Back-to-School Countdown Calendar

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I'm sharing this back-to-school countdown calendar on the Crate Paper blog today...

I chose some of my favorite journaling cards and embellishments from the Boys Rule collection and created this countdown to the first day of school.

I layered die cut pieces, chipboard frames and stickers, and an assortment of various alpha stickers and made a tag for each day.

I arranged the tags on an open frame that has wires to clip things to and used some of the Boys Rule printed clothespins to secure some of the cards.

I numbered the cards 1-10 and wrote a little activity on the back that we could do each day before school starts like "go on a picnic", "buy school supplies", and "go out for ice cream".

This countdown calendar is a fun way to get everyone ready for back to school.  It also provides a reason to get out and do the things on your summer bucket list that you may not have had a chance to do!

Thanks for stopping by...have a great day! 

almost 10

My oldest son, Garrison, will be the big one-oh in a couple of weeks and he has decided to go with an Angry Bird theme for his party this year.  I was going to take the easy way out and purchase some Angry Bird invitations at Party City but they were all sold out, so I told him we could make our own.  He was excited to help out and I had the perfect pattern using punches to make these cute little guys...

I made about six total and it only took us an hour or so to complete.  He even filled out all the information for the party on the inside! I kept them super simple and I think they turned out pretty good.

Garrison was pretty proud of them, too!

He's really excited for his party, which will be a small bonfire with a few family and friends, and there may even be a few water balloons involved :)

I can't believe my little guy is going to be 10...where, oh where, does the time go?

If anyone has any great Angry Bird theme ideas, feel free to leave me a comment.  I'm having sort of a brain block on this one and I want to keep it simple.  I really need to get on Pinterest and check out the amazing ideas I know are on there.  It's on my to-do list for this week :)

Happy Hump Day!

another Christmas craft

The kids and I did another Christmas craft this weekend.  We painted trees on canvas and decorated them using all sorts of found objects, buttons, pom-poms, glitter stickers, etc.

Left to right - Mine (yes, I had fun some fun too), Avery's, Garrison's, and Jubal's

 Jubal had a small meltdown during the painting process, so he was in time out for awhile...

Avery and Garrison had a blast painting their trees!

The finished product!

Five more days!!!

christmas crafting with the kiddos

I was digging around in some Christmas decor boxes last week (looking for the Christmas tree ornaments) when I found a decorate-your-own felt snowman ornament making kit I had purchased waaaaay back in July when Hobby Lobby put all their holiday decor out.  Score!!!  So I decided the kids and I would have a "crafty day" over the weekend to mix up the usual routine and make these cute little fellas' to hang on our tree...

All in all, they were fairly easy to make...tie on the scarf, stick on the felt pieces, insert red cord through pre-cut hole to hang on tree, etc.  Not too difficult or time consuming, which was perfect for my two, four, and nine year olds :)   (A few of the sticky-backed pieces didn't want to stick so we did have to break out a little craft glue for those :)  Six came in a pack so each kid got to make two snowmen...

Garrison and Jubal with their creations.  

Due to a medium-sized fit threw moments before I broke out the camera, Avery refused participating in the documenting process via my camera so, oh well, maybe next time!

This craft could also be made by scratch (without an actual kit) very easily using felt, scraps of fabric, thread, a snowman body pattern, buttons, poly fill, etc.  It would take a while longer to prep, but if you have the stuff laying around I think it would be fun to put together!

I do believe there is another kit somewhere containing gingerbread people, so if I find it before the end of the week we will be doing another "crafty day" this weekend :)

What crafty Christmas things have you been making?