Garden Gloves Appreciation Gift

   I promised you more gratitude gifts, so I'm back! This idea has been percolating for a while. I actually purchased the gardening gloves back in March! I saw a nine pack of gardening gloves at Costco and they kind of demanded that I buy them-and definitely not for myself. This apartment-dweller has limited use for one pair of gardening gloves, much less nine! I knew they would be the basis of a great thank-you gift, and since I had a couple of months to figure it out I snatched them up.

    I have done gloves before, so I had an inkling of what I wanted to do, and if you have read that post you will already recognize my favorite hand cream. (I've also done a garden/plant gift, too, if you are looking for something different!) I knew that I wanted to do that again-and I felt like it fit well with the theme, although not the color scheme. (The gloves came in purple, turquoise and green.) 

       I finally decided that I wanted to put in trail mix. It seemed seasonally appropriate, and I know several of the women who I was gifting these to would be more appreciate of something slightly more "healthy" than my usual candy. I was thrilled to find trail mix that didn't include peanuts (I try to stay away from such a severe allergen.) It was providential that they were purple to boot! Thank you, Target.

     I rounded out the gift with a little pack of seeds. It seemed more than fitting! I bought an easy to plant and care for flower variety.

Everything was relatively inexpensive:

-Garden gloves, $1 each (The package of nine pairs from Costco was $9)

-Nivea Creme, $1 (from Target)

-Trail mix, $0.70 each (package of 10 from Target-always check for a Cartwheel to save a little more!)

-Seeds, $0.20 (from Walmart. I wanted this particular package because I liked how it looked. You could definitely spend more!)

Not shown: cello bags (I keep these on hand from the Dollar Tree because I use them. All. The. Time.) and ribbon  and paper from Hobby Lobby. The ribbon was $1.50 and the single sheet of paper I needed was $0.50.

   These literally came together in minutes. I used a 2 inch (ish) scallop punch to cut the paper and then stuck it to the hand cream with a glue dot. I skipped printing on those, I thought the patterned paper was pretty enough. I popped that, the trail mix and the seeds in the bag. I printed off the cards, trimmed them with my paper cutter (I decided against lines, as I have trouble cutting them off neatly. This way I didn't have to worry about that.) and put them in. I laid the bag on the gloves and gathered the top of the bag and wrists of the gloves all together and tied them with a simple bow. Voila! So simple, but fun.

 Find the printable here: "Garden Gloves Printable from Clare's Contemplations"

The cards say:
"You had a big hand in cultivating my love of learning this year!"
"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing." 2 Thessalonians 1:3

   They were a huge hit! This is such a great gift for this time of year-even for someone who isn't an avid gardener. Even I can make use of a pair of gardening gloves-and I don't have a yard! If the recipient doesn't actually garden, they most likely have a yard, or at least or a plant or two. It would be so easy to increase the value of this gift by adding it to a plant, or putting in a gift card to a home improvement store or local nursery.

      I'm not finished with thank-yous yet! I have one more left to post here. I totaled it up and I have put together more than twenty gifts in the last few weeks. It's a busy time of year! I'm glad we homeschool-that means I am almost done. But if you have school teachers to thank (and you're with me on the west coast, where school still has a few more weeks left) stay tuned!

Coffee and Chocolate Thank-You

                  Sometimes I want to put together a super-cute. pun-tastic, multi-part thank-you (These S'Mores Jars, for example.). And other times, especially when I need quite a few, I want something that comes together in about five minutes. These. These are that thing. So.Easy.

      I put these together for the kids' VBS teachers this week. I have never sent my kids to another VBS in town that I haven't volunteered at, but Jocelyn had seen an advertisement, and I had a meeting with the director to pick her brain (I'm directing VBS at our church) and I decided that I felt comfortable sending them there. Who knew having every morning from 9am-noon to myself would be so fun? Probably moms who send their kids to public school...I digress. Anyway, I know how much work it is to volunteer for VBS, so I wanted to show my gratitude with a small token.

   The basis behind these is simple: *most* people appreciate candy and coffee, even if only on rare occasion. And when you are exhausted from a week of wrangling other peoples' kids, and months of planning beforehand, there are few things you want more than coffee, some chocolate and a nap! Thus, combined with a great sale on Frappuccinos at Costco, this idea was born!

   No pun this time, (I know, crazy, right?!) but I thought it was cute nevertheless. The label reads:

"After this week you deserve coffee, chocolate and a nap. We can provide two out of three. Thank you for serving the Lord wholeheartedly. Ephesians 6:7" 

   The great part is that these labels are not specialized to VBS volunteers. You could give them to your child's teacher after the first week of school, or to their camp counselors. Or to their coach or music teacher after a week prepping for competition or recitals. Or to any volunteer for a high-prep event that requires a week's worth of work!

   The components require precious little thought. If you have a gaggle of people that need thank-yous like I did, buy the 36 variety Mars chocolate pack from Costco and the 15 bottle Frappuccino pack of coffees. Then you just need some cardstock to print the labels, and some cute ribbon. It was the happiest of coincidences that I had this arrow ribbon from Hobby Lobby on hand. It is an *exact* match to the labels! I didn't plan it that way, I promise, but I was *super* happy with how it turned out!

   The labels require a 2 and 1/2 inch circle punch. I then just used a standard hole punch to thread the ribbon through. I pulled both sides of the ribbon through at the same time, and then the label is actually held on by the fact that it can't slip off over the knot, rather than actually being tied-on, but that is just a personal aesthetic preference.

Here is the printable. Can I just tell you how excited I was that I was able to save it and post it here? Soooo excited!



Coffee and Candy Thank-You Label

Let me know what you think!

So Much S'more Kit (Easy Thank-You Gift)

    This is probably one of the cutest thank-you gifts that I have ever put together. I was searching for a thank-you for my kids' Awana leaders last year and I needed a gift that would work for both males and females. It is shockingly difficult to find something suitable to give guys that doesn't cost a fortune! Well, thanks to the help of my sister, Katy, I put together these fabulous "So Much S'more Kits" and I couldn't have been happier!

   These truly are so much more than just a typical marshmallow-graham cracker-chocolate gift. I included a variety of crackers, 'mallows and candy, plus some fun extras (Nutella and peanut butter!) so your recipient can get wild and crazy with their combinations! The packaging really makes the whole thing-everything is cuter in a Mason jar, amiright?

  This might seem like a dizzying array of ingredients, but I was putting together six jars, so nothing went to waste! Here's what I purchased, but you can mix it up however you like.

Crackers:
-graham crackers (I chose the "Fresh Stacks" because there are six individually wrapped stacks in each box, so I didn't need to re-package the grahams, and they are the perfect size for s'mores!)
-Ritz "Big" crackers (These are so fun, they are approximately the same size as a graham square so much better for s'mores)
-Chunky Chips Ahoy cookies, because obviously, I believe you can never have too much sugar!

Candy:
-Hershey's milk chocolate, can't go wrong with a classic
-Hershey's Cookies & Cream
-Milky Way Simply Caramel (I though the caramel would be a nice addition)
-3 Musketeers

Marshmallows:
-Jet-Puffed Caramel Swirl (My favorite!)
-Jet-Puffed Brownie, these are flat, so they're perfect for s'mores
-Jet-Puffed S'moreMallows These are giant, and square, and so.perfect.for.s'mores

Toppings:
-Nutella, in individual cups
-Jif To-Go cups

And, of course, don't forget your clean Mason jars!

You know I can't leave well-enough alone, so I had to pretty things up a little. I cut a strip of scrapbook paper to wrap around the graham cracker stacks, so they didn't look so plain.

  I purchased tiny zip-top bags in the candy section of Hobby Lobby so I could divide up the marshmallows, and cookies. I bought straight-top cellophane bags for the Ritz, as they did not fit in the zip-top ones. I closed those with tape. Each jar fit six pieces of candy, so I just mixed and matched to use what I had evenly.

Buy a careful process of trial and error, I discovered the best way to pack the jars, if you are using the same items. First, I put the graham stack in, and placed the Ritz on one side. I then put both Hershey's bars vertically side-by-side, on the other side. Then I stacked the 3 Musketeers/Milky Ways on the third side.

I did a second layer with the marshmallows. It's pretty easy to see how I put them in there, just start with the S'moresMallows first, as they are the biggest.

Then the cookies fit perfectly on top. Simply close with the lid, I covered my lid with a circle of scrapbook paper to make it cuter before I put on the ring. There is no need to do anything more than stick a glue dot on it to center it as the ring will keep it in place. You are probably wondering: where are the toppings?

I realized they wouldn't fit in the jar, but I was loathe to not include them with the gift. So I came up with a solution. I wrapped them together with more scrapbook paper and placed them on top of the gift!

  You can see how I wrapped them better in this photo. You can also see the *cute* scrapbook paper I found at Hobby Lobby that set my color scheme-love that it even says, "S'mores" right on it! I tied the jars with coordinating ribbon, and used my two and half inch circle punch to cut out a backer for my label. I then cut out the label with a two-inch punch. I cut the label for the toppings with a one-and-a-half inch punch. You could definitely attach the tag more simply, just punch a hole in it and tie it on with ribbon. If you don't include the peanut butter and Nutella or something similar, you can skip the other label all together.

   It would be easy to use these labels on simple kits with just grahams, chocolate and ordinary marshmallows, but everyone loved all the options-even if they did just plan on eating them straight from the jar!



Get the "Thank You" Printable.


Get the "So Much S'More Kit" Printable.

I'm trying out a new way to allow you to access printables. Please let me know if you experience any problems!

Easy Bookmark Teacher Thank You Gifts

   It's that time of year, again. You might be thinking, "Spring?". Well, yes, spring, but also time to start thinking about teacher appreciation gifts! School won't end here until June, but I know that isn't the case for the majority of the United States. Besides, there are plenty of other people that you may want to start planning tokens of gratitude for, such as: sports coaches, Awana leaders, or, in my case, your fellow co-op teachers! 

     These simple elasticized bookmarks are so easy to put together. I ran mine through the sewing machine, which really only took a matter of minutes, but you could choose to make them "no-sew" and use a strong-hold craft glue or hot glue to put them together instead..   

   These fabric bookmarks are so cute, and they are really inexpensive! 

 To get started you will need:
-Ribbon (choose a size that your button will cover completely) Mine is from Hobby Lobby, so it was half price. $2
-Buttons I choose these gemstone-looking ones, also half price, so $1.25 for six
- Hair elastics I choose smaller ones, I don't usually use ones that are this thin for my hair, as they don't hold it well. I can't remember exactly how much these were, I believe around $2 for 36 from Walmart. You could definitely pick up some from the Dollar Tree, too.

    Cut your ribbon to the desired length. I cut mine about 15 inches long, to give me room to fold it over the elastic. I also then heat-sealed the ends by holding them over a burning candle to fuse the threads. This isn't absolutely necessary for the end you will be sewing, but it will help to keep the ribbon from fraying, so you will definitely want to do it to the button end. Then I folded one of the ends under about an 1/8 of an inch, and then folded it over the elastic, leaving enough room to stitch it down. I sewed over it several times to make sure it would hold.

   Once you have stitched all the ends, you will sew your button on the opposite end, so the bookmark can be secured around the pages of a book. Hand-stitching all the buttons on is a great project to do while watching tv! You could glue the button on, too. but I like hand-stitching and I thought it would be most secure, so I did.

    The hand-sewing was even easier because I choose a button with only two holes. Don't sew the buttons too close to the end of the ribbon, as you don't want them to pull off.

      To finish the bookmarks, I choose to glue a tiny piece of coordinating ribbon over the stitching on the end with the elastic. I picked up the ribbon for $0.50 at Walmart and used the most minuscule amount, it was about an inch and half for each bookmark.

   I picked up these little notebooks at Michaels in packs of two for $2. I was thrilled that they matched the bookmarks. I considered buying actual books, but since I wasn't certain about the reading preferences of the recipients, I went with something more universal. I needed to fold the bookmark fabric over in the back and paperclip it to make it the right size, and then I attached the printable with a glue dot. I gifted mine with little bags of coordinating chocolates (For my ribbon, Dove had pieces that were just the right colors!) but you could definitely attach a gift card for a bookstore or coffee shop to your's.

All of the teachers at my co-op were thrilled with them! I was glad that I could put them together for less than $0.75 each! It is really tough when you have more than 2 or 3 people that you want to thank, and I needed about eight. Even with the notebooks and the chocolates, they were still around $3. I think having a handmade element is always such a nice touch to any gift.

   Normally, the printable is the part that I am the most proud of, as my computer expertise is exceptionally limited. In this case, however, I made the printable last year, and saved it in the online program I used to make it. In the past, I have not had any trouble saving a JPEG image, and then uploading it to my blog to use as a printable. That is no longer the case, and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to save the image. So instead, and I have to admit I am not happy with this *at all* is a scanned image. That means that it has neither the clarity nor exact coloring of the original. However, if you are short on time, you may be willing to use it, and it is a lot simpler than creating your own! Just be forewarned that it is not up to the quality standards I usually prefer, but I figured something was marginally better than nothing. If anyone has any suggestions for how I can save from Avery Design and Print Online, I would welcome them! I have spent over a week trying to figure it out and have done nothing but waste time. :(

Right click image to save, print from saved location on letter size (8.5x11) card stock. 

Warm,Fuzzy (Gloves!) Teacher Gift-with a Printable!

I am over the moon to show you this project for one major reason: I HAVE A FREE PRINTABLE! Yes, I am shouting, because I am *not* tech-savvy at all. I am sure this would have been easy for the majority of the population, but that isn't the case for me. However, it will be totally worth the work as long as it makes things a little easier for at least one or two of my readers. It really is all for you. ;)

This little gift comes together in a snap (since you don't have to play around with making printables!) and it costs less than $5! I wanted to give something useful and calorie-free to my kids' church teachers-and since touchscreen compatible knit gloves (yes, I'm an iPhone junkie!) are on my own Christmas list this year, I decided that was just the thing!

Supply List:
-pair of gloves for each recipient, I chose "touch screen compatible" ones from Target, $3 each
-Nivea lotion tins, I specifically chose these because 1. I love the lotion, its terrific. 2. I knew they would be a good fit for a 2 inch hole punch! Bonus: they are only about $0.89 each.
-a 2 inch hole punch
-clear cellophane bags to fit your gloves, I picked up a package of 25 at the Dollar Tree
-silver "foil shreds" to place in the bottom of the bags, this is definitely optional, but fun! $1 at the Dollar Tree
- my printables! Simply right-click on the image to download and save, then right click on the image to print. Chose regular paper size (8.5x11) to print the right size for both images.
-standard hole punch
-ribbon for tying the bags and toppers together

Bag Toppers for Teacher Glove gift

 The bag toppers are super easy, simply cut off the extra white paper around each topper and fold along the line in the middle. It looks like half of the topper prints "upside down" but it will be right-side up when it is folded.

The front of the tags says, "Merry Christmas!" and the back says,
"Thank you "snow" much for being a great teacher. All the kindness and g"loves" you've shown warms our hearts." The small print says, "Every time we think of you, we thank God for you." 1 Thess. 1:2.

Snowflake Lotion Toppers

   
The lotion toppers can be used for a variety of things-I think they would make cute gift tags, even. To use them for the lotion, cut the rectangles apart, you don't need to do this with any precision.

Center your punch opening over the snowflake and punch. You will have a perfect circle that fits great on your lotion tin!

 I also discovered that this fit great on top of Nivea's "lip butter" tins- so if you are looking for another gift option, this is cute, too. I placed four tiny glue dots on each punch and stuck it on top of the tin. It will be easy to remove, but it looks cute in the packaging.

   I added some silver "foil shreds" to the bag and then placed the gloves and lotion tin inside. I needed to slightly fold in the sides of my bag, I taped them down. Then I added the topper and punched two holes centered near the top, and then tied a bow with some ribbon.

See? A super simple, yet thoughtful, gift that teachers of all kinds should appreciate- I know I would! Now, if only I could get my "students" to make these for me....

All ready to say a warm, fuzzy thank-you!

Linked up at:
"Pin It Thursday" at Sweet Bella Roos
"Fabulously Frugal Thursday" at A Life in Balance
"Thursdays are Your Days" at 52 Mantels
"All Things Thursday" at Posed Perfection
"Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less 
"Craft Frenzy Friday" at Craft Dictator 
"Thoughtful Spot Blog Hop" at Ironic Adventures