~end of year memory book for teacher~

 I'm finally going to share a project with you that

has ended up being one of my favorites.

I made a book for my son's teacher with all the pics

I've been taking throughout the year. I was the 

room parent so I was able to take pictures at 

all of their parties and celebrations.

I made it thru Shutterfly because I had a code

for 40% off a photo book. Throughout the book

I included text from "Oh! The Places You'll Go" 

by Dr. Seuss......have a look:

pretend the kids don't all look like ghost children

with their faces blurred out. 

 

 I took individual pics of each student and had them 

sign their name above their picture. This really 

gave it a nice personal touch and made each and every

child feel involved in the process.

 The blank pages I added to the end were for the

graduation pics. Graduation and field day 

wasn't until the day before the last day of school 

(now that's a mouthful isn't it?) so I had to have those

printed at the one hour photo joint and stick

them onto the blank pages.

 I also included some blank pages for all the parents

to write a little note for her. The card above is from me.

I'm long winded and couldn't contain my 

note to just a few sentences.

 At the graduation I was secretly able to have every parent

(except 2) sign the book. This was the most special

touch to the book I thought :)

Above is the back of the book.

Below is the spine....obviously.

 My little guy was soooo excited to give it to her.

She loved it and I have no doubt it will be 

something she keeps forever....just like 

my lil guy will keep her in his heart forever.

He LOVES his teacher and SOBBED

in my arms when he got home from school

on the last day. It's hard to show teachers

how important they are to us for loving 

and nurturing our kids. 

I felt like this book really did a good job

showing her how much we 

appreciate her. She sent me a very 

heartfelt text later that day telling

me how much it meant to her....

and made her shed a few tears.

Thank God for wonderful teachers.

 

With the 40% off coupon, the book

cost me about $32. Well worth it.

It took about 8 hours to make.

I didn't do it all in one sitting.....

a little here. a little there.

I'm printing one up for my lil guy with 

the graduation and field day pictures included.

I had the teacher write him a little note that

I can stick on the last page of his book

after I get it printed.  

He's going to love it.

Happy Summer Vacation Everyone!

~personalized book for kids-gift idea~

 Back in September I discovered a free photo book

offer at Shutterfly again. GREAT!

Problem was, it ended that night.

I couldn't let a free photo book offer go to waste

so I decided to throw a book together that

I'd been wanting to do for awhile.

I took pictures of my son's favorite toy

"doing things" throughout the day while

he was at school and made it a story.

It was actually a lot of fun coming

up with ideas for the pages.   

Once I got the pictures, I plugged them into the 

book and the story just took off.

 Disclaimer: the pics are NOT the greatest quality.

   

 My son LOVED it! 
I gave it to him for his birthday.

The next day when I took him to school he said,

"I told MACK to do a few things while I'm at school."

Seriously? This is definitely my kid......

Total time it took to make this book,

including taking the pictures, was only 1.5 hours.

For those of you looking for a fun, personalized

gift for that kid on your Christmas list, 

this is your GOLDMINE!

Easy, affordable (even if it's not free)

and something they'll remember forever......

because COME ON-

when you were a little kid

didn't you think your toys played and did

things when you were gone?

I sure did.

~memory book for kids school work~

 Remember the free 8x8 book offer thru

Shutterfly that I told you about a couple weeks ago?

I got mine and let me just tell you,

I am THRILLED with the way it turned out.

I made a book for my little guy's pre-school graduation.

I scanned some of his best school work and momentos

from pre-school and used them to fill the book.

You can customize the cover as well as all the pages.

Have a look......

 The front cover.

 These next pages are some of my favorites.

The book is twenty pages....these are just a few.

 It was my husband's idea to have his teachers 

sign the book....so glad he thought of it.

I think in the years to come it's what will make the

book so special. 

This is the back of the book.

Now do you see why I love it?

I'm telling you, if you haven't already jumped on

the photo book bandwagon, you need to.

It's a great way to record events and memories

that can be easily looked at and stored.

The books are just as neat as scrapbooks but

they don't take up as much space. I make a 

few books for my family every year. 

If you haven't already done so,

go to Shutterfly and make your free book.

(click here to do it!) 
(I think the offer ends May 21, 2012.)

~free 8x8 photo book offer~

If you're in need of a great Mother's Day or graduation

gift idea, here's you chance to make a gift 

they'll cherish forever. 

Photo books.

They are so easy to make and they print up so nice. 

Family Circle magazine and Shutterfly are joining together

to offer up a free 8x8 photo book

when you open a new account. It automatically puts

a credit for the free book in your account when you sign

up. You'd better hurry....the offer ends May 21. 

Click here to begin. 

The only thing you have to pay is

 shipping which is $7.99.

My free book is a gift for my little guy's pre-school

graduation coming up. 

I filled the book with scanned copies of his 

best artwork and writings, photos, facts and other

momentos of his pre-school years. 

I've decided it will be a tradition I will do for him

at the end of each school year. 

He loves looking at pictures of himself and to see

them printed up in an actual book........

he cherishes them and looks at them often.

Go take advantage of this amazing offer 

and 

MAKE YOUR BOOK!

~DIY bridal shower gifts~

 Need a good idea for a bridal shower or wedding gift?

I made all this for my cousin's bridal shower for $25.

Some of the supplies I had on hand, which is why 

it was so cheap but even if you had to purchase them,

it would still be inexpensive. 

The theme of the bridal shower was

"let's help them fill the rooms of their house"

My room assignment was the living room.

I browsed thru their online registry at Target and Walmart

to give myself an idea of what their decorating colors 

and style will be. 

They are registered for shelves so I decided to 

give them things they could decorate their shelves with.

This is what I came up with:

 Photos printed onto tissue paper and mod-podged onto

canvas. SO EASY! I used some of their engagement pics.

If you want to learn how to do this check out the

tutorial at Sarah's Never-Ending Projects.

(click here to be directed to tutorial)

This one is a 5x7. I used the flat canvas because I wanted

to frame them. You can also use the wrapped canvas frames

if you prefer. The flat ones are cheaper. I got a

package of three for $3 at Michael's.

 This one is 11x14.

I was worried at first when my tissue paper wasn't

going on smooth but in the end I like the way it 

looks being a little wrinkled.

 Initially I tried to do it with red tissue paper

because I didn't have any plain white and I didn't 

want to go buy any but it didn't look good on the 

bigger canvas's. So-with the red picture I had already printed,

I mod-podged onto a wooden "N" I got at

Michael's for $1.50. It looks better in real life.

The photo is very subtle and the red gives it a 

a nice pop of color.

 Another shot of the items they can put on their shelves.

I got the ivy plant at Walmart and put it in a small red

mug so it will fit on a small shelf. I paid $4.50 for the

plant and the mug combined. Also-the subway

art was purchased as Walmart for $3.50.

I almost didn't give it to her because I want

to keep it for my house. Maybe I'll go back and get one.

 This throw pillow was made with fabric scraps

I had on hand. To get the "N" monogrammed on the

pillow I used tape to mark off an "N" and then

lightly spray painted the fabric. Once the paint

was dry I pulled the tape off and voila...

I had an "N". I was going to use piping for

the edges but didn't want to go back to the 

store to get any so I just used red fabric I had

here to make a ruffled edge.

 I like to give newlywed couples

an ornament for their first Christmas.

That's what was in this package:

The package is an empty container of baby snack puffs

wrapped in tissue paper and ribbon.

I put some tissue paper in it and nestled the 

ornament right in the middle of it.

It was PERFECT!

Again, I used one of their engagement photos

to fill the bulb, some feathers and a saying about love. 

I had all these on hand.

If you want more info about making the

ornaments, you can click here . 

I was so happy with how everything turned out and I think

she did too. If you like the look of pictures

on canvas but don't want to spend a ton of

money doing it, this is the way to go!

I'm going to do some for my house next.

I can't wait!

linking up with kojo designs