Another fun teacher gift!

This is super easy and fun! There are a lot of different ways that you can make this. I got the idea from
eighteen25 
If you go to their site, you can download this sign for free!
I took it a step further and added some fun ribbon to the board. Check it out!

I printed it out on card stock. Then I got this clipboard from Wal-Mart for under $2.00. I happened to have some clear contact paper lying around. If not, you can get that at Wal-Mart too for around $5.00. There is always a use for that stuff!
I rounded the corners of the paper so that it would match the clipboard. I then traced the shape on the contact paper and cut it out. I had my son hold that paper very carefully so that it would not move around. You could also tack it in with a glue stick to hold it in place while you add the contact paper. I used an xacto knife to trim it once I had the contact paper on. Use a credit card to burnish it. Then add some fun ties of ribbon to the top to fancy it up! Enjoy!

Crayon Teacher Crafts!

Here is another wonderful gift idea for your kids teachers! Or this might be a fun thing to make for their rooms!
I got this idea from:diy-crayon-initials
This is all over the blog world! But I do have a few pointers..

~ Print your initial in Word or other publishing software on card-stock.  Cut out the letter and glue on your crayons. I used mostly "old" crayons, but I did need a few fresh ones for the tips of my letter.
When you are finished, then attach your crayon letter to your card-stock with the teachers name with a glue-stick. This gives you a chance to position it just the way you want with out having to waste paper printing it to get it right in the frame.
~ I got the shadow box from Hobby Lobby with a coupon. It was a light driftwood color. They sold it in black, but it was double the price. If you want black, go with that frame and spend the money. I about pulled all of my hair out painting this black. The glass does not come out, so you have to tape around it.
~You could just use a regular frame, but the shadow box looks really nice!

This was a fun teacher gift! So colorful and a good use of things that you might already have around the house!

Crayon Crafts!

Hello Blogger World!
I am finishing up some teacher gifts this week. And in the process, my little princess want to help! We all have tons of broken crayons all over, so here are a couple of things that you can do with them! Today will be Part 1, and tomorrow I will show what else I am doing with crayons for a teacher gifts.

I am sure that you all have seen how to melt broken crayon in the oven, but how about the microwave??? I had this candy mold (you can pick them up at any craft store). They are perfect because they are plastic. Once the crayon has harden, they just pop out! Easy and super cute!
We sorted the crayons by similar colors. This was a great thing for little hands to do, plus it's a teachable moment! I have a small ceramic crock that we put the broken pieces in. We started with different reds. I microwaved it for about 2 minutes. Keep checking your microwave. Use a oven mitt to remove it.
Be careful!!! It will be very hot!
Pour your first color into each shape. Now, we were just melting a few of each crayon and color at a time. Fill about 1/4 to 1/2 full in your candy mold. Wipe out your microwave safe dish with a paper towel and add the next color of crayon to be melted. this is how you can get a layered look! When that color is melted, add that to your 1st color. By the time we added the 2nd color, the 1st color had already started to harden. Another option is you could use a toothpick to swirl the colors to give it a marbled look. Fun!
We then carefully put them in the freezer. By the time Cinderella was done with lunch, so were the crayons! We made enough crayons to give to the neighbors!
She loved using them on paper and seeing how the different colors came out onto the paper!
Enjoy and more crayon projects to come!

EGG-xactly!

Hello Blog World!
I know, it's been over two month since I last posted! What has been going on? Lot's of sickness...not on my part, but my kids and hubby! And then there was Spring Break....for 2 weeks! Now, I have been working on tons of projects, it's just this TIME thing that I need to work on!
So I am going to start with a easy spring arrangement that can be made to go just about anywhere!

 

Are these not so fun?

Here is how to make them:

 

First, you need a box of cute little eggs. I scored with these babies! I got them for .50 a box at a garage sale, but I know that you can get them at Hobby Lobby or other craft stores. Don't forget to use coupons!

 

Next, you want to find a nice clear vase that you have in your stash. You can always get them at the Dollar Store. My neat trick here to save space is to put a empty toilet paper holder in the middle. This will save space and it fills the vase up faster! 

 

Now I wanted mine to be taller...and look cute! So, once again the Dollar Store candler holder and hot glue are calling my name! Just put a ring of hot glue on top of the candle holder and put your vase on top, in the bottom center. Don't worry, you can always separate these! Just give a gentle tug and it will come off!

  

To top them off, I have some left-over white feather boa...what? You mean to tell me that you don't have any? Don't even ask what it was from! You can always get these at the craft store too! Or you may want to add something else! 

Happy Spring! 

And there will be lot's more to come! I promise!

I heart U!

It's that time of year again! Valentines Day...or V-Day as I like to call it. Here's a shout out to all of the florist that will be working hard!
I have done this a bunch of times with different letters depending on the season. I love this as my "go-to" decoration. And the best part is that is so affordable! You can make it however you want! Here is what I did:

These picture frames are from Wal-Mart and they run about $3 in the 5x7. They are wood, so it's a little bit nicer.
I found this pink and white hounds tooth paper at Hobby Lobby. Do you not love that or what? I had to have that!
OK, so here is how it went together:

 So the wood letters are from Hobby Lobby too. Just .99! Yeah! Gotta love that price. I got the unfinished ceramic heart there also. It was .99 but on sale for 40% off.
I usually glitter these letter, but I wanted to something a little bit different. Don't get me wrong, I love glitter just as much as any girl, but I did not have any in pink. I love my Valentines Day decor to have a more hand0made look to it.

I got some pink paper and tore it up into pieces. You can use ModPodge, but just to show you that you don't have to use that, I just used some regular school glue. I just added a little bit of water to the glue. After you have the paper torn, paint some of the glue on the back and press it onto the letter. I tore mine so that the white part of the tear would show. You can mold it and press it to match the shape of the letter. Let it dry.

I had a bunch of different ideas for the heart, but I went with this and loved how it came out. I spray painted the heart with some hot pink paint (left-over from another project). After it was dried I got out some paper doilies that I had...it's always amazes me what I can find in my garage...or other places that I have crafty things! Time to let it dry, but not for long because I am not very patient!

I laid the lace on top of the heart to see where I wanted to trim. Yep, I fussy cut it. What does that mean? You sometimes waste fabric or paper in this case because you want the patter in a certain way. Trim it so there is about 1/2" extra so that it can be folded in the back of the heart.

 Next, add a thin layer of glue to the heat and cover it with the dollie. Wrap the paper around the back and add some glue to hold down the edges.

 

After it's dry, glue it to the outside of the paper. This is after you have cut the paper 5x7. Set it on top of the glass. I added a little extra ribbon on top of the heart. You can see some glitter in the heart...I had to use a little bit! And as you know with glitter, it ends up everywhere!

Here, I added a touch of glitter just to the edge of the letters. I like how that came out! It was glitter that I had from my days when I used to make cards. I used a heat gun to emboss the glitter.

So there you have " I Heart U".

Fun and easy to make!

You can see where I got the original ideas to make these frames at eighteen25

Love those Vegas ladies and the ideas they come up with!

A way to clean that floral vase...

OK, so this is not earth shattering, but it can come in handy. We used to do this in the flower shop as a way to clean up vases. All you need is some Denture Tablets and you vase with some water.

 Here the tablet is in the water, fizzing up. This is a fun thing for your kids to watch too! If you have a pretty large vase, you might need to add 2 tablets. You can get a box of these denture tablets at any grocery store or pharmacy. Get the generic kind to save money and this box will last you forever!

 

 I am doing a few vases here at a time. I just let them sit overnight...

 

Now all you have to do is dump the water and take a paper towel to wipe out that ring and it really clean! Give it a quick rinse of clean water and let the vase dry upside down. Now they are clean and ready for that next bunch of fresh flowers!

Flower Art...sort of

I just wanted to show you all a picture of some flowers that I did for a national design contest. I did not win, but it was so much fun to do! You had to work with the flowers that they gave you and the rest was up to the designer. Mine was inspired by my little girls love of fairies!

I added some green food coloring to the water along with all the gems and glitter garland to give it a little extra fairy touch!