The School Year Is KNOT Over Yet...

The end of a school year can be a very busy time, but you can't forget to let those that were a part of your year know how much you appreciate them. I used this particular label for a parent treat on conference night, however, this could be great for those end of the year gifts too!

 I know, you're KNOT surprised about the pun... it's what I do, but you may be surprised at how easy... and cheap... these were to make! I used regular pretzel twists along with white and milk chocolate covered pretzels to fill the bags. I went to Aldi (my new obsession) for all of the tasty treats (such a bargain), printed the labels on card stock, and used regular clear gift bags that can be found at stores like Target, Walmart, or even amazon!

The bags I made were for parents, however, I have made different options for you to purchase! In addition to parents, there are also labels for students and teachers available in my TPT store! Click on the pictures below!

So, even if your end of the year is a bit hectic, you can now say you have thank you gifts covered!

Permanent Mark-er!

Some people just leave a permanent mark on your life. In my last post I told you about how much I loved my long term sub position because of the students I got to spend my days with, but without my amazing co-workers, I know that my experience would not have been as meaningful. We shared, laughed, vented, and... did I mention we laughed?... A LOT this year! It's a wonderful feeling knowing you have a group of people to turn to that just get it! I know I will be a better teacher because of what they taught me this year. Hopefully you are lucky enough to have a support system to lean on at work as well.

So, how did I show them that I appreciated all their help this year? 

I made something with a pun, duh! 

I gave each teacher a set of three sharpies with this little note. I was also very excited for a chance to finally use my washi tape that I've been purchasing without a purpose (see Greg, I always figure out a way to use the things I buy)!

Whether you're a first year teacher, a student teacher, or a seasoned teacher that just wants to express their appreciation for their co-workers or mentors, you should grab this gift tag in my shop! This also fits sharpie thin pens and paint markers.

If you use this gift tag, I'd love to see your variation! 

Grab it here!

This Year Has Blown By...

get it? because bubbles... and a blow pop... and gum... hehe

Can you even believe that this school year is almost over? The year has definitely blown by quickly... even more quickly for me because my long term substitute position just ended last Friday. I can't say that I am excited about the position ending because I really miss my little first grade friends, especially since I was with them since September, but I can say that this position has made me a better teacher and has confirmed that I am meant to be in the classroom. Luckily I am tutoring in the same school, so I still get to see them!

So, although you are excited for the school year to come to an end, appreciate those little ones that you get to have in your class with you every day for just a bit longer!

I showed my appreciation for my little guys with these:

I wanted them to know how proud they have made me this year, but I couldn't do it without a pun (which the kids totally expect from me now)!

I originally went to Target to get the $1 boxes of chalk, but the store I went to was all out. I was racking my brain while I searched the racks in the dollar spot for another idea. I turned the corner and saw the brightly colored bubbles... 3 for $1... and the rest is history!

I like this idea better than my original idea, and it ended up being cheaper! If you'd like to make these for your students as well, you can purchase the gift bag labels in my teachers pay teachers store (just click the picture below)! I chose to add in the Blow Pop and the Double Bubble, ya know... to really get my pun point across, but it works with any of those items! I also used "gussett style 4" x 2" x 9" cello bags" from Amazon, but any clear gift bag in a similar size will work!

Don't worry, I didn't forget my wonderful co-workers that helped me make it through! Details about their punny gifts, coming soon!

Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine's Day I am going to talk about a few things that I really love: decorating, crafting, and teaching!

If you follow my Instagram, you know that I decorate for every holiday! I have a buffet... a pseudo-mantle... to display my holiday decor. 

This is my Valentine's Day display... someday I will get around to posting my displays for each holiday! Most of the items I get are from places like Hobby Lobby, Homegoods, and Target.

There are also items that I make myself because I can't find what I want in the store... which leads me to second love... crafting! See those cupcakes on the fabulous cupcake tier? They are... FAKE! Seriously, they are made with foam and dry wall compound.

 If you want to make them yourself you will need:

1. Tins and Liners: Fill cupcake tins with paper liners.
2. Washers: Put one washer on the bottom of each cupcake liner.
3. Expanding Foam: Fill each cupcake liner with expanding foam about half way. The expanding foam is one time use. I was able to make 3 trays of 12 "cupcakes", for a total of 36. The foam will expand, much like cupcakes do in the oven when baked!
4. Dry: The "cupcakes" should be expanded and tack free after about 20 minutes. The instructions on the can says that the foram can be painted after 12-24 hours, I painted mine the next day.
5. Paint: Paint each "cupcake" in a tan or brown color to mimic vanilla and chocolate cake.
6. Frosting: Mix the dry wall compound with food coloring to make "frosting". I suggest using glass bowls because it washes off very easily. I didn't have brown food coloring, so I used paint to color the compound for chocolate, pink food coloring for the strawberry, and left the compound as is for vanilla (I made sure to purchase compound that was white, as opposed to a grey-ish color so it looked like vanilla). You want the consistency of the "frosting" to be like actual frosting, so add flour if it is too watery. 
7. Piping bag: Fill your piping bag with the "frosting" and pipe onto the cupcakes. If you get it to the consistency of actual frosting, it should stay in the shape you pipe.
8. Decorations: Sprinkle and add decorations onto the wet "frosting" so as it dries it will bond. Be careful with real sprinkles, the color may run if the "frosting" is too wet.

I made my cupcakes last year, and they still look great!

Speaking of making things... to let my students know how much I love teaching them, I made a special valentine for them. I found my inspiration in the Target dollar spot... well technically the $3 spot.

The valentines came like this:

I decided to make my own card to go with the donut erasers!

 

        

If you want to make the same valentines, you can find them in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here. 

So, what do you plan on doing for Valentine's Day? Have you made any crafts? Greg and I are going to go out the day after to take advantage of a 50% off bottle of wine deal, and I don't have school Monday or Tuesday!