Fakin' It

Catholic Schools Week - Teacher Appreciation Gifts

It's Catholic Schools week and I am so grateful for my children to be in an environment where God is a part of everything they do. I was volunteering the other day which required me to sit in the main hall and sell raffle tickets for 2 hours. Every teacher who walked by was smiling, each one stopped to say "Hi" whether she knew me or not. I could hear the prayers coming from the lunch room. BLESSED doesn't even begin to describe the overall feeling.

I wanted to come up with some cute gifts to say thank you to our wonderful teachers.

YOU WERE "MINT" TO BE A GREAT TEACHER

I found these cute little bags at Hobby Lobby along with the Fish Scripture Mints. I included a citrus mint lip gloss and Tangerine Mint hand sanitizer for J's 2nd grade teacher.

For the assistant teacher I got a Starbucks gift-card and put that along with the mints in a bag that says "You Warm Heart."

My son C's fourth grade teacher has cushions in the corner of the room that the kids can pull out and use to read with on the floor. It is really a big deal for them and I noticed that some of the pillows were looking quite worn. I found bed pillows on sale at Kohls for $6. I bought some sports fleece to wrap around it. My son helped tie the knots and wrote "I am having a BALL in your class this year" on the note.

 

Crafty Christmas Shopping with Creative Memories

Happy Thanksgiving! I have been busy lately get started with my new business.

I am very excited to announce that I am one of  Creative Memories newest Consultants. We have a lot of great sales going on right now for your Christmas gift giving and you DON'T have to be a scrapbooker to make use of Creative Memories wonderful products.

Click on over to  MY CM WEBSITE. Our new tape runner and/or metallic pens would make the perfect stocking stuffers. As would these super stylish mini 2X3 Picfolio albums. We also have them in 4X 6.

Sometimes it's simpler to create a book when you have all the coordinating items all together right in front on you rather than searching through all your stuff trying to find just the right accents. We've bundled up some fabulous sets at a great price! Don't forget to pick up some Power-Sort boxes to organize all those Holiday photos.

 

 

 

If you really need to stock up, now's the time. Spend $250 and you get everything below, a $90 value FREE!

These little SIMPLY SAID books have to be one of my favorite NEW Creative Memories products! There's lots of themes like baby, mom, dad and friend. But my favorites are the Christmas and the Teacher. The paper books are filled with great quotes, places for you to add your own thoughts or answer questions and stick on a photo. They make a truly meaningful gift and can also make you look very crafty even if that is not your strong point.

And do you want to know what Creative Memories gift is at the top of my list? This TIS THE SEASON Cricut cartridge. I think it is better than any other Christmas cartridge out there, plus it comes with 2 great fonts. And while you're looking at this one be sure to check out our new TRAVELER cartridge. You can only get these through Creative Memories.

Get started on that Holiday shopping from the comfort of your own home now. Just click on My Creative Memories Website and have fun!

Christmas in July Part 2: Beaded Ribbon Bookmarks and Gift Book Ideas

I love bookmarks! I can't have enough! I don't know how I am always losing them but I am and I always need more. Like with the knotted scarves, I have a habit of buying things just to take them apart and see how I can make them myself. I paid $6 on Etsy for one beaded ribbon bookmark just like the ones I am going to show you how to make.

 

The cost of the pins, jump rings and ribbon clamps is mere pennies per piece. Beads can vary in cost. I am going to guess that I used 50 cents worth of beads  per bookmark plus 15 cents for the ribbon. Total cost = < $1.

 The tools that I used included needle nose pliers, scissors and a lighter. There are jewelry pliers but these are just from my husband's tool box. The lighter is for sealing the ends of the ribbon. Two quick swipes through the flame is all it needs.

 
Cut a piece of ribbon about 10 inches long. After you have heat sealed the end of the ribbon to prevent fraying, fold over about 1/8th of an inch and insert into clamp with teeth facing back side of ribbon. Use pliers to squeeze clamp tightly closed.

 
Place beads onto pin. With pliers, open jump ring and attach to loop at end of ribbon clamp. Squeeze back into closed circle. You can also used the jump ring to attach charms.

I thought this ABC ribbon would be perfect for a teacher. 
 
I think the details on the ends are what really make these bookmarks special.

 
Unless it's a stocking stuffer, I tend to give books along with the handcrafted bookmarks.

 
32 Third Graders and One Class bunny is a hysterical book where teacher Phillip Done recounts classroom stories. It is perfect for a teacher and also for any mom who wonders what goes on in the classroom when she's not around.

The Saints Guide to Happiness is a wonderful book for Catholic friends, family, teachers, etc... There are short life lessons that identify with a specific Saint. This is the kind of book you pick up when you need a little uplifting and doesn't require hours of reading on end.

Moloka'i is based on a true story taking place in a Leper colony on the Hawaiian Island of Moloka'i. This book is well written and intriguing. Every one I know of that has read this has really enjoyed it but it is not super well known. So it is a pretty safe bet that the recipient of your gift doesn't own it yet.

There you go, bookmarks for less than $1 and plenty of time to find these books or others on sale will get you a head start on the Christmas rush.

Thanks for visiting Fakin It. Be sure to click the Link Parties tab in my sidebar to see all of the awesome blogs I connect with each week. And if you like what you see, you can friend me via Facebook or Google also in the sidebar.

Christmas in July: No Sew Knotted Yarn Scarf Tutorial

Last Christmas I tried to make Christmas gifts to save some money but I wanted the gifts to be nice. Last summer I bought a knotted scarf at a craft show for $25 and thought, I could make this! Then I saw some on Etsy for $45! Thus came the inspiration for my handmade Christmas gifts.

 
They are super adorable on and you can customize the length and colors to suit your friends/family's taste. The green, white and purple one in the middle is a child's that my daughter helped to make.

 
 Ready to get started? Wait until the yarn goes on sale. I bought all of the yarn below at Joann's for $28. What you see is what's left after making 5 scarves. Definitely enough to make at least 5 more which would average out to $2.80 per scarf. Remember I paid $25 for the one at the craft show. Pretty amazing huh?

It is very important to get different widths and different textures. The white yarn has a thread of gold through it, the dark green has sequins, the purple is feathery, and the turquoise has pom poms. 

 
 
It takes about 30 strands to make a scarf. It can be less for a child's scarf. Lay out pieces flat. They should be about  8 feet long for an adult and  6 feet long for a child.

 
 
Make the first knot at one end. Make sure to pull it tight. Then use your fingers to "comb" through the rest of the strands to make sure none are bunched up.

 
It's up to you how much distance you put in between knots. I do about a hands width. Continue making knots at even intervals until you reach other end.

Make a fist at the top of the last knot and trim off any excess that is hanging past your fist. Do this for both ends to make them even.

 

Voila! It is that simple! Here is L modeling the new scarf. I really want to go buy more yarn in our school colors to wear for the upcoming football season.

Please click on my link parties tab in the sidebar to see all the awesome blogs that I connect with each week.

CONTEST: My Facebook friend list and my new Google friend list has really been growing this last week and I want to keep the momentum going.  Once I reach a combined total of 100 followers I am going to hold a giveaway for all my new friends which will include a knotted scarf made by me and a Target giftcard. So be sure to go to my side bar. Let's be friends!!

"In Safe Hands" Bus Driver Gift

My daughter L has three bus drivers and my boys have 1. That's four more end of the year gifts but our bus drivers are great and deserve something special.

I found the super cute bucket in the dollar aisle at Target. The note cards were .48 on clearance. The nail file was $1 and the polish was $2.50. So the entire gift was only $5. 

The boys' bus driver isn't a girly girl and doesn't do polish so I had to do a different take on the same theme. I got this hand sanitizer and hand lotion at CVS. I had some CVS bucks that were about to expire so this worked out perfect. FYI, CVS has Revlon nail polish for $4.99 this week but you get $4.00 CVS bucks back, so it is really only costing .99 cents. That would shave $2 off the cost of the first gift bucket.
To go along with the "Safe Hands" theme, I traced L's hands on some scrap yellow cardstock for the gift tags.

 
 
Thanks for a great year! It was wonderful to know L was always in SAFE HANDS.

 
All wrapped up and ready to go for a bus ride!

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