Seven Back to School Crafts for Kids

Trying to get kids excited for back to school but not having much luck? Get them involved with making their own school supplies! This will help them get excited and have a chance to showcase their own style.

Dress up plain pencils, blah binders and boring books with scrapbook paper, stickers, or fabric. You can make just about any of the following ideas green by using only what you have on hand.

These crafts can help get kids ready to go back to school with supplies they helped dress up.

1. Lunch Money Locket

I love this lunch money locket found on Family Fun. Use an old mint or candy tin you already have on hand so you don’t have to purchase any new materials.

2. Organizer

Have a budding artist in your midst? Check out this fantastic artist’s organizer over at Martha Stewart.

Create it using felt you already have on hand or felted material from old sweaters. You could also substitute felt for another heavy duty fabric you may have on hand like upholstery swatches or thick canvas.

3. Book Blanket

Want to give boring books and notebooks a stylish look?

Try these cute book blanket crafts found at Family Fun.

4. Owl Backpack

I love owls, so when I spotted this hooty back pack on Martha Stewart I just knew I had to show everyone.

Perfect for little ones who want something special for back to school.

5. Decorated Pencils

Easily dress up boring pencils with some tape and paint.

6. Ipod/Cellphone case

These pocket purses found on BHG are so cute. They are the perfect size for ipods and cellphones.

7. Decorate Three-Ring Binders

I also found this back to school DIY idea on BHG. It is a great idea for dressing up plain old binders! Just add stickers, string, and craft paper for a one of a kind work of art.

For more back to school craft projects check out:

Danielle’s Place. They have a whole list of back to school crafts. I really adore the can pencil holder and the duct tape bookmark, name plate, and name tag.

Martha Stewart also has a list of back to school crafts.

If you have a little girl who would like to dress up her denim check out Making Friends for some sparkly inspiration.

Eco Backpacks for Back to School

Where did July go? I can’t believe summer is flying by so fast. It is August- which means back to school time.

You know this always happens to me. The 4th of July comes along then all the sudden I realize summer is almost over. I know there’s still August, which means a whole month before school starts here in Michigan but it is always so busy with doctor and dentist appointments and still trying to squeeze as much fun out of summer before it’s gone and we’re left with a long, cold, never-ending winter.

One thing I always dread is back to school shopping. And wouldn’t you know it- the stores are already doing their sales. My daughter needs a new backpacks (among other things) since hers has fallen apart. I’ve cleaned it and sewed it for the past year and a half but I think it’s on its last leg finally. So I’ve been researching eco-friendly backpacks.

So far here’s what I have found. (continue reading…)

Back to School End of Sad Summer

The kids are officially back to school. It's been a crazy summer, long but short and never very warm. It just didn't really feel like summer to me much.

Of course it didn't get off to a good start and I was wary of everything all summer and now we end it with the loss of a beloved family member. My husband's father passed away Friday night, thankfully he made it there Thursday to see him before he passed. Today is the funeral and tomorrow hubby will be home. I miss him like crazy and just want to give him a big hug.

I've been trying to work to keep my mind off things. Yesterday I worked in my gardens.

I kept my garden up real well until the past couple weeks. Now it looks like hell. The tomato cages fell over and some of the tomato plants are dying. Plus it's been so cold the tomatoes are not getting ripe they are green and rotting on the vine. Gross.

And now those horrible gray/white nasty bugs are back all over my pumpkins and squash. They are so gross and eat right through my pumpkins from the inside out. They ruined over half of my pumpkins last year. I thought they were gone for good but all the sudden they are back. None of my natural stuff is getting rid of them: soapy water; veggie oil mixed with water; veggie oil and garlic; or a combination of everything. I've even tried some natural pesticides but these bugs are so gross and resilient nothing is getting rid of them. I don't even know what they are. Before last year I never had any problems with bugs in my garden except for a few leaf eaters.

My flower garden is looking sad, too. I let it go kinda wild with herbs and didn't plant as many perennials as I normally do. I don't think my heart was in it this year as much as normal. I started out great with my early seed planting and nourished my seedlings-then the break in and so much else happened this summer that was sad and depressing plus I have been working so hard trying to put book proposals together and even working on my fiction.

I have tons of reviews and links to post so I'll try to keep everyone up to date. I received some fab products to review and my kids and I are loving them. I bet you will, too.

Now that the older kids are back in school I might have more time to write... if I find something to keep the three year old busy. He loves to color and play games so we can kinda work side by side sometimes.