Little One's Hand Wreath

I want to make one to
match my decor
year-round

You know, sometimes I have a hard time putting the stuffs into words.  I am oh so eloquent in my head, but then I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), and I write and rewrite until I finally give up.

So, here's real me trying to set up a blog post about November being the month of Thanksgiving, a time when one will look around at all they have been blessed with (an awesome family, a home, or even just breath in their lungs), and give thanks.  This isn't going to be a sappy thanks post.  I don't do sappy.  I do more speaking of my mind (which isn't a very sappy mind).

What I wanted to put together, though, is a cute little DIY child's hand wreath.  I am most thankful for my husband and my children, and I want to celebrate them, so here's a little something to do just that.

This DIY takes no time, at all!  

Here's what you need:

Scissors
Construction paper
Pen/pencil
Glue
Round piece of cardboard
Ribbon or burlap

Directions:

♡  Have your sweet cutie trace his/her hand multiple times (enough to make a wreath)
♡  Cut out sweet little traced hands
♡  Glue in a circle around the piece of cardboard.  They can touch in the center, or leave some cardboard showing, it's up to you.
♡  Make a bow out of your desired ribbon.  I found a quick, easy bow tutorial on Pinterest.
♡  Glue blow to cardboard
♡  Attach hanger of some kind
♡  Enjoy your Little's hand wreath!

Bean Bag Tutorial

If you remember, I made bean bags for the Fall Festival at the boys' school.  Any chance I have to craft something up, I'm going to take it!

Here's the little tutorial on how to make these bean bags, and find a use for those old, worn out jeans in the process!

What You'll Need

■  Old Jeans
■  Scissors
■  Thread
■  Ruler
■  Beans (I used black eyed peas, I'm not sure if there's a better kind, I actually didn't Pinterest this at all!)

How To

■  Lay out Jeans, measure the desired dimensions. (Mine were 3"x3")
■  Cut out
■  Sew together on three sides
■  Add beans.  I actually weighed each of mine to make sure they were identical (I told you in the Fall Festival post that I put way too much thought into it!).
■  Sew closed on 4th side
■  Throw!  I mean, that's the fun part of bean bags, right?

I've seen some with X's and O's embroidered or painted on them for Tic-Tac-Toe.  That looks like a cute idea, but make sure you do that before sewing the beans inside. 

Enjoy!!

Last minute Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Teacher Appreciation Week begins tomorrow (May 5)!  Don't forget to show that special teacher (or two) how much you appreciate them!

Our school has a pre-determined list of things to send in every day:

Monday:  School Supplies
Tuesday:  Unlimited Hugs and Smiles
Wednesday:  Something to Pop (popcorn or Blow Pops)
Thursday:  Something to Eat (fruit, treats, etc)
Friday:  Something to read (card or letter from student).

If your school doesn't do an pre-determined list, I've come up with a couple of extra ideas that don't have to cost a lot of money or time.

Gift card bouquet:  We made this one for our teacher's birthday, but it's great for any celebration.  The flowers can either be real or handmade, there doesn't have to be a lot of giftcards, one would suffice (or none, it could just be flowers).

Bags:  I was told by one of our teachers that they are the ultimate bag lady (or gentleman).  Teachers are always having to take home books and homework and such.  I love to give bags with a little something in them.  This year we have a student teacher, so I'm putting together a bag with some supplies that she's going to need next year for her own room.  I made this bag, but it can be store bought, it can be decorated by the kids, anything goes.

Summer Fun:  Just throw some summer type stuff together, a beach bag with a towel and water bottle, or something along those lines.

Spa Day:  Some lotions, body wash, face scrubbies, etc.  Just a little something to pamper themselves.

Pencil Flower Vase:  (I hope to find a pic of this soon because it's super cute) I made this last year, and she loved it.  All the kids brought in a flower, so she had a nice bouquet.  I found the tutorials on Pinterest (you can follow me there, if you'd like.  I'm Amanda Ropp <the one with the three palm trees as photo>).

There are so many ways to say Thank You to that special teacher, these were just a few of the things we've done in years past.  Imagination is the key.

I hope I've helped, if you've been stuck on ideas. 

See ya!

~Amanda ~

Pinterest Project Sunday - Sharpie Mugs

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I didn't get this post up yesterday!  My weekends have gotten super busy!

Well, then I guess today is  Pinterest Project Monday.   

I've seen these mugs all over Pinterest for quite while, so I thought I'd give them a try.  You can find the tutorial here.

If You have 30 or so minutes and some Sharpies and mugs, you are good to go.  I'm not very artistic, so I just wrote a little something.  

I'm going to try more of them after I learn calligraphy.  I love cute personalized mugs! 

They even held up in the dishwasher.  I'm not sure how many washes they can handle, so I'm going to look for some more permanent methods.  I'll let you know when I find something.

They will make great gifts! Everyone can use a mug (even if they don't drink coffee).  I'm thinking Mother's Day gifts! 

Have any of you tried these? I'd love to hear about it or some some pictures of your creations!

See ya next week!

~Amanda ~

My Very First Crochet Pattern

If any of my dear readers know me very well, they know that I am addicted to Instagram (please feel free to follow me @amandaropp).  Recently I posted a picture of some of my little crochet goodies, and someone asked for the pattern.

Well, this little creation (pictured above) was purely accidental, so I had to remember what I did so I could write it down.

This isn't the best pattern ever written, but here goes:

Boot Cuffs
Measure your leg where the top of the boot will be.
Chain to that length
Join to first chain with a slip stitch
*Chain 2
Double crochet around, taking care to keep the chain from twisting.
Join to first dc with a slip stitch*
Continue from * until the cuff is 6 inches tall.

Scarf/Necklace
Make a chain to 60 inches
Connect to the first chain with a slip stitch
Chain 2
dc in each ch (Here is where mine messed up, I must have let the chain twist once or twice, because it ended up curling up on itself and making a tube.  If you want a tube, let the chain twist a couple of times during the first row, if you want one that lays more flat, try to keep it from twisting.  I'm going to say that results will vary.)
Connect to the first stitch with a slip stitch
*ch 2
dc into each stitch
connect to the first stitch with a slip stitch*
Repeat from * until it is the desired thickness.
Once the Scarf is completed, double it up and secure it together by wrapping yarn around it.   Attach flower, and add button to the center of the flower.

Flower
The flower is from the pattern Irish Rose Purse by Rise Pirrone.

Button (for the center of the flower)
I found the button here.

Sorry for all the links.  Those parts were not my patterns, therefore I can't take credit.

I hope this want to confusing.  As I said, this is my first pattern I have ever written.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment on this page, or you can find me on Instagram.

I hope to make more patterns, so if you like this, please let me know.  Give me a little confidence boost :)

~Amanda~