This came across my email over the weekend, and I had to share. Y’all know I love to tie-dye.
Regardless of whatever type of dying you want to try, Tie-dye, marbling, you name it! Take advantage of the last sale of the year from Dharma Trading to get 10% off your favorite kit and be a holiday hero!
And if this is your first time ordering from Dharma Trading, you can pick a free gift with purchase.
Dharma Trading is where I get all of my dyes and chemicals, like urea, to tie-dye.
Hey friends- I haven’t been posting much because I’ve been doing a lot of stuff away from the computer.
The holidays are soon upon us, and I’ve been stocking up on items to donate. I’ve been using the CVS app to find the best deals and the best way to get the most bang for my buck when it comes to my monthly $10 Extra Care Pass rewards. I pay for the Extra Care Pass program annually. It has a lot of great perks, including getting my prescriptions mailed to me for free. Between that and the free $10 in-store each month, it definately pays for itself.
So far, I’ve picked up shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, and body wash, all using my October 2025 $10 reward, as well as some $4 rewards I had on my CVS account from getting the kids’ prescriptions filled.
I’ve also been taking advantage of other sales and deals at Bath & Body Works. They have a great program where you can earn free full-sized products, access to free travel-sized products, and extra percent off deals. I recently had a free full-sized product, a free travel-sized product, and an additional 25% off coupon on my account. I was able to use all three and combine the 25% off coupon with the sale on $5.95 single-wick candles. I was able to buy presents for 5 people on my holiday gift list, including stocking stuffers for the kids.
I’ve also been taking advantage of grocery sales and rebate offers through WeStock, Social Nature, and Aisle to pick up free and less than $1.00 groceries to fill the local blessing box and donate to the local high schools’ food pantry.
And because the holidays are coming up soon, I’ve kicked up my sewing and jewelry making. I’m going through my dwindling stash of fabric and craft supplies to make gifts for people on my gift list. I’m committed not to buy any new craft or sewing supplies unless I have a gift card and a coupon, or in the case of fabric, I can find it at a thrift store. There is a distinct lack of fabric stores in my area. I recently had a credit on my Temu account, and I was able to pick up some really cool beads.
I spent a few hours yesterday making bracelets and a few Paternosters for holiday gifts, and I pulled out the sewing machine and finished up some stuff lingering in my sewing inbox. One of the items was a medieval tunic that I made from an upcycled cotton tablecloth- I picked it up at a thrift store on 50% off day. And the trim was from a bag of misc. craft supplies at the same thrift shop on another day.
And of course, I do have a full-time job outside of the house, and I’ve got my kids 90% of the time.
I’m spending a lot of weekends hanging with kids, baking, meal prepping for the week ahead, and trying to teach the cat tricks- the last one isn’t terribly successful.
So while I may not be posting here multiple times a day any more, I am out there doing frugal stuff and trying to help as many people as I am able.
I love sewing. I have been creating clothing, costumes, and home goods for decades.
Losing stores like JoAnn Fabrics means turning to online retailers or looking for supplies in thrift stores, apps like OfferUp, or even on Facebook marketplace.
Brick and mortar fabric stores have been disappearing for about the last 10 years, and for some of us stores like JoAnn fabrics were the last place that we could go in person and buy fabric to make clothes, notions like thread and sewing machine needles, and patterns.
I love shopping at thrift stores for fabric and notions, but it can be hit or miss. I frequently pick up flat sheets to make mock ups for fitted clothing, as they are less expensive than muslin by the yard. When I need something specific, I look online for deals.
Did you know that apps like Temu and Alibaba partner with small and local businesses in addition to large overseas factories? On Temu, you can select “local warehouse stores” to shop local companies. Not only will you be shopping locally but you may experience faster shipping times.
I recently purchased bias tape, which I needed for some upcoming projects, and I was able to find a local warehouse store that had two of the colors that I needed. And in less than five days, I had two spools of black and white biased tape in my hand. And it was shipped from Indiana, which isn’t local to me, but was at least purchased by a company in the US.
In fact, if you look at the bottom of the front page of Temu, it has a link to click where you can learn more about selling your products on Temu. It’s not just gigantic faceless mass manufactured factories overseas, anyone can sell their products on Temu.
I have purchased T-shirts in the past that have come from a small business in Orange County California through Temu. I’ve also purchased 3-D printed items from a small company in the Midwest that sells via Temu.
With the gift-giving holidays coming up, I’m trying something new this year. I’ll be posting several gift guides with different themes. These themes are based on the people I shop for, and you probably have some similar people on your gift-giving list.
I’ve been scouring the web looking for different, fun gifts for the creative people in my life. I’ve found some pretty good deals and gift ideas.
First off is Craftsy. I love Craftsy. They have all sorts of video tutorials for sewing, baking, knitting, painting, drawing- You Name It! They have a great deal where you can have unlimited access to over 1,500 instructional video classes across more than 20 categories, Craftsy has something for everyone to enjoy. Plus, with Craftsy Membership Sharing, you can share your membership with up to three of your closest friends or family members at no additional cost to you or your guests. With this special offer get Craftsy Premium Membership for ONLY $2.49 for your first full year.
I’m getting my mom a Craftsy membership- She loves watching craft videos on Youtube, and I feel like this takes it up a notch.
Next up are the gifts for the person who loves to draw and color. Bitty Bird loves to color and she loves alcohol markers. She has a small 20-color set she bought with her allowance earlier this year, but she’s been eyeing the marker sets from Ohuhu. I’m not sure which set I’ll buy her yet, but it will be her “big gift” of the year. One thing I love about Ohuhu markers is that they sell ink refills for them!
If you have a little artist in your family, Ooly has a great gift guide for this year.
They have gifts for every little artist on your list:
If you’ve got a more serious artist or creative type on your list, Blick Art Materials is a great go-to. From acrylic paints to tie-dye supplies, Blick has an amazing selection of creative supplies. Currently, there is a coupon code for free shipping too! Free Shipping for orders $49+. Use promo code CFEZ.
For the Lego/Brick builder in your life, Let Bricks has some cool MOC’s (MOC stands for My Own Creation) on sale.
Let Bricks has its own Gift Guide with lots of great options for any budget.
I’ve already got a couple sets picked out for the special builders in my life.
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Every year I look for a new way to save money. And over the past few years, it’s been harder and harder to come up with new ways to save money. And I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, but now I’ve got some free time, and Dollar Tree has some really cute fat quarters of fabric (that’s an 18×21 or 22-inch piece of typically cotton fabric). Over the winter holidays, I was watching TikTok and one of my faves creators, Domestic Blisters, had posted that instead of going the route of buying boxes and wrapping paper or paper gift bags, she was going to create a set of cloth reusable gift bags for her families gifts.
I love this idea, and honestly, I don’t know why I had never thought of it before. We are huge re-users of gift bags to the point where they’re mostly tape. And, a lot of our out-of-state/out-of-area relatives send us gifts from Amazon that come in reusable cloth Amazon bags.
We reuse those bags until they fall apart. And in the past, we have had 10 to 20, although in recent years we had started to cycle out ones that were falling apart or just weren’t in great shape.
So on a cold and rainy afternoon, I pulled my box of fabric out of the closet and set to go through it. I have recently acquired a pretty good selection of quilting fat quarters and smaller (left the yard) pieces of various weights of cotton. I squared off all the pieces so there were no round edges or strange shapes, and set to making some gift bags. We will primarily use these for Christmas, but, I wanted them to be used all year so I did not specifically make them Christmas or winter-holiday-themed. And because I used what fabrics I had on hand, they are lots of different colors and prints.
If you have basic sewing skills and can sew a square or rectangle, this is an easy project for you.
Items needed:
You’re basically just making a pillowcase, and on the top of the bag (or on the side of the pillowcase where you would leave it open to put the pillow in), you fold over the raw edge and make a tiny casing.
I fold my raw edge over twice to make sure the inside is nice looking. I frequently use my decorative stitches on the casing to make it a little extra festive.
Make sure to leave a little gap so that you can put ribbon or yarn all the way through to make a drawstring pouch.
We’ve already used some of these bags for my birthday, and my son’s birthday.
1 gift bag can cost upwards of $5, and if it isn’t opened carefully, it can be torn and then trashed. These bags cost about $2 to make (or less if you shop sales for fabric or reuse clothes that are stained or otherwise cannot be handed down. Make sure to cut around stains!) and can be reused for years. Spools of Ribbon can be picked up for less than $2/roll at Michaels, and they frequently have coupons!
So there you have it. In a few hours, you can have your own stack of reusable gift bags!
We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food. You can learn more about Tryazon here.
Light up your kids’ next party with this Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from LetsGlow. Craft your LetsGlow look with a crafting kit of retroreflective fashion accessories that kids can wear to light up their photos or videos without an app! LetsGlow Studio™ kit includes a variety of non-toxic sticker sheets, nail stickers, and reusable reflective material to create hours of play! Just attach the LetsGlow LED Clip to any phone or tablet, light up your accessories and make fun, unique videos with friends and family! Perfect for family reunions, sleepovers, and parties!
About 10 years ago I was gifted a beautiful set of glass dishes from a friend. They were painted with my SCA device/badge (they are blue and white with blue and white Fleur de Lis). I still have them, what I love about them is they look like they were made from stained glass.
I have played around with this medium myself over the past few years, and recently I wanted to decorate the kid’s windows, a mirror, and make some window clings/fake stain glass for some friends.
Before we start this DIY, all of the items that you need to make these projects, as well as some more kid-friendly sun catchers can be found here in my Amazon storefront.
I do earn a small commission when you purchase items through my Amazon links, Think about it as buying me a cup of coffee, or a taco.
Using Gallery Glass is very simple. If you have ever used puffy paint or fabric paint, you can use gallery glass. You can paint on glass, you can paint on mirrors, or any sort of clear glass dish/cup/bowl, or you can make window clings like I will be showing you below.
For the window clings, I start with a high-quality heavy-duty page protector.
Find an image that you wish to make into a window cling. I’ve done Celtic Knot Bears, prehistoric fish, unicorns, mandalas. Whatever speaks to you!
Slip the printout/drawing of what you want to make into the page protector. You’re going to use the faux leading (if you run out of this and can’t find more in town, sometimes in a pinch I will use black fabric/puffy paint). If your image is all straight lines, you can use the peel and stick leading (found here).
You will outline your image with the faux leading, and allow it to dry. Depending on the weather/humidity it can be as little as a few hours, or it can take overnight to dry properly.
Once the leading has dried, select your colors of gallery glass and fill in the leaded “panes“ and allow your creation to dry. I usually let them sit for 24 to 48 hours to dry all the way, and cure a little bit so they’re not tacky. Once that time has elapsed you can make it a permanent window cling by gently peeling your creation off of the page protector and applying it to the window/glass as needed.
If you want something you can move around, then you will remove the paper from the inside of the page protector, and cut the image out of the page protector. And then place the creation on the window. The side with the page protector adhered to it will be facing outwards/not against the glass.
If you were looking for ideas for different art styles or creations for your stained glass/window cling project, check out my Pinterest board here. This is a project that anyone can do. It is a fun project, it is not necessarily good for small children, but I would say anyone probably ages 10 and up can handle it. It does take a lot of patience. And a fairly steady hand. This is why I tend to get Suncatcher painting kits for the little kid to do while I work on these. She can sit and do her “Stainglass“ craft while I do mine. These make great gifts. And they are absolutely beautiful.
The supplies can be a little expensive, but once you have them, a bottle of gallery glass will last you between 5 to 10 projects, depending on what size, and how many other colors you’re using in your project. Some local craft stores sell gallery glass products in their stores, so before you buy them on Amazon, you might try your local craft store.
My next big project is a Pride Flag for my nibling. I’ll be using a piece of clear acrylic (18×24) and the peel and stick leading, since it’s all straight lines.
I am super excited about this Tryazon Event. I have already applied! We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food. You can learn more about Tryazon here.
Gather your friends together for an earring jewelry-making night with this Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, from Sculpey. Liquid Sculpey is an innovative crafting clay that can be used in oven-safe silicone molds, window clings and so much more! It’s simple to use and perfect for beginners and fun for the experienced crafter. When baked, the liquid polymer clay turns strong, flexible, and lightweight making it perfect for jewelry!
I am a big fan of homemade gifts. This year the kids and I are making most of the gifts we will be giving, and thankfully, Dollar Tree has all sorts of craft supplies to help us out.
Our local Dollar Tree has a great selection of craft supplies: Wooden cut-outs, acrylic paints, decals, stickers, wreath making supplies, glitter paint, gems, beads, you name it.
This week we have been painting Christmas Tree Ornaments. We’ve got a bunch of acrylic paints in our craft cubby, and I let the kids go wild.
Over the weekend I painted laser-cut pineapples and a laser-cut pineapple light- all from Dollar Tree. As part of our holiday crafting, the kids are I are making a photo frame- We painted it, the next step is to trace and paint their hands on it.
If you are on a budget and wanna get crafty this holiday season either to give as gifts or to decorate your home, check out Dollar Tree either online or in-person (following all social distancing regulations for your area).
** 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 crafts and crafting and saving money. Dollar Tree has recently started carrying some really nice craft supplies, and they have really stepped up their Halloween craft game this year.
Here is a really cute DIY/Crafts made with Dollar Tree supplies: DIY Witch Hat Wreath
There are all sorts of craft supplies for Autumn, Halloween, and Thanksgiving available online or in-store. And if you aren’t feeling crafty, Dollar Tree has all sorts of fun, freaky, and spooky pre-made decor. I love the skeleton mermaids- We painted them and made them bikini tops from scrap mask fabric.
If you are looking replenish your craft supplies after the extended time at home (if you are like us, you did so many crafts, and so much art, we are out of so many supplies), Dollar Tree has you covered. Glue, paint, washi tape, scrapbooking paper, stickers, decals, Mod Podge, beads- You name it, Dollar Tree has it.
Their store brand, Crafters Square has a lot of great wooden craftables: birdhouses, cubes, trays, boxes. All waiting for your creative touch!
If you love to share your crafts or need inspiration, I recommend the Facebook Group: Dollar Tree Craftoholics. There are some extremely creative folks posting daily.
I’d love to see what kind of crafts you do too! Feel free to share a pic or drop a link in the comments!
Hewes Family Fun 