Ok, now that I have my bases covered, let's get started!
Lately I have a small problem... I CANNOT STOP pinning pins from Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/)! I must have created about three boards in the past few days and pinned about a thousand pins. I have sent pins. I have looked at pins. I have shared pins on Facebook. It's just bananas! Seriously... I went on a pinning spree! If you don't have Pinterest, go sign up! And if you do, then you understand my addiction.
Well, like my book blog that I posted a while ago, I decided to turn my obsession into something positive. I am going to share my craftiness with you lovely people (if anyone reads this blog) and possibly create a pin of my very own on Pinterest! I hope you enjoy it and maybe find some inspiration!
This upcoming week is Teacher Appreciation Week at my daughter's school. The school is throwing a bunch of little events for the teachers, assistants, staff, ect... all week long. I volunteered to bake some yummy chocolate chip cookies for the staff room and they are also hosting a teacher's breakfast on Monday. But, I like to show Amelia's favorite teachers a little extra love. So, I let her pick the teachers that she wanted to give small gifts to and then we made some homemade cards. I love crafting so we got creative and used stickers, construction paper, pom-poms, and sequins to create personalized cards. My daughter did most of it herself and wrote some of the things she liked about each teacher on their card. We got $15 gift cards to Target and then placed each gift card and homemade card in cute gift bag and Voila!, we had a cute, inexpensive gift. But, I wanted to take it one step further for the teacher who is there for her throughout the day; her kindergarten teacher.
I went on Pinterest to gather a few ideas and saw a pin about getting a reusable cup, filling it with tea packets and making a sign that says, "You are a "tea"rific teacher!". I thought that was adorable and as it so happens, I had a cute mason jar at home that doubled as a cup with a straw. Perfect! I decided to get to work...
For this project, my supply list included:
1 mason jar cup (I obtained mine in a four pack from Zulily, which is another GREAT website btw)
Crystal Light "On the Go" drink packets (I got a great deal at Target... Buy three boxes, get one free and each box contained 10 packets)
- I used Natural Pink Lemonade, Peach Mango Green Tea, Natural Lemon Iced Tea, and Raspberry Lemonade
1 Target gift card (mine was $15...just a little something extra)
1 piece of heavy-duty scrapbooking paper (Which can be obtained at any craft store, such as A.C. Moore or JoAnn Fabrics, in packs or as single sheets of paper)
1 set of alphabet letter stickers (Which can also be purchased at any craft store)
1 pair of scissors
A length of string in any color (I used white...just what I had lying around the house)
1 hole punch (if available)
Scotch tape or glue (depending on preference)
I set up all my supplies on the dining room table and got to work.... Please just use caution when attempting this craft. We are using scissors and hole punches so be careful!
- First, I got my heavy duty scrapbooking paper (I chose green) and started applying my alphabet letters (silver because I thought it would stand out nicely on the green). I started at the top left hand corner as close to the edge as I could so I wouldn't have to make as many cuts later on. Plus, it would give me straighter edges.
- I placed "You are a" on the top line and then switched to the second line. This is all a matter of preference. I had a small mason jar and didn't want the sign to be too large, so I put only a few words on each line. Just be creative and think about how you want the final product to come out.
- Next came the play on words... the "tea"-rific part (instead of terrific). Since the Crystal Light packages came with cute little tea leaf pictures on the box that said "tea" I figured that would be cute to put on the sign. I opened up one of my Crystal Light boxes, emptied out the tea packets and grabbed my scissors. I cut just the "tea" part out.
- To place the "tea" on the sign, I just used some scotch tape. I cut off a small piece from the roll of tape and taped the "tea" on the second line of the sign. Now, you can use glue so you don't see the tape, but that is up to you. I thought that using scotch tape would be one, fairly transparent, and two, it wouldn't need to dry like the glue would.
- Once the word was placed, I continued with my alphabet stickers. I placed the "rific" part next to the "tea" and started on a third line. The only thing I had left was teacher. Now I had a completed sign that read, "You are a tearific teacher".
- Finished with that part of the gift, I cut around the wording with my scissors until I had the size sign I wanted. Again, think about your final project and cut accordingly.
- Now, here is the part where you use the hole punch. I actually didn't have one so I improvised. If you have a hole punch, I would punch one single hole in the middle of the sign on the very top. If you don't have a hole punch, you can improvise like me. I took my scissors, opened them all the way up, and placed one blade, point side down, where I wanted the hole. Then I turned the scissors in a circle until I saw that I had a decent sized hole.
- Once your hole is punched, or made, use the scissors to cut the length of string you want. I took the string and measured against the rim of the mason jar to judge how far I wanted the sign to hang down. Again, this part depends on how large of a jar or glass you are using. It's up to you!
- After the string is cut, thread one end of the string through the hole you made. Keep threading through the hole until you have an even length of string on both sides of the sign. Put the sign aside. It should look something like this:
- Open up all your Crystal Light packages and decide how much tea your cup or mason jar can hold. Again, this part is up to you. I chose four of each kind just to give variety.
- Then take your scissors and cut out the directions from the side of the Crystal Light package. This way, whoever you are giving the gift to knows how to use what you are giving them! : ) Another idea is to cut out the nutrition facts.
- Once you selected your teas and cut out the directions for the tea, open up your mason jar and start adding whatever you want to include in the gift.
- I first added the Target gift card since it was kind of "bulky". Then I placed the directions in the jar and added all my teas.
- Before you close the mason jar, grab your sign and loop the string around the top of the jar. Double knot the ends together so it hangs the way you want it to on the jar.
- Place the lid on the jar and seal tight.
- Now you have a beautiful gift for a teacher! Here's my finished product:
What you do next is up to you! You can leave the gift as is and hand it to the teacher that way. Or you can put it in a nice gift bag wrapped up in tissue paper. That's what I opted for. Since the mason jar is glass, and I have a kindergartener, I thought the bag would be a safer option!
The great part about this gift is that it doesn't have to be just for teachers! It can be for friends, family members, co-workers, grab-bag gifts! Whatever you want it to be! Just change the "teacher" part and you are all set! You can even write out the word terrific and use the "tea" cutout for the "teacher" part since it begins with the same letters. Instead of iced tea packets, you can use teabags. The possibilities are endless! Be creative!
I hope this gave you some ideas for the future. It's a relatively inexpensive gift that shows that you care And make sure you check out Pinterest! Or tell me to stop... Maybe I need an intervention?!
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