Make | Could Be Interesting

Mother’s Day Gift Basket

by emilyalder on May 9, 2013 • 2 Comments

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and I’ve put together a simple gift basket for my garden loving mom. This time of year my mom is out in the garden as long as possible on Saturdays and Sundays.

Mother's Day Garden Gift Basket // Could Be Interesting

I put this together in a single day with some gifts I knew my mother would love to have around during gardening season.

Mother's Day Garden Gift Basket // Could Be Interesting

Hand painted linen towels, Hyacinth Seeds, Ocean Blossom Votives, Gardenmis Lavender Sachets, Lollia Wish Hand Creme, Rifle Paper Co. Garden Calendar, Corsica Stripe Shawl

I also threw in a couple of freshly cut roses from mom’s garden so she can see what all her hard work has created.

I have to give a shout out to Amazon Prime, because half of the items came with free 2-day shipping. Who can say no to that!

Mother's Day Garden Gift Basket // Could Be Interesting

What are your plans for Mother’s Day? We are planning brunch at a local restaurant and a fun day in the sun.

To All Those Teachers Out There

by emilyalder on May 8, 2013 • 1 Comment

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Aside from being a mom, one of my life goals was to be a teacher. I have always loved children, inspiring others, educating, and learning. Everything I have learned from my lifetime came from family and teachers. I truly believe teachers are a second family. They are the people there, supporting you, encouraging you, caring for you. While my goals to become a teacher were sidelined when I had Thomas, that love, appreciation, and admiration is always there. I will always be eternally grateful to all of the teachers I have known in my lifetime. They are the makers, the inspirers, the foundation.

Teacher Appreciation Gift // Could Be Interesting

With that being said. Happy Teacher’s Appreciation Week! This year our Thomas stepped up to kindergarten and what an incredible year. He has learned and grown so much. His wonderful teacher has been the one keeping us updated, watching over him, and including us in everything. It has been a huge year, so exciting and wonderful.

I have been lucky enough to volunteer almost each week in class. Getting to know all the great kids in Thomas’s class has been beyond wonderful, but getting to know the teacher was the icing on the cake. Mrs. May’s is without a doubt one of the most kind, thoughtful, and friendly teachers I have had the opportunity to get to know. So when it came to Teacher Appreciation Week, I knew, I wanted all of us to do something special.

Teacher Appreciation Gift // Could Be Interesting

For our gift, Thomas and I filled a galvanized bucket with the linen towels we made, a few pictures on a seashell photo holder, Escape Moonlit Walk Candle, Hello Weekend Pencils, All Natural Fudge Mint Cookies, Tic Tacs, a gift card to GAP inc., Starbucks Iced Coffee Mix, Krave Beef Jerky, and some homemade pistachio nut & mixed berry snack. It was great to have Thomas walking around the store telling me what he thought his teacher would like.

Teacher Appreciation Gift // Could Be Interesting

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you to Mrs. Mays and all of you wonderful teachers, teachers aides, administrators, and coaches out there!

Mother’s Day Gift Idea – Hand Painted Linen Towels

by emilyalder on May 7, 2013 • 1 Comment

Mother’s Day is Sunday, I’m pretty sure you knew that, so let’s get to the good stuff. Not only are we celebrating Mother’s day this weekend, but it is also Teacher Appreciation week.

For both occasions I am putting together some gifts for my mom and Thomas’s teacher. For each special lady we are making some hand painted towels.

Hand Painted Towels // Could Be Interesting

In my experience, this is always a great gift for any one who spends time cooking. They are inexpensive to make and you can always use another dish towel. Linen is so resilient and gets softer with age, you really can’t go wrong. I am always running out of dish towels. They, combined with pot holders are my least favorite things to wash. So really, I can never have too many of these simple dish towels.

Supplies:

Linen Flour Sack Towels - like these

Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Paint – I used Deep Sea

Paintbrush

Painters Tape

Newspaper/Craft Paper

Like I said, this is a simple DIY gift and can be put together in less than an hour.

Hand Painted Linen Towels // Could Be Interesting

Steps:

Set up your drop clothe or whatever you are using to make sure your paint doesn’t get everywhere.

Once you have that secured, measure out your painters tape and line it up with your towel. There are all kinds of configurations you can put together with the tape. Design freedom, doesn’t it feel good?

Make sure the tape is tight on the towel to stop the paint from bleeding.

Once the tape is on paint away.

Let the paint dry and remove the tape.

I usually make sure to wash the towels beforehand and let them sit in the sun for a while after I am finished.

Hand Painted Linen Towels // Could Be Interesting

Another great thing about this project is that it’s kid friendly. If a parent sets up the tape, the kids will have a blast painting and helping you to create the gift.

Hand Painted Linen Towels // Could Be Interesting

Alright, go have fun with it and check back tomorrow and Thursday for our Teacher Appreciation Gift and Mother’s Day Basket.

DIY Valentines Tic Tac Toe

by emilyalder on Feb 11, 2013 • No Comments

It’s time for school valentines again. Which means kids are going to be heading home with candy. But let’s face it there are only so many ounces of candy you want around the house. So we strayed from the treat route this year and made a fun game for the kids.

Could Be Interesting | Tic Tac Toe DIY