Crafty Moments

This is just a place to share my occasional bursts of creativity.  Most everything I make is inspired by someone else, so I hope this may inspire you as well. Happy crafting!

The Teacher Toolbox

This is an idea that has been around Pinterest a couple of times, so I can't claim it as my own, but I love it.  I bought a pack of scrapbook papers that I used all over my classroom.  I cut small pieces to fit the front of the drawers, and just typed the labels in a word document.  Cut them out, glue them on, and slip it into the front of the drawers. Voila!

Baby Boy Gift

My sweet cousin was expecting a baby boy, and I wanted to give her something special for the nursery.  I have two boys myself, and I found a poem years ago by Gwen Belson Taylor called "Blessed Are The Pure in Heart".  It is so sweet, and it always makes me smile. So, how to make this a special gift? Easy!

I printed the poem out in brown ink (her nursery is brown and light blue).  I found a light blue mat to frame the poem, then put it in a large frame that I painted dark brown.  But it seemed kind of plain....I played around with a lot of things before finally settling on this:

 You can't see it, but the first word of the poem is "Blessed", and the last word is "boy".  The teddy bear adds interest without being too "cutesy" for him.  My cousin loved it!  Yay!

Teacher Appreciation Cards

I was looking for an economical way to thank my boys' teachers this year--now that they are older, they have 5 to 7 teachers each, so it can add up fast!  This year I made cards for them using word clouds from Wordle.net.  If you haven't seen this site, check it out!  It is so much fun! You just list words that you want included in your word cloud (I had the kids tell me about their teacher/class), repeat words you want to be bigger, click "randomize" until you find one you like, and voila!  You can change fonts, colors, direction, and layout yourself.  I love it, and I think the kids' teachers did too.

Volunteer Appreciation Day

This year for Volunteer Appreciation, we decided to go with a camping theme.  We made single s'mores packets (2 graham crackers, one large marshmallow, and one small Hershey bar) with a note attached that said, "We could use S'MORE volunteers like you!".  Parent volunteers were invited to come to school and have lunch with their child, then stop by the teacher's lounge for dessert.  We decorated the lounge with camping gear, with this awesome centerpiece:

Isn't that cute? Rocks, wood, and tissue paper cuteness! I also made signs to put around the room with sayings like,

"Hot Dog!  We're glad you're here!"
"You brighten our days when you volunteer!" (with a lantern)
"We aren't roughing it thanks to our volunteers!"
"We'd be lost without our awsome volunteers!" (with a compass)

You get the idea. :)  It turned out really cute, and the parent volunteers seemed to like it.  I'm calling this one a success!