A Fall “bouquet” for teacher

I knew I wanted to make a little gift for my son’s teacher and I kept going back and forth whether to make it a Halloween theme or a Fall one.  I also thought “What do teachers need in their classroom all the time?”.  I finally decided on a Fall gift with Halloween colors and what do teachers need at all times…pencils, of course!  So I decided to get a package of #2 Ticonderoga pencils because they were black rather than a yellow-orange which was perfect for my “bouquet”:

I filled my $1.00 bucket I got from Target with Pumpkin Spice Hershey’s Kisses and Glue Dot®-ed my flowers on the tops of the unsharpened pencils.

I made the flowers using the Quilled Chrysanthemum Kit from Cuttlebug.  I like to use my Glue Dots® Minis to help keep the rolled papers in place. I apply the top half of a Glue Dot® Mini on the strip of paper, roll a little, then fold up the bottom of the Mini and roll some more.  I did this with all the flower layers.  This helps save on the amount of adhesive you use.  I try to be frugal :). Once you have all your flowers just add a Mini Glue Dot® on the tops of the pencils and stick your flowers on.

I applied Craft Glue Dots® to the decorative strip of paper for my bucket which made it super easy to complete!

Students can “pick flowers” if they need a pencil and my son’s teacher can indulge in some Hershey’s Kisses :).

(I wrote this post while participating in the Glue Dots® design team.)

Fall Bouquet Recipe

Glue Dots®: Mini, Craft

Stamp: ODBD Happy Fall

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black

Paper: DCWV Fall Stack

Accessories: Cuttlebug Quilled Chrysanthemum Kit, small bucket, pencils, Spellbinders Assorted Leaves, EK Success Parisian border punch, chocolate candy, black organza ribbon, purple pearl, twine

Easy and INEXPENSIVE Halloween Banner

I didn’t have any Halloween wall decor in my collection so I decided to create one!  I had a stack of cardboard inserts laying around (got those free when I bought boxes for my dimensional cards) that I never recycled because I thought I’d use them one day and I’m glad I kept them.  You could also recycle empty cereal boxes!

Look at this plain, unassuming cardboard…it won’t be plain for long!

Oh, and do you see these cupcake liners?  Only $1.99 at Michael’s.  Happy! Happy! Happy! You’ll see why in a bit.

After a little cutting, snipping, embellishing and Glue Dot®-ing (I came up with that new verb…LOL!)…

I’ve got myself a Halloween wall decor!

Just snip a line down one of the liner’s crinkle fold and reattach with a Glue Dots® Line to invert and add dimension.  Oh, and guess who wanted to help? 

My son Marcus saw me coloring the wooden clothespins and asked if he could do it.  I was thrilled he wanted to join in on my little creative journey!

So, here’s what it cost to create my banner:

Wooden clothespins (package of 24 from Target)- $1.00

Cupcake liners (Michael’s)- $1.99

Purple Tulle (Michael’s)- $2.99 MINUS 40% off coupon so it ended up being only $1.80

Halloween chipboard accents(Michael’s)- $1.00

Glue Dots® (already on hand)

Halloween papers and cardstocks (already on hand)

Cardboard (already on hand)

Buttons and ribbon (already on hand)

My GRAND TOTAL for my project….drum roll, please………………………………………………………………..$5.79!!!!!

Come visit me again this week to see what I made for my son’s teacher for Halloween!

(I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots® design team)

Halloween Banner Recipe

Glue Dots®: Pop-Up, Glue Lines, Craft Dot N Go dispenser

Paper: Halloween designer papers (K & Company, DCWV) Stampin’ Up! (Pumpkin Pie, Orchid Opulence)

Accessories: Colorbok Halloween chipboard accents, cupcake liners, purple tulle, polka dot grosgrain ribbon, Spellbinders (Classic Small Circles, Classic Large Circles), wooden clothespins, Sharpie black marker, buttons, paper floss

 

 

What’s inside the haunted house?

I had so much fun creating this because of four reasons:
1. The Core’dinations cardstock was on sale at Jo-Ann’s for $0.25 each.
2. Glue Dots® adhesives made it a No-Need-To-Wait-For-Glue-To-Dry project
3. Sparkly Fluff
and most importantly…
4. It put a smile on my sons’ faces :).

Ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, black cats, bats, Tombstones, oh my! 

See that stuff on the arrow?  That just isn’t regular ‘ol flock…it’s Sparkly Fluff and you can grab some up over at Our Craft Lounge.

 

Ready to enter my haunted house?  Let’s go inside:

That Sparkly Fluff made good dirt for my tombstones! 

I used Glue Dots® Dot N Go for all the panels, house top and lid. Glue Dots® Continuous Line and Pop Up Perforated Sheets helped me with the important accents:

Here’s how to attach the strips of acetate:

I’m off to conjure up more spooky creations!

(I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots® design team.)

Haunted House Explosion Box Recipe

Glue Dots®: Dot N Go, Continuous Line, Pop Up Perforated Sheets

Stamps: Studio G ("Haunted House", “Boo From The Crew”)

Paper: Stampin’ Up! (Elegant Eggplant, Summer Sun), Core'dinations (black with white core), distressed metallic cardstock, DCWV (orange Halloween print)

Accessories: acetate, Martha Stewart Craft punches (Fence border, Tombstone), Cricut (Expression machine, Tags, Bags, & Boxes cartridge for triangle box), Brown Sugar Sparkly Fluff, Halloween foam shapes,  embossing powders (white, Kaleidoscope transparent), sanding block, Scor-Pal

And before I go, I wanted to share a few pictures I took with my Olympus Evolt e-420 camera.  It was my first time using it and I brought it with us for our early morning visit last week to La Shores and Cove:

The sea lions were out!  This one heard my flash go up and looked directly at me:

This one looked like it was smiling:

This birdie stood still…must have wanted a close-up so I obliged:

My sons had fun exploring the little nooks and crannies!

Our footprints at the end of the day:

Yumminess in a jar!

Time for another baked good from yours truly…this time it’s Mandarin cupcakes with pineapple whipped cream frosting (you can find lots of recipes on the web):

I didn’t want to just box these babies up, especially since the whipped frosting won’t set, so……

I cut the cupcakes in half and gently stuffed them (oxymoron?) in a canning jar and layered on the frosting.  I wasn’t looking for “pretty”, but I was looking for an easy yet fun way to give the cupcakes out.  Once they got stuffed I decorated using my trusty Glue Dots® Permanent Dot N Go­™ and ended up with this festive Halloween treat, complete with a spoon to enjoy right on the spot:

I was stoked to have had a pumpkin charm on hand!

These would make wonderful teacher gifts because after they’ve eaten the treat they could wash out the jar and store erasers, paper clips, etc. in them.  You can use smaller jars and bake up some mini cupcakes, too!  I just may have to buy up a few dozen or so :).

I’ve got a couple more Glue Dots® Halloween projects to share with you all so please visit again soon!

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots® design team.

Cupcake in a Jar Recipe

Glue Dots®: Permanent Dot N Go™ dispenser

Paper: DCWV Fall Stack, black glitter cardstock, black cardstock

Accessories: black pipe cleaner, pumpkin brass charm, Halloween foam shapes, orange silk ribbon, gold cord, plastic spoon, plastic bag

I just found out!!

Glue Dots® just announced their first design teams and I made one of them!  I had applied back in April and never heard back until just recently.  I had recently left my other design teams to pursue a new and exciting venture.  I was also going to close down my blog, but this was such a wonderful surprise and opportunity!  I am happy to say that I will be fulfilling my one year commitment with Glue Dots® as a…….

You just may see projects using images from Our Daily Bread designs, WhoopsiDaisy Designs, McMahon Five Designs, *Wink*Wink Ink, etc. so the sky’s the limit!

There are two teams and you can check out the Glue Dots® design team list HERE.