Teacher Appreciation Gift Tutorial

Yesterday I shared a photo of the teacher appreciation gifts final product Baby O and I created to thank her teachers for their service. Her teachers totally LOVED their gift and, thought it was very appropriate and super thoughtful. However, I have to admit it was totally a last minute thing on my behalf...I actually put them together at my desk  in about 5 minutes. So, I thought I’d share the details with you all in case you need a cheap, quick, and easy idea for future teacher appreciation weeks with your child.

Supplies

Sunflower Grow Kits from Target $1 bins

Large Green Paper Clips

Target Gift Card

Tape

Heart Sticker or Magnet

Printer

Paper
Scissors

Step by Step Instructions

1. Unfold paper clip ¾ of the way creating a bit of a hook
2. Insert paper clip in the top of the flower kit box (via the smaller hook side)
3. Tape Gift card to the larger hook
4. Adjust the paper clip so that the gift card is straight up
5. Place heart sticker or magnet (using tape) on the front of the box to cover $1 label
6. Add a touch of personalization and create a cute little note for the teacher in word.
7. Print note and cute it done to size
8. Roll a piece of tape and place it on the back of your note
9. Stick note on top of the heart sticker

Happy crafting fellow heartbeats

Memory Lane: Winter ONEderland (Outfit)

Of all the post in this series this is by far the one I’m most excited to share. Not only do I love talking about my little diva fashions, but for the most part all her outfits turned out just as I expected. Yes I said all her outfitsJ.  Turned out she needed an outfit for the cake smash session, party, and her actual birthday. As I told you in my previous post we had a lot going on in one weekend, and of course being that she’s only a toddler I wanted to have several outfits in case things got messy with one or two of them along the way.  I didn’t want to waste my time fighting stains during a hectic weekend. When I’d much rather take that pressure off in that area and simply allow her to be free to enjoy herself, so momma had options on deck.

Cake Smash

Once I knew the theme for of the party I immediately emailed Baby O’s photographer Alana Marie Imagery (she is a beast, like serious I’m never disappointed with her work.) to book the cake smash session. I had already dropped the hint that I wanted to do one over the summer at our family 6 month photo shoot, but I needed to email her so she’d know I was serious, reserve our date, and start brainstorming on how the set would look. Emailing Alana got me super excited and directly after, I stayed up really late one sleepless night scouring one of my favorite sites for handmade items...Etsy.  When I first started my Etsy search I wasn’t quite sure what type of look I was going for, but very soon into it I found the perfect look via a site called lilabbehandmade. This site had the cutest little tutu sets I’d ever seen and trust having a daughter I had seen a ton lol. But, these were different and could be customized so no two were the sameJ. Talk about exclusive, It was perfect. After looking through all the designs the shop offered, and reading through some of their reviews, I immediately messaged them with a laundry list of questions.  Much to my surprise the owner Wendy responded promptly and we spent the rest of that night ironing out the details.  I felt so comfortable with her work and responses I wanted to see Baby O’s outfit right then and there lol. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen as this shop was very high and demand and me placing my order in November only meant that I was guaranteed to receive it just a few days before the big photo shoot. Naturally the wait time had me nervous but I checked my nerves at the door because as I stated above...momma had options. When I received this outfit the week of Baby O’s photo session it was totally worth every dime I spent and all the anxiety had. Wendy had out done herself and I honestly couldn’t believe that she created such a masterpiece from just these few details...

Colors

Design 

 Final product photos

Party Outfit

Sometime after I had placed my order with Wendy for the cake smash look my friend Mariah launched her new online boutique Mariah’s Closet. Among the looks her designed was the most adorable little skater skirt she created for another toddler. I fell in love and just knew Baby O had to have it, so I texted her instantly to work out the details. We decided that an all-white leather skirt with purple accents on the bow was the way to go and I couldn’t have been happier with the decision.

However, I was a bit concerned when it came to the shirt selection.  Not only did I not know exactly what shirt I’d get to compliment the skirt, but I also had to ensure I selected the perfect white. I couldn’t have my little diva in all white attire that didn’t match, but not having seen the material before and how was I supposed to if my white would work.  In any case I knew I wanted to go with an oneies in order to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions and found the PERFECT one at H&M.  Well almost perfect. It was everything I was looking for but the bow tie color was off...grrrr. 

Being the innovative momma I am decide to switch it up and find some purple bows and buttons to replace the existing ones.  As always my dear friend Tabby helped me out by gifting me some left over bows she had made for her daughter. I excitedly took them, my new purple buttons, and the shirt to the cleaners and requested a shirt up grade lol. The final product was everything I’d hope it would be :)

With most of her party look complete the only thing left for me to worry about was her shoes. I’m a firm believer that the shoes you wear makes your outfit so I had to make sure hers were awesome. Unfortunately, for me she has some tiny little feet so most cute little girl shoes don’t come in her size, and I was left with only one option...tennis shoes. How in the world I was going to make this preppy look work with a pair of tennis shoes was a mystery until a friend randomly tagged me in a Instagram boutique that customize chuck Taylors.  The designs were awesome so I thought it was the perfect route to go until I seen their prices. There was just no way I was going to pay over $150 for a pair of kid shoes. So I decided to make defining her shoes another labor of love for the party and DIY them (tutorial coming soon). After a few failed test runs I figured out the perfect formula and got it right.

Inspiration

Test

Final

With Baby O’s cake smash outfit and her planned attire for the party complete she was all set. Although, due to the material of her custom skater skirt it was a bit heavier than expected. So to ensure she had the best time playing at her party she had a little outfit change half way through her Winter ONEderlamd affair. Which, all her guest seemed to love and made my heart smile because she got some good use out of all her looks. 

First Look

Second Look

A Year of 1st Board (Tutorial)

As I mentioned in my post about this board here it was truly an emotional labor of love.  So, I’m sharing this tutorial for those of you interested in capturing some of your memories in this manner.

Supplies

• White wood board(I picked mine up from lowes for $12.)
• Chalk
• Photos
• Chalkboard paint 
• Wet towel
• Hot glue gun and sticks

   Step by Step Instructions

1. Wipe board down

2. Paint board with two coats of chalkboard paint

3. Let paint dry and settle for 48 hours

4. Spread chalk across the entire board

5. Wipe board completely clean

6.  Frame *See framing instructions below*

7.    Glue pictures unto framed board (as you would like).

8.    Take chalk and decorate your board with reflective words (as you wish).

Deatils on Framing...

I originally had planned to frame this board myself but didn’t have the proper tools. Going to Michael’s or any other framing place was out of the question for a board this size.  So of course I turned to my favorite handy couple The Killings. These two love taking a on home improvement project (Finished their whole basement, laid their own hard wood floors, etc) and if nothing else I knew they would have the tools. Get this tho, Denise also twist my hair lol (yup my friend is multi-talented and a mini perfectionist). Any way when I reached out via text (sent her a few photos of the board) she let me know to bring it over during my upcoming hair appointment so Des could work on it for me...SCORE. I took my painted board with me and Des (another mini perfectionist) worked on it the entire time. Unhappy with his initially product he kept it. I got it back a few days later and it looked Amazing.In writing this tutorial I reached out to team Killings for framing instructions and they provided the following.

Framing Supplies

• Pneumatic nailer/stapler,

• finish nails,

• Wood filler,

• Sand paper,

• Miter saw

• Woodgrain Milwork (door/window trim) 11/16in. x 2-14 x8in.

• Metal L shaped bracets for support

• White paint

Step by Step Instructions

1. Measure your board (mine was 36 x40).

2. Using the miter saw cut the wood corners at a 45 degree angle.*Please note: The cuts should be slightly longer than the board (just in case there are changes that need to be made)*.

3. Use nailer at the corners to nail the frame together.

4. Apply wood filler to fill-in nailer holes and let it dry.

5. Once dry sand with sand paper to make smooth.

6. Paint frame and let it dry.

7. Once paint dries put the board on the back of the frame and screw the L brackets in each corner for support.

Happy crafting fellow heartbeats