Teacher Appreciation Week

 My kids have wonderful teachers this year! As Teacher Appreciation Week starts tomorrow we spent some time this weekend making gifts for them.

We love giving flowers to make their desks pretty so I had each kid write "Thank you" and sign their names on a mason jar. I had them write it with a Sharpie so that the writing won't wipe off but they can scrub it off at a later date to use the jar for something else. We wrapped the edges with some ribbon and called it a day.

Lastly I made the teachers a washer necklace. These are all over Pinterest and I have been dying to make some. I found really nice quality washers at ACE Hardware and the leather cord and beads are from the craft store. My husband had to help me with the actual stamping and we found that if you wrap the washer in masking tape it prevents them from moving around and thus prevents 'shaky' letters.

I hope the teachers love their presents and more importantly I hope they know how much we appreciate them! 

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Monogrammed Tote Bag

These monogrammed totes, inspired by TidyMom, have been all the rage on Pinterest for a while now. I initially had wanted to make my own tote and then monogram them but ran out of time. So what you see here are totes purchased at JoAnn's that I monogrammed following TidyMom's tutorial here.

What initially drew me to these is the black & white look- I love it! The ease of this tutorial can't be beat, I made both in less than 30 minutes. Patience is key because you want to make sure to cover all the spaces created by the doily. I used a small round sponge brush from the dollar store and it helped me get good coverage.

In my circle of friends we are all using reusable bags these days. I made these totes for two of my friends who are some of the busiest people I know. I figured they would appreciate something made for them that they could distinguish from all the other grocery/kid bags in the car.

Once the paint dried I bundled them up and tied them up with a big bow. As you can see I also included a key fob. As you know, I love making these. There is nothing I love more than making gifts for my family and friends!

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