Preparing for Fun at Home

Don't you love those days when you just stay at home in your pajamas? It's one of the best things about summer! Some days it's great to lounge around and watch TV, but my kids tend to get grouchy after sitting in front of a screen for too long. When we are home I like to do some crafts or cooking. The only problem is, if you find a great recipe or fun art project and don't have all the supplies, you'll have to change out of those pajamas to run to the store. What a bummer! Read on to find out how to make sure your fun-at-home supplies are well stocked.

Sugar Cube Castles 2014

Crafting

• Load up on the essentials: construction paper, glue, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, googly eyes, etc. You'll love having these things handy for spontaneous craft time. If you remember to buy extra when back-to-school sales are on, you can get a pretty good price on most of these things. The dollar store carries lots of craft supplies, but most of the time, Walmart is cheaper.
• Make a list and buy specific items for projects from your Pinterest board. Some items are hard to find and you may even need to buy them online. Again, if you plan ahead, you can get better deals. I'm planning on doing bleach print shirts this year. Did you know Dollar Tree carries T-Shirts? You'll have to be on the lookout throughout the year if you want a specific size or color. 
• Buy clearance crafts. If you find a cool craft kit on sale, buy it to keep in your craft stash. There are usually holiday specific crafts on clearance after the holiday. Most of these can be easily tweaked to use year round. I bought a 90% off Halloween Tie-dye kit one year that had yellow, purple, & green dyes, along with Halloween stickers we didn't use. 

Cooking

• Load up on the essentials: all purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips. Also, keep your fridge stocked with butter and eggs. If you have these essentials, you can always make cookies or brownies without having to run to the store. 
• Make a list and buy specific items for recipes from your Pinterest board. You will love having some specialty items around for new recipes. I don't usually have marshmallows around during the school year, but they are in a few of my dessert recipes (and crafts!) so I keep them in stock for summer. Is there are great mint cookie recipe you've been wanting to try? Make sure you have mint extract in your pantry this summer.
• Buy non-food cooking essentials, too: Wooden skewers, toothpicks, cupcake liners, foil, plastic wrap, wax paper, food coloring, etc. These things also double up for crafts.