Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

diy teacher flower pot

the end of the school year is quickly approaching and it is time to think about end of the year teacher gifts. i am convinced that all teachers deserve a gift card of some sort as a teacher's gift but i love this pot to display the cards and give the teachers a keepsake to remember the year by.

1) begin with a cheap clay flower pot. i purchased this one at home depot for 
about $3.00.

2) paint the bottom portion of the pot with chalkboard paint. i love this paint because it goes on thick and only requires one coat. there will be plenty left to create other amazing projects.


3) paint the top portion of the pot with a yellow acrylic paint. i got this paint at hobby lobby and love it as well because of how thick it is. i painted the inside of the pot as well to make sure all the clay portion is covered up to where the dirt will fill the pot.


4) paint the entire pot, both inside and out with polycrylic finish. the pots need to be covered even on the unpainted areas if they are going to keep their painted finish after the flowers are watered. 

5) gather the tools you will need to finish the rest of the pot. you'll need a tape measure, a glue gun, a chalk pen and a black sharpie.

6) using the tape measure and the black sharpie, measure one inch measurements around the pot. label the inches by number. add the marks for the half inches and quarter inches. when that is finished, cut a large piece of coordinating ribbon and carefully glue it around the pot, tying a bow at the center. using the chalk pen, write in the teacher's name.

7) create a "thank you" note. i used old scrapbooking materials to create one i liked. 

8) visit a florist or a floral department inside a grocery store and ask for floral picks. use the picks to hold the thank you note and several gift cards.



9) plant your flower. i love gerber daisies so of course that was my flower of choice. 

10) arrange the flower picks in the soil and have your kids present them to their amazing teachers. enjoy!


Thursday, December 12, 2013

diy: christmas hand print pot holders



this christmas, i wanted to come up with a cute handmade gift for the boys to give to family. these hand print pot holders were pretty east to make, inexpensive and turned out even more adorable than i expected. take the time to try this out before christmas. i know these will be a huge hit with the grandparents for sure and i can't wait to see their faces when they open them. 

supplies:
•pot holders --i purchased these at my local dollar store--they were 2 for $1.
•fabric paint - you can find these in any craft store. the colors i used were:      green, yellow, red, blue, tan and black.
•paint brushes
•a little patience :-)


directions:
for each design, i simply painted the boys entire hand one solid color and then carefully placed it onto the pot holder. be sure to use pressure to ensure a solid print. the only design where the entire hand was not painted one solid color was the santa pot holder. for that design, i painted their hand prints 3 colors to represent the hat, face and beard of santa. here is an example of how their santa hands looked before making the hand print onto the pot holder:



after making the hand prints, allow them to dry fully before painting on the details.



the details can be the hardest part. some of the designs i had in mind ended up being a little labor intensive. in my opinion, the easiest designs are the tree and santa. the most labor intensive was the snowmen...but how cute did they turn out?! 

feel free to use my designs or come up with your own. this project was so much fun and the boys are so excited to give their special hand print pot holders to their family. which one is *your* favorite?
















Friday, November 29, 2013

holiday gift guide: gifts for young girls

we are having a great time sharing our great holiday picks for this season. if you haven't seen our gift list for arts and crafts, you can see it here. these toys are not only fun for us to explore but fun for our kiddos as well. these are our favorite gift ideas for little girls. they also bring out the little girl in all of us. 

gifts for girls:

my little pony equestria girls twilight sparkle doll and pony set

photo credit: amazon.com
my little pony has been a favorite of girls everywhere. with the new introduction of the movie "the equestria girls," hasbro expanded the my little pony collection into something even greater. the equestria girls dolls add a whole new dimension to imaginative play with my little ponies. watch the movie with your little ones today and watch how excited they get about these new dolls.

my little pony camelio earbuds

photo credit: amazon.com
so cute, right? my daughter loves music. she requests an ipod every time i ask her to clean her room or do any sort of chore. music makes her day brighter. so do these head phones. if you are going to listen to music, it might as well be adorable.

rainbow loom

photo credit: amazon.com
this really could go for boys, girls, young, pre-teen, any age. the new rubber brand bracelet craze had hit and these looms are hot items, along with the rubber bands that go with them. while i don't love the rubber bands i find all over my house, i do love how occupied the kids are when they are working on their creations. plus, it is great to see how excited the kids are to make something for someone else. 

disney doc mcstuffins doctor's bag

photo credit: amazon.com

this is listed under gifts for girls but both boys and girls love the toy fixing of doc mcstuffins. she makes all toys for both girls and boys better and happier. both boys and girls will love this doctor's kit to work on toys of their own...or to pretend they are doctors taking care of each other. 


sofia the first talking magical amulet

photo credit: amazon.com
i love the introduction of sophia the first into the disney junior line up. little girls everywhere have fallen in love with her. this amulet lets girls everywhere dress up like the princess they adore. 

my little pony walkie talkie

photo credit: amazon.com
who says boys are the only ones who get walkie talkies? these adorable walkie talkies are so fun for little girls. i love watching my little ones hiding around the yard and searching for one another on walkie talkies. who knows that is going on in their minds but listening to their back and forth chatter, they are smiling and laughing through it all. 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

holiday gift giving guide: arts and crafts for kids

this christmas we are starting our first "third boob holiday gift giving guide." our kids have asked for a long laundry list of items this year. between the seven of them, you can imagine the dreams are huge. some gifts they will receive. other gifts, like my daughter's wish for "$2000,00,000" will probably not make the cut. there are several items we *love* to purchase for our kids. we love when they use their creativity and spend their hours occupied with fun crafts. we love to see their creative juices flowing! these arts and crafts gift ideas are some of our favorites for this holiday season. 

arts and crafts:

Moose Toys Blingles Bling Studio

photo credit: amazon.com
my daughter loves bling. let's be honest. i don't know of many 6-10 year old girls who aren't excited about shiny, pretty things. this craft allows girls to create their own designs for sparkly accessories and then stick them onto whatever they desire. it's a craft/girl match made in heaven. my girl will be thrilled!

photo credit: rose art
we love rose art. we love their products. we love how affordable they are. we love that their products are quality products at less expensive prices than some competitors for our kids. we love that they are constantly coming up with fun, creative new activities for kids. this "magic fun dough" is just that. there are adorable pet transfers that you can put onto your dough and then use the creations to play in your pet shop. once the kids have finished playing, they can squish up their dough and the transfer will disappear...ready to be used again the next time. it non-stop creativity fun. 

photo credit: rose art
my kids are over the moon about this product. they love coloring with markers. with this machine, they get to air brush paint with markers. it is so exciting for them. the motorized air pump uses rose art markers and turns them into a personal air brush studio complete with stencils. this is definitely not something my toddler will be doing unattended but it is great for my older three. they love doing crafts that feel "grown-up" and this machine is just the art idea to meet the needs of my 6, 8, and 10 year olds. done. note: this does require batteries and does not include craft paper. good quality craft paper is recommended.



photo credit: amazon.com
my kids love stickers. i find them everywhere. honestly, i have a love hate relationship with them after picking them off of every surface in my house. still, my kids can't get enough. i love the amount of time these stickers take in their creation. the kids can spend hours coloring in each and every little sticker surface and then placing their new creations on various surfaces. let's just hope they don't put them on the coffee table!


photo credit: amazon.com
play dough is a creative staple in both of our homes. no matter the age, the kids have a wonderful time using their imagination to make fabulous creations. our toy testers loved the variety of play dough color in the pack and us mamas loved the easy clean up and time spent creating. 

photo credit: amazon.com

hallmark has taken the world by storm with their recordable books. we have had the grandparents record books for the kids to hear their voice reading a story, even if they can't be there in person. sadly, they lost their paternal grandma to cancer a few years ago, but now they get to hear her voice whenever she is missed thanks to these amazing books. i love this item in particular with the added option of a canvas cover to be painted and illustrated. this is a treasure to treasure for years to come for sure. 

what did we miss? any arts and crafts you are excited to give this year?