Apple Picking Preschool Math Game & Busy Bag

Last year, I participated in a really fun Busy Bag Swap with some other local toddler and preschool moms. It was great - groups of ten mamas each put together ten of the same busy bags and we met up to exchange them. Everyone ended up with ten totally different projects and activities to do with their kids. I actually participated in two groups, so I came home with twenty bags! My kids were both a little young to do any of the activities back then, but I knew I would be glad to have the resources when I started homeschool preschool this fall - and I was right.

One of the bags I made for the swap was based the Apple Tree Number Bag from Motherhood on a Dime (I found it - of course - on Pinterest).

Because I'm an overachiever, I made my trees out of felt instead of paper. I thought they might hold up longer with the toddler crowd, and felt is one of my favorite craft mediums, so I figured - why not. The number cards, which feature a number character on the front and corresponding dots on the back were printed and laminated.

My kids are crazy about "apple trees" now that we are in the swing of doing preschool activities regularly. Addie doesn't grasp that there is a purpose to the game and mostly just throws the pom-pom apples around the room, but Lincoln loves it.

The basic game premise is: place all the apples on the tree, draw a number card from the pile, identify the number and pull off that many apples, then flip the card over to match the apples with the dots and see if you got it right.

He usually gets bored after he has done 3-5 cards, but he is genuinely enjoying learning about counting and numbers, so I have no complaints!

It was a really easy craft to make and is stored so nicely in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. One day I might remember to take a busy bag with me when we go to a restaurant, right? For now, we're at least having fun with them at home.

For more toddler and preschooler busy bag ideas, check out my Busy Bag Pinterest Board!

Turn Up Your Look for LESS with Tresemmé® and Dollar General

Do you want to know the last time I really styled my hair?

EASTER. Yes. Easter, as in April of this year. See:

It looks like somehow I managed to avoid ever posting my Easter recap, even though I have the photos completely edited and ready. How awesome is that?

It may be a rare occasion that I have the chance to actually fix myself up, but thankfully it's possible to look like a celebrity (I'm totally pulling that off, right?) without spending like one. Thanks to Tresemmé® and Dollar General, it's easy to ramp up my own unique style and still stay within our budget.

Next time I have an event to prep my hair for, I'm definitely going to be checking out this style gallery for inspiration. My styles are basically straight or curled and I'm sure there are more options in the world than that! If you have any beauty tips (or just want to yell at me for only doing my hair a few times a year), tweet them to me (@directorjewels) with the hashtag #DGStyleTips - I'd love to hear what you've go!

This post is sponsored by Lunchbox, but all opinions are my own.

Toddler Girl Fall Fashion Round Up {2014}

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. Thanks for supporting my blog and my family!\

Last year, I put together a baby girl fall fashion round up and said to myself, this is so fun! I'll write these posts all the time! Here we are, a year and a month later and I'm finally making my second round up. I will let you decide if this is just a better late than never scenario or a fall-clothes-are-the-cutest-so-no-one-cares situation. Either way, here are my top picks for fall fashion for toddler girls this year.

Will I be purchasing any of these clothes for my own Adelaide? I don't know. It's unlikely, since most of our clothes come from consignment sales! But that doesn't mean I can't dream.

Purple Tapestry Dress // Teal Floral Ruffle Dress // Gray Royal Rose Dress //
Green & Purple Stripe Dress // Navy Glitterstitch Dress // Striped Jersey Dress //
Flower Ruffle-Hem Dress // Die Brücke Double Decker Dress

Addie's sense of style (okay, my sense of style as portrayed through her) is all about being girly without turning too impractical. She primarily wears dresses around our house, and they are made out of comfy fabrics (especially knit). No kid needs to wear stiff clothing while trying to play, right?!

Once Upon A Time Shirt // Gray Ruffle Skirt // Eric Carle Butterfly Shirt //
Black Ribbon Bow Leggings // Gnome Shirt // Yellow Stripe Shirt // Gray Ruched Leggings //
Purple Puppy Shirt // Teal Dot Shirt

When she's not in a dress, Addie's fashion options are still pretty simple: comfy, cute shirt and leggings. Because leggings on a chubby baby are fantastic.

What's your favorite piece featured here - or where's your favorite place to shop for kid's clothing?

Easy Storage + Organization with Clever Crates {Free for Fall Giveaway Hop}

Disclosure: I received a set of Clever Crates for review, but no other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own.

 

Welcome to the It's a Free for Fall Giveaway Hop, hosted by the Blogging Mamas Network.

Fall is finally here - yay! Now, if only the weather would cooperate and cool down right away for me - that would be awesome. I've joined with a bunch of other amazing bloggers to bring you a fall-themed giveaway hop. Each blogger in the hop has a prize for you worth at least $25, so don't forget to hop around to them all in the linky at the bottom of this post.

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably have noticed that I talk a lot about how I am always working on organizing my house. This is partially because I have too much stuff and too many projects. So I'm really excited to tell you about a recent find that has made my organization just a little bit easier: Clever Crates.

These crates, ranging in size from 35 lb capacity to 132 lb capacity, are an easy way to organize and transport household items. They have a unique lightweight and collapsible lift, pop and pack design - so when these containers are not in use, they fold down and can fit in tight spaces. That is my kind of organizing tool.

At first, I thought this design seemed too good to be true. I've never found a folding crate that actually seems sturdy enough to hold anything of significance, but these crates have been given my stamp of approval. Made from durable, reusable, sustainable and recyclable material, these crates are easy to clean, easy to use, and easy to store. In my house of toddlers, that's definitely a win. I'm forever forgetting to bring my reusable bags to the grocery store, and I love the idea of using Clever Crates for this task - they would easily fit underneath a cart and stay out of the way while grocery shopping.

So far, our primary use for the Clever Crate is storage in our home. We're keeping some of our preschool supplies in one of the small baskets (makes it easy to transport from room to room), and I have used my large crate for current sewing projects and supplies. These projects were formerly thrown all over my kitchen table, so this is a definite improvement.

The Clever Crates are available in a variety of colors. They range from $9.99 - $19.99 (depending on size) and are available online here or at some North American retailers.

Sewing organization for the win!

Don't just take it from me, though. Take a peek at this video - you can see the Clever Crates in action. The video is actually what convinced me to give them a try!


How would you use a Clever Crate?

Giveaway

One Director Jewels reader will win a set of 3 Clever Crates baskets! This giveaway will end on October 8 at 11:59pm EST. This giveaway is open to US readers only.

To enter the giveaway, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below (you may need Javascript enabled to see the form and it may take a moment to load)! Once you complete the first entry, the other options will open up so that you can complete them as well. All of the "extra entries" are optional - you can do just one, or as many as you want! Winners will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Once you've entered this giveaway, make sure you hop around to all the other participating blogs for more chances to win accessories for your stash!








Disclosure: So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Free for Fall participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations. I received a set of Clever Crates for review, but no other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Giveaway Policy and my Disclosure Policy.

Imagination: Never Say Die

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by BuyCostumes, but all opinions (and my love of playing dress-up) are my own.

The world of imagination is unbelievably beautiful. My kids are started to reveal their love for pretend play to me, little by little, and I am so excited about all the adventures they are going to have as they grow up together. A lot of people scoff at the idea of letting a kid out of the house in a princess dress or Mario overalls, but I say this: they are not going to have this amazing sense of adventure forever. When a person grows up, they tend to never reclaim the magic of putting on a costume and becoming someone else - even if it's just for a short time.

My background in extensive imagination, followed by acting and directing has helped to retain my personal fearlessness at appearing in public dressed as Princess Leia or Princess Peach. When I was a teenager, I was usually the ringleader of costumed excursions around the Midwest.

It's possible this friend will never forgive me for leaking this photo online publicly,
so I will leave her nameless here. Hehe.

There was that time I convinced my dear friend that the only way to see Wicked was in full replica costume, including green makeup. The people in the row behind us were a little bit concerned when I sat down with that hat (I took it off for the show). We were actually told in the lobby after the performance that we "did a great job." That was an unexpected ego boost for a couple of kids who had been sitting in an expensive seat for three hours.

My Phantom of the Opera dress has seen a lot of action, as I wore it to multiple events: a performance of the show in Indianapolis, the movie release here in Kansas City, and a tea party I threw for some 8-year-olds when I worked for the library. The best, though, was when I was joined in this endeavor at the movie release by my friend Holly as The Phantom. This was a couple of years after we had put on our own full-scale (for poor teenagers) production of Phantom in the barn in my parents' backyard, so it was kind of like reprising our roles. Totally worth all the strange glances and comments. Totally.

Fun fact: my husband definitely worked at this movie theatre at this time
and was probably there this day, and it's probably good this was not the day we met.

Maybe you hesitate to make a costumed appearance because you don't have any costumes! Don't let that stop you. Costumes are available year round, but right now you'll likely find a much larger selection since Halloween is coming up soon. You can save 20% on orders over $50 at BuyCostumes right now (use the code afchalloewen2050 for the deal). Plus, now is a great time to order because of the I Want To Be Guarantee - which allows you to exchange for a different size (with no additional shipping costs) for costumes and accessories purchased through October 31, 2014. You can read more details here.

It's really not necessary to have a specific event to wear a costume, although that is what inspires a lot of people (think: Halloween, when more people than normal are willing to look like a crazy person an imaginative soul in public). Sometimes, you can just round up some friends, dress everyone as pirates, convince your brother to be "security detail" and just wander the aisles of your local supermarket at 10pm for no other reason that it will be fun.

Am I scaring you off yet? It may have been awhile since I have appeared in public in costume, but that doesn't mean I'm not always scheming about an excuse to make it happen. Maybe we'll have a costume day for preschool soon and make it a point to go do something normal while we are all super dressed up. That would for sure be a good memory for the kids, right? 

Pirates can bake, too!

Okay, I admit it. Sometimes, people are embarrassed to be seen in public with me. I don't really mind. The memories are so fun!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by BuyCostumes, but all opinions are my own. For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.