sweet homemade gift

I think this would make a great 'thank you' gift, teacher gift, secretary gift, just an all around good thing to keep on hand for someone you want to do a little something for!

check out this sweet strawberry lemonade recipe over at Echoes of Laughter.

Teacher Appreciation Days 1 & 2

i meant to update each day, but i am already a day behind.  shocking!

not that my own students have wished me Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, but that's okay...I will love them just the same :-)

For L's support team (and there are about 20 folks), we sent packets of wildflowers seeds on Monday.

Today, we sent in handmade fingerprint bookmarks.  L tolerated me stamping 20 some bookmarks.  He is my fella!  He didn't sign each one, but I certainly think he left his mark :-)

What will tomorrow bring?!?!

laptop decoration

before:

i'm sure the tech folks will be really thrilled when they see my computer, but it looks darn cute if you ask me!

i simply used some removable wall stickers from the dollar store to create my pink and green polka dotted computer!

maybe having my cute computer will make going back to work easier...or not!


after:

message boards

I went through the effort (if you've shopped with me you know i hum and haw about stuff) to buy a seagrass board and a dry erase board at the end of last week. I put them up in the kitchen and not 24 hours later...BOOM...yes...feel on the floor. One would think that I would just secure them a little better and be done with it, but I think in the back of my mind that wasn't really for that space in the first place.

so....

I created these little numbers this morning out of foam board, fabric and a hot glue gun. they are secured by my favorite putter-uppers...command strips. oh, and the dry erase part is from Michaels...if you haven't seen these they are in the poster board section. I think they are simply called dry erase sheets. they are great!

countdown to cameron

i saw an idea similar to this in a magazine a long time ago and swore that i'd do it if we ever had another child. at the time, little did i know how beneficial it might be for a certain very special big brother. Landon is extremely bright but has always had a difficult time with transitions and new situations. I thought that setting a visual countdown to Cameron's arrival would really help him. not only will it help him understand the concept of time and anticipation, I hope it develops a sense of connectivity between the two. When we took the first link off today he was super excited, looked in her room, gave a big grin and nodded his head when we asked if he was excited to meet her! I hope that this countdown becomes a bonding and preparatory experience for all of us!

i didn't want the paper chain to have to stretch the entire house, so i cut 12x12 pieces of scrapbook paper into 1" by 6" strips.


we are 74 days out from the c-section, so i numbered each strip from 1 to 74.


then connected all of the strips to make the chain.

for now, we draped it on her crib. we've got some work to do in the nursery, so until i have a better place...

OH MY CUTE...

String of lights decorated with cupcake liners...why can't i think of these things?http://cfabbridesigns.com/blog/?p=3916
can't wait to make them.

i've also seen strings of lights made with flower petals and seashells over the lights.

maybe after vacation i can tackle these cuties!

if you are interested in trying them I recently saw some DARLING cupcake liners at Michaels craft store.

button keychain

{front} {back}

hand-drawn onesies

tonight's projects...

more sharpie tie dye

personalized paper lanterns

i could not be more excited about this project. i mentioned it the other day...it was featured on Dollar Store Crafts, HOWEVER...i have put my twist on it.

i think i mentioned that i have the kids decorate a paper lantern at the beginning of each school year to be hung from the ceiling for the year. 1--it decorates the room for the ENTIRE year and i don't have to really worry about anything else! 2--it allows the kids a way to express themselves so that i can get to know them and a way for them to display their uniqueness.

so, i saw the tutorial the other day and wanted to try it to see how it could work for my classroom. This is going to be FABULOUS! it's cheap (i probably already have all of the materials i will need), it'll be a fairly quick project, it's gender-neutral, completely unique to each kid!

Materials: 12 x 12 scrapbook paper (8 x 8 if you want them smaller)--use patterned paper so that when the lantern is done it will be decorated on the outside AND inside!
tape or stapler
scissors
scraps of ribbon
markers or colored pencils
old magazines for students to cut out images
glue sticks

Process: Have students decorate the WHITE side of the scrapbook paper however they want. (I am going to require mine to put their name somewhere on it and then i will suggest that they include things they like, sports they play, etc). When dry, hotdog fold (long ways) the paper. At the fold cut parallel strips toward the open end leaving a 1/2"space at the top. Roll the paper and bring the ends together with the fold in the middle...you should see the shape coming together. Overlap the two ends and tape or staple together. Tape or staple a scrap of ribbon at the top. Voila!

paper lanterns

at the beginning of each school year, i have the kids decorate paper lanterns to express themselves and they hang from the ceiling until the end of the year. typically i order the lanterns from oriental trading, but thanks to Dollar Store Crafts, i think i have a new idea...and cheaper!


http://thesaltypineapple.blogspot.com/2010/06/heather-mann-dollar-store-crafts.html

I think I will give the kids a sheet of white paper to decorate in a way that expresses themselves and then a decorative piece of paper to put in the inside for some extra color.

REALLY excited about this...can't wait to give it a try!

above headboard decoration

since i recently covered our headboard with fabric, i have been contemplating what to do above it. it couldn't be anything with too much pattern. it was a nightmare trying to match the blues. i decided to write a message up there...i didn't want to go painting anything. i tried using my letter cut out thing, but that was acting ridiculous, so i simply took a white cabinet door frame, mounted it on the wall, placed 3 pieces of brown paper in the frame and then wrote, "at the very least i do," which is what we chose to say in our wedding vows rather than just "i do." i could have spent a little more time with the lettering, but this project was so simple and cheap that i could redo it a million times if i want to. for now, it's good!

bisquick box gets a facelift

from

to this

with just some mod podge and scraps of paper :-)

now, what i'll use this for, i have no idea! maybe a snack bag for school or something.

activity period has been cancelled 3 times since this rotation, but my hope is that i will have my first 'trash to treasure' activity period with my kids. i'm planning tie dying and will have supplies for the bags above for when we're done tie dying!

cute magnets for kids

these take about two seconds.

head over to michaels or wally world and grab some wooden painted shapes. stick some magnetic tape on the back and you're done.

i used these as favors for several of Landon's birthday parties...you can customize them by writing on them with a permanent marker.

cold weather dude craft--hand warmers

with weather like this, i wanted to make something warm!

i think i originally saw this idea in a Martha Stewart magazine a long time ago. it's quick and easy. you need:

plus... i used pie weights, but i think rice would work just as well...maybe even better. i put the one pictured in the microwave for 1 minute intervals. i think i was satisfied after about 4 minutes.

i think i made some for my dad (for his metal detecting adventures) and my brother (for his hunting expeditions) during one of the holiday seasons recently.

silly picture frame

i love being surrounded by pictures...always have.

i adore most pictures frames...classic, big, tiny, wooden, colorful, whimsical. i made this one a while back, but thought i would post it here as encouragement to allow a picture to dictate the frame sometimes.

i love this picture...so classic us...shaun and i acting goofy and landon practically rolling his eyes at us :-)

the quality isn't that great, but i was having a hard time with the flash and a reflection.

the frame is from wally world...the same white ones i use for most frame projects...it's about 7 bucks i think. stickers are also from there and i used some Zig pens for the caption, which reads "and I'm supposed to take these people SERIOUSLY?!"

another mod podge experiment

the latest fad in crafts seems to be decorating hand sanitizer bottles. I didn't get fancy like many of the blogs i came across because i ran out of time, but this took me all of 4 minutes! these would make perfect gifts--cute and health conscience!

i've already peeled the origins label off of my lotion tub and plan to get a hold of that next!

office supplies gone cute

i'm certain i stole this idea from another blog as well, but i'm not sure which one...thank you for the idea whoever has it posted out there.

i used the same buttons from wally world that i made the magnets out of that i previously posted.

i used aleene's jewelry glue...it typically holds up nicely.

a girlie gift

our cousin cassandra had her sweet 16 this week! oh to be young again!

i love when our girl family members or my friends have bdays because i get to make cute girlie things!

i ran across this idea a week or so ago when i was searching my crafty resources:

http://thecreativecrate.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=50

being the wife of a cabinet designer, we tend to have random pieces of wood, doors, counter tops, etc laying around the house that we feel the need to keep rather than throw away. conveniently with the basement flood i found a door with speaker screen in it that shaun had brought home from work. i thought this would be perfect!

here is the final product:

i didn't have much to do on this project because the screen was already in, the wood was already finished, so it took me all of 5 minutes.

i hot-glued the flower on the front, staple gunned the ribbon on the back...i used two staples on each side to get the ribbon to lay correctly.

the screen required some tape to get it to stay, so i used some of the duct tape i had left over from the art tube i made our niece for Christmas.

i really like how this turned out. thanks to those folks who publish crafting ideas...i'd like to think that i have original ideas, but rarely is that the case!

genna, if you're reading this, i hate to ruin the surprise, but you're getting something similar for Christmas! it was just too cute, i had to post it.

Easy Peezy Magnets

i love magnets and i love colorful things. i was shopping for things that I COULDN'T FIND THIS MORNING (see my grrrrrrrrr post) when i came across some really cute and funky buttons. i actually made these very magnets a few years ago, but i used hot glue and it didn't hold up very well. this time i used the same glue i use for the landon's love stuff and i'm thinking it will be much better.
here's the back and the glue i used: