Teacher Heart Attack

 

My room mom partner suggested that the Teacher Heart Attack might be a fun surprise.

She shared some details on how it worked and I totally agreed.

Our sweet teacher was out one day a week or two before Valentine's Day.  The perfect chance for me to drop off the pre-cut hearts and have the students write a little something.  I gave them the prompt, "I love Mrs. Monk because..." 

 

 

Here is one example of the hearts that were inside.  I meant to include her entire team, but life got in the way.  In the future, I'd add her team, maybe parents, the principal and other people along those lines.  It might even be cute to sneak one in from her husband/parents/kids if you could manage it!

 

Our teacher did say it was totally unexpected...she loved it!

 

Smiles!

 

Will share this fun idea at some of the great parties found in the side bar =>

 



Lego Valentine Box

Come on...you knew it would either be Star Wars or Lego.

 

Last year was Heart Vader and so this year we went Lego.

 

Using your everyday Nike shoebox, we covered them with wrapping paper.  If I were to do it again, I'd go for more durable/thicker wrapping paper/butcher paper.  We used gift wrap paper we bought at Target.  It's great for the color, but pretty flimsy.

 

Then the boys traced out circles on a cardboard box using the inside of a used ribbon holder.  It was the perfect size. If we had planned ahead at all, I would have started collecting large bottle caps like the ones on Gatorade or the like.

 

They cut out a few of the cardboard circles and I cut out the rest.  We cut out 32 in all.  Because we were covering the sides with paper, we put a circle on the bottom, some scrap cardboard in the middle and another circle on top.  This helped give it more height with out the added trouble of cutting out 16 more circles.  We covered the circles with more paper and glued them to the top of the box.

 

  I printed out the boys' names on the cricut and they glued them on themselves.  Full disclosure...normal everyday elmers glue doesn't stick so well to the glossy paper.  By the time we got to school, JACK was missing the C.  Another reason I'd go with sturdier paper next time.

 

All in all a quick and easy Valentine project.

Wonder what we'll do next year?

 

Smiles!!

 

Will share these Lego Valentine Boxes with the parties in the sidebar >

Valentine Treat Cup for Teacher

Here we go again!

I wonder if that's what my kids teacher's think when they get ANOTHER holiday themed insulated cup?!?  I'm not too worried...they can always regift it!

 

Pink and black look so great together, though a little unexpected for Valentine's Day.

That wide, black satin ribbon has come in handy for so many crafts and presents...definitely going to pick up more.

 

CLICK HERE TO PRINT YOUR OWN TAG

 

To write on the tag, I had the boys use a white out/correction pen.

It worked great and is very opaque.

 

 

As with the other treat cups, they were filled with some of the teachers' favorite candies.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Smiles!

 

Will share these Valentine Teacher Gifts with some of the fun parties found in my sidebar.

 

 



Cheesecake with Valentine Banner

This is the Peach Tree Tea Room in Fredricksburg's Famous Cheesecake Recipe topped with stabilized whipped cream I made for a client.  She gave it to her "Quiet Cupid" for Valentine's Day.

To "valentine" it up...added the heart banner...

Sweet!

Would you like to make your own?

Here's the delicious recipe from the Peach Tree Tea Room Cookbook.

Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix the crust ingredients thoroughly and press into the bottom of a well-buttered 9" to 10" springform pan.  Bake 15 minutes in a preheated 325 degree oven.  Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 300 degrees.

Filling:

32 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla (I use vanilla paste)

4 eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

1. Using an electric mixer, beat softened cream cheese with brown sugar until well blended.

2.  Add flour, vanilla, and the eggs -- one at a time, blending well after each.

3.  Gradually add evaporated milk.  Scrape down sides of bowl frequently and remix until no lumps remain.  Pour into greased pan.

4.  Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees.  Turn off oven and let the cake cool in the oven with the door closed for several hours or overnight.  Refrigerate.

Serves 14 - 16

I highly recommend the Peach Tree Tea Room Cookbook as well as a visit to the actual tea room in Fredricksburg, Texas.  Sadly, Cynthia Pedregon, the wonderful woman behind the Peach Tree passed away this month.  She has had a huge influence on me as I often turn to her cookbooks for trusted recipes and inspiration.  Good luck to Tina as she continues the legacy of her mother.

Please visit the Peach Tree HERE.

Smiles!

May share this pretty little cheesecake with some of the parties in the side bar=>

Valentine's Brunch for Friends

This week I hosted a Valentine's brunch for a few of my dear friends.

It was such fun setting the table and preparing the food to honor these wonderful ladies.

I'm so lucky that they could take some time out of their busy days to stop by for a few hours of food and fellowship.

Mini iron urns from a Southern Living At Home party YEARS ago filled with mini carnations were placed around the birdcage.  

My bird cage (will have a post on this soon,) took center stage...yes, we did lean around it on occasion...probably should have set it to the back of the table...but it's so cool! 

 The iron birdcage was wrapped with a paper heart bunting.

My mil gave me the pink matelasse tablecloth just for driving down to Horchow to pick up a couple of them for her!  Is that a deal or what?!? 

The Waterford Simply Pink wine hocks look spectacular on this cloth.

Inexpensive champagne flutes for the mimosas were also part of the setting.

 Spode Billingsley Rose has such darling little details.

Several plates of various patterns were layered on vintage linen pull work place mats.

A Spode Savoy dinner plate was used as a charger for a Spode Billingsley Rose luncheon plate.  Next was a Johnson Brothers Richmond salad plate topped with a Spode Billingsley Rose berry bowl.

The silverware was Gorham Chantilly.

Personalized cookies were used as place cards as well as party favors.

Isn't this gorgeous?  My mil passed it along to us.  It was a wedding gift to my husband's parents from my fil's grandmother.  I'm not sure of the maker, but maybe my mil will fill in the details on the comments.  I feel so privleged to be the steward of this piece of the family history.The beautiful silver tray was a wedding gift from my cousin.

My birdcage again...the botton was filled with multi-sized pillar candles, unscented of course!  We considered lighting the candles, then we thought better of it as the bunting could pose a fire hazard...then there was talk about nice looking firemen....we quickly came back to our senses and left it as is!  

,

The prettiest part of the whole table were the lovely friends that sat around it.

I'm so fortunate to have friends that are real, with character and integrity.  Friends that are kind and that are trustworthy.  No hidden agendas.  No putting on shows or tooting their own horns.  They're such a wonderful bunch of ladies, full of amazing talents and many accomplishments!  (Trust me, these ladies have plenty to brag about, but would never stoop to such hideous behavior!)  People with those qualities can be hard to find...I'm sure you have a story or two YOU could tell!

They also indulge me in my tablescaping needs!

Thank you friends!

And finally, after washing the dishes and resetting the table for more pictures, I lit the candles for one final photo.  Lovely.

Hope you have had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Smiles!

May share this with some of the parties located in the sidebar =>

You've Got the "Write" Stuff

We made these little Valentine treats for the boys' teachers.

When the kids go to so many different classes through out the week, it can be hard to recognize all of the teachers that have an impact on their lives while still being able to pay the mortgage.  This isn't much, but it let's them know we appreciate them!

The printable just jazzes the pencils up a bit.



Heart shapped sticky notes were added to their classroom teachers' stash.

Packs of dollar store Valentine pencils, these free printables and a hole punch were all it took to create these little Valentines.  (I needed to punch some extra space around the initial hole for the pencil to fit.)

Download your free printables HERE.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Smiles!

May share these little Valentines with some of the fun parties in the side bar=>

Some More Valentine Ideas

We hit the mother load today at our Valentine Parties!  Lots of great valentines and yummy candy!

After combing through the boys' stash looking for Twix cute Valentines, here are a few I thought I'd share with you...

 Cute homemade valentine decorated with stickers and stamps.  Not sure where this momma found the heart shaped folded cards...Oriental Trading company maybe?

This is a great way for the kiddos to make valentines that are cute AND legible!

 Loved this little valentine benefitting MD Anderson Cancer Research Hospital!

MD Anderson has treated my family and friends and I love to support them when I can.  I usually received their Christmas catalog, but had not noticed they had valentines.

What a great idea!  Will definitely look for these in the future.

I'm guessing other organizations may have these as well.  Does anyone out there know of any?

 Here is a great version of the super hero valentine!  The mom got her inspiration from Family Fun Magazine.  Like that she had her little valentine sign his name on the cape.

A few more homemade valentines...butterfly, pencil and the superhero again...all clever ideas!!!  (I'll show you my pencil valentine version later today. )

And last, but not least, is a valentine by a momma with the craftiest of skills.

She got her inspiration from Pinterest and executed this one flawlessly!  It is so, so cute!  To see more cute ideas like this one, check out this crafty momma's blog HERE.

She's full of cute and clever ideas !!

Something I realized today is that the kids LOVE valentines.  Star Wars valentines, Muppet valentines, Penguins of Madagascar Valentines, handcrafted valentines, valentines out of a ox, valentines with candy, valentines without candy...they love them all.  Kids love sharing with each other, especially a little bit of themselves.  Valentines give them that chance to give each other little, sweet gifts that can mean so much!

Happy Valentines Day!!

Smiles!

May share these valentine ideas with some of the parties in my side bar =>

Valentine, You Crack Me Up

Last year we made cute photo Valentine's with  cake pops, candy lips and suckers.

This year, while at the Dollar Store, we found these knock-off pop rocks and our Valentines were born.

Happy Valentine's Day, ya'll!

Smiles!

May share these valentine's at some of the parties in the side bar=>

Lego Darth Vader Valentine Box

Here's the eldest's Valentine box...total cost $1.99 + tax for the shiny red paper.

Everything else I already had...box, glad storage container, brass fasteners, toilet paper rolls, construction paper, black spray paint, crepe paper, black fabric, scraps of silver paper and silver duct tape.

Probably should have done a little tutorial for you, but it just kind of took shape on its own.  I set their little Lego Darth Vader alarm clock on the counter and just eyed it.

 Side view...

 Back view....

 Another side view....

See the little red heart button on his chest?  Cute, huh?!?

Tomorrow I'll share their Valentines!

Smiles!!!

May share this Lego Darth Vader Valentine Box with some of the parties in the side bar =>

Valentine Wreath x2

Today I finally got around to putting up the Valentine wreath...not sure what I think about the look. 

 The frame is a find from my MIL that she gave us many years ago.  Looks good, right?  Well, it's broken AND made out of some sort of styrofoam.  Perfect for outside!

 I'm thinking I might brighten it up a bit with some gold glaze.

The heart shaped roses wreath is the same wreath I've used for years and it's starting to show.  May need to step it up for next year and do something like the picture below.

My friend, Tracy, makes cute wreaths and I wanted to share her Valentine wreath with you.  This may be an original idea (she's pretty crafty,) or it could be an inspiration from Pinterest (she's slightly addicted to it.)  Regardless, it's super sweet!!

So, tell me about your front door....

Do you have a Valentine wreath up?

Or do you (gasp!) still have up your Christmas wreath?

(Seriously, on a short drive through the neighborhood today, we counted no less than 6 Christmas wreaths hanging proudly on the front door!  Hey, not judging here...you go with that Christmas spirit!)

Or is your front door bare because you are skulking through Pinterest looking for the perfect wreath to make?  (Yeah, me too!) :-)

Smiles!

May share my little framed wreath with some of the parties in my side bar=>

Pretty Packages Party #5 - Highlights

Thanks to everyone for sharing and stopping by this month's Pretty Packages Party!

  You guys are so creative and talented!!! 

My apologies for the delay in posting the highlights (or even getting the party up this month...stay tuned to see what I was working on!)

Here are some of my favorites from this party...its so hard to pick just a few!

Handstamped tags at Belly Feathers - Betsy included a ton of beautifully wrapped packages and handstamped tags in her Pretty Packages entry...go spend some time checking out all of her other lovelies over at Belly Feathers!

Valentine Boxes at Buckets of Valentine Ideas - Don't miss Mrs. Bucket's Valentine's only blog (she also has other holiday specific blogs!)

Mini Greenhouse at Sandy's Space - Isn't this a terrific gift idea for your gardener friends?  I like to share my wisteria seedlings with friends and this would definitely dress up those repurposed plastic plant pots!!

Glitter to Gumdrops Gardener's Basket - Christy not only gives you and adorable idea for a gift basket, but she share links for the creative items included...chalkboard spoon plant markers and zucchini bread.  You can also spend sometime looking through her amazing blog and find some of the cute aprons she's been making!

Issa's Thanksgiving Gift Boxes - Issa not only shared these sweet little boxes, but she also shared them with free printables.  You can also use her pattern to create your own boxes out of your favorite craft paper! 

The Autocrat - Just go to Haley's blog...it's cute and adorable.  She submitted both of these and they are just so cute (like everything else over at The Autocrat!)  For the CANS or for the FAVORS....also, don't miss her clever idea for wrapping a mixer!

Valentine Love Birds at Elements Interiors - Kara created this beautiful valentine for her sweet husband.  You can steal some of these elements to dress up a valentine for your loved one!

Recycled Bag for Sweetheart Gift at House of Revivals - Amanda made this sweet gift out of things (not just craft things, but those things you and I don't think about to wrap a gift,) she had around the house...my favorite was that she used an old dress pattern for the tissue!

Thanks again to all of the entries.

   Let's do it again February 6th thru February 12th!

Smiles!