First Day of School 2022

Today is the first day of school for my boys... which is always a bit of a sad day for me. The lazy days of summer have come to an end, and the crazy school/hockey schedule is just beginning. And I was extra teary this morning as my oldest son headed out for his LAST first day of school. Luckily, my boys let me take a few pictures to document the occassion. 

As always, we started the day with pancakes in the shapes of their Grades.

Then, we took our traditional photos holding 8x10s from the first day of school the year before.

Grade 12...

Grade 10...

Grade 8...

After school, we'll all share a special treat, and talk about the day. I can't wait! 😁

Happy first day of school everyone!!!!

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

FREE Halloween Watercolour Print

I love designing seasonal prints, and I just finished creating an adorable Halloween watercolour. It looks fantastic in a dollar store frame or attached to a dollar store clipboard, and you can download your copy for free below.

To download your copy: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8x10 photo.

Enjoy your free print, and Happy Halloween!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You may also be interested in the Halloween ideas here.

And this fun video!

FREE First Day of School Photo Props

The first day of school is an important milestone for kids, and it's important to document it in photos. Over the years, I have always made it a priority to take "first day of school" pictures of my boys, and today I'm sharing fun (and FREE) photo props. These are so adorable!!!

If you want to make a super cute photo frame, start with a piece of dollar store foam core, and cut the inside out with an X-acto knife.

Then, use a ruler and markers to make lines on the form core... so that it resembles a piece of loose leaf.

You can leave it "as is", or you can decorate it with the pictures below. 

I printed the pictures, cut them out, and used a glue stick to attach them to the frame. Cute, right?!?!

To download the pictures for free: click on the pictures below, save them to your computer, and print like regular 8 1/2 x 11 sheets. I printed mine at my local copy store (Staples).

You can also print the pictures on cardstock, attach them to pencils with tape, and use them as props for a DIY photo booth.

You can get a closer look at my favourite back to school photo ideas in the short video I made below.

How do you document the first day of school? I hope you like my back to school photo ideas and FREE printable photo props.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also like these school lunch HACKS.

The BEST dollar store finds and DIYs for FALL

I love saving money, so it's not surprising that I am always scouring the dollar store for fantastic deals, cool finds, and budget friendly DIY supplies. Today, I'm sharing five wonderful dollar store finds and DIYs for Fall. You are going to love these!

1) Budget-friendly FALL artwork - I absolutely LOVE this piece of Fall decor, and no one would ever guess that it's a FREE print in a dollar store frame! You can also pop the print onto a dollar store clipboard so it can easily be changed out for different seasons and holidays.

Grab your FREE "hello pumpkin" print here.

2) Fall pumpkins - I spotted these adorable Fall pumpkins in my local Dollarama, and I thought they were super cute. What do you think?

3) Reusable lunch containers - With Fall comes "back to school", and the dollar store has many options for reusable lunch containers. Here are two of my favourite options...

 

4) Affordable school lunch snacks - The dollar store has a large variety of affordable school lunch snacks. Stock up now to avoid scrambling the night before school starts. 🤣

5) Pool noodles and garland - I know it might seem strange to buy pool noodles for Fall, but they are the perfect DIY supply for creating Fall decor. I used pool noodles, dollar store garland, and a stick from my yard to make adorable (large) pumpkins for my home. Cute, right? You can find the step-by-step instructions here.

For a closer look at all five of these dollar store finds and DIYs for FALL check out my YouTube video below.

Do you love saving money on back to school items and seasonal Fall decor? Which is your favourite item on my list? 

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also be interested in the Fall decorating ideas here.

Simple and Delicious HOMEMADE Ice Cream Cake... with an ice cream sandwich base

I love a simple dessert... and an ice cream cake is perfect for summer. My boys put this one together earlier this week, and it turned out great. You won't believe how EASY this 5 ingredient cake is to make.

To make this cake, you'll need:

• a box of ice cream sandwiches
• chocolate sauce
• Cool Whip (frozen dessert topping)
• Oreos
• mini M&Ms (candy coated chocolate candies

Then: layer the ice cream sandwiches on the bottom of a baking dish, add a layer of chocolate and crushed cookies, ice with softened Cool Whip, sprinkle with more crushed cookies, drizzle with chocolate sauce, and top with mini M & Ms.

For more detailed instructions, check out this 3 minute video.

Seriously... this recipe is a "must try"!

It tastes even better than it looks.

Let me know if you make this recipe, and let me know what you think. I know it was a hit with my husband and sons. 😀

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also enjoy the recipe here.

FREE Fall Watercolour Print (Looks great in a dollar store frame!!!)

I love finding ways to add inexpensive seasonal decor to my home, and one of my favourite ways to do it is by using prints I design myself. I print them cheaply, I add them to dollar store frames, and they look fantastic. Today, I'm sharing my latest FALL watercolour print with you for FREE. Isn't it gorgeous?!?!?

I added mine to this clear glass frame (from Dollarama) that lets you "float" pictures inside. I love how it looks, don't you? 

You could also display it on a dollar store clipboard... which allows you to easily change it with the seasons.

To get your free copy of this print: click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8x10 photo.

I hope you enjoy this simple print. Let me know if the comments how you are going to display your copy. And if you'd like a Christmas print similar to this, let me know that too! 😊

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also be interested in the FALL finds and DIYs here.

Budget-friendly Backyard Carnival

Three years ago I threw an epic carnival party for my two boys, but I got busy, forgot about it, and never posted about it on this blog. The party was full of fun DIY details and ideas... so I'm sharing it today. Take a look at this budget-friendly backyard carnival, and let me know what you think. (I've even included a three minute video highlighted some of my favourite parts of the party!)

GAMES -- Carnival parties are all about the games, and I made a bunch of simple games using things I had around the house and a few purchases from the dollar store.

One game I made was "Straw Draw". I put little bits paper inside short pieces of straws. Some of the papers were blank and others said "small", "medium", or "large". The kids picked out straws, opened up the papers, and claimed their prizes.

I also set up a little "guessing booth". I set a couple of dollar store jars in a cardboard box, and filled them with candy. Then, the guests guessed the number of candies in each jar and wrote their guesses on the clipboard. The closest guess won the candy!

I also made a ring toss from an empty paper towel roll and duct tape. I made rings for it with pipe cleaners. Simple and fun!

And I made a bean bag toss from plastic bowls I had in my cupboard.

And I made a ball toss from an old skate box.

PHOTO BOOTH -- In this age of social media and selfies, I love a photo booth at a party, and they are easy and inexpensive to make.

For the carnival party, I filled a dollar store jar with foam clown noses.

And I filled a basket with photo props from the dollar store.

And I covered foam boards with wrapping paper to make a photo back drop.

Check out how cute my little clowns were using the photo booth. 😁

FOOD -- Every party needs good food, and carnival food is really fun to serve. Of course, you'll need carnival staples like popcorn, cotton candy, and chips. 

You can also add fun elements like this "kissing booth" (chocolate kisses in a jar).

And this "pick a pop" treat... where one sucker stem has a hidden coloured stem... and the person that picks that sucker gets a special prize.

And I love displaying small bags of chips on a piece of twine with clothes pins. Get creative with the food and have some fun!

CAKE -- Every party needs a cake. It's simple to make, it looks great on a table, and everyone loves dessert!

Cakes don't need to be elaborate to be festive. For my boys, I made plain cakes and decorated them with sprinkles and their favourite colourful candies. Then, I finished them off with a little banner I made using paper straws.

PARTY FAVOURS -- Everyone loves a free gift to take home, and my favourite party favours are simple, inexpensive, useful, and fun. For our carnival party, I added cute notes to bags of microwave popcorn. The notes said, "Thanks for POPPING by!" 

I made the labels 4x6 so I could print them like regular pictures. They were cheap and easy!

For a closer look at our budget-friendly backyard carnival, take a look at the three minute video I made here.

What do you think of this fun little party? I absolutely love all the easy and inexpensive DIY party details.

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also be interested in the fun DIY party ideas here.