Back to School

It's unbelievable how fast the summer has flown by. I realize that Fall hasn't truly began, but my daughter's July 26th birthday almost marks the beginning of the anticipation for me. Shortly after her birthday the stores launch into Back-to-school mode and I get excited (like my favorite Staples commercial.... It's the most wonderful time of the year). It marks the start to my favorite time of year, i.e. the last half. Christmas is my absolute favorite, but I also love all the fun leading up to it. I'm a sucker for Fall and all the pumpkin decor and pumpkin spice flavored foods. I love football season, even though I rarely sit long enough to watch an entire game. I just enjoy those crisp, fall days when all the windows can be open and the sound of football on TV can be heard in the background. I love Halloween, especially because it's my first daughter's actual birthday. And thanksgiving, with all the yummy food and time spent feeling grateful with family. It all gives me such a warm, fuzzy feeling inside (even when it is still 100+ degrees outside).

This year, at the start if this most wonderful time of year, I decided I wanted to decorate for back to school (my girls started a month ago). But when I set out to collect apple and back-to-school decorations, I was surprised to find all the stores went straight from red, white, and blue decor to pumpkin decor. I couldn't find much of what I was looking for. I found a couple things in stores like a pencil vase, magnetic alphabet letter, and some artificial sunflowers, but really I ended up making my own decorations and using what I already had. As much as I hunted for apples to display, I already had a decent collection I was displaying in our laundry room (I had collected them for my kitchen but went a different direction in the end). So I just redistributed my apples and made a few extra decorations like my School Days banner.

To make my banner, I printed out letters using the alphabet provided by Shanty 2 Chic (a great find on Pinterest). I printed the letters at 50% since the 100% ends up being a full page (too big for my space). I then cut them out and attached them to burlap triangles using red eyelets I had in my stash. I strung the letters up using yellow ribbon in honor of yellow pencils and school buses. I have a mantle I could display the banner on, but it's in our front room that we rarely hang out in. So rather than hide away my cute project, I strung them up below our TV in our family room using inexpensive rulers and old Starbucks Frappuccino battles I've been hoarding for years. I couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out. I know it's a little late, but Happy Back to School!