Back-to-School Decorations

It's been a month since the kids went back to school, but I thought I would share a few things I made for the "Welcome Back Breakfast" at my daughter's elementary school.

 

I got the ideas from Pinterest and other creative blogs. Used a lot of hot glue, cork squares, pencils, crayons and a couple of rulers. For the denim banner, I cut the triangles and used a bleach gel pin to write the letters. Also cut a pocket and made rosette flowers (hard to see on the end of the large banner.) I do love picking up the 1cent and 25cent specials on school supplies at Staples, Office Depot, etc. in July/August!

Pinterest Put into Practice: Valentines

Pinterest is addictive... it's an overload of wonderful creative ideas... I'd rather browse Pinterest than read Facebook or watch TV - it's my new "go to" entertainment. But after a while, it's time to use some of the ideas found there. And I did, for Tessa's class Valentines this year. Lollipops, foam, white paper printed with her message and cut into little "flag tags" - easy and cute. Hope the kids like them :)

I do plan to post a few other things I have tried soon. Would love to see where you have put "Pinterest" into practice too!

Harvest Snack Mix Jars

A friend posted a recipe for a Harvest Snack Mix. It makes a BIG batch, perfect for sharing. I had some spaghetti jars waiting for a new use, so I found some paper borders, punched out some leaves, printed a free Halloween printable for the tops, and glued all these on the jars. After filling them with the trail mix, I tied a raffia bow and gave them to friends. They would be a nice addition to a "Boo basket" for a neighbor, a nice little "thinking of you" for a teacher, or a small "thank you" for a hostess.

Harvest Snack Mix

1 box Honey Nut Cheerios

1 bag Golfish crackers

1 bag pretzels

1 bag candy corn

1 bag Autumn mix candy (w/pumkins, etc.)

1 jar dry roasted peanuts*

*optional - can substitute Chex cereal, sesame sticks, etc. if you do not want nuts

If you have other ideas for yummy additions to a snack mix, please share! I can't wait to try some other snack mixes for Christmas!

Plush Pumkins... just right for the season!

This weekend I made a few "Plush Pumpkins" and they are so much fun to use in decorating for October/November! I've seen them made with velvet (and they are beautiful) but velvet is expensive, so I opted for "nobby fleece" (a remnant) and Crushed Panne (on sale at Joann's for $2.99 a yard). Basically, you make them like fabric "yo-yos" (just bigger): cutting a circle, sewing a running stitch around the perimeter of the circle, then pulling and gathering, closing it almost all the way. Fill with a little rice or dried beans for weight in the bottom, and poly fiberfill. Next, pull it tight, leaving just a little hole for the stem (I used sticks from the yard) and leaf (cut from fabric scraps). Hot glue the stem, leaf and raffia in place. That's it - easy peasy pumkins!

Coming soon...

Celebrations of all types... party ideas, holiday decorations, thank you gifts, etc... inspiration, tutorials, and items to buy!