Teacher Appreciation 2012

Teacher appreciation week starts Monday.  Did it sneak up on you too?  Actually I knew it was coming as I've seen lots of fun ideas popping up on Pinterest :)  I just put off throwing everything together until this week.  Which is actually fine, as our PTO isn't the best at getting notifications out ahead of time and we only received the note requesting participation this week.  Luckily they did the same thing last year, so I knew what I was in for.  The PTO requested that the kids bring in a card for their teachers on Monday.  I decided to use this printable (found here) as I love anything that seems a little bit more personal.

Tuesday's assignment was chocolate so I grabbed chocolate bars that looked pretty decadent and added a tag.

Wednesday the PTO will provide breakfast.  Thursday we are supposed to send in a flower.  I found that a hard one last year as our town isn't big on cut flowers and I didn't have any in my yard.  So this year I grabbed some flower seed packets and prettied them up a bit.  The tag reads "If teachers were flowers, I'd pick you!"

The PTO's plan is to give the teachers a larger gift on Friday, one that doesn't require contribution from the parents.  So I figured that's my chance to go out on my own a bit and send in something that wasn't "assigned."  I picked up a bunch of yummy smelling anti-bacterial (in pocket sizes) and holders at one of Bath and Body Works big sales knowing it would come in handy for something like this.  The tag says "you are scent-sational."  The printables for this one and the chocolate came from the Eighteen25 blog and can be found here.

And while I was on a roll (and because the italian ices looked interesting when I was at the dollar store), I duplicated the "stay cool this summer" idea I used for end of the year gifts last year.

I have to say, it's a relief to have all of that put together and ready to go so I don't have to rush around at the last minute.

Valentines Craftiness

My friend, Audrey and I had one of our craft days yesterday - so fun! Just wanted to share :)
After I took the above photo I realized I hadn't put anything in the frame. This is a detail of the final product.

A close up on one of the hearts. We LOVED the glitter! Isn't it great?

And this little baby will be put away until I pull out my spring stuff.


A couple tips I thought I'd point out.
-at the wood place where we bought most of our supplies, Audrey had the prescience of mind to ask them how they got the glitter on their finished products. The trick? Dip the object INTO the glitter (we put wax paper over a cookie sheet and sprinkled the glitter onto it. The wax paper made getting the glitter back into the jar easy) while the last coat of paint is still WET. Then when it's all dry, spray with a clear coat of GLOSSY glaze.
-for any sort of decoration that has a stick and a stand, glue only the TOP to the stick. That way you can remove the base and they'll fit in your storage totes more easily.

I've had a lot of fun working on my little Valentines vignettes today. Still need to find something suitable for those apothecary jars! I'm betting they stay empty for this year and hopefully I can find something on sale for next year.