Homemade Teacher Gift

It's the end of school, yay, and the time of year to show our appreciation for all the teachers have done for our kids.  In past years I have given lotion or coffee cards but this year I wanted to try a homemade gift.  I had seen a picture of the crayon wreathes on Pinterest so I decided to try it.

Materials I used:

12 inch embroidery hoop

9 inch embroidery hoop

crayola 64 count crayons

glue gun

scrapbook paper 

ribbon with alphabet print

small wooden plaque painted with chalkboard paint

Lay the 9 inch hoop inside the 12 inch hoop on your work-space.  Somewhere I read where you should line the crayons all out on your hoops to make sure the spacing works out but I had trouble doing this because the crayons wanted to fall off.  Therefore, I ended up gluing down each crayon one at a time with my glue gun.  I did have a little space issue when I got to the end of the circle but was able to cover it up with my ribbon and use the wooden plaque to hide any imperfections.  

I wanted to personalize the wreathe so I cut the letters out on my cricut and glued them on 1 1/2x1 1/2 inch white squares to make the letters pop.  I thought about adding an apple embellishment at the top right side of the wreathe but found it to look too busy, less was more in this case.  I liked more of the "Crayola" to show on the crayons. Then I made a bow with the ribbon at the top and a loop to finish.  I finished the above wreathe and made one for Mikah's teacher as well.

I got the thumbs up from my husband that it looked presentable so now I am hoping the teachers like them as well.  Have you made any homemade gifts for the educators in your kid's lives? Let us know what you did!  

In Summer!

"Bees'll buzz, kids'll blow dandelion fuzz
And I'll be doing whatever snow does in summer.
A drink in my hand, my snow up against the burning sand
Prob'ly getting gorgeously tanned in summer...."

This is the third year that our family has made a summer list.  It gets us excited for what the warm months will hold, keeps us me accountable to do the things I promised the kids that I'd do and it gives us some ideas of what to do on those 'I'm bored' days.

The whole family sits down and we shout out activities that we'd like to do and up on the chalkboard they go.  Do you or have you made a summer list?  What are you most looking forward to? 

We are as excited for summer as Olaf.  And, hopefully, my kids will look back and see it as a magical time in their lives.  Here's to summer!!

Felt Accessories

I have a thing for accessories.  Not on me, but on my children.  I love making little headbands and bow ties for them.

These are my latest creations.

It took me less than an hour to make 3 headbands and 2 bow ties.  Lately, that is my kind of craft.  Instant gratification.

These cute little flowers were adapted from this post.

I got a bow tie template from here.

And here are all the children in their fancy accessories, ready for a trip to the zoo. (Also if someone could please tell me how to get 5 children to look in one direction long enough for a photo I would gladly take tips.)

DIY Tulip Art

 

We planted some tulip bulbs last fall in our front landscaping and they came up this spring.  My daughter has been super excited about them and daily asks to go and see how they are doing.  She was rather bummed to know that they would soon be gone.  I found an idea for DIY tulip art on pinterest, so I decided to give it a try with her so her 'tulips' could last longer.

For this craft, you will need either a piece of paper or an art canvas depending on how you want to display your finished project.  We opted for a canvas because I wanted to keep this artwork long term.  We also used acrylic paints of various colors, some paintbrushes and a fork.  I tried using plastic forks in an attempt for easier clean up, but it didn't work because of all of the grooves on the bottom.  I practiced on a piece of paper to see how they would come out before we moved on to our canvas.  I also tried using a regular size fork and for the size of canvas we had, I didn't like the look of it.  We have 2 smaller silver forks that the kids use and those were perfect for what we wanted. After each color, we just washed the paint brush and the fork thoroughly and dried it before we moved onto the next. 

We applied a generous amount of paint to the bottom of the fork for each 'tulip'. 

When we put the fork down on the canvas, we rocked the fork up and down to make sure that the paint was evenly distributed.  If you don't do this, then only the bottom or top of the fork will show up. 

 

We chose 4 different colors but you can do as many or little as you want. 

I helped paint the stems and grass to finish it off and we were finished! It looks super cute up on our mantle and will be artwork that I will cherish for a long time.

From Blah to Whoa!

A few weeks ago, Rachel posted in the blog how she painted her step on her porch to match the front door and I was inspired by this to give my own house some curb appeal.  I had wanted to paint the front door red for quite some time so finally after talking to some friends and family, who also agreed red would be pretty, I took advantage of some great weather and went to work. I never liked the gold knob so I put the hubby to work spray painting about three coats of brushed copper Rustoleum to it while I painted three coats of Banner Red to the door. The kids helped me choose the shade of red, not sure if I should have given them that privilege, but it still looks better than the before picture.  Can we say vibrant? Reminds me of a fire engine, lol. This is just the beginning of my porch makeover. Come back in a few months and check out the progress.

Mr. Owl

Last week I exposed to the whole wide world (or maybe just to those that read this blog) the projects that have been waiting patiently in the basement for me to finish.  I am happy to report that I can FINALLY check one off of the list!  Mr. Owl got a makeover and he's never looked so fine :)

Does everyone remember what he started out looking like--dirty, dusty, grimy?

The poor guy needed help.  So I gave him a sudsy bath and then pulled out my painting supplies.

I used the liquid sander.  It works great for making sure you get any stickiness or grime off that a simple washing won't get.

Next, I primed.  I don't alway prime before spray painting but I knew this would get handled a lot and wanted to prevent chipping.

I sprayed three or four light coats of Valspar's Indigo Cloth.

And then because I chose to spray paint on an extremely humid and rainy weekend, the poor guy had to sit, decapitated, on my counter for about a week until he was completely dry and not sticky feeling.

One week later--here he is completely finished!

The kids are excited to have a real cookie jar and have been singing "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?" more times than I can count.  I'm just glad to hear something other than "the snow blows cold on the mountain tonight not a footstep to be seen...".

Bible Study

I am always on the look out for a good Bible study.  I am also always looking for a better way to organize my notes.  I try to be consistent in my method so it becomes just another routine, and I don't spend my whole quiet time remembering the color of highlighter to use on geographical locations or shuffling through notes and binders looking for that one note that referenced this other verse.

Recently, I have started color coding my notes.  When I am doing my own inductive study I find it helps me sort through the text easier.  There are other more elaborate methods, like this, but even with those pictures all lined up for me, I still think I would spend more time doodling than studying.

I also came across a site www.SheReadsTruth.com.  You should check it out.  I love Bible studies I can read on my phone when I am in the middle of my day, running errands, or if I am having one of those days.  I can just pull out my phone and read a passage, take a deep breath, and hit the reset button.  

In my quest for organization and uniformity, I made my own templates to jot down my thoughts.
They are by no means perfect, nor are they elaborate, but they fit the bill for what I was needing.
I have made these templates available to you for free.  Just click on the links below to download them.
 
The Code
Verse Breakdown
My Thoughts
Analysis

So, my question to you this week is, what is your method for studying?  Are you a note taker?  What are your favorite ways to study the Bible?  Leave a comment below, and give us your best tips for studying God's word :)

Gift Pots for Grandma

For Mother's Day I chose yet another project out of a Family Fun magazine.  This one titled "Hairy Potters" was in the March issue, pg 18.  First I gathered all my materials.  You can use a flower pot with all smooth sides but I chose these small lavender pails with polka dots.  Pencil cups would work great as well.

Print a photograph large enough for the person's head to cover most of the pail.  The pails were roughly four inches tall so I printed 5x7 photos. Cut around the head shape then chop off part of the forehead.   Cut the contact paper to be just a few inches taller than the pot and wide enough to wrap all around it.  Peel off the backing and center the head face down on the top edge of the paper.  Now wrap the paper around, smoothing out any bubbles as you go.  My pails ended up being a little difficult with the handles.  I had to use an x-acto knife to try and get around them and the paper didn't exactly cooperate around the circle, so my suggestion would be find something without handles:)   The boys went with me to Lowe's and picked out a plant for each Grandma to give on Mother's Day.  The Grandma's definitely got a kick out of these.

DIY Accountability

Last week, I mentioned how I finally checked off of my diy list a lamp that I'd had for 14 years.  I wish that I could say that was an exception, but I tend to have this problem.  I see something and I buy it (auctions are my achille's heel) and then I "store" it in my basement for a random day when I get around to working on what I saw in my mind.  Of course, what actually happens is I tend to keep piling up my special finds and nothing ever gets accomplished.  But no more, I say!

Today I'm going to share with you a few of my "basement projects" in hopes that this will keep me accountable.  Be warned--my basement is not pretty.  

Project #1:  Ammunition Box--Ok.  I don't know why I bought this.  I thought it was really cool at the auction.  I still think it is cool, but I'm not sure what to do with it.  I think it might make a really neat sofa or end table.  I'm open to ideas :)

Project #2:  Kids Wicker Furniture Set--I have three more chairs like this but they are unpainted.  I also have two small tables that go with it.  This would be an easy project.  Clean with some soap and water.  Spray paint.  Done. 

Project #3:  Mr. Owl--Another easy project.  Clean and spray paint a bright teal or navy or yellow and I'd have a super fun cookie jar.  I should do this before owls totally go out of style, right?  Or are they already?  I also have a rooster cookie jar.  Could roosters be the animal of 2015??

Project #4:  Random Chairs--How cool are the lines of this chair?  Paint it and reupholster the seat and it could be wow.  I have 3 or 4 or 5 random chairs like this one.

Project #5:  Pop Crates--I got these because I thought they'd be great storage.  I still agree with myself.  I'd love to clean them up and use them in my craft room.  Right now the only thing they're storing are cobwebs.

Project #6:  Antique Cabinet--This cabinet.  I love it so.  I bought it at my great-uncle's auction.  At first, I wasn't sure where I wanted to put it.  But now I think I want it in my bedroom.  I really like how it looks so it just needs a major cleaning and then some sort of sealant so that the paint doesn't chip anymore.  Aren't the green knobs great?  You can see in the left side of the picture the little drawers that go in it and they also have green knobs.  I really do love this thing.  It is time to get it out of the murky basement.

Project #7:  Grandfather's Tool Box--Finally my grandpa's tool box.  I never met him...he died a year before I was born and my dad gave me the tool box.  Of course, it has huge sentimental value but it is also pretty awesome!  It has neat little storage spaces inside and needs a major cleaning.  But I could see this in my craft room or even on my back counter in the kitchen as a fun storage piece.

Those are my seven projects that make me hang my head in shame.  Why haven't I tackled them  yet?  It is pure craziness.  I will get on it.  I will!  I think I'll start simple and makeover Mr. Owl.  He'll thank me for it, I'm sure :)

What projects do you have that are waiting for you to finish--or get started?

Sun Catchers

I had no clue what to write about this week, and my mom came to the rescue.  Have you seen this?  My mom sent me a link to it, and I thought I'd try it.

I'll be honest, I had looked at similar projects before and my initial reaction was, 'plastic melting in my oven....That's gonna smell horrible.'  But this time I gave it a try (I really needed something to write about).

I told the girls to make some pretty designs and fill up the pan.

This is what they did.  Let me just say there was zero interest in make pretty circles or lines or anything.  They (age 6, and almost 4) had a lot of trouble keeping the beads in place and quickly gave up on trying to make designs.  

So, after 5 minutes of trying to make a pattern, and then giving up hope, and just dumping beads in the pan, it went into the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  We vacated the house, because like I suspected it smelled horrible.  Words can not describe it.  Melting plastic in your house is a horrible idea.  Yuck!  After it was done, I let the beads cool for a few minutes and the melted pony beads slid right out of the pan. 

After we finished the Pony beads, I thought there had to be a better way to do make these sun catchers.  I went to the craft tote and pulled out Perler beads.  These are supposed to be melted, so I had high expectations.  We went through the same process.  Again, the girls had no interest in making patterns.  I have no idea how the people who posted about this originally sat still long enough to carefully place all those beads.  This time I set the oven to 350, and 10 minutes later the beads were melted.  No smell.  Thank Goodness!  I let the beads cool (ok, truth be told I forgot about them for about an hour when I got side tracked doing chores).  I went back to the pan, and tried to get the beads out.  

This was the tricky part.  The beads were pretty much stuck in the pan.  I popped the pan in the freezer for about ten minutes hoping that would do something.  It did.  It was still a little tricky to get the melted Perler beads out, but in my opinion it was worth not smelling the Pony beads.

I feel like the end result of both of the sun catchers was pretty similar.  If you want minimal work getting the beads out, go with the Pony beads.  If you prefer to not make your house smell like burnt plastic and can use a little elbow grease go with the Perler beads.

Have you made sun catchers with your kids before?  What materials did you use?

Quest for Curtains

My husband tells me I have a problem, it's called commitment to decor.  After repainting our living room last October the room went curtain-less until March due to the above mentioned condition.  The room went from being a basil green color to Skyline Shadow which is a light gray. You don't even want to know how long paint swatches were on the wall before I finally broke down and decided on the gray.  I painted the hallway a color called April Thicket, kind of a robin's egg blue with a hint of green, so I wanted to incorporate this color into the new living room decor since the hallway attaches to the living room.  Here was choice #1.

I enjoyed how these curtains had the fading from light at the top and got darker the farther down it went but the blue was too brilliant and didn't quite match up to the blue in the hallway so I thought why not gray like the walls so here was the same curtain but in gray, choice #2.

I pondered this one for a-while and concluded it just didn't feel right.  I needed a design element in the mix. I considered curtain #3.

While I liked the added design I still didn't think it went with the theme of the room and the gray was darker than I imagined. And then I found them, the perfect wrappings for my windows, curtain #4

......that also happened to be out of stock for many, many months!  When they finally came back in stock I was on it and they were totally worth the wait!  I'm still planning to incorporate the blue from the hallway with pillow covers for our couches. I love how the design on the curtains resemble the design on the church key knobs we put on our fire place mantel and meshes with the design around the larger picture frames in the room.  Are you working on any re-decorating right now? We would love to hear your thought process behind the choices you made.