Parent Volunteer "Thank You" Gift

I absolutely LOVE it when parents want to volunteer in my classroom. I think it sets a positive and inviting tone with students are able to see their parents get involved in their education.  

This school year, I had 16 consistent parents who either volunteered in the classroom, donated various items throughout the year, and/or supported myself and the students in some way, shape, or form. I feel so blessed to have been able to allow so many parents the opportunity to be involved in their child's 3rd grade year. Although, many parents work full-time, I always felt supported with their overly-generous gestures. 

What better way to thank them than to get the kids involved. As we all know, kid-created crafts are the absolute best! 

I took a bunch of Pinterest projects I found and merged them in my brain to form one amazing "Thank You" gift for all 16 parents without breaking the bank. 

The Picture Frame:

• First, I drew the letters for "Thank you for volunteering!" in bubble letters on individual pieces of white paper. Each student was able to decorate their own (I purposely used the phrase I did in order to allow 24 letters for my 24 students - including an exclamation point, of course!). 

• Next, we took a class picture on the day everyone was present - rare! I used the Walgreen's Photo app to develop the pictures. I love this app because it's super simple to use, they're developed before I can even take my final sips of my morning coffee, there is almost always a coupon code somewhere in the Google world, and Walgreen's is on my way home from work! 

• Then, I ordered simple 5x7 white picture mats from Amazon.  They reached my doorstep within 2 days - thank you Amazon Prime!

• Last, I set out bright colored sharpies and had the class sign each frame. I taped the picture to the back and added a medium-sized square of magnetic tape. 

The Tags and Card:

I love the look of rustic, neutral colors, with really beautiful fonts. It was very challenging for me to find what I was looking for when I'd hit up the store last minute, so I decided to start making my own cards, tags, signs, and basically anything else I needed.  I found an outline of a tag by doing a Google search and added the parents name using Google Draw.  Then, I searched for a sweet poem about children, positivity, and great parenting when I came across this quote:

I thought the words were so sweet and touching. This quote encompasses everything I was looking for to express my gratitude to my student's parents.

I typed this quote on Google Draw and included a personalized message for the parents thanking them for all they have done.

It took a few tricks at the copy machine to make sure the cards printed correctly - but worth the trial and error! :)

Bags:

I wanted to find an inexpensive way to package the items without losing the rustic and unique appearance of the gifts. I had white sandwhich bags left over from Valentine's Day and white yarn in my craft bin. VOILA! The gifts are signed and sealed and ready to be delivered! 

These small gifts were just a piece of the appreciation I have for all of the parents who are invested in their child's education. These inexpensive gifts were more about the meaning than the price tag! 😊

Click here to access the Google Documents in the post:

Parent Volunteer "Thank You" cards

Parent Volunteer Name Tags

(to change names - click "File" then "Make A Copy")

Ryan + Katie's Baby Shower

Ryan and Katie are having a sweet baby boy! I am finally going to be an aunt! I cannot wait to hug and squeeze that precious babe.  The summer of 2016 will be spent throwing baby showers!  

As I was searching the internet for invitations, I realized - I can MAKE these for cheaper than these crazy websites can! So... I did.

I used Google Draw to design the invitations and then I found cute paper at Walmart.

Click here to get a copy of the "Bold Baby Shower invitation"

Click here to get a copy of the "Cursive Baby Shower invitation"

(to edit - click File, Make A Copy)

I ordered envelopes from Amazon.  The tricky part was making sure the invites printed to the right size.  But once they did, it was magical!

I love the idea of stocking the baby room with tons of wonderful books.  I am a teacher and obsessed with reading.  To foster a love of books and reading in a small child is the greatest gift we can give them.  I make these "Book Instead of Cards" notes to include with the invitations.

For the centerpieces and random decorations, I used mason jars I had around the house.  You can get them at Walmart.  These are the wide mouth mason jars - they fit silverware and flowers much better than the regular ones.  I picked up this glitter spray from Walmart to make them pop.

Jami's Bachelorette Party

Lake of the Ozarks, MO

July 22-July 24

Goodie Bags

includes:

bandaids: in sickness and in health

mint: for better or for worse (breath)

hairband: to have and to hold (your hair back)

margarita: for richer or for pourer 

(To edit the links, click "File" then "Make A Copy")

Let the assembling begin!

The finished products!

I printed all of the names and tags using Google Docs.  I love the variety of fonts on Google and it makes each item personalized and unique.

Click here to make a copy and personalize the Gift Bag Name Tags

I have never been to the Lake of the Ozarks, but I have heard nothing but FUN stories about it.  We are all so excited to get in our bathing suits, crack open a beer, and have the best Girl's Weekend celebrating our best friend and bride-to-be, Jami!  We are headed out on a lake on a boat we rented, so, of course we need a boat captain! ...or should I say Bride Captain!

I bought the Captain's Hat and tulle off of Amazon and sewed the tulle to the back of the hat - simple AND cheaper than buying a pre-made one!  All you need is a sewing kit and a steady hand.

What Bachelorette Party would be complete without matching TANK TOPS.  I used a company called UberPrints and I will definitely use them again.  You can literally design ANYTHING you want.  There are tons of fonts (my favorite), colors, designs, images, ect.  They arrived and looked EXACTLY like I thought.  I didn't expect the colors to be as vibrant as I order but they definitely deliver.

(side note: The original order left out the word "vitamin", I emailed and within an hour they were making me another order - free of charge and they arrived within that week - great customer service!)

We all hope to get a lot of Vitamin D out on the lake! The temperature is supposed to be 100 degrees Friday and Saturday! 

Bachelorette Games:

Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt

Bachelorette Jeopardy

Jami's Bridal Shower

Grapes and Hops

Kankakee, Illinois

June 18, 2016

Jami's Wedding Shower was absolutely beautiful.  Grapes and Hops has a rustic feel and matched out shower theme/the wedding theme perfectly. 

We kept the food and drinks simple.  Since Grapes and Hops is a wine bar, they provided us with tokens to give each guest a free drink of choice.  

For the food, we went to Jewel and bought delicious finger foods:

assorted meats

assorted cheeses

Taco Dip

cookies

brownies

fruit tray

veggie tray

cheesecake

When trying to come up with decoration ideas, I wanted to follow the theme of decor that Jami could use in her home.  Instead of spending a lot of money on items that would later be trashed, I wanted to find beautiful monograms, mason jars, babies breath, and anything "P" or "Pall." 

The card box was ordered by the bride to be used at the wedding as well.  The wooden "P" wrapped in twine was purchased at Target,  I used the dollar section twine to wrap around the wooden "P" to give it texture.

To make the mason jars, I used the regular mouth mason jars from Walmart in 2 sizes - pint and quart.  Then I bought burlap, lace, and ribbon from Hobby Lobby.  Then, I wrap different pieces - mix and match - around each mason jar and hot glued them.  Last, add cute little buttons, flowers, or twine.  

The Drink Dispensers were the perfect touch for our country/rustic theme.  These are The Pioneer Woman Drink Dispensers.  I loved them but they were a little bit small.  You can find these everywhere these days.

Bridal Shower games can be unappealing to many guests.  I tried to use ideas that were more do "takeaways" for the bride as opposed to "chores" for the guests.

Click here for the "Date Night Suggestions" printable

I couldn't let the guest's leave without at least ONE corny bridal shower game!  They were challenge to create a toilet paper dress that would most resemble the dress Jami would wear on her Wedding Day.

The winners looked gorgeous! 

They received a sweet little gift "From Jami's Shower to Yours."

(body wash and a lofa)

It was so much fun showering my best friend.  We had our 3rd partner-in-crime in town and all three of us were on cloud 9 1/2

We cannot wait for the Bachelorette Party!

What if you fly?

I received the most beautiful, thoughtful, and meaningful gift for Christmas this year.

My best friend, Stephanie and I always try to find gifts that are unique and meaningful for each other. We like to find positive, spiritual, motivational, or charitable Instagram shops and boutiques that offer personalized gifts that encourage an optimistic outcome.

Shops that we love and have used in the past (and will use in the future) include;

The Kindness Box 

A 1-time seasonal box sent to the recipient's house that includes a ton of cute items to brighten the day! The summer box I received had a tumbler imprinted with "always choose joy," the cutest plaid coozy imprinted with "sprinkle kindness everywhere," a poster for the wall that read "Today I Choose Joy," candy, a star cookie cutter, hair ties, and a personalized note. Each box is themed and different with the element of surprise for the sender and receiver! 

Sevenly

This is a shop that supports all different types of charities. They donate 7% of each t-shirt purchase to a different charity each week. The t-shirts they sell are designed to promote each particular charity, so you can wear your passion right on your chest! 

This is the shirt that is currently in transit to my house! Being a teacher, I LOVE books and I LOVE to read. This shirt was purchased to support First Book, a nonprofit that provides books to under privileged children. 

Dear Heart

This company makes jewelry and t-shirts with sweet Christian roots. They have many styles of necklaces with specific motivational bible verses, phrases, or positive quotes. Who doesn't love a good Jesus loving company?! I received the sweetest necklace from Dear Heart. Stephanie had them inscribe "what if you fly" on a 14k gold necklace. This quote is so special to me because it is such an amazing reminder to not let your fear take over and just take the leap of faith. God's grace will guide you!