Bleu Bird Nest: back to school

I love September because it feels like the start of something new. I loved shopping for back-to-school supplies with my son when he was younger...everything fresh and new and waiting to be filled with reports and projects. When he was in third grade I became a first grade teacher at a little private school and that gave me more kids to shop for! The crafting side of me came out...I would spend hours planning the classroom theme and shopping for the little extras. Matching composition books and pencil boxes and cute little chore boards. Although I'm not teaching right now, I still check out all the aisles at Target just to see what composition books I would have chosen for the year...

Two of my nieces are starting highschool this year and we decided to have a girly weekend before they went back to school. We had so much fun shopping for make up and clothes, but I really loved taking them to the office supply store in search of back-to-school supplies. I loved that they wanted to coordinate all their supplies. That night they set up shop in my office, spreading out all over the floor with my loot of scrapbook papers, embellishments, paper punches, and sticker makers.

Sierra had a bit of Marie Antionette theme going. She coordinated each notebook with matching colors and then added Marie inspired clipart and punched out circles of music notes and vintage french script. Loved that! Perri methodically worked on her main notebook, picking out all of her favorite colors and patterns from my stash. She ended up with a patchwork pattern that was awesome. I wish I had taken pictures of their final products to show, but by the time we ended at about 1:00 a.m. all I could think about was falling asleep...we did have nail appointments early the next morning.

So this fall my son starts college...can't believe where the time went. And now I know he will most likely want me to come with him for some of his shopping for back-to-school supplies, but it won't be the same as when he was younger. There will be no letting mom coordinate folders and pencils. There will be no debate over what color lunchbox to buy. But, that's okay...I am thankful for time moving on and watching these little kids growing up. (That hasn't always been easy, but that's a whole other post...) Anywho, September is here and I love it just the same. I love that I have my own stash of papers and supplies that I can create with. I recently purchased some vintage children's flashcards and school ephemera, so I've been dreaming up things to create for my shop. I'm sure there are other moms and teachers out there who obsess about coordinating school supplies like me!