Deal of the day: bumGenius and Flip Diapers

Cottonbabies.com has some seconds up for sale today. Run fast because these never last long. Newborns are priced at $7.50 (read my review here) and Elementals are $17. I strongly recommend that you try either of these because even if they don't work out, you can re-sell them for about the same price that you paid. I also spotted some Flip covers on sale as well as an Econobum cover for less than $5. Economy shipping is free! I have used their diapers that are marked as "seconds" and I have never been able to tell a difference, sometimes it just means that they are dirty (so wash them first, which you should do anyway!)

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DIY: How to make a Valentine's Day wreath

I saw this post on Pinterest about how to make a Valentine's day wreath. Now I will warn you that I didn't follow the tutorial, just kind of winged it, but I will give you the original site just at the end of the post, in case you are a rules following kind of person. :)

Materials needed:

Foam wreath form (OR.. do what I did, use pipe insulation. It costs $3 for 4, vs. $4 for 1)
Yarn 
Felt pieces ($.23 at Walmart, you will need 2-3)
Ribbon


How to make it:

Wrap wreath form or pipe insulation in yarn. If you are using the pipe insulation it is easier to wrap before you make it into a circle. Pipe insulation can be found at Wal-Mart in the area where are all weatherizing stuff is, or you should be able to find single pieces at Home Depot or Lowes. I have three extras, so I plan to make wreaths for Easter, Halloween, and Christmas too. Now, cut the hearts out of the felt pieces. I didn't use a pattern. I used a little bit of mod podge to help the felt stick to the yarn. A word of advice.. if you have a hot glue gun, use it. :) I used duct tape and mod podge in several places where it would have been better to use a hot glue gun, I need to buy one. Use some of the leftover yarn to make kind of an argyle shape over the hearts. Secure the end pieces with a hot glue gun (or tie them down.) Hang with a ribbon and you are done! I should have made a prettier bow, but I was feeling pretty sick by the time I was finished.

This would be a really good craft for kids too, especially older kids! My total cost was around $10, but I had to buy the yarn (and the only grey yarn they had was HUGE) and felt pieces. If you have felt scraps or yarn laying around your house, it would be very inexpensive. I hope you enjoy making this!



 

This is the link to the post that was on Pinterest.

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Bumstoppers One-Size Cloth Diaper Review

Two of my custom size large all-in-two's from Bumstoppers

Tuesdays are all about cloth diapers! Everyone who has been on this blog before knows that I love cloth diapers. I will be writing reviews or giving some of my own tips and tricks every Tuesday.  I am excited to kick-off Cloth Diaper Tuesday (wow, we need a better name) with a review of my FAVORITE diaper!

I met Becky, the genius behind Bumstoppers, when I was pregnant with Mikaela. She was pregnant with her current youngest at the same time. I wanted to try Bumstoppers diapers for a long time, and I am glad that I finally did. I thought they were a little bit pricey, but I discovered they had a very good reason! I have been using Bumstoppers for a few months now and they are my absolute favorite diapers. Why? Because they are the best!!

There are many different Bumstoppers products, but she typically stocks hybrid fitted one-size and newborn diapers. I have a few different Bumstoppers products, including one size hybrid fitteds, one size AI2s, large hybird fitteds, and large AI2s. I also have some newborns on the way, but I can't tell you much about those, YET. ;)

Bumstoppers diapers have the best fabric options. You could probably spend hours drooling over it (if you are a fabric-drooling kind of person, as I am.) You might have to snag a custom spot to get your favorite print, but they are well worth it. Several of my diapers were customs, including those pictured at the top. (Picture is courtesy of Bumstoppers, my diapers are scattered all over the house at the moment.)

Cloth diapering is a great way to save money, but the upfront cost of diapers are always expensive. Bumstoppers diapers start around $21.95 for sized, $23.95 for one size and $13.95 for newborns. Some of the diapers might cost more due to a more expensive fabric. This is pretty average pricing for quality work-at-home-mom diapers. Yes, they are more expensive than cheap China diapers, but they are better. You are also supporting a made in the USA product, and a mom! It's really a win-win. On top of that, these diapers last a lot longer and honestly just work a lot better.

What is a hybrid fitted? Fitted diapers require covers. Hybrid fitted diapers have a hidden layer of fleece which offers more protection. I typically do not use a cover on Miki when she is running around the house. I will use a PUL cover or wool longies when she takes a nap, otherwise I have found that a hybrid fitted works just as well as any diaper with PUL. I have used several other brands of fitted diapers and I can honestly say that none of them match up to the quality of Bumstoppers, even some of the more trendy and expensive brands.

I prefer the hybrid fitted over the all-in-two, just for the "squishy" factor, but I have a pretty even amount of each kind. I should also mention that Bumstoppers has an "Affordabum" line, with some less expensive diapers. I haven't used any of these myself, but I have heard good things about them! One last thing that I LOVE about Bumstoppers one-size diapers are the crazy size range. I have seen pictures of a one-size diaper on babies as young as a few weeks. Most one-size diapers gape at the legs with smaller babies. The design of the one-size diaper really allows for growing room too. I put Kainan in one of Miki's diapers (for measuring purposes, he is potty trained) and at forty five pounds they actually almost fit! They were just a tad snug in the front, his butt was completely covered. I would say that they easily would fit most children until 40 pounds.

If you are looking for high quality adorable diapers, Bumstoppers are the way to go. I would give Bumstoppers diapers a 10/10 for their high quality, cute prints, and excellent fit. You should definitely try one! Want to buy one? Go here! I will post some "action shots" of Miki in her Bumstoppers diapers very soon, she is at Nana's house today!


 

 Note: This is my personal opinion about my use with these diapers, I have not been compensated by Bumstoppers in any way! I bought these diapers at full price (or on sale, you know me) without anyone having the knowledge that I would be doing a review!

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New Youtube video!

I have a new video on youtube. It's a little long but it's a general look at different types of cloth diapers. I talk a little bit about AIOs, AI2s, pockets, fitteds, prefolds and covers. This would be a great video to send along to someone who is totally new to cloth diapering, but interested in what is out there! Comment on this post, or on the video, and let us know what YOUR favorite kind of cloth diaper is!


Please excuse all of my rambling. I am not used to making videos :)

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Meal Planning Monday

Meal planning is great for anyone with a busy schedule, a tight budget, or a picky family. If you plan your meals ahead of time, then you won't be stuck at 5:00 staring in the refrigerator/freezer/pantry, trying to throw something together and "hope" that your family will eat it. Don't get me wrong, I've been there, done that (some of my concoctions even turned into favorites), but it's frustrating and stressful, so I like to avoid it. If you know ahead of time what you are making for dinner each day, you know what you need to buy at the store (you can even base your meal plan around this week's sales), you know what you need to take out of the freezer the night before, and you know exactly how long dinner will take to make. It is so much easier! Once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder why you never did it before.

So, here is my meal plan for this week...

Monday: Crockpot Chicken
Tuesday: Sloppy Joe's
Wednesday: Chicken Shepherd's Pie
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Beef Stroganoff
Saturday: Turkey Burgers
Sunday: Leftovers

If you want the recipes or to see pictures of any of the meals I'm making, please let me know in the comments. Also, if you have any new recipes you'd like me to try, please send me a link, and I'll try my best. Happy Monday!

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New Year, New "Naturally Thrifty Moms"

As you can see, we've totally redone the site for the new year. We wanted something that was a little more user friendly, and appealing to our awesome followers!

As for the site, we have a lot of great ideas for the year to come, and we hope you enjoy reading, viewing and commenting on it all. We will be posting some new topics on a weekly basis.

Meal Planning Mondays - We will be posting weekly menus and tips on meal planning to save you money, time, and frustration. Every Monday morning, Meagan's weekly menu will be up on the site.

Cloth Diapering Tuesdays - We will be posting everything and anything related to cloth diapers. We know you love your cloth, so look forward to reading reviews and tips, and watching videos all about cloth diapering.

Wednesday Deal of the Day - We will be posting awesome deals that we find throughout the week.

Toss Up Thursday - This is toss up day. You might see something related to fitness, saving money, DIY home projects, parenting, product reviews, or anything else.

Photo Friday - This could consist of photography tutorials, tips on taking good pictures, or just random cute pictures!

Cleaning Saturday - We are going to focus on cleaning one area of the house. If you keep up with this every week, along with us, your house will be spotless in no time.

Organizing Sunday - After we clean up an area of our house, we'll work on organizing; because if you clean and have no form of organization, then your house will not stay pretty!

Hopefully, between our daily and weekly posts, everyone will find something useful and relevant to them. If there is anything that you'd like to see that we don't already have, or something that you'd like to see more of, feel free to let us know!

We hope you all enjoy the new Naturally Thrifty Moms!! :-)

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