Banana's For You Valentines

We're going bananas over our valentines this year and hope you will too.

While searching Amazon we came across these cute monkey figures and knew we had to use them. 

Then we got a little crazy and added some Banana Heads to the mix,

And came up with this

And this.

We did our own twist but were inspired by another version HERE.

I had a hard time finding the right bag to put them in, but eventually found these at Michael's.
They're called archival bags and I found them in the wrapping section not with the other cellophane bags.

Overall I spent about $40 on supplies for 4 classrooms. That's $10 a classroom. Not cheap but just a little more than what you would pay for cards and a bag of candy. 

If you are interested, I downloaded the tags so you can print them yourself HERE.

You can find our valentines from previous years HERE and HERE.

favorite homemade gift I received this year

Sorry, I have to share one more homemade gift from Christmas and then I will move on with life. 

My sister made these for me and I love them. Do you know what they are? 

 Does this help?

 How about this?

 Or this?

They are handmade luggage tags. I've seen a lot of different ideas for handmade luggage tags, but these are so classy and she put so much heart into them I had to share. Our entire family travels a lot, thanks to a mother who has worked for Delta and has provided years of free and discounted airfare. 

 I've been wanting to make something to help me find my black luggage at the airport for years but always forget about it till I'm packing my bags. 

They are made of special vinyl purchased at Mood during our trip to NY. She said it's typically used to make high-end ski clothing. 

This one was for my husband, I'm glad she kept his simple. 

Thanks again Shelly for the perfect thoughtful gift. 

Fleece Ear Warmers

Okay I think I discovered the best handmade gift ever. Not only is it super cheap to make but also quick and easy. 

While in NY for Thanksgiving my sisters and I were talking about our knit ear warmers and how although they were super cute, they didn't always do the best job of keeping our ears warm. That's when I thought of Delia's ear warmer tutorial and thought I should give fleece a try. 

I was totally inspired by Delia, but made mine a little differently. I doubled up my fleece and simply sewed the two pieces together, leaving the edges raw. I added two buttons so it could be adjusted and rounded the ends. 

I love how they turned out. Cute but also toasty warm. 

I stuck with rosettes, because they were quick and easy, but I can't wait to try some other designs. 

These would make great gifts for your sisters, girlfriends, teachers, and co-workers. They only cost me about $1.25 each (I bought my fleece at 50% off) and they only took about 20 minutes each to make. 

dolls for the fairy festival

I was asked to make some more black apple dolls for a Fairy Festival tomorrow night.  They're very similar to the ones I made for my nieces at Christmas, but thought I would share them anyways. 

If you live in the Salt Lake area, you should come to the festival tomorrow night.  I've never been but,  I'm hoping I find time tomorrow to take my little girls, cause I know they would absolutely love it. All the proceeds are donated to charity and this year they will be given to the Tanner Dance Program. 

You can come and buy one of my dolls or one of the many handcrafted items that were donated. 

Black apple dolls are so simple and fun to put together. You can go HERE for the pattern. 

p.s. I widened the arms, because I thought the originals were just too thin.

This project is linked up to THESE Parties and Design Dazzle.

1st Birthday Outfit

When one of my good friends had a baby last year, I asked her what she wanted for a baby gift. This was her 3rd girl and she wasn't really needing much, so I thought it would best to give her a choice.  I was thrilled when she said she wanted a birthday outfit for the baby's first birthday. 

I had several ideas, but decided to go with this fun pendant-banner jumper. 

I used heat and bond to apply the pendants and sewed over the tops with a double stitch. 

The jumper is actually a re-fashion. I made it from a men's shirt I found thrifting. I thought the multi colored stripes were perfect for a birthday. 

I kept the buttons in the back. 

I used all my scraps to make a couple banners and a hat. 

Happy Birthday Myra. 

This project has been linked to THESE parties and Design Dazzle.

why haven't I done this before?

Today I made head bands for the new school year. I don't know why I haven't ever done it before. I had so much fun. In fact it's kinda addicting. 

I pulled out a bunch of scraps and my glue gun and went to town. I loved that I didn't need a sewing machine to make any of these. Which means I got to watch TV while making them, something I rarely do.  I might make some more tonight just so I can watch project runway. 

i love the versatility of cream

I made this one for a friend, who was over for a play date.  She wanted something green. 

This is my favorite. I might have to make an outfit to match. 

I had these flowers from an old hair tie for about 10 years. I'm so glad I finally used them. 

Do you have any cute head band designs you want to share? I'd love the inspiration, please leave a link in the comments.

Check out the super cool parties I link to HERE
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teacher appreciation gifts

Sorry for the lack of posting. Things are crazy around here with school ending. We've had School plays, preschool graduation, dance recital, pinewood derby, end of soccer celebrations, field trips etc. I haven't had much spare time for myself. 

With all the end of year excitement I've needed some quick and easy appreciation gifts. 

You can't tell from the pictures, but they are GIANT sized Symphony bars. 

All the lettering was cut on my Silhouette, but you could easily print the script onto the paper instead. I especially liked the detail of handwriting paper. 

Last years teacher gifts were a hit and I thought I would be doing them again this year. Instead, my plans had to change because my daughter has the same teacher my son had last year and my son has a male teacher this year.

I've been raking my brain trying to think of something a male teacher would actually enjoy and finally came up with this idea.

I know it's weird, but let me give you some background. My sons teacher has a weird sense of humor. The kind that 8 year old boys truly enjoy.  It's not my cup of tea, but my son loves going to school everyday. He thinks his teacher is hilarious.

I asked my sone to tell me some of the funny things his teacher says regularly. We picked his favorite two sayings and made custom t-shirts.

When reading the school menu in the morning, his teacher tease them with silly gross entrée's. One of his favorite concoctions was "Vulture Vomit Stew".

What is a "Nostril Inspector"? It's a student of course. His teacher calls him and his classmates "nostril inspectors" on a daily basis.

I thought this was a fun way to remember his students while doing other things this summer. Not to mention, men can always use another t-shirt.

This could also make a fun Father's Day gift. The shirts were only $3.50 at Walmart and I used my silhouette for the lettering, but you could also use freezer paper and fabric paint. 

With school ending and vacations planned, I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging this summer. I've got some ideas I hope to be sharing, but we'll see what my kids actually let me get done. 

Mother's Day Treat Boxes

I hope you all enjoyed Mother's Day.  I usually like to do something sentimental for Mother's Day. Because we were swamped, I had to keep it simple this year.

I whipped these little treat boxes up in minutes by printing the picture and saying on our computer. I added some scrapbook paper and pre-made flowers and button from my stash.  Although these are bag shaped boxes you could recreate the look easily with treat bags.

 I filled them with chocolate covered almonds from Costco. They were a hit. 

My mom's been asking for a new work bag. She didn't want anything fancy because it will get a lot of wear and tear.  I thought this would be practical yet fun. 

I love the corduroy straps with the canvas hounds tooth. 

And it you haven't voted yet, you have to check out this weeks projects on OMTWI. 

Hurry and VOTE HERE.