Dirty Little Third Graders

*Sigh*

I am going to do my best to sound chipper here. For the last six days both of my kids (and now husband) have come down with some sort of stomach bug. Kailani has missed several days of school, but yesterday I saw a glimmer of hope - hope that she would return to school and I would get my life outside of a pukie house back. 

Long story short, no such luck. 

That's alright. Maybe she'll be ready to go back on Friday, the last day of school before Christmas break. That will give me all day today to get my (last minute) classroom crafting done. Just as I was thinking it Kailani says,

"Mom, I don't have school on Friday. The class Christmas party is on Thursday."

"SAY WHAT?!?"

Enter the super-sonic-crafting-trance (on top of taking care of a sick family!) I needed to give something to her teacher and her classmates and I really wanted to avoid candy or sweets of any kind.

So, her teacher first. I have been SO looking forward to this project ever since I saw it posted at "The Idea Room":

Personalized bottles of antibacterial sanitizer and liquid hand soap! I titled it, "Mr. Kodama's Dirty Little 3rd Graders" and I put all the kid's names on it. 

I doubt anybody else will be giving him the same present. :)

Wanna know how I did it? Click here.

Now for the classmates. We were going to make reindeer dust again this year but opted for something different. Instead we bought a bunch of bells and ribbon and made each of her classmates a bell necklace. I reused some cardboard and painted it and cut it out to look like gift tags:

Bell necklaces for the classmates - 30 of them!

Nothing special on back! Just tape!

Did you know that I found one of these bell necklaces selling for over $5.00 a piece?!? Seriously. When I add it all up it cost about $.60 per kid! Of course that's not incorporating the cost of labor....  

So the super-sonic-trance worked. I got them all made and delivered to her class TODAY. YES. GO ME. I did it. 

Now....to get the family feeling better so we can actually enjoy our Christmas break! 

Are you looking for more homemade Christmas gift ideas? Check out "A Crafty Soiree" over at Katie's Nesting Spot! You'll definitely find some inspirations! Click on the button:

Last Day of School.....

Today is the last day of public school here in Hawaii. (I don't know whether to let out a big cheer or a big cry!) Kailani is graduating from the 2nd grade - unbelievable. I asked her if I would recognize her when I came to pick her up...since she would technically be a 3rd grader this afternoon and she said, "Mom, I don't know." So cute.

Well, I had all these great plans of what I wanted to do for Kailani's end-of-the-year teacher gift but next thing you know........the day is here! So yesterday (yes, YESTERDAY) I decided to make a reversible banner for Kailani's teacher. I've been wanting to make one for some time now and finally decided to do it. Here's how it turned out:


One side has her teacher's name and the other side is of Hawaiian prints. It was a bit of a pain as I made my own patchwork bias tape and appliqued each of the letters but I think it was worth it (and the lack of sleep).

Summer vacation....here we come!

Edited to add: I recognized Kailani after school. ;) AND....her teacher hung up the banner!

Graduation

*Sigh*

My kiddo is graduating today.

From 1st grade, that is.

Where did the time go? When I think of kindergarten and 1st grade I think of itty-bitty cute little kids. But 2nd grade? Sure, they are still cute but they are older and smarter. It's a whole different ballgame. Am I ready for it?

So yesterday of all days I decided that YES, I will send the teachers an end-of-the-year gift. Yeah. The day before the last day of school. I have no idea what they want or need. All I really know is that one of her teachers LOVES frogs. Since I totally procrastinated I had to think fast.

WELL! Since time is not of the essence I decided I would go ahead and SEW! Since we're moving back to Hawaii really wanted to use some GORGEOUS Hawaiian print fabric but what do you know. There isn't much of a selection here! I managed to find a few pieces from my own stash and went to work. While I'd rather the prints be more uniform and/or from the same designer line of fabric it wasn't happening. I had to use what I had.

I ended up making both of her teachers three reversible journal covers and wrapped it with a non-matching ribbon:



On the ribbon I wrote, "When you use these think of me....."

Last week I sent in some hibiscus cupcakes to Kailani's class that I ordered from a local bakery (we are not allowed to send in home baked goods - only baked goods from a licensed bakery.) as a "farewell Kailani" token. They turned out okay. Taste-wise I would also say "just okay". For the price I was expecting a bit more. I don't think any of the 1st graders had any complaints!


So goodbye 1st grade, hello summer vacation!