Teacher Gifts: Round 3

Whew, third and final round of teacher gifts are complete!  You can put a fork in me, I'm done and ready for summer.

Maben has had three teachers helping him out this year.  The PTA had an awesome book where they asked each teacher to write down their hobbies, favorite stores, etc.  Well, they haven't updated it in a couple years so one of the teachers wasn't in there.  I did know for sure that two of the teachers listed reading as a hobby.  Hmmm...so I started looking for great gifts for people who like to read.  I stumbled across the idea of making homemade bookmarks out of ribbon and charms on pinterest. 

Sold!  I was doing that for all three teachers.  And they turned out amazing and were really easy to make.  Ribbon, ribbon clamps, cute charms and some jump rings.  That was it!

So, you think that's it?  Yeah, I'm a little bit of an over achiever and couldn't leave well enough alone.  Just so they knew exactly what these were for, I crafted a handmade journal for each to place the bookmark inside.

I will have to create a tutorial on how to do those.  They are so easy to do.  Okay, it's on my summer to do list.

I am putting these two gifts together with the Washi Tape Thank You Cards and calling it a day.  I hope Maben's teachers appreciate these as much as I appreciated them this year.

Showing this off at:
Not Just A Housewife: Show Me What Ya Got #122

Teacher Gifts: Round 1

Tuesday was the last day of preschool for Colton.  He was adorable in his end of the year program and actually participated on stage without picking his nose!  I call that a big win!

Colton was on the opposite side of the stage from where I sat.  No way to predict in what order they will stand on stage.  I was able to get a couple decent photos, that also showed off the awesome shirt that the teachers Made for each kid.  Hand print suns with everyone's names on their hand print.  Too cute!  The best photo came from the last song where the entire preschool was singing.  Thankfully that was right in front of where I was sitting.   Here is my cutie hamming it up!

As far as gifts go, Colton's lead teacher received this stained glass frog.

I chose a frog for her due to her entire classroom being decked out in frogs and the only thing she had hanging in her window throughout the year was children's artwork on occasion.  She loves it!

The assistant teacher had hinted a few times this year how much she loved the other teacher's pen.  (I made her one back when she taught Maben in art).  I had to make one just for her.

Her favorite color is purple, so it was easy to choose purple heart as the wooden portion and I paired it with a pen with some bling.  She loves it!

My heart couldn't be happier than to give two very unique gifts to two very deserving teachers and have them both be thrilled to receive them.  What a wonderful day.  So thankful that they provided a very wonderful first year of preschool for Colton.

I Am Thankful

I am Thankful for...

• my husband

• my children

• my brothers and sisters
• my in-laws
• my dogs

• my friends
• my blog
• my readers (check out my current giveaway here)

I am Thankful for...

• laughter
• photographs
• the funny things that kids do and say

This happened Thanksgiving last year.

 I am Thankful for...

• rainbows
• rain showers
• sunny days
• cool breezes
• mud puddles

I am Thankful for...

• our military and all who have served proudly
• this amazing country that I call home...America!

And I am Thankful for so much more!  Happy Thanksgiving! 

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

A year ago I started out on the journey of carving out more time to discover me.

After becoming a mother, my identity changed and I put a large part of me on the back burner, my creativity.  I love to craft, draw, paint, build, photograph, etc.  I hadn't put any emphasis on doing it and wanted to put it back as a priority in my life.  Well, I did and I started this blog to document it!  I can say that I am a happier, more balanced person today than I was a year ago.  This has benefited me, my husband and my kids.

My creativity is...

• stress relief
• my passion
• a gift
• me

I have learned so many new creative things this year.  I learned how to shoot my DSLR on all manual settings.  I learned how to do stained glass with my husband.  I made a quilt the proper way for my son Colton.  There is so much more than I can't even think of right now.  It's so overwhelming to just think of all that I actually accomplished this year and I have an awesome record of it all in this blog.

As a thank you to all the wonderful people who have found me in the past year, I want to giveaway something special.

I am giving away a custom slimline pen to one lucky person! You will get to chose the color of the kit, the style in which it is turned and the preference in the look of the wood (light, dark, etc). 

All examples of slimline pens I have made

In order to enter I am requiring two things:

• Be a follower of my blog
• And tell me what you like most about my blog

(Leave just one comment)
I will close this entry Sunday at midnight Central time.
*I am keeping this giveaway open until Wednesday at 5pm central time since no one responded in time.

Thank you for every comment and e-mail.  Thank you for the praises, the critiques and the inspiration.  Thank you for this past year and I look forward to many more years to come.

Happy Veteran's Day

Today is a day that I proudly wear an outfit that screams I am an American with pride!  Many people think it might be tacky, but I don't care.  I am proud to show that I love my country and my freedom.  It's because of the brave men and women who are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect it.  A special thanks goes out to my husband, who served in the Army, doing two tours in Iraq.

Riding on his tank, Iraq 2003-2004

I am proud that I was able to stand by you and support you.  The deployments were anything but easy, but I wouldn't trade that experience for anything else in this world.  It shaped both of our lives and our relationship.  Without it, I don't think we would be the people that we are today.

Deployment night, 2005

I want to take today to say thank you not just to my husband, but to many others.

Thank you to all of our dear friends that are still in the military and thank you to their families who support them. 

Thank you to my grandfather and Matt's grandfather who served in the Navy during WWII. 

Thank you to my Father-in-law for serving in the Army. 

Thank you to my Uncle who served in the Air Force during Vietnam. 

Thank you to my Brother-in-law, Scott for serving in the Navy.

Thank you to my brother, Dan for serving in the Coast Guard. 

Thank you to my cousins who stand proudly beside their husbands and take care of the home front when their husbands are called away.

Thank you to all the men and women who served with my husband, you all helped get him back home to me.

Thanks to everyone who has served.

Thank you to everyone who still serves.

Standing outside a Texas National Guard Armory

For anyone who has no military affiliation, please tell a Vet "Thank you."  Show your pride for your country and your freedom today.