Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas

I loved being in school. Especially elementary school! I had the greatest teachers-so many that I can't even choose a favorite. I had some really amazing teachers in high school, too. Looking back, I wish I could have showed them when I was a kid how much I really appreciated them. Now I have a few great friends since childhood who grew up to be school teachers. I'm sure they are someone else's favorites! Ms. Oswald, Ms. Oswald (Twin sisters who both became teachers, how fun is that!), and Mrs. Steiner have been friends of mine since we were little kiddos and now all three of them are elementary school teachers in Utah. They're such great examples to their students and the kids just love them. Thank you so much for all that you do, you three! I hope you know how much I love you and cherish our friendship.

Teacher Appreciation Day is May 8th and it's the perfect opportunity to let a teacher know how much you appreciate everything they do. These teachers go through so much for our kids and don't get enough recognition for it. Teacher Appreciation Day is the one day set aside just for them. And I'm excited to pass on some fun ideas for you to show that special teacher just how much you care! These could also work for the last day of school, back to school, for the room mothers/teachers aids, etc.

School Supply Cake @ What's Scrappin'

A couple of moms could get together and make this darling cake. I would love to present this to a teacher! They would love all of these school supplies.

Berry Basket + FREE Download @ Eighteen25

"I Couldn't Have Picked a Better Teacher" - Such a cute idea! The berry soap, sanitizer, and car freshener come from the spring/summer line at Bath and Body Works and smell amazing. I love this idea! The girls at Eighteen25 always come up with the cutest ideas and share their printables with us. Thank you so much!!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies @ The 36th Avenue (featured at Tatertots & Jello)

This jar of cookies would make any teacher's day! There is a FREE printable for this one as well. Thank you, 36th Avenue! (These cookies would be good with Reese's Pieces, too!)

Past Teacher Appreciation Projects @ Eighteen25

The girls at Eighteen25 are seriously some of the most creative out there. Follow the link above for all kinds of simple and sweet ideas for your child's teacher. Each includes a separate link to the original posts so you can easily find what you're looking for!

"Teachers are a Treasure" @ Lizard & Ladybug

With Hershey Nugget chocolates and a couple of printables, you've got yourself a sweet and creative little gift!

"Thank You for Helping Me Grow" @ Giggles Galore

I love this idea! A small flower pot from Hobby Lobby with a little bit of paint is transformed into a super cute little gift. I especially love the ruler around the edge. Very fun!

Countdown to Summer @ Eighteen25

I love this gift idea because it can be used every year in the classroom. And the kids will enjoy it too! Who isn't counting down to summer? Especially when we're so close to it!

Countdown Printable @ Eighteen25

Eighteen25 wins this year for the most creative Teacher Appreciation gifts! I really like this printable idea. It is featured over at Eighteen25 today. First, print off the printable in the color you choose for your teacher. (There is a blue one too.) Then simply place it in a frame. The teacher can write with a dry-erase marker the number representing how many days are left till a specific event. Summer, a field trip, a party day, etc. Great idea and very simple! Everyone in the classroom can enjoy it.

Chex Lemon Buddies + A Gift Idea for Mom

Mother's Day is just around the corner! It's time to start making decisions on what to get for those wonderful moms out there. When my husband asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day I told him

jewelry!

I LOVE jewelry and cannot get enough. And these days my favorite place to shop for it is

ShopLately.

ShopLately is my FAVORITE one-stop shop for all things jewelery and accessories. This shop has everything you need and a lot of it. There are all kinds of earrings, bracelets, rings, and watches to shop from. And it doesn't end there! We're talking handbags, scarves, hats, clothing, and more! It's a fabulous website.

The quality of every piece of jewelery I've ever bought from ShopLately is just the best. It has such a high quality feel for an AWESOME price.

One of my favorite parts of ShopLately: the sale racks.The sale racks change all of the time and feature all kinds of jewelry and accessories. We're talking $5 for earrings that are regularly $25. Or $11 for a necklace that's regularly $33. Awesome deals. They last about 3 days each time. When you sign up with ShopLately you'll get a daily e-mail of what is on the current sale rack so you don't miss out on any deals. I love it!

And did I mention that the shipping price is ALWAYS $2.99 no matter how much you're buying? It's seriously a dream come true.

A few things I'm eying on the sale rack right now:

I've been able to get some seriously fabulous gifts for lots of ladies in my life over the last few months, thanks to ShopLately. For example:

My sister-in-law got this great necklace from us for her birthday in March. When I saw her wearing it I immediately regretted not getting one for myself. I want it in red too!

A few more things I have my eye on:

I have those Chevron Earrings in Multicolored but I want them in Neon Orange! Honey, if you're reading this post today, this is my way of helping you out! I'm giving you hints and it's going to make things much easier for you, I promise. :)

Ladies and gents, head over to ShopLately and take a look around. You're sure to find something perfect for those special women in your life this Mother's Day, as well as for future gifts. Sign up for those daily e-mails so you won't miss a single sale rack. You never know what you'll find!

Happy shopping!

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Now that we've got Mother's Day figured out it's time to plan what's going on the table for dinner! Or in this case, an after dinner treat. I am a HUGE fan of Chex Muddy Buddies. They're one of my favorite indulgences and I could probably eat an entire bowl by myself, if I was given the opportunity. These Chex Lemon Buddies are a fun twist on the classic treat and perfect for spring time. That zest of lemon mixed with white chocolate is just what this mama needs for an after-dinner sweet treat on Mother's Day. They're easy to make and even easier to inhale, so watch out! :)

Big thanks to Chex.com for the image!

Chex Lemon Buddies

Chex.com

makes 24 - 1/2 c. servings

• 9 c. Rice Chex cereal
• 1 1/4 c. white chocolate chips or white baking chocolate
• 1/4 c. butter or margarine
• 4 tsp. grated lemon peel
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 c. powdered sugar

Directions

1. Into a large bowl, measure the cereal and set aside.
2. Place white chocolate chips, butter, lemon peel, and lemon juice into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir, then heat again for about 30 more seconds or until the mixture is smooth when stirred. Pour the mixture over the cereal, stirring till evenly coated. Pour into a 2-gallon resealable food storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal the bag and gently shake until well coated. Spread on wax paper or foil to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Look What's Happening On GroopDealz...

My favorite bakers twine from The Twinery is over on GroopDealz today! It's $8 a spool, which makes it 43% off. You don't want to miss this deal, my friends!

And while you're there, take a look at these super cute Oval Chalkboard Viny Decals. They're only $4! These would be so fun in a kitchen, a kids' room, or maybe in a classroom. Teacher Appreciation Day gift possibly?

{Please Welcome} Guest Blogger Melissa from The Party Works

It's finally time for another guest blogger! It's been way too long and I've missed these posts. Today I'd like to introduce you to Melissa from The Party Works! Melissa is a guest blogger who writes about the joys of motherhood, event planning, and how to make your child’s birthday party special with things like Mario party supplies. Check out the Mario party supplies here! They're so awesome!



I love planning birthday parties for my son. It's one of those things I start planning months ahead of time so I can get everything just right. But sometimes it's really hard to come up with ideas on what to do at the party! This year in particular was really tough for me. I looked on all kinds of blogs for Toy Story 3 party ideas and finally ended up coming up with some ideas only days before the party. Melissa is going to make next year's party planning a lot easier because she has brought with her three different ideas for crafts for young kids to make at a birthday party. Melissa, I thank you for these ideas! They're all so cute and doable.

Take it away, Melissa!

Three Birthday Party Crafts for Young Kids

If you want to throw your child a crafty party this year, you may be wondering what kinds of crafts you should plan for your child and the other party guests to make. If your child is young, between the ages of 3 and 6, planning age-appropriate craft projects for his or her birthday party can be difficult. You don’t want to task the party guests with craft projects they can’t handle. On the other hand, you don’t want the crafting activities to be so simple that the kids become bored. If you’re struggling to come up with a party agenda of craft projects, here are three crafty activities you might want to consider:

Decorate Your Own Cookie



This activity is pretty simple, and kids love it. Just bake some big sugar cookies and let the party guests decorate them with icing, sprinkles, and other sugar-based decorations. You can even have a contest and give a prize to the child who decorated his or her cookie the most creatively. When kids are done making their cookies, they can eat them, or you can put them in Ziploc baggies for them to take home when the party ends to show off to their parents.





Make Your Own Fun Picture Frame

You’ll need some inexpensive wooden or plastic picture frames, glue, and things like beans, buttons, shells, and feathers for this activity. The kids will glue the various decorations onto the picture frames to make their own fun picture frames. Kids who are younger than five may need a little help with the gluing part of this craft, so be ready to assist them. To make this craft extra exciting and special, you may want to take Polaroid pictures of the party guests and let them put the party photos in their picture frames.

Wall Painting

Don’t worry. The kids aren’t actually going to paint on any of your walls. They are, however, going to enjoy this fun activity that’s a lot like actually painting on the walls. All you need for this craft project is a big sheet of paper and some finger-paints. Colorful bulletin board paper is a great kind of paper to use. Tape the paper to one of your walls, so it covers the wall entirely. You will probably need to overlap sheets of the paper to completely cover the wall. Put some newspaper on the ground underneath the wall. Let the kids paint the paper and have fun working together to create a beautiful painting on a very large canvas! You can also try this activity out outside on one of your garage doors, for instance, if you’re concerned about the mess from the paint.

These are just a few of the crafting activities you can plan for your child’s party. Kids love to express themselves creatively, so get ready for a very fun party full of crafting!

_________________________________________

Big thanks to Melissa for being a guest blogger today! Be sure to check out The Party Works to find everything you need for your next birthday party!

If you are interested in being a guest blogger, please e-mail me at
cupcakediaries1@hotmail.com.
No strings attached! It would be fun to hear from you!

Ritz Cracker Chicken

I recently asked my husband if he had any suggestions about something for dinner. His response was, "A casserole-style dish with a crunch." I knew exactly what I could make that would be just that. This isn't the fanciest dish on the planet, but wow, it's easy! And it tastes delicious, which is even better when you live with at least one picky eater. Which brings me to my next point: my toddler loved this! He couldn't get enough of the crunchy, creamy goodness. Yay!

Ritz Cracker Chicken
adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything
(I forgot to take an "after" picture so I'm using the one from The Girl Who Ate Everything! Big thanks!)

This recipe makes a 9x13 dish of casserole. But since there are only three of us in my little family I cut the recipe in half and put it in an 8x8 baking dish. It was perfect for us and we still had leftovers!

• 5 c. chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (or sliced however you like)
• 1 c. sour cream
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 c. crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
• 1/2 c. melted butter
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tsp. minced garlic

Cook your chicken the way you prefer to cook it. I boiled frozen chicken breasts for 35 minutes. Normally I boil it for 40 minutes but the chicken will cook a little more as it bakes in the oven later on. Let the chicken cool enough to handle then cut it into cubes or slices.

 Then place the chicken in a 9x13 casserole dish (or 8x8 or 9x9 if you're cutting the recipe in half).

Stir together the cream of chicken soup and sour cream, as well as the minced garlic. Pour the mixture over the chicken.

Crush the crackers in a food chopper, or place them in a plastic baggy and crush them by hand. In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds, and melted butter. 

Sprinkle the cracker combo over the chicken and sauce. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. You can serve this by itself or over rice. We ate it by itself this time, but with rice or broccoli would be really yummy!

Whitney Farms®: Continue to Feed, Nurture and Enhance Your Love of Gardening!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

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I'm excited to start growing my own produce for the very first time. I only want the best for my family and Whitney Farms® will allow me to do that. It would be nice to have an organic garden too. Whitney Farms® could really improve my garden versus conventional plant food.

organic soil

I have an idea in my mind of what I would like to have my flower garden look like one day. It would look something like this:

I can't wait to get started!! And thanks to this $3 coupon, I can get started at a discount! And so can you by fowlling the link. Thanks, Whitney Farms®! organic plant food