M&M's Can Teach Us Something...

M&M's are delicious. We have awesome teachers/choristers/piantist etc. in Primary. Can these two things be combined? Absolutely!

 

I'm sure you've seen this poem on Pinterest,if not here it is:

Green is for the inspiration you give to me each day.

Blue is for your patience in showing me the way.

Orange is for your warmth and caring style.

Yellow is for the way you can always make me smile.

Red is for my life that you have touched this year. You’re a very special teacher just like this jar, that’s clear!

You place knowledge in your children’s hands and

melt into their hearts and lives forever.

You’re a “Magnificent” and “Marvelous” teacher!

Thank you for being my M&M!

This doesn't really work for Primary though. So I thought of a different idea, along the same lines. The colors represent characteristics that make up an awesome teacher.

Red is for the love they show their children each week. We know lessons are taught best when taught with love.
Blue is a calming color and can represent patience that is so necessary certain weeks. ;)
Yellow is for a cheerful attitude that makes the children love to come and learn each week.
Orange is for creativity, as sometimes we need to be creative to get lessons across.
Green is for righteousness. (Think green behind the CTR shield.)
Brown is the same inside and out, therefore it is genuine or sincere.

I wanted to make a thank you note using this, but have not gotten around to it yet. So I just read this aloud while holding up each color M&M. I am hoping to have one made in the next week or so. So check back!

For the thank you gift I got hot & cold cups that had m&m faces on them, and put four fun size packs of m&ms in each one. That way they got a variety of flavors. :)

 

I got these cups at WalMart, they are being discounted down, so if you happen to miss them, I'm sure you can get them online. Or use solid colored ones. If you want to do a thank you for a teacher at school, use the first poem, for church, use the other version of colors. :)

DIY Tile Coasters

I was recently over a friend's house and my son destroyed their coasters. So I had to figure a way to replace them, I didn't want to just go buy coasters anyone could have, I wanted something special. Then it hit me, tile coasters! I bought the supplies for these a few years ago in hopes of making cheap Christmas presents, and figured, why not now? These were so incredibly easy to make, and not expensive at all (and we know I'm cheap). They turned out so cute I didn't want to give them up. :/

 {What you need}

What you need: 
Tiles (I used 4)
Paper or pictures to decorate with
Mod Podge
Sissors
Enamel Sealer
Paper Cutter
Felt

When I bought the tiles, a year or two ago, I paid about .08 each for them. I bought the cheapest ones I could get away with. You don't want to get anything too textured or lumpy on top, because when you apply the paper you want it to go smoothly on. So I got a basic white shiny tile. They measure about 4.25 x 4.25 inches.

The next step is to choose your paper. You want to keep in mind you will have a trim of the tile showing around the edge, like a border, so choose something that matches well. I got this paper at Target a while back for $1.00 a pack and have been waiting for a project for it. I chose to use scrapbook paper because the quality seems to be a little bit nicer and they make such beautiful prints.

 

 {The paper is on!}

I cut the paper to be 4 1/16 x 4 1/16 inches. I know this is a weird measurement, but I wanted a small amount of edge showing. Remember to cut the part of the design you want. For example if you have a print like my blue one, get the floral part you want since it's not all the same. Next, I painted my Mod Podge on the tile, laid the paper on top and centered it. I finished with layer of Mod Podge on top again. I wanted it to be encased in Mod Podge, so it would be as protected as possible. I don't think it matters wether you have the matte finish or glossy finish Mod Podge, you are painting on top of it either way. 

 

 {Before spraying with the Enamel}

I allowed it to dry over night like this. Once I was certain it was dry I sprayed it with the Enamel Spray to seal it up and protect it. I did this outside and just made sure to get all the areas and angles of it. Once it dried I did a second coat. Since you can do multiple coats, there is no reason to spray it on thick. Just cover it so it will dry nicely, but not leave any unprotected areas.

{After spraying. As you can see, it doesn't change the color of the paper}

The last step is just to put some felt on the bottom of it. I just used Mod Podge to stick it on there. I have seen people just do a few spots underneath, and I'm sure that will be okay if that is what you want to do, but I chose to cover the whole thing, just in case. You just cut a square out 4.25 x 4.25 inches, the same size as your tile. You put the Mod Podge on the bottom of the tile and stick the felt on there. The one thing I would suggest is to buy a nice quality felt. This is going to be what separates your table from tile, so make sure it's nice and thick. Or even invest in cork. Voila, you're done!

 

 {A back view all finished}

 

 {All the fronts finished}

The neat thing about this project is that there are a thousand ways to do this different. You could do photos, pictures the kids drew, designs with paper, just plain squares like I did, or a millon other things. The sky is the limit! It's something personal and thoughtful to give to someone. With so many holidays coming up it's a great way to show someone you care, without breaking the bank. To me, that's what it should be about. Not the amount of money you spent, but how much thought you spent on their gift. Luckily with this, it doesn't take a lof time, but it looks like it would!

 {Add a bow and you're ready to go!}

Until next time,

BBNO

5 Tips For Gifts For a New Mom

I recently saw a list of things you could do to help a new mom. I thought some of the things on the list were good, but I thought I could do better, so here I am. ;) 

 

1. Offer to help clean/do dishes/start a load of laundry/ vacuum/whatever. She may not take you up on your offer, but she'll always remember that you did offer. And if she does, great! That is what new mom's need, an extra set of hands. Don't offer to hold the baby so she can do these things (you wouldn't believe how many times I had people offer that to me), because, lets get real, she WANTS to hold her baby. She doesn't want to do the dishes. Letting her enjoy her time with her baby and not worry about other things, that is a huge help.

2. Bring in a dinner. In my experience, don't say "Would you like me to bring you a dinner?" Say "When can I bring you a dinner?" And make a lot. The first few weeks after having a baby can be a blur. If you make more, she can have left overs. Therefore, you're giving her dinner and lunch the next day.

3. If you are not the best cook and you'd rather just buy something, get things to put on the end table while their nursing/bottle feeding the baby. For new mom's, it's hard to find time to grab snacks or something to read while they're sitting. Try and grab snacks that are on the go, and healthy. But it doesn't hurt to add a few junk foods in there too. ;) Crackers, bottles of water (Nursing moms get really thirsty!), beef jerky, granola bars, or trail mix. Also, anything like face wipes (I can't tell you how many nights I didn't get to wash my face), new bodywash that smells great, nice lotion, or anything else that is going to help her feel great. It doesn't all have to be for the baby ;)

4. If you want to buy baby clothes, go for it. But try and buy in bigger sizes, and give gift receipts. I got lots of duplicates and lots of little clothes. My son barely got to wear a lot of his 0-3 month sizes. It doesn't hurt to ask what she has either. Sometimes everyone thinks of bigger sizes and no one thinks of smaller.  For me, it was really hard to see my son go from size to size, but having an adorable outfit I was excited to put him in helped.

Sometimes people already have all the clothes they need. A friend of mine just had her sixth child, yes, sixth. But it was only her second daughter. So she got all these adorable things with her first and she was excited to use them again (Luckily they were the same season.). So I got her head bands, tights, sunglasses, that sort of thing. Also, diaper and wipes are awesome. I know they seem boring, but it's a favorite of parents.

5. Think outside the color box. If you are buying headbands, bowties, outfits or socks, think outside of pink and blue. You see sooo much pink and blue (especially with your first), you get tired of it. They make so many adorable outfits, accessories, and blankets in other colors, you still have awesome options.


Hopefully this helps with the next baby you have coming along. :)

Until next time,

BBNO