Back to School Roundup Week

I thought that we would spend this week putting together some roundups for back to school.  It really seems to be coming up fast.  I know I have been trying to get my little one back on her school sleep schedule. 

Today, I put together a round-up of backpack tutorials. 

The first tutorial is a simple string backpack from Mama Urchin.  Click here to go to the backpack tutorial.

This next tutorial is great because it uses an upcycled flour bag.  You could use any fabric you wanted, but I love the fack that it uses reused materials.

Click here to get the pattern from indietutes.

Here is another very simple backpack pattern and tutorial from The Sewing Dork.

This isn't a backpack for your kids, but I still love this project.  This little backpack is a gift bag or photo album.  I thought that it would make a great back to school gift for the teacher.

Creatin With Kristin Made this adorable backpack.  I think that I will make one for my daughter's preschool teacher in some more appropriate colors.  Click here for the scrapbook backpack tutorial.

Pumpkin Patch Popcorn Recipe

This is a little recipe I started making a few years ago for my niece's preschool.  All of the preschools are peanut free now so it's sort of hard to find things to make.

The recipe is

1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
8 cups of popped popcorn (2 microwave bags or air popped popcorn)
assorted candy

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Put popcorn in a greased 13"x9" pan and put it in the oven. 

In a heavy bottom sauce pan mix butter, sugar, salt, and corn syup. 

Over medium heat, bring to a boil.  Boil at a rolling boil for 5 minutes. 

 Boil for 5 minutes.  If you have a light pan, you are really going to need to stir so that it will not burn.  In a heavy pan, you can stir occassionally.  Turn off the heat and add the baking soda.  It foams up (photo on right).

Take your popcorn out of the over.  Pour your caramel onto the popcorn.  Stir until the popcorn is totally coated.  Keep it in the oven for 1 hour stirring even 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and add your sprinkles, candy corn, mini marshmallows, m&ms, etc. 

Kamille likes helping - she was counting the candy.  Big surprise!

Happy Crafting!

Healthy & Fun Preschool Snack

I was the snack mom at preschool today.  Kamille have been so excited about it that I really wanted to make a special snack.  I looked for healthy snack recipes online, but many of them had peanuts.  I took the idea and changed it to a strawberry cream cheese dip.  I whipped cream cheese and fresh strawberries in the food processor.

I hollowed out the middle of the apple with a melon baller.  I cut a carrot in 1/2 and used it as the antenna. 

I also thought that it would be fun to do a cream cheese and cinnamon/sugar dip.

Happy Crafting!

Saving Art

My 3-year-old daughter has repeated her personal affirmation so many times lately.  Truthfully, I don't know where she comes up with this stuff.  But, I love her motto. 

"I am going to be an artist.  If I can't be a good one, I'll be a bad one."

Up until about a week ago, all of her art looked pretty much like this.  She would present me with a drawing and proclaim, it a rocket ship, or a princess, or a garden. 

Last week she brought me this drawing and said it was an ocean full of animals. 

They actually look like something.  I guess she had a breakthrough. 

Her latest art project from her first day of preschool:

It actually inspired me to start scanning her artwork into the computer to make a photo book for her.  I am going to keep all of the projects, photographing the 3-d versions and mix in some photos from this year.  At the end of 2010 I am going spend a few hours and make a digital scrapbook on snapfish for this year. 

Happy Crafting!

Sarah

Free Tutorial Friday ~ Busy Beaver Lunch Sack

Check in with us every Friday to get your free tutorial/patterns. I thought that Friday was a perfect day to find a great weekend project. And this one can be accomplished in time to send a yummy lunch on Monday for your little back to schooler. Try it out this weekend by packing up a picnic lunch and taking the family to a local park or nature center. This little guy will be right at home!

Busy Beaver Lunch Sack PDF Pattern

With under a yard total of felt you can make this little guy in just a short period of time. New to sewing? Not to worry!!! This pattern comes with a step by step picture tutorial to aid you along the way.  Please feel free to post questions/comments in the comments box below.

We would love to see what you've done! Head on over to the Boutique It on Flickr group to post photos of your finished projects.

Happy Crafting!

Our Favorite Back To School Ideas

Fall is my favorite time of year! School is just getting under way for most of us. The weather is pushing our kids indoors. It's the perfect time to put on our crafting hats and get creative. I tought I'd give you all a head start by compiling this modge podge of some of my personal favorite back to school ideas.

So here we go!!

Family Fun knows back to school!!!



For the best in easy and fun back to school ideas check out Family Fun

Crafts, recipes, party ideas, and so much more. It's a go to site for me!! Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments box!

Leave it to Martha Stewart!!!

Love her ideas always but this one is sure to get a smile from your little ones. She has created this FREE printable for these super cute little lunch labels/stickers. She's got about 18 new back to school ideas to browse through!

My kids use a reusable lunch bag at our house, so I just printed the labels out on card stock and used the back to write a little "I love you".  My oldest daughter loves to find a surprise in her lunch, I think it helps with the home sickness kids can feel during a 7 hour school day! Find another use for this great freebie? Tell us in the comments!!

School Lunches

So my favorite site for back to school lunches is Weelicious. Now this is kids food at it's finest! She even has a recipe for homemade graham crackers.

This site has made it into daily browsing habits by focusing on healthy and homemade alternatives to the processed convenience foods that we find our kids asking for daily.   She makes the recipes easy to find by breaking them up into food groups or just simply by searching her recipe tab at the top of the blog. Like weelicious on facebook for updates on her son's bento box lunch. I love to see what she'll pack next. The use of a bento box really gives your kids a wide variety of things to eat with smaller portion sizes. Love them!!!

Go Green all the way to Back to School

If you have a preschooler at home (or even an elementary aged child) this fun supplies box is simple to make and FREE if you use items that you already have around the house. And best of all it's a GREEN craft!

The holes in the box top are made by poking a hole with a pencil so your child can feel super independent doing this craft. Try using all different containers for this activity. Instead of a shoe box seal up the ends of a cereal/pasta box for a different shape. Give the kids some fun alphabet stickers and let let them spell their name or the contents of the box on the side.

Just follow the link under the picture to head on over to Preschool Rock  to check all of the other awesome preschool crafting ideas they have!

The Long Thread

The peeps over at The Long Thread are forever coming up with wonderful handmade ideas for every occasion. Follow the link below to find a round up of 20 back to school ideas including the ones pictured below.

Apple backpack from Alpha Mom

Reusable Snack Sack from Reprodepot

Free Embroidery Patterns from Sarah Jane Studios

Good luck to all of you back to schoolers!!!

Happy Crafting!