Teacher Appreciation Week

"A day for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives." -The National Education Association


Tuesday of the first full week of May each year we celebrate the unofficial holiday "National Teachers Day". It was first started about 1944 and is now part on a larger "Teacher Appreciation Week" which is the first full week in May.

This year that week is May 2rd-6th, with National Teachers Day being Tuesday May 3rd.

Flowers are just coming into bloom in my yard, so in my family it is a tradition to go out to the garden and pick a few to take to school. One year when my oldest was still quite young I picked a Irises for him to take his teacher. He came in with a handful of dandelions and insisted that they were a much better gift. I love sending my boys to school with flowers, it is so cute! And don't forget piano, Sunday school, and any other teacher in your lives!

Also, just a reminder the end of the school year is only about a month from now, so it is a great time to start preparing end of the year teachers gifts and cards as well.

Still need to prep. for Mother's day? You can see my notes HERE

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9 Easy to Make, Beautiful Mother's Day Ideas

Simple ideas to add beauty to Mothers Day. From an easy to make cake, beautiful crafts for gifts, a simple rose cake topper, to formal tea it is simple to add a special touch to this holiday.

This post is a collection of ideas from this last year click links under photos to view full post:

Easy (really) Mother's Day Cake -A beautiful cake for Mother's day and it will make you look like a pro!

Fire Rose Pin {Tutorial}- a simple little craft to make mom smile.

 Birds Net Pendant Tutorial 

Formal Tea - Treat mom to high tea complete with tea sandwiches, and cakes.

Rose Bookmark Craft - A beautiful little gift.

 Birds nest decor {Tutorial} - Fun decor that fits about anywhere in the home.

How to make ribbon roses for gift toppers - Though this post is from Christmas, I though it would fit nicely as a Mother's day gift topper as well.

A Mother's Day Bistro Tablescape - Just a little lunch 'scape.

 Easy fresh flower topper - Cake topper or centerpiece, this little touch adds beauty and elegance.

Also just a little note to all the mom's, there is a 'printer friendly' button at the bottom of this post if any of you should want to.... say... print this out and put it on your hubbys pillow ;) 

I have added this to The Mother's Day Party at SomedayCrafts. Visit to see great Mother's Day ideas!

Rose Pin {Tutorial}

A simple to make rose pin that makes takes only a little time and makes a great gift. 

I am making these as a gift for Mother's day and for my Esty Shop.

Step 1: I used some old satin fabric and cut rough circles. (Don't worry about wrinkles, they will 'iron' themselves out in the next step.)

Step 2: Singe the edges with a flame. I found that a lighter made the edges turn brownish, where as a candle flame did not. But, the candle was harder than the lighter to control heat from the flame.

A note here about safety: You will want to check that your fabric is not highly flammable before beginning this project, keeping a bowl of water near just in case. If you have little ones (as I do) I suggest doing this during nap time or when they are not around so they do not learn to 'play with fire' from you. A well ventilated area is probably best. And be careful not to get burned, fire is hot! :)

Step 3: Once your edges are singed stack from large to small to make a flower. (I liked the look of the singed edges, but you can trim any edges you do not like.)

Step 4: Add beads to the middle. Sewing them in. I hid the knot between petals.

Step 5: Sew a pin to the back.

Happy crafting!

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Happy Easter!

Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life. ~S.D. Gordon Happy Easter from my family to you and yours!

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day! With Easter so close it is easy to forget about this holiday. This year I put together a few of my 'earthy' ;) posts to celebrate this important day.

Click links under photos to see full posts.

Earth Hour - 1 hour of no electricity! Earth hour is actually celebrated in March on the 26th, but if you don't already know about it, Earth day is a great time to learn about it for next year.

Easy composting- my method of composting, probably the easiest/laziest method you will ever see!

And because Arbor day is next Friday here are 3 Tree Care Tips that everyone should know.

Absolutely Gorgeous Spring Wreath

This stunning spring wreath was made by Jodie at 

Love, Laughter and Decor

So gorgeous! 

See her beautiful tutorial post 

{here}

Beautiful Easter Egg Decor

Elegant decor for Easter, these beautiful eggs were made by Trisha at 

The Sweet Survival.

View her wonderful tutorial
{here}

Free Printable Easter Egg Hunt Cards

Need a little adventure with the Easter morning hunt?

Julie at The Happy Home Fairy made up a wonderful scavenger hunt complete with printables! See it here: Easter Morning Scavenger Hunt
(photos below are thumbs, get the full sized printable at link above.)

DOWNLOAD THEM HERE

Such a fun idea! My boys will be doing this on Easter morning!

Gorgeous lantern to add to the celebrations in your home!

So fun for spring and Summer holidays I had to share this lovely lantern make over made by Kirsty from

 You Had Me at Bonjour. 

See her wonderfully detailed tutorial 

{here}

Beautiful Easter Table with Matching Children's and Sweets Table

Sunny and bright, I just had to share these lovely Easter tables. 

They were put together by Chris at 

Celebrations at Home:

Click here to see the lovely adults Easter table.

And here to see the adorable sweets and kids Easter tables.

Bunny Napkin Fold

Bunny napkin folds are so fun for Easter dinner! Complete with pink ears and whiskers this is my take on a bunny napkin fold.

To make this you will need a white napkin, a pink napkin, 1 pipe cleaner cut into 3 pieces, a pom pom and hot glue. The pom pom and hot glue are optional.

Start by folding the white napkin in half.

Then fold the pink napkin in half, lay it on the white napkin, and roll up the pink napkin 2 or 3 turns.

Fold the white napkin down 1 turn, folding the pink napkin again with it.

If your napkins are thicker you may want to run an iron over these creases to keep the napkin from unfolding in later steps.

Roll up the white napkin the rest of the way, leaving a little bit of the tip.

Fold one side down across the tip.

Fold the other side down across the first side.

Turn over and you have the basic shape of the bunny. Adjust a little till you like its shape.

Twist the pieces of pipe cleaner together and hot glue on a pom pom. The pom pom is optional.

 Lay your bunny on the plate and simply set the nose and whiskers on top.

Free Printable Easter Banner

For Easter I made up a printable banner to share.

To print: Click on each of the photos below to enlarge them, click once more to make sure they are fully expanded. Then right click with your mouse and select 'print'. If you have any trouble, once the photo is expanded select 'file' and 'page set up' or 'print preview' from the top of the window and adjust options. Or right click save the photo to your computer and print though the paint program.

I added some ribbon, buttons, flowers, and pre-cut felt shapes, to match the spring decor in my home.

 Happy Easter!



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