Ice Cream Money

We live in a neighborhood that is filled with young children. Yesterday, I looked in my backyard and saw four kindergarteners playing croquet together. It was a typical day here at our house. And if there is one true and constant rule of summer, it is this: nothing attracts panic in the hearts of young children like the dulcet tones of the impending ice cream man.

Have you checked out the prices of the ice cream man's offerings lately? Yikes! Talk about inflation! I try to stay proactive in my battle with this menace by stocking my freezer with cheap goodies from the grocery store. A good offense is the best defense, as they say in the sports world. But occasionally, the freezer is empty and the ice cream man is approaching.

I decided to make a special piggie bank for just such occasions!



I began with a tin and lid from some Aldi's cookies (Sam's favorite!). I used papers from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird line and wrapped it around the tin with double sided tape to secure.



Using the word window punch as a template, I drew out the size of the slot with a pen and then carefully cut away the plastic portion on the lid.


I stamped the label using a classic alpha set (SU). Now we will know that this is not money for Legos or silly bands. This is Ice Cream Money only! I am hoping that it will inspire Sam to do some odd jobs around the house in order to fill his coffers.

Our family is a biking family, and it seems that many of our trips end up at the same place: the local ice cream shop downtown! I figure our ice cream piggie bank will help on those occasions as well! Here's a photo of Alexander's on Main. It's a very quaint and old-fashioned ice cream parlor. My boys love it!



I think that these piggie banks could be used for lots of purposes...vacation money, souvenir money, a favorite charity or mission. The possibilities are endless! And the best past is that a tin was rescued from the recycling bin.

Money saving tip!

Speaking of recycling...did you know that Target stores will now deduct five cents from your total for every reusable bag that you use in their stores? I have six nice cloth bags that I'd purchased from Target on clearance a year ago, and I only use them for this purpose. (I figure I'll keep the food bags separate!)