Child of a Teacher

I haven't posted on my blog in a while but it is Teacher Appreciation Week and what better way to thank all my amazing teachers and mentors over the years than by sharing some of my thoughts. Plus considering I'm writing this and you're reading it we all need to thank a teacher. Well my Mom is a teacher and as a child of a teacher you learn more than you ever would consider in life. Close to 30 years as a teacher, my Mom is pretty amazing, this is for you Mom, and one of the best teachers I could ever have. 


You know you are the child of a teacher when...

You would play school as a kid because it was so much fun and you always had the best supplies and handouts to play with

The only way to get your mom’s attention is to either say "Mrs. Lastname" or wait patiently raising your hand. Saying "Mom" or "Mother" rarely worked

Every year you gain about 30 or so new "siblings" even if you never meet them you learn to love them

Every vacation there is always some type of educational value, no matter what.

You personally know how to suck up to a teacher without being annoying or a teacher’s pet, there is a way and you perfect it.

In the kitchen there is a whole cabinet dedicated to coffee mugs even after donating 50+ to local charities that students have given as gifts over the years

The students in your mom's classes have and do idolize you even if they only heard stories of you. You feel like a big sibling to all of them

Your mom has used you as an excuse to give her students a treat/reward because she knows telling the class it came from you the students will respect it a lot more. 

You respect teachers more because you know personally the long days and nights your mom has

When it comes time for the holidays there are two sets of decorations; one for the house and one for the class and whatever you do, Don't get them mixed up!

You are on a first name basis with the teachers at your mom's school, even at a young age

Remember the days when the Teacher's Lounge was considered "Holy Ground" but even in elementary school you knew it wasn't a "Lounge" and was basically a room with a discussing microwave, old coffee, and a broken soda machine

Your mom has not had a lunch break for longer than 15 minutes in their whole career

Your mom doesn't need to stop for the bathroom on an 8 hour car ride, once the teacher bladder is on, she is good to go

You love your mom for all the hard work they have done and respect them so much more for all the hundreds of lives they have changed over the years

-xoxo-

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Vanilla buttercream on top! Super yummy, super easy. And I am the type of baker that throws everything together in a bowl and mix on high. I don't split dry and wet, not my thing. So if that is "your thing" and having a set time on the oven might want to stop reading now.

I see you continued moving forward.. welcome! Even with my crazy methods and some of you might say these pumpkins turned out delicious!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup pumpkin (use the can, easy and faster)
2 eggs
Pinch of salt and nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup oil

Throw everything in a bowl and mix together until everything is blended.

Dish out into the cupcake pan, pop in the oven

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Of course check with a toothpick. My oven is old and needs some lovin' so you might need more or less.

Top with Wilton Vanilla Buttercream icing and some sugar crystals.

Enjoy!!

It's Baking, No Stress!

-Lisa

Earring Holder

I have quite a few ear piercings and that means I have quite a few sets of earrings. The only things is they were everywhere! I could never find a good matching pair. I would get stuck wearing the same pair over and over. But that is no fun. I have been looking to buy an earring holder but in my findings they have been rather expensive for my budget. I made one instead! It turned out great plus I organized my earrings and was able to throw away a bunch of pairs that were old and from many years ago. 

I found this frame for $2 at some weird "Everything is almost $1" store. The frame was plastic and had a full cardboard backing on it. Using a straight edge I cut out the center part. Shown in the picture below. 

I also got some old screen that my boyfriend had laying around that he used to replace the screen door on his porch. You can normally find this stuff at any hardware store and should be able to buy it by the foot. 

This is the piece I cut out. What I had left would fit and be covered by the frame. I needed this piece to secure the screen. 

I used a staple gun with some of the smallest staples I could fine to secure the screen place. I know it sounds to be a little much but my regular stapler was not work. I did it outside on the grass and dirt so it wouldn't stick to anything. I did the corners first and made sure the screen was nice and tight. Once all the staples were in I took a hammer to knock down the backs of them which allowed them to lay flat on the card board.

I attached a ribbon to the frame to be able to hand up against my wall with a trusty 3M Hook. And below is the final product! I am in love with it and can finally start to enjoy all my earrings. 

Busy Busy Busy

Sorry I have been lacking on the blog thing. I have been super busy, work has been great, long days but great. Keeping up with my masters for school. I went out of town last weekend. So needless to say I haven't had much time for some relaxing crafts. We have been repainting the house. Our walls use to be all white. Everything- white wall, ceiling, trim. But now we are using COLORS!!! My room is a Sunny Yellow with a Green Trim. My bathroom is a light Sea Green, and the hallway is a darker Sand Brown. All of them have a matching ceiling that is a light Sand Color. We still have the room that use to be my brother's which is now the spare bedroom/ workout room/ office. We have to finish the living room and my parents room. Eventually we have to overhaul the kitchen but I am pretty sure that is the worse room to do. We will see when that happens. As for now, I need to get my creative juices following and hopefully write up something fun for you all to try out. Have a great evening!

Money Saving Shadow Box

I have become slightly interested in Pinterest lately. Okay well maybe more than slightly interested, it has become part of my daily routine as well as bringing it up in conversations. Well I came across the following pin:

Source: uncommongoods.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Super cute, right? It is refered to as a Dream Bank, I wasn't the creative one to come up with that name. I would have called it a shadow box with a photo inside to save money to spend on a goal, as you can see I shouldn't come up with names for products. Nevertheless, I thought this would make a great Valentine's Day gift for my boyfriend, shhh don't tell him! He is wanting to save up for a few different things over the next year so I thought this would be great and I could even print out a couple of photos of the items that he wants. I continued to click the pin and found it on a website http://www.uncommongoods.com. This would certainly be the easy way out. But $25 is a little much for a shadow box and I was thinking I could do this and well I did! I found a 7"x7.5" shadow box at Michaels for only $3.99 plus I had a 40% off coupon (never go to Michaels without one). And with a little help from my father and his dremel tools we were able to cute the slip at the top. Here are some photos of the process as well as the finished product. Hope you like it, just as much as my boyfriend!

The Box before I started!!

I measured a hole that was 2.5 inches long in the center of the box

My dad helped me with his Dremel Tool to cut the hole.
Make sure you apply pressure to keep the Dremel steady

Now officially ready to be painted
Thanks Dad for the help

I painted it brown to match his house, nothing to fancy but classy

I gathered some Lamination Glue (which I found cheaper than Mod Podge),
photo squares, and I printed up pictures of some of the stuff he wants.
The paper I glued them on I cut out was 4x6, so if he prints up a picture it will be perfect fit!

I glued the photos squares in either direction. Remember the box is 7"x7.5"
Sadly not a perfect square, so I will make do

Check out the final project with a whole dollar already inside!!

It is a great money saving idea for yourself or a friend! You can paint it however you want. I am going to make one for myself soon, I will post a picture. Mine will be painted with bright and happy colors, just like my room. :) Send me the shadow boxes you design!