St. Patrick's Day {Penny} Banner

St. Patrick's Day isn't a major holiday, but it is still fun to put up a couple of simple decorations to celebrate the special day.  This "penny" banner is easy and inexpensive, and perfect for the occasion.

Want to make one?  Here's all you have to do:

1)  Gather your supplies {green card stock, twine, a few pennies, and some tiny clothespins}.

2)  Cut out some simple shamrock silhouettes.

3)  Use double sided tape to attach a penny to the middle of each shamrock.

4)  Use clothespins to attach the shamrocks to the twine.

That's it!  It doesn't get much easier than that.  :-)

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

* You can find me on facebook here.

Back to School {Banner and Lunch Idea}

It is almost time to head back to school, so today I am sharing two fun ideas with you:  a {simple} back-to-school book-page banner and a {super-easy} lunch idea.  

Let's start with the banner. 

To make the banner:

1) Draw {or print out} five apple pictures.
2) Have the kids color the pictures.
3) Trim 5 pages out of an old book, and cut a triangle shape from the bottom of each page.
4) Cut out the apples and attach to the book pages using double sided tape.
5) Hole punch the top of each page.  Then, string all the pages together using a piece of twine.

Cute, right?  Now, are you ready for the easiest lunch idea ever?  Last year, I shared my "go to" lunch idea, and I got a lot of great feedback.  So, I thought I would share another {even easier} lunch idea this year.

My boys aren't big on sandwiches -- except for peanut butter {which they aren't allowed to take to their "nut free" school}.  So, some days I give them a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast and cereal for lunch.  I put the cereal in a thermos, and they pour the milk in at lunch time.  I add some sugar-free applesauce, fruit, cheese, and homemade graham crackers for a treat .  

What are some of your favorite "go to" lunches?  With a new school year starting, I can use all the help I can get!

      

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

* You can find me on facebook here.

{Father's Day} Banner

You may remember that the boys and I made a cute "book page" Mother's Day Banner.  {If you want the full tutorial, you can find it here.}  Well... my six year old thought that we needed one for Father's Day, and he decided to make one without any help from me.  {Love that boy!}  

He drew the letters onto construction paper and cut them out.

Then, I helped him attach the letters to pages out of an old book, hole punched them, and strung them up using a piece of twine.

Didn't it turn out cute?  He is super-proud of the decoration he made for his Daddy.  :-)

Are your kids making anything cute for Father's Day this year?

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
 

** If you haven't already "liked" me on facebook, I would love to have you join me here.

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of Grade Primary for my oldest son.  Where did the year go? 

I have seen a number of "Welcome Summer" banners around the blogosphere, so I thought I would adapt the idea and make a "Grade Primary Finish Line" banner.  {So much fun!}

My son was sad to say goodbye to his very first teacher, but excited to run through his banner and head out for ice cream. Now we are all ready for the carefree days of summer! :-)

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)