WELCOME TO FAMILY FUN FRIDAY!

Family Fun Friday is a collection of Family Friendly posts to help families connect. Whether it be through encouragement, homeschool printables, craft ideas, family activities or delicious family recipes, our goal is to promote family togetherness.  We hope you’ll stick around a while and check out some of the great ideas you see here.

There are many aspects of homemaking that I enjoy, but there are two things I find challenging and exciting….making things homemade and saving money!

I like conveniences as much as anybody…but they can be expensive.  I often wonder if people realize exactly how much they are paying for all that “convenience”.  Most of the time things can be made or done at home for pennies compared to what’s being charged at the store.  All it takes is a little “know-how”.

This week my featured bloggers will give us just that….the “know-how” to make things ourselves that we might normally purchase at the store. Check out these Make It At Home Family Fun Friday Features…  

1. Father’s Day will be here in a couple of weeks and this great Man Bouquet idea from One Creative Momma is the perfect gift for Dad.  I love the idea of using a Mason jar.  I’ve seen these at the store and thought about what a fun gift they would make, but they are NOT cheap!  Making it yourself allows you to save tons of money AND customize it with “Dad’s” favorite candies.  
2. Hello Little Home shows us how to make one of my children’s favorites…Old Bay Roasted Potatoes.  Our favorite grocery store sells these (or at least similar ones) in the deli department and we LOVE them.  But again, enough to feed our family of five can cost more than a whole bag of potatoes.  Leaving them unpeeled saves time and adds extra nutritional value.
3. A Time to Freeze shares with us how to make and FREEZE your own Refried Beans.  This is going to be great for me!  We eat A LOT of Mexican food around here, but my husband is the only one that likes Refried Beans.  So, one of two things happens…I open a whole can for him and even though he eats left overs, some always get thrown away or I don’t have any and he has to do without.  I can’t wait to make these and packages them in single servings to always have on hand.
4. Faith Filled Food For Moms has quite possibly THE biggest money saver of all….Homemade Iced Coffee!  If you’re like most people, you spend way more money on this kind of thing than you’d like to admit.  We love making Iced Coffee at home.  We can have it anytime we want, without leaving the house.  It’s a fun treat to serve guests AND even using the expensive coffee it costs only a few cents.
5. Ranch Dressing Mix is another on of those item that I don’t like to buy because of the cost.  This Simple Home shares a Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix that I can’t wait to try.  It’s the “secret” ingredient in my Taco Soup recipe and usually the one thing I don’t have on hand.  Before Fall, I will have some of this in my pantry.
6. My last pick this week isn’t really for eating but since it will save money and is made from “food” I figured it would work.  Three Generations Living Out Loud brought us this great DIY Body Sugar Scrub!  It sounds like the kind of thing you’d pay a small fortune for at a fancy spa.  Don’t get me wrong…I love a good fancy spa as much as the next pampered girl…although I’ve only ever been once…a gift.  But wouldn’t it be fun to have some of that luxury at home?  Now, if the “spa fairy” would just come over and use that on my feet, I’d be set!

Here are my awesome co-hostesses’ features: 

Carly is featuring Summer Fun

Monica is featuring great ideas for spending Quality Time with your children

With Summer vacations coming, Stephanie is featuring Fugal Travel Tips 

Time to meet the ladies behind Family Fun Friday:

Monica created Family Fun Friday and blogs at HappyandBlessedHome.com where she shares free preschool tools and printables, encouraging words for moms, and ideas for having fun together as a family. Follow: Blog /  Facebook /  Pinterest / Twitter /Google + / Bloglovin’.  Monica will feature Family Fun Posts.

Stephanie Kay is a busy homeschooling mom of 5. She blogs at Everyday Family Living where she shares practical ideas for home organization, family activities, books and education, and health & fitness. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Stephanie will feature Money Saving and Organizing Tips. 

Carly is an adoptive mama and piano teacher who blogs at Africa to America. She writes about globalism, compassion and motherhood. Follow: Facebook  /  Pinterest / Twitter.  Carly will be featuring posts on kid learning and crafting.

Danita enjoys blogging about cooking and shares yummy recipes on her blog OTasteandSee. Follow: Blog / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter /Google +. Danita will feature Delicious Recipes.

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Now on to the PARTY!