I've been a stay at home mom for almost 6 years, but for the first time, I'm thinking about opening an Etsy shop. My husband lost his job this summer, but, honestly, it isn't related to that timing that made me think of this opportunity. We are fairly hopeful he'll have a job soon. More, it had to do with life--many of my friends are starting to do little part time work at home or in the job world, and my oldest just started Kindergarten. Next year my youngest will be in preschool, and I will actually have time alone when there are no kids at home!
As you can tell from my blog name, I love parties and creativity. I love to bake and cook, I love decorating, I love writing, I love art and drawing, and these can all form a nice marriage when you are planning a theme party. My favorite part of party planning is picking a theme and weaving it across the party into decorations, games, food, etc. I started liking party decoration businesses on Facebook pages, and I came to realize I really enjoyed all the creativity and it was something I would do well. I'm not a printable party person--I want texture on my decorations and handmade details that make it look unique and special. In addition, I want my designs to be cute, but modern and contemporary.
I am thinking about just starting with basics--having a few themes for parties and selling some main handmade decorations--banners in the theme, a birthday hat in the theme for the guest of honor, cupcake picks, cupcake sleeves, goodie bag tags, table banners, etc. I might also make custom order vertical photo banners made to the desired theme--these add such personality and big impact to a party.
Of course, it isn't as easy as just starting the business. I am researching graphics for the shop, looking up places to print business cards, figuring out shipping costs/methods, thinking of cute packaging, buying a Silhouette for die cuts and easy letter graphics (the new Silhouettes aren't available until October), etc. I'm hoping to get this going by the end of October.
It's a little scary too.
Am I ready to face failure or the demand of the shop if it succeeds? I won't know unless I try. I'm praying about it, planning, and getting excited.
I'll keep you all updated as the shop progresses and when it will open.
If you have ever considered an Etsy business shop, share your thoughts! Here is a quick, easy read to get you started on planning: http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/the-quick-start-guide-to-selling-on-etsy/.
I apologize that I haven't posted as many crafts lately. Between ministry planning, family needs, shop planning and school starting, life hasn't allowed as much time for crafting random things. I am looking forward to a December wedding for my sister in law and the fall holidays coming, and I can't wait to share these things with you too! I have a lot of joy in my heart concerning the things to come!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday Favorites: 9-9-11
Happy Friday, everyone! Our week was great but a bit crazy--school started for my little kindergartener, my sister in law got engaged, we lost our electricity for a few hours along with the rest of southern California, and we are gearing up for our marriage ministry at church to start up again next week after a summer off from weekly meetings. September is always chalk full of fun!
Enjoy some of the fun ideas and recipes I came across this week! Have a great, creative and fruitful week, everyone!
The Do It Yourself Divas gave us a recipe for homemade Mod Podge. This stuff is really pricey at the craft stores, so this is a great idea!
The Modest Maven made the cutest boy bibs. These look so easy! You can buy the premade bibs and decorate with a little tie and collar (I use heat transfer fabric since I don't sew a lot). What a cute idea for those baby boys!
![[IMG_3717.JPG]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzKotlb1_f09QmEAe-9pGR67g-FL4VIUkQIPwRaB0qpH-QfDjgIYq4PGX9ErYlTTG_0M0jpIsYx715aqUtD0Va7YQJuSC1tJemIs8XeqGgizNj8ZbDUreLY1D2Q0afizX4GxqcdxImJSm/s400/IMG_3717.JPG)
Makes and Takes made a wipe off/write on board from a simple frame and scrapbook paper. This is a really affordable and useful idea! Get an old frame with gladd, add any paper that coordinates with your decor, get an Expo marker, and you are ready to go!
Style Me Pretty used this cute idea for a wedding, but this would be great at a brunch or dessert get together. Put coffee in cute cups and then add a long stir stick with a donut hole skewered to the top. I love food styling ideas like this--so fun!
Do you have a love for hanging decorations? I do! Whenever I see paper lantern decorations, I am a happy girl. They can be traditionally grouped together on a patio or ceiling, but sometimes a fun idea comes along that is entirely outside the box. This wedding in Laguna Beach was featured on theknot.com, and I loved the colors!
I had to share this idea from Share and Remember because my son talks about paint toast all the time. He did this in preschool, and I had no idea what he was saying. I thought maybe they put butter on the toast and called it "painting." Now I know what he was saying--he is super excited to do this at home too!
Speaking of toast, I thought I'd go with a breakfast theme for recipes this week. I love breakfast and brunches. These recipes look delicious, so be ready to click and save them to your computer!
The Domestic Momma and Village Cook took mini muffin tins and made hashbrown baskets with eggs, cheese and bacon. This is serious breakfast deliciousness!
Gimme Some Oven made a twist on this "Idaho Sunrise" breakfast dish too. This includes baked potato shells filled with baked eggs and bacon. What a great idea!
Macheesmo made a spin on the Egg Mc Muffin. You could send your little one off to school with lots of protein and a full tummy with this fun breakfast.
The Gourmet Traveller shared delectable bacon hashbrowns. The picture sells it!
Of course, what recipe list would be complete without the Pioneer Woman. I love her. This recipe for Monkey Bread is SO simple and involves NO mixing. Seriously, if you don't cook, you can impress your friends with these. My boys would obey me all day if I made these--after the sugar high wore off.
Enjoy some of the fun ideas and recipes I came across this week! Have a great, creative and fruitful week, everyone!
The Do It Yourself Divas gave us a recipe for homemade Mod Podge. This stuff is really pricey at the craft stores, so this is a great idea!
The Modest Maven made the cutest boy bibs. These look so easy! You can buy the premade bibs and decorate with a little tie and collar (I use heat transfer fabric since I don't sew a lot). What a cute idea for those baby boys!
Makes and Takes made a wipe off/write on board from a simple frame and scrapbook paper. This is a really affordable and useful idea! Get an old frame with gladd, add any paper that coordinates with your decor, get an Expo marker, and you are ready to go!
Style Me Pretty used this cute idea for a wedding, but this would be great at a brunch or dessert get together. Put coffee in cute cups and then add a long stir stick with a donut hole skewered to the top. I love food styling ideas like this--so fun!
Do you have a love for hanging decorations? I do! Whenever I see paper lantern decorations, I am a happy girl. They can be traditionally grouped together on a patio or ceiling, but sometimes a fun idea comes along that is entirely outside the box. This wedding in Laguna Beach was featured on theknot.com, and I loved the colors!
I had to share this idea from Share and Remember because my son talks about paint toast all the time. He did this in preschool, and I had no idea what he was saying. I thought maybe they put butter on the toast and called it "painting." Now I know what he was saying--he is super excited to do this at home too!
Speaking of toast, I thought I'd go with a breakfast theme for recipes this week. I love breakfast and brunches. These recipes look delicious, so be ready to click and save them to your computer!
The Domestic Momma and Village Cook took mini muffin tins and made hashbrown baskets with eggs, cheese and bacon. This is serious breakfast deliciousness!
Gimme Some Oven made a twist on this "Idaho Sunrise" breakfast dish too. This includes baked potato shells filled with baked eggs and bacon. What a great idea!
Macheesmo made a spin on the Egg Mc Muffin. You could send your little one off to school with lots of protein and a full tummy with this fun breakfast.
The Gourmet Traveller shared delectable bacon hashbrowns. The picture sells it!
Of course, what recipe list would be complete without the Pioneer Woman. I love her. This recipe for Monkey Bread is SO simple and involves NO mixing. Seriously, if you don't cook, you can impress your friends with these. My boys would obey me all day if I made these--after the sugar high wore off.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
First Day of Kindergarten
His sweet teacher--this picture shows the nerves he was feeling.
Little brother wanted to wear his backpack this morning too.
Such a big boy!
Micah was a little jealous this morning. He wanted his picture taken too.
And so it begins . . .
We are praying for a great year and some great, godly friends for Carter. He is going to LOVE kindergarten.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday Favorites: September 2nd, 2011
September has officially started, so I can break out some fall ideas. (I know fall isn't official until the last week of September, but that is okay). I am accumulating and saving all the cute pumpkin, fall ideas for a week or two more, but, since school is starting, let's talk about apples!
When I taught, apples were the theme of my room for September. We did a fall sensory poem, apple stamping (see an example of apple stamping here), hanging apple core art listing adjectives describing apples (see similar apple art with expository apple paragraphs here), and apple math and estimation. If you homeschool or want to do some fun activities at home, these are all really easy ideas.
Here is the idea of the sensory poem/language activity (uses similes). You can use this poem for any topic and it can be scaffolded for different levels and developmental stages:
Apples
Apples sound like _______ (example: crunching leaves or my brother munching)
Apples smell like __________ (examples: cinnamon and sugar or grandma's pie)
Apples taste like ___________ (examples: fresh applesauce or Thanksgiving or sweet)
Apples look like ______________ (examples: My teacher's desk, a beautiful orchard, a shiny, red ruby)
Apples feel like ______________ (examples: smooth skin or a ball)
Apples
To stamp with apples, cut the apples into any shape (even just in half) and use tempura paint to "stamp" on art paper with the apples.
Make applesauce together and have your kids help you with measurement math. Talk about solids (apple)and liquids (sauce) and gas (steam) to bring in science. You can talk about taste buds, botany (apple trees), etc. Estimate the number of seeds your child will find in the apple before you cut it open. Chart which type of apple each person likes best. Read the story of Johnny Appleseed and study American folklore and history. Thematic teaching ideas are open to almost anything. Have fun!
Here are some great APPLE ideas I found while browsing the blog world this week! Enjoy!
Cute Food for Kids had a fun way to give your kiddos an apple snack. A pretzel stick would be a really cute addition as the umbrella handle.
Apples can be creative party decorations for a fall baby/wedding shower.
Snippet and Ink shared a school themed wedding where the apples were made into garlands. So clever!
I wish I knew where this cute idea originated, but the Pinterest link flips to the sign in for Google each time. If you happen to know, please leave the info for all of us in the comments. I love the easy idea of apple vases as centerpieces or at each place setting.
Project Wedding shared beautiful photos of apples being used as place cards. This could be used in a farm themed birthday party, a fall inspired celebration shower, or a fall wedding. Gorgeous!
Matthew Mead Style made beautiful apple tea light candles. This is so easy and so beautiful. I am guessing the apple scent is wonderful too.
Then, of course, there are the wonderful recipes that come with autumn's apple crop.
Gimme Some Oven has a ton of apple recipes in the archives, but I especially loved this simple idea of serving hot apple cider in apple "cups." What a fun spin for dessert time at a fall dinner party.
If you need a cider recipe to fill those apple mugs, what about caramel apple cider? Yum! Our Best Bites is a GREAT creative site that shared a recipe for this.
Atlantis Home made brie, apple and arugula quesadillas. Doesn't that sound fancy? It sounds like a really delicious appetizer too!
Eat, Live, Run shared a beautiful apple braid recipe. Honestly, when it is broken down in steps, it doesn't look hard to make at all. Wouldn't this be a fun treat to bake with the kiddos on a cold, crisp autumn day?
Leave it up to Williams Sonoma to come up with apple "sandwiches." Filled with peanut butter, raisins and granola, these apple snacks are healthy and protein packed!
Snack Girl shared an easy recipe for cinnamon, sugar dried apple crisps.
Smitten Kitchen takes apples into breakfast with fluffy apple pancakes. This would be gobbled up in a second in my house!
Almost Bourdain made apple beignets. You get to decide if these are breakfast or dessert.
Finally, the Kitchn.com gives us a whole post of apple recipes: caramel apples; tuna, arugula and apple sandwiches; oven baked apple donuts; apple sauce, apple and potato fritters with sour cream and herb dipping sauce; and chocolate cake with apples and hazelnuts.
Happy fall soon, everyone! Doesn't it look beautiful and delicious?
When I taught, apples were the theme of my room for September. We did a fall sensory poem, apple stamping (see an example of apple stamping here), hanging apple core art listing adjectives describing apples (see similar apple art with expository apple paragraphs here), and apple math and estimation. If you homeschool or want to do some fun activities at home, these are all really easy ideas.
Here is the idea of the sensory poem/language activity (uses similes). You can use this poem for any topic and it can be scaffolded for different levels and developmental stages:
Apples
Apples sound like _______ (example: crunching leaves or my brother munching)
Apples smell like __________ (examples: cinnamon and sugar or grandma's pie)
Apples taste like ___________ (examples: fresh applesauce or Thanksgiving or sweet)
Apples look like ______________ (examples: My teacher's desk, a beautiful orchard, a shiny, red ruby)
Apples feel like ______________ (examples: smooth skin or a ball)
Apples
To stamp with apples, cut the apples into any shape (even just in half) and use tempura paint to "stamp" on art paper with the apples.
Make applesauce together and have your kids help you with measurement math. Talk about solids (apple)and liquids (sauce) and gas (steam) to bring in science. You can talk about taste buds, botany (apple trees), etc. Estimate the number of seeds your child will find in the apple before you cut it open. Chart which type of apple each person likes best. Read the story of Johnny Appleseed and study American folklore and history. Thematic teaching ideas are open to almost anything. Have fun!
Here are some great APPLE ideas I found while browsing the blog world this week! Enjoy!
Cute Food for Kids had a fun way to give your kiddos an apple snack. A pretzel stick would be a really cute addition as the umbrella handle.
Apples can be creative party decorations for a fall baby/wedding shower.
Snippet and Ink shared a school themed wedding where the apples were made into garlands. So clever!
I wish I knew where this cute idea originated, but the Pinterest link flips to the sign in for Google each time. If you happen to know, please leave the info for all of us in the comments. I love the easy idea of apple vases as centerpieces or at each place setting.
Project Wedding shared beautiful photos of apples being used as place cards. This could be used in a farm themed birthday party, a fall inspired celebration shower, or a fall wedding. Gorgeous!
Matthew Mead Style made beautiful apple tea light candles. This is so easy and so beautiful. I am guessing the apple scent is wonderful too.
Then, of course, there are the wonderful recipes that come with autumn's apple crop.
Gimme Some Oven has a ton of apple recipes in the archives, but I especially loved this simple idea of serving hot apple cider in apple "cups." What a fun spin for dessert time at a fall dinner party.
If you need a cider recipe to fill those apple mugs, what about caramel apple cider? Yum! Our Best Bites is a GREAT creative site that shared a recipe for this.
Atlantis Home made brie, apple and arugula quesadillas. Doesn't that sound fancy? It sounds like a really delicious appetizer too!
Eat, Live, Run shared a beautiful apple braid recipe. Honestly, when it is broken down in steps, it doesn't look hard to make at all. Wouldn't this be a fun treat to bake with the kiddos on a cold, crisp autumn day?
Leave it up to Williams Sonoma to come up with apple "sandwiches." Filled with peanut butter, raisins and granola, these apple snacks are healthy and protein packed!
Snack Girl shared an easy recipe for cinnamon, sugar dried apple crisps.
Smitten Kitchen takes apples into breakfast with fluffy apple pancakes. This would be gobbled up in a second in my house!
Almost Bourdain made apple beignets. You get to decide if these are breakfast or dessert.
Finally, the Kitchn.com gives us a whole post of apple recipes: caramel apples; tuna, arugula and apple sandwiches; oven baked apple donuts; apple sauce, apple and potato fritters with sour cream and herb dipping sauce; and chocolate cake with apples and hazelnuts.
Happy fall soon, everyone! Doesn't it look beautiful and delicious?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Women in the Word Wednesday: Friendship: August 31, 2011
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24
When my husband and I got married, we did premarital counseling at church. The pastor quickly exposed the fact that my extrovert husband gains energy and joy from social gatherings. I, on the other hand, am an introvert, and I reenergize and refuel from alone time. Not only did I have to recognize this in marriage, but I have realized I had taken this fact too far in friendships.
I grew up taking friendships for granted and really not understanding the benefit of the ladies God placed in my life. I wasn't saved, and I used friendships for my benefit. If it took too much work, I wasn't interested in maintaining the relationship. To be honest, I was popular in worldly terms in high school and college, but I kept people at arm's length. I liked to have many friends on a surface level, especially as I grew older and got busier. I always protected that alone time that I craved and idolized.
When I became a Christian at 21, I started to realize my sinfulness in friendships. I was selfish and me oriented. I didn't invest in others as I should and was alone too much. It was and continues to be a growing process, but I have realized, especially as a stay at home mom, the need for Christian women to invest in the lives of some good, close, godly friends.
I have made huge gains in this area these past couple of years. It took a friend calling me up last year and point blank telling me that I was a little intimidating to approach, but that she really wanted to be a friend with me on a deeper level. I had been told multiple times I seemed aloof, intimidating, or even "snobby", and though I liked to think people had misinterpreted my natural tendency to be an introvert, I knew that wasn't entirely the reason. I resolved to correct my sinful attitude regarding my friendships and to invest in some close, godly women. When there was a season that they needed more of me than I was getting in return, that would be okay. When they needed to chat at an inconvenient hour once in awhile, that would be okay. I would be mindful of how I could invest in and minister to them as sisters in Christ and friends.
The result has been a richer, deeper relationship than I thought I could have with other ladies. The joy I feel at seeing these ladies, praying for them, sharing struggles with them and being accountable to them is amazing. Recently, I told some friends of my desire to have a core group of Christian women to know better and to meet with regularly. Every single woman responded with relief that I said it first and that she wanted the same thing. So many Christian ladies are lonely and worn out, needing encouragement and friends.
We live in a society that teaches us to be strong, to compete with other women, and to act like we have it all together (if you let your guard down, you'll be hurt). How refreshing to know that God wants us to give of ourselves and love other women with Christ's love. He wants us to be real, confess our sin to one another and to have godly examples who will admonish and encourage us. Yes, there will be times when they disappoint me, hurt my feelings or sin against me; but I know I will sadly do this too. A deep, godly friendship will repent, reconcile and move forward in forgiveness--becoming stronger as we grow in the likeness of Christ together.
I know not every woman struggles with this. Some people need to actually spend LESS time investing in friendships and more time prioritizing God, husband and kids. If you are like me, though, I urge you to step out of your selfish comfort zone and identify some women whom you would like to know better. Get on the phone, schedule some talks with them and start investing in them. God will bless you as you consider others better than yourself!
Ask yourself:
Do you make time to invest in friendship with other godly women?
Do you have friends with whom you are real but who spur you on in godliness?
Do you have women in your life who you are discipling and women in your life who mentor you?
Do you pray for friends--real, invested prayers (the kind where you rejoice when they do and mourn with them in grief)?
Proverbs 18:24
When my husband and I got married, we did premarital counseling at church. The pastor quickly exposed the fact that my extrovert husband gains energy and joy from social gatherings. I, on the other hand, am an introvert, and I reenergize and refuel from alone time. Not only did I have to recognize this in marriage, but I have realized I had taken this fact too far in friendships.
I grew up taking friendships for granted and really not understanding the benefit of the ladies God placed in my life. I wasn't saved, and I used friendships for my benefit. If it took too much work, I wasn't interested in maintaining the relationship. To be honest, I was popular in worldly terms in high school and college, but I kept people at arm's length. I liked to have many friends on a surface level, especially as I grew older and got busier. I always protected that alone time that I craved and idolized.
When I became a Christian at 21, I started to realize my sinfulness in friendships. I was selfish and me oriented. I didn't invest in others as I should and was alone too much. It was and continues to be a growing process, but I have realized, especially as a stay at home mom, the need for Christian women to invest in the lives of some good, close, godly friends.
I have made huge gains in this area these past couple of years. It took a friend calling me up last year and point blank telling me that I was a little intimidating to approach, but that she really wanted to be a friend with me on a deeper level. I had been told multiple times I seemed aloof, intimidating, or even "snobby", and though I liked to think people had misinterpreted my natural tendency to be an introvert, I knew that wasn't entirely the reason. I resolved to correct my sinful attitude regarding my friendships and to invest in some close, godly women. When there was a season that they needed more of me than I was getting in return, that would be okay. When they needed to chat at an inconvenient hour once in awhile, that would be okay. I would be mindful of how I could invest in and minister to them as sisters in Christ and friends.
The result has been a richer, deeper relationship than I thought I could have with other ladies. The joy I feel at seeing these ladies, praying for them, sharing struggles with them and being accountable to them is amazing. Recently, I told some friends of my desire to have a core group of Christian women to know better and to meet with regularly. Every single woman responded with relief that I said it first and that she wanted the same thing. So many Christian ladies are lonely and worn out, needing encouragement and friends.
We live in a society that teaches us to be strong, to compete with other women, and to act like we have it all together (if you let your guard down, you'll be hurt). How refreshing to know that God wants us to give of ourselves and love other women with Christ's love. He wants us to be real, confess our sin to one another and to have godly examples who will admonish and encourage us. Yes, there will be times when they disappoint me, hurt my feelings or sin against me; but I know I will sadly do this too. A deep, godly friendship will repent, reconcile and move forward in forgiveness--becoming stronger as we grow in the likeness of Christ together.
I know not every woman struggles with this. Some people need to actually spend LESS time investing in friendships and more time prioritizing God, husband and kids. If you are like me, though, I urge you to step out of your selfish comfort zone and identify some women whom you would like to know better. Get on the phone, schedule some talks with them and start investing in them. God will bless you as you consider others better than yourself!
Ask yourself:
Do you make time to invest in friendship with other godly women?
Do you have friends with whom you are real but who spur you on in godliness?
Do you have women in your life who you are discipling and women in your life who mentor you?
Do you pray for friends--real, invested prayers (the kind where you rejoice when they do and mourn with them in grief)?
Table Talk from In Between Laundry
My friend Erin is the creative genius over at In Between Laundry. She has such great ideas, recipes and crafts!
Like me, she has an English major background, so it was great to hear she is using her skills as a creative mom and skilled writer to publish her first e-book!
Erin has just published Table Talk. It is available on her blog for only five dollars. It has 52 creative dinner table conversations to have as a family. The discussions foster manners, language development, creative problem solving, math, and even serving others.
Click on this link and go check out all the details. Ordering is easy, and we plan to have a GREAT year of family discussion at our dinner table!
Like me, she has an English major background, so it was great to hear she is using her skills as a creative mom and skilled writer to publish her first e-book!
Erin has just published Table Talk. It is available on her blog for only five dollars. It has 52 creative dinner table conversations to have as a family. The discussions foster manners, language development, creative problem solving, math, and even serving others.
Click on this link and go check out all the details. Ordering is easy, and we plan to have a GREAT year of family discussion at our dinner table!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday Favorites: August 26, 2011
After all our brown boot talk last week, I went out an got a cute pair from Cathy Jean for 60 dollars. They are having 25 and 50% off sales right now at Cathy Jean, so the boots are a really great price! Did anyone else find any brown boot deals?
This week, I found really fun ideas--as always. I am so thankful for computers and blogs. I just feed my creativity through everyone else's amazing ideas--I could never come up with this on my own!
Enjoy!
Brown Paper Packages came up with a cute first day of school teacher gift. I think every teacher deserves a little chocolate on the first day of school--after weeks of meetings, setting up their classroom and prepping for the year. This is an easy and delicious idea.
Oops! I Craft my Pants (I don't come up with the names, people) made another cheap and creative teacher gift. Find a pretty and nicely scented lotion and attach this tag to it!
Kid's With a Vision (KWAV's) shared a blessing bag idea. It is a great idea to make some of these with your kids, especially now that fall is coming up and a lot of us make "thankful" leaves or trees with our families. Basically, these bags are necessity kits that you can keep in your car to give to needy or homeless.
Epsom salt looks like glitter snow. It is a great decorating tool for the holidays. The Inspired Room shared how she uses candles and epsom salt to make snowy and expensive-looking holiday candles. Beautiful!
School is starting for many older siblings, but what educational centers and games can we play with those still at home? Growing in Pre-K has some creative and fun math center ideas. Many of these activities can be done independently and then you can check in to check accuracy when it is warranted.
Helping Little Hands gives us a fun AND educational game for those really little ones, especially those boys! Create a color practice "parking lot" on fabric. My boys love anything with cars, and this activity can be adapted and scaffolded to include math, graphing, patterns, etc. Be creative with it!
For fall fashion, let's look at cuffs/bracelets/bangles. These are fun jewelry pieces, and they flatter almost any arm. Do you have a cuff /chunky bracelet/set of bangles for fall yet?
style.com
shebreathes.com
shopbop.com
shopruche.com
Forever21.com
jcpenney.com
This week, I found really fun ideas--as always. I am so thankful for computers and blogs. I just feed my creativity through everyone else's amazing ideas--I could never come up with this on my own!
Enjoy!
Brown Paper Packages came up with a cute first day of school teacher gift. I think every teacher deserves a little chocolate on the first day of school--after weeks of meetings, setting up their classroom and prepping for the year. This is an easy and delicious idea.
Oops! I Craft my Pants (I don't come up with the names, people) made another cheap and creative teacher gift. Find a pretty and nicely scented lotion and attach this tag to it!
Kid's With a Vision (KWAV's) shared a blessing bag idea. It is a great idea to make some of these with your kids, especially now that fall is coming up and a lot of us make "thankful" leaves or trees with our families. Basically, these bags are necessity kits that you can keep in your car to give to needy or homeless.
Epsom salt looks like glitter snow. It is a great decorating tool for the holidays. The Inspired Room shared how she uses candles and epsom salt to make snowy and expensive-looking holiday candles. Beautiful!
School is starting for many older siblings, but what educational centers and games can we play with those still at home? Growing in Pre-K has some creative and fun math center ideas. Many of these activities can be done independently and then you can check in to check accuracy when it is warranted.
Helping Little Hands gives us a fun AND educational game for those really little ones, especially those boys! Create a color practice "parking lot" on fabric. My boys love anything with cars, and this activity can be adapted and scaffolded to include math, graphing, patterns, etc. Be creative with it!
For fall fashion, let's look at cuffs/bracelets/bangles. These are fun jewelry pieces, and they flatter almost any arm. Do you have a cuff /chunky bracelet/set of bangles for fall yet?
style.com
shebreathes.com
shopbop.com
shopruche.com
Forever21.com
jcpenney.com
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