Teacher Gift Dos and Don'ts

I thought about not writing this post because it might seem like I am
a. a brat
b. ungrateful
c. rude

but then I realized that my intent is to be

d. honest
e. informative
f. amusing


We know it's back to school time, but let's not get too crazy with the apple/school bus/pencil themed gifts just yet.  I am here to serve as your personal teacher gift concierge, to assist you with all your teacher-gift buying needs.  Some people may not make a habit of sending a gift on the first day.  If this is you, pin this and stop back around Christmas.  If you're a beginning of the year giver, please read on.

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*Disclaimer: Teachers (Myself included) do not expect gifts from students, and are generally surprised and appreciative (myself included) when they receive them.

5 Teacher Gifts to Reconsider

1. Coffee mug.   So the teacher drinks coffee.  He/she probably owns plenty of these already.
2. Knick knacks.   How many little figurines can one person have?
3. Bath & body products.  Unless you know the specific brand and scent, this is dangerous territory. Especially shy away of the bargain ones.  We know you picked that up in the dollar aisle.
4.  Jewelry, specifically school related.  No one needs to be sporting a schoolhouse brooch.  Exceptions are fun or trendy pieces you might pick up for yourself.
5. Anything school-themed.  Just because you can personalize a tote that says "Mrs. Anderson, World's Greatest Teacher" doesn't mean you should.  We teach because we love kids, not apples and rulers and primary colors.

5 Teacher Gifts that are Fail-safe

1. A note from your child or you.  I save all of these, and they mean a lot to me.
2.  Food.  This one is tricky, so be observant.  If the teacher is health-conscious, stick with fruit or another healthy snack.  If she's into chocolate or candy, opt for those.  The key here is be observant.  Or ask the teacher's colleague.
3.  Hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes.  Not all teachers might love this, but I'm all for killing some germs.
4. Gift Card.  This could be to somewhere for supplies or for the teacher's personal enjoyment
5. Drinks.  Again, be observant here.  Have you noticed there's always a diet coke on the teacher's desk, or that they're partial to bottled water?  Your student can watch for this too.

Last Minute Christmas Gift: Fleece Headband

I love a DIY gift. Even though the person who receives it will likely not understand how much time and effort went into choosing the supplies and putting it together. Or they may not use it at all, leaving you wondering what other productive tasks you could have been doing during naptime. Did that sound negative? Mostly joking on that, but in truth I have narrowed my homemade gift recipients to DIYers and lovers of the homemade crap only. Everyone else gets gifts from the grand old Internet. Now on to the real reason for posting: a DIY gift you could give to almost anyone.

Here is a little homemade gift that I put together in about thirty minutes--a fleece earwarmer/headband. I found the inspiration and basic directions at Delia Creates. I did have to adjust the size and instead of one layer of fleece used two, as winter can be a little brutal around here. I like the way it turned out, especially the bow on top. Can't wait to send this off and whip up a few more.

And a picture to brighten your day. We should all smile like this. It makes for a fantastic shot. Am I right?

Gift Wrapping Goodness

Gifting season is here, and there's no reason to wrap your presents the same old way. After perusing Pinterest and a few other sites, I found some wrapping styles that were easy (and free) to try.
First, here's how you can use leftover wrapping paper to make a matching bow. Who knew you could curl the paper just like you do ribbon? Couldn't find the original post, so here's a link to it on Pinterest.

Love this one for gifting from the little ones. Lines Across My Face shows how to make toddler scribbles into a personalized gift bow.
I haven't tried this DIY gift bag from Joanna Noel, but it looks like a great idea.

I also love the wrapping of these packages from Allora Handmade. Think I might try this sweet wrapping idea

Too much inspiration + a Homemade Book

Though this blog shows no proof, I have been creating a few fun things here and there lately. However, there are not many hours of daylight for me to capture a decent picture of my creations, and I do not possess the skills for great artificial lighting. What's a girl to do? Share my lame sorta-crappy photos so you get the gist of the project? Or possibly tear my eyes away from Pinterest and the insane amount of inspiration there and get to shooting some photos? Probably the second. My list of projects to finish is getting to a ridiculous point as well. I have approximately a dozen to complete for the holidays. Eek.

I am sure there are lots of creative people just like me who struggle with the same issues. I am determined to stop this little cycle and get to creating and shooting. Here I go on my road to being a better blogger: Practice taking more pictures and make the stuff I find online.

Here is one of the projects I have on my to-do list:

It is from Kimberly Petersen's typepad--a homemade boardbook. Cute, huh?

My little guy loves books, especially ones with great pictures. I plan to put together one of these, but using a Shutterfly book. Why? Because Pampers Village (great site to subscribe to--coupons and rewards, etc. without buying anything) sent me a code for a free photo book from Shutterfly. You want the code to make your own? Of course you do! Free photo book code: GT82-859P-GW04-8NKK54

Thanks for stopping by!

Great Gift for the Mama-to-Be

Is this a blog about babies, or about crafting, cooking, and miscellaneous fun? Both, for now. My mom and I have been crafting up lots of good baby goodness so it's only right that I share these. One of Barb's latest creations: a pregnancy calendar for yours truly. She made me one with my first baby, and I missed the daily tidbits and kept losing track of how far along I was (I know, pathetic), so she whipped out a new one.


A pregnancy calendar is a great gift for an expecting girlfriend or relative--think "very long advent calendar that counts up to 40 weeks." Each day has a little piece of information to read. Some are lame, like "Moms may be feeling tired." Really? No way! Others are fun and interesting facts about the baby's development.


To make, Barb downloaded the calendar from Just Mommies, printed it, mounted the paper on to cardstock, added embellishments and a cardstock cover, then bound it all together. If you don't have a binding tool, you could adjust and use metal rings or twine.


Thanks for stopping by!
Robin

Felt Owl Friend

My niece turned four last week, so to celebrate I crafted up this sweet owl. This little creature is about 10 inches tall and crafted completely out of felt. To make, I cut pattern pieces out of paper then traced onto felt. I attached the felt with a blanket stitch using embroidery floss in matching colors. It's stuffed with the regular ole' filling from the craft store and lots of love. This might be just the beginning of my animal adventures with felt.

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks two years of being married to my best friend. He is the guy who not only helps me parent our little one and supports me in everything, but is also my biggest cheering section and a voice of reason in those "rare" moments when I lose it....just a little. I'm happy to be married to this one--he's a keeper.

We are keeping our celebration simple this year, and taking it easy on gifts as well. I couldn't resist this print from Define Design 11, though. She makes custom special occasion prints that are personalized in such a quirky, sweet way. Here's the one we'll hang in our home:

The picture doesn't do it justice...it's way cuter than it appears here. But you get the concept. I love that the heart pinpoints our wedding location.

All my best,
Robin