DIY Gifts for Teachers

It's the last day of school and once again, I am behind on posting about the teacher gifts. I always have so many ideas but find myself sewing or crafting at the last minute.  In spite of my procrastination, things tend to eventually get done. 

I am so thankful for the teachers we have had this year.  Both of my kids flourished and learned more than I could have ever imagined.

In no particular order, here's what I did:

Our grade 2 teacher was given a gift card, crayon roll, and a handmade soap (I'll post more about the soaps another day.  So much fun to make and so easy!)

Our kindie teacher was given a handmade linen bag inspirated by a pattern from purl soho, a crayon roll, a lotto card, and a soap.

Lastly our other kindie teacher got a lotto card and soap.   She's also getting a wedding gift.

I also had the kids fill in this template from CBC kids just to make the gift giving extra special.

Hurray for the last day of school!  I am so excited for the summer!
 

Fun Fair and Weekend Festival

Summer starts for our family on the night of the school fun fair.  Our school holds a fun fair on the first Thursday in June.  The first Friday in June is always a PA day so we can all recover from the fun.  Then once we have recovered, it's onto Saturday and Sunday for our main street's weekend festival.  By Monday, I am usually exhausted and ready to send the kids back to school.

This year, my two gal pals and I co-led the Silent Auction portion of our fun fair.  The silent auction is a key component of the fun fair because it brings in much needed money to support our children's education. Between knitting club and silent auction, things got a little bit nuts at the end of May.  

This is what my place looked like after we wrapped everything. 

Those were just the baskets.  We also had gift certificates too.

Like seriously, look at this yummy basket from Ferrero.  So good.

When I think of summer, I think of breezy linens.  So I whipped up some crayon rolls to include in the "craft" themed basket.  Linen is such a nice fabric to use but it's not always easy to sew with.  I made the crayon rolls above and then made a gift card wallet for the "gift card" basket.

I didn't have time to take many pictures during fun fair but my guys said they had a lot of fun.  So much fun that they didn't mind that Mama was manning the silent auction tables.  Unfortunately I had a hard time bidding and trying to keep things organized.  I left empty-handed :o(

The next day, we had a nice stroll down main street and then went back for the craziness on Saturday and Sunday. 

One highlight of the festival was the duck race.  Yes, those are rubber duckies.  You buy the ducks which are pre-numbered and you have a chance to win some $$.

The parade was also a hit.

There were so many fun things for the kids to do:  games, sports, food, etc.  It was also nice to bump into people we knew from school and the neighbourhood. 

#1 was thrilled to practice his climbing skills.

He was such a good sport and hammed it up every chance he got.  #2 disappeared every time I tried to take a picture.

It was a great 4 day weekend and it's just the start of more fun.  Summer, we missed you!

DIY Sharpie Roll

Introducing the Sharpie Roll!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some pics of my DIY Crayon Roll.

Then my friend E sent me a note asking if I could turn that into a Sharpie Roll.  Um... yes?!?!?!   Apparently Crayola isn't cool for the tween set (I had no idea) and the choice of markers is Sharpie Brand. 

I grabbed some Sharpies from my sister's stash.

And got busy sewing.

I had to make two as my friend has two daughters... 

I used my usual denim for the outside - best way to hide stains.

You can even put some pens in it.

Or just leave it full of Sharpies.

As you can see, the pipsqueaks are much smaller than the Sharpies.  But as in life, kids grow and I guess their stuff does too.  I hope by then, I can look at a Sharpie and not cringe. 

Happy Colouring!

DIY Crayon Roll

DIY Crayon rolls are so great to have around. We have several at home which hold our Crayola crayons and Pipsqueak markers. I've been sewing crayon rolls for many years now. Whenever there's a birthday or a donation needed for school, there's always a crayon roll or something handmade added to the mix. 

Our life has been taken over this month with birthdays (including my own!).  Although I did the big trip to Toys R Us, it was time to sew up a few more crayon/marker rolls for the kids that didn't have one already.

First we had to make sure we had some crayons.  I usually get a basic pack 24-pack from Walmart or the Dollarama.

I also bought some Pipsqueaks.  I use crayons if the children are 5 and under.  The kids that are 6 and above get markers.

It's so easy to pop in the crayons or markers.

I like to use velcro to keep the rolls closed.  It's so easy for little fingers.

Here's what they look like side by side.  The crayons are a bit shorter than the markers.

I like that you can see the patterned fabric peeking out.

This crayon roll was packaged together with a bunch of stuff, including this cool colouring book.

It's a nice big book to go along with some fresh crayons.

Kinda makes me want to colour something too :o)

Happy crafting,