Teacher Appreciation Apple Pot

Now that back to school time is upon us, why not make a cute little apple pot as a gift for your new teacher! It is great for their desk, and can be used to store all sorts of things! Materials Needed: 3 inch Terra Cotta Clay Pot 3 inch Terra Cotta Clay Saucer Small Wooden Spool Fun Foam Paint Clear Acrylic Sealer Spray Glue (hot glue gun preferred)

Instructions: Wipe down your terra cotta pot and saucer with a damp cloth and let dry completely. Paint the clay pot and saucer red (figure 1) - let dry. Paint a face on pot (figure 2). Paint the wooden spool green. Once all your paint is dry, spray it with the clear acrylic sealer. Flip the saucer upside down and place it as a lid on top of the clay pot. Glue the wooden spool on to the bottom of the saucer (figure 3). Cut a small leaf shape out of fun foam and glue it to the wooden spool. Your apple is now done! A great place to keep treasures, candy, or other small items. Of course, if you don't have the time to make a gift, you can still show your appreciation with a gift from our website. Our beaded badge holders make a wonderful teacher gift as it allows them to wear their school id badge with style.

Back to School Flower Pens

With it getting closer and closer to back-to-school time, we are going to start giving out some great tips on back-to-school crafts that will get your kids excited about going back. What better way to cheer them up than with flowers? This craft is for a flower topped pen or pencil.

You'll need: a silk flower, stick pen or mechanical twist pencil, super glue, and floral tape (optional items are crafters' tape (can usually be found in the scrapbooking aisles...it's double sided and will state that it holds ribbon, paper, etc) and ribbon)

-First, cut the stem off the silk flower to about 2" long.
-Strip off any rubber exposing just the wires.
-Place a dot of super glue under the flower and place it centered on top of the pen/pencil.
-Wrap the wires around the pen/pencil, keeping the flower centered on top of the pen/pencil.
-Now wrap the entire pen/pencil with floral tape to keep the wires covered and in place.
-If you want the "natural look, you are done! But if you want it to be brighter, keep going...
-Wrap the pen/pencil with the crafter's tape, removing the top side of protective paper as you go to expose the sticky side.
-Now wrap the pen/pencil with the ribbon, pressing gently to make sure it adheres as you go.
-Place a dot of super glue along the top seam and bottom seam of the ribbon just to give it added strength.
-Let it dry, and you are ready to write your schoolwork in a bright sunny style!

Of course if you don't feel you are crafty enough, or just don't have the time, we do sell these pens at my craft site Dayna Lane Gifts. Otherwise, have a great time getting ready for school and keep a lookout for more great back-to-school craft ideas!

Sea Creatures Mask

So I've been inspired by my planning for our trip to Key West in August for the Lobsterfest craft fair to do some beach themed crafts.  This one is a Sea Creature Mask and is a lot of fun to make, whether you can do it at the beach or at home in a sand box.

What you need:
Beach stuff such as shells, sea glass, driftwood, etc
Plaster of Paris
Water bucket
String

What to do:
In a perfect world, you would do this project at the beach, picking a moist hard packed strip of sand just above the wet tidal sand.  But if you are landlocked, just pour some sand at least 3-4 inches deep and 10 inches tall (an old cake pan works great for this), and wet it and pack it tight.

1) Dig an oval/face shaped hole into the sand that measures about 5-8 inches tall by 2 inches deep.
2) Arrange you beach findings to make a face.  Remember to tell your kids that they are looking at the face in reverse, so to put the side they want showing face down into the sand.
3) Mix the Plaster of Paris in the water bucket based on the package instructions (if you are lucky enough to be at the beach, just use seawater).  A standard box will make 3-6 masks, depending on their sizes.  Usually a think creamy consistency works best.  Too runny and the plaster will seep under your findings and cover them up, too thick and the plaster will dislodge messing up the mask.
4) Pour the plaster over your hand, held about an inch or two above the hole, to break it's fall and make sure your findings don't get disturbed.  Make the plaster layer about an inch thick.
5) Tie a knot at both ends of your string.  When the plaster begins to thicken, press the knots into each side of the mask to create a hanger.
6) Once the plaster begins to harden, but is not too firm, dig the sand away from the mask (rather than just pulling the mask out).  Then use water to gently wash away any flaws as you will have a few moments to manipulate the plaster's surface before it hardens completely.

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  Pictures will be posted soon.