carving

Tonight was carving night since tomorrow night will be busy and full of treating with the neighbors. In past years most of the work has been done by Art and I.  This year the girls were really into it and it was a welcome sight.  They dug in, literally. 

 

After the initial "Ewww" and "Gross" they both enjoyed getting in up to their elbows.

 

Look at that face.  Funny.

 

Art stood back and let them enjoy.

 

And here's me, documenting the occasion.  Actually, Grace documenting me, documenting the occasion.

 

 

The finished product.  This is the year of the bat :).

 

We're ready for Halloween!

what i call suncatchers

For lack of not knowing what to call these creations, I'm calling them sun catchers because it is fitting.  We pulled out the craft supplies today - water color paints and doilies and went to creating.

Love the outcome.  So pretty and they scream Summer.

Found the idea here on Pinterest.

2, 4, 6, 8... who do we appreciate!

Teachers!  That's who!

Here are the gifts my girls gave during teacher appreciation week.  We decided we would love on our teachers each day that week.  I had to get creative to keep things low cost and overall I think I did pretty well. I added things up and I spent around $15 for each teacher. 

This was Thursday's gift I created on my own with inspiration from the watermelon cups and lifesavers.

On Monday we gave two small dollar store baskets we found and filled them with lifesaver peppermints.  I attached a note that said, "You were MINT to be Grace's teacher!"  Got the idea from here -

On Tuesday we did this, which I found here -

For Wednesday we had stopped by the Target dollar spot and purchased two pink baskets, magnet clips, note pads, pens, large-ribboned paper clips and Hershey chocolate bars (teachers always need chocolate).  I put a note in the basket that read, "Thanks for being so organized!"  Both teachers were super organized this year and I can appreciate that.  I saw this idea for the clips on Pinterest a long time ago but never pinned it, I found this picture on etsy though. I found the clips at Wal-Mart on clearance.  SCORE!

On Friday we gave something similar to this which I found here.  They even gave you the free flower printable.  This was our big purchase for our teachers which they turned out to be $7 each for a potted rose from Wal-Mart.

The girls loved sharing these treats with their teachers and letting them know how much they are appreciated. 

sweet thank you

I put these together to send with the girls tomorrow.  A sweet, Hershey's bar thank you for a great first week. 

Reach out and touch your childs teacher. They work so hard, especially that first week :).

what to do

with leftover candy canes.  I have plenty left.

Some cute ideas are here and here.  I love the idea of baking them and then shaping them into hearts.  Hmmm... Valentines day is coming...

countdown to school

The girls and I created these countdown chains for school.  Each night they will remove one chain link bringing them one day closer to school starting.  Sarah's is longer than Grace's which she takes pride in.  Either way they are reminders of a new school year.

nature & art

We are talking about nature this week in our home studies.  We had some fun painting yesterday where we took from nature and used it to create some fun works of art.

on my desktop this week and nature

After planting a hydrangea bush two and half years ago in the backyard we are FINALLY seeing the beauty that they are.  I was so excited to see these blooming I brought three of the branches in.  These beauties or this picture is my desktop photo of the week.

This I added for good measure.  My girls made these vases (disposable cups & craft sticks) so they could bring some nature into the house this week.  They helped me pick out their roses.  They are very proud.

love on your teachers

I stumbled upon this idea on a blog and now I can't find which one (sorry).  I tweaked it a little adding my own new twist.  I call these "Summer Survival Kits" and each of my girls teachers is getting one.  The original blog had the beach towel folded with the magazine and sunscreen laying flat with a big bow around it. I added the baskets for a buck each and then got the Old Navy flip flops for $2.50 each.  I think they turned out really cute.  Grace and Sarah got to pick out the towels which made it even more fun for them to give.  **Suggestion - get a return receipt for the flip flops for each person.**  I did this after realizing I had no idea shoe sizes for each teacher.  Now all they need is a homemade card and we're ready to love on our teachers!

more valentine's

Today is turning out to be a very productive day.

We just completed GM's school Valentine's.

Both are from Family Fun Magazine.

We are set and ready to go, now only if the weather cooperates.

For the girls {wild bracelets with candy inside}

{animal attraction}

for the boys {airplanes with candy inside}{plane awesome}

mutts about you {part 2}

Sarah and I made these sweet puppy valentines for her class party coming up this week {hopefully}. I think her favorite part of making these was knowing that her sister gave these same valentines away when she was her age.

{they are from Family Fun magazine and consist of 4 hearts, googley eyes, glue for the eyes, tape to adhere the candy bar tongues. On the back is written I'm Mutts About You!}

Coffee butterflies

We made these sweet little butterflies today. I've been wanting to try this out for awhile after seeing it on the internet and I figured out I had all the supplies, so we gave it a try.

Simple supplies:

coffee filters

washable markers

squirt bottles

pipe cleaners

glue

googley eyes

Color

Spray {Grace's}

{Sarah's} and decorate.

Finshed projects. Maybe we'll borrow some of Daddy's fishing line and hang these, have them flutter around the playroom. Glad we tried this.