Teacher Appreciation Day

My kids have AWESOME teachers and I always want them to know that I think so.  I try to help out in the classroom as much as possible and donate those things they put on their wishlists.  I know that being a teacher is sometimes a thankless job (just like being a mommy!)  I have seen these boxes posted several times and after seeing them one more time on my college roommate, Sharon's blog, I knew I had found my gift. (Don't look too close at Sharon's, they are WAY better than mine.  I'm not sure why I am even putting the link to them...except that hers are soooo cute)

 Leighton's teacher's favorite color is pink, so she insisted that she get pink.

 The assistant in Carly's EC class is a man and he LOVES UNC, according to Carly.

 The ones with mostly pink had pink interiors, the ones with green-green, the ones with blue-blue interiors (you get the picture.)

 And we can't leave out all those specials teachers, Art, P.E., Music, Writing, and Library. 

Carly picked out chocolate bars for hers.

And Leighton picked Mint Chocolate Chip Dessert gum for hers.

I do appreciate all that the great teachers do for my kids.  I know it is not an easy job, but I'm glad they have chosen it.

Happy Easter from My Peeps!

Target doesn't sell Easter shirts.  So what's a mom to do?  Use her handy dandy Silhouette and make some, of course.  I used  Char at Crap I've Made 's tutorial on freezer paper stenciling.  I designed and cut it out using my Silhouette.

  Ironed it on.

 Painted it in.  Two coats, please.

 Peel off the homemade stencil.    Add the eyes with the handle of the paint brush.  Lay flat to dry.

The Result:  Happy Happy Children!

And bragging rights, when anyone compliments them on their shirt. 

Because remember, it IS all about me!

A Quick Fix

I was so sick of buying shampoo, conditioner and body wash. It seemed like I would put a new bottle in the girls' bathroom and the next night, it would be empty. Not just empty, but emptied all over the walls and bottom of the shower. Jensyn's baby wash came in a pump and it gave me an idea. I took some empty soap dispensers (okay so I bought some 79 cent soap dispensers of my favorite flavor at Kroger), cut out letters with my handy dandy Silhouette and put them on the front. I filled them up from the original bottles. I told the girls they could have 6 pumps of each.
They are lasting forever. I can even buy the more expensive stuff now that I am not buying two bottles of each every shopping trip.

Let it Snow!

I used my Silhouette to cut out this saying for my front door. Just pretend that my door is Ruby Red. I haven't painted it yet, but will.After a while I decided it needed another snowflake at the bottom.And one on the back of the door. I really love this vinyl. It is shiny silver like a mirror. When you drive past the house the sun reflects off it. So very cool. Oh, and it was FREE! Where did I get it? you ask.

Well, Have you seen these in the grocery store?

That is part of my little part time job. I put down these floor decals. We have three Pampers ads that are going down. It is smaller than the sheet and the border is silver. It is kind of like a big sticker and the extra is what I used to make my saying. Since I have 13 stores, I have tons of it. It is made to be washed and walked on so it will hold up to the outdoors.

Snowmen

I saw these and thought the girls' teachers could use some. Everyone can use some more hand sanitizer. Leighton picked out the ribbon for the scarves. Miss Potts' birthday is tomorrow and I wanted to get her a little something and so I made her a smaller version of Mrs. Lalino's. I used pink kisses (caramel) and a pink ribbon. Miss Potts loves pink.

School's Out for the Year

This snowcaused the county to close school for two days. So the girls missed out on their Christmas parties at school as well as pajama day. They were a little disappointed. I was a lot disappointed. I have been working on the teacher gifts for three full days. I decided at the last minute to make them these countdown blocks.Miss Potts likes pink, so I made hers with pink letters and numbers.The sets ready for packaging.And here they are all packaged with the poem I wrote.

(Out here we are not too crafty and I wasn't sure if they would know what to do with them.)

Here is my poem:

We are always counting down

To one thing or another,

Christmas Break, vacation days,

The birthday of your brother.

Turn these blocks to the number,

of remaining days.

Change it daily, and then you'll see,

when no day remains.

The day is here. Hooray, Hurrah!

Now you can rejoice!

And start again the countdown,

To the next thing of your choice.

Monday is a teacher workday. I will try to take them over then and hope that some of the teachers are there.

What I've Been Doing

Carly's teacher, Mrs. Lalino, is turning 50 and I wanted to get her a little something. I have seen these candybar bouquets at the upscale grocery stores and thought I would try my hand at one. I don't love the Christmas colored kisses, but they were on sale and her birthday is in December.

Leighton wanted some new big flowers for her hair.

I had seen these and made some while the girls were showering. I liked them because they could go on a headband or a clip. They are removable, quick and cheap. They passed inspection.

I melded a couple of different stitchery patterns I had and came up with a new one. I made some of these family stichery frames for my friends for their birthdays. This one is Amanda's. She has since reframed it and added a mat. It looks 100% better.

I made one for Michelle that had her kids and family pets. Her daughter was pulling the dog and cat in a wagon. It said 'Home is where your mom is' I didn't get a picture of that one.

This is the pattern I made for the one I am making for Amanda to give to her mom for Christmas.

I got this pattern from Twin Stitchers when I was in Utah. I am making this family tree for my mother-in-law for Christmas. I didn't get a picture of it either. (Need to work on that!)

One of the teachers at the girls' school has asked me to make her sister a bag. There are these pair of shorts that the teacher has had for nearly 20 years. Her sister is always making fun of them. The teacher wants them to be made into a bag and give them to her sister for Christmas. I found a reusable tote bag tutorial on Living with Punks and added some pockets to the outside and inside as the teacher had requested.

I had started with an equally loud print for the sides and straps and decided that it was just too much. I hope her sister really gets a kick out of it.

Dumpster Diving

Yes, I am a huge germ-a-phobe. However, I am not willing to pass up some great junk, even if it is in a dumpster. I actually did not dive for these, there was a door on the side and my friend Lisa, was the one who reached in for me. What a true friend. She even let me put them in the back of her SUV. Here they are in all their glory.Another view.A close up on the lovely sponge painting.I took the mirror out and sanded, sanded, sanded. Then I sanded some more. I spray painted them Colonial Red. Then I sanded the edges and wiped on some dark walnut stain. I put the mirrors back in, but wasn't loving them. I took the mirrors back out and hung them up. They were still missing something. Then it hit me! Letters! I found some large letters at Michael's, spray painted them black and then let the girls pick some Halloween paper to cover the front. What do you think?Don't mind my paint chips, I am trying to decide on paint colors for this room.When it is not decorated for a holiday I purchased the word EAT and used brown spray paint on the letters and then covered them with distressed paper. I thought I could use other three letter words for different holidays/seasons. The ones I have thought of so far are SUN, JOY, BRR, XOX, USA, EGG. Do you have any good ones? As I am sure you can tell, I have now moved onto painting the chosen colors and 'living' with them for a while. My walls look like I am trying to paint camouflage.

The Fairy Party

Leighton decided that she wanted a fairy party. She wanted everyone to dress like a fairy, have fairy wands, play pin the wand on the fairy, have a fairy treasure hunt, and have fairy berries, pixie sticks, and cake. I decided to hit up invite our friends to join the fun. Riley's birthday is the day after Leighton's. We decided to have a double party. Riley's actual response was, 'Ms. Leslie, I want to DO it.' Jessica rented a bowery (pavilion for those of you not in Utah) at the local park and away we went. I made most of the decorations and Jessica picked up last minute things. She was going to order the cakes, but Leighton couldn't make up her mind. Hence, Riley had an awesome fairy cake and Leighton had a plain homemade cake.

But, on to the preparations... Leighton insisted on picking fresh strawberries to make her fairy berries. Can you see her in the picture? She had to pick the best ones for her friends. This is her haul.




On to the day of the party....

It all started at 10 a.m. and was scheduled to be over at 11:30.
(Thanks for the advice, Megan 'The Birthday Guru")
I had made a tulle canopy to hang above the table, but it fell and was taped up on the side. The girls loved it! The flowers in the canopy were actually hair clips. The fairies got to pick two of their favorites as a party favor.

These flowers were attached to "pixie" sticks and served as a centerpiece until the end.

On to our fairy treasure hunt. Leighton and Riley had hidden little gemstone rings in the woods and the fairies went searching. They didn't want to give up when there was only one left. This took way longer than I thought it would. This was also where I stopped taking pictures. I misplaced my camera and Super-Jess took over. Thanks!

Now on to Pin the Wand on the Fairy. I used the school's overhead to trace this fairy onto poster board. The girls each had a star with their initial in **GLITTER** on it. I forgot a blindfold, so we used a pair of Jensyn's pants.

When they were done, they wanted to play it again.

Now on to cake....I do want to mention that I brought my luncheon sets that I have been collecting for several years. The girls were great and I didn't lose one piece.

Also, the fairy berries--ARRGGHH! My thought was strawberries dipped in melted white chocolate that was tinted pink with food coloring. Well, adding food coloring to the melted chocolate changed the consistency and we had scooped berries, not dipped. If you closed your eyes and ate them, they were fine. And since they were all eaten, I guess it wasn't a total failure.

The whole clan of fairies.

Blowing out the candle. No, her face isn't dirty she got poison ivy, AGAIN!

Next, decorating the edible fairy wands.

So good (SUGAR!) that it made her eyes roll back in her head.

Riley decorating her wand and showing her blue tongue.

We didn't have enough time to open presents, so each girl picked her two flower clips, her pixie sticks and that was that. We were cleaned up and cars repacked by 12:02. That is how you do a party. Thanks, Jess!

We have decided to follow the crowd and only do a friend party every other year, so Jess and Riley you are on your own next year.