Teacher/Parent Appreciation: Class Projects

Here are a pair of projects that I used this year for my daughter's class.  

I took a few chalkboards to school and took  two photos of each child: one telling what their favorite subject their teacher taught them and one telling what they want to be when they grow up.  

I used the first for teacher appreciation week... I printed this as an 11x14 and framed it.   

The next one I printed as an 8x10 and brought several copies for the parents to keep.

Fun little keepsakes for both the parents and the teachers!

Pallet Wine Rack: Home Decor

This project was a case of seeing something at a flea market and deciding that we could make it exactly how we wanted it for quite a bit less money.  I am really so glad we did... because I am so thrilled with the outcome of this little project!!

We found a great sized pallet at ReStore, John took it apart, and to design it we found some ideas on Pinterest and altered them based on our wall space.  A little sanding, stain, and stenciling and voila!

Confession: I went out and bought some new wine glasses to fit in the bottom because all of ours were too big or mismatched.  I did, however, already have the wine on hand and am happy to have a new place to display it!

Family Recipe Binder

So here's the deal:  I have actually had a recipe binder for awhile.  

In fact I have had FOUR recipe binders... 

Family Recipes, 

'Real Food' recipes that I have been printing over the past year, 

Treats (to try), 

and other Food (to try).

Yes, that is a bit ridiculous.  

Yes, I have a binder obsession.  

And no, I don't use them regularly like I should.  

Time for a revamp of the system.   

So, I started by redoing the Family Recipe Binder.  (My other binders will be saved for future posts.)

I decided that 'Family Recipes' should include any recipes that we either have

(1) tried and LOVE,
(2) fit into our eating philosophy (i.e. use whole unprocessed ingredients),
or if they don't fall into those two categories then they
(3) have been in the family for years and are something I might make on a special occasion.

Although I did have many of these recipes already printed, I spent a few days (as I had time) collecting and printing these recipes.

The only recipes in this binder are those we have tried and LOVE, not those we want to try or think we will love...

Ok, so the question... why is this a good idea?

The honest answer: I have been burned one (or eighty five) time(s) too many when trying to retrieve a recipe come 5:30pm.  There is nothing worse than trying to open a Pintrest link to a recipe that goes to a dead end.  Sometimes they are recipes that I had JUST looked at earlier that day.  So I spend 10 minutes of precious dinner prep time trying to retrieve the recipe and getting frustrated...never again!

Also, if it is a recipe that we LOVE, then it just makes sense to me to have it in hard copy.  Maybe I just don't have the tech-y gene, but I like to have important things in paper form.  Totally my opinion!  I realize this is not the 'green' option, however if these recipes are going to be used for years to come I don't see the problem in having a single printed copy... again, my personal opinion!
Also I am partial to page protectors, and even more specifically to the large pack of them from Costco.  Every single recipe got a page protector.

So, I gathered the recipes.

Next, I divided them into categories that made sense for OUR family.  Personally, it made sense to me to divide recipes into categories based on when you would use them. (appetizers, soups, main dishes, desserts...)

I created some very simple labels (for the 18 different categories I had-yikes!) on Word and added a simple border.  I printed and cut them out, then attached them to a whole separate page protector using clear packing tape... essentially making my own dividers.  (I jazzed them up with some fun scrap book paper, the idea for the packing tape labels was found at Bold Turquoise)

I have had the completed binder for about a month now and use it nearly every single day.  I can imagine this being something I will adapt and change as we find new recipes, but essentially will be a family keepsake.

Stay tuned for more binder posts.  I am telling you, I'm obsessed!

Brown Bag Reindeer Wrap

Super simple wrapping for the photo booth ornaments in the previous post:

This was a situation where multiple sized circle punches and dollar store clothespins came in handy!

Photo Strip Ornament | Christmas Photo Booth

As the room parent for my daughter's second grade class this year, I wanted to make something pretty cool for the students in class to give their parents for Christmas.

I knew I wanted to incorporate photography and to do something fun and something they would like to keep for years.

This was a project that was a mix of a few ideas... starting with the currently popular 'photo booth' and adding in some amazingly awesome Christmas themed photo booth props. (all cut using the Silhouette machine)

So, the idea was to take several photos of every child in my daughter's second grade class, edit the photos into photo strips, print them at Costco, and then collage pauge them onto wooden boards and make them into ornaments.

Yup, that's a lot of boards and red paint.  I rolled it on because I could do so indoors and they would dry in a reasonable amount of time. (Had to take into consideration the December weather, spray paint wouldn't have dried outside.)

Halloween Hands | School Goodies

Super fun Halloween treats for my daughter's class: 

• medical gloves (the kind with no powder)
• Five smarties for each
• Three to five other candies
• Halloween themed ring on the ring finger
• Tied with a ribbon
• Repeat 28 times! :-)

Corning "Watch" Mugs (handleless mugs)

A neat find the other day day by John... 4 WWII era Navy Watch Mugs!

I think I mentioned a few posts back that my newest hobby was searching for vintage Pyrex. These mugs fall into that category. One of the things I love about Pyrex is the history. I enjoy learning the dates of the pieces and imagine what they could have been used for and by whom.

I imagine Navy Watchmen sipping their coffee out of these mugs, keeping their hands warm on a chilly night.

These mugs could date back to the 1940's, and amazingly they are in wonderful condition!

All for a grand total of $2