Classroom Teacher Gift

It's that time of year again!  Time to celebrate our teachers and let them know how much we appreciate them and what they have done for our kiddos this year.  I saw this idea on a blog where the mom sent out an email to the class parents and had the kids secretly answer questions about their teacher.  Then she put the answers together in a book and presented it to the teacher along with some money she collected from the class as well.

Our school does not allow us to collect money from the parents for anything, but we can collect answers so I did just that.  Last year I did this for G's Kindergarden teacher and it of course made her cry.  This year, I did it again.  It's such a great idea!!  EVERYONE can participate.  It doesn't cost the students or parents anything to do and is always well received by the teacher.  Plus, G's First Grade teacher is leaving the school (and the city) this year, so it makes a great keepsake of her time at this school.  I can't wait to give it to her on Friday!

So here's a picture of the finished product!

All this is is an index card binder that I purchased from Office Max and a package of pastel cardstock that I cut to fit.  Each sheet of cardstock made 4 "pages" so the one package gave me more than enough pages to complete both this year's project and next year's too! Each of the answer pages are 4" x 5.5".  I punched 2 holes to the cardstock so that it would fit in the binder and would be easy to flip between pages.

For the Title Pages I just cut the cardstock a little bigger.  About 4.25 x 5.5 instead of just 4 x 5.5.

I covered the binder with some pretty scrapbook paper and then used a coordinating paper to line the inside of the binder so that the ugly folds were covered.  I printed directly onto the pages for all the kids answers but for the title pages I wanted them to stand out, so I printed onto velum and then taped them onto the cardstock.  I used some fancy scissors to cut around the titles and then drew around the edges with markers to create a "frame" for the title words.

To get all the answers I sent out this letter:

I sent them to school in envelopes with stickers on the back to "seal" them.  On the front of the envelope I wrote "Please return to Gabe's Mom."  I asked the teacher if I could come to school and hand out something for an end of the year thing.  I told her that they would be sending the envelopes back to school and if they came back just to make sure that my G brought them home.  It worked really well because since G is in the Functional Classroom a lot of the time it made it seam like a secret for him and she was very excited to help the kids help Gabe. :)  When I handed them out I made a big deal about the fact that it was a secret and they weren't supposed to talk about it at school or anywhere else, but could read it when they got home to their parents.  Then of course the teacher added that they shouldn't tell Gabe because he doesn't know about it and it just sealed the deal.  I also sent out this letter in an email to all the parents that I had emails for and in the letter I asked them to send me answers via email if they could.

It really worked out well because it just so happened that every time I went up to either pick up the envelopes or hand them out, G was in his other classroom, so it REALLY added to the whole idea that it was a surprise for him. :) (NOTE: later I found out that a little boy spilled the beans that it was a surprise for Ms. P, but who knows if she believed him or not)

I also went to have lunch with G during school hours so that I could add the BEST part of the book...their signatures!

Even if I didn't get answers from all the kids (which I didn't) I wanted all of them have had a part of the book somehow, so every child signed the book.  I brought up some of the smaller cards with me to lunch and walked around with a pen and had each child sign.  It worked out to 4 pages with 5 signatures each.   I then came home and added them to the book behind this title page:

I absolutely LOVE getting these answers back! Some of them were really heartfelt (This year Ms P taught me...) -

And then some were just completely hilarious! (What is Ms P's favorite color?) -

It is a great book.  I really enjoy putting it together each year.  After it's done I always send a list of all the answers to the parents so that they can see what all the kids said also.  It's just too good not to share.  I do invite them all to come when give it to her.  I always wait until the last day when they are not doing anything anyway. 

Valentine's Deck of Love

This year for Valentine's Day I wanted to do something special and cute. I also wanted to keep costs down, and since a week long vacation to St. Andrews for a golf trip was out of the question, I came up with this idea.  I stole it from this blog and it went over very well!  He loved it and has been sitting by his nightstand ever since.  This was a BIG hit!

I just measured the cards, created a document in Word and printed it out. Then I cut out all the reasons and modge podged the reasons to the deck of cards.  This was an extra deck that we had laying around the house (we have 5 or so) so it was perfect.  Then I punched the holes in the cards and put the deck on the rings. Voila! Instant V'Day gift.  

The font I used was my own handwriting! I found this awesome website that will create your handwriting into a font that you can install on your computer! The website is: myscriptfont.com.  You can download a template and scan in your handwriting.  Very cool and FREE!!

Candles fit for a Princess

Here are the adorable candles that I made for the Princess Baby Shower!

This was SO easy!  All you need are a few supplies and some Royal ideas!

Supplies:
Candles
Glitter
Spray Adhesive
Masking Tape (or Painters Tape)
Paper
Polyacrylic Spray

How to:
First, you need to create your design.  Apply the tape in any design you wish on the candle.  Remember anything below the tape will be filled with glitter.  I needed several pieces of tape.  It's best to use scissors to cut the tape to get the straight lines for the crown points. (I forgot to take pictures of this step before I completed a candle.)

Then wrap paper around your candle to cover everything you don't want to be covered in glitter.  Tape in place.  Make sure everything thing is covered that you don't wand blinged up.

Then spray the adhesive onto the exposed section of the candle.  Let dry about 10 seconds to make it really tacky.  Then shake glitter over the exposed section to cover.  Do this over a sheet of paper so that you can reuse any glitter that doesn't stick to the candle. 

Let dry about 10 - 20 minutes or so.  Then spray with the Polyacrylic Spray.  I used the satin finish because that's what I had and the glitter still shines well.  I think though if I were buying it for this project I'd buy the glossy sheen to add more sparkle and shine to the glitter.  The Polyacrylic will help to keep your glitter on the candle.  Some will still fall off and get onto your hands, but not near as much as you would have if there wasn't the coat of Ploy on it.  You can add more coats if you really want a good seal if you want. 

Let dry as long as the spray recomends (30 or so minutes) and take the paper off.  Then take the tape off very carefully. 

Voila! Your finished candle is now a Royal Treat! :)  Light and enjoy!

Fun Halloween Decor

Happy October!!  It's time to get out the fun Halloween Decor and make your house festive for the holiday.  My front porch is already decorated with my Pumpkin Topiaries and a few fun pumpkins I got from our local craft store, but I needed something that said "October."  Our family does celebrate Halloween, but not the "scary" Halloween.  For us, it's about dressing up in a FUN costume and getting to eat lots of candy and having fun with friends.  We do not promote the scary, mystical or demonic side of Halloween. 

So you can see my delima when decorating my new house.  I wanted something that went along with the holiday, but not anything scary or witch-like.  I came up with a few things and I wanted to share them with you in case you wanted an alternative to the "commercial" Halloween Decor.

Here are a couple of items I thought up:

Boo Door Decor

 

Milk Jug Goblins

 

Let's start with the Boo Door Decor first!
The thing I REALLY like about this is that most of the supplies came from the dollar store! This was a VERY inexpensive decoration to make!  I always start there when I want to decorate my home, because it's the cheapest!!

 

Supplies:

2 Craft Floral Rings

 Wooden Letter B (you can make this from cardboard if you want)

Crate Paper in Black, White and Orange

Modge Podge

Stapler/Staple Gun

Hot Glue Gun

3 Buttons

Ribbon

Scissors

 

 

How to:

First, Cut a long strip of Crate Paper.  Then place a little bit of Modge Podge on the back of your letter.  Place one end of the crate paper onto the modge podge.

 

 

Wrap the paper around the letter.  Don't worry about making it pretty.  The texture is what you are going for, and the beauty about Halloween decorations is that the messier they are, the more festive they look.  It's all about the character. :)

 

When you come to the end of your paper strip, and then end of your wrapping, just make sure it finishes on the back side of your letter.  Take some Modge Podge, dab a little on the back of the letter where your strip will land and gently press to seal.  You can also apply a layer of glue on top of the paper as well.  Continue to cut long strips and wrap the letter until it is all covered with paper.  I decided to alternate the colors of my letters.  Black, white, black. 

Here's what they look like all "wrapped."

 

 

Notice the messy "B." :) "B"eautiful! Now take some orange crate paper and fold, crumple or twist to make any kind of "flower" you want.  Staple it onto the letter where you want your "accent".

 

 

Again, don't worry about being pretty, you're going to pretty much cover it up anyway.  Now, hot glue your button to the center of your "flower" to cover up the staple.

 

 

Try to mix the colors, white button on the black letter, black button on the white letter.  If you have a spider, or a pumpkin or any other cute "trinkets" you could use those instead of buttons.

 

Now to attach your letters together to form your word! Take your ribbon and staple it to the back of the letters.  Start with the top "B" first. 

 



 

Then decide where you want your "O"s to go in relation to your "B" and staple the ribbon accordingly on the back of all letters. Now lay it out and look at what you've made!

 

 

To hang it on the door, I did need to make a bow to tie in the loop and onto my wreath hanger on my door.  It wasn't hard, just a simple bow.  What do you think?  Please leave your comments below!

 

 

 

 

I think it looks great on my porch with my pumpkins!

 

 

NOTE: Only attempt this if you have a screen door that will protect the paper from the elements.  Otherwise, you may end up with a very sloppy mess.  Messy is festive, but sloppy is just tragic. I guess you could go ahead and put a layer of Modge Podge over your entire letter to seal it from the elements, but you may loose some of your texture of the paper.  I don't know, I didn't try.

 

Next let's take a look at how to make the Milk Jug Goblins -
I do have to confess, this is not an original idea.  I saw it first on Pinterest.  To see the inspirational post from another blog, click here.

 

Supplies:

Empty clean dry milk jug (different shapes look best)

Black Magic Marker

Scissors

Flameless LED Candle

 

How To:

Take your marker and draw a cute or fun face on one side of your jug.  I didn't even worry about taking the label off, because no one is going to see the back of your jug.  Then cut a hole in the back of your jug so that you can access the candle.  If you don't want to put a light source in your jug, don't worry about this step.  Then turn on the candle and place it on your porch or table.  If you don't have a flameless candle, then you can use Christmas lights or glow sticks to light your jug.  Just make sure your hole is big enough in the back to put a strand of mini lights inside.  You can use the icicle lights and a LOT of jug goblins to create a fun atmosphere if you like.

 

 

I cut off the tops of my jugs too, just for a more fluid look.  I plan to add several more to my porch as we use up the milk during the month.  I think they are cute and add to my decor as well. :)

 

 

 

Cereal box to In Box

Ever wish you had a place to organize all that incoming mail, or bills, or papers from school...or basically anything that is cluttering up your table or counter?  Well, I was in need of a place to put new orders from my MK business, and my assistant (my sister) mentioned that I needed some sort of in box for her.  Alas, a craft is born!  This is the finished product:

 

This was so easy to make!  And it literally was FREE to make, just use what you have around the house.  If you don't have any paper you like, then it might cost you a little, but not much...maybe only a $1 or so.

 

Supplies:

Empty Cereal Box (or Cracker Box)

1 Sheet of 12 x 12 Scrapbook Paper

Ruler

Pencil/Marker

Scissors

Modge Podge

Craft Brush

 

 

How To:

First, you will need to trace off your "in box" dimensions.

I used 2.5" from the left side and then 3" from the bottom.

 

 

Make sure you also draw straight lines on the sides of your box to mark where you will cut them as well.  Then draw a diagonal line from the 2 markings and start to cut your design.

 

 

Next step is to cut out your box following your marked lines.

 

 

Your project so far should now look like this:

 

 

Getting closer!  Now it's time to trace your template onto your scrapbook paper.  Use the edges of the paper so that you will be able to get all the necessary pieces on your 1 sheet of paper.  Make a template for the bottom of your box as well if you like...I did.

 

 

You will need a total of 5 templates if you are also papering the bottom of your box.  They will all fit if you place the two large sides on opposite ends of the paper from each other.

 

Now, cut out your templates and place them aside.  Next get out the modge podge and apply a light coat to 1 side.  Do one at a time so that you are not dealing with a sticky box. :)

 

 

One at a time, place your paper onto your box!  That's it! It should now look like this:

 

 

I added a "label" just in case I forgot what it was for on mine. :)

                    

Pretty cool huh?!

             

 

 

Now to make one for an "out/to file box." :) 

Happy crafting!