Teacher Appreciate Gifts

Happy Thursday! I'm sure many of you know that Teacher Appreciation Day was on Tuesday. Our boys have only been at their new school for five weeks, but we've been very impressed by the teachers they have. They are doing a wonderful job helping the boys get used to their new classrooms, and they have been amazing at communicating with us and helping us as we figure out how to be parents of elementary-aged kids. (Now, I realize that this won't help anyone get an idea of what to do for their teachers, since the day already passed, sorry!)

There are so many ideas for teacher gifts, so I spent a while browsing Pinterest for some ideas. I also asked several of my friends who are teachers what they've appreciated from students over the years. We decided to go with a smaller gift for Teacher Appreciated Day, because we'll also get them a gift at the end of the school year.

Based on all the input and Pinterest inspiration, here's what I came up with:

 Each teacher received a reusable cup filled with chocolate, tea, biscotti, and a Starbucks gift card. I added a tag to the straw with each of their names, and then cut out a hand print from the boys and had them write Thank You to their teachers. I tied a ribbon around each cup and clipped the hand print note to the ribbon with a mini clothes pin. I didn't include a clever or cutesy themed note because 1. I'm not that creative, and 2. I don't really like cutesy sayings that much.

I hope the boys' teachers feel appreciated! Thanks to all the teachers out their for all you do! Don't forget to let your kids teachers know you appreciate them.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

I'm back! And...DIY Curtains!

Hey Everyone! I'm so glad to be back! Our life is still crazy, but I have managed to get on top of things enough to actually get a project posted this week!

We're still getting settled into our new home, and the boys are getting settled with us as well. Since we moved into a bigger house, and now have two additional members of our family, we've realized we're short a few pieces of furniture and a few other things. So...the natural end of this story is that I have been to Ikea several times in the last few weeks. And during my first visit in the series (to buy rugs), I found out that Ikea sells FABRIC!

I found this fabric that I loved - and it was only $7.99/yard!

This fabric is the perfect colors for my living room, and I've been wanting to change up my curtains. The fabric is heavy like home decor fabric, so it's perfect for curtains!

Last weekend my mom was visiting so we went back to Ikea for some more furniture AND to buy the fabric for my new curtains!

The fabric is 59' wide, so I used it as-is for the width of the panels. I ordered 5 yards total, so I had 2.5 yards for the length of each panel. I laid the fabric out, cut it in half, and then my mom ironed it and ironed down the hems. (Meanwhile I was upstairs failing at putting together a shelf for the boys' toy room). There's a 2 or 3 inch pocket at the top, 1/4-inch hem on the sides, and about a one-inch hem at the bottom.

(The fabric is folded in half lengthwise here)

After it was all ironed, my mom sewed the ironed hems (and there was me, organizing toys, having given up on the bookshelf - which Handy Andy put together in like 10 minutes). And that was it, this project was so simple and quick! I spent $42 total, fabric and thread. That's a steal for curtain panel! My old ones were $50 per panels!

Here they are:

I love the pattern so much! 

And you can see a peek of the awesome orange rug I also got at Ikea - for only $20!

By the way, no, I am not being paid to rave about Ikea - I just happen to be really happy with the products they are carrying lately! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Guest Post: Ombre Lamp Tutorial

Happy Thursday All! Today we have a guest post from one of my sponsors this month - Ayla from Eyelah blog (and shop). Her blog is full of great inspiration, and her shop features tons of awesome clutches and pouches. Be sure to check her out!

Hi I’m Ayla over from Eyelah blog. Today I am going to share a tutorial on how to paint an ombre lamp! It’s surprising simple and you can get it done within an hour or so.
 

Supplies:

-Paint Brushes
-Lamp: I bought mine for 2 bucks at the goodwill. I also purchased a new lamp shade which was 10.00 from Ikea.

-Paint
-Painter’s Tape
 

You want to start off with taping the base and the light-bulb case portion. Try to make sure you get tape as even as possible to avoid any small amounts of paint getting through.

I started with a layer of white paint to cover the designs on the lamp.

I then started with the darkest color at the base of the lamp.

You can either buy the different shades you need or you can just create the shades by adding white
paint to the darker color. I like to create my own shades so I get it just right. It does take some playing
around with the paint.
 

After you get the shades you like you want to gradually add lighter colors as you paint up the lamp. It
may take a few coats depending on the color and how light or dark it is.

At the very top of the lamp right underneath the light bulb base I left as white.

After you finished painting the lamp you can add a clear gloss spray paint to have a nice shiny finish.

After your lamp dries, just add your shade and you are all done!! Enjoy the pretty lamp!

I love the way her lamp turned out - I may have to try this soon! Thanks so much for sharing Ayla! Be sure to visit Ayla's blog and shop, or say hi to her on Twitter or Facebook!

I hope you all have a great week!

 

Guest Post: Washer Pendant Necklace

Hey All! I'm still trying to get my life under control with our new little additions, so in the meantime one of my favorite bloggy friends is here to share an awesome project!

 Washer Pendant Necklace

by Karen from QuintonWench

The humble washer .... a plenty lying around in my husband's garage waiting for a DIY use.

I rarely step foot in the garage, but I'm glad I did today, because I have found a 'Karen' use for one...

A washer pendant...

First I punched out a circle from a random piece of patterned paper - luckily I have a hole punch the same size as the washer.

I stuck the paper circle to the washer with Mod Podge and once dry I used a craft knife to cut out the centre. Then I brushed on a top coat of Mod Podge.

Finally, I added some black cord and a bead to finish it off.

What a great project - I love how it turned out! Thanks Karen!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stenciled Kitchen Wall

I've been reading all these posts lately about how Google Reader is going away and how that may affect GFC. So anyway, I added the option to follow through BlogLovin' and I migrated my Google Reader blogs over to BlogLovin'. Hopefully none of us will lose followers or our favorite blogs!

Today I wanted to share something Handy Andy and I worked on a while ago, but I just haven't gotten around to take pictures of it (story of my life...). Ever since I discovered Cutting Edge Stencils I have wanted to spice up my eat-in kitchen area a little with one. I finally took the plunge and painted it using the Zamira Allover Stencil and some paint I bought in the oops section of Menards for $1!

Here's what our little dining space looked like before:

We took the hutch out, Handy Andy created our new awesome table, and then added the stencil. Here's the after:

I will say, stenciling is not an easy job for a perfectionist. I got so frustrated while painting this that Handy Andy had to step in and finish it. The good news is that if you're off a little, it won't be noticeable when it's all up on the wall.

I love the way it turned out! Although, it's a little upsetting that we just did this (and a few other projects) and now...we're MOVING! We're in the process of buying a bigger house! We're super excited, but we will miss our first house/ongoing project.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by today!

T-Shirt Envelope Pillow Case

We've been super busy lately, so I haven't been getting too many projects done. Fortunately, I still have a few projects left from my handmade Christmas that I haven't posted. Like this one...

T-Shirt Envelope Pillow Case

I made this pillow case for my friend from her brother's Army t-shirt. It was at least an XL, so there was plenty of fabric. I made the case to fit a 17 or 18 inch throw pillow. 

This pillow case is made from three parts. The first square piece was cut from the front of the shirt to fit the pillow, with some seam allowance (whatever amount you're comfortable with). The two back pieces need to be cut so they overlap in the middle, but measure the width of the pillow. I used the back of the t-shirt for these pieces. To sew, I laid all the pieces right sides together and sewed the outsides.

For a detailed tutorial, you can see this one from Turning a House Into a Home, because the way she put her's together is pretty much the same. 

The pillow case turned out great and my friend loved it! It would be easy to do with any extra fabric you might have around as well. 

Thanks for stopping by!

New Glasses & A DIY Glasses Case

Hey All! Did you see this picture I posted on Twitter and Instagram this week?

 

Well, I got some new glasses from Firmoo.com and they came in while I was at work, but Handy Andy was at home...and apparently he decided he wanted to try them on...

Anyway, Firmoo contacted me a few weeks ago to try out a pair of their glasses, and I'm really glad I did! I decided to take a little [fashion] risk and choose a pair of glasses that are different from any style I've ever worn before. But they were free, so there's no time like the present! I chose the Chocolate Brown Full Frame acetate glasses.

I actually really love them! Overall, I had a good experience with Firmoo. After choosing my frames, I just entered the numbers on my script from my eye doctor and ordered. All the glasses they have are really inexpensive, and I was a little worried about the quality, but they are really nice! They came ten days after I placed my order, along with a case, cleaning cloth and keychain screwdriver. 

And, guess what?! You could get a free pair of glasses too! Firmoo offers a First Pair Free program where you can get the first pair of glasses you order free, so go check it out!

Also, I decided to make a case for my new glasses, so here it is. I used some patterned fabric for the outside, and some white fleece for the inside.

I measured my glasses and added some seam allowance, I also added about an inch and a half for a flap on just one piece of fleece and one piece of the patterned fabric. Before sewing, I laid the patterned fabric right sides together and then put the fleece on either side.  Then I sewed the sides and the bottom, turned it right-side out and finished the edges of the flap. I added a button as well, but I don't have any instructions for that because, apparently, I'm terrible at cutting and finishing a button hole. If I can figure it out, I'm confident you can.

This was such a quick project, and really easy. I love how it turned out, and now I have a cute case for my new glasses!

Thanks for stopping by!

**I received a free pair of glasses from Firmoo to review. All opinions expressed on this blog are my own.

Crochet Infant Hat

Hello All! A few weeks ago I confessed that I became a little obsessed with crocheting before Christmas [see: Boot Cuffs or Hand Warmers]. Well, I still haven't kicked the habit completely...

A few weeks ago I made this hat for my friend who is expecting a baby. And actually, she just had the baby (10 weeks early!). Everyone is doing well, and I can't wait to see her in this little hat. 

I can't find the actual pattern that I used, but several patterns similar to the one I used can be found here. This wasn't too difficult, it's pretty much all single crochets.

Now I'm working on a new crochet project, and I'll post it on here when I'm done! See, told you I'm obsessed...

Thanks for stopping by!

Crocheted Hand Warmers

Happy Winter! Yes, I do realize that it's been winter for a while...but Illinois weather has just started showing the season. We've gotten more snow here in the last week than we have all season (and it's still not that much).

Which actually makes my project this week perfectly timed! As I mentioned last week, I haven't been able to get any good pictures because of the fading daylight during the week, but I finally was able to get some pictures in the daylight! So anyway, here it is:

Crochet Hand Warmers

Seriously, these are the easiest thing I've ever crocheted, besides a chain. If you can single crochet, you can make these! I used yarn I already had around. All I did was start with a chain of 30 which is what fits around my wrist and hand, then single crocheted back and forth, over and over and over (chain one at each end before you turn) until I had it as long as I wanted.

It ended up as a rectangle, with the short side being the part that goes around my wrist and the long side being the length of the warmer. I put the two long sides together, and measured where my thumb would fit through. Then, I joined the sides with a stitch all the way up and when I got to the opening for my thumb I just single stitched on one side for the length of the thumb opening, and then went back to joining the sides until the top. I went back and finished off the other raw side of the thumb hole with a single crochet as well. Turned it inside out to hide the joining stitch, and there's one down! Repeat and prepare for warmer hands!

(The heart picture was Handy Andy's idea, he's so...artsy.)

There you have it - if you're new to crocheting you should give this a try, and let me know if you do!

Thanks for stopping by!

Project Throwback - Handmade Envelope Care Package

Confession: I have several projects to show you, but I apparently forgot how to schedule taking photos in the winter time to catch the good light so I don't have any photos of them yet. I hate that it's dark when I get home from work.

Anyway, I was thinking of some Valentine's crafts and I remembered a craft I did really early on in my blogging that I think would be so perfect for your Valentine's Sweetheart!

Handmade Envelope Care Package

 Step 1: Gather patterned paper, pencil, deconstructed envelope, tacky glue.

Step 2: Trace and cut envelopes, fold envelope flaps using a straight edge.

Step 3: Glue the side and bottom flaps together.

Step 4: Glue the top flap to the back of one envelop, stack all this way.

 Step 5: Finish it off with cute notes and candy!

There you have it: a perfect, thoughtful gift for your Sweetie! If you want to check out the original post, you can see it here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great Friday and don't forget to stop back to party on Saturday!