Back to School | Sunshine in my pocket

Archive | Back to School RSS feed for this section

Back to School Good Luck

By KariV on August 5, 2019 in Back to School, Paper Crafting

Hello! It’s Back to School week for our kiddos here and I have some quick cards to share. When I put together cards for kids, I try to remember that they are kids and really don’t care how much time or effort that goes into making a card. So that means, something quick but still cute!

Enter some stamp and die elements that are cute AND will fill the entire card.

I stamped every single image from this Waffle Flower set and colored them in quickly with my Copic markers.

Then, I die cut the large alphabet dies to spell “Good Luck” from cream colored 110# cardstock. To add some punch, I added some ink with finger daubers on the lower part of the letters.

I used patterned paper for the card panel to add some extra texture, and adhered the letters on with liquid glue. Then I popped up the images with foam tape.

A fun card and easy to put together. I’m pretty sure my nephews and granddaughters will love them! But I think they will love the “smarties” candies that I’m giving them to go along with the card. Lol.

I’m often asked what supplies I’ve used, so I have a list below using affiliate links, when possible. When you purchase using these links, I may receive a small commission. This helps me to keep up with blog costs and continue to bring you fun projects. Thank you so much!

I hope you enjoyed these back to school cards today! If you have kids/grandkids going back to school, I wish them Good Luck!

Comments { 0 }

Back To School Recipe Favorites (a round-up) #BackToSchoolWeek

By KariV on August 25, 2013 in Back to School, Dinner in Minutes, Recipes

Wow! We’ve had an amazing week of all things Back To School, including crafts, crockpot meals, freezer meals, lunch ideas, and organization ideas. I have loved seeing all the creativity, and I am honored to be participating with such talented bloggers.

**The PinChat is today at 3 p.m Arizona Time, (that’s 6 p.m. EST). Click here to read how it works. I hope to “see” you there.

I want to shout out to all the great talent that contributed throughout the week:

Co-Hosted By: { {i love} my disorganized life } and { Miss Information }

{ Heather’s French Press } { Kleinworth & Co.}

{ Growing Up Gabel } { Cook the Story }

{ The Tasty Fork } { Amy’s Cooking Adventures }

{ Dukes and Duchesses } { The Grant Life }

{ Real Housemoms } { The NY Melrose Family }

{ Crazy & Cool With a Side of Crafty }

{ Lemons for Lulu } { Chase the Star }

{ Yesterday on Tuesday } { Sweet Twist of Blogging }

{ A Night Owl Blog } { Organized Island }

{ Setting for Four } { Sunshine In My Pocket }

Now, take a look at some of the amazing recipe ideas from this week. (I want to make ALL of these!!):

How am I ever going to decide which one to try first?

Stuffed Shells from Growing Up Gabel

Crockpot-Chicken-Arichoke-Lasagna-backtoschoolweek-spinach-lasagna-chicken-artichokes-slowcooker_thumb[1]

Crockpot Chicken Artichoke Lasagna from Miss Information

Easy-BackToSchool-Breakfast-Slow-Cooker-Apple-Coffee-Cake-by-Chase-the-Star-chasethestar.net-CrockPot-backtoschoolweek

Slow Cooker Apple Coffee Cake from Chase the Star

Peanut Butter and Jelly Gluten Free Grain Bars from Heather’s French Press

Southwest Chicken Tacos from Sunshine In My Pocket

Crockpot Pizza Soup from Sweet Twist of Fate

Vegetarian Quinoa Fajitas from Cook the Story

Slow Cooker Red Chili from {I love} my disorganized life

Caprese Chicken Bake from Real Housemoms

Don’t these all look so good? There were so many more delicious recipes! I hope you’ve enjoyed this Back To School Week…have a Great school year.

Comments { 0 }

After School Snack Ideas (and free printable) #BackToSchoolWeek

By KariV on August 21, 2013 in Back to School, Freebies

I love creative Back To School snack ideas! But I don’t always have time to make amazing snacks that will win creativity contests. Instead, I love to have snacks available and get the kids involved.

The kids love putting their snacks together and they tend to eat healthier, too, if they have some ownership. My own kids are now grown and have moved away, but that doesn’t stop me from having snack parties with my nephews!

To make things easy, I always keep some basics on hand so they can build snacks like:

*Peach parfaits are simple with yogurt, granola, and peach slices. Have you tried that Honey Vanilla Greek yogurt? It’s so good! (I got mine from Sprouts and Trader Joe’s). The kids LOVE to layer their own….it might get a little messy, but it’s fun! I like to keep that granola cereal on hand just for this parfait. And kids love those mini dessert glasses!

We started building fish (or birds, or bears, or worms) on a log because I don’t care for raisins. I never buy them or keep them around for the kids. But I will get Goldfish or gummy treats for this fun after school snack.

When I have some extra time, I love to make a “special” snack that is quite a treat. Like Apple Cupcakes with worms! The kids love to add the worms and apple “stems” (pretzels).

And you can build an easy After School Snack Board, see instruction and download a printable *here!

I put together a list of snack ideas for you, dear readers, that includes a list of some Basics to keep on hand for easy snacks. It also includes a list of “special snacks” that take a little more time and preparation.

This list can be downloaded here so that you can print it and keep it at-the-ready!
Click here to download: Back to school snack ideas page

If you liked these ideas, be sure to check out our Back To School Snack party here to see:

*watermelon sundaes

*ham and cheese picks

*fresh fruit kebabs

And check out this idea that your kids will LOVE: *MonstersU cookie decorating

And don’t forget to enter the Back To School giveaway here!

There’s a whole lot of Back To School Ideas this entire week:

And just a reminder, there is our back to school PinChat coming up:
Join us on Sunday, August 25, 2013 for a PinChat! For more information on how it works, click here

Comments { 13 }

Back to School Snack Board (easy craft & free printable)! #BackToSchoolWeek

By KariV on August 20, 2013 in Back to School, Freebies, Holidays

I don’t know about you, but I HATED when my kids came home from school and said, “I’m hungry! What is there to eat?”

So today, I have a simple craft and free printable to make an After School Snack Board. The snack board will give the kids a couple after-school snack ideas that they can get or make up themselves.

It’s the best sign for the kids and it *might even keep you sane during the snack frenzy time! I KNOW this is a hit already…my nephew saw my sister & I working on this project and he said, “Mom, I want you to make that for me!”

I always had at least 2 choices for my kids’ snacks. I taught them where we kept their snacks, or on some days I’d have a fun surprise waiting for them! How awesome (and exciting) would it be to come home in anticipation of that snack board telling you what you could eat after school? [Hey, I’d even like one for after work! I’m giving you special permission to make one just for yourself if you don’t have kids. *Wink*]

You have 3 options for your snack board:

1) Use a cutting machine to cut out “Snacks” and an apple; Adhere them to an 8×10 frame. Use dry erase markers to write on it.

2) Print off the *free 5×7 printable and put it in a 5×7 frame. Use dry erase markers to update.

3) Print off the smaller 4×5 printables and use a mini clipboard OR make a tablet with them. Just tear one off each day for a new page.

These printables are *free and they are available here:

First, Like my page here:

Then download the printables here:

1) !after school snack 4×5

2) !after school snack 5×7

Come back tomorrow because I am going to have some of the best After School Snack Ideas for you that your kids will LOVE. And some easy ideas on how to be prepared for those days that are just too busy. Let’s face it, we don’t always have time to make adorable minion cupcakes or carve a watermelon rind into a shark; I will share some practical ideas for snacks that are sure to be a hit.

And don’t forget to enter the Back To School giveaway here!

There’s a whole lot of Back To School Ideas this entire week:

And just a reminder, there is a PinCHat coming up:

Join us on Sunday, August 25, 2013 for a PinChat!

Here’s how it works:

Go to the #BacktoSchoolWeek pin board on Pinterest here. It will be full of fun Pin graphics with questions about back to school. You can re-pin the questions, answer questions in the comment section of the pins and pin crafts/recipes to the board as answers to questions {only the comments on the question pins count as entries to the PinChatLive giveaway} How fun is that?!? {**Only ONE comment per question pin per person, please. Pinterest views multiple comments from the same person on the same pin to be spam}

Go to the YouTube video that will be happening during the PinChatLive from 6-7 pm EST Sunday Aug 25th (That’s 3-4 pm Arizona time!). We’ll be chatting about back to school and doing a play-by-play of the pinning. You’ll be able to see and hear the hosts of #BacktoSchoolWeek and some of the participating bloggers! Comments on the video count as PinChatLive giveaway entries!

You’ll be able to watch/listen to the YouTube video while you see the PinChat unfold on Pinterest. Cool, right?

Hope you can join us, it’s going to be a Pin-tastic time!

Comments { 4 }

Dose of Sunshine Monday: Positive Affirmations for Kids #BackToSchoolWeek

By KariV on August 19, 2013 in Back to School, Freebies

Happy Monday! Now that school’s back in session, are you feeling like you have the hang of your new schedule?
I’ve had school on my mind for quite some time now, and I thought back to MY school days. My mom would put a nice note in my lunch (or backpack) hand-written on a napkin. I loved to get that note!

And I did the same thing for my kids when they were in grade school. Kids can always use a note of encouragement or happy thoughts, don’t you think?

So today I’ve made up some positive affirmations you can use for your kids’ lunch OR put them up each day on their bathroom mirror. It’s a great way to start the day!