It’s been a long couple of days away from the computer, so I’m going to put a few things out there, in no special order…

It seems like every once in awhile, one of the many blogs I read does a round up of all of the current printable coupons for organic groceries and baby stuff. The latest is from Green Mom Finds. Enjoy!

I read this entire article on Depression-Era posters and modern remakes in Readymade with great interest. The posters these are inspired by are from my favorite exhibit at the Smithsonian American History Museum. As an American History major in college and a constant student of political communications, they’ve always appealed to me. The new ones are excellent, and some how I managed to miss… free to download!

Skip to My Lou rounds up more free downloads — all sorts of adorable gift tags, including some especially for for handmade gifts.

Eco Child’s Play has a bunch of links for quick, thrifty and eco-friendly Christmas crafts to do in the waning days before the holiday. I especially love the idea of Lego ornaments and will be filing that away as teacher and grandparet gift potential for next year. And as soon as we’re clearing off the mantel, I’ll be making some of the cool holiday card puzzles featured at The Crafty Crow (which has had a pile of nice Hanukkah crafts lately, too, although as you can tell by the picture from my living room, we believe any project can be a Hanukkah project around here…)

What are you making with your kids this week?

Lots of stuff, make sure to read all the way down…

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You know why I’m participating in MPM so much these days? It helps me write my shopping list at my desk at work. I just look up this post on Google Reader and I’m good to go

Sunday - Pizza night, a few days late!

Monday - Baked Potato bar

Tuesday - Queso burritos (from the Whole Foods rotisserie chicken sale, of course)

Wednesday - Tater tot casserole (with homemade cream of mushroom, so hopefully it won’t be too scary. This is the first time I’m trying this, so we’ll see how it turns out!)

Thursday - Pasta with beans and greens

Friday - Take-out. P will be at MIL’s, so we’ll put the babies to bed and enjoy a quiet dinner.

Saturday - Chicken chili

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Also on my shopping list, a FREE Happy Bites Organic Toddler Meal! PDF coupon via Attention Target Shoppers, but since we have no Super Targets in my entire state (boo!), I’ll be getting mine at Whole Foods. Note the expiration date (12/21/08) and get yours this week, too.

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I have a pile of coupons (well, three piles, actually) for Seventh Generation cleaners, diapers, paper products, and some other natural/organic household and baby misc that I will be posting tomorrow. The catch is that they expire 12/31/08, but I know someone will get some use out of them.

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Totally unrelated question: I cut up a few of my husband’s old plain white t-shirts to knit some dish scrubbers, and was pretty excited by the results and how fast I could knit them up. I made two today, while hanging out with the little boys and doing the last of the holiday packing and card writing, so I think they averaged less than an hour a piece! Does anyone know a resource for cutting the shirts more efficiently? That took me a lot of time and came out uneven (in a bad way) in a few too many places.

Still looking for some gifts? Some great green deals are out there.

Reusablebags.com has a big sale section and a new coupon code out, per Leaving Excess.

Reusuablebags is having a holiday sale, see 126 great sale items here.

They are also offering $4.95 flat rate shipping!

If your new year’s resolution is to reduce your waste, consider these great options. If you have anyone on your gift list that would enjoy these products, use the following coupon code to save 10% - EVEN ON SALE ITEMS!

Here are the details:

As special thanks to our customers & newsletter subscribers, we’ve created a coupon you can forward on to your friends & family - empowering you to share the idea of giving gifts that help people consume less. We’ve included a coupon for you, too! Coupons are good for 10% off all orders. Plus, we’re still offering $4.95 Flat Shipping and our big holiday sale (up to 50% off). So don’t wait — forward this email to your family and friends today!

Valid on all store items (including sale items!)
Type FRIEND10 at checkout to receive offer (current customers type CUST10)
Limit one use per customer

Ends Monday, Dec 15th at midnight (CST)For Shipping by Christmas, order by:-12pm CST on 12/14 for Standard Ground ($4.95 Flat - all orders)-12pm CST on
12/19 for UPS 2nd Day Air-12pm CST on 12/22 for UPS Next Day Air Saver

Ecobunga shares another great deal:

Enter coupon code holiday2008 at check out to receive 20% off on all items from Laptop Lunches, makers of reusable and recyclable bento-box style lunch containers that are free of phthalates, BPA, and lead.

How about a cheap Entertainment book for a teacher, family friend, or helpful neighbor? From Centsible Savings:

Here’s how to get your very own 2009 Entertainment book for free:

Register with Cashbaq. You’ll get $5 just for signing up. When you shop with Cashbaq you’ll get paid back either a certain percentage or a certain dollar amount of your purchase. They also offer coupon codes that you can combine with the cash back offers.

In the case of the Entertainment book, their current promotion is $10 off with free shipping. Plus, they are also offering $10 cash back after you purchase it.

Hey gothammom (my sometimes-commenting, always-IRL BFF) and you other mommas-to-be that might not find out the gender in advance… Look at the deal on this Action Baby Carrier:

$55 down from $89 on clearance, plus Cool Mom Picks just posted a coupon code for 10% off (WEARME). I think the blue and purple paisley is handsome for a boy or a girl and the price is just amazing.

The Horizon milk deal is back at Amazon! Baby Cheapskate has all the details:

18-packs of 8 oz. Horizon Organic Reduced Fat Milk (plain, chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla) boxes are $22. Save 15% percent when you use Subscribe and Save (it’s easy to cancel your subscription online after one delivery). Save an additional 20% off that with code HORZNORG. Your price will be $14.96 with free shipping. That’s .83 each. Good through the end of December.

I really, really don’t need this, but don’t my son’s dolls need a triple stroller? It’s currently about 60% off and there are 20% off coupon codes out there, too.

Grab a Dockers Organic Cotton Henley for less than $25. It’s a great gift for a hard to shop for brother or uncle.

We love Einstein’s Bagels! They have nice turkey sausage egg sandwiches. Yum! Free? Yummier!

How is it the end of November already? Let’s hope the entire winter flies by this quickly!

If you use Seventh Generation diapers or even if you like to include a pack of diapers along with baby shower gifts, you’re not going to find a better price than the Amazon deal posted at Baby Cheapskate this week. Basically, with a discount code and Subscribe & Save (which you can always cancel), you will get 1 pack free in a pack of 4. We go through less than a pack a month, but my boys are about 16 pounds so they will be in the very generous Size 3 for a long time, making a case totally worthwhile for us.

If you’re the cosmetics-wearing type, notoriously inexpensive ELF has a $5 lipstick you might want to check out.

This new mineral version has no parabens, preservatives, or chemical dyes. And at that price, even if you’re an occasional user (lots of holiday parties coming up?), it’s not too much of a splurge. (Found at Eco-Cheap and Chic)

It’s not the time of year we think of stocking up the first aid cabinet for scrapes and cuts, but Centsible Savings points out this is a great coupon for $3 off any 2 Johnson & Johnson Red Cross products. Some might be close to free with coupon!

In the market for a diaper bag? How about a really cool one made of recycled plastic bottle fabric?

It’s the Fleurville Rerun in Olive Lily, and it’s $22 at the seconds sale through tomorrow (Thursday). Other products are listed as well. Enjoy!

So what’s green about a $5 off coupon to True Value? CFLs, weather stripping to save energy, rain barrels, compost bins… It’s a long list. And according to BeCentsAble, Lowe’s and Home Depot honor competitor coupons, so you should be able to find a store near you to take advantage! Expires December 7.

Ecobunga shares some coupons for Earthbound Organics Products. You have to take a short quiz, but you will also reciece a pocket guide to buying organic produce and the first 9000 respondents will get Horizon Organics coupons as well.

‘Tis the season for lots of free (plus shipping) photo deals. Get the 8×11 book featured on Oprah from Snapfish by the end of the day today, or the free digital scrapbook from Inkubook available through Simple Mom. You can also get a free 8×10 family portrait from JC Penney.

Project Organic Eating has a nice round up of currently available manufacturer’s coupons for natural items.

Coinstar has to be one of my favorite things. You take the change that’s cluttering up your house, car, bag, whereever, toss them in, and get giftcards back to great places like Amazon, Starbucks, and iTunes. From Mommy Making Money:

Find a Coinstar in your area that does E-certificates or Gift Cards (click on “Search for Specific Products” on their locator). Your coins are counted FREE when you choose one of these options; choose a store for your holiday shopping (Amazon, Old Navy, Lowe’s, etc.). Right now they’re running a promo where you mail in your receipt for an extra $10 e-cert when you change $40. You’ll see the details at the bottom of your e-cert printout.

“Deal”icious Mom has the details on a free subscription to Plenty, a green news and lifestyle magazine.

I couldn’t hold out until Friday with all of the great stuff that’s suddenly popping up, after a slow week last week.

First, please vote! My post at BeCentsAble this week is all about how voting is green and frugal (and important!). Take advantage of those great freebies and then come back here after you’ve done your civic duty

Second, lots and lots of discount codes on green and natural items, if you are starting to think about gifts or just want to save a little money on things for yourself!

• Kate’s Caring Gifts brings you the very best natural, organic, and ecologically sustainable products that you can find anywhere, featuring natural skin care, organic and fair trade foods, natural candles, and other great gifts. Eco Child’s Play shares a code for 20% (“GREENOPTION”).
• Every weekend, Etsy blog The Storque does a post on stores that are hosting sales that weekend. Free items, free shipping, and more.
• Re-nest has a 15% off code for the eco-boutique Grasshopper 510’s new online store (”sitecelebration”) through November 7.

Is Freepeats in your city? Now open in 35 cities across the country and with more than 11,000 members, this online forum allows parents to pick up gently-used baby, kid, and maternity items for free. Freepeats is celebrating one year with Free Membership Week (thru November - you can get a free lifetime membership, but you have to join this week!

Through this Saturday, several natural beauty and skincare items are on sale at Target including Burt’s Bees, Yes To Carrots, Alba, Giovanni and Dr. Bronner’s. Yes To Carrots body butter tubs will be more than 80% off (only $1.99!) at Walgreens on Black Friday, per ads that have just been released. I’m already envisioning these in a basket with some homemade bath scrubs as a cute gift for babysitters or friends. (Thanks to Attention Target Shoppers and From Wags to Riches for the tips.)

Lastly, eco-guru Dan Seo has a bedding and linen collection at JC Penney (who knew?). Lots on sale now, including cotton and bamboo blend towels and sheet sets.

Wow, kind of makes up for that big old nothing on Friday, huh?