Teacher Appreciation Week: Day Four

After a week of pretty, sweet, and healthy treats for our teacher, it was time to get practical.  Blessed with a generous class gift fund, I created a bouquet of gift cards:

Although I got a chuckle out of this, I kept it wholesome and purchased gift cards from our teacher's favorite stores.  I taped each gift card onto a flower cut-out, attached the flower to a long craft stick, and inserted the stick into floral foam at the bottom of a pail.  I covered the floral foam with raffia, wrote "Thank you for helping us grow" and the year on the pail, and that's it!  An easy, cute way to present otherwise practical gift cards.

How are you honoring your children's teachers this week?

Sharing with Ladybird Ln

Teacher Appreciation Week: Day One

I did it:

after I pinned it:

A sweet bouquet of sunflowers, posing in a pencil-wrapped vase, ready to present to our first-grade teacher on the first day of Teacher Appreciation Week. As one of the homeroom moms, I'm responsible for coordinating the Teacher Appreciation effort.  And while the week will culminate in a practical presentation of gift cards, we wanted to surprise our beloved teacher with something pretty or fun every day.  

Pinterest to the rescue.  For this copycat project, I used a plain glass vase and ribbon I had on hand, exactly 40 pencils at a cost of $1.50, and a $10 bouquet of sunflowers.  I simply inserted the pencils between two rubber bands on the vase, and then covered the bands with ribbon.  I chose not to glue so that the pencils and vase would be reusable. Total cost, $11.50; total time invested, about 10 minutes. 

How are you celebrating your teachers this week? 


(Sharing with Making the World Cuter and My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia)

Adventures in Crafting: My Front Porch Purple Wreath Project

I've been on a purple kick lately and decided to use a purple leaf wreath as the centerpiece of my autumn porch decorations.  The only problem: I couldn't find an attractive option for purchase.  I obsessively searched local stores and the internet high and low; I put out calls on Etsy; no luck. And then, I found this, from the exquisite Twig & Thistle:

via

 via

via

Gorgeous.  Perfect.  But not for sale.

Lovely Shelli at a' la mode laughingly refers to herself as a DIFM ("do it for me") personality as opposed to a DIY-er.  I'm much the same way in that as highly as I value and respect self-sufficiency, I am craft-challenged.  Glue guns and I have a bad history; I get a headache just walking into a major craft store; I've never sewed anything except for buttons; glitter bewilders me; I can't even cut in a straight line.  And sometime I'll have to tell you about The Day I Cried while Covered in Paint at Home Depot.

My oldest daughter, however, is very artsy-craftsy. One of her major disappointments with me is that I'm not.  Since I don't like disappointing my daughter with my shortcomings, and because I felt an obsessive-compulsive need for a purple leaf wreath, I decided to try to replicate the Twig & Thistle beauty above.  After all, the original creator had helpfully provided directions; they seemed straightforward.  Off to the craft store I went.

Actually, it took me five different trips to three craft stores to find my supplies because I am as inept at craft-supply gathering as I am at actually crafting.  It was not an auspicious start.

I finally got my act together and followed Twig & Thistle's tutorial carefully, omitting the fabric flower simply because I couldn't find fabric in time.  My home-spun result:

It's not as precise as the original, but I'm satisfied.  The nice thing about the leaves being pinned instead of glued is that I can always adjust/amend later as my time and desire permit.  For now, I think the purple wreath is striking against the white door, and together with the adjoining urns filled with orange leaves and purple flowers, suggests Halloween festivity without resorting to overt garishness.  We'll add pumpkins and other trimmings later in October.

So concludes my first real attempt at DIY home decor.  I kinda liked the experience.  Next thing you know, I'll be telling my husband I need to convert his walk-in closet to a craft room....

Many thanks to Twig & Thistle for the inspiration.  In turn, I'll be sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, Saved by Suzy, Southern Hospitality, The Frugal Girls, and Centsational Girl.

Has anyone else tried this project?  How'd you fare?

FYI: I used Montana Gold spray paint in Blue Velvet, Lavender, and Light Lilac.  I required almost 30 feet of 1.5 inch grosgrain ribbon and 36 fabric leaves to cover the wreath form. Although the original directions didn't prescribe, I painted both sides of the leaves.  I also used a finishing spray to help protect the wreath from the outdoor elements (which are not a major concern in my warm, arid, rain-free climate, but better safe than sorry) --- I have no idea if this will be effective, but if I don't update my post later with a story about purple paint running down my white door, then you can assume it worked fine. :)