Search Results for: blog what about bookmarks

Bookmarks To Encourage Reading, and Gifts Too

Bookmarks can be as simple as cutting a rectangle out of paper. The paper can be gorgeous scrapbook paper, contstruction paper, or even a page torn from a magazine. To make sturdier bookmarks you can use cardstock. Another option is cut a rectangle out of a cereal or cracker box. Glue paper or even fabric to this thin cardboard and trim the edges. For paper you can use children’s drawings, scrapbook paper, magazine cutouts, photographs, stickers, or stationery. If you are making the bookmark for a gift, it’s fun to follow the theme of the theme of the book. Grandparents … Continue reading →

What About Bookmarks?

I was talking to a colleague recently and she explained that she had abandoned business cards—instead she had her contact and marketing information printed on colorful cardstock bookmarks. As a matter of fact, I think she printed them off on her desktop printer, cut them with a paper-cutter, and produced them as she needed them. I thought I might pass on the idea here on the Home Business blog… When I thought about it, I realized that using bookmarks as promotional materials wasn’t new—we had some good success years ago with a nonprofit organization I worked with printing statistics and … Continue reading →

Beaded Bookmarks

My favorite kinds of projects are easy and affordable. If they don’t even involve a trip to the craft store, that’s even better. I also like open-ended projects. By that I mean projects that can be expanded on, projects that don’t have to be done an exact precise way to work. Beaded bookmarks are that kind of project. And what’s more, they are actually quite beautiful. You will need a length of ribbon, or string, or yarn. The ribbon or string should be thin enough so that kids can slide beads on. I like to use the cord sold for … Continue reading →

Search Your Bookmarks (Safari)

If you want to search among your sea of bookmarks, you’ll love this tip! I don’t know about you, but I collect bookmarks in my web browser faster than our dining room floor collects crumbs, and with three small children, that is saying something. There are always times where I am searching for something on the Internet, and I come across something great that I just don’t have time to dedicate to it just at that moment. Another way I wind up collecting lots of bookmarks is through recipes. There are a lot of great recipes out there, especially in … Continue reading →

Fun On a Budget

Crafting may seem like an expensive hobby, especially if you have a house full of kids who want in on the action.  Fortunately, frugal families don’t have to put the kibosh on creating handmade masterpieces.  Rather, with a little ingenuity you can make priceless crafts on a tight budget. Clothespin Pinwheel Materials: Double-sided patterned paper Ruler Pencil Scissors Glue Thumbtack Wooden clothespin with spring Directions: Cut a five-inch square from a sheet of patterned paper. Draw an “X” on the paper from corner to corner. Cut three inches along each line. Fold every other point toward the center of the … Continue reading →

Busy Bees

With snow and rain saturating much of the nation, it may be hard to believe that spring is right around the corner.  If you are aching for the first signs of the season, but don’t have the cash to spend on a tropical escape, consider these fun and affordable projects that will really get your kids buzzing: Printed Bees:  Your kids don’t have to be mini Picassos to decorate your home with pretty flowers and busy bees.  To make a vibrant spring mural, have your children draw a bunch of flowers with crayons, markers or colored chalk on a piece … Continue reading →

Beating the Back-to-School Blues

So long summer. My soon-to-be third grader heads back to school next week and she couldn’t be sadder. Ditto for the mama. I’ve never been one of those Staples commercial-type parents, who glide through school supply aisles belting out, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” at the top of my lungs. Honestly, I dread back-to-school season and the tears and tantrums that come with it. Consequently, I’ve learned to ease into the end of August. After all, crabby kid = crabby mommy. To lessen the back-to-school blow, I’ve been trying to distract my daughter with fun, affordable and … Continue reading →

Homemade Graduation Party Favors

Not for nothing, but these are not the kind of favors I’ll be handing out at my daughter’s high school graduation party. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose controversial or costly items to hand out to guests at a commencement party. Most of the people attending your student’s shindig are there to reminisce about the many milestones they’ve accomplished in high school and chat about what the future holds as they head off to college. The focus of the party should be on spending quality item with one another; not worrying about what types of trinkets should be dispersed at … Continue reading →

Ways to Avoid the Halloween Sugar Rush

(All treat, no trick!) My daughter was just over a year old when she went trick-or-treating for the first time. We took her out at my mom’s insistence. Grandma dropped 50 bucks to dress her first-born grandkid in a Disney Dalmatian costume, and by gosh the neighbors were going to get an eyeful of cuteness whether they wanted to or not. Given my daughter’s very young age, clearly our goal was not to score as many sweets as possible. In fact, when one neighbor handed my costumed child an individual tub of Play-Doh, I nearly shed a tear. Finally, a … Continue reading →

What Leftovers?

Maybe I’m not as savvy of a scrapbooker as I thought. Or, perhaps, I am just cheap. Either way, I don’t have anywhere near the inventory of scrapbook supply leftovers that other women in my cropping group boast. In fact, I can fit all of my leftovers in a single shoebox. I make no bones about my scrapbooking frugality. Typically, I purchase on an as needed basis. I operate on a tight budget, which means I don’t have the luxury of perusing my local scrapbook supply shop on any given day and purchasing items on a whim. Rather, I carefully … Continue reading →