Teacher Appreciation

Since Teacher Appreciation Week is next week I thought I would show you what I’ve created for my kids’ teachers.

Flower Pot Cupcakes

Rather than bringing real flowers to their teachers, I thought it would be fun to give them some potted flower cupcakes.  I baked mini lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and topped them with some pretty fondant flowers that I made.  I placed the cupcakes in mini terra cotta pots, and then put them inside a tupperware container I found at the dollar store.  I used crushed up Oreo cookies as “dirt” to hold the pots in place so they wouldn’t move around. The label I used on the tupperware is a cute, free printable I downloaded from Living Locurto.

Bushel of Apples

After finding an apple-shaped cookie cutter, I decided to make sugar cookies.  I wanted a clever way of packaging them though, and these cute little baskets from JoAnn‘s were perfect.  I took the easy way out and just used a mix rather than baking the cookies from scratch, and it really saved me a lot of time.  For the icing, I wanted something that would harden enough for packaging, but would also be soft when bit into.  I found a very easy recipe (Toba Garrett’s Glace’ Icing) from Cake Central that was exactly what I needed. I’m not a professional cookie decorator as you can see from the wavy lines and bubbles in my icing, but I still think they turned out pretty good.  They taste great too!  For the “Thank You Teacher” tag I used a free printable that I got from How Does She, and used curling ribbon to secure it to the basket.

Candy Bar Wrappers

These free candy bar wrappers from Anything But Perfect made a very cheap and easy thank you gift.  All I had to do was print and cut the wrappers, and then wrap them around the candy bar and secure with tape.

Framed Subway Art

I found this cool, free subway art print on Today’s Fabulous Finds, and I really wanted to incorporate it into a gift somehow.  After personalizing the art with the teacher’s names and a colorful picture of stacked books, I printed it out, mounted it on some yellow cardstock paper, and used these cute polka dot frames from JoAnn’s to display it.  I tied them off with some red ribbon, and attached a free “A+ Teacher” printable from Tip Junkie.  I’m not  loving the yellow background color 100%, but at this point I’m just going to leave it as is.

Gift Card and Candle

To round out the week, I decided to give a Starbucks gift card.  I topped it off by adding a cute, chocolate scented, candy shaped candle, and tying it all together with a ribbon.

All in all, I think the teacher’s will enjoy their “Thank You’s” throughout the week.  I know I enjoyed coming up with the ideas and putting them together.

Related Articles

• Teacher Appreciation Week (acraftykindoflove.com)
• yum, yum, yummy SPRING. . .flower pot dessert (amomwithalessonplan.com)

Party Spotlight: Cutest Lil Monsters Party

Lil Monsters Party by J. At Your Service

I cannot get this Lil Monsters Party from Jeannette at J. At Your Service out of my mind.  From the first moment I saw it, I was hooked.  The color scheme makes this party POP!! I love how the orange, turquoise, and lime compliment each other.

The addition of a furry monster photo booth is so creative, and a wonderful idea for taking pictures of all the guests.

Furry Monster Photo Booth

Jeannette styled this party perfectly for her little man, and the best part is that it’s so playful and fun instead of scary.  Be sure to head over to Jeannette’s site and check out the rest of the party pictures, and she even shares all the vendors she used to help create this fun party.

Enjoy!

Related Articles

• Easter Party Spotlight (funandthensome.wordpress.com)

Easter Party Spotlight

Orange and Green Carrot Easter Table by Pizzazzerie

Isn’t this Orange and Green Carrot Easter Party styled by the girls at Pizzazzerie the cutest!?  The simple color scheme really creates such a fun and playful atmosphere.  And I’m absolutely LOVING the dog with the orange and white polka dot ribbon.  He is just too cute for words!  Hop (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) over to Pizzazzerie’s website and check out all the great pictures of this beautifully styled table, and you can even pick up some free Easter printables while you’re there.  Enjoy!!

A Whole Party Right At Your Doorstep

Karen Ayars is giving away a fabulous “Life’s a Beach” party setup.

Life's A Beach Party by Karen Ayars

 
Check out Karen’s blog for your chance to win this entire party, and have it delivered right to your doorstep.  Included in this party package is:

* 4 yards of fabric for the backdrop
* 2 star fishes
* 1 fish net
* 2 big “bronze” pieces of decor ( on the back of the table)
* 1 fisher girl
* 1 fisher boy
* 1 picture frame
* 1 cake stand
* 1 cake ( the same as the one in the picture. It’s a fake cake made of a special clay from Brazil)
* 2 smaller “wooden” vases with decorative balls inside
* 1 vintage “manuscript”
* 1 magnifying glass
* 6 white lanterns
* 6 mini clear buckets
* 6 mini vases
* 6 mini chocolate containers
* 6 mini white pails
* 3 white star fishes
* 8 blue “milk bottles”
* the personalization with the letter the winner chooses for the water bottles, the chocolate bars and the mini chocolate containers