Funky Wall Sign

Step 1: Come up with a quote that you love . . . dig thru your old scrapbooking letters to spell out that quote. . these are all different chipboard fonts I had in my scrapbook stash. I thought that using different fonts was perfect for this quote. . plus I did not have all the letters of one font. . had to work with what I had. . .this thrifty and resourceful gal wanted to create now and didn't want to spend any money :) You then lay the words out on a scrap piece of wood you find at a yard sale or on the side of road.

Step 2: You and your kid spend some sweet time together painting all the chipboard letters with the leftover black paint from this project. . love this paint because the chipboard did not soak it all in, so it only took one coat!

Step 3: Hot glue letters on wood and wah-la!! An inexpensive, funky wall sign for our rec room! I'll show you a pic once I get it hung up. . .for those of you who came to my last House to Home: Creating a Place You Love class, this sign is going over the bookshelves in the downstairs rec room.

I sure do enjoy looking at all the home decor projects out there in blogland. Lots of inspiration out there. Here are some of my favorites that I check out and link up to: DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch (check out what you can make with old windows!), Trash to Treasure Projects at Reinvented (check out this blog for a great Christmas book giveaway), and Creative Cats Friday at Poppies at Play!

a couponer's Spicy Chicken Dip

I made this dip for the first time over Thanksgiving and we loved it. . everybody else did too as long as they liked spicy hot things. You'll want to warn guests that it is not pimento cheese. . it looks like it, but it is not, it is Spicy Chicken Dip sometimes called Buffalo Chicken Dip. . .it is not too spicy though.


I'd thought I'd share the recipe. . because every single ingredient except one can often be gotten for free or with pennies with coupons. . this would be perfect as an appetizer before a dinner you are hosting or to take to a party or a potluck. . . because I bet you already have most of these items in your stockpile.

A Couponer's Spicy Chicken Dip aka Buffalo Chicken Dip
to be served with fritos, crackers, and celery sticks

1 cup of Ranch dressing

1 cup of Frank's Hot Sauce

a big can of chunked chicken. . like tuna, but chicken. . you can use 2 regular size cans instead

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

and here is the item you will have to spend more than a few pennies for:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese (softened)

Mix all together in a bowl and chill in fridge for at least an hour. . it tastes better and is not as spicy if you let it chill in fridge before serving. I think the "real recipe" says to cook it. . but I promise it is good not cooked. . and it is easier and quicker. :) Serve with frito scoops, crackers, and celery sticks.

Hot Deal Alert!

This will be my last post until Monday. . gonna take a little break, eat some turkey and broccoli casserole, have some unhurried time with the kids and hubby, hang with the extended family, and cultivate a thankful heart :) I am gonna save my other 2 Thanksgiving posts for next year.

But I wanted to draw your attention to some deals to be had over Thanksgiving weekend. I am guessing most of you are not reading blogs, but if you are, read below for some hot deals!!

Today, Thursday, Thanksgiving thru Saturday 11/28. . .CVS, WAGS, and RA are all running some incredible deals. My sister and I hit all 3 drugstores this morning. . and really there were only 1 or 2 others doing the same thing we were, so I imagine there will still be product left in the store if you want to give it a try.

At CVS. . you'll want to check the back page of today's flier. Many of those items that are free after ECBS. . can become money makers if you combine them with a coupon. There are coupons out for the Schick Quattro Titanium razors, the Bic Soleil razors, Herbal Essence, Colgate toothbrush, Vaseline Sheer Infusion lotion, and Hershey's Bliss Bars.

WAGS. . this was the trickier of the 3. . remember that you need to have one more item in your transaction than you do the # of coupons you are using. . and everything counts as a coupon: the Register Rewards, the in ad coupons, and the manufac. coupons. You may want to read my WAGS tip post here.

But if you keep that in mind about the # of items being one more than the # of coupons. . you should have no problem. . .even if the cashier tells you the RR won't print when you use the coupon (like he did this morning!). You just may need some cheap filler items to make sure you have one more item than you do coupons.

At Wags, you can make some money if you use coupons on the free after RR deals which are the Johnson's Softwash and Infusium. Roll those RR and pay pennies on the dollar for Aquafresh, Dove deo, Right Guard deo, Nivea shave gel, Crayola 64 count crayons, and Kellogs cereal.

3 deals I especially liked at WAGS were:

Cottonelle 12 roll toilet paper is on sale $4.50 if you use the in ad coupon on the back page of the flier. . and then use the $1 q in the Oct issue of All You (hey, for those of you who do not have a subscription. . email me and I can let you know of a few deals). But that makes Cottonelle 12 pack only $3.50!!

Vanity Fair plates and bowls are on sale for BOGO. Use the BOGO free coupon that also in the Oct issue of All You and you get both packs for free!!!

Duracell Batteries 20 pack of AA. . on sale for $9.49. . use 75 cents coupon. .pay with RR. . and get back $2.50 in RR makes for some cheap batteries. . .BAM! BAM! BAM!

And at RA, wow!! I got $27 worth of items for $4 and then I went home and plugged in my receipt and will be getting a check back for $6 and a gift card for $5. So I made $7!!

You need to get $20 of items (before coupons) in you cart and have cashier ring up the items, and then give her your $5 off $20 coupon (google for a source for this if you do not have one)

Scope Mouthwash is on sale for $3.99, use the $1 q and get it down to $2.99. . and then submit for $3 rebate . makes it free. Oral B toothbrushes and Gillette Shave Gel have qs out and are single check rebate items as well.

But the deal I was most excited about was the razors (see back page of RA ad today). The Schick Quattro razors are on sale for 1.99. . the disposable razors are on sale for 99 cents. We have $2 coupons for the $1.99 ones, and $1 coupons for the 99 cents ones. So buy one less than you have coupons for and you are paying pennies on the dollar for razors. . .you have to do it this way, because RA will not adjust the coupon down a penny. .so do you see if you bought 4 razors for 1.99 that total would be $7.96. . .use 3 $2 coupons to get total down to $1.96. . which is about 50 cents for a nice razor that normally costs $10.

And then one other deal I am excited about is the 50% off one item at ACE Hardware. . the coupon has to be on an item that is under $30 and can only be used Saturday, 11/28. I am hoping my ACE is a participating store. Google for a resource for this coupon. . .

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for each of you who reads my blog, shoots me emails, sends me pics of the deals you got, takes my classes, tells your friends about my classes. . .I've enjoyed each one of you that I have met along the The Intentional Home way. Really :)

3 More Activities to Foster Thankfulness

I wanted to share 3 more activities that we do at the Soutter household to foster thankfulness. If you missed the other posts on intentional gratitude and Thanksgiving activities, you'll want to check them out here and here.

1. We and the kids have made it a point this week to thank someone. One night over dinner, we brainstormed all the people we could thank. We then set out the next day and thank a few people.

We talked about how it means so much more to tell the person something specific when you thank them. That a, "Thanks for teaching me today. I had fun making the fish craft" means so much more to the Sunday school teacher than just a "Thank you" as you walk out the door.

We also talked about how we needed to make sure we had the person's attention before we spoke and that we needed to look them in the eyes. And then we practiced!! Then the next evening at dinner, we went around the table and shared who we thanked that day.

Oh, you can do this even when it is not Thanksgiving. You could do this next week! Do not let the thought that you are behind creep in. . .being intentional is not about being perfect. . but about having a goal, a plan :)

2. Another night we memorized 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Another option would be to memorize Psalm 100: 4-5.

If teaching your children scripture is of interest to you, I would recommend the book Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments by Katra Durbin. This book is organized alphabetically based on a topic. You would look up thankfulness for example and then it lists the definition, scripture, questions for discussion, and activities.

For example, under thankfulness it suggests to have younger children look thru magazines and cut out pictures to make a thankfulness collage. Rob and I have found this book to be a great resource. . saves us time.

3. And tonight we plan to write thank you notes. We will teach, reiterate, highlight again that when we write thank you notes, we need to go beyond merely saying thank you. We will point out that we need to tell why we appreciate the gift, person, or action. We will point out that when we write something specific, give a specific reason that this makes the person feel special. And then we will practice. . . so that after dinner is cleaned up and we begin to write, the kids will be successful.

Sidenote: One of my mentors when I was a young mother made her kids write thank you notes for Christmas presents before they were allowed to play with the toy. Wow. We do not do that in the Soutter household, but we do make thank you notes mandatory. Oh sure, the younger kids see this as a chore, but this is a great way to instill in them a positive habit and again cultivate thankfulness and appreciation.

Another sidenote because I am passionate about raising kids well:

For children, their behavior or actions proceed their beliefs. Let me explain what I mean. For adults, it is the opposite: our beliefs proceed our actions. I believe stealing is wrong, therefore I don't take the sweater from the store, I pay for it (with a coupon of course!). I believe thanking people is right and I am sincerely appreciative of the gift and the person who gave it to me, therefore I write thank you notes.

For kids this is reversed. They will believe being thankful is right and hopefully cultivate a genuine thankfulness once they have learned to thank people and this becomes a habit. The point of sharing this is, Rob and I believe that the way to train a young (under 10) child's heart is to transform their behavior.

So Chief Spiderman up there on the right. . he will scribble on a piece of paper and write his thank you note because I want this little man to have a thankful heart.

I want to share 2 more Thanksgiving posts with you. . close ups of my thankful "tree" with reasons why I did it this way and a pic of my Thanksgiving basket and explanation of all that is inside it. . so those are to come later today.

Thanksgiving Activities for Little Ones

I wanted to share a few links with you about activities to do over Thanksgiving or even on Thanksgiving day as the meal is cooking. These activities are especially suited for those of you with little ones, the under age 7 crowd. But even if you have older ones, I bet you will glean some inspiration. I always like to see how other moms "do it"

1. Simply Modern Mom has a list of activities to entertain the kids if you are hosting the gathering at your house here.

2. One Pretty Thing has pics and the link with how-tos for lots of Thanksgiving art and crafts projects especially suited for preschoolers. Check it out here. Here is just a sneak peak at one project . . .which I love because the kids would be "entertained" a little longer if they had to go outside with an older kid and collect their own leaves and berries for this project :)3. Over at The Homespun Heart, this blogger shares how she reads this book about how Little Bear and his mama count through his days all the things he has to be thankful for. This mom then helps here girls make their own book counting things they are thankful for. She also makes a book going thru the ABCs listing things they are thankful for. . and has the template on her blog. Check out her post here. ( definitely worth taking the time to read thru the whole thing).

4. And The Executive Mom shares what she has been doing around the dinner table this Thanksgiving season here.

One thing I like are the riddles she has posted. . .riddles about things we have to be thankful for. She suggests reading just one tidbit at a time and see how quickly your little ones can guess it. I am going to do this with my big ones and then have then make up some of their own riddles. Here's a sneak peak:

I am something everyone needs. You can use me for drinking, bathing, swimming, and making things grow. I am in every land in the world. I am delicious when you are thirsty. What am I? (water)

Sure would love to hear from you about what's happening at your house this Thanksgiving season.

Intentional Gratitude: Making a List

One of the Thanksgiving activities we do is make a list of all the things we are thankful for. . .not an original Thanksgiving idea by any means. . . but a great way to encourage intentional gratitude.

My goal as a mom is to make thankfulness a habit, a natural way of life in me and my kids. . .and that these once a year Thanksgiving activities just strengthen and highlight what I have been teaching, pouring into my kids all year.

November is a great time because of the Thanksgiving holiday to stop and be intentionally thankful. And a great way to do this is by making a list of all the things you are grateful for. . .this is so not just for kids. . mom and dad can do this too. . .those that are around your dinner table Thanksgiving day could do this. . this is an activity that crosses the generations.

Oh there are some cute ways to make this list. . . just google images or blogs with the key words "gratitude tree" or "thankful tree" and see all the results that pop up. Here are a few that I found, check out this garland by Simply Modern Mom:

Go to her blog here to see closeups and step by step how-tos. Do you see how each leaf has something their family is thankful for written on it? Sidenote: You may also want to check out her post on activities to entertain the children. . if you are hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your house this year. I just found this blog.

Or check out this by Jamie over at Rose Cottage:

Or what about this one over at Show Me Crafts blog. . check it out for lots of pics and specific how-tos

And then there is the Soutter version:

Done this way intentionally. . of course :) I'll tell you why in my next post and also give you close ups. . but if you do a thankful tree or thankful garland or thankful box or a thankful bulletin board at your house. . I sure would like to see pics. . send me an email or leave a comment.

Coupon Databases. . a great resource

With the holidays coming up, grocery shopping is a little different. Sometimes we HAVE to buy something that is not on sale because we need it for that special recipe.

With items I HAVE to have (holiday time or just regular weekly shopping), I always check the coupon database here to see if there is a coupon out for the particular item I need. That way. . .even if it is not on sale. . .I can still use a coupon and save a little. Sometimes there is not a coupon out for the item I need, but I always like to check before I head to the store.

For those of you who do not get your coupon inserts from the N&O, you will want to check out the coupon databases found here.

I also use the coupon database when I am on a site and it mentions a particular coupon and I cannot find it. . I go to the coupon database to double check if the N&O indeed got it. . or was the site referring to a coupon found in another paper.

The Story of the 2 Fighting Wolves

At dinner the other night, Rob shared a story from a recent workshop he attended. It fit in perfectly with the whole cultivating a thankful heart conversation we have been trying to have this week, trying is the key word :)

Thought I'd share it here for possible conversation at your dinner table. . . note this is reworded in Rob/kid language. I am sure the original Cherokee legend wording can be found by googling.

An old Indian chief tells his grandson that there is a fight going on inside him. He tells the boy that there are 2 wolves inside him and they are having a terrible fight. The old Indian chief says that not only are there 2 wolves inside him that are fighting, but that there are 2 wolves inside everyone. . . and those two wolves are always fighting.

One wolf is a bad wolf. . he is filled with anger, greed, lies and unthankfulness.

The other wolf is a good wolf. . .he is filled with joy, peace, love, kindness and thankfulness.

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

And the old Indian chief replied, "The one you feed."

A little abstract . . but the kids got it. . especially after we did a little explaining. And again. . our big goal is to get in our kids that being thankful is important. . . and the more ways we can do that, the better they will grasp it. And this again stresses that Thanksgiving is more than just a big turkey dinner and football and having the family over. . .they will definitely get it by the time they leave the house at 18 :)

The story also got me thinking. . . what was my heart feeding on, which wolf won today? Oh, truth is more often caught than taught. Yesterday was one of those days when you feel like . why is it that my kids pick up all my bad stuff and none of my good stuff? :) Today is a new day :)

Being intentional is about stopping every now and then and taking the time to reflect, to evaluate, to figure out what is working and what is not working. . . because if you do not know where you want to go or where you want your kids to go. . there's no telling where you all are going to end up.

For more "be intentional about this" posts, click here. For the first 3 posts in the Thanksgiving series, click here.