Moving season is fast approaching as people rush to get into new houses for the summer. After you’ve moved and unpacked, you have tons of boxes sitting around, waiting to be recycled. Instead of recycling, you can actually reuse them! Check out these brilliant ideas for fun and frugal ways to reuse a cardboard box.

This one will make your kids love you! What kid doesn’t want to slide down the stairs at some point? My kids have used a variety of things to propel themselves down the stairs at some time or another. How about letting them do it? The Contemplative Creative (above) is to blame for this great idea.

Another great idea for kids, how about building a train set or town inside of a cardboard box? Like they say, give a kid a new toy, he’d rather play with the box, well this is a toy and a box all in one. The Imagination Tree (above) put a lot of work into making this a realistic and exciting cardboard box project.

Apartment Therapy (above) made this DIY ball maze out of cardboard. This is great not just for kids, but could be a great game at a family reunion or stag and doe.

Instead of spending a ton of money on expensive storage baskets, why not make your own? Using a cardboard box and burlap with hot glue, By Stephanie Lynn (above) made this cute burlap storage basket.

My husband has made a ton of great things for the kids from large cardboard boxes, like a rocket ship, a playhouse and a six-room castle (I’m not even kidding). This cardboard airplane definitely takes the cake. Check out Onto Baby’s (above) cardboard box birthday party for more inspiration!

Do you have any great cardboard inspirations? Would you consider a very fun and totally cheap cardboard box birthday party?

Shop at Michaels Canada this week in-store and get 15% off your entire order, including sale items, with printable coupon. If Mom loves craft items, this is the time to shop.

• Click here for printable coupon
• Click here for store locator

My Mom is not a crafter, but my mother-in-law is. I am also a scrapbooker and dabble in other artsy pursuits. I’d love a Michaels gift card with these coupons attached because I’d prefer to pick out the items I would like, rather than get a mish-mash of supplies. This is an awesome last minute gift idea.

The 15% off including sale items coupon is not the only one out this week. Michaels also has coupons for:

• 50% off your entire regular priced purchase of Inkadinado stamping gear
• 40% off your entire regular priced purchase of Recollections stickers and embellishments
• 50% off your entire regular priced purchase of Recollections Creative Chaos books in all sizes
• 40% off your entire regular priced purchase of Iris Hobby Hanger wall system
• 50% off your entire regular priced purchase of Purple Cows laminating machine
• 40% off your entire regular priced purchase of Bazzill 12 x 12 cardstock
• 55% off custom framing Modern Day Designs

Either print your coupons or text them to your phone (and save paper).

If you are in the mood, check the Bargainmoose forum for more Michaels coupons.

(Expiry: 16th May 2013)

If you can’t afford to take Mom to the spa, or just don’t choose to want to spend exorbitant amounts of cash on a spa day, here are some awesome ideas on how to bring the spa to Mom. What’s great about this is that you can participate with her, because honestly, the best present is time spent together.

Start with a good, cleansing drink for you and Mom, like this sassy water (above) from A Sweet Simple Life. The cucumber, lemon and mint fuse together to make a detox drink that also tastes out of this world.

You can’t have a spa day without a face mask. Homemade Face Masks blog has a ton of recipes for masks you can make at home with ingredients right in your refrigerator, like this cucumber and yogurt facial mask (above).

Birthday Party Ideas 4 Kids (above) has a number of great spa recipes, including lip balm, eye reliever, pore cleansing strips and more great face masks, and these are not just for kids.

Don’t forget to feed Mom! Eat a clean lunch with this recipe for Cool Cucumber and Quinoa salad from the Eat Clean Diet. This is a perfect lunch for a spa day!

Slouch off that dead skin with a pure and simple sugar scrub (above), made from – what else – sugar! Pink of Perfection has a number of easy to make and yummy scrubs for your spa day.

New Jersey Moms Guide (above) has some great recipes for spa days, including a make your own hair conditioner.

We’ve covered the inside and the out, with scrubs, facials, hair treatments, detox and relaxation. I don’t think there is a better way to spend Mother’s Day. What do you think Bargainmoosers?

(Thanks Dennis Wong!)

Mother’s Day is next weekend and you need to get on whatever it is you are getting on and make your Mom feel special. If you are short on money, you can make something shockingly easy that doesn’t look like your kids made it. And she’ll love it.

Loveable Martha Stewart (above) came up with this fab idea to make candles out of teacups! This way you know it matches the decor, plus it is such a personal gift idea. You can find teacups at thrift or antique shops.

Shanty 2 Chic (above) made this amazing photo holder for only $3! This looks like something you buy in a store for at least $30. Your Mom will love it!

This DIY idea is incredibly easy. Pinching Your Pennies (above) found printable inspirational quotes online, printed them at Costco, then mod podged them onto cheap canvases from Michaels (I’ve also seen them at the dollar store).

Can you believe you can make these gorgeous necklaces yourself? Sarah Ortega (above) has a tutorial for making these bird’s nest necklaces on her website. And it is much cheaper and more sentimental than anything you’ll get at a jewellery store.

I don’t think you can get any easier than this do-it-yourself idea. Simply find an item at a thrift or vintage store and spray paint it. From Craft Kitsch to Cool (ab0ve) uses the items as decorative pieces on a bookshelf. What I love about this is the uniqueness of the item can not be duplicated at Home Sense! Thanks for the top image Jessica!

Instead of just bringing flowers (which cost an arm and a leg at this time of year), make this gorgeous and personal vase out of a PVC pipe! Then pick a few flowers from your own garden. Check out Mod Podge Rocks Blog (above) for how to do it.

I’m trying to decide which one I want to make for my own Mother. I love all of these ideas and love that it won’t hurt my wallet!

Which one should I ask my husband to make for me? What do you plan to do for Mother’s Day Bargainmoosers?

If you are like me, you may be one of those people who constantly loses things, especially earrings since they can easily become misplaced.  Either jewellery gets lost or the jewellery becomes oxidized (for example, silver jewellery).  Once silver becomes oxidized, even at-home polishing often doesn’t work.  Therefore, in order to keep the luster from leaving, it makes sense to organize your jewellery in an easy-to-access way without exposing it to too much air.

Here are some do it yourself ways to organize your jewellery that will have you admiring your jewellery collection so much that you won’t have to buy any more!  It’s amazing what a little organization can do!

#1. Peg Board and Accessories Station

Desiree from The 36th Avenue blog (above) shared a great gift to her husband of 14 years (organization!).  She gives a fantastic tutorial on how you can do this project yourself.  All you need is a peg board, something to frame it with, nail gun (or screws), chicken wire, and some paint. Also a bit of crafty energy!

I loved how there was a frame inside another frame.  She also went all out and made an accessories station but personally I think the peg board is great by itself.  I just love love love the colours together (pale blue and white are always a great combination, in my blue-lover biased opinion).

#2. Wire Jewellery Frame Display

This is probably one of my favourites because it’s just so aesthetically pleasing and so simple to do (I like simple).  I’ll likely try and make this one myself out of all of these brilliant ideas shared in this post. The wire jewellery frame display is from the Calico Skies blog (above) and she created it on a 52 week challenge (one crafty project per week).  Amazing, but I would never find the time to do that!  One project per season or year is good enough for me. I also love how it looks like you could probably whip this up in under an hour, provided that you don’t staple your finger down.

To make this all you need is a vintage frame, wire cutters, wire mesh, frame hangers, and a staple gun.  I love how elegant it looks.  It’s handy because it will look great propped up on top of a dresser, or even hung up on the wall.  I would probably hang this up inside my closet door.

#3. DIY Burlap Jewellery Organizer

This do it yourself burlap jewellery organizer is tres chic as well and looks very easy to make.  The Making The World Cuter Blog (above) shares this idea. The great thing about this one is that you can also hang up your necklaces and bracelets.  You can use buttons and put them in a little satin mesh bag to store your smaller non-hook earrings.  The only thing that you want to make sure you have is heavy duty wire so that the bracelets and necklaces don’t all jumble up together in the centre.

All you need for this one is some burlap material, a black frame, a regular stapler (or a staple gun if you have one), and some heavy duty wire.  When you use the regular stapler, you can just staple the wire to the back of the burlap material.  This is probably my contender number two just because its so versatile and also looks very nice and is easy to make.

#4. Lace Jewellery Organizer

If you want to pump up the girly-factor and want a jewellery organizer that encompasses lace into the design, this jewellery organizer shared by the Mr. Kate blog (above) is super cute and really easy to make as well.  To make this jewellery organizer, all you need is an empty frame, lace ribbon, strong glue or a staple gun, and a hammer and nail to secure it on your wall.

All you need to do is to glue the lace on the frame and hang it up.  Et voila you have a super chic jewellery organizer that can hold hook earrings, stud earrings, bracelets, and even necklaces.  Very versatile and very pretty!

There you have it — four super easy ways you can organize your jewellery so that it’s not one big mess on a jewellery tray.

Bargainmoosers, which one is your favourite?

Clothespins are great for hanging laundry, but did you know they are great for other purposes too? I love the following inspired by Pinterest ideas for reusing clothespins. If you don’t happen to have clothespins, but would like to try these ideas, you can get them very cheap at the dollar store.

Fine motor skills for small kids are so important, and as parents we need to find creative ways to work on these skills. Hands On As We Grow (above) simply pinned the pins to the side of a bucket and let her toddler pin and unpin. Since it is something a child doesn’t get to do all the time, they really work hard doing this!

This clothespin wreath is incredibly creative and is perfect for a laundry room! Just hot glue and a thrift store mirror, plus clothespins painted in any colour to match your decor, Keep Home Simple (above) crafted this in no time.

Teach your child even more skills by using clothespins and popsicle sticks! Your child will want to do their math homework when it is this fun (and super easy for you to make). Common Core Connection USA (above) shows you how.

Your child probably has a ton of artwork cluttering the side of your fridge. Well, why not display it more professionally on a gallery wall using a DIY artwork display frame, simply with an old frame and clothespins? Living Well Spending Less (above) simply painted both the same colour and hung it on the wall beside their family pictures. Looks amazing and this is definitely something I’m going to put on my to do list.

Tiffany at the DIY club (above) is a photographer and created this banner as a backdrop for her photo shoots. You don’t have to be a professional to do a photo shoot, or even to make this banner, which could be purely decorative. You can easily change the paper patters to match the season or celebration. So easy and cost-free!

(Image credit: Grumbler)

Even though we are getting blasted by a freezing rain/snow storm here in Ontario, I am still promising that spring is coming. So, lets get your garden ready for its big debut and add some funky and unique items, which you will repurpose yourself. I am in love with all of these ideas and am not sure which I want to tackle first!

You don’t just have to plant in planters and the ground anymore. Add some uniqueness to your deck by planting your flowers in an old dresser. DIY Real (see above) shows you how.

This funky bottle tree (see above) was pinned all over Pinterest and adds some colour and brightness to an otherwise green gardenscape. Talking to Plants says this is so easy to build, just using rebar and coloured bottles, which you could probably get anywhere.

Lifetime moms says this is such a great craft for kids to do, using old rubber boots, a little bit of paint and some imagination (see above image). Simply decorate your boots and plant your bulbs. Kids will love getting into the action and showing them how things grow is such a great learning experience.

This re-purposed outdoor table (see above image) now looks fantastic, thanks to Indigo Earth’s idea to cover it with covered glass. I can’t imagine how beautiful it looks with the sun rays reflecting off of it. Check out what she did with a fire pit too.

Garden Drama also found an interesting and unique place to plant flowers, inside of an old milk can (see above image). I think it looks wonderfully rustic.

Mom Endeavors brought out her creative side with these DIY painted rock garden markers (see above image). I think this is a fantastic way to remember what you planted, while keeping it looking as real and natural as possible. Plus, it looks fun to make!

Small Garden Love took some wood and some jars and made these fantastic herb planters (see above)!

Share your funky garden ideas with us. How do you keep your garden looking full and lush, but keep the cost down?

(Image credit to Sheba)

Sometimes you can find random toys for a good price if you really search at Chapters Canada. I found this Alex Monster Art Centre for only $47.98, which is 50% off and cheaper than I found it at any other Canadian retailer.

• Click here to start creating @ Chapters Canada

I was thinking the other day about how all three of my kids have very different interests. I have one who loves books and science, one who is athletic and loves being a daredevil and one who loves music, drama and art. I also realized this is going to be very expensive for me since they don’t like the same things. So, when I find a deal this good on something my child is very interested in, I snap it up.

The Alex Monster Art Centre has a five-star rating at Chapters, based on customer experience.  It has also won numerous awards, including Best Toy of The Year.

It includes:

• 12 watercolour paints with palette,
• 28 coloured pencils,
• 24 oil pastels,
• 26 crayons,
• 30 fine-tip markers,
• a water bottle,
• two brushes,
• a sponge,
• two drawing pencils,
• pencil sharpener,
• eraser,
• clear and white glue

It comes in a carrying case that folds out into an easel. With a sturdy metal handle, clasps and trays that open for access to the supplies, this is a durable and fully-stocked kit.

Shipping is normally free at Chapters on orders over $25, but I’m going to assume this is too heavy for free shipping. To Ontario, the cost was $7, but there is free ship to store.

(Expiry: Unknown)

If you are anything like me, you have a ton of old art and photo frames in the storage area in your basement. You don’t just want to toss something that sat in a special place in your home for years, until you decided the new Umbra frame you bought better showcased your trip to Hawaii. Or maybe, also like me, your mother didn’t want to throw out these special frames, so she gave them to you, making it now your responsibility not to throw it out. I call that Hoarders: Pass it On edition. But, seriously, here are some great ideas for creative ways to use those frames and not have to pitch them.

Love Of Family and Home took an old frame that was her grandmothers, removed the artwork, added burlap and a self-painted letter for a beautiful monogram wall hanging. This was very cheap and easy!

This could be one of the most awesome ideas I’ve ever seen. Wedding Paper Divas gave us this idea for a wedding frame wall, with photos of your family, plus two inconspicuous trap doors within the frame for the happy couple to pop out of. I love the vintage look of this one, but you could do it according to whatever style you fancy.

Homedit has a ton of great ideas for old picture frames, but I love this one where they framed old letters. You could frame letters from family members, from your loved ones, even your children. Whatever letter is sentimental to you, which you’d rather not keep in a box would be great for this idea. You could even take a copy of a page from a deceased family member’s journal. This idea costs literally nothing, but means so much.

HandMakeMyDay had this fabulous idea to make a rainbow out of cardboard and glitter and glue it on to the glass of an old frame. They added the hat and it instantly became the perfect backdrop for a St. Patrick’s Day photo session. You could also do other themes like an Easter bunny for Easter or elves for Christmas. Use your imagination! Again, another cheap idea, although this one looks like it took a bit of time.

Melissa at 320 Sycamore used tea towels and old frames (this one had hooks, bonus!) to make amazing jewellery holders. This is one idea I’m passing on to my crafty hubby to make for me. How awesome would it be to see all of your jewellery right in front of you, instead of having to dig through a cluttered storage case? Love it!

I always adore anything Shanty 2 Chic blogs about and this frame is no exception! They painted the frame, added fabric rosettes and used a staple gun to apply the jute in a haphazard manner. Then simple clips like laundry pins do the job to hang your photos and you can change them out whenever you want.

Meadow Lake Road was very crafty and sentimental when she put together this frame with thoughts from her heart, using of all things, a sharpie. Imagine your family waking up each day to see how you feel written out in plain words, just in case they need a reminder. Beautiful thought!

I love this Father’s Day idea from Positively Splendid. She took photos of her kids with chalkboard quote signs that said what they loved about their dad. She put the collage of pictures into a frame and this was his cheap and from the heart Father’s Day gift. I have had this pinned since last year because I really want to do this!

Spam me with your old photo frame ideas and let me know if you create any of these masterpieces. I’m on my way downstairs to find those old frames of my mom’s. Happy crafting!

(Image credit: maury.mccown)

Now that Easter is over, Michaels Canada has some really awesome Easter deals to take advantage of. Save up to 70% on all Easter items in stores, for a limited time only.  They also have some great printable coupons that will save you even more money on your purchases.

• Click here to print off your Michaels Canada coupons
• Click here to find your nearest Michaels location

Here is a look at the coupons you will find this week:

• Save 40% on One Regular Priced Item
• Save 60% on Custom Framing Modern Day Designs

There are only two coupons offered this week, but with all of the Easter sales, you will be able to save on a lot of items.  I love the Easter spring foam packs to use with the kids for crafts and I try to stock up every year on the plastic eggs for the next year.  This is the best time to get Easter items for the next year.  These holiday items tend to sell out really fast because the prices are so low, so I would run in and grab them sooner than later.

If you are looking for Michaels coupons, you will find them all posted up on the Bargainmoose coupon forum.

(Expiry: 4th April 2013)

Omiyage Canada is helping you celebrate Easter by offering 15% off your entire purchase (including regular and sale priced merchandise), this long weekend only.

Click here to shop the Easter Sale @ omiyage.ca

• Coupon Code: BUNNY
• Discount: 15% Off Your Entire Purchase
• Expiry: 1st April 2013

Omiyage Canada is a very interesting company. I have never shopped there before, or even looked at their website, but I’m happy I came across it. If you’re a crafty or creative person, then you should definitely take a look.

Everyone needs some Glitter Tape, and the aqua is a beautiful colour. Jazz up a greeting card, poster, or envelope for just $2.97 per roll (regularly $3.50).

This Panda Kamifusen Paper Balloon is so cute! Kids will have a ball with these animal balloons, and for just $1.70 each, you can’t go wrong! Along with pandas, you can also get owls, raccoons, elephants, tigers, monkeys, and globefish.

If you’ve got a birthday party or another celebration coming up, these Hot Pink Chevron Itty Bitty Bags would make great treat bags. You can also use them as envelopes, for scrapbooking, or for gift wrapping. Regularly priced at $2.50 for a set of 10, you can get them for just $2.12 this weekend.

As for the cost of shipping, there is a flat rate of $7.50 for all orders.

Check out our Omiyage Coupon page for this and any future coupons.

I love LEGO, my kids love LEGO, my husband loves LEGO. We all love building with LEGO. We do not like stepping on LEGO. For some reason LEGO seems to find its way to my bedroom floor, where in my middle of the night haze as I’m rushing to some crying child or screaming cat or phone that’s been pushed off the hook (true story), I seem to step right on it with the most sensitive part of my foot. In case you haven’t figured it out, it does not feel good to step on LEGO. I’ve created this post to help others in dire need like myself, to find ways to deal with the leftover and stray pieces of LEGO that have made their way around your house.

If your child can’t bear to part with even the stray pieces of LEGO, make him or her this awesome LEGO lamp. I’m imagining a LEGO-themed room right now, thanks to Infarrantly Creative.

I am always looking for new and creative ways to keep my kids engaged, while using things I already have. I especially love sensory items that they can touch and it gives them a different experience than their normal one. For example, this stamping with LEGO idea is perfect for thinking outside of the box and letting them feel how it is to make a picture with something other than markers, paint or traditional stamps. Filth Wizardry is to thank for this idea.

This idea is great for little girls or even as a Mother’s Day gift from your little LEGO lover. Pysselbolaget on Google Translate shows you how to spray paint and hook your LEGO jewellery for a keepsake piece.

Kids Activities Blog has found an awesome way to use up stray LEGO and teach your kids to spell and read, by adding letters on the side of each block. Your kids can then make up their own words using the letters. It is as simple as a marker and LEGO blocks.

Your child will want to wash their hands with this cool and unique LEGO soap, made very easily by you! This also would make a great birthday party favour at a LEGO-themed party. 2 Little Superheroes shows you how to do it.

Man Made DIY show you how to make a number of very creative and unique Christmas ornaments out of LEGO. Start saving the stray pieces you have now and you’ll definitely have enough by November!

(Thanks to StartTheDay)

Just in time for Easter, Michaels has a huge Easter Sale happening right now. They also have some great printable coupons that will save you even more money on your purchases.

• Click here to print off your Michaels Canada coupons
• Click here to find your nearest Michaels location

Here is a look at the coupons you will find this week:

• Save 25% on frames, shadow boxes and more
• Save 40% on one regularly priced item
• Save 60% on two or more Modern Day Mouldings
• Save 50% on custom framing Modern Day Designs

In addition to these deals, they have all of their Easter items on sale for up to 60% off the regular prices.  This includes baskets,  spring garlands, spring foam packs, ribbons, plastic eggs and more.

If you are looking for Michaels coupons, you will find them all posted up on the Bargainmoose coupon forum.

(Expiry: 30th March 2013)

The end of a renovation is usually a glorious and triumphant occasion where you can revel in all your hard work with the satisfaction knowing that it is done. But, the end of a renovation can also mean you have lots of spare pieces left over, usually pieces of wood. If you are a chronic keeper of things you know you can get use of one day and you have stacks of 2x4s sitting in your garage, or even just one piece of spare wood, read my blog today to find out what you can do with them.

Like I’ve said before, I do not like throwing things out. I especially don’t like throwing out wood when a tree gave its life for that wood. Beyond the Picket Fence feels just as I do and there are many creative ideas for wood on this blog, like this stunning Patchwork Pallet (above). I know I say this a lot, but this is definitely the next item on my diy’er husband’s honey do list.

This idea is awesome and gets everyone involved. Interiors by Kenz (above) shows you  how to create a lawn Jenga game out of 2x4s. Wood isn’t just useful, its fun!

This would be on my hubby’s list, except he’s already done something similar and we love it. We all need more hooks, especially in the front entry way. This ingenious idea from Jenna Sue Designs (above) is very easy to put together and makes life so much simpler. Who wants to mess with hangers and closet doors anyway?

Shanty 2 Chic (above) always knows how to win my heart, and this wine rack made out of just wood, screws, bolts and glue had me at wine.

Spring is finally here and this wood decor gift from How Does She? (above) is cute and unique. Any girlfriend would love a homemade reminder of Spring made by you!

Although St. Patrick’s Day is over, this is a great time to create this 2×4 Irish decoration. I bet you can get St. Patrick’s items cheap right now, so that makes it even more perfect. Under My Umbrella (above) shows you how. Check out the other green festive items on the site while you’re there.

What can you make with leftover wood scraps? Comment below if you make any of these designs or have some great ones of your own.

For some of us, March Break is already upon us. Here in Ontario we are in full-swing and it didn’t take long for the “Mom, I’m bored” to start. I found some great ideas on Pinterest that you can do anytime, using items you already inevitably have in your pantry. You don’t have to spend a dime and you don’t have to go out!

With just baking soda and water, Growing a jewelled rose (above) teaches you how to make clean mud. Kids love mud, but we hate dirt, so this safe, non-toxic way to mimic the feel of mud is an awesome activity for sensory development and pure fun.

The Teach Preschool organization (above) uses simple leftover plastic bottles from water, juice, etc., and their lids to make an educational game of “which lid fits which bottle”. I could see this keeping kids busy for hours!

Play Create Explore (above) made homemade snowballs with just cornstarch and shaving cream. You can add food colouring to your snowballs for added interest. I just don’t suggest yellow!

Hands on as we Grow used fruit loops and glue to make this fruity rainbow for St. Patrick’s Day.

Make simple coloured rice for digging, touching, playing and just plain ol’ exploring with just rice and food colouring. Not Just Cute shows you how (above).

If your child, like mine, needs to work on fine motor skills, these salt mazes (above) are an easy and unique way to do it. Kids find writing boring and tedious, so this makes it new and fun, a great idea thanks to Teach Preschool, made with just salt and straws.

Parents.com (above) has an amazingly easy idea for backyard bowling with clear plastic bottles filled with water and food colouring. Kids will love knocking down the bottles and learning their colours.

With just cornstarch and gelatin, Hands on as we Grow (above) made this edible finger paint. This is great for toddlers and babies who want to paint, but also like to eat paint.

Do you have any great ideas for beating boredom over the holidays? Let me know if you try any of these easy and frugal ideas over your break. I just printed a few of them off and am off to get my kids started on the fruit loop rainbow.

(Image credit: Helechos Helene)