Hey!  Here are some crafty ideas...

Check out craft stores now for discounts on craft kits.  I just picked up VBS craft kits suitable for 12 children for less than $4.  I plan on inviting friends over with their kids to put these together while the mommies chat.

Check out dollar stores for scrapbooking stickers, ribbons, buttons, punches, paper, etc... I have found some tremendous deals, even bought pricey stickers in bulk for a dollar per giant pack of 12 sheets, up to five dollars per pack of 50.  I plan on swapping them with other scrapbooking friends for their excess stickers or paper!

Right now there are some really neat school items at Target Stores in their dollar section.  Great for unit studies on America.

Check out Hobby Lobby, if you have one close to you.  They are liquidating their furniture items right now.  I found a cabinet for 16 dollars today.  And it's beautiful, to boot!

Try craft stores right now and stock up on their liquidated items.  They are, believe it or not, making room for Christmas items and need the room.

Check out the floral department for big bags of petals, flowers and stems which have fallen off of the original branches.  They usually clean those bins out right now and you can buy a whole bag for a couple dollars.  They are fun for glue-ons, or to decorate purses, hair clips or flip flops (which are on sale now, too, by the way!)

Stock up on those back to school paints/glue/crayons/markers.  You'll kick yourself next January when you have to buy new ones at full price.

Do you know I do decorative painting professionally on the side for some extra cash?  Do you know what kind of paint the "pros" use?  Plain old bottles of craft paint found everywhere.  Special note... try to stay away from Apple Barrel brand as they are thin and inconsistent with their colors. Also, pay special attention to "matte" or "glossy". 

I painted butterflies on a client's kid's bathroom walls.  The painted butterflies were simple, single colored, about 1 square foot in diameter.  Just a simple butterfly shape.  Then I went to my local office supply store and bought transparent plastic folders in pastel colors and cut out 10 inch butterflies.  I folded them in half and thumb-tacked them right onto the painted butterfly on the wall.  Then I glued a big glittery gem for the head (found by the bag full at craft stores) and finished it off with painted curly antennae and curly-Q's here and there on the walls.  It was cute as a button!

When you find craft stuff cheaply, BUY IT and put it in a plastic tote box.  If you can't figure out what to do with it, I'll bet your kids will.  You see, their brains aren't cluttered with all the junk our adult brains are!  They are so much more creative than we old people are  :o)  If you find a friend who also has a bunch of crafty junk she doesn't need... maybe you could swap?