Season of Change

There are only a few days left before summer break ends, and I'm feeling all the feels. I'm excited for the new school year but dread returning to a routine. I loved the freedom that came with summer break...the randomness of our days. Not having to stick to a more structured schedule for the past couple of months was nice. It's always difficult trying to get back to our regular schedule that we have once school starts. 

Have you ever had a feeling that there are going to be a lot of changes in your life? Well, I have that feeling...and it's making me anxious. I often feel this way during the transition from summer to fall, and I"m not sure why. Maybe it's because it's the start of a new school year, and I keep thinking about how much my boys are growing. Maybe it's because we're still house hunting, and the entire process is stressing me out. Maybe it's because I have so many creative projects that I want to start but don't know which one to choose. Maybe it's just a combination of all of that and much more.

Wow, so that sounds kind of negative, but I promise I'm also feeling excited. House hunting is taking longer than I'd like, but I'm still hopeful. It's fun thinking about everything I can't wait to do once we find our dream home. I've been dreaming about gardens, libraries, and little home projects. I've been dreaming of cozy nooks and seasonal decorations, especially fall decorations.

I'm planning to write more, and I'm hoping that I'm able to share some more personal stories, lists, etc., on the blog. Now that my boys will be in school soon, I should have more time to work on my writing and other creative projects. I definitely let a few projects go during the summer, and it's time to work on them. 

It may still be summer, but the season of change is upon us. And although I may be a bit nervous, I'm also looking forward to what changes lie ahead.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Back to School With Crayola Take Note!

Back to School season is upon us! School will start in just a couple of weeks, and we have already started back to school shopping. As you may know, we are big fans of Crayola. When Crayola sent me a big box of Crayola Take Note! products, I was so excited. 

The Crayola Take Note! collection has so many amazing products. The collection includes 2-in-1 Dual Ended and Erasable Highlighters, Washable Felt Tip Pens, Gel Pens, Permanent Markers, and Dry Erase Markers. The Take Note! products are targeted towards tweens/teens as well as adults. My boys are not teenagers yet, so I've been using the products.

Below is a test sheet of the Dual-Ended and Erasable Highlighter Pens, Felt Tip Pens, and the Erasable Highlighters.

I loved making a color swatch of all the pens and markers. Every pen and marker is amazing. They write so smooth, and the colors are vibrant.  There was minimal bleed through on the pages.

I have been using the felt tip pens and the highlighters in my planner. I've also been using them to take notes on the courses that I'm taking on DuoLingo. I'm currently learning Italian, and the pens and highlighters are perfect for taking notes.

I love that I can use the pens and highlighters to color code topics for my blog as well as tasks, to-do lists, etc. in my planner. I'm currently working on my plans for August and using the Take Note! collection has been so useful and fun.

I also love the dry erase markers. I've been trying to get better with meal planning, and the dry erase markers make it fun to plan out my meals. The dry erase markers come in different colors and are available in 2, 4, and 12 count packages. The colors are bold, and there's not an overpowering odor. One cool feature of the dry erase markers is the ink level indicator. There is nothing worse than trying to meal plan and then finding out that your marker has run out of ink.  The ink level indicator allows you to know when you are getting low.

Overall, I highly recommend Crayola Take Note! products for all of your planning and note-taking needs as well as for Back to School shopping. You can shop for the Take Note! products at national retailers and here.

What do you think of the Crayola Take Note! collection? What are some of your favorite Crayola products?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Disclosure: I did receive these products for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own. As always, I only recommend products and services that I have personally used.

Crayola Take Note Giveaway

Happy Wednesday! Some of you may know that I am a big fan of Crayola. My boys and I love using Crayola products. I am so excited that Crayola now has a new collection called Take Note. The collection is made up of gel pens and erasable highlighters. This collection of writing supplies is perfect for both students and parents. It's perfect for homework, taking notes, bullet journals, art journaling, planners, and more!

The gel pens are washable and have a 0.7mm Medium point. They write so smooth and you don't have to worry about streaking.

The erasable highlighters have a chisel tip on one end and the eraser is on the other end. You can use the chisel tip to make thick or thin lines. The highlighters have a snap on cap so you can prevent your highlighter from drying out. The colors are so bright and vibrant.

I am so excited about these new products and am so excited to have paired up with Crayola to offer a giveaway of Crayola's NEW Take Note products! Enter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.*

Winner will be notified by email.

Which Crayola product is your favorite? Are you excited about Crayola's new Take Note products?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Crayola Thank A Teacher Campaign

It may be summer, but back to school season is in full swing around here! We are already getting ready for the first day of school. The boys are so excited to meet their teachers and are also excited to see their teachers from the previous school year.

During the last month of the school year, my boys' school always asks students to write thank you letters to their teachers and staff. I think it's so great to write a handmade note or letter thanking teachers because they work so hard.

I am so happy to share that Crayola is currently running the Thank A Teacher campaign and contest. The goal is to create a handmade thank you card for a teacher. Upload your handmade card here for a chance to win grand prizes for your family, teacher, and school!

There are ten grand prize packs which include the following:

• $10,000 classroom makeover for the teacher
• One year supply of Crayola products for the school
• $1,000 scholarship for the student
• $1,000 gift card for both the teacher and school
• Free CreatEd seminar for the school

In addition to the grand prizes, one entrant will have his or her thank you note featured on a pack of Crayola crayons this holiday. There will also be a weekly sweepstakes that will run concurrently with the contest and entrants will have a chance to win $500 gift cards for themselves and their teachers. The contest and sweepstakes will run through August 25, 2018. 

There are a few rules for this contest and the sweepstakes. The contest and sweepstakes are open to legal residents of the United States and D.C. Entrants must be 13 years or older. Minors must have his or her parent's or legal guardian's permission to enter. You can find the official rules here.

If you decide to participate, you can also share your cards using the hashtag #CrayolaThanks.

Below is one of the cards that my boys made.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Disclosure: I did receive these products for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own. As always, I only recommend products and services that I have personally used.

Back to School with Crayola

Back to School season is here! My boys are already in school and a few of the things that were listed on their school supply lists was Crayola crayons and markers. We are a big fan of Crayola and always use Crayola products at home. Whenever it is time to shop for school supplies (and also to replenish our art supplies at home), I always make sure to purchase Crayola products. Crayola's products are decently priced especially during Back to School season. At Walmart, you can find crayons for 50 cents and markers for less than $3.00.

Crayola was so kind to send us a bunch of products for review. I am a big fan of Crayola's classic products such as their markers, crayons, and colored pencils. I even use them in my art journals or when I want to try a new art technique. My boys love using all of the classic products in their coloring books and notebooks. We love to make arts and crafts together and always use Crayola. It's definitely an art staple in our home.

Crayola has a new collection of art tools called Silly Scents. The collection includes 6, 10, and 12 count sets of Silly Scents washable markers, 12 and 24 count sets of crayons, and a 12 count set of colored pencils. The colors in this collection is amazing, bright and of course is scented. I love the twistable crayons. I don't have to worry about sharpening the crayons or peeling back the wrapper.

My boys were so excited to try out the new Silly Scents collection and loved the scents. Nostalgia hit me hard when I tried the Silly Scents markers. I remember using scented markers when I was kid so it's so cool that my boys get to try some scented markers.

I highly recommend Crayola for all of your arts and crafts as well as for Back to School shopping.

What do you think of Crayola? Are you excited for their new collection?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Disclosure: I did receive these products for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own. As always, I only recommend products and services that I have personally used.
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5 Ways to Save on Back to School Shopping

Although school has already started for many kids, I thought I would share some tips on ways to save money during this time of year. Even though you may notice folders that are 50 cents and 25 cents glue sticks, having to purchase so many school supplies can definitely add up. Check out the ways I save money on Back-to-School shopping below.

1. Gather Sales Ads

Once I have the school supply lists, I always start to keep an eye out on the sales ads. I usually look out for ads for school supplies, clothing, and shoes. I always gather Walmart and Target sales ads for school supplies. For clothing and shoes, I check out The Children's Place, Kids Footlocker, Payless, Gymboree, and Toys R Us.

Sometimes, I even check online for sales ads. There's this amazing website called Southern Savers that teaches you how to coupon, has specific store sales ads (they even have unadvertised deals for some stores), coupons, and a Sunday paper coupon insert schedule.

2. Use Coupons

You may want to purchase the Sunday newspaper for the coupon inserts. The past few weeks, I have found some coupons for school supplies. If you get random mailers in your mailbox, don't throw them away. I found a lot of coupon inserts in them and there were tons of coupons for back to school shopping.

3. Buy Generic

You don't have to get name brand school supplies. Most school supply lists have the words "Suggested Supply List" at the top so don't feel pressured to buy brand name products. Often times, you may not find the exact brand that is listed on the school supply list so just get the generic brand. I purchased some generic "Pink Pearl" erasers at Walmart for nearly half the price of the brand name erasers.

4. Use Reward Programs 

So many of the stores that I shop at have reward programs. I highly recommend that you sign up for them because many stores will email or mail exclusive coupons. Sometimes you may even be able to find out about sales before everyone else.

Some of my favorite reward programs are Toys R Us, The Children's Place, and Payless. You can sign up for the Toys R Us reward program at Rewards R Us or at your local Toys R Us and Babies R Us store. You can learn more about The Children's Place rewards program here. You can also learn more about the Payless rewards program here.

I also love to use Ibotta. Ibotta is such a great way to get cash back for buying items. Before you shop, you add rebates and complete tasks. Then you simply purchase the items at participating stores. You redeem your rebates by scanning your receipt.

I also recommend Target's Cartwheel app. You can save so much money on everyday items, seasonal items, clothing and shoes. The cartwheel app currently has a section specifically for Back to School and Back to College.

5. Sign up for email lists

Every store that I have listed so far has an email list. I always get sales ads, coupons, and even birthday rewards from several of my favorite stores. I definitely recommend that you sign up for your favorite stores' email lists.

How do you save on Back-to-School shopping? 

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

*Please note that some of the links above are referral links.*

First Day of School Layout and a Card

Hello! Happy Saturday! School may have started last month, but I'm still working on some layouts and other projects that are school related. Today, I want to share a layout I made that documents my son's first day of school. I also made a card as well that can be given to a teacher.

I used Me and My Big Ideas products for my layout. I love their new school collection and knew that they would be perfect for documenting both of my boys' first day of school. I love the glitter embellishments, the globe, and the mini crayons...so cute! And how adorable is my son! You may have noticed that I blurred out his teacher's name.

I really think that the glitter embellishments helps make the page "pop". I love how colorful the embellishments are. 

I love that the embellishment packs have these little flags that you can put the date in. That globe is adorable.

I made this card using mainly Me and My Big Ideas embellishments as well, but I did use some Studio Calico gems as well. First, I used a wood apple shape and used a pencil to trace the shape onto my card. Then I put the embellishments inside the traced area. Then I used my Sharpie brush tip marker and went over the outline. I think I should have used the marker as the second step, but I kept changing my mind on whether or not to use the marker. While using the marker, I accidentally made a small mark on one of the gems.

 Products Used:

• Me and My Big Ideas-Months of the Year Pocket Pages
• Me and My Big Ideas-I Love School mambiCHIPS
• Me and My Big Ideas Soft Spoken School Pebbles
• Studio Calico Gems
• Recollections Cardstock
• Recollections Cards & Envelopes
• Sharpie Brush Tip Marker-Black

*I'm playing along with the You Rule the School linky party at Paper Issues.*

Have you been working on some Back to School projects? If so, please feel free to share.

Until next time...