So awesome, right?!? The teachers loved our teacher appreciation gift this year. Practical with some funny thrown in for good measure! What I loved most though? It was a no-brainer for me and I was oh-so-very-thankful for that this year. I’m currently drowning in the craziness of life, and no-brainer, fun gifts are exactly what this worn-out momma needs!!

Our school does teacher appreciation on one day … it’s not a week long thing. On Wednesday of Teacher Appreciation Week, the room moms arrange to have baskets outside the classroom doors for the kids to leave gifts. For Hunter’s class, one of the parents suggested the kids also bring in a flower for the teacher and teacher’s aide … that parent left a vase outside the classroom to collect said flowers.

Teacher Appreciation Wednesday was also plant-growing-salad-making-teaching-moment-day and each of the kids were assigned to bring in something to make a salad. Hunter was assigned 24 cherry tomatoes.

One of the other girls had a field trip to attend and needed a “sack” lunch. And well … I don’t know, all I remember was a crazy, tasmanian-devil-like whirlwind of a morning. I was shoving stuff at Hunter explaining who to give stuff to and where to leave it {she also had the front desk administrative to leave a gift for}.

Between making breakfast, a sack lunch, explaining gifts, flowers, letting dogs out, water bottles, vitamins, papers signed in book bags, general morning craziness … and let’s not forget … a photo for Instagram! …

When I finally returned home from school drop-off errands, guess what I noticed in the fridge?

24 cherry tomatoes. Humpf!

{free download available from chickabug.com}

Share some of your “crazy” with me?

When my girl’s birthdays roll around, we like to do something fun for their school treat. In trying to find a clever “something” for Piper’s birthday last week, I reminded her of  these treats and she was all over it!

Needless to say … they were a hit and still super yummy!

Now to find another clever “something” for Hunter’s birthday coming up next week …

Any suggestions for a fun treat?

sources:
Brown Sugar Blondies
Sugar Cookie Squares

Do you have a bake sale favorite?

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Printables by The Pitter Patter Press

A beautiful friend gifted me with one of these lovelies a couple of years ago, and I’ve been yearning to create one myself ever since. Well, I finally bit the bullet and did me some sewing!!

I made a total of seven folios … counting teachers, aids, and tutors, we had 5 “teacher” gifts, plus I made a couple more to give to friends.

I love, love, love the way they turned out! And as soon as I get some more time, I think I may be making a few more … you know, just to have on hand!

{folio pattern by JCasa Patterns}

And then she asked if she could have a sock monkey themed party … and yeah … I was all over that one! Proof in the photos below!

It’d also been a while since we’ve had an all-out party, and ahem, I still haven’t posted Hunter’s Fairytale Princess party {beware!}, so I decided to get my creative on and throw my Wynt a little shindig!

Ready? Set. Here goes!

In my opinion, every party starts with a great invite and takes off from there …

In lieu of gifts, Wynter asked for the donation of a gently
used stuffed animal to donate to a local animal shelter.

What sock monkey party is complete without monkey pops?

And banana candies?

And sock monkey party hats?

And favor boxes filled with all kinds o’ monkey goodness?

And the cutest fondant sock monkey ever?

And big yellow gumballs {that I may still have coming out of my ears!}?

We had the party in our backyard. So to greet guests, we had a ginormous
sock monkey and a sign directing guests to come around back.

A sock monkey pinata!

And some goofy monkeys running amuck!

One of my favorite details was the sock monkey
“photo booth” … the kids had some fun with it!

And for Wynter’s school treat, we brought in a sock monkey
cup-cake … needless to say, it was a huge hit!

Everyone seemed to have a great time. My Wynt was in heaven. And I had some fun getting my creative on again!

How ’bout you? Is there a detail that’s your favorite?

Sources:
Photography – myself {hee}
Invites & Printables – totful memories
Envelopes – Paper Source
Postage Stamps
Cake, Cupcakes & Sock Monkey Cup”cake” – Creative Cakes by Allison
Candy
Monkey Pops – Baked
Monkey Hats – Wish Works
Pinata – Birthday Express
Favor Boxes – Nashville Wraps
Sock Monkey Favor Goodness – Oriental Trading & Birthday Express

“When I create art, my mind wanders and more of my heart and what I am feeling are revealed. When I slow down and do something that is just for me, magic happens. I am the most honest with myself in the quiet of my studio when paint is on my hands and my apron has another layer of color on it. As I create, what always shows up in my art, are words. Words buried below the layers of paper and paints. Words spilled across the canvas. Words dripping along the edges and always the final act of any piece.” source

I’m not gonna lie … I’m kinda obsessed with Instagram over here! It’s been my new source of social media. It’s tweets and statuses all wrapped up in an image and I love it! I’m also connecting with all kinds of people and that’s nothing but an added bonus in my book!

One of the people I’ve connected with does beautiful … like gorgeous-beautiful … creative journaling and I’ve been enthralled and inspired to give it a try. I’ve never been a fan of my handwriting and have never been very “cutesy” with my doodling. So truthfully, it was a little intimidating to just let go and give it a try. Something else that became very evident is how shaky my hands have been become {MS related}.

But the feeling I got when I just let go and created … using truths from the Word of God … was kinda refreshing, calming, joy-filled, and peaceful!

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. Romans 12:6 NLT

God’s instilled a need for creativity within me … but I never quite realized it until I stopped creating and felt a small void in my life. I believe when we’re not using the gifts and passions we’ve been given, we start to feel a void within.

This type of journaling is a small way to fill my creative void, but the result I feel inside is huge.

Discussion: Is there something you do just for you? What gift or passion fills a void and brings joy into your life? And do you take the time to stay engaged and active in what you’ve been called to do?

Lord, please help me to strengthen
their bodies, voices, and minds …
to express their feelings and control
them sometimes …
to explore what is near and venture
afar. But most important, to love
who they are. ~ author unknown

sources:
basket idea
teachers prayer download
basket & frames – Michael’s
nail file, polish, and chalkboard tags – Target
candies & izze – Fresh Market
barnes & noble gift card – Barnes & Noble :)