Can you smell the freshly sharpened pencils and cool crisp EARLY morning air?  IT’s BACK TO SCHOOL TIME! Back to a routine, and waking up early and remembering to brush your teeth and admire the new waxy crayons that will soon be peeled and broken.  I love it. I love fall. I love planning teacher gifts! Fall Wreaths! I get in super high Martha Stewart Gear and make PUMPKIN EVERYTHING.  The struggle is real. But it’s not a struggle, I truly love fall and to me, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

I have been reading up on what teachers really like to get for gifts, especially since I’m teaching a little this year!  There are numerous pinterest posts on the topic. The most helpful ones were written by….. teachers. Yeah. They are special people and they don’t do what they do for the money…so I try really hard every year to make sure my girls teachers feel loved and appreciated.  The top recommendations were:

1.)Gift Cards

2.)Thoughtful personal notes and handmade items from students

3.)Useful things that aren’t just for teaching

4.)Yummy Foods in small amounts/single servings

I decided on tote bags that were filled with yummy treats. But here’s the thing. I did not know how absolutely busy and tired I would be tackling the enormous task of getting 4 children ready for school and teaching and working on a new website and being pregnant with number 5.  I’m a classic first – child. Overly ambitious, task oriented, always making big plans in my head and overestimating my super woman powers.  I hit the wall. I designed three fun KC Royals tote bags to give the girls teachers in my head and ONLY. MADE. ONE.  I tested the perfect pumpkin muffin recipes until I found the right one, but when Sunday night came I had to be realistic and go to bed at a reasonable hour and give myself grace.  And we had all eaten the pumpkin muffins.  Except for Cranky Bear. He was on a diet. and boy was he cranky when he smelled those delicious little guys.

So this week after recovering from the first week of new everything, I regrouped and made my pumpkin muffins from Sally’s Baking Addiction.com and only gave the kindergarten teacher a handmade tote avec pumpkin muffin. I’m really happy with it though! WE are big Royals Fans here in KC. I have been loving all the handmade Royals Fan gear and art and was inspired to make my own. I’m excited to make more!

We bagged the rest of the giant muffins into cute brown paper bags with windows, and they were much appreciated.  One teacher commented on the fact that she didn’t have time to get breakfast that day and it was perfect timing. I love it when God seems to work even those little details out.

Well Here’s the Tote. I’ve added it to my little Etsy shop, Handful Of Arrows,  if you want one! If time permits, I may get the other designs out of my head and add those too!  If you’d like to make your own here’s what I did:

-Bought a premade canvas tote and some Tulip Brand Fabric Paint Markers from Michaels….

-Drew my design out, copied it onto my tote in pencil.

-Traced my design with the markers. All you do is press it with a thin dish towel on top and a hot iron to set the ink.

Let’s Go Royals Lets’s Go!!!!