Riley and Rowan had a really lovely teacher this year. She has at some point taught all of my children, with the exception of Elly, but there's time for that. She is one of those gentle spoken teachers, who somehow still has controll of her class. I have an enormous amount of respect for her. Riley and Rowan brought home the neatest art projects from school. So, on top of being a lovely teacher, she's crafty!
I had seen a great crayon wreath on Pinterest (momspartycafe.blogspot.ca), and knew that was what I would make for her end of the year gift. I tailored the wreath a little. I found some really cute items at Michael's, and wanted to incorporate them into the wreath.
I purchased two 64 piece packages of crayons. I bought Crayola for the top layer and much cheaper Rose Art crayons for the bottom layer (you know the layer that you only really see the crayon tips on). I also found a wooden picture frame at Walmart for only $1.00. I popped out the plastic and the back, and it made a perfect wreath form. I was going to use wooden letters to spell out their teacher's name, but then I found the adorable blackboard easel. I had wanted a nice bright yellow ribbon for the wreath, but then I found the black Aa Bb Cc ribbon.
The very first thing that I did was to open the crayons and separate them into colours. It actually sounds easier than it is. It was tricky deciding what order to put the colours in. I assumed that the crayons would come packed in their monochromatic colours, but they were all higgly piggly.
I put the first layer of Rose Art crayons down first. I used my hot glue gun. Word of warning, hot glue gets super hot, and crayons have a low melting point... do you see what I am saying? In my head the circle was completely semiotical, and even. Oh in my head it was so lovely. The reality, was a little different. I should have remembered that although I LOVE crafts, I am not really all that gifted. My first crayons began their arch beautifully, the farther along I got, the less simetry there was.
After my first layer of crayons was down, it was time for the second layer. Once again, in my head it looked semiotical and beautiful. The reality, very different. There was a point where I thought "I can;t give her this piece of garbage!" The crayons were all ca ca, and pointing in weird angles. I am a perfectionist, and this nearly put me over the edge.
The little wooden easel (I painted the words) covered a multitude of sins. I then made my bow. I gathered the ribbon and used a twist tie to secure it. To cover the twist tie, I cut a small bit of ribbon and hot glued it over the top.
In the end the wreath was not perfect, but I'll be honest, I was pleased with the way it turned out. Riley and Rowan were really excited to take it to school today ( I packed it in a brand new pizza box). I must admit I am excited to hear what their teacher's reaction was to it. I hope that she enjoys it. More than anything I hope that I constructed it well enough that it wills stand up, and allow it to be a wreath.
So here we are, one day left of school, another school year come and gone faster than the last. I base my year, not on the calendar, but more on the school year. Every August I make resolutions to be more organized. This year I have started my resolution list earlier. I resolve to make lunches more fun. I plan to make at least one "Bento" lunch a week. Bento is the newest trend. It uses separated containers, and tons of fun. You can purchase boiled egg moulds that will mold eggs into fun shapes (like Hello Kity, and teddy bears). You can even buy googly eyes that you can make their sandwich smile at them. I vow to make lunch more fun, much less boring. Let's see if my resolutions last beyond October, they usually don't.
In the meanwhile I plan to enjoy my kids while they are home. I plan to recharge my batteries so to speak, and gather the stamina that I will need again for September. I love summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment