Idea: Make your own play money out of shrink film!

This isn't the first time my kids have done this fun project, but it always manages to keep them busy for hours and the finished product gets played with too!

You remember Shrinky Dinks right? I can remember coloring My Little Ponies and having my mom pop them in the oven. It was all great fun :) Well, you can still buy plain shrink film and make hundreds of your own creations! One of my favorites is play coins. Here is a quick tutorial on how we make them:

1: Trace around a cup onto shrink film (we used about a 3" in diameter cup).



2: Let the kids go crazy designing their own money inside of the circles! We have found that permanent markers (like Sharpies) and colored pencils work best. Washable markers will...wash off of your project!


3: Cut out the circles.


4: Bake as directed on the package. (It takes about 4 minutes)

5: Taaa Daaa! Play money!

Thinking Spring!

Well, as my pact to myself, I've decided to blog at least once a week. This week I'm going to let you know about a few things that are in progress!

Plans for Easter: I'm going to launch a couple of new products for Easter this year. They will be available as a kit, e-book and as finished products. Curious?....okay I'll share a couple: bags of jelly beans, candy bars, bunny cookies and at least one other product. I will finalize my decisions and finish the details by the end of next week! So please check out our facebook page or this blog during the next week.

Reclaimed Basket Campaign: I have thought about offering Easter baskets here at Lilly Bean, but so many baskets get donated to thrift and second hand stores that I hate to add to the mass consumption and waste that goes along with that. That's why I've decided to do something a bit different. Starting next week you can get a reclaimed basket for FREE if you make a purchase of $20 or more! All you have to do is check the Free Reclaimed Basket box during the checkout process. Help us re-home these like-new baskets and save a little money in the process! There will be more information coming this week about the exact details before we launch this campaign!

A Very Fuzzy E-book: Yes! We will be releasing an e-book that includes all 3 of our Fuzzy Foods sets. This big e-book will be released very soon so please check back this week!

Also, don't forget to use coupon code: WELCOME to take $5 off of your order :)

Fun Things to do with Play Food!

If you are a fan of Lilly Bean, you probably already know how fun play food is! I thought that I would post 5 ways that I have fun with my kids while playing with play food:

1. Color Sorting - This is great for toddlers! Grab a few baskets and bowls and sort all of your play food into color categories.

2. Food Groups - Hmmm...does the tomato go in the fruit or veggie pile?

3. Restaurant- Try spicing it up a bit by helping your child make their own menu. Cut out pictures in magazines or draw them. Then take turns being the waitress and the customer! Hint: you can secretly get a manners lesson in here ;)

4. Shopping - If you don't have a cash register, make a money box out of an old shoe box. You don't need fancy fake money. Have your child design their own psuedo-legal tender. Maybe print out some pictures to use on those dollar bills.

5. Food toss - Ok...we wouldn't recommend this with wooden or plastic food, but Lilly Bean play food is great for tossing. Set up a laundry basket and have at it!

More fun play time ideas to come!

Announcing our new Newsletter!

Want the inside scoop here at Lilly Bean? Well, you should sign up for our brand new newsletter! We will be sending one newsletter each month via email full of fun information like tips and tricks, coupon codes, free tutorials, the latest news from Lilly Bean and fun play time activities for your family! As always, your information is safe at Lilly Bean. We do not share information with third parties and we will NOT load up your email inbox with tons of advertisements. So sign up today! You will find the sign up located on our home page in the lower left hand corner. Our first newsletter will go out March 1st. Thanks so much for supporting Lilly Bean!

Grand Opening of our new website!

Wheeew! It's been a while since I've updated our blog! We have been working hard over here, getting ready for the launch of our new website! We hope you will come on over and check it out :) We have a lot of new features including newsletters, new coupon codes, order tracking, and gift certificates! Enjoy the new organization of our user friendly shopping experience. It's easy to find exactly what you are looking for! Should we make it a little sweeter? How about 2 different coupon codes for you to try out! Coupon code: WELCOME will give you $5 off of your order of $10 or more. Coupon code: WELCOME10 will give you 10% off of your order. Pick whichever one works best for you. Thank you for being a Lilly Bean customer and let us know what you think of the new changes!