back to school isn't just for school.

being the teacher i am, i have spent most (if not all) of my summer making things, organizing, and planning for the upcoming school year.

my absolute favorite time of year has arrived. it's not the back to school part i get excited for (even though i am quite excited for this coming year), it's the school supply shopping! it seriously, cannot get any better than school supplies!

i decided to take the back to school theme (one of my favorites) to my house decor.

i'm obsessed with wreaths, so i made one for my house.

(the apple and ruler are just extra accessories courtesy of picnik. i don't wanna any creepos coming to my house.)

(I spy a fat white fluffy cat. Can you?)

supplies:

steps:
*cover board with chalkboard contact paper (you can find tons on amazon.com)
*treat chalkboard paper by covering it with chalk and erasing it!
*begin hot gluing your pencils, or colored pencils, or crayons, or markers (you get the point) to your board. i used metal cutters to cut the small pieces of pencils and to snip the erasers off to fill in the tiny spots.
*attach ribbon and viola!

happy back to school supply shopping!

dollar rub on wall picture decor

I was at Michael's yesterday, and saw these awesome rub ons. I knew I had to get them, and now I will be going back to get more!

All you need:

~is a frame. (Mine is from the Dollar Store. I bought two frames because I wanted to layers of glass.)

~Rubons

1. Clean your glass.

Choose your rub on! Cut it out and place it on the glass.

2. Rub on your sentiment.

3. Add the second layer of glass on top.

And there you go!

~I used metal cutters to snip off the black tabs you can see!

Here's another one! Due to the camera, it put a reflection onto the wall. It's really not there in real life!

total for project: $4.00!



Guestbook.

Out of all my DIY projects, the guestbook has to be my favorite!

I didn't want a guestbook that would sit on the shelf, collect dust, and never get looked at again.

On a whim I drove around KC and took pictures of some of our favorite places and places that played a role in our wedding. Each location spelled out our new last name.

I used Picasa to arrange into one image. I saved it as an image, uploaded it to walmart.com's photo studio and ordered an 8x10.

I picked out a 12x16 frame at Hobby Lobby and had them cut a custom matte to fit my picture.... and viola! Our guestbook!

I am going to display the frame and name picture without the glass so our guests can sign the matte.

For privacy sakes, I blacked out some of the letters of our last name, but wanted to give you a visual of what yours can look like!

fabric thank yous

To make these thank you post card- styled cards, I glued 12x12 white cardstock to a vintage flat bed sheet from the thrift store that I got for a buck. I cut white strips of paper and stamped them with my sentiment. I then cut them to about 4x5.25, and then stitched a wavy line across the border (because I can't sew a straight line to save my life!)

{Inspiration from my photographer, Laura.}

the veil.

I have to say, that out of all of my DIY wedding projects, my veil is my favorite. I knew that I wanted a vintage style lace veil, but was shocked at the price.I found some vintage lace fabric at Salvation Army. I actually think the fabric was a window curtain!

1. Fold the fabric in half and cut it in a U shape. The U shape gives it the flowing shape around your shoulders.
2. Hand stitch a running stitch at the top of the U shape in your fabric using a heavier weight thread. (The curved part of your fabric will be what hits your back. The top of the U will be what you secure to your bridal comb.)
3. Scrunch the fabric as you go. You slowly see the veil take shape!
4. Using a heavy, clear thread, (I used what looked like fishing line!) Stitch your fabric to the comb, with an "over-under" motion.
5. And there you have it! One gorgeous veil!

bridal comb: $6.99 at Joann's

fabric: $3.00 at Salvation Army

grand recessional

I'm not a fan of throwing items at the bride and groom that are alive (butterflies, etc.) or that will mess with the environment, or have to be cleaned up...who has time to clean up rose petals on their wedding day! Not me! Over on the Project Wedding blog, you can find a tutorial for wedidng wands. These little guys are super easy, super cheap and look fabulous in pictures! Do you really anything else in life?! I made enough for every other guest. If you have 100 guests, make about 50 or so. Not every guest needs one.

wooden rods: $1.97 for 20

thin ribbon: 3 spools for $.97 at Joann's on sale

thick ribbon: $1.97 per spool at WalMart

vintage paper covered votives

I love anything and everything vintage, and if I can make it cheap...I'm even in more love! To give our reception tables some mood lighting, I covered glass votive holders with dictionary paper and added some brown ink to make it vintage. You can find the tutorial at Ruffled. Super easy and super cheap!

candles: 12 pack for $6.00 at WalMart

find a dictionary laying around the house or hit up the thrift store!

Wedding hangers.

I found a fabulous DIY project on the fabulous wedding site Project Wedding. It includes a tutorial on how to make these fabulous wire hangers for yourself and your bridesmaids!

Can you tell what the names of my bridesmaids are?

And one for me!!