A Sweet Beginning

We are at the final countdown for my kiddos to head back to school. In my search for fun ideas to get the kids excited about the new school year, I came across these super cute cookies. They would be great to send to your child's teachers on the first day of school. Or, you could sneak some into lunch boxes or have them waiting on the table at home to help celebrate the new school year. Either way, these cookies offer the opportunity to start someone's school year off sweet!

These School Bus cookies by TS Cookies will help anyone get excited about going back to school!



This School Daze cookie set by Loris Place would be perfect to send to your child's teacher on the first day of school. They can even be personalized!



I think that my preschooler would especially like these Alphabet Cookies by Queen of Tarts Cakes and Stone House Oven's Number Cookies. You could turn snack-time into a learning opportunity by having a letter or number search (Can you find the letter W and the number 4?).





Happy Back to School!

On Vacation

My family and I were able to sneak away for vacation...horray! Hope everyone has a great week. I will be back to posting next week.

Fab Find: Free Back to School Printables

This week's Fab Find goes along with the "Back-to-School" theme. There are several great FREE Back to School printables out there. Here are a few of my favorites:

Bird Crafts Back to School Party Collection




The TomKat Studio's printable teacher notes



Babalisme's Back to School Labels



Janna Wilson's Teacher thank you labels and note cards





The Small Object's "Belongs To" Tag



Happy Printing!

Back-to-School Party Inspiration

With only a few more weeks until we get back into the school routines, I have been trying to come up with some fun ideas for helping my rising preschooler and 1st grader celebrate BACK TO SCHOOl. Will I have time to do a party...not sure. But, I did put together this inspiration board to help inspire you. Even if you don't want to host a party, there are some great ideas for things that you can do to make going to back school special. Enjoy!

{Photo Credits from top left: Photos 1, 2, 10, 13 Merry B Events; Photos 3,5 Martha Stewart; Photos 4, 6 Land of Nod; Photo 7 Canadian House and Home; Photo 8, Family Fun; Photo 9, Blue Moon Studios; Photo 11, Pottery Barn Kids; Photo 12, Lori's Place}

School supplies are great for dressing up a table for your back-to-school celebration. You can group crayons, pencils, rulers, apples and others items together and display them in clear containers for a completed look.



These DIY mini blackboards would be perfect for place cards on the table (Canadian House and Home). How cute is this idea from Merry B Events: use inexpensive crayon/supply boxes to serve each child's lunch in. Tuck a sandwich, some fruit, a drink, and a little snack into each one and it's good to go.

And finally, if you want to send your guests home with a little something in hand, you can hand out backpack tags (Bushel and Peck Paper), lunch bag labels, stickers (Marth Stewart), or some age-appropiate flashcards or a game (The Land of Nod).

Stache-Tastic!

The Little Retreats Etsy shop has new Party on a Stick items that are just so much fun! These would be a great addition to a fun photo booth at your next event, at a child's birthday party, or even at a Halloween costume party. Click here to check out the Little Retreats etsy shop.

All photos were taken from Little Retreats and Jackaroo Love

A Sesame Street Birthday Party

I am not normally a big fan of character parties BUT this Sesame Street themed party by Jenny Cookies is SO CUTE!! I LOVE the bright colors and all of the amazing details. This party could definitely work for Sesame Street-loving boys or girls. Great job, Jenny!











To see more photos, visit Jenny Cookies by clicking here.

Fab Find: Happy Tape

This week's Fab Find is something that even your kids can have fun being creative with. Happytape is colored Japanese masking tape that is made of Japanese washi paper. It's perfect for decorating packages, gift wrapping, scrapbooking, card making, fancy labels, artsy collages...the possibilities are endless! Happytape is offered in single rolls, pairs, multi-paks, and jumbo-paks. So pretty!!



Here are some project ideas submitted to Happytape by their customers:

Happytape used by citizen sweet to dress up pastry packaging boxes



Notecards decorated by Love + Luck using Happytape




Check out Happytape's store here when you get a chance.

A Summer Popsicle Party

Today I hosted a little summer Popsicle Party for my kids and a few of their friends. It was SUPER hot outside, so the theme was perfect for all ages.

Back in July, I posted the invitations that I made for the party. I used card stock, popsicle sticks, and ribbon to make the Popsicle cards. They opened up to provide the invited guests with the party details.



Guests were invited to join us out back...



...where the kids could play on a slip-n-slide, in baby pools, make a popscile stick craft, and of course eat POPSICLES and other cool treats!

The snack table included watermelon, fruit kabobs, POPSICLES, frozen fruit bites, pretzels, and lemonade. I made little cups out of paper for the pretzels. The frozen fruit bites recipe is from an earlier post.




I made four different flavored popsicles for the kids to choose from: Strawberry Yogurt Pops, Mango Pops, Lemonade Pops, and Grape Pops.



I set up a craft table under a tent for the kids to be able to cool off and get creative. I pre-made simple POPSCILE STICK picture frames that each child could easliy decorate by coloring with markers and sticking fun summer-themed stickers on. Everyone seemed to enjoy the craft and it was easy enough for even my 20-month old to do.





Each guest left with a set of popsicle molds, a Popsicle recipe envelope, and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pop.



We had a great day celebrating summer and playing with our friends!

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops

Here's a new spin on the popular cake pops. I found this recipe for Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops at Food Network and decided to try them out. I am hosting a Popsicle party this Wednesday and thought that these would make cute favors to send each child home with. You do have to make these pops in steps but they are not difficult at all. You can leave the pops plain or decorate them with sprinkles, nuts, or your favorite topping. Click here for the recipe.

Click here for the link to a short video on how to make the Pops from Food Network. I was glad that I watched the video before I started the process.
I will share pictures of my Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops when I post pictures and details from the Popsicle party. Enjoy!

{DIY} Paper Shoe Favor Box

Okay, now this is so creative! These paper shoes were originally designed by Ellen Hutson. Wouldn't they make awesome favor boxes! They are so cute and a printable template makes them simple to make. Dressed up with sparkly red paper, these paper shoes would look great at a Wizard of Oz party. Or, use pretty pink paper for a princess party (say that 5 times fast!).



Skip to My Lou made a Halloween version: A witch's shoe.



You can click here for the paper shoe template and here for the paper shoe lining template.

Fab Find: Back to School with Living Locurto

I can't believe that I am already saying (or typing) this, but it is time to start thinking about Back to School. This week's Fab Find is in honor of all of the school supply shopping that you have in your future. Meet Living Locurto!

Living Locurto features a fun mix of party ideas, menu plans, DIY crafts, recipes, and free printables from its creator, Amy Locurto. Learn more here. One of my favorite features of Living Locurto is the "Free Printables" page. Amy features some of her original designs as well as others that she has come across on the web, all FREE. Just download, print, and enjoy. And yes, she has some great Back to School printables to help get you and the kids back on track for the fall. Check them out:

Morning Routine Cards. These are fabulous. You can choose images for boys or girls, download, and print. There is an After School set as well.



Star Wars Tags and Stickers. You can laminate the tags for school backpacks. Just punch a hole in the top, add a ribbon and you’ll be set to go. Print the “Property of” labels on sticker paper and use on books, note books or lunch boxes. Your Star Wars lovers will love YOU for it!





And, for the girls, School Is Sweet Cupcake Tags and Labels




I hope that you and your little ones enjoy.