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. 

Sonic the Hedgehog Birthday Cake using Frozen Buttercream Transfer (Beginner Level).

My son can be so unconventional, he always wants something that is not the latest craze. Totally cool if you ask me; I'm proud! But sometimes Mommy would like something easy, ya know? Go to Wal-Mart, order the latest Iron Man cake and swing by the party department for matching plates and DONE! But that is not the case so I had to put on my creativity hat. For his birthday this year, he wanted a Sonic the Hedgehog cake. So I discovered Frozen Buttercream Transfers and taught myself how to work with icing.

It was so much fun to make! It was very time consuming and I am glad I practiced on a smaller cake first. I went for something easy since I am still a cake noob. I just traced Sonic's face, not the whole body. I wrote Happy Birthday on the side and presented it for the one and only person it mattered to: my son. He loved it and was as giddy as... well as a 5 year-old on his birthday!

I wanted to use a lighter colored icing for the background, but the kiddo wanted chocolate everything. The FBCT, however, was made with store-bought vanilla Betty Crocker icing so the food coloring would be at it's best. The cake was a simple Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Cake Mix - allergy free, of course! Peanut Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, & Nut Free to be exact. Quick review of it: Everyone thought it tasted great! Found it at the local health food store, but I heard Albertson's carried it as well. I used two boxes to make a double layered cake, which it wasn't easy to do with this cake mix considering there isn't much to hold it together. But icing is a nice glue and cover up, so I practiced with it and it turned out nice!

At the party I got a lot of compliments from the parents, even an, "She didn't make that. She bought it." LOL,  yes, I did take that as a compliment! Everyone enjoyed it and I was very proud of learning something new (and thankful it turned out well). But mostly, I was happy the kids were really tickled with  it.

UPDATE (2-11-12)
I have added the pictures I snapped of my the order of my process:

The image with wax paper on top.

Black icing outline of Sonic's Head (I wish now I did the whole thing!)

Filled in the cream colored areas.

Filled in the green eyes.

Filled in the white areas of the eyes.

Sorry, I skipped some steps in the photos. But Then I filled in the rest of the areas with blue icing and then covered  the entire back with brown icing. Then gently smoothed out the back to make sure the icing settled in the empty areas. Then placed the FBCT in the freezer overnight. 

For more detailed instructions, please visit Cake Central's "How to Create a Frozen Buttercream Transfer", or check out my FBCT Resources page for links to tutorials and videos.

How Croissants Are Made.

Ever wonder where croissants in a can come from? Watch and find out!
I am mostly posting this so I can easily find it again later. I can't help but giggle every time I watch it!

A New FFXIV Trailer from the Tokyo Game Show 2009

OOOOOOO!! EEEEKK!

MST3K does Twilight.

I've been having a serious Mystery Science Theater 3000 itch lately. I haven't watched that show in ages, and I've missed Tom Servo! So I was watching clips this morning on Youtube and I came across this amusing little gem. Not the best from MST3K, but it made me laugh once or twice.

Evian Roller Babies Commercial (Video).

My brother and I saw this on TV the other day; it's so awesome and cute. I just love the one at 0:11 that's shaking his lil' diaper booty!

Resident Evil Numa Video by ShadowLeggy.

I just love this vid. I watch it form time to time to cheer me up! Thanks for sharing, Kai!

Favorite Quotes from Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson.

This book had me rolling with laughter. I definitely want to continue the series.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Father," I said, "you have to help me."
"I'll be glad to help but I'm not a priest."
"I'm going to hell, and I didn't do a damned thing to deserve being damned. Except for that whole double homicide thing. But it was an accident! Plus, I should get points for saving Justine and her mom."
"I said I'm not a priest, miss. I'm the janitor. And this isn't a Catholic church--we're Presbyterians." -- pg 25

"I should shove my my fingers into his windpipe! Up his ass! Around his--" --pg 83

"I was fast, I was strong, I was...I was SpiderVamp!-- pg 84

"The thing that terrified me the most were zombie movies. After watching Resident Evil I had nightmares for a week. It was ironic, because now I was one of the unkillable monsters." -- pg 101. I mostly like that one for the R.E. reference :)

"I became gloriously transformed in 1972."
"That explains the nails and the bell bottoms."
"These are in again!" she nearly screamed, pointing to her Gap knockoffs. --pg 113

"If you ever- ever- accuse me of being prejudiced again, I will knock you on your fat ass. If you've got a problem with someone who treated wrong, go take it out on them." --pg 180

"I'd never talked to a former prostitute before. Oh, the questions I had! How was the money? Were the pimps as bad as they seemed in the movies? Was there a dental plan? .... Was pregnancy considered an on-the-job hazard by OSHA?" --pg 181

Video: "Cake or Death" by Eddie Izzard a la Lego Animation.

Always loved Eddie Izzard. Set it to some Lego animation and it's even more funny!
Enjoy!