that's a wrap

On Monday it was my daughter's teacher's birthday.  Since I am the room parent I organized the gift and made a special treat to bring in for her and her class.  The first picture is of the gift,  a wreath with paper leaves tucked all around that told the teacher why each of her students are thankful for her.  The second picture is the wreath wrapped and ready to give her.  The last picture is of the treats I made.  The teacher's favorite candy bar is a kit kat so I made her some kit kat cupcakes.  I used a box mix and added some chopped up candy to the batter.  I also topped them with the candy and some leaf sprinkles.  My daughter's teacher was surprised and really touched by this gesture.

that's a wrap

(photot courtesy of Pottery Barn)

  A few weeks ago I gave my daughter's teacher a little survey.  It just asked some simple questions about her favorite places to shop, hobbies, foods and the date of birthday.  I found out that her birthday is on the Monday before Thanksgiving.  Since I am the room parent I decided it would be a nice idea to celebrate her special day and let her know that we are thankful for everything that she does for our children.  I ordered this small leaf wreath from Pottery Barn.  It was on sale and they offered free shipping!   I traced a leaf shape onto some card stock kraft paper and tucked one inside an envelope for each child in my daughter's class.   I asked them to write why they are thankful for their teacher on the leaf and return it to me, along with $2 to cover the cost of supplies and the wreath.  I am going to tuck the paper leaves that the children made into the the wreath and present it to her on her birthday, along with a special snack.  I will take pictures of the final project and post them some time next week.
 I was thinking that this idea could also work as a thoughtful Christmas gift for a teacher or care giver.  You could purchase an evergreen wreath and have each child either purchase or make an ornament to attach to the wreath! 

wacky wednesday

This Halloween will be one that we will never forget.  We had a nor'easter here in Ct. and we lost power on Saturday night.  We just got it back today- Wednesday!  It has been crazy.  Since our whole town was 100% out for Halloween we could not trick or treat.  Instead we got together with some friends and made the most of the evening as best as we could WITHOUT POWER.  I didn't even have time to make the trick or treat bags to attach to the wreath like I did last year and wasn't even sure that anyone would stop by the house.  Instead, I quickly tucked some candy inside my Halloween wreath and put some LED lights into our pumpkins.  I am pretty sure no one came by  ;(  On a brighter note I discovered these over sized pumpkin marshmallows at the grocery store. I made them into a fun treat by dipping them in some chocolate and placing them into a cupcake liner filled with some cookie crumb dirt.  I twisted a piece of licorice into a stew and voila, a cute and easy treat.  I also used the marshmallows on the side of a mug of cocoa for my kids after they came in from playing in the first snow of the season.  I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween and that you had the opportunity to eat, drink & be scary!

deck the halls (and door)

(photo courtesy of Pier 1)

I bought this wreath for our front door back in Sept. I wanted something autumnal but thought that this was more versatile than a leaf wreath that I was originally planning on buying. For Christmas this year I put a larger evergreen wreath behind it and added some festive ribbon. If I had gone with the leaf wreath I would have had to take it down for the holidays. Since the berry wreath was fairly expensive I am happy that I can use it a little longer. If you are interested in purchasing the berry wreath it is on sale right now! Just click on the link above.

trick or treat wreath

This year we are going trick or treating with some friends in their neighborhood. We usually only get a dozen trick or treaters at our house and I wanted to leave something for them even though we won't be home. I was going to leave a bowl of candy and then thought it would be fun to make a wreath instead. I used a glue gun to attach some mini clothespins that I spray painted black. I got the paper treat bags at Michael's and filled them with some candy. Happy Halloween!