Easy, cheap Halloween garland...can it get any better? {tutorial}

So, one of our favourite holidays in this house is near...Halloween!  We love going all out, creating crime scenes, graveyards & the like.  I have fond memories of Halloween as a kid.  On one street, there was this one house that totally creeped me out EVERY year.  I strive to be like that...*the* house that the kids all hate but love at the same time.  I don't usually do much decor in the house (who sees past the hallway?) but thought I'd do a few things as I know the Princess & Rugrat will get a kick out of it.  Here's an easy, cheap tutorial for a Halloween Spider garland...it literally cost me $2 y'all!  SCORE!!!

Materials Needed:

• 
  
  Foam spider cutouts (mine are from Dollarama)
• 
  
  single hole punch (already had)
• 
  
  orange string/twine/ribbon (again, from Dollarama)

Step One:

Punch holes in legs of foam spider (so it lays flat on the string)

Step Two:

String spiders along, well, string in an order you like.

Step Three:

Hang at mantle to take picture & fold up to bring out within the next two weeks!!!

This was *sooooooooooooooooo* easy that it would be a great craft for the kids to join in on too!

Now...onto costumes!

Back to School Teacher Gift {tutorial}

The Princess gave this to her teacher at the end of the school year but it's a great gift to bring the first day of class as well.  I made this with stuff that I found at our local dollar store as well as things that I already had around the house so it literally cost me....under $5 y'all!!!  Here it is:

Tools Needed:

• 
  
  small plastic bin with dividers or compartments
• 
  
  glue dots or tape
• 
  
  scrapbook paper & embellishments
• 
  
  paper clips, binder clips, hand sanitizer, push pins, mini chocolates or whatever school supplies you need

Step One:

Trace top of bin onto scrapbook paper & cut paper to size.  Stick paper down with glue dots.  Cut a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper (1/4 of previous height or for own deisred effect) & glue on top.  Using stick on letters or stamp or whatever method you desire, spell out teacher's name.  Embellish however you like.

Step Two:

Fill compartments with coordinating school supplies, mini chocos & hand sanitizer.

Step Three:

Give to your new teacher!

The Princess' teacher absolutely loved it & was looking forward to using it this year.  Be sure to include a note saying how much you're looking forward to spending the year with them!

P.S.  Halloween tutorial on it's way soon...

Snapshot of Summer

Here's a brief snapshot of what we've been up to this summer (and why I've been MIA from posting!)

Enjoying the rides at a local fair:

Learning how to become the next Beckham:

Practicing our goaltending skills if the Beckham thing doesn't work out:

Showing off our earned hardware:

Digging in the sand:

Enjoying time with grandparents:

Trying something new:

Visiting our other grandparents & sightseeing:

Bouncing around:

Rest & relaxation:

What did *you* do this summer?