We have power! Woot! It's amazing how much we take electricity for granted. And I am so thankful that we were spared from losing it the other night. I'd like to think all your well wishes helped so I will. Thank you.
I know that I have been going on and on about the auction quilts. What I haven't mentioned is that I was in charge of coming up with art projects for all the classes at our school. My children attend a Catholic school, grades K – 8, so with the help of a friend, we came up with 9 different child art projects. I was personally responsible for completing 3 sets (Kindergarten, first grade and third grade) and helped out on all of the others. These play tents that the kindergarten classes painted are one of my favorites.
One class painted a meadow scene on yellow duck cloth and the other painted an underwater scene on blue duck cloth. I bought the duck cloth at Jo-Ann's (I used 50% off coupons, making it very affordable, about $12 per tent) and the bamboo garden stakes at Lowe's (about $15 per tent). I made the tents using this tutorial as a guide. I should mention that it is almost a no-sew project. There is a bit of hand sewing involved, but no machine necessary. So with the help of my handy assistant and good friend, Caroline,(whose children don't even attend the same school as mine!), we got them assembled and ready to go yesterday.
We added lots of ribbons and ric rack as streamers and strung some plastic beads on them for good measure. They are really cheerful and very cute so I hope they will be big sellers tomorrow night.
I should have saved this photo for yellow week….remember, it starts Monday!
Off I go….the car needs servicing, some bean bags need stuffing and sewing and I am going to treat myself to a pedicure and then a nap. I hope you have something to look forward to this Friday.
You, my dear, are amazing. These tents are amazing. Your school is very lucky to have you. Are you sleeping? I’m worried you’re not sleeping. Best of luck at the auction tomorrow night! I’m certain all of your hard work will pay off. xoxo
erin, i really, really love these…the boys & i will be making 1 or 2 for sure! and i am sure i’ll be calling you for ‘professional assistance.’ 🙂
enjoy the auction!
talk to you soon…
heather
We have a similar school auction in April…I’m sending a link to these to my art teacher friend right now to see if we can do something like this. Very, very nice…thanks so much for sharing!
Your school is lucky to have you! I am in the same boat at our Catholic school. It is fun but overwhelming. So many people cut themselves short when it is time to be creative and they find the class projects scary. I love to see the excitement of the kids–they make the projects work. Have fun this weekend. Does your school have a theme of the night? We are ‘summer at the shores’–a bit mean since I am paste-y white from head to toe and I am suppose to wear a sundress!
They’re fantastic! I love them. I hope the school has some idea of how lucky they are to have you.
Enjoy the pedicure and give yourself some good “me” time this weekend. You’ve earned it.
those are so charming and such a fantastic idea for a group project. when we did our nursery school auctions we were always looking for a unique idea for group projects that would bring in the big bucks!! I may have to mention your idea to the new leaders of the nursery school, as my youngest is now in 1st grade 🙁 and we don’t do a big fundraiser at his school
Simply AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are fabulous and what an awesome idea. I’m in charge of my school’s auction this year and I’m gathering ideas for artsy/craftsy grade projects for them to do. I think we’ll try this for Kindergarten!
Thanks so much for the inspiration.
So great! Our auction is next Saturday night. I found a metal coffee table in the trash and with some spray and ceramic tiles our 4th graders have turned it into a work of art that I hope will bring in $$$. It’s so funny about these things, I love to do them cause it’s awesome being with the kids–all the hard work is worth it to see the pride they take in doing for their school…Some lucky family is going to be loving you on Saturday night!!!
Those are so awesome! I bet they had a blast doing that!
Wow! My daughter would love to make one of these. I will add this to my list of “I am bored today” art projects for her. Thanks for sharing!
i am in awe…. you are good!
Amazing! I may have to suggest this for my son’s preschool class–their auction isn’t until spring, but I’ve never seen those before!
Have a great time!
Those look wonderful! How fun!
you have really worked hard. everything is beautiful (I really like the tents). You definitely deserve a nap (:
and girl … if any one deserves a pedi and a nap, its YOU! Love the tents, they look so great. I’m telling you, there are going to be some serious bidding wars on this stuff!
That just looks like a fun project to do with the kids for a summer day too!
WOW! You are soo creative! I bet the kids hang out in these alot.
those are the most beautiful teepees i’ve seen. i have to remember the idea.
amazing.
barbara brown
I think school auctions will see a huge rise in the number of play tents this year. I may have to “borrow” this idea for our school’s auction in May. How fabulous!
It was fun!!!
I can tell you that there will be a tee pee village in my yard this summer!
xoxox
Those teepees are fantastic! The link to the tutorial didn’t work for me, though. 🙁
What a very cool project – I can see us trying to make one (or several) of these during the summer.
Those are AWESOME!!!
I cannot believe you made these too.
these are so cool! I love the ribbons. hope you enjoyed the pedi! happy weekend.
my kiddos would love this project. bravo, once again!
Awesome! Too much fun… Lucky school! Lucky kids… And a lucky family who gets to take one of these home!
Hope you enjoyed your time today!
goodness woman, you are a hard working mama! i hope the auction is a HUGE success.
Great job! I hope you don’t mind if I post a link. It’s so hard to come up with creative new auction ideas.
you are amazing. the tents look great. We only lost power for a few hours. Our auction (i got a longterm job!!!) is in mid-march, i am sticking to small things for this year. enjoy your nap, you deserve more than one.
erin, i want one!!!
have a fabulous time tonight……i can’t wait to hear what you come home with. 🙂
They look great! I saw the same tutorial a while back and also thought it would make a great auction item for my school. Something different from the same old that we see every year. Please let us know how it goes at the auction and we’d love to see some other ideas!!! Thanks!
They look great. That would be such a fun project. I need to go and take a closer look at the details. I hope they realize how lucky they are to have you as a parent at that school.
these are so fun, erin!!
You just so rocked this auction! I hope your pieces brought in a lot of money for the school!!
xoxoxox
Those are terrific! I wish I was going to the auction.
Those are just awesome! I had better not let my little one see these or I will have one of these in the middle of my living room! But for summertime in the backyard these would be adorable!
Those tents are great – I hope you do well in your auction!
Wow, great idea! We just got the date and info about our son’s first auction — he’s a kindegartener. I’d love to hear an update as to how the auction went!
This is so awesome!!! What a great idea.
oh my word these are awesome! What a great idea for a fundraiser!
I have another question for you! What kind of paint did you use? Are the covers washable?
How much did they go for?
Great job!
Starting bid?
Do you mind sharing your other ideas? My email [email protected]
I’m in the same boat and looking for other ideas for classes perK- 5th
Thanks ..
Love this tent idea.