Valentine's Day Gifts

Yesterday I sent to school not only cards and sweets but also teacher appreciation gifts.

Anyone recently on Pinterest has seen the crayon initial frame. Get your frame from Wal-Mart. I paid about $3. You'll need glue sticks and glue gun. I used an entire box of crayons as well. I created the template on Word and printed out the initial with the full last name spelled out using Word art and then rotated it to the far right so there would be room. I went ahead and placed the template behind the glass and secured it. Then I placed the crayons, still as is, on top of the glass frame to see which ones would need to be cut. I would tell you to make sure to have a very sharp knife and use a clean plastic cutting board. You should also keep a hand towel to wipe off excess crayon off the knife. Once you have an idea of what needs to be cut and how, go for it!

You will use hot glue to secure the crayons. I kept them in place and removed one at a time and hot glued it to the glass. This means the crayons will be on the outside of the glass.

Wipe off any crayon excess off the glass. Voila! Initial crayon frame for teacher.

I also made paper rosette frame and used Tagxedo.com website to create artwork I placed inside of frame. For the back of the frame I used cardboard and colored card stock.

I used words to describe the teacher, her name, etc. if you haven't used this site do so soon. It's free and easy to use. You can also upload shapes from your own pictures. You add your own words and Voila! Instant art :) .

If you haven't tried making paper rosettes from card stock just know its super easy too. Cut a square any size, then take scissors and cut in a circular pattern so when you are done you have a spiral mobile. Then take one end and twirl paper inward. The explanation and pictures pinned to my Pinterest account describe this much better. But best thing I've learned from Pinterest thus far. Everyone loves them and asks for them.

Last night as our family Valentine's Day dinner, we made homemade pepperoni pizza and watched movies. I used store bought dough from Wal-Mart. It's usually about $3 and purchased pizza sauce for about $2. I added mozzarella and pepperoni.

I've made pizzas in the past using Boboli which can get very expensive and not really like pizza crust. I've also added mushrooms and green peppers, etc. Pizza making is a fun and easy bonding activity with kids. Plus its healthier. They also like being able to make something.