craft

Fun, Free, & Frugal Events for Kids & Families in San Diego, CA

Abby H.

With better weather and Spring Break on the horizon for most of us, it’s time to get out of the house and find some fun, free stuff to do!

San Diego is full of fun outdoor adventures. If you are looking for places to take your kids for some hikes or walks, Hidden San Diego has a list of 40 kid-friendly hikes here. Hidden San Diego also has some amazing information about San Diego’s history, locations to explore, and even some creepy lore surrounding America’s Finest City.

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know about the JCPenney Kids Zone free crafts that occur every second Saturday of the month in selected JCPenney stores.

You probably also know about the Home Depot Kids Workshop, which takes place every second Saturday of the month. However, some stores do one every single week; you just need to check your local Home Depot store to find out.

Did you also know that Lowe’s Hardware store does a similar activity on the third Saturday of each month? 

Lakeshore, the educational store, holds free kids events, including storytime with Pete the cat and sensory events.

If you are in the eastern part of San Diego County, the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College offers free admission on Fridays from 9am-4pm.

While not always free, Michaels offers in-store classes for both Kids and adults. Sometimes, the classes are free, and sometimes there is a class fee (usually $15 or less). Classes run for about an hour, and you need to take something really cool home with you.

The San Diego Craft Collective at Liberty Station has a free class on the first Friday of each month from 5 to 6 PM.

Don’t forget their resident free days at Balboa Park every single Tuesday.

If you’re looking for more fun, free events, check your local shopping center or mall. Parkway Plaza in El Cajon has a free kids event every month. It usually involves a craft and some sort of fun games where you can win prizes. 

Groupon always has discounted admissions to local attractions like Legoland, Birch Aquarium, and indoor trampoline/play places.

 When I find more, I will definitely post more. 

Frugal Gift Idea: Fun Photo Collages!

Abby H.

If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you know I love giving photo gifts to relatives.

Walgreens has good-quality photo prints done in-store, and right now they have a coupon code for 50% Off Everything Photo! Use coupon code 50BELLS when you check out!

This offer ends on 11/30/2024, so there isn’t much time, but it’s a good deal.

I am redecorating our hallway, and I needed some new 8×10 photo collages. Using Canva (it’s free!), I made a few collages, including one of the ever-ferocious Fiona the Cat. Having Walgreens print an 8×10 cost less than $3. Don’t worry, I also made one of the kids too. I’m not strictly making photo collages of my cat to hang in the hallway.

And I discovered Michael’s is having a great sale on Belmont Frames brand picture frames. Either 65% off OR Buy one, get two free. I can get 3 8×10 picture frames for less than $20 (pre-tax), and pick them up at my local Michael’s tomorrow or Saturday.

For about $10.00 each I can make an awesome, thoughtful photo collage gift for my friends and family using both of these deals! These deals end soon, so if you want to take advantage, I recommend doing it soon.

Free Fun at JCPenney’s Kid Zone (8/10/2024 & 9/14/2024)

Abby H.1 Comment

Y’all know I love JCP. They have great sales, an incredible loyalty program, and the Kids Zone!

The Kids Zone is an in-store program where kids can make and take a free craft in-store once a month.

Parents receive a 10% off in-store coupon. The best part is that the 10% off coupon can be stacked with other JCP coupons.

August’s craft is a cute pencil pouch and notebook!

Find your closest JCP location here.

And if you are a teacher, JCP is offering a 35% off coupon. You can learn more and sign up here. 

 

50% Off Shipping at Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Dollar Tree is offering 50% off shipping today through December 9, 2023.

For those of you who weren’t aware, you can purchase items in bulk from Dollar Tree online. This is great for you who are doing crafts, or putting together several gift baskets or stocking stuffers.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

  • Wooden Paintable items
  • Paints 
  • Bath Bombs (We go through a lot of these at my house)
  • Skincare (Specifically their variety of face masks and eye masks). Some of the masks they sell are repackaged/rebranded major-label skin care.
  • Candy (perfect for restocking your candy dish or stuffing stockings)

Free Arts & Crafts Classes at Michaels

Abby H.

I love Michaels! Not only do they have great sales and coupons, but they also have free Arts and Crafts classes at many locations. Our local location has three free classes coming up in April- I’ve signed up for all three. I love learning new craft techniques.

Did you also know that Michaels has a rewards club? Sign up for Michaels Rewards today and earn $5 in Rewards when you spend $25 or more!

 

March is National Craft Month! Free Crafts & Crafting Deals!

Abby H.

Did you know that March is National Craft Month?

It’s one of our favorite months of the year. We are definitely a crafty family. While I was researching for this post, Bitty Girl was drawing Gatcha girls at the kitchen table, and Big Kid was drawing maps for the dragon game he’s making.

For those of you who love crafts too, check out this sweet deal from Craftsy–Celebrate National Craft Month at Craftsy! Get your 1-Year Premium Membership for only $2.49, originally $97!

Craftsy also offers a lot of free classes. Here are just a few that I love:

Toys, Books, and Art Supplies Deals At Target This Week!

Abby H.

Target has some really great deals this week on toys and books- perfect for stocking up for the upcoming holidays!

Score a $5.00 Target Gift Cards when you spend $15+ on toys or books.

There are of course exclusions, click on the image and learn more.

And if that’s not enough for you, you can also score 25% off one toy with Target Circle here.

Target has started their Black Friday Sale early, and there are a lot of really great offers this week, as well as more planned throughout November.

If you have an artist in the fam, Target is offering 50% off selected Art & Writing kits this week. I know my littlest would totally dig this Sharpie set. 

If you are a military veteran or active duty member, Target has a thank you discount currently- just in time for Veteran’s Day! Get 10% off two separate purchases (restrictions apply). This discount is redeemable Oct 30 – Nov 12. Click here to learn more and details on how to verify!

And remember that you can save an extra 5% at Target every time you shop with your RedCard. You can learn more and apply here or in store. This 5% stacks with other coupons, discounts, and deals.

Target also gives you a discount of five cents per reusable shopping bag that you use per transaction- just remember to bring the bags in your car into the store!

Tryazon: Cool Maker – My Style Party!

Abby H.

We had a Cool Maker My Style Party earlier today with some friends and family. I didn’t get a lot of pictures just because I spent so much time fixing the machines and getting projects set up. This is not going to be like a lot of my other reviews or Tryazon party posts. Let me make that clear right now. The entire event was a disaster from start to finish.

Let’s start with the KumiCreator. This machine is cool. HOWEVER, the thread/floss/string that comes with the machine is a nightmare. It’s super shiny/slippery and that makes it really hard to get it started and maintain the correct tension. Especially on the white spools, which have less thread as they are meant to make bracelets. As you can see from the pictures, it was a disaster. I had to pull everything apart, rewind the white bobbins, and set up the machine 4 times. Finally, when the girls who wanted the make bracelets were almost in tears, I pulled out some of the empty black bobbins, wound them with embroidery floss, which is not shiny or slippery, and set the machine back up. They were able to finally use the machine without unwinding the bobbins, catching, or having the tension freak out.

The machine comes with the supplies to make up to 5 trendy bracelets and 2 necklaces! That’s 56 thread spools, 7 beads, and what they call a design book. I’d call it a pamphlet.

Overall, I’d give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up is the Cool Maker Stitch ‘N Style Fashion Studio Sewing Machine Toy. OY VEY. I can sew, I’ve been sewing for over 20 years. I made a living full-time as a sewing and design professional. This toy is…. not good. It is a toy. It does not have a bottom bobbin, so it does a weird, loose stitch that easily ravels apart.  This machine takes 4 AA batteries (not included).

The kit comes with a piece of polyester fabric that has projects printed on it- all you need to do is cut them out and sew them together along the guidelines printed on the fabric.  Sounds easy, right?

The Tension on the machine is jacked up and the thread breaks easily (it’s pretty cheap polyester thread). When we pulled the scrunchy out of the sewing machine after it was done sewing (no foot- the machine has a sensor to start and stop sewing), the stitches all came unraveled.

After Margaret and the girls tried to make a scrunchy several times without success, I tried to give it a shot too. The stitches unraveled for me too. I now have to get out my sewing machine and make the girls custom scrunchies, as they are so disappointed that the machine didn’t work like they hoped (and I hoped too).

I give this machine 0/5 stars. It was seriously so hard to find anything positive about it.

I didn’t get a group pic of this event because the girls were grumpy, and the mommas were too busy consoling upset kids. At least there were snacks.

I’ve been part of the Tryazon community for years and this is the first time I’ve been disappointed with the products. I’m going to take the sewing machine apart and give it a tune-up and see if that helps. I’ll also put a different thread on the spool and see if that helps. Using cotton thread may help.

These toys are available for sale at Target, Amazon, and Walmart if you want to give them a try.

 

 

7/22-7/23 OOLY Warehouse Sale in Carlsbad, CA!

Abby H.

This sale has been on my calendar for weeks and I has to share it.

I love Ooly. Never heard of them? Ooly, the whimsical and colorful arts, crafts, and school supply brand, will host its annual warehouse sale at OOLY Headquarters in Carlsbad July 22-23, 2022.

The woman-owned, San Diego-based company, will invite the community to its headquarters to take advantage of deeply discounted products ahead of the back-to-school season. With a portion of the profits benefiting ArtReach and Casa de Amparo charities, the annual event will also feature a craft activity area complete with OOLY favorites for visitors to enjoy. 

Where: OOLY Headquarters 5607 Palmer Way Carlsbad, CA 92010

When: Friday, July 22 from 12:00pm-6:00pm & Saturday, July 23 from 9:00am-3:00pm

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the following local charities. Both will be in attendance to highlight their work in the San Diego community.

ArtReach With a commitment to bringing art alive for children and classrooms, ArtReach empowers children with creative play and uniqueness. www.artreachsandiego.org

Casa de Amparo  supports those affected by and at risk of child abuse and neglect, through a range of programs and services that promote healing, growth, and healthy relationships. www.casadeamparo.org

ABOUT OOLY: OOLY is a whimsical and colorful arts, crafts, and school supply brand inclusive of an array of expressive and creative items for kids, adults, and everyone in between. Known for fun and trend-forward products, OOLY sparks imagination and inspires self-expression, inviting you to CREATE YOUR HAPPY. OOLY is a woman-owned, San Diego-based company that launched in 2005. For more information, visit ooly.com.

Saving this summer with Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links 

Y’all know I love Dollar tree for crafts, party planning, and even stocking up on snacks. 

Recently, I made this cute Welcome sign for our front door with Dollar Tree Supplies.

But did you know you can order online from Dollar Tree? It’s perfect for parties or weddings! Cases of craft supplies, wedding decor, or even your kiddos’ favorite snacks. 

$5.99 Flat Rate Shipping is back for a limited time! From Sunday, July 10th through Saturday, July 16th, Dollar Tree is offering $5.99 Flat Rate Shipping with exclusive code: SAVENOW.

If you are looking for some inspiration from Dollar Tree, check out their website here!