End of Year School Gifts

I found this idea on Pinterest and another mommy helped me carry it out. I did the editing and coloring and she got the kids to thumbprint the tree. We had a small mishap the day we were going to give it to her (last day of school) and ended up having to cut it off at the bottom, hence the ribbon. The teacher's name and school info has been "X"ed out.

Sorry for the editing but it must be done :)

I found a "bare tree" clip art from the internet and printed it on white cardstock. Then I colored it with my Copic markers. The students used Stampin Up's Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, and Old Olive inks to create the leaves with their thumbprints. The print at the bottom is the teacher's name, school, grade, and year. The ribbon was not originally there but my friend had an accident and bled on the cardstock, so we had to do some surgery. Next time I will pay closer attention to the size of the tree as it was hard to fit the page into a standard frame and the kids' had to print their thumbs several times (which they didn't have an issue with :)).

I also made this bookmark for the teachers from me. It has a poem that goes along with those colored beads. This was my first attempt at bookmarks and can I just say "EASY"? Holy cow, they went together fast. My new go to gift.

I don't know where I originally got this ribbon; I've been hoarding it for awhile. I found this idea on Pinterest and knew that I wanted to try one myself. I found the ribbon clasps, which I have never used before, at Joanns, where I was actually looking for metal bookmarks. You know the ones that have the thin part that slip into the book and then the other side hangs out over the binding? No? This was also the first time using crimping beads. Man, is there a learning curve to those! Finally figured them out and I'm really happy with the outcome.

P brought some gifts to her little classmates as she will not be returning to her little preschool. We made a memory game and a note that said, "Thanks for the MEMORYs." These are really great for throwing in your purse and pulling out at appointments or waiting rooms. Time consuming project but worth it. A Pinterest find.

I ordered one inch wooden tiles from Michaels and needed twenty for each tin. The tins are the ones for wedding favors, found in the wedding aisle at Michaels; they have round and square. I punched all the papers, white for all the tiles and pairs of colors for the other side. I used plain white cardstock and all the colors are Stampin' Up. I modpodged the circles onto the tiles and then went over the whole thing again. Took lots of time but I think they will hold up well for some years.

Not pictured is the gift from the kids. A Michaels plastic paint can filled with M&M's and the poem I'm sure all of us has seen on Pinterest. But if not, you can see it HERE. (Pretty much the same as with the bookmark with some personal changes made.)  Also not pictured are the notecards I made E's teacher. Bummed about that; they were so cute!

Hope this finds you happy and healthy. :)

Posing a Question...

Do you ever wonder that there will be no "original" ideas with Pinterest being so hot? I wonder, with every project I find and complete, if the person I am giving it to (I.E. teachers) are getting 21 of the same thing? Just something I've been thinking about.

Not that I'm complaining. I still think it's awesome that those crafty geniuses out there are sharing their work and letting the rest of us in on the how-to. Still it makes me wonder. :)

Rainbow Birthday Party!!!

So after having to reschedule because of fever and then having to schedule it two weeks later because of Spring Break, we finally got to enjoy all the prep that has been put into this RAINBOW party. I feel like I have been working on this for weeks and, well, I have. I found many of my ideas on Pinterest. Most of these projects were super easy but much more time-consuming than I thought they would be. Needless to say, I was grateful for the two extra weeks but would have stayed up all night to get it done for the original party. :)

I was adamant that this party be special and we go all out because, as the second child and being a big sister for only four months, P is having a harder time adjusting than the rest of us. I wanted to make her feel like the princess she should feel like on her birthday. I think she did...

Here are some of the decorations I made:

We had little activity stations that were available if the kidlets wanted to play; a dot-to-dot art station and a Pin the Gold on the Pot (at the end of the rainbow) but there were no good pictures. And we didn't even play the game. :)

And of course, the food!

I think a good time was had by all. If anyone disagreed, they didn't bring it up with me. I had the best time planning this party and for the first time in a long time, I'm looking forward to planning the next one.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! We love you so very much!

Thanks Pinterest!

OK. So I know that this site has been around for awhile but I just joined the masses and fell in love. Thank goodness for crock pot meals or my family would never eat. :)

I wanted to share a couple of projects I made for Valentine's using ideas I found on Pinterest (the card is mine but I'm sure not an original idea). I am so excited that people are so willing to share their wonderful ideas with all of us. And maybe even one day someone will pin something of mine. :)

Here's Kevin's Valentine's gift from the kids (we don't exchange gifts, the two of us):

$4 Target frame and $1.80 worth of pictures from Walgreens

Here are the girls' Valentine's to their classmates:

And here are the cards I made teachers and grandparents (not Pinterest):

To all those wonderful couples in our lives that show us what it means to truly love and be loved, THANK YOU!! And Happy Valentine's Day!

*If you would like me to enable you, I'll be happy to send you an invite to join Pinterest. Just don't say I didn't warn you.