Dollar Store Valentine Themed Gift Bucket

Great for teachers gifts!

Inspiration for this came from my kiddo's GT fundraiser this past Christmas. They were raffling over 60 different kinds of themed baskets, including color themes such as purple, black and white, and pink. I thought a pink, purple, and red would be fun to try for Valentine's Day.

I hit Dollar General and Just a $1 (luckily they are right next to each other here!) and found some really neat things. Everything you see in the photo was purchased at one of those stores (aside from the Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker, found that at Target). The kiddo picked out the bear, so I agreed to add it as his contribution to the bucket. :) Everything I bought are things that I know the recipient will like. I simply kept an eye out for the colors I had in mind.

Here are some other items to consider:
Nail polish
Nail files
Big Red Gum
Cherry Sours
Wild Berry Lifesavers
Small box of chocolate hearts
Colorful Jewelry
Flowers
Wine
Trinkets
Reese's Candy
Small Balloons
Pens, Pencils, Markers
Stickers (for teachers or scrapbookers)
Key chains
Shampoos and Conditioners
Bath salts, beads, bubbles
Candles
Books
Flower seeds

The list can go on and on really. Hopefully I have helped give a few ideas. :)
Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

DIY Version of a "Little Pot for Thought" Teacher Gift

My kiddo has had a wonderful teacher this year. He has taught my son so many great things and showed compassion, concern, knowledge, and awareness about his food allergies. We wanted to show our appreciation with a thoughtful little gift to present to him at the End of the Year Classroom party.

I racked my brain on what to give him. I reached out to friends and google searched like crazy. Received a lot of great ideas, but I kept going back to this "Little Pot for Thought." It was just so cute! And the quote was perfect!




"Teachers change the world, one child at a time"  --Anon.

Well, if you clicked the link then I am sure you might have seen the price. It's a bit out of my budget and that doesn't include shipping charges. I was also on a very short time frame so I did not have time to wait. I thought, "That would be so nice stuffed with school supplies. And the pot would be so easy to make." That sealed the deal. So I went out and bought the supplies.






- COSTS -
Found the 4" pot terra cotta pot at Wal-mart for .78 cents. The matching saucer was .75 cents (why they charge separate for those is beyond me!) I went with Krylon Duo Paint + Primer in one, a glossy black, which cost 4.94.  We needed a mismatch box of acrylic gems anyway, and we found one that had little red ones just like the "little pot for thought." That cost $4.97. Then I purchased a white paint pen at Hobby Lobby for $2+change along with a 40% off coupon. I should have bought a smaller tipped paint pen, I was a total noob at it and the letters turned out HUGE. But anyway, I already had the rest of the materials, so it cost me less than $14. Even lesser if you figure the cost of the actual gems used. I had money left over to buy some supplies I knew he used for fillers: pencils, dry erase markers, red pens, and some post-it notes. The kiddo also wanted to leave a little something extra special in there for his teacher, so he tucked in a Spring school photo of himself.

Here is a close-up of the acrylic gemstones. Tacky Glue hadn't completely dried yet, so you can see a bit of white around the edges.

I added a little bit of personal touch by writing his teacher's name on the top rim. The kiddo also signed the back of the pot with a drawing of a heart with love (not pictured). Children can be so sweet. :)

- TIPS -

I used a fine sand paper to smooth out sharp and rough edges of the terra cotta pot before I painted it. I also used tacky glue for the acrylic gems, E6000 to permanently glue the pot and the bottom dish together, an apple sticker for decoration, and then sprayed the finished project with Mod Podge spray sealant. I recommend the glossy sealant if you are using the gloss spray paint. 

Happy Mother's Day! DIY Picture Tile Gift

Happy Mommy's day to all the hardworking ladies out there! Today I wanted to share a project that I made for my Mom; I hope she will like it. It was inspired by theaudreys.blogspot.com --such a neat idea! The photo I used was taken by a friend of mine earlier this year and my Mom had mentioned how much she loved it. So I decided to roll with this project and I think the results are lovely.

I added a few extras to my version: I made the ribbon and bow a permanent fixture and I hot glued some felt to the back with a "Happy Mother's Day" label. The tile is a smooth 6x6, 80 cent tile from Home Depot. I used Mod Podge to apply a pretty pink piece of Scrapbook paper. While that dried, I ordered a 5x7 1-hour photo from Wal-Mart and trimmed it down to a 5x5 (ish). Then I sprayed the back of my photo with spray glue adhesive and attached it carefully. At first I tried using a photo from my ink jet printer, but it was a very bad idea. Long story short, I made such a bad mess that I ended up scraping the project and starting over. It's a good thing Mod Podge is so forgiving!

 Let me know what you think!

Peepshi (Peep Sushie), fun sweet treat for the family!

I was itching to make "Peepshi" after I discovered the recipe. All we used are Peeps, Rice Krispie Treats, and Fruit Rollups. They were fun to make and unexpectedly tasted awesome! The kiddo was tickled silly with making them and I was having giggly-fun by serving them on a sushi dish. We even ate them with chopsticks and tea! This was well worth the short prep time and cheap ingredients! We want to make more soon!