Teacher or Director Appreciation Gift

The director from my two sons Pre-School recently retired after more than 20 years.  The Moms wanted to make her a gift that she would cherish forever.  

We have one of the coolest paint-your-own pottery places in town called Half Baked Pottery.  Kristen, the owner, let me borrow paint and I took the plate & paint to the Pre-School to have all the kids make their fingerprint impression around the plate.  

I then came up with a quote and printed it out on the computer and traced it onto the plate.  I used a pencil that withstands firing to write the words.  When it came out of the kiln, I wasn't happy with the pencil because it was too light.  I decided to trace over the pencil with a Sharpie.  It turned out much better and really popped!

I hope she loves it!

For a few other plate ideas, go here.

~Val

Embroidered Child's Artwork

I need your help!!!  (Read on...)

About a year ago, I embroidered these adorable drawings that my oldest son, Ethan, did of himself with his two little brothers, Caleb & Jack.  My favorite part of these little guys is that he drew their arms coming out of their heads.  I used the tutorial found on Little Birdie Secrets.

This embroidered piece of fabric has been floating around my house for way too long.... on the kitchen counter, on my sewing table, on the dining room table, back to my sewing table, and finally in my storage basket with the rest of my fabric stash.  I need to do something with it!!!  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Some ideas I have are:

1.  Staple it around a canvas  (the piece of fabric is 17" x 14", so I have lots of room to work with)
2.  Frame it inside a small embroidery hoop
3.  Frame it in a frame
4.  Uhh ... that's it. I'm all out of ideas.

I just want to get it up on the wall somewhere to make me smile.  Thanks for helping come up with a creative way to display this priceless artwork!


UPDATE: 

Ok, I've had a couple WONDERFUL CREATIVE suggestions...

Dee said to make a mini quilt out of it and put little pockets at the bottom (one for each boy).  They could then put their favorite little toy peeking out of their pocket.  Love this!

Molly had the great idea to turn it into a pillow. 

Benta mentioned to add a new block each year and turn it into an empty nest quilt when they are gone.  I told her this almost made me cry!  Such a wonderful idea, but I don't know if I can even think about them not living in with me!

Wanda had the thought of incorporating it into a bag/purse/tote.  How cute would that be!!!

Jodi had a super cute idea.  She said I could make a book cover out of it and then use the note book to record special memories of my children to help remember every precious day with them.

Keep these wonderful ideas coming!  I may just have to make one of each!


~Val

One-of-a-kind Kindergarten Teacher Gift

Kindergarten teachers are amazing!  They are able to tame 25 children (many times more), get them to sit still, listen, inquire, learn, raise their hands when they have a question, ask permission to use the restroom, be sweet to their friends, all while having fun doing it.  I have a hard enough time getting my oldest son to sit down to eat a meal.

This Christmas, I wanted to make something extra special for Ethan's Kindergarten teacher.  One evening when I was at a Paint-Your-Own Pottery shop called Half Baked Pottery, I saw a plate displayed on the wall that inspired me.  The owner was nice enough to loan me a box of paints to take with me to the school.  It took a few classroom volunteer days to complete the project, but it was well worth it.  Each child put their thumbprint around the plate.  I wrote their names above their print with a special pencil that does not burn off in the kiln. I then wrote the quote in the middle of the plate using the same pencil and finished it off with some decorative dots.

Watching the expressions on the kids faces as their teacher opened her gift, was incredible.  Seeing her cry when she opened made it even better!

I also made a plate for Caleb's teacher.  It did not take nearly as long since there are only 7 kids in his class.  

~Val