DIY Kitchen Table and Chairs Part Two

Remember the kitchen I was working on? Well here is the update. I bought some foam, fabric, and paint, and voila!

Total spent on this project? $100

DIY Kitchen table and Chairs Part 1

So, Anna Marie got a kitchen stove for her first birthday. It was a lovely grey with pink and green curtains and potholders. Well, I recently decided she needed  a table and chairs to go with it. I wanted it to match so I decided to keep it grey, and some yellow and grey fabric at Hobby Lobby convinced me to go with that color scheme.

The DIY Sandbox turned out so good, I went back to Ana White for some more plans. This time I chose the Clara Table and $4 chairs. Here are some pictures from the process:

All in all I've spent $22 on this project. Will update!

Frugal Toddler Pajamas

So I haven't posted in a while - been very busy (you can't relate at all, right? :P ).

Here's a quick post to say I'm still around and being Frugal!

I noticed Frugal Toddler needed some PJs for this Winter. I gave myself a $35 budget for pajamas. Winter here isn't too terribly cold, so I decided to go with Flannel.

I work part-time at Hobby Lobby, so of course I'm going to take advantage of my discount. I waited until Flannel was 25% off.

Frugal PJ Cost:
1 yard - $5.99
$5.99 @ 25% off  - $4.49
$4.39 @ 15% off - $3.72
Snaps - .10
So one pair of adorable flannel PJs cost me $3.82.

Should be getting a tutorial up for how to make your own PJ pants pattern. ;]

Good Night and God Bless,

Frugal Mama

DIY Wallet - $3

Just a quick post to say I'm still here! I was trying out this wallet pattern from over at The Rubber Punkin. Check it out! It only cost me about $3 in materials to make, and was super easy!

Frugal Feeding

Well, Frugal Toddler is weaning. Not intentionally, but it is happening. She is 16 months, so we made and surpassed our 1 year goal.

Since we initially decided to breastfeed for economic reasons, I thought I'd do a post looking at how much money we saved by breastfeeding. (Granted, many moms choose not to breastfeed, or breastfeeding doesn't work out for them, but many mamas want to look at the financial aspects!)

Breastfeeding Costs:
For Me:
Nursing Pads - free, I made them out of old receiving blankets
Pump - received for free
Storage bags - about $40
Total: $40

On Average:
Nursing Pads - disposables - $80-$100
                        reusable - $18
Pump - $80-$150 (if you need it)
Storage bags - $40

Total: $18-$290 depending on your actual needs.

(These costs are based on internet searches and do not include sale prices!)

Low-End Formula Costs:
Baby's Only - $10 per can
At 8-10 cans per month, $80-$100 per month.
For 12 months, that is $960-$1200.

Average Formula Costs:
$20 per can
At 8-10 cans per month, $160-$200 per month.
For 12 months, that is $1920-$2400.

High-End Formula Costs:
Enfamil Nutramigen - $35 per can
At 8-10 cans per month, $280-$350 per month.
For 12 months, that is $3360-$4200.


So total yearly costs for Formula feeding could very easily be anywhere between $960 to $4200! Yikes!

I really feel for mamas who have to use high-end brands!

So if you are currently trying to decide between BFing and FFing, maybe this is a deciding factor for you? Hope my examination of costs helps you out!

-Frugal Mama


EDIT:
Had a friend with a daughter who is on high-end formula tell me about a formula called Elecare.
Elecare is about $58 a can.
At 8-10 cans per month, $464-$580.
For 12 months, $5568-$6960.
Yikes!

Adventures in Soap Making

I received my Soap Making starter kit today! 

For $30 I got:

2.2 lbs of white soap base

2.2 lbs of clear soap base
1 oval soap mold

3 labColors - Red, Blue, and Yellow

2 Fragrance Oils - Cucumber and Peach

I used the most basic method possible for making my soap. No measuring!

My gear!

Step 1: Cut your soap! Use a sharp knife.

Step 2: Put small chunks of soap in a microwave safe container...

and cover in saran wrap!

You should heat the soap in 30 second - 1 minute intervals until it is completely melted and bubbly.

Step 3: Mix your colors and essential oils!

Step 4: Let Harden!

Final Product!

Cost Breakdown:
Store-bought soap (Dove): A plain bar of Dove soap from the store costs $1.79 (not including tax) for a 3.15 oz bar of soap. That's .57 cents an ounce.

This starter kit for the soap was $30. I was about to make 16 bars of soap at 5.9 oz each.
16 x 5.9 = 94.4 oz
30 / 94.4 = .32 cents per ounce.

Honest Co. Diaper Review

So after finding The Honest Company online, I had to give it a try. I mean, we cloth diaper. Cloth diapering is economical and ecological. 

The Honest Company ships a month's supply of diapers and wipes for $79.95. These diapers are plant based and don't contain any of the dioxins or carcinogens that most disposables do. So why not give them a try? Honest Co. has a 'discovery pack' that you can try for just $4.99 S&H.

The second option, which I also tried out, is the Home Essentials Bundle, which came with laundry detergent, hand soap, shampoo/body wash, balm, and lotion. This bundle is $36.95. I will go over these in another post (once I have used them all).

This is my box! It was a lovely design, and very space-conscious. Obviously this company looks at even the little things!

I received 7 diapers. 2 Pink Stars, 2 Multicolored Flowers, 2 Ice Cream Cones, and 1 plain white. As well as a pack of wipes.

Frugal Mama Review: Honest Company Diapers

Cost: 3 out of 5

With The Honest Company, I would get 216 Size 3 diapers and 320 wipes for one month. This would be $79.95.

Compared to regular disposables, these are a bust!
Amazon Mom offers subscriptions for diapers and wipes, usually with free shipping. I used my account to calculate the totals for other brands of diapers.

Regular Disposables:
Pampers: 216 Size 3 diapers cost $45.36 from Amazon Mom. 320 wipes cost $6.4, for a grand total of $51.76

However, compared to other natural diapers, they rock on the price!
"Natural" Diapers:
Earth's Best: 216 Size 3 diapers, $64.8. 320 wipes, $16. Total: $80.8

7th Generation, 216 Size 3 Diapers, $89.67. 320 wipes, $9.6 Total: $99.27

Design/Functionality: 2 out of 5

Can you say diaper rash?? For a diaper that's supposed to be all natural, this diaper left a blister on Frugal Baby's bottom! Poor thing.

Good Qualities: 

Adorable design. I loved all but the ice cream, it was a little too much. Cute, but the pattern just hurt my eyes, and seeing one filled with poop ruined ice cream for me forever. I wonder why they don't have the boy pattern (Skulls) in a girl version? The skulls can have bows.

Absorbency. These diapers held up well, and Frugal Baby filled two up with massive...poop.

Bad Qualities:
The closure wouldn't stay, and the fit was off. Frugal Baby kept crawling out of her diaper, and did I mention the rash? Her entire crotch area was bright red, and she hasn't had a bit of diaper rash since she was born! (Unless you count the time her diapers got washed in Dreft...oops!)

Overall Frugal Mama Rating: 3 out of 5

These diapers are a great idea. The whole company is a great idea, but they're going to take some work. It's obvious from things I've found online that the company is making strides to improve product quality, but for now, it was a no go for us. The cute prints just didn't win over the ill fit and the rash.

Good night and God Bless

Frugal Mama

DIY Nursing Pads

In a rush so all I have time for is photos. Word instructions coming!

Alright. So the first step is to take a CD or another 4-5" round object. Trace this onto a piece of paper and you have your pattern! I folded my flannel receiving blanket 4 times and pinned the circle onto it. After cutting it out you'll have 4 Flannel Circles.

Repeat with your absorbent material. I used bamboo fabric in this instance, but you can layer flannel.

If you want a contoured pad, this is the point when you would fold each circle in half and mark it 1" from the edge. Sew at an angle across the circle.

When you put your layers together, I'd suggest staggering the seams to keep from having bulk in one part of the pad.

Proceed to sew around the edges!

And voila! A cloth nursing pad!

Cost Breakdown:

The cost for this project? Completely free. All the fabrics were donated. :]
However, I've made many nursing pads in the last 14 months of nursing, and I love to buy used receiving blankets...$1 at a local resale shop. Bamboo is $5-$7 a yard, which will produce at least 20-30 nursing pads, so in the end one set of pads shouldnt cost more that 50 cent.

DIY Cloth Pads

After forking out $14.99 a piece for cloth menstrual pads, and loving them, I decided to be more...frugal. A client of mine gave me several old receiving blankets and baby bath towels, and I promised her I'd make her some nursing pads.

So I started out by tracing one of my Lunapads on a piece of paper. You can use any brand, cloth or disposable, to make your pattern.

It wasn't very even, so I cut it in half and used the half to cut my fabric.

What type of fabric should you use? After looking on several websites for ideas, I decided on flannel and bamboo. The green material is a receiving blanket my client gave me, and the bamboo is some I bought from a cloth diaper supply shop last summer.

I traced the pattern for the center panel out of the bamboo. I decided to use 3 layers or bamboo and 2 layers of flannel for absorbency.

This is an idea of what the pad will look like when done.

I don't have a serger, so I did a basic stitch on my machine around the edge of the pad body.

Then I laid the 3 layers of bamboo on the center of the pad and stitched it with the same stitch, creating the absorbent center. The bamboo is so soft! I know it's going to make a fabulous menstrual pad!

Now, I don't have any metal snaps on hand, but I have the plastic KAM snaps I use for diaper-making.

To apply KAM snaps, you start by punching a hole where you want to apply the snap.

The cap of the snap has a long prong, which sometimes needs to be trimmed when being applied to thin fabric. I do this with PUL, and did it again with the flannel.

After this you need to put the stud or the socket over the cap and use the pliers to apply the snap.

This is a socket.

See how well they fold up and snap when not being used?

Total Cost for this project: $.60

Flannel, free. Bamboo, less than .50 for enough fabric for this project. Snaps: .10

Now, go out and DIY!

Good day, and God Bless!

Frugal Mama

EDIT: I had issues with leaking through the pad, so I added a layer of PUL fabric and it worked fabulously!