 24hours to respond.

1 winner will receive a $50 gift card to California Delicious.

Enter below using the easy Giveaway Tools widget and Good Luck to you.

Entry-Form

Disclosure: We are not associated with any of the companies named above. No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. The odds of winning are based on the number of entries received Open to the US 18+ only. Confirmed Winner(s) (by Random.org) will be contacted by email. Winner(s) have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The sponsor(s) will be responsible for product shipment to winner(s) of this giveaway. My blog is not responsible for product shipment/delivery nor did I receive compensation. Only 1 prize per household. This event is in no way administered, sponsored, or endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook and/or Twitter, Google, Pinterest. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements. Entrants must only enter with either one email address, IP address and/or Facebook account, anyone found violating these rules will be disqualified. It is at the sole discretion of the admin of the giveaway if the winner has met the rules or not.

Why not join our Facebook Group to find out about the latest Blogger Opps or contact me pankuch1605@hotmail.com and see how I can promote your product for you. For any questions or problems about this Giveaway, contact Tammie at pankuch1605@hotmail.com

Taking Frugal Mommy Christine to the Next Level!

Frugal Mommy Christine has always been a dream of mine. Okay, maybe not that particular name, but I have always wanted to be a blogger, anyway.  I began taking it seriously around October of last year.  Since then, I have received amazing support and feedback from you, my readers, and FMC has grown faster than I ever could have imagined.  

Now that I know that there are indeed people who want to read what I have to say, and to be a part of FMC, I have decided to start making three semi-major improvements on the site.  

First, I have finally purchased a domain name, so instead of being FrugalMommyChristine.blogspot.com, the new URL will be FrugalMommyChristine.com.  Don't worry, the old URL will still work for now. 

Second, I am going to be doing some layout changes.  Mostly I will be spending time organizing the navigation bar at the top of the page- the one with home, contact, etc.  This way everything will be much easier to find for you guys.  

Third, I will be working on upgrading the looks of the blog by adding personalized logos and such.

Why am I telling you all of this?  I am telling you this because each one of these things is going to take a lot of coding, and technical know how. . . which I do not possess.  It is going to take me quite a while to Google everything I need to do, and there may be times when the site may not look it's best. I also may not have much time to do posts over the next few days as I sort through all of this.   I plan on having everything done by one week from today.

I may end up wishing I had paid someone to do this for me, but, alas, I am stubborn.  Wish me luck!

***I would love your input!  Tell me what you want to see in the future!  This is the time for any comments or suggestions you may have!  Want to see more reviews? More Kitchen Hacks? More Recipes? Giveaways?  Let me know in the comments below! If you don't have any suggestions, could you please tell me something you like or dislike about the blog?***

As a thank you for your patience and understanding, we will be having a launch party of sorts as soon as everything is finished.   There will be prizes, games, etc.

Thank You

~Christine~

April Showers $500 cash Giveaway! Ends 4/22

Welcome to the $500 April Showers Cash Giveaway!

Frugal Mommy Christine has joined forces with an amazing group of bloggers to bring you this great giveaway. One lucky person will win $500 cash.

---

What could YOU do with $500 cash?  My husband would joke that I could buy the whole store with $500, since I am a very avid sales, clearance, and deals shopper, who uses coupons to get an even better deal.  Whether you plan on buying a lot with sales, splurging on a big item or two, or using the money to help with bills, one thing is certain:  EVERYONE could use an extra $500!

Enter to win $500 CASH via PayPal.

Complete the tasks below to earn entries into this giveaway.

Refer your friends using your unique link to earn even more chances to win.

Open Worldwide.

Ends at 11:59pm EDT on April 22nd, 2014.

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This giveaway was coordinated by Giveaway Promote.

*disclaimer*  I received a copy of Fitness Confidential free of charge for the purposes of this review, but was under no obligation to provide a positive review.  These opinions are my own, and were not influenced by any outside sources. 

Swingline Laminator Giveaway

Here is a great giveaway for any mom!  Perfect for homemade flashcards, reusable worksheets, and preserving your little one's masterpieces. 

Hosted by Networking Witches

Co Hosted by Mom Powered Media - Budget Earth - Rude Mom Blog

 I have wanted a laminator for what seems like forever, so when I was asked to review the Swingline™ GBC® Fusion™ 1000L 12″ Laminator, 5 Minute Warm-up, 3 or 5 Mil (up to 4″ x 6″) I was excited. I also received Swingline™ GBC® EZUse™ Thermal Laminating Pouches to help get me started. This is Swingline Laminator is easy peasy to work. Just turn it on and let it warm up. It takes about 5 minutes to warm up and there is a green light to alert you when the warm up is complete. It laminates at a speed of 13″ per minute, and allows you a maximum document width of 12″. This is perfect for the home office or a mom who wants to laminate memories for the future. It is perfect for helping to preserve certificates, insurance policies, report cards, and even little hand prints on paper. Laminating creates the perfect display and is easy to use. The EZUse pouches are the easiest to use thermal laminating pouches on the market. These provide outstanding lamination accuracy and UV protection. The helpful EZUse alignment guides, mil thickness icon, and directional arrow on every pouch helps simplify the laminating process.




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  Rules & Fine Print

• winterwitch@networkingwitches.com is responsible for prize distribution. Any questions? Give me a holler.
• This giveaway is open to USA residents only
• The winner will be notified via email and have 48 hours to respond. If they do not respond they forfeit the prize

*disclaimer*  I received a copy of Fitness Confidential free of charge for the purposes of this review, but was under no obligation to provide a positive review.  These opinions are my own, and were not influenced by any outside sources. 

April Showers $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway ends 4/26

 Welcome to the April Showers $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway 

sponsored by Social News Daily

and 

hosted by The Parenting Patch. 

  Social News Daily is the first media reporting website that focuses 100% on social media platforms and news created and supported by social networks. SND fully understands the power that Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and other social networks have on our lives. Find all your social media news and trends in one convenient place with Social News Daily. 

 One lucky reader of Social News Daily and The Parenting Patch will win one (1) $50 Amazon gift card. To enter for your chance to win the April Showers $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway, simply use the following Rafflecopter form. Good luck! Happy spring! 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

The April Showers $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway is open worldwide. An international winner will receive $50 minus any PayPal fees via PayPal in lieu of the specified prize. The April Showers $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway ends at midnight CST on April 26, 2014. One winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond. If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen. The Parenting Patch and YOUR BLOG HERE are not responsible for prize fulfillment. -----

*disclaimer*  I received a copy of Fitness Confidential free of charge for the purposes of this review, but was under no obligation to provide a positive review.  These opinions are my own, and were not influenced by any outside sources. 

Slicing Cherry Tomatoes the Easy Way

Slicing a lot of cherry tomatoes at once can get very monotonous.  This kitchen shortcut (one of my favorites) will allow you to cut enough for your salad or recipe with only one single cut, and it doesn't require any special equipment.  All you need is a sharp knife and a couple of lids.  I like to save the larger lids from margarine tubs since it allows you to do more at once, but for this tutorial I used 2 clear plastic lids.

Place the tomatoes on one of the lids, then place the other lid on top of it

Hold down the top lid to keep the tomatoes from moving around as you slice through the tomatoes.

That's it!  Your tomatoes are ready for your salad or recipe!

What is your favorite kitchen shortcut that you use?  Please feel free to share in the comments below.

*disclaimer*  I received a copy of Fitness Confidential free of charge for the purposes of this review, but was under no obligation to provide a positive review.  These opinions are my own, and were not influenced by any outside sources.