The Blackberry Vine

Tuesday To Do #117 and #116 List Makers

2013-06-17T22:45:00.001-05:00

Happy Tuesday y'all!

It's that time again...

let's check out last week's List Makers:

Lovely Seaside Tablescape from Posed Perfection

35+ Bee inspirations from DIY Dreamer...perfect for an aunt with a sweet Bea of her own!!

Dana shared a yummy recipe for Sweet Ginger & Lime Chicken Kabobs

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

Tuesday To Do #116 and #114 and #115 List Makers

2013-06-10T20:49:00.001-05:00

It's a big day around our house today!

We're celebrating a birthday for one of my boys!

They seem to be coming too quickly for me!!

Let's keep the party spirit going and start the Tuesday To Do Party!

Let's check out the last two week's List Makers:

Yummy Avocado Mango Salsa recipe by Fluster Buster

Fun DIY Foam Flyers by Crafty Journal

Great ideas for a Photo Scavenger Hunt from Crafting in the Rain

Don't Mess with My Tutu made some gorgeous Crepe Paper Magnolia Blossoms

Navy Wifey Peters great looking Infinity Scarf

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

Tuesday To Do Party # 115

2013-06-04T16:05:00.000-05:00

Did you think I'd forgotten about you this week?!?

Sorry about that!

This is our kiddos last week of school (yeah, I know it's June...tell that to the powers that be!) and we've had A LOT going on.

Will you forgive me if I skip the List Makers this week and just double up next week?

Let's get to it!!

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

Tuesday To Do #114 and #113 List Makers

2013-05-28T14:10:00.001-05:00

Happy Tuesday y'all!

It's party time!

Let's see who is a List Maker this week:

Love the look of butter molds! Thanks to Stephanie for reminding us that it's all in the details!

Cute Flip Flop Wreath for your summer swim parties from The Hankful House

A Bright and Beautiful Life's yummy Caprese Pizza looks delish!!

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

Tuesday To Do #113 and #112 List Makers

2013-05-20T20:56:00.000-05:00

Before we get to the party today, can I ask a favor?

Please stop a moment and pray for everyone that has been effected by the recent tornadoes in Texas and Oklahoma.

We've been watching the news footage today from Moore.

It is tragic.

This little party seems so trivial.

Maybe it can be a distraction to some...hope for others.

But let's not ever forget what's really important.

Now, with that out of the way, let's see who is a List Maker this week:

Great Mickey Mouse Paper Lantern Tutorial from Jennifer at The Newlywed Pilgrimage

For all of those upcoming camp pendants, Rena Klingenberg shows how to make a leather choker

Food Ramblings' yummy recipe for Pretzel Salted Caramel Blondies.

These made the list because I need to incorporate healthier fare into my diet...whole wheat flour makes it healthy, right? Thinking I'll be making them anyway!

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

Teacher Appreciation Week Hospitality Events - Day One - Breakfast

2013-05-15T13:42:00.000-05:00

Over the next couple of days, I'll share our PTA Hospitality Events

that we hosted for Teacher Appreciation Week.

To start things off, I made a little invite to put in all of the teachers' boxes. Their days are so busy that it's nice for them to have a little reminder of the weeks activities.

Our week started off with a

"Do-Nut" Think We Forgot About Teacher Appreciation Week Breakfast.

We had donuts, fruit and breakfast tacos.

Our theme for the week was a vintage school house theme.

One friend loaned me her antique desk. Another friend had the cute school days cross-stitch in a ruler frame. I borrowed the McGuffey readers from my mom. Several moms donated the fresh sunflowers. Fresh flowers are just that extra touch that mean this is something special.

The tables for the teachers were set up with white tablecloths, covered with a gingham topper.

The little sunflower plants were wrapped with burlap and tied with ribbon. They became give-a-ways at the end of the week. Hydrangea blooms were placed in mason jars tied with jute.

The banner above the beverage table says "Carroll is Best in Class!"

We had a selection of Kcups for the teachers in the 3-tiered basket. Juice, water and soft drinks were also served.

We had a variety of donuts as well as a variety of breakfast tacos.

Table tents with the various taco flavors were placed in front of the chafing pan.

Mason jars tied with ribbons and placed in a wire basket held daisies.

We also had a ticket table for the teachers to sign up for a week of give-a-ways.

The little blackboard is held by my husband's grandmothers little student desk.

You can see some of the Kcup give-a-ways behind it.

My grandmother's old typewriter held a page detailing the instructions for the raffle.

(I printed the page on my computer with typewriter font.)

The wire trellis hold math flash cards from around 1905.

Cute little clothes pins were a cute and easy way to attach the cards to the trellis.

We used these decorations all week. In the past, I think they've changed the decorations each day. Our budget didn't allow for that, nor did my energy level!!

Stay tuned for more PTA Hospitality Event Ideas!

Smiles!

PTA Teacher Appreciation Gifts - Day Five

2013-05-12T20:57:00.002-05:00

On the fifth and final day of Teacher Appreciation Week

we gave each of the teachers these little potted petunias.

They made our PTA room smell so sweet!!

We attached the labels to cut down wooden skewers.

You can print your own label, just

CLICK HERE

To see our other PTA teacher gifts

click below

Stay tuned to see all of Teacher Appreciation Week Hospitality Events!

PTA Teacher Appreciation Gifts - Day Four

2013-05-12T20:56:00.000-05:00

On day four, we put these little bags filled with mints in all of the teachers' boxes.

I know, you've seen this everywhere already, but how many put in Andes mints?!?

EVERYONE loves ANDES MINTS!

One more day of PTA teacher gifts to go, then I'll share our daily hospitality events we hosted for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Other gifts this week:
Friday
Day one
Day two
Day three

Smiles!!

PTA Teacher Appreciation Gifts - Day Three

2013-05-12T20:42:00.000-05:00

On the third day of Teacher Appreciation Week we gave each of the teachers a Chinese take-out box filled with custom fortune cookies.

One side of the fortune had a "thank you" from the PTA and on the other side it had an inspirational teacher quote. They seemed to go over pretty well.

We order our take out boxes from Uline AND

the fortune cookies from KC Fortune Cookie Company.

Oh! And the Chinese symbols at the bottom of the label supposedly say "Thank You" in Chinese. We all laughed a little because we trust whatever we read on the internet! It could say something completely off color for all we know!

To see some of our other gifts, click below
First Gift
Day One
Day Two

Smiles!

PTA Teacher Appreciation Gifts - Day Two

2013-05-12T19:57:00.001-05:00

Our awesome PTA Hospitality Chair (aka me) had the task of coming up with affordable daily gifts for our AMAZING teachers and staff.

Our hospitality budget is pretty small so we have to be creative.

Giving each teacher a pack of pens was out of the question so instead, I went with a fun pen for everyone. They're called INFINITY pens and are permanent metallic markers.

(CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON THE PENS)

We just added the tag under the cap to help it look less chintzy.

Our week's theme was a vintage school house look so we used kraft paper for almost everything.

(You'll see this again and again through out the upcoming posts.)

The labels were printed on the kraft paper then simply punched out with the extra large scallop punch. Also, doing everything with the black ink saved some on costs as I could just use the ink jet printer.

CLICK HERE

for the First PTA gift

CLICK HERE

Day one gift

More gifts coming soon!

Smiles!!

PTA Teacher Appreciation Gifts - Day One

2013-05-12T17:42:00.004-05:00

The first day of Teacher Appreciation Week we asked the students to bring a flower and note of thanks to their teachers. To collect all of the flowers we gave them each a vase with a floral pick holding a Thank You tag. A lot of the vases were donated. One generous family probably donated 50 of the vases themselves. We are so fortunate to have such involved families at our school!

Don't they look pretty filled with flowers?

(This teacher actually needed TWO vases to hold all of her flowers!! What a great problem to have, huh?!?)

For the Free Printable Label

Click HERE

(printable on Avery Kraft Label 22808)

Click HERE

for the first gift we gave the teachers

Stay tuned for the whole week of gifts donated by our PTA!

PTA Teacher Appreciation Gift - Soap & Febreeze in the Teacher Bathrooms

2013-05-12T17:32:00.002-05:00

Friday afternoon, after all of the teachers' doors were decorated, I slipped in to all of the teachers' bathrooms and left these on the sink. They're not much, but it was definitely something the teachers noticed!

Here's a close up of the tags.

If you would like to use these tags for your own PTA,

CLICK HERE.

To see a post of some of the Teachers' Doors

CLICK HERE.

Teacher Appreciation Doors

2013-05-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

This year our Room Moms decorated each and every teacher & staff door!

We have an amazing group of families that are always willing to lend a hand!

They could either use the butcher paper or take home poster boards.

Many of them used two poster boards together. All of the signs were amazing!

Here are just some of the 60+ signs our Room Moms came up with:

Our GT Teacher

The Dyslexia Teacher

All of the kids' names are written around the edges of the daisies.

The jellyfish were made with some sort of see thru paper and yarn.

We Hit the Jackpot with Mrs. Floyd!

Music Teacher

The Cafeteria

The ESL teacher

5th Graders made such special doors.

Baseball is an important part of Mr. T's life.

Here are some links I share with the room moms:

http://theteacherwife.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-super-bulletin-board.html

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/04/15/teacher-appreciation-door-decoration-ideas/

http://www.mommyblessings.com/2010/05/teacher-appreciation-door-decorations.html

(The one above has many different pictures)

http://ewehooo.blogspot.com/2011/04/teacher-appreciation-week-bulletin.html

http://ateachersfilecabinet-otherstuff.blogspot.com/2010/05/teacher-appreciation-door-decoration.html

http://manilapta.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/teachers-have-class/

http://room-mom101.blogspot.com/2013/04/thanks-for-all-you-dew.html

http://room-mom101.blogspot.com/search/label/Teacher%20Appreciation%20Week

Smiles!!!

Teacher Appreciation Gift - Post It Notes

2013-05-11T18:32:00.001-05:00

The final day of Teacher Appreciation Week's theme was

"It Should Be Posted EVERYWHERE! Our Teachers are the Best!"

The students were all asked to bring a pad of post it notes to their teachers.

If you've followed for awhile, I gave post it notes as a Teacher Appreciation Gift two years ago, too.

You can see that I just revamped THAT IDEA here.

CLICK HERE to see my first Post It teacher gift.

An easy way to wrap up a post it pad is to simply put it in one of those cellophane treat bags and tie with a bow. You can buy 50 of those bags for between $1 - $2. Once you have them, you find a million ways to use them!

Keep in mind, most students interact with more than their main classroom teacher. Taking a little something to those other teachers in your child's life will mean so much to them!

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Previous Years' Gifts

Smiles!!

Teacher Appreciation Gift - Duct Tape

2013-05-11T18:31:00.000-05:00

Day four of Teacher Appreciation Week's theme was

"We're Stuck on You!"

Students were asked to bring duct tape, highlight tape, glue sticks or magnets.

We chose some of the cute duct tape we've seen around.

I really thought about just writing on the outside of the tape, but I was already on the computer so I went ahead with these labels.

Again, I just printed them off on white card stock, punched them with the extra large scallop punch and attached them with a glue dot.

If you missed Day Two

CLICK HERE.

If you missed Day Three

CLICK HERE.

Don't forget to include your kids' "Specials" teachers when you are purchasing gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week!

Smiles!

Teacher Appreciation Gift - Clorox Wipes

2013-05-11T15:53:00.003-05:00

Day three of our Teacher Appreciation Gifts theme was

"We're Coming Clean! You're the Best!"

Students were asked to bring Clorox wipes, Lysol or paper towels.

(Paper towels may seem strange, but the only place in our school you will find paper towels are in the Kindergarten rooms and in the teacher bathrooms. If there happens to be a spill in the classroom, the teacher either uses her own paper towels or Kleenex!)

I printed off these labels on white cardstock, punched them out with an extra large scallop punch, had the kids write the teachers names at the top and their names at the bottom and stuck them on with a glue dot.

Feel free to print your own labels HERE.

If you missed Day Two TAW gift

CLICK HERE.

Smiles!

Teacher Appreciation Gifts - Dry Erase Markers

2013-05-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

This year our school focused on bringing gifts that our teachers could really use...well, except for the first day when we showered them with flowers. Flowers are just a nice thing, right?

So, on the second day, the theme was

"Our teachers receive high marks!"

The students were asked to bring a dry erase marker.

Can you imagine what a great day it would be for a teacher to receive a dry erase marker from each child?!?

We found a deal on dry erase sets at Sam's.

I just made a quick tag on the computer, cut it out and taped it with clear packing tape to the package.

Easy, peasy lemon squeezy!

Because getting gifts for each child's teacher as well as each special teacher can be expensive, we decided to spread out the gifts for the specials teachers. The P.E. coaches got a gift one day, the music teacher another day and so on and so on.

(Please remember these teachers. They give so much of themselves everyday and often get overlooked during Teacher Appreciation Week. Also, the librarian, nurse & office staff appreciate being recognized as well.)

Stay tuned for more gifts from teacher appreciation week!

Smiles!!!

Tuesday To Do #111 and #110 List Makers

2013-05-06T16:35:00.001-05:00

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week Y'all!

We got our TAW off to a great start this morning.

Hopefully I'll be able to get it on here soon!!

For now, let's check out last week's List Makers:

I'm going to have a ton of burlap left over after this week...Ashley's Dandelion Wishes has several different ways to use it!!

The Best Blog Recipes shared a yummy recipe for Barbecue Chopped Chicken Salad

This is a well thought out and organized nursery from Meredith at an Unoriginal Mom

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

Tuesday To Do #110 and #109 List Makers

2013-04-29T21:31:00.001-05:00

Hey friends!!

Hope y'all are having a great week so far!

Busy, busy with Teacher Appreciation Week prep here.

Check out last week's List Makers:

Yum! Life Unexpected's Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Great tutorial for Crepe Paper Anemones from Twigg Studios

Fun Camper post from The DIY Dreamer

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

Tuesday To Do #109 and #108 List Makers

2013-04-22T18:24:00.002-05:00

Hello my bloggy friends!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

We had loads of fun this weekend and I'm exhausted.

Let's just get to this week's List Makers:

Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark by Steak N Potatoes Kinda Gurl

DIY Reversible Kitchen Mat by Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy

The Hankful House's Prayer Jar

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

"Nacho" Average Salad Bar

2013-04-18T18:31:00.000-05:00

Isn't that a great name for the luncheon?

The Kindergarten moms came up with it!

We put it on the little invites that we stuck in all of the teachers/staff boxes.

It was a great meal with all of the fixin's!

They used deli rotisserie chicken from Costco, shredded it and served it on a platter garnished with peppers and cilantro. It looked gorgeous! The chicken would have still tasted great without the garnish, but it would not have been as appetizing. Notice the tent cards labeling the food. This is always a great touch!

They chose a lot of their serving pieces to reflect the them. Isn't that the cutest way to serve salsa?

They had cheeses, lettuce, chips, tortillas, beans, queso, ground beef, tomatoes, onions, sour cream and every other thing you might want on a taco/nacho salad. It was delicious!

The room looked so great! When we're in there, we just block out of our minds the stacked desks and other items found in the room. I take pictures forgetting you'll see them!

Their dessert bar & beverage station was just as gorgeous as the Nacho Bar.

This event was in February so they also incorporated Valentine's into their decorations.

You can see the Nacho Bar behind the table.

One of our awesome teachers!!!

(We think she's the BEST teacher! We've had her twice!!!)

Our lead room moms that put this all together!

They did such a fantastic job!!!

Oh! Check out the red burlap that they used to cover the cabinets in the background.

I love how they tied the little sunflowers and raffia on the edges to give it a scalloped effect!

So clever!

For other Teacher Appreciation Lunch/Meal ideas:

Soup and Salad

Dessert Bar

Brunch

Soup and Salad - Teacher Appreciation Lunch

2013-04-17T18:27:00.000-05:00

Teacher Appreciation Week is just around the corner and I know lots of you are gearing up for it.

In case you're new to a school or possibly the PTA Hospitality position, I thought I'd share with you what some of the awesome families at our school have done.

About every 6 weeks, a different grade level hosts a meal for our teachers and staff led by the room moms of that grade level. The Soup and Salad Luncheon I'm sharing tonight was hosted by our awesome Third Grade families.

A great tip for this type of lunch is 1) use the plastic liners for the crock pots. (The moms that clean up with LOVE you for this one!) and 2) label all of the soups. If your soup may contain an item that may possibly be an allergen, be sure to note it!

These families made sure there were plenty of fresh breads and crackers, too!!

To be sure we have enough of everything, our volunteer coordinator sets up an online sign-up sheet. There are many available for free online.

Please don't forget dessert! As a rule, the homemade desserts usually go first. We're happy for whatever we can get, but make if fresh if you can! Also, fresh fruit is also appreciated for those that may be watching their sugar intake.

The decorations for this luncheon were simple, yet effective.

Fresh flowers always add that special touch. A bonus with the fresh flowers is that you can give them to your teachers after lunch. I know our Third Grade teachers enjoyed having them in their rooms for a few days.

The beverage station had lemonade, tea, sodas, water and plenty of ice.

Our PTA has invested in beverage dispenser which have come in very handy for these events.

We also have invested in REAL white tablecloths. They are easy to launder and serve as a good base to most of the decorations.

A few of our amazing teachers enjoying their lunch!

Some of the great moms that worked hard to put this event together.

We definitely hit the education jackpot with our families, teachers and staff!

What are some of your favorite Teacher Appreciation Lunch ideas?

Smiles!

Magic Show Cookie

2013-04-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

Here are Brodie's 8th Birthday Cookies.

His mom bought that super cute invite on Etsy. I tried to find the shop so I could add the link for you, but I couldn't. I'll keep looking!

She asked for mustaches as she had also decorated the envelope with them.

Everybody loves a mustache!

Smiles!

Tuesday To Do #108 and #107 LIst Makers

2013-04-15T15:30:00.003-05:00

Happy Tuesday To Do Y'all!!

Hope you're having a super, happy, wonderful Monday!!

Did you get anything done on your To Do List last week?

Me neither...but that doesn't stop this "glass half-full" gal from continuing to add to her list!

Let's check out this week's List Makers:

Hand Embroidered USA by While Wearing Heels

Monthly Meal Calendar by Parlo & Logi

Jelly Bean Baby Shower by the Bunch

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!

Tuesday To Do #107 and #106 List Makers

2013-04-08T21:50:00.003-05:00

It's Tuesday To Do time again!!!

Thanks for all of the great link ups last week!

Y'all are so talented!!

Check out this week's List Makers:

Craft Interrupted has some super cute Star Wars party favor ideas!

I'm loving Coconut Oil, too! Thanks to Barb for putting together a great Coconut Oil resource post!

Urban Sky hosted a "Classy" Bachelorette Party...lots of beautiful touches!!

If you were a List Maker this week, feel free to grab a List Maker button...

just click on the buttons tab.

Before you link up your newest posts, please take a moment to do the following:

1. Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Follow The Blackberry Vine...Google or RSS.

3. Link back to the party (a sidebar or separate tab is A-OK with me!)

After you link up, stop by a few of the posts and say HI!