End Of Year School Gifts

June means fun warm days, plans for summer fun, visits from family and friends, and most important to all kids~ the end of school!! That also means needing ideas for end of year gifts for your childs favorite teacher.
I am here to show you a quick and easy idea that is sure to please.

My daughter has 3 teachers/helpers that work in her room. So we needed 3 gifts. This idea is not my own, there are many different versions around blogland, but these are the ones I made up.
They are the insulated drink holders that come with a lid and a straw. They are also useful and adorable!
I had worked on a tag flag for them that had a picture and some color, but when I went to print them the nite before the gifts were going to school, my computer behaved very badly and would not let me print them. It was already late, so I had to come up with a plan 2, which was much more simple, but worked just fine.
Its basically a flag about 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 made from designer paper that was the color of each cup. I just hand cut the flag on the end. The left side has 2 slits made with my x-acto knife, wide enough for the straw to fit thru. The sentiment is computer generated. Notice the spelling of TEAcher~ as that is what is inside the cups!

This flag went on the other 2 cups~ for the helpers in the class. Had I realized the troubles I was going to have a bit earlier~ I would have colored these in by hand, and tried to stamp something tiny on them somewhere.

Here they are all together. And ready to go.

I filled the cups with these little drink packages from Lipton Tea. I also made a thank you card, theresa wrote in it and we put it in the middle of the cup. The little tea packs go around it on the outside, this way they stand up like tall little soldiers.

Hope you are all looking forward to a good summer like we are!
Many thanks for stopping by...

Yard Sale Saturday

Another Saturday morning scavenger hunt!! HAHA. Today, I had to  fly solo as my husband had to work for someone who injured thier arm this week. But he sweetly mapped out my route for me so I wouldnt get lost.
About a year ago, I started collecting (like I need another collection of anything!!) vintage planters that you would give to a new mom. I love the soft pastel colors and sweetness of them. This little chic is adorable! She was $2.00.

I also got 2 matching gravy boats for 50 cents each. They will be nice to put on each end of the table, because the gravy is never near the person that needs it!
Also in the photo are a set of 6 napkins with asian figures embroidered on them~ so cute. $3.00.
 A wine stopper in its box was $1.00 and it has an ice bucket with wine bottles in it. Some fancy toothpicks , also new were 50 cents~ Bob loves toothpicks, but I wil save these for a party, or little sandwiches.

I have wanted one of these for awhile. It was my big splurge~ $5.00. But its brand new and the ticket on it is $20.00.

One of the yard sales were giving away free aloe plants. Theirs had gotten so big, they divided the shoots up into many small plants.

Here it is all planted.

Lastly, I came across this Primary School Diploma from 1925. Its so pretty, and in wonderful shape for being almost 90 years old! It was originally marked $15, but then it was scratched out and they wrote in $1.00. You know that had to come home with me!!

Here is a close up of the beautiful illustration~

Hope you also enjoyed your Saturday.
Many thanks for stopping by...

You can make your own Sponge Daubers!!

We all like to use them to add some color to a scrapbook layout, a card edge, or to add different inks to a stamp. But the cost can add up quickly, especially when the companies tell you to have a seperate one for each color ink.
My friend Sharon- OKI Stamp Queen saw how to make some homemade daubers on a blog. She then made several which we used in our last class. It inspired me to make my own one afternoon. They are super easy to do.

But you need to know someone with a table saw (thanks hubby!).
The above photo is a finished one! Isnt it cute? Much nicer looking than the the ones you buy for $1+ each!
The photo below has the pieces after they were cut. You need a length of pvc pipe. Lowes or Home Depot carry this and its cheap, only a couple dollars for a long piece that will make a ton of these. My husband had a piece laying around, yours might too! Its about an inch in diameter, and he cut it about an inch and a half tall. Since his blade is nice and sharp, they needed no sanding. The cut edges are nice and smooth. If yours are not, you will need to do some sanding till they feel somewhat smooth. They dont have to be super smooth, just enough not to feel uncomfortable when you're using them.

Then, to make them look pretty, take a sheet of scrapbook paper and cut it to fit the size of your pieces of pvc. You then will apply the paper to the pvc with some Mod Podge on a small brush. Since these are small, it goes pretty quickly.

Continue until all are covered. You could even make them in different colors to match the ink colors you will be using.

While they are drying, you need to go to your dollar store and buy a bag of makeup sponges. One bag will be plenty. I cut mine in half and then you just push the sponge thru the little tube until it makes a dome shape~ like the one in the first photo.

All done!! My one piece of pipe made about 40? of these. Now to start using them.
Many thanks for stopping by...

Yard Sale Saturday

My husband and I love to go to yard sales on saturday mornings. We look forward to it each week. I would much rather go to yard sales than the mall. Same with thrift and consignment stores. There is something in the thrill of the hunt that I just love! Finding something that doesnt have 20 more just like it on the same rack.  Ans since we live in a warm climate, we get to go to them pretty much all year. Yipee!!
At one point I had started a blog feature called Yard Sale Satuday. I am bringing it back starting now. Hope you like it.
These were todays finds. We were surprised that there were not more sales around, but we scored some nice things~ and for little money.
First up- an adorable sailboat with a flat back. Its about a foot high. I bought it with the intention of using it in the middle of a wreath for my front door. But after I got it in the car, I realized it is much too nice to get beat up by the sun and other weather we have here. So I will hang it in the house somewhere.
Price--$1.00!!

Next. a glass fish plate. This guy is big, and heavy, made from a nice glass. I can picture all kinds of things being served on him. He will do well on my screened porch when we have people over.
His price-- also only $1.00~

The next item is more of something I needed, rather than a fun purchase. Kind of scary, at least for me! My other one was digital, and was kept too close to the shower. Water ruined it rather quickly.
Again-- only $1.00!

Lastly. we found this very nice serving dish for relish, pickles, candies, I guess anything small.  I like that the 4 sections are all separate. That makes it easy to fill and refill them. Usually it is plastic and all one big piece. This glass is also heavy and the wicker tray is really sturdy.
This was our expensive item-- $2.00!!

Thats it for today. Pretty good day, I would say. After we are done- unless we have bought many things, we go out for breakfast. Just us 2, kids stay home. Its kinda like our date nite- but its on Sat. morning. Wonder what next week will bring?
Many thanks for stopping by...

Theresa's Room Is Almost Done!

Hey, hope you didnt miss me too much. I have been doing a whole buunch of things, and I apologize for neglecting my blog. One of my more recent posts had been about redoing TT's room. Since some people have been looking for an update (hi Mimi!) I decided that would be this post. Although her room is not all finished, its 90 percent there. We still need curtains of some sort- nothing too heavy. We will also be mounting her TV onto the wall, but for now its on her dresser. But enough of that- here are some pics!

Welcome to Theresa Laurens New Room!!

Her Bedding is what created the theme. She loves sugar skulls, pirate skulls, and all that kind of stuff.

I had ordered a whole different set which was more of a patchwork quilt type of thing from JC Penneys. The color scheme was the same, and it was very pretty. Then one nite, Im looking for sheets, and get to Bed Bath and Beyond. I see this set here, and knew we had to have it. The only thing was it was out of stock, and #2- it was $189.00!!! That was out of my budget, especially since we already had the other set. I was determined to find it somewhere else, and after much searching, found it at Overstock for ------ $less than $60.00!!! Are you kidding me?? What a differnce in price. I quickly ordered it, but decided not to tell TT about it. I would keep this a surprise till the big reveal.

Then there was her wall art name. I sent away for that back in January. We love it!! Its actually quite big, and makes a nice statement.

The chair is from our screen porch. I sprayed it white, it was a beige/natural color. I used 5 cans of spray paint.  I wanted it to look really white. We now need to find a nice cushion for the seat part and the back. For now the old one is on there.

These hot pink wire shelves were new in the box and came from a local thrift store. They were $8.00. When we get tired of them, they can go in her closet for extra storage. But for now, they look nice under the window.

Her room would not be complete without Justin Beiber~
on the closet...

in a clock...

and of course a life size cutout...

wait!! dont forget his signature perfume... 
It sits next to a vintage Eiffel Tower perfume bottle. We have dreams of going to Paris one day~ and we will!

Her second love is guitars, hence the lamp...

The rest of the photos just show some of the details. We are so happy with how it is coming out!

Hope you enjoyed my little tour!!
Many thanks for stopping by....