Back From Vacation...Back to School Shopping

Home Sweet Home...Back to the East!
After being away from the Southwest and enjoying a vacation for two weeks, I am trying to get all things organized for the final preparation push before the start of school in early August. I was able to make it back to the East Coast for a short vacation to Philadelphia and then down to the beach with some family in North Carolina.  While the air was muggier than the dry desert heat, it was a great time to reconnect with family and slow time down for a while before the fall rush begins again.

Back to School Shopping!
Back to the grind, I did some Saturday morning shopping today, making trips to Lakeshore Learning (online here!) and OfficeMax (That happened to have 25% off for teachers today!).  Check out my "Back to School" goods below!

A couple projects in the works...


(1) Southwest-Inspired Color Scheme!
                                

This idea came to me somewhat casually at Lakeshore when I realized that they had no teal bulletin board paper (1st choice) - tragedy :) .  I decided that I would switch my original idea for color in the room to something that was easily available. And this is where the Southwest color scheme comes in!

Considering I'm a non-native to the region, I'm telling myself it's still cute and acceptable to embrace this theme! Who doesn't love a cactus and a sunset?  Bulletin boards will be the bright red/orange and I purchased orange, yellow, and light green borders.  The picture on the right is of amazing desert decorations made out of fabric that I saw in the Anthropologie store in PA - a little inspiration!

(2) Venn Diagram Pocket Chart!
                                

At Lakeshore, I was excited to find this Venn Diagram Pocket Chart on sale! I bought it for $18, but could only find it on Carson-Dellosa for $29 (here!)...probably worth looking on Amazon instead. If you have as much trouble as I do drawing large circles that resemble a Venn Diagram on the board - this is probably a great buy for you!

(3) Word Wall Alphabet Photo Cards!

I originally thought I would make the letter cards for my word wall, but after stumbling across these Photo Cards at Lakeshore, I gave in and decided to buy. I love how clean and clear they are, and they also provide a great example picture/word for each letter. Can't go wrong with the traditional manuscript!

More pictures to come with completed projects!