We appreciate our teachers!

So, as many of you know this week is teacher appreciation week.  My four year old is in preschool this year, so this was our first time celebrating our teachers.  At the beginning of the week, us the parents put on a brunch for our preschool teachers.  I was in charge of bringing a nut free quiche, that was also to be made in a nut free facility...I failed at this.  It was a lot harder than it sounds to find a quiche made in a nut free facility, and yes it had to be prepared commercially as my house is a case of anaphylactic shock waiting to happen for someone with a nut allergy.  I did not kill the teacher with my possibly cross contaminated quiche...so that was a win.  In an attempt to make up for my deadly quiche, I decided to make some cute little gifts for the teachers that would not pose any health threats. 

I scoured Pinterest to see what the other crafty mommas were doing, and to get some inspiration.  I saw all these corny but cute ideas and decided I too wanted to be corny but cute, but also somewhat original.  I saw the packets of seeds with the tag that thanked the teacher for helping me grow, and the straw cup with drink mix that said "thanks for quenching my thirst for knowledge"...all of them were cute and corny, but seemed somewhat overdone.  Not to be outdone by the corny Pinterest masses, I went off on my own and came up with this gem.  Behold my cute and corny teacher appreciation gift!

I know what you're going to say, this is crazy corny...but, come on, you've got to admit it's pretty darn cute!

To make this awesome gift, I searched Pinterest for a free printable key themed gift tag.  I found this one that I liked, but there were so many others too.  I then wrote "Education is the key to success.  Thank you for being my teacher!" and had my daughter sign it.  Being a Thirty-One consultant, I have a ton of key fobs on hand that I use as hostess thank you gifts, so I grabbed a key fob and tied it on the card with some curling ribbon...done!  Super easy, super cheap, and super cute! 

We gave these to the teachers today, and not to toot my own horn, but they were a big hit!  I suppose you could make a cute typed card for the gift, but I think there's something to be said for the old school hand written thank you note.  Enjoy!

FYI---We also included the good old nail file with a tag that said "I'd file you under 'A' for awesome!  Thanks for being an Awesome teacher!"...I know, ridiculous...I just can't help myself :)

Did someone say peep s'mores?

Truth be told, my girls are super picky eaters.  I'm constantly trying to find new things I can make for them, in an attempt to broaden their food horizons.  I get sick of making the same old things time after time.  Now I know this recipe is neither healthy, nor nutritious, but we follow the idea of everything in moderation in our house...so sweets are okay from time to time.

I like to make themed treats for my girls around the holidays.  For example, for Christmas I made the melted snowman cookies, for Halloween we had ghost lollipops.  So, when I saw this cute idea posted from a pampered chef relative on facebook (Dinner with Pampered Patsy), I knew we just had to make it.  It's really quite simple, and an ingenious way to use up all of those peeps the kids get around Easter (or any holiday really now).

Step 1:  To make these adorable peep s'mores, you'll need to gather the usual s'more suspects, chocolate bars, graham crackers, and instead of plain old marshmallows you'll use Peeps.

Step 2:  Assemble as you would a normal s'more.  Start with a graham cracker square on the bottom, followed by a strip of a Hershey's chocolate bar, and topped with a peep.  Place the s'more on a microwave safe plate.

Step 3:  Now, comes the fun part!  Pop this in the microwave for 12 seconds, and watch the peep grow.  Once the microwave stops, he'll shrink right down, so don't worry about a huge peep mess all over the microwave. Once out of the microwave top with the other graham cracker square and enjoy!

My girls not only loved eating these, but loved making them too.  It was something so easy for small little hands to put together, and they were so excited to be able to cook it themselves and push the buttons on the microwave.  Their most favorite part however, was watching the peep grow while it was cooking in the microwave...who knew a box of Peeps could be so much fun!

Stay tuned for the never ending baby blanket...it's finally coming to an end!

I'm back!

It's been quite awhile now, and I've missed all of you terribly.  My intention when starting this blog was to document my current projects and hopefully stay motivated to finish them in the process.  Well, life got in the way a little.  I started work toward finishing my Master's, had another baby, team trivia...you know, all the usual stuff.  Life has settled down a little since then, and I am slowly getting back into my crafting.  I got a dehydrator for Christmas and have been dying to experiment with it.  I've also been pinning things like crazy on Pinterest and have a million and one projects to try.  I've already gotten started on a few things and have a couple things I'm just finishing up.  So, my pledge to you dear readers, is that I will be keeping you up to date on all of my crafting from this point on!  I know, hard to believe since I left everyone hanging for so long, but I promise...Scout's honor.

Just to keep your interest peaked, I'll give you a few hints about what's in store.  Be prepared to see one of the cutest baby blankets, some busy book awesomeness, fairy house fabulousness, and some delish dehydrator creations!  I know, you can hardly contain your excitement!  Me either!

So, if you made it this far, stay tuned to see what I've been up to.   Got something you want to see me try?  Leave me a comment, and maybe, just maybe I'll give it a whirl!