End of the year Teacher gift

Bekah's last day of pre-school was May 18 and I wanted to do something really special for her two teachers. They also taught Hannah last year so we've gotten to know them really well. I've seen lots of ideas for tote bags with beach supplies for teachers and decided to do my own version. I also wanted to do a personalized bag. The amazing hubby got me a brand spanking new sewing machine for mother's day (EEK! :o) ). So I knew I needed to take that baby for a test spin. I got some canvas bags from Michaels and went to town. 


First i painted a stenciled B using the freezer paper method onto each bag. Luckily Han's teacher's last name starts with the same letter as Bekah's two teachers first names. So I only needed one letter. 

Next I added some fabric ruffles from some really sweet fabric scraps I picked up in the clearance bin at JoAnns (1.00/ fat quarter bundle... score!). There are a million and one ways to make ruffles, but I love this tutorial from Positively Splendid. The tricky part was that i had to open up the seam of the bag, sew the ruffles on and then resew the seam closed. It wasn't difficult, but definitely took longer than I'd anticipated.

Then I filled the bags with lots of goodies for a fun time in the sun and added a little sunshine tag. 

Making the ruffles was the most time consuming part of this project, but i loved how they turned out! The lighting is terrible in these pics, but I really wish you could see how cute that fabric is! Oh well... maybe for my bday the amazing hubby will get me a new camera... A girl can dream right? :o)

Ballet Recital/ Preschool Graduation

As usual things have been super busy around the Mitchell house and we wouldn't want it any other way! The girls participated in their 2nd ballet recital and while it was a crazy week and pretty stressful, we had a great time! Here are some pics: 

Wonder which one is doing the right move?

Some of their class

One of our good friend's daughter is in our girls class.
The girls had a blast knowing they would see their friend every week.

Hannah modeling ballet

With their most favorite dancer of all time, Amaris.
My girls think she hung the moon!

With their teacher Mrs. Robin

Nana even came to visit! What a treat!

All ready for the last dance, tap.

Next up some pics of Bekah's pre-school graduation. I shed a few tears thinking about my girl growing up. Having the girls go to a Christian pre-school is probably one of my favorite things we've done. They've loved it, and I've loved knowing their foundation in school started in a loving, christian environment.

with Mrs Bonnie- who Bekah says gives the best hugs!

with Mrs Brenda. Her love for her students is just amazing!

How in the world are my girls going to kindergarten and first grade already? Time flies! 

Teacher Appreciation Week

The first week of May was teacher appreciation week. I have really loved my girls teachers this year so of course I had to make some special things for them. Bekah is finishing up her last year of pre-school and I've gotten to know the teachers there really well over the last couple of years so I wanted to make their gifts extra special.


Hannah's school sent home a list of what to bring each day so we followed along with that. 


Monday was candy so I printed out these adorable little boxes designed by Toni  of MBC and filled them with chocolates. They were a big hit! 

Tuesday was fruit so I made my own version of a fruit basket and used this super cute printable from Eighteen 25. Everything in it was fruit flavored. 

Wednesday the girls had to bring in a hand made card. I loved this idea! So of course thank you to Pinterest I found this awesome printable from... I feel horrible bc I can't find the site that I got this from. But there is a watermark so hopefully you can see who it's from. My girls really had fun with this and were the most excited to take these to their teachers.

Thursday was school supplies day so we went the easy route and made a very simple pencil bouquet. The girls made some tissue paper flowers with their grandmother a few weeks ago and it was the perfect way to use these. 

Friday was my favorite day. We got to send in flowers. I didn't want to just send in real flowers though. So I got a little creative. MBC had previously posted this idea. So I combined the printable idea from Monday with the flower idea to make these: 

Then I made a little note that said "Thank you for helping me grow" I loved how they turned out! 


The girls teachers certainly appreciated all of my hard work and I had a blast putting it all together. Next time I'll show you what I did for end of the year gifts. :o)