EASTER TREATS

This cute little package showed up on my doorstep this morning.  

I first thought the Easter Bunny decided to visit us early this year. 

Then I realized it was the work of

 my super sweet, incredibly stylish and unbelievably grateful friend, Crissy.

 And she lives in Switzerland.

Another friend recently went over to surprise Crissy and she took a little care package with her.

Some hometown friends, myself included, sent over a few goodies for Crissy and her family.

Not only did Crissy promptly thank me in an email, but she also sent us this cute little package.

I have mentioned Crissy before, but in case you don't know, 

she has a lovely blog, House of Marlowe.

Not only does she post about fashion, interior design, food and family, 

but we get to live vicariously through her 

as she and her family explore Europe. 

And every so often, she gives us a glimpse into her fabulous Swiss home.

Hippity, hoppity on over to House of Marlowe and take a peak around. 

You're sure to be inspired.

Oh, and I may or may not have eaten most of the sweet treats Crissy sent - all by myself!

Oops.

THE END OF AN ERA

My baby has his very last day of pre-school today.  It's bittersweet for me.  

Knowing my three children will be in school all day next year makes me a tad giddy 

and leaves me feeling guilty for being giddy. 

For the past 10 years, I have had a baby, toddler, young one at my side at all times.  

I have loved every minute of it, well, okay, almost every minute of it.  

I certainly wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world.  

Life goes on and my babies are growing up at a faster rate than I would like, 

but I am embracing it excitedly looking forward to this next stage in life. 

Here is the little cutie on his very first day of pre-school back in 2009. 

And here he is on his first day of pre-school this year (doing his homework)!

He has such loving teachers at his pre-school and

we wanted to give them something special on the last day.

This is what I came up with.....

 I started with these note pad sets from the Mara-Mi collection at Target.  

I really could have used one of these myself.

I used these supplies when making the flower pins we attached to the gifts:

felt 

scissors

1/4 yard of fabric

jewelry pins

hot glue gun 

First I cut approximately 12 circles of fabric. No need to be precise, a messy circle will do just fine.

Next you fold the circle in half.

(please ignore my neglected nails)

Then you fold the circle in half again.

Next you start attaching your petals to a felt circle with hot glue.

Keep adding petals until you get the desired fullness.

Lastly, attach the jewelry pin to the back of the felt circle with hot glue.

Add the flower to your package along with a printable gift tag 

and you have yourself an adorable teacher gift. 

My son has four teachers so I made one for each of them.

My husband and I are headed to Nashville today and I didn't get to see him off this morning 

(insert tears here), but my mom and my friend snapped a few pictures and texted them to me already. 

Looks like he picked out his own clothes (and accessories)!

Here he is with is best "girl"friend!  

I hated to not be there to give him a big hug and kiss on his last day of pre-school, 

but seeing these pictures sure made my day!

I still have a week and a half before my other two get out of school for the summer.  

I had better get my act together!

How about you, are you ready for summer?

SEW SPECIAL

Whenever my mom is in town, I always like to take advantage of her amazing sewing skills.  

Okay, "Take advantage of" sounds a bit selfish. 

What I mean is, I always beg her to teach me more about sewing.  

I had a vision in my head of a special birthday present I wanted to make for a good friend of mine.  

I knew my mom could help me make that vision a reality. 

Here is the reality.....

It seemed like such a simple project to me.  It didn't turn out to be quite as simple as I anticipated, 

but it involved fairly simple sewing skills and it took my mom and I about one hour to complete.  

I must admit, I was basically her assistant on this project.  

I did the designing, cutting and watching, she did the sewing. 

We lined it with this leftover wool fabric I had on hand. 

Look familiar?  It was also used to cover these wingback chairs.  

And I used some to make this ruffle wreath.

My friend is hard to buy for (even though she would disagree).

I knew she would appreciate a handmade gift.

I gave it to her on Monday and she loved it (or at least she said she did). ha ha. 

It took the front of a felted wool sweater to make the wristlet.

I already have the back of the sweater cut out and ready to go.

Now that I know how to make one, I think I'll give it a shot on my own.

Sharing with:

Savvy Southern Sytle

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Ginger Snap Crafts