Wondershare TidyMyMusic for Mac Giveaway 1 Day Only!

What a creative piece of software. I have added music to my ipod numerous times and every time I autofill it seems I have duplicates of a ton of songs. And at the bottom of all my music there is all these songs that say "untitled" or "unknown artist". What a pain it is to have 50 songs and you have no idea what they are until you actually listen to them. So now all you need to do is use TidyMyMusic to help organize all your itunes music! And right now you can get this $40 software absolutely free for one day only, read on for more information!

KidsEmail.org Review and Contest!

Let's face it, whether we like it or not our kids are growing up surrounded with all the latest technology (as opposed to playing golf when I was a kid).

 And sometimes this can be super scary with all the accessibility they have. I think the worst part is not knowing who they are talking to, or who can get a hold of them online. There are a lot of bad people out there and some of those are even children that come in the form of "bullies". I think that is one of my biggest fears as a parent is having my kids tortured in school by other kids. Between that and scary predators its really a challenge to keep safety nets without acting like a "helicopter" parent. There are different parental controls on your computer to keep kids from visiting certain sites but they only work to a certain extent in blocking content and have nothing to do with who they are talking to, and then when another person goes on the computer they need to change the settings if they wish to go to certain sites. So I am very pleased with this amazing program for kids called KIDSEMAIL.ORG. It is a safe way for your kids to send email. They have created an amazing system where you decide what boundaries to set for your child. You can choose from a ton of different safety settings when setting up their very own email account like:

RECEIVE/SEND MAIL FROM CONTACT LIST ONLY?

MAIL A COPY OF INCOMING MESSAGES TO YOU?

REMOVE IMAGES FROM INCOMING EMAILS?

REMOVE LINKS FROM EMAILS?

FILTER OUT BAD WORDS?

And more!

Additional tasks include:

• Ground Child
• Time Restrictions
• Blocked Senders
• Child's Account
• Activity Logs

They have options for the complexity of the child's account page to range from toddler up to teens and they can even choose a background for their account page.

Here is what the format looks like when they are sending an email from their kidsemail.org account. Notice how simplified the setup is. I truly love the fact that I have the option to choose who my child is sending and receiving email from that way there is no wondering who they are talking to. You need to let your child learn and discover with technology so why not do it the safest way possible? And in my opinion the only way to do that is to use kidsemail.org!

Right now you can sign up for a 30-day FREE trial offer. There is no commitment, no obligation. You are not required to enter any payment information. After the 30-day trial period of KidsEmail, you may choose to continue at a nominal subscription rate (rates).

Again, this it not the usual sales trick where you have to cancel your subscription!

YOU DO NOT NEED A CREDIT CARD TO REGISTER.

And yes it is also available on mobile devices!

* Disclosure: I did receive this product for free to write my review but that being said all opinions are my own and I strongly believe this is an amazing tool for keeping my children and yours safe on the internet!

As well as the amazing new program that you get to try for free they are also having a really cool contest:

KidsEmail invites kids to compete with other kids from around the world by writing a story and submitting it to KidsEmail.org's first semi-annual Young Author Competition. Winners will have their book illustrated and published. The story must be sent from your child's KidsEmail account!

For more information and rules on the contest go here:

Young Author Competition!

Melted Crayon Art!

I had a couple extra canvases left from my sons party so I decided to try my hand at melted crayon art. It is lots of fun and looks really cool! I have a video on youtube on how to easily remove crayon wrappers and another showing how to make melted crayon art. It is quite simple all you need is a canvas, crayons, tape, and a hair dryer. Simply peel off the wrappers of the crayons and tape them to the canvas wherever you want, then start melting them with the hair dryer. You can flip the canvas any way you want during the melting process to create a unique piece of art all your own. There are a million ways and a million color combinations to work with. For the fall colors below I am going to paint something else on it to create a nice fall picture.

 

Budget Birthday Party Ideas For When Money Is Tight!

My beautiful boy turned 5 on August 14 and we had his party this weekend. It was so much fun! We had a ton of activities and wonderful party guests. So I would love to share with you my frugal party plans. I only have a very modest budget to begin with and to add in things like parties I really need to be my best frugal self. 

So how do you have an amazing party with on a budget? Well you think like a kid of course, the one mistake parents can make is having everything scheduled for the party. Kids do not like to wait in lines for their turn or be ordered around rushing to the next activity. The best thing you can do for kids at a party is just let them be free and do what they want to do. I don't mean don't have activities for the kids but don't make them mandatory or scheduled. Here is what I did and what I spent to give you an idea.

Activities
Painting individual canvases - 20$ for 10 canvases & $5 for paint.
Make fruit loop necklaces - $5 for cereal & $2 for string.
Balloon animals and swords - $3 for balloons & $3 for balloon pump.
Noise Makers - $2
Pool - Free
Soccer - Free
Swings - Free
Toys - Free
Sandbox - Free

Obviously all the free activities were stuff I had at my home already. So because I had the party at my house everyone came to me and it was much more convenient. Also I just set up stations for the kids. I had everything prepped, set and ready to go so they could decide what they wanted to do. You could do stuff like face painting as well and keep it well under $5 for all the supplies from the dollar store.

Food
Chips - $10 for 12 individual bags.
Pop - $3 for 3 - 2 Litres
Juice - $4 for 20 juice boxes.
Cake - $20 for a giant sheet cake.
Deviled Eggs - $4 for 18 eggs.
Cucumbers - Free from my garden.

Kids are usually so busy at a party that they don't eat very much so just some party snacks and your usually good to go. But if you do go for a hearty lunch do something cheap and simple like hot dogs or fresh take and bake pizzas from the grocery store. Doing this will only cost around $20 or less.

Decorations
Balloons - $2 at the dollar store.
Happy Birthday Banners - Free because I never throw away decorations.

And that is it besides the toy I bought him which also doubled as a cake topper that cost me $10. So the whole party cost me just under $100. But there are ways of trimming that down as well with stuff you have on hand and making more stuff yourself.

  
It is so simple to please kids, they just want the basics like fun and candy. Don't over think it because you want to throw this perfect party. Your kids and the small guests are not going to notice all the little random decorations or colorful napkins. You could give them all a piece of paper towel to wipe their faces while eating and they wouldn't even know the difference. So for your next party speak to your inner child and see what you can come up with!

For inexpensive gift ideas take a look at these great articles:

Gifts for kids with disabilities! 

Gifts for moms! 

Ultimate Back to School Bash Giveaway!

I have decided to join in on promoting another awesome giveaway for my amazing readers! Because all parents need help with the costs of back to school this is a giveaway that is worth sharing! So here you go.

Welcome to the Ultimate Back to School Bash #bts2013!

3BoysandaDog has teamed up with A+ Interactive Math and some fabulous other brands to bring you this giveaway.

Prizes:

• A+ Interactive Math - 1 year FREE Online Full Curriculum - A+ Interactive Math - 1 winner (choice of: grades K - Algebra I) Value $124.99 . A+ Interactive Math is dedicated to making math enjoyable and learnable for all ages. A+ Interactive is perfect for homeschooling parents or parents that just want to give the child some extra math help. A + Interactive Math offers full curriculum books, workbooks, online education and interactive math CD's. You can purchase A+ Interactive Math or view their catalog here.
  Door Prize for all participants:
  Multiplication for Elementary & Middle School - download (value $21.99)
  link: http://aplustutorsoft.com/SpecialOffers.do
  Code: enter 3DOGSMATH upon checkout

• $100 Visa Card - This fabulous gift card is being brought to you by www.learntobloghangouts.com! This is the perfect way to get a great jump start on your back to school shopping! You can use this $100 Visa gift card at any location that accepts Visa.

• Back to School Survival Guide - This back to school guide is brought to you by The Confident Mom. In this Back to School Survival Guide you will find everything you need to help you ensure the school year runs seamlessly. This guide is an 80 page printable that will help you keep your child safe while using the internet, help with homework, making packing school lunches easier, become a savvy back to school shopper and much more! You can read more about the Back to School Survival Guide or purchase one here.

• Office Depot Sackpack of School Supplies -Office Depot is committed to providing affordable school supplies! You will find $25 worth of school supplies in this sack pack. The Office Depot Foundation donates over 30,000 backpacks to school children each and every year!

• BYOU Magazine Subscription

• Go Picnic Ready to Eat Meals - Go Picnic makes packing lunches and snacks a breeze. They offer gluten-free, kosher, all-natural and a variety of other snacks that are perfect for back to school lunches and snacks. You can view the large variety of products they offer here.

• Tummy Calm - Have a little one with an upset stomach? Tummy Calm is a safe option to helping your child feel better. Tummy Calm is made with all-natural FDA regulated ingredients. You can read more about Tummy Calm and place an order here.

• BIC School Supplies - BIC offers a wide range of back to school items from pens, pencils, markers, highlighters and much more! BIC is your one stop shop for your back to school supplies.

• Teach My Preschooler - Teach My is your one stop solution for giving babies, toddlers and preschoolers a jump start on education. You will find interactive learning products that promote learning in a fun manner. You can order a Teach My learning program here.

• Texas Instruments - Texas Instruments should be your go to supplies when it comes to tools for math and science calculators. One lucky winner will be receiving this http://education.ti.com/en/us/nspire-family/cx-handhelds. This is a colorful and engaging way for to learn math and science!

• Wild Planet Foods - Wild Planet Foods has tuna like you have never tasted before. This tuna is the perfect ingredient for a healthy and delicious school lunch. Wild Planet offers tuna that has 6 times the Omega 3 and 1/2 the mercury other brands have. Order up your own supply of Wild Planet Foods here.

• GHCretors - GHCretors offers all-natural, non-GMO and gluten-free popcorn in a variety of flavors! You will love that a healthy snack can taste so good. This might just be the best popcorn you have ever tasted. Get your order placed here.

• ListPlanIt - Are you ready to get your life organized? If so then ListPlanIt is the place to visit! Any kind of list you can imagine you will find on ListPlanIt. The winner is going to receive 2 ePlanners (Student ePlanner and Home Education ePlanner, value $10) + a coupon code for a 3-month trial to ListPlanIt! This is a fantastic prize to get the school year started off. You can also sign up for ListPlanIt here.

 

Go to The Ultimate Back to School Bash (<<----click there) post to enter for your chance to win this HUGE giveaway worth well over $350 dollars!

I wish you all good luck and hope this years back to school season is a breeze.

Purex Sweepstakes!

In addition to the Purex Laundry Detergent Giveaway I am hosting Purex is also having a sweepstakes called the Bid Adieu to Stains Sweepstakes! One winner will receive $500 courtesy of Purex! And 50 second prize winners will receive a coupon for free Purex Plus Oxi!

About the Sweepstakes!

From August 19 - September 19, Purex will be providing one lucky winner with $500!
For years, stains have caused you endless grief and frustration. No matter what product you use, nothing seems to give your family’s clothes the Bright, White & Clean look they deserve. But now that you’ve found Purex plus Oxi detergent, specially formulated to fight 101 of your toughest stains, you can finally bid adieu to stubborn stains for good.

To enter go HERE 

Also I have a coupon code for you to use on your first order at well.ca! Use code "frugalmom" to get $10 off any order of $40 or more! Check out these great deals:

Tide Liquid Laundry Detergent

Mountain Spring

1.18 L - 25 Loads

$9.99$4.99

Tide Liquid Laundry Detergent

Original Scent

1.18 L - 25 Loads

$9.99$4.99

Tide Laundry Detergent

Free & Gentle

1.18 L - 25 Loads

$9.99$4.99

Environmentally Friendly!

I am trying to teach my kids to be good to the environment as well as the value of money and why it is important to save and stuff like that. So I got to thinking what can I do that can hit both birds with one stone and not cost a dime to do. So I can up with a fun game called "power out". Last night we unplugged almost everything except the fridge and stove and spent the evening by flashlight and candle light. We had a blast! We ate things we already had made and stuff that never needed cooking. Because my kids are small it is hard to get them to grasp the concept of electricity so by pretending the lights don't work it really helps. So I am easing them into the money concept as well by getting them to buy small things at the store and showing them what it costs and what they have. I also am giving them an allowance for doing small chores so they understand they need to earn what they want. I am quite pleased with the results so I am going to try and do this "power out" game a few times a month and as they get older we can turn it into pretending to be "pioneers" or "cavemen". There are a ton of reasons to do this from historical teaching, to saving money, and the environment. What fun games can you create to save money and the environment? 

Don't forget to enter my Purex Giveaway!

How To Cover a Fireplace Hearth To Protect Baby For Next to Nothing!

This is the lovely brick fireplace hearth I have surrounding my electric fireplace positioned right in the centre of my house where I smoke mild cigars from time to time, so there is no hiding it. I even have my older kids tripping on it as well as skinned my own ankles on it. So this is an unavoidable daily obstacle! I am a renter so removal of this is not an option plus who would want to do that kind of major renovation. I am obviously going to use the most cost effective way. I have researched to see what other parents have done and everything seems to cost an arm and a leg. I am not going to spend 200 dollars on a special gate, or 600 dollars for a custom fit hearth guard. And most of the covers they sell are for rectangle shaped hearths. So here is my latest project. Most of these items parents have on hand and if not it is going to cost under 20 dollars to complete!

You will need:

2 Pool Noodles (depending on size of hearth)

Duct Tape

Scissors
Interlocking Foam Mats
Table Cloth or Similar Fabric

 Slice the noodles length wise!

 Apply to the sharp edges of your hearth!

 Grab your duct tape and start taping the noodles onto the hearth!

And there you have it! Simple bumper pads for your hearth for next to nothing. I am not completed this project but you could stop here if you only need the bare minimum covered. I intend to cover the top of the hearth with those neat interlocking play mats and then covering with some sort of fabric to make it a little more grown up and easier on the eyes. But for now this keeps my little man from needing stitches What do you think? Pretty funky and frugal hey!

I went and got some interlocking foam type mats for 9.97 from Walmart. I then cut them to fit the top of the hearth and then secured it with duct tape. 

When I had everything secure I took a round tablecloth I also found at Walmart for 9.97 and covered the mats. I was able to lift the fireplace and put it beneath there to secure it as well I used my hot glue gun and glued it on very well all over. It looks really good and it is super safe for my sweet baby boy! So if you know anyone may have the best fireplace insert who is having the fireplace problem I had here is a way to do it for around 30 dollars and still have it look really nice. 

Wine Wear Review!

I love this unique gift tag! I personally do not drink wine but I do give it as gifts at Christmas time. So I was pretty happy to do this review because I am just getting started on my Christmas shopping. Yes I am crazy. But I am the one who has almost all her shopping done by Christmas, saved the most money in the end, and avoided most of the nasty Christmas rush! But Wine Wear is great for any occasion, birthdays, house warming, thank you gifts, or any time you want to give your wine loving friend a unique and creative gift. It is so cute to see a bottle of wine wearing a shirt! There is a space on the back to write a personalized message and the front is really cool. They have many different designs to choose from.

  
This is a great gift for someone who likes wine; it provides packaging for a wine bottle and delivers a sentiment at the same time - the patented greeting card for a wine bottle from Wine Wear, Inc.

Wine bottle Wear™ is revolutionizing the way wine is gifted and enjoyed. Simply write a personal greeting on the back of the Wine Wear card, place it over the neck of the bottle and instantly have a unique gift presentation.

- Product is patented and only available through Wine Wear, Inc.
- New, unique and colorful that gets a reaction of “Wow – that’s great”
- Woman-owned business
- Great price – Retail $3.49 each
- All sales of our Live Laugh Love design donated to cancer charity
- Rapidly expanding and sold in stores such as Walgreens
- Product featured in magazines such as Smart Money, Greetings etc., Gift and Decorative Accessories.

The entire line can be viewed at www.winewear.com, along with our other product lines: Wine glass Wear and Wine fashion Wear.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Purex With Oxi & Zout Stain Removers Review/Giveaway!

 Having three kids means having a ton of laundry to do. Its not always a fun job especially when you have a hard time finding a detergent that will take out "baby blowout" stains and stay within my price range. In case you didn't know a "baby blowout" is a common problem where your baby has a giant poop that actually comes straight up and out the back of babies diaper covering his clothes practically up to his/her hair line on the back of their neck. Some people will just strip the baby and throw out the clothes, well I am a very frugal/cheap person so that is usually not an option for me. So being the cheap arse that I am I was super excited to get to review Purex liquid laundry detergent with not just one but two stain removers, Oxi and Zout!

 I was very satisfied when I did my first load of laundry because my babies clothes came out very clean. Not only were my baby blowout stains gone but so were the food and drool stains. Bonus! Purex has been my favorite detergent for a while now because the price cannot be beat! And now that I can get the cleaning power for the right price I am super happy! I got so excited after doing my first load that I made a Youtube video and put Purex cleaning power to the test. If you want to check it out go HERE

And now for everyone's favorite part... the giveaway! Would you like to win your own bottle of Purex with Oxi and Zout stain removers? Just enter the rafflecopter form below and good luck! 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

  
Purex provided me with a sample of Purex plus Oxi detergentin exchange for a product review . However, all opinions expressed here are my own.  

As an added bonus I have a coupon code for you to use on your first order at well.ca! Use code "frugalmom" to get $10 off any order of $40 or more!

 And here are just a few of their amazing back to school sale items!

Crayola Crayons

64 Crayons

$5.39$4.85

Crayola Coloured Pencils

24 Coloured Pencils

$8.99$8.09

Crayola Pip-Squeaks Washable Markers

16 Markers

$5.39$4.85

Crayola Pip-Squeaks Washable Glitter Glue

16 Unique & Bright Colours

$6.49$5.84

Crayola Washable Watercolours

24 Colours

$4.49$4.04

Spicy Subscriptions Review!

 I have began exploring the world of subscription boxes and the first to arrive is Spicy Subscriptions! This is an adult subscription service for couples or singles looking to add a little spice to "private time". Every item in the boxes is geared towards a good time whether your on the adventure alone or with your partner. Not only do you get high quality products but you don't have to go to an adult shop to buy them. For some people its embarrassing and for others its just the convenience factor, either way your getting fun stuff and saving money as well. The prices of these items in a sex shop are ridiculous most of the time and I have ran into a few cashiers that get a little snoopy about what your buying and why. Not my cup of tea. Spicy Subscriptions has 2 different boxes to choose from: Get the Premium Spice Box: $24.95/month or Get the Deluxe Spice Box: $34.95/month. 

 You will receive free shipping as well as discreet packaging for any service you subscribe to. 

The premium subscription comes with:

1 Flirty Item

1-2 Full Sized Products

2-4 Trial Sized Products

 

 

The Deluxe subscription comes with:

1 Deluxe Item

1-2 Full Sized Products

1 Deluxe Accessory

2-4 Trial Sized Products

 

You can choose your subscription length and the savings vary depending on what length of time you decide on. Personally I have chosen month to month only because that's what fits my budget. Check them out at www.spicysubscriptions.com and add some spice to your life! Use coupon code "funkyfrugal" and receive 5% off your order!