Here’s a fun craft and sweet treat that won’t break the bank! In fact, you’re likely to have the ingredients for the pink popcorn on hand!

Valentine Pencil Toppers Craft Project

Supplies:

• Pipe cleaners in various colors
• Pencils
• Foam hearts with adhesive backs
• Permanent markers

Directions:

1. Coil the pipe cleaner evenly around the pencil. Leave a little at the top
2. Write Valentine sayings on the foam hearts with a permanent marker. Let dry.
3. Adhere foam heart to pipe cleaner at top of pencil. That’s it — cute, fun, quick, and frugal!

Pink Valentines Popcorn Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 bags popped popcorn (make sure and remove loose kernels)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 small box red Jell-O gelatin powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 250.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with tin-foil or parchment paper.
3. Use a large saucepan to bring the sugar, Jell-O, water, and butter to a boil. Let boil for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda (will foam).
5. Add popcorn to pan and stir to evenly coat.
6. Spoon onto baking sheets and place in oven for 30 minutes or until popcorn is no longer sticky.
7. Store in air tight container once cooled.

We took Valentines treat bags filled with pink popcorn and added a Valentine conversation heart pencil. This entire project costed less than $20 and it was a lot of fun for both my daughter and myself!

Please note: You’ll want to check with your school before handing these out as many will not allow homemade treats.

What are you doing to save money this Valentine’s Day? What kinds of valentines do you like to hand out?

Rita is a wife and a stay-at-home mom to an amazing 8-year-old daughter. She enjoys stretching her family’s budget and sharing with others how to do the same. She shares tips for living frugally on her blog, Chi-Town Cheapskate. She believes that living well while spending less is possible!  You may follow her on her blog but on Facebook and Twitter as well.

If you are like me (until recently) and have no idea what a Whoopie Pie is don’t worry, you aren’t alone. A Whoopie Pie is a cross between a cake, a cookie, and a cupcake! Isn’t that fantastic?! You can make them in any flavor you want and whatever size you like. I made regular size and mini whoopie pies. I preferred the mini whoopie pies because it was just two bites and I didn’t feel guilty for eating one afterward.

There are about a million and one ways to make a Whoopie Pie but my favorite is with a box of cake mix! It can’t get much easier than that! I did make my filling but you could also use store bought icing, if you don’t fill up to making your own. However, I promise making your own is really easy.

Lemon Raspberry Whoopie Pie Recipe

For the Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Cake Mix (I used Lemon for this recipe)
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1/2 Cup Oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Beat all ingredients on medium low speed until combined.
4. Fill piping bag (or zip-top storage bag) with cake mix.  If using a zip-top bag snip one of the corners off and push mix toward corner. You can make whatever kind of design you would like, I piped circles on the lined cookie sheet.
5. Bake the cake mix. If making bigger pies bake for 7-10 minutes.  If making small pies bake for 4-6 minutes.
6. Cool completely on rack.

For the Creamy Raspberry Filling:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter, softened
• 1 1/3 Cup Marshmallow Cream
• 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 oz Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp Raspberry extract
• 1/4 tsp Salt

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
2. Flip half of your pies over to form a top and bottom. You should have half of the flat sides facing upward and half domed side facing upward.
3. Place a mound of filling in the center of each flat side up pie.
4. Top with remaining pies, domed side, up and press gently to spread filling.
5. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Have you ever eaten a Whoopie pie? What are some of your favorite sweet treats?

Recipe adapted from grouprecipes.com.

Brandi is the creator of The Creative Princess.   She is a stay-at-home mom of two beautiful girls, avid couponer, crafter and a Pinterest addict.  You will find awesome tutorials, creative couponing, cooking and crafting on her blog, she also takes you down her crazy journey of life around her small Oklahoma town.

When I reached adulthood, I discovered that adding color to your Rice Krispy Treats wasn’t the norm and that my mom did that to make that experience special for us.

Wanting to give my kids this same thrill, we made Rice Krispy Treats in the shapes of autumn leaves, using a Wilton cookie cutter (the same one we used for this pastry). We divided the Rice Krispies and colored each section a different, bright color and ended up with an array of colorful autumn leaves both beautiful and delicious.

This is a simple and fun activity and one that your kids are sure to remember!

What is your favorite after-school snack to make with your kids? How do you make simple activities like cooking and crafts veer from the norm?

Back in 1960, a picture of a little girl named Debbie became an American icon. This month, to celebrate Little Debbie’s 50^th Anniversary, a lucky girl age 4-8 in your life could win a $5,000 scholarship just by re-creating that classic photo.

The Little Debbie Look-A-Like Contest is already under way, and if you’ve got access to a camera and a straw hat, you could well on your way to winning all sorts of great prizes, including the grand prize of $5,000 for a child’s education.

You might be surprised to learn that “Little Debbie” is a real person, but it’s true! In fact, she’s going to be one of the judges for the Look-A-Like Contest.

Here’s the story of how she became such an icon:

In 1960, a bakery owner by the name of O.D. McKee was trying to come up with a name for his newest snack cakes. Inspiration struck when he looked at a photograph of his 4-year-old granddaughter Debbie, who was wearing her favorite straw hat.

From that moment on, “Little Debbie” has been the unforgettable face on dozens of America’s favorite snacks, from Oatmeal Creme Pies and Swiss Cake Rolls to Nutty Bars and Zebra Cakes.

Now it’s your chance to re-create a classic by taking part in the Little Debbie Look-A-Like Contest.

Prizes include:

• A $5,000 scholarship to the grand prize winner on behalf of the child
• The winning child’s picture on certain packages of Little Debbie products
• Cases of Little Debbie snack cakes, gift bags filled with goodies and Madame Alexander Little Debbie 50^th Anniversary collectable dolls

It’s easy to enter. Just visit the Little Debbie Look-A-Like site and follow the steps to send in your submission. But hurry! The deadline for submissions is Jan. 20.

For more information on Little Debbie and the contest, you can follow Little Debbie on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook or just drop me an e-mail with any questions.

Good luck!

Gather some treats, download and print this special Ghost Door Hanger and you are ready to go. One side lets everyone know you have been booed, the other a fun poem and instructions about how to BOO!

You might also like this unique way to BOO with a decorated plastic pumpkin. “Am I a Cat or Jack Boo Pumpkin” makes a great way to BOO your friends.

Another idea is to make a special BOO! Cone .

If you are into paper crafts a BOO! Sign is a wonderful way to share some Halloween fun!

Let the “BOOING” begin!

Come join us as we pamper ourselves through a chat about chocolate and indulgence at tonight’s girls’ night out (#gno) party on Twitter. We’ll be tweeting with terrific folks from the Zone Perfect team about their new product—Indulgence.

Tonight’s giveaway is a $250 Spafinder gift card! The 200th person to tweet the following wins:

200th person 2 follow @zoneperfect gets $250 Spafinder gc. Winner announced 2nite on #gno 9-11 ET RSVP http://bit.ly/1R1qHM PLS RT

What: Zone Perfect is sponsoring this week’s #gno Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)

When: Thursday, October 22, 9-11 p.m. EST

Where: Click here to party with us on our custom Tweetgrid. (Use hashtags #gno and #zoneperfect.)

Topic: Your Personal Indulgence!

Who: @craftymamaof4 @juliefisk @mommybrain @organizersandy @plussizemommy @savingmycents @stonerjj @zoneperfect

Party Favors: Tonight’s giveaway is a $250 Spafinder gift card! The 200th person to tweet the following wins: 200th person 2 follow @zoneperfect gets $250 Spafinder gc. Winner announced 2nite on #gno 9-11 ET RSVP http://bit.ly/1R1qHM PLS RT

RSVP: Please leave your Twitter ID in the comments to follow and be followed (on Twitter, of course!) by other #gno gals. The best format is as follows: http://twitter.com/jylmomIF.

10 Delicious Ways to Make a Difference This Week

Service doesn’t have to be bland or boring! Spice it up. Sweeten the pot. Make it delicious. Think of people that need a little love and touch their heart by going through their stomach during this week’s Summer of Service Challenge, sponsored by Campbell’s. How? By making and sharing a tasty treat, including one or more of the 10 ideas listed below!

For more ideas, join us for a great Girl’s Night Out (#gno) on Twitter this Tuesday night. And, please share a comment on this post with other ways to serve others by sharing a tasty treat.

1. Make some baked goods—cupcakes, cookies, bread, muffins, etc.—and take them to a neighbor.
2. Take a meal to someone in your community that is sick or needs a night off from kitchen duty.
3. Spend one-on-one time with your children by having a cooking class with them to prepare dinner for the family! For a special treat, do a craft activity beforehand to make paper chef’s hats.
4. Have a family activity where you make a tasty treat together, such as suckers, decorated sugar cookies, chocolate-dipped strawberries and pretzels, etc.
5. Have a couple’s night in! Invite your closest friends over with their significant others for a fondue party. Play the newlywed game no matter how long everyone has been in their relationship.
6. As a family, choose another family that needs some love or an act of kindness/service. Drop off an anonymous treat on their doorstep with a nice card telling them how much you love them.
7. Organize a girl’s night out with your closest girlfriends and have a progressive dinner where you rotate houses during the meal, starting with appetizers, moving on to salad, heading to the main course, and ending somewhere else for the dessert.
8. Treat your spouse or close friend to a dinner at his or her favorite restaurant!
9. Make your family’s favorite meal and decorate the table special just for them. Devote the evening to family time by turning off phones, TV, etc.
10. Make your children’s favorite cookies, making a different batch once a week until you’ve made all of their favorites. Don’t forget to include your favorite as well!

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

• What other ideas do you have for sharing a tasty treat?
• How has touching other’s hearts by going through their stomach made a meaningful difference this week for you? For others?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?

Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:

• Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
• Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
• Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
• Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Check out this week’s prizes from Campbell’s.
• Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.