Teacher Appreciation - Music Teacher Door

I realize this post doesn't necessarily go along with the whole Halloween time of year theme, but this is what you get when I check my e-mail after a very long time.  Sorry to anyone who may have tried e-mailing me and got the impression that I didn't care.  Anyway...this idea came from one of my readers, Valerie.  I love to see how other schools and room parents decorate the doors to celebrate the teachers.  All I know is what I see at my own school.  (Speaking of, I took TONS of pictures last year and have TONS of ideas, but those will have to wait for another post.)  Anyone who thinks they have something the rest of us would like to see, please let me know so that I may feature your creativity here also.  Thanks for sharing!

Halloween Cookies in a Jar

I love the whole cookies in a jar concept.  It's something that is easy to put togehter and looks super cute.  Living Locurto has this idea, with Free printables to go with your gift.  All of the hard work has been done for you...all that is needed now is an assembly line.

Free Halloween Drink Labels

Interested in using these FREE drink labels at your upcoming Halloween party?  Check out Centsational Girl for the download.

Halloween Story Countdown

I love this idea of a Halloween story countdown.  What a fun way to bring on the holidays!  Although we are already a few days into the month of October, just add as many books to your basket as there are days left until Halloween.  Check out the idea from Brown Paper Packages...she has even included a list of her favorite 31 Halloween stories.  LOVE IT!!  

Halloween Treats

Here are a couple of Halloween ideas for treats.  Whether you are throwing a party for your child's classroom, or throwing one at your house for friends, here are several treat ideas I am sure you will love!
I came across this idea sometime after Halloween last year, but held on to the idea to share with all of you.  These Frankenstein cones are just too cute!

For directions on how to make your own click HERE.
Or you could try the Franken-pops from Little Birdie Secrets.
Some creepy treat ideas come from Simply Red.
These brownies look super easy, fun and scary for kids.  I love anything like that for Halloween.  Check out Chasing Tomatoes for more on these Ghoulish Brownies.

I Must Appologize...

I really have good intentions of keeping this blog updated more regularly.  I have had a lot of fun creating this blog and keeping things going and I don't want to lose it.  Life has been super busy lately with working full time again, the loss of a family member and now my sister-in-law discovering she has Cancer.  I guess it's true...when it rains it pours.  I realize that my Facebook page is not what I intended...I need time to figure it out.  Thank you everyone for hanging in there and being patient while I try to find the balance with my crazy life.  I will finally be sitting down to go through my e-mails this week...so hang in there.  Thank you for being so understanding.

Keeping School Papers Organized

Since the school year is under way, I thought that now might be a good time to feature this idea.  If you are anything like me, I like to keep my kids' most important work from school, but I really don't like all the clutter that could come with that idea.  Sam's Great Ideas offers one filing solution to this problem.  I currently have my kids' work in a scrapbook binder, but think I might prefer this way.  Another idea, if your child has an art project that you really like, take a picture of it to keep the memory instead of storing a large art project that your child will probably end up one day throwing away anyway.  :)

Back to School Gifts

I'm sorry for my long leave of absence.  School has started back up for my children, which means back to routine and figuring out life again after a kick-back summer.  On top of that, I have returned to work teaching 1st grade full time.  I forgot just how busy and tired I feel by the end of the day!  I hope you will be patient as I gradually add ideas and update this blog.  Recently, on Studio 5, there was a segment that featured some clever and darling back to school gifts. 

These gifts could be given to your child's teacher or some may even work to surprise your child.  Check out the link for other cute ideas, but I LOVE the one I have pictured.  I think it would be so cute to do something with it for Teacher Appreciation Week! 

Summer Ideas

Make your own Guess Who game using real family pictures!  This very clever idea comes from The Madsen Times.

I really liked this idea, of creating a summer bucket list...you know...a list of things to do with your kids for the summer.  Think up what there is in your area or what interests your family has to make it work for you!  I found the idea at Mommy Guru.

I love this idea of a handled towel.  So cute and so much easier for a child to carry their own towel.  These would be a great birthday gift!  Thanks Salty Pineapple for the tutorial and idea!!

Melissa from the Polkadot Chair shared a great idea for making a zipper pouch bag (for wet swim clothes) out of a shower curtain.  The tutorial was featured on 30 Days.  Seems like a very handy thing to make for the summer!

Sister Stuff featured a list of 100 things to do in the Summer.  Check it out for some fun ideas to do with your kids!

Money Shirt & Tool Belt Filled with Treats

I just came across a fun new blog called Craft Critters.  They featured 2 really cute and creative ideas for Father's Day.
1.  A Money Shirt...really people...who doesn't like to get money? 

2.  A candy tool belt pouch.  I love how this project turned out and how she made the paper look like leather.  Much better looking than just throwing some treats into a gift bag.  Very cute!!

M&M Tie

I saw this cute, creative (and inexpensive) Father's Day idea from Sugardoodle.  This idea was used as a gift for the dads at church, so it would be a great idea to use if you had a lot of gifts to give!  Here are the directions and a variation of the poem to be used.

DAD Pictures

Since pictures seem to be a popular idea for Dad's/Grandpa's on Father's Day, here are a few ideas that you might want to try out too...

From Sister Stuff:

And from Mommy Guru, here is the same idea but a different approach:

Just a thought, but I made something similar to these ideas for my mom one year for Mother's Day.  The mat of the picture frame said Grandma and I had 7 different grandchildren pictures to fill in behind the letters.  You could try something like that for GRANDPA too! :)  I love pictures...especially creative ones!

And speaking of pictures, try out this fun {FREE} site (Be Funky)...it allows you to edit your pictures in fun ways!  Check it out...could be fun!

Dad Keychain Ideas

With Father's Day around the corner, I hope to be sharing some ideas with you to motivate you to try something new for your dad or husband this year.

From Creative Itch, here is a mini tie keychain idea:

Here is another clever {washer} keychain idea from Helping Little Hands.  Love it!

Thank You Ideas Using Candy

Here were some other cute gifts I received on the last day of school. A candy gram:

A thank you card using candy:

End of the Year M&M Gift

Summer is here and that means that I am back. Ok when I said that I was returning to work full time, I had no idea just how crazy my life would become and how quickly too. I apologize for my long absence...full-time job, ball games almost every night of the week, an unexpected death in the family, still serving in the PTA and everything else life has to offer can sometimes put you a little behind. I did take lots of pictures of doors during teacher appreciation ideas and I hope to get things going on here again. Thanks for being so patient with me.
School ended last Thursday for my kids and I and I am in much need of a break! I received this super cute and clever gift on the last day of school from one of my students. If school hasn't ended for you yet and you are looking for an easy end of the year gift, here is one:

Fill a jar with M & M's and attach this note:

Green is for the inspiration you give me each day.
Blue is for your patience in showing me the way.
Orange is for the warmth and caring style.
Yellow is for the way you always make me smile.
Red is for my life that you have touched this year.

You're a very special teacher
just like this jar, that's clear.
You place knowledge in our children's hands
and melt into their hearts and lives forever.
You're a "Magnificent" & "Marvelous" teacher.
Thank you for being my M&M.