Apple Candy Dish for Teacher Appreciation Week

With Teacher Appreciation Week quickly approaching (May 5th-9th this year), I thought I'd whip up a quick and easy craft that is the perfect gift to show a teacher you care.  As a former elementary school teacher, I know how much work really goes into teaching our little ones, and how great it feels when students take the time to write a quick little note or make me something- it was the best feeling!

This week I'm excited to be teaming up with the Craft Lightening ladies to bring you lots of great ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week!  This little apple candy dish would look great on a teacher's desk, and is filled with candy for when the end of the day is coming and he or she needs a little sugar… been there done that!

I chose gold coins, because our teachers are truly worth their weight in gold!  This craft is pretty easy, and can be made in under 15 minutes (not including the paint drying time).

Here's what you'll need:

• Paper mache apple (I bought mine at Michael's a year or two ago, but found a link to them in an etsy shop here)
• Red spray paint
• Craft knife
• Sharp knife
• Free leaf printable
• Candy to go inside the apple- you could also use school supplies like paper clips, erasers, etc.

Directions:

1.  Using a pencil, draw a light line horizontally all the way around the apple to show where you will cut.  Use a craft knife to carefully cut the apple in half .  I assumed that the apple would be hollow, but it was Styrofoam in the middle.  Once you have made the cut with the craft knife, use a regular sharp knife (be careful) to slice the apple all the way through so there is a top half and a bottom half.

2.  Once the apple is cut, use the knife to cut down around the inside top and bottom of the apple, and scoop out the excess Styrofoam with a spoon.  Cut and remove until the apple is hollowed out and smooth around the edges.  

3.  Spray the apple inside and out with a few light coats of red glossy spray paint.

4.  Print out the free leaf printable and cut out the leaf.  Wrap the leaf stem around the base of the apple stem, and use a small piece of tape to secure the leaf to the apple.

5.  Fill the apple with treats or small school supplies for the teacher.

Told you it was easy!

Your child will move to the head of the class with this cute little apple teacher gift, and you'll be glad that it only took you 15 minutes of hands-on time to make!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Holiday-Scented Play Dough Recipes

I had planned on posting this earlier in the month, and even though Christmas is only two days away, I just couldn't let Christmas pass without sharing these fun recipes with you!  I told my kids that I was going to make them some scented play dough, and had them brainstorm all of their favorite tastes and smells of Christmas.  They came up with our Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies (one of our delicious cookie traditions), candy canes, the smell of our Christmas tree, and I came up with eggnog, because I just LOVE it! ;)

So off to the kitchen I went to try and turn our favorite scents of Christmas into yummy-smelling play dough for the kids.  I started with the basic play dough recipe that I always use (you might remember it from the cinnamon-scented glitter play dough recipe).

I knew I would be making four different scents, so I doubled the recipe, and then split the finished play dough into four balls, ready to color and add scent to!  The recipe I am sharing below is the recipe for one batch of play dough.  If you are making all four scents, then I recommend doubling the recipe, and halfing each batch.  The scent additions that I am sharing are for one whole batch.  If you are splitting up the batch, then adjust the ingredients accordingly.

Best of all, this is a no-cook 4 minute play dough recipe, so it is really fast and really easy.  You can even mix it up in your Kitchen Aid using the dough hook, and avoid the stirring with a spoon. Couldn't be easier!

Four-Minute Basic Play Dough Recipe:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
• 1 cups of boiling water
• Glycerin (optional- a few drops)

1.  Mix the first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl.  The Kitchen Aid is an easy option- just use the dough hook!

2.  Add the hot water and a few drops of glycerin (optional, but it gives the dough more shine).  Turn on the Kitchen Aid for a few minutes and let it mix and knead the dough.  (If you are not using a Kitchen Aid, then stir until the dough turns into a big sticky ball,  and then knead it for a few minutes on the counter.)  The kneading is what makes the stickiness go away, so don't skip this part!  You can also add some flour if it is still sticky.  This step is when I add the color and flavor, too, and knead well to mix it all in.  Recipe adapted from here.

Now for the fun part- adding the scents and colors!  I used half of a recipe for each scent, but I will give you the proportions for making a regular batch of play dough for the above recipe.  Just be sure to half the ingredients if you are making half the batch one scent and half another scent.

Although the play dough will smell good enough to eat, this play dough is NOT edible! Don't let your kids eat it!

Chocolate Mint Play Dough:

This smells great, just like my favorite Andes Mint chocolate cookies fresh out of the oven!  Very chocolatey with a little hint of refreshing mint. 

ADD:  3 Tbsp. cocoa and 1 tsp. peppermint extract.  You don't need to add any color because the cocoa gives it a lovely brown chocolate color!

Eggnog Play Dough:

I just love egg nog, and this play dough smells JUST like the real stuff, spicy and delicious!  Even though my kids don't like egg nog, they still loved the smell of this!  You just might find yourself wandering over to the play dough to get a sniff, they smell THAT good! ;)

ADD:  1 1/2 tsp. rum extract, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp, cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, and a tiny tiny bit of yellow food color.  The spices will give the play dough the speckled look of egg nog, which I love!

Christmas Tree Play Dough:

This one was a little trickier, because I couldn't think of any pine scented oils or spices.  BUT, we have rosemary bushed that smell very similar to Christmas trees, so we used rosemary oil to scent it, and the kids loved the smell!

ADD:  20 drops of rosemary essential oil (available in health food stores or online) and green food color.

Candy Cane Play Dough:

Who doesn't love the minty fresh smell of peppermint at Christmas time?  

ADD:  3 tsp. peppermint extract and red food color.

I hope you enjoy these holiday-scented play dough recipes as much as we did!  If you keep them in an airtight container, they should last you for months.

These would also make great gifts for little ones to pass out to their friends, or to give to cousins or neighbors.  I had some cute little Martha Stewart Christmas muslin bags that were perfect for packaging these up and giving away!  Just be sure so seal them in a plastic bag first so they don't dry out.  If you try them, I'd love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment below! 

xo, Laura

DIY Disney FROZEN Gift Basket

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.  #FrozenFun

Have you seen Disney's FROZEN yet?  If you haven't, you have GOT to go!  We took our kids to see FROZEN the day it came to theaters (our usual routine for new Disney movies), and we all LOVED the movie and the amazing songs that were sung.  Of course after seeing the movie my kids wanted the beautiful dolls and FROZEN toys to play with, so I decided to put together a fun gift basket to put under the Christmas tree that they are sure to love!

I love putting together gift baskets because you can tailor everything to the person you are giving the gift too.  In this case, I wanted everything to be FROZEN related, so that meant Disney FROZEN toys, snow, and snowflakes.  I picked up lots of adorable FROZEN toys at Walmart.  They had a great selection of toys that I know my kids will love to see under the tree on Christmas morning!

The Musical Magic Anna and Elsa dolls are the ones I am the most excited about, because if you press their hands they light up and sing a song from the movie.  So cute!  I'm giving one to each of my daughters, since they are sisters like Anna and Elsa.

I just couldn't give my girls a FROZEN gift basket and not include loveable Kristoff!

I like this set of toys because all of the main characters are in the box, including Olaf, Sven, and Hans. This set will keep my five-year-old occupied for hours!

And last but not least, I included this set with Anna, Elsa, and Olaf that I know they'll love.

There were lots of other FROZEN toys, too, to choose from at Walmart that I might have to go back for ;)

I also bought a big basket, some sparkly snowflake ornaments, white batting, and then gathered some white spray paint, clear glitter, and snowflake ribbon that I already had.  The basket I bought was the perfect size for the toys, but not the perfect color.  It was a light grayish color.

I wanted the basket to be white and sparkly like snow, so I gave it a few coats of white spray paint, and then added clear sparkly glitter to the whole outside of the basket.

I then sprayed it with a clear sealer to make sure that the glitter stayed on the basket and not all over my floor.

After the basket had dried, I added almost a whole bag of batting to the inside to fill the basket up and to look like a blanket of snow.  Then I added the toys in, bigger boxes in the back, shorter boxes up front.

I tied a bow around the front of the basket with some pretty snowflake ribbon, and then added a glittery snowflake ornament to the front of the bow to add some more shine and to further enhance the FROZEN theme.

I cut the strings of a few more snowflake ornaments, and tucked them into the toys and the "snow" in the gift basket.

Isn't it pretty?  I had planned on wrapping the whole gift basket inside some clear cellophane and tying a big bow on top, but I didn't want to take away from the sparkle and shine of the basket and the snowflakes inside, plus this way my kids will be able to see the toys better before digging in and opening up their new toys!

While shopping for your FROZEN toys at Walmart, be sure to stop in at the Subway inside select Walmart locations like we did.  My little shopping buddy and I worked up an appetite with all that shopping!

If you buy a Fresh Fit Kids Meal, then the meal will come in a cute reusable FROZEN bag (through January 6th) with exclusive collectible designs and an exclusive FROZEN key chain.  Subway Walmart locations are the ONLY place you can get the FROZEN key chain when you buy a Fresh Fit Kids Meal.  My Walmart Subway was out of key chains, but we still got the cute reusable bag and a FROZEN puzzle.

I can't wait to see the look on my kids' faces when they see their FROZEN gift basket filled with toys from their new favorite movie!  I'm thinking I need to buy the soundtrack, too, and add it to the basket.... maybe with a tag that says "To Mom" on it?  ;)

xo, Laura

A "Scent"sational Christmas Gift Idea

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Tis the season for Christmas shopping!  I have a handful of Christmas presents that I have already bought for family members, but I still have a lot of shopping to do.  I recently was shopping at Walmart, and noticed a new area where they were selling lots of celebrity fragrances, just like you would buy at the department store, but for a whole lot less!

As soon as I saw the Wonderstruck Enchanted by Taylor Swift perfume gift set for only $19.99, I knew I had just found the perfect gift for my tween daughter, who is a Taylor Swift fan, and has already told me that she loves her perfume!

Wonderstruck Enchanted smells similar to Wonderstruck, Taylor Swift's previous perfume, but is not quite as sweet.  It is a blend of berries, floral notes, and vanilla, and has a slight woody, musk scent. This scent is perfect for fall and winter, but is also light enough to wear year round.

This fragrance was also the winner of the 2013 Fragrance Foundation Award for the Celebrity Fragrance of the Year, so you know it's good!

I love that there are full tester bottles at Walmart, so I could try out some of the other celebrity fragrances that were being sold at Walmart.

I was very impressed with the selection of scents that they were selling, many of which I had been eying on my recent trip to a higher end department store!  Each of the celebrity scent gift sets also comes with a free ring tone download of the celebrity's voice, which is a fun bonus.

I can't wait to give my daughter her new perfume gift set!  Now I'm trying to decide which scent I want to buy for me next. ;)

    

Check out this digital magazine to get some great ideas for the holiday!  You can find more celebrity fragrances inside the magazine, too!  You can also see all of the available celebrity fragrances being sold at Walmart by going to http://www.scentsavings.net.

Happy shopping!

xo, Laura

Orange Slice Pumpkins + Halloween Treat Bags

This is not a sponsored post, but I was given amazing craft products to share with you!

It's almost time for the big day!  Are you ready for Halloween?  Today I want to share with you a quick and easy little edible pumpkin that's made out of orange slices and watermelon sliced (the candy), and show how I put together some adorable Halloween treat bags for my kids' friends.

First of all, have you seen the Martha Stewart Crafts Halloween Collection this year? Nobody does Halloween better than Martha, and this year is no exception!  I am absolutely in love with the Animal Masquerade Burlap Treat Bags (as well as anything Martha!), and I decided to use these to make a treat bag for my kids to give to their friends on Halloween.

There are six bags in a package, there are three different designs in each pack.  Time to fill up my treat bags!

To do this, I turned to one of my favorite Martha Stewart Crafts products- the Test Tube Favor Kit!  I have to admit that I bought a package of these a few Halloweens ago, but have been hoarding them ever since, loving them so much that I didn't want to give them away!  Now that I have more, I can share :)  The kit comes with eight plastic test tubes, cork stoppers, and labels, perfect for giving away treats to friends or at a party!

I decided to put candy corns in mine, and attach my free printable Halloween cupcake toppers (printed at 80% size) to the top by punching a small hole in the topper, and then attaching to the test tube with black and white baker's twine.  I like the way the test tubes poke out a bit from the treat bag, so that you can see the tag and get a little sneak peek of what's inside!

I also included gummy worms, chocolate Halloween coins, little skeletons, and some orange slice pumpkins that we made.  These orange slice pumpkins are sooo cute, and take less than a minute to make!

Youll need two orange slices and one watermelon slice for each pumpkin.  Simply cut the tops off of the orangle slices so they are flat and cut the curved green top off of the watermelon slice.  Stick the two orange slices together, and add the green top to the middle.  Couldn't be easier (or cuter!).  This is a great activity for kids, too, because a butter or plastic knife works just fine for slicing the pumkins, and they are so easy and quick to make- and delicious to eat!

We made some to put inside the Halloween treat bags as well, and now they're ready for giving!

I wish I were throwing a big Halloween party this year just so I can pass out these amazing invitations!

Martha Stewart's Animal Masquesrade Invitation Kits are so well made, they paid attention to every little detail.  There are a set of pretty masks that come with each invitation, beautifully printed words on the front and back of the envelope, and the black and white striped envelope lining.... love!

Martha Stewart Crafts has so many great products in their Halloween line this year, you really need to check them out!  Here are some more of my favorites...

How cute are these Gothic Manor Skeleton Treat Bags?  Perfect for filling up with yummy treats.

These Martha Stewart Gothic Manor Beverage Labels are sure to add some spookiness to your Halloween drinks!

Decorating your home for Halloween is easy with these Haunted House Wall Clings... just stick onto your walls and mirrors, and simply peel off after Halloween.

I hope you enjoyed my treat bags and orange slice pumpkins, as well as some of my favorite Halloween picks this year. 

If you're looking for a great Halloween meal to serve your family, why not try my Spooky Spaghetti with Eyeballs?

My free printable Halloween cupcake toppers would be a great addition to your Halloween treats (or test tube labels)!

Have you printed out your own  fall activities bucket list punch card?  Punch a hole in the pumpkins each time you complete a fall activity with your family!

This make at home Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice drink tastes just like fall, and is a great treat to have after making a craft or doing a fun fall activity ;)

Have a happy and safe Halloween!!

If you liked this, I'd love for you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura