DIY {vintage} clipboard

I found this vintage yellow clipboard at a recent tag sale

it was a little worse for wear

so I decided to spiff it up a bit with some

chalkboard paint

and a bit of washi

and some ribbon

------------------------

Take Note!!

------------------------

a good teacher’s gift, right?

{or keep for yourself for YOUR to-do list! }
shh…I won’t tell anyone you kept it!

Chat soon -

NORTHERN COTTAGE
{Home * Subscribe * Facebook * Pinterest * Twitter}

loopy-divider_thumb4

How to Get Ready for Back-to-School {on a budget}!!

Y’all are getting ready for back to school like us?
(if school hasn’t already started for ya)

I thought I’d share some tips we use around here to get
set For school
{and save some cash in the process!!}

------------------

You know those school supply lists with

hundreds of items listed per student??

Tip #1
DON’T GET EVERYTHING ON THE BACK-TO-SCHOOL LIST!

um well…we don’t follow the provided list exactly

meaning, we don’t go out and buy 4 boxes of markers and 18 boxes of pencils and 4 boxes of tissues and
2 boxes of band-aids
if all 25 kids get two boxes that is 50 boxes of bandages(who falls & skins up their knees that much?)

don’t get me wrong, I want the teachers and kiddos to have what they need! I’m not skimping but rather using discernment

we do get most of the items of the list to start of the school year and then we supplement as needed throughout the year and the teachers know that if they need something, we’re there to help!

------------------

Tip #2

RE-USE THE SUPPLIES YOU ALREADY HAVE!

Instead of buying all new supplies, we first take the school supply list and ‘shop’ the supplies we already have at home

Remember the end of the last school year when the kids came home with their backpacks filled to the brim with stuff cleaned out from their desks and lockers?

What did you do with all that stuff? We organized and tucked it away in our art area (which is well used and well loved during the summer break!) and it’s now available to re-use this year

Granted, we don’t have the boxes for those markers but we can rubber band them together and tuck them in a cute pencil box!

------------------

Tip #3

MAKE STORAGE FUN!

Make those pencil boxes new by adding some washi tape to bling them out

Maybe decorate last years backpack or lunchbox

decorate some clipboards like here & here:

thinks outside the box for magnet locker holders --- maybe painted soup cans with some magnets glued on can become personalized storage for your kiddo
some super cute ideas here:

------------------

Tip #4

BUY SCHOOL CLOTHES LATER

We also don’t buy all their school clothes the weeks before school. Without fail, my kids always go through a growth spurt mid-September and the stuff we just got them is instantly outgrown and it’s usually warm out still the first month so…

we get one fun outfit

{& the ever-oh-so-exciting socks and unders}

and they just wear their summer clothes
the first few weeks of school

and then we get outfits throughout the year when they need it, when we see a deal, when we find something super cute!!

Plus it’s just plain FUN to get something new
every so often, right?

------------------

These steps are how we save money with back-to-school prep:

1. Filter the school list

2. Re-use supplies

3. Thrifty Storage

4. Delay school clothes

Hope this helps ya prep for school, too!!

Chat soon -

NORTHERN COTTAGE
{Home * Subscribe * Facebook * Pinterest * Twitter}

loopy-divider_thumb4

linking here: elizabeth and co *

Back to School Desk & a WASHI Clipboard

Here are a couple more easy-peasy projects!

You guys know I’ve been on a bit of a washi kick as of late

This newest project takes a plain clipboard
and makes it
all new!!

Just by covering it with different styles of decorative tape, trimming off the edges and then adding some ribbon to the handle/clip

How FUN!
(and oh so easy!!)

We also have a tiny little desk with pretty aqua legs and I’ve just added a chalkboard top

and that little chair just make my heart go pitter patter!

The clock is ticking…

School time is coming (if it hasn’t already started in your area!) – how are YOU getting ready?

Chat soon -

NORTHERN COTTAGE
{Home * Subscribe * Facebook * Pinterest * Twitter}

loopy-divider_thumb4

A sassy pink pinwheel board!

What do you get…

when you combine

a thrift store frame

some sassy pink paint

chicken wire

and some cute pinwheels… ????

WELL… of course you get a

sassy
pink

PINWHEEL

board!!!

this is one of those projects that just makes ya

HAPPY!!!

Check out the
PINWHEEL
TUTORIAL HERE

{ pinwheel how-to posted here many moons ago!}

xoxo

Be sure to check out the sweepstakes going on here & make some new ADVENTURE Memories!!!

Chat soon -

NORTHERN COTTAGE

{Home * Subscribe * Facebook * Pinterest * Twitter}

loopy-divider_thumb4
linking here: elizabeth and co * gingersnap crafts * hope studios * lil luna * primp * todays creative blog

SUPER KID ADVENTURES {and enter sweepstakes for your own adventure!}

Is summer flying by as quickly for you as it is for us?

Are you trying to
squeeze every little bit of fun
into these summer days?

Today we decided to go for a

HIKE!!

We packaged up some goodies and set off on an adventure…

DO YA WANNA COME ALONG?

Off we go…biking to the park, trekking up & down hills, jumping over streams & exploring the whole time,

resulting in some very

THIRSTY KIDS!!

We recently had the chance to review a new product Kraft is introducing – Capri Sun Super V – and I thought this would be the perfect time to try it out
on with my kids!

We paired our drinks with some yummy

{I’ll share the recipe here soon}

Of course, I HAD to do something crafty to
up the FUN FACTOR

so I whipped up this Super KID tag & added it to our goodies! Just a little touch that makes the kiddos feel like SUPER KIDS!

{my daughter read it and said ‘awwhhh!’ making it sooo worth the couple minutes of extra effort!}

--------------------------

As a mom, I really want to provide snack options that are healthy for my super kiddos. This Super V drink is a new ‘win-win’ choice as it is meets the healthy criteria I want to set (with a full combined serving of fruits & veggies) BUT it’s also a drink the kids ~~like~~ LOVE because - get this…
it actually tastes GOOD!

I LOVE that Capri Sun has come up with this new,
healthier offering.

As we move through these fleeting days of summer,
I want my kids to KNOW how SPECIAL they are AND how very COOL I think they are.
I’m THANKFUL for them everyday, and this
super kid juice is
one little way I can help take good care of some of
my most favorite people on the planet…
my
SUPER KIDS!

--------------------------
Here’s even more fun...enter this sweepstakes for a Grand Prize of a $1,000 Visa Gift Card and $500 (runner up) Gift Card. Each comment posted generates an automatic entry into the sweepstakes. Read below for all the legal mumbo jumbo…..and answer this question in the comment section to be entered for a chance to win:

If you won this fun sweepstakes, what kind of

adventures would you plan?

--------------------------

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes question above

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

Entries from all participating blogs will be pooled for winner selection; only two entries per household. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 8/16/2012-9/16/2012.

Learn more about the new Capri Sun Super V on Facebook and check out BlogHer.com to find more Capri Sun Super V reviews!

--------------------------

Happy SUMMER to you!

Chat soon -

NORTHERN COTTAGE

{Home * Subscribe * Facebook * Pinterest * Twitter}