Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Since this week is Teacher Appreciation Week, the girls and I put together a little something special yesterday afternoon, so they could make their special delivery at school today. They have two amazing teachers ~ we are so lucky!

I know...this idea is all over Pinterest, but I needed something easy!

We picked up some sunny yellow gerbera daisies on the way home yesterday and added a yellow grosgrain bow and a cute little gift tag to make them extra special. I made the note by merging some clip art from Pic Monkey and word art from Word {couldn't figure out how to curve text in Pic Monkey. Anyone?}. I printed the cards on card stock, trimmed the edges with pinking shears and taped them to cake pop sticks. I've gotta say I'm pretty proud of those little gift tags!

"Thanks for Helping Us Grow This Year!"

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

I Like Big Bows and I Cannot Lie

Actually, I don't really love ginormous bows on little girls; I am a sucker for a simple, classic boutique bow. I've made a million of them for Anna Claire and Mallory because I refuse to pay boutique prices.

 

Recently, I decided the girls needed a fancy Christmas bow for their little dance performance next week, so I went online to my favorite ribbon vendor, Ribbon Retreat, because they sell cute themed ribbon mixes for next to nothing. I did buy Christmas ribbon, but I also saw this cute ballet mix, so I thought I might make a fancy bow for ballet class as a Christmas present for the girls. We have clothes rules for the girls in our house, and "no black" is one of them. Of course, we make an exception for dance class because they have to have a black leotard, so I thought the black in the ribbon would be OK.

Ribbon Retreat has tons of tutorials, but I also found one on YouTube that I really liked. Two hours later...

...I had two inside out bows...

...not loving the solid hot pink...

...three layers of ribbon to stack...

...and I finally had two ginormous hair bows for Anna Claire and Mallory that I'm not even sure I love. I think my bows are pouffier {yes, it's a word...in our house} than the one on YouTube and I did the pinwheel layer differently. Also, I am used to whipping out two complete boutique bows in under ten minutes, and this is a very different look for us. I think what actually took so long wasn't making the actual bows but watching all the YouTube videos.

I think I might take the bow apart and make the bottom layer smaller and see if I like it any better. And I'll probably try a different tutorial for the Christmas bow just to see if there's another "fancy bow" style out there that doesn't turn out quite so...busy. ;-)

Hair Bow Help

Things were getting out of control with the girls' hair bows, so I made them each their own hair bow organizer to help keep them organized. I am so crafty!

...and thrifty, too. The ribbon came from Dollar Tree (5 yards for $1); the letters were $2.50 each, and the butterflies were $.69 each.

Christmas Crafts

The girls helped make their first Christmas ornaments yesterday, and I finished decorating them tonight. Can you tell what they are?

It's each girls' hand print and the fingers are decorated like snowmen complete with black top hats, orange carrot noses, and colorful scarves. How cute! There's not an artistic bone in my body, but I can be a little crafty if I put my mind to it.

This art project went much better than our Halloween ghost and spider projects which I've never posted pictures of because I never finished them. Anna Claire and Mallory were much more cooperative this time - not a tear was shed. It only took us sixteen total ornaments, one ruined outfit, and one paint-covered-hand-in-the-mouth to end up with two *perfect* little hand prints.