Back 2 School PARTY!!!!

And to end the Back 2 School Bash, I chose to highlight a Back 2 School party that

Lizard and Ladybug threw for her younger kids. How Fun!

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First up...decor (inside and out)

of course, I had to have a 'welcome' sign



my simple banner (total cost ~$2.00)



the main centerpiece (my mom's idea to use the fishbowl and crayons) kinda like the Sesame Street party :)





hanging paper lanterns (also from Sesame Street party) & big A$$ bounce house :)






The 'letter hunt' couldn't compete with bounce house

I wanted to keep things simple.
Oddly enough, most of the snacks were healthy - so BONUS!

Dawn at Not Just A Mommy posted a super cute party she hosted for her son..complete with apple cars. I knew I had to make them! To go with them, I made 'ants on a log'. I also tackled the pretzel crayons (here's the link to the labels).

I have to say - everyone ate all of it.

Either they were starving or the snacks were actually good :)

The kids used 'lunch trays' (10/$1 at Dollar Tree)

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Aren't the decor and treats perfect for a Back 2 School party for a little one? And the activities were really fun too (especially the bounce house). To check out the other links to this party, you can click below.

Craft Activities

Other (not-so-healthy) Snacks

The Main Attraction and Grab Bag

Head over to Lizard and Ladybug for more inspiration!

Back 2 School Tags and Labels Printable AND Tips for Starting School

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I Love It All shares this printable with us! Perfect for lunchsacks, scrapbooking and anything else!

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Your free back-to-school download looks like this:

The four circle labels are sized for your 2" circle punch. For my layout, I used my corner rounder on the rectangular tags...they are sized to 2.5" x 4.25" with plenty of room to journal. Or you could even add a small photo and use it as a refrigerator magnet for the grandparents!

This page of labels/journaling spots is listed in my Etsy shop for $3.00, but for my dear blog readers, I am offering them up for FREE. Just print them out on an 8.5 x 11 piece of cardstock and you're ready to craft! I've been printing them on white cardstock and they look crisp and clean, but I think if you print them on kraft or graph paper, they might even be cuter. Download them for yourself and tell me what type of paper you used.

Have fun and remember to love it all!

Thanks Monika at I Love It All! Visit this blog today!

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I've also decide to include some tips and "things to do" before the kids start school.

The following 4 tips are from one of my blogless readers named Amy!!!

1. I always get the kids' eyes examined before school starts. Bonus points if I get them scheduled so that they can get used to new lenses before school starts.

2. I use the last week of vacation to gradually (half hour at a time) work the kids towards the school year wake up and go to bed times.

3. We always go out for ice cream to celebrate the first day of school, all the while crooning "learning is sweet!".

4. For a new scholar, I take them to the school a few days early, and look for bathrooms and the office. I introduce the child by name to the principal and the secretary, (and hopefully the teacher) and tell them that these are the adults in charge. I tell the child that these people have the right to tell them what to do, and that the child has the right to ask these adults for help or protection.

Some tips of my own:

1. Pick out the clothes, jewelry and hair accessories the kids are going to wear at least the night before school starts.

2. Take the kids to have their teeth cleaned at the dentist.

3. If you kids go by a nickname or a middle name, call the school/teacher and let them know the name your child goes by and how to spell it. That way, when school starts the name on the door, desk, coat rack, grade books, etc. won't have to be changed. It will save everyone the headache of changing things or misspelling the chosen name!!!!

4. Fix the kids their favorite breakfast the first day of school!

5. Establish routines beginning the first day of school.

Back 2 School Fabric Covered Notebook

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Enjoy this Back 2 School idea from Michael Creations.

As hard as it is to believe, it’s already back to school time! Although I don’t have kids, as a former middle school teacher, I know this time of year is full of excitement and nervousness…for parents and students alike!
Back in the day, I always loved back to school shopping. New binders, notebooks, pencil cases…nothing is better! Maybe this is where my obsession with office supply stores came into play? Seriously – Office Max and Staples keep me enthralled for hours on end.
I also remember needing to have book covers for all my texts – though back then, we didn’t have those cool stretchy fabric ones. We took paper grocery bags and made them ourselves – including tons of “radical” decorations. Puff paint, anyone?
For my first tutorial (hopefully of many), I came up with this great idea for a book cover. It’s made of coordinating fabrics and you can make it whatever size you like. It can work well as a notebook or journal cover, or you can adjust it for large textbooks.
Why don’t you take some time to throw together a bunch of them? They’re pretty easy and don’t take very long to create.
Contact me with any questions or if you notice an error in my instructions.
Feel free to use these instructions for yourself or to sell. Just make sure you give me a shout out! Thanks!
Fabric Notebook or Book Cover
What You’ll Need:

- Basic Sewing Supplies (scissors or rotary cutter, thread, sewing machine, pins, etc.)
- Two Coordinating Fabrics
- Interfacing or Stabilizer *
- Notebook or book to cover
Optional (for flower embellishment):

- One Button
- Fabric scraps
- Hot glue
Instructions:
1.) Measure your book. The first measurement you’ll need is the length from top to bottom. The second measurement is from the right hand edge of the front cover to the left hand edge of the back cover.

2.) Jot down these measurements! For your first measurement (from the top to bottom of the notebook) add 2 inches. For your second measurement (around the notebook from front to back) add 9 inches.
3.) Cut your two coordinating fabrics to these measurements. Since my book was 9-3/4” from top to bottom and 15” around, my fabric pieces were 11-3/4” by 24”. If you are going to use interfacing or stabilizer, make sure you cut one to this size, as well. My fabric was thick enough for my taste, so I didn’t use it.
4.) Choose which piece is going to be your front cover piece. If you choose to embellish it, this is the time! Place your notebook in the middle of the piece and fold it so it is perfectly in half and mark where the book will lie. This ensures that, however you decorate, you will be sure to be working where the front cover of the book will be.
5.) If you want to make a flower like the one on mine, cut out 4 circles in diminishing size from your scraps. If you want a bigger flower, cut out more circles – smaller, cut out fewer.
6.) Sew around the inside of each circle approximately 1/4”. Don’t forget to lower your feed dogs for this! I used my free motion foot, but you can use whatever is easiest for you. THIS DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT! In fact, a little less perfect makes it even cuter!
7.) Once all the circles have a 1/4” seam around them, place them one on top of each other and sew on your button in the center to anchor it. I frayed out the edges with my finger, but sometimes throwing it in a dryer for a bit will help loosen the edges to get a frayed look. Now you have a cute flower!
8.) Mark the spot where you want your flower, and attach it to your front cover piece. I sewed mine through the button holes, and also added a little hot glue to the back for extra security. Since these may be going in and out of backpacks a lot, make sure it is nicely secured.
9.) Now that you have the front decorated (and really, you can do anything you want to the front of your cover – get creative!) it’s time to put it all together. Take your fabrics and place them wrong sides together. *If you are using interfacing, place it on the top of the “fabric sandwich”* Pin in place. Sew around the outside with a 1/2” seam allowance. Make sure to leave a 3” opening for turning. I placed my opening along the long side of the fabric, since you’ll be sewing over it a little later. This eliminates having to hand-sew your opening closed. Anything to save me from hand sewing is a little blessing!
10.) Clip your corners and turn right-side out. Make sure to push out those little corners nicely! I use my plastic paper scorer, but feel free to use whatever is handy and not sharp. Press to get out any creases or wrinkles and also make sure to press your opening in.
11.) Now you need to mark the location of your flaps. Place your book in the center of the book cover, fold over the edge to the inside cover of the book, and mark with a fabric pen where the flap needs to be anchored. You want it to be snug, but also have a little bit of wiggle room so the book will open nicely.
12.) Once you have your fabric marked, remove the book and pin the flaps in where they need to be.

13.) Sew across the top of the top flap and the bottom of the bottom of the flap to anchor them in place. I used a 1/8” seam allowance, but you may need to use a 1/4” allowance or more. Adjust it as needed for how you want your book to fit.

14.) Now all that’s left is sliding in your book. This step can be a little tricky, but I promise, you’ll get it!

15.) All finished! You have an adorable notebook or book cover!

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Thank you Michael Creations for sharing this cute craft with us!

Back 2 School Waterbottle Download

Joy In The Little Things brings us this adorable printable!!!

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I'm JOYFUL about back to school and want to "treat" the teachers a bit. Here are some water bottle labels that I created to tape onto the bottles (after removing the existing label) and attach a drink mix (not pictured). I used yellow & green polka dot because those are our school colors. Boy designs are on page 1, Girl designs are on page 2. Happy Back 2 School, joyful people!
Waterbottle-back2school Boyp1 Girlp2 (Click HERE to print)
Visit Joy In The Little Things today to tell her thanks for the download!

Back 2 School ABC and Number Downloads

These amazing and fabulous printables are made available by Sprik Space. Perfect for a nursery, and preschool and kindergarten kids! Thanks for saving us time by making it for us!

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Once upon a time (in April), I saw a very clever idea posted on Ohdeedoh, where someone had created a simple ABC poster using Microsoft Word & clipart for her child's room. A little light bulb went off above my head, and I thought, "Hey, I can do that!" So, I did.

Because the best thing about the internet, in my opinion, is what you can find for free, I decided I'd make the ABC Poster up, in a whole bunch of colors... and offer it on my blog as a FREE printable - posted here. Now, the ABC Poster is cute all on its own, but I always felt it needed a friend. Fast forward a couple of months, and I finally was able to work up its companion piece, the 123 Poster.

Pictured below are the colors and combinations I've worked up this simple little project in. If you would like your own 11x14" version of any of the images below, please visit this post at Sprik Space for download details. Once you've downloaded the images you want, simply send them off to your favorite online photo printer (Costco 11x14" prints are only $2.99), and you've just made some inexpensive art work for your child's wall!

Maybe these posters will grace the walls somewhere in your home? My ABC & 123 Posters will be hung, grouped together, in my son’s future playroom.

Click on this photo to see the ABC poster all framed up,
in my cute blog-friend, Hayley's adorable nursery!

Visit Sprik Space today!

Back 2 School Stamped Washer Keychain

Amanda at Sugar Bee (Craft Edition) shares this awesome and cute washer idea. When my daughter goes to kindergarten, she will have one of these on her backpack!!!!

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Back-to-School sure snuck up on me! Here's a quick easy project for backpacks. My kids know our home phone number, but I got to thinking, what if they need to call me on my cell phone - they don't know that number. So I thought of this project with the stamped washers.

I wanted their name on the front, to identify their backpack, with the phone number on the back. But when you stamp into washers, it raises up the other side, so I couldn't just stamp on the back because it would raise through to the front (see what I mean, in the picture below). I came up with the idea of using 2 washers glued together. You need a glue that will adhere to metal - I went with Gorilla Glue.

With this type of glue, you get the object wet then put on the glue then let it sit 5 minutes - be sure not to put on too much, it'll expand as it dries.

After the 5 minutes, you put the objects together like you want them and clamp it tight. I left it several hours in the clamp.

That's it - now it's a double-sided washer. Then I made a quick tube of material, turned it right-side out (using that TOOL I love), and tucked in the raw ends. I poked it through the washers and sewed it down. Then made a loop of the other end and sewed it down. I slid a carabiner or clip into the loop and that was it. In the picture, boy one is right-side up and girl one is back-side up:

Perfect for backpacks!

Actually, the backpacks have a loop on the inside so if you don't want to clip them on the outside, look for that:

Visit Sugar Bee today and tell her thanks for the great idea!!!