Just Jen

Easy Last Minute Teacher Gifts

If you're like me, the end of the school year sneaks up on you. And it gets CRAZY busy...or maybe it's just me that gets crazy... This week I needed teacher gifts QUICK. But still I wasn't willing to just phone it in with a candle or something I picked up in a hurry at Target.

 

Then I came across these super cute cups - $1.99 each. WINNER. I filled them with tropical starburst and jelly beans. The jelly beans help to fill in the gaps between the wrapped candy. I only used the white, red, orange, yellow, and pink jelly beans so the colors would match. Then I ate ALL the black ones, because I am the only weirdo on the planet that actually likes black jelly beans.

Here's a little trick for filling the treat bags - Start out filling just the bottom of the bag with a little bit of the candy, then drop it in the glass and finish filling it to the top. If you try to fill the bags up first, you'll have a really hard time getting it back down into the cup. Give it a shake to get everything to settle. Then close the top with a twist tie and finish off with a tulle bow.

I made cardstock tags and hot glued the gift card envelope directly to the card. Then, to make it a little more personal, I added my kids' favorite happy hour drinks. Tie it on with the twine and DONE. Super quick, super easy, and at less than $10 each, super easy on the wallet.

Have fun, and HAPPY SUMMER!

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Mini Birdseed Wreath Tutorial

Flag Bow Tutorial

Skillshare Portrait Class

Mini Birdseed Wreath Tutorial

Mother's Day is in just a few days, and this year I decided to make little gifts for all the moms on our block. After all, they've all watched my kids at some point... It takes, a village, ya know? These are simple to make, but it does take a little planning ahead. You don't want to try to start these on Saturday night.

I followed This Moment is Good's recipe and tutorial for the birdseed mixture, and it worked really well for me. I used this mini bundt mold for the wreaths. The silicone makes it really easy to pop them out once they set up. I let them sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before removing them from the mold, then I let them dry out on the counter for about 48 hours. You don't want to rush this part, or they could fall apart on you. Be patient! (Just like mom ;) Once they're all dried out, you are ready for the fun part!

What You'll Need:

tulle (or ribbon - you don't want to use rope or wipe because it will cut through the wreath)
scissors
hot glue gun
bird seed wreaths (see tutorial)
artificial flowers

Cut the tulle into 36" lengths. Cut a piece of cardboard about 9" long (taller if you want a bigger loop to hang from). Tie the tulle in a bow around the cardboard, trim the ends of the tulle, and slide off.

Insert the loop end of the tulle through the BACK of the wreath.

Pull the loop all the way through the hole so the bow end is near the back of the wreath. Take the loop up and over the top of the wreath, thread it back through under the bow, and (gently!) pull to snug everything up.

You should end up with the hanging loop caught under the bow facing the front on the top of the wreath.

Finally, hot glue your flowers on top of the knot in the bow to finish it off. I clustered 2 hydrangea blooms on each of mine, but you can use any flower you'd like. Done! They are ready to give away. Happy birds + happy mommas = Mother's Day success!

Skillshare Portrait Class

Have you discovered Skillshare yet? It is my latest obsession. So many great classes and so affordable! The last class that I completed was Start Drawing: Techniques for Pencil Portraits by Gabrielle DeCesaris, Portrait Artist. Pencil drawing has always been my favorite, but drawing people - especially faces - has always been intimidating. Gabrielle's class was packed with great info. By following the techniques she demonstrated in her videos, I was able to draw both my kiddos and...they actually recognized themselves. I'd call that a success!! :)

I started with some reference photos:

I drew my daughter first. I have always loved this pic of her. Such a pretty little subject, no? :) Her hair was my favorite part to draw with all those fun little flyaways.

  

Once I finished with Andie's, Jack asked if I would draw him too. I was having too much fun to be through, and who could turn down that sweet little face, anyway? :) The challenge with him was capturing the way he smiles with his eyes which lights up his whole face. That little smile brings me joy every single day. I'm not sure I would ever be able to fully reproduce it. I don't even think the camera does it justice. But I sure had fun trying. :)

I really loved this process, and though they aren't perfect, I am pretty happy with this first attempt and can't wait to get some more practice in. :)

 

"Jessie's Cold"

Andie LOVES her "babies." Especially her new Jessie doll that she got for her birthday. Lately she's been telling me, "Jessie's cold," and covering her up with blankets. I had watched her wrap up the baby dolls at church in little doll blankets, amazed at how this nurturing instinct is just hard-wired into little girls. I decided she needed a dedicated doll blanket at home too - and Jessie was cold, so the sooner the better. :)

I had this stash of charm squares that were intended for a larger project I never found the time to start. I'm kind of glad now, because I love the way they work in this little blanket. It's far from perfect, but I loved watching Andie's little eyes light up when I gave it to her. Jessie looks much more comfortable too. :)

I sewed a dress!

I used the same pattern from this top and just made the length a little longer for a dress. This pattern really is fun to sew, pretty quick (probably even quicker for those of you that actually have good sewing skills) and is really cute on.

Helps that my model is the prettiest little girl in the world, though. Not that I am biased. :)

Kids' Folding Chairs Makeover

Last weekend I hit Canton with a dear old friend for some much needed catch-up time. We definitely found more than a few treasures (necessitating a trip to the car to unload midday), but my favorite find has to be these kid-sized folding chairs. They were a happy sun-faded yellow, but in much need of a makeover. I paid $9 for the pair (score!), so that left some room in the budget to splurge on some fun vinyl fabric to cover them with. A little happy green spray paint, and they are better than new!

Andie Hat Makeover

Last night, I decided that one of Jack's old ball caps needed an Andie makeover. Though he did not see the improvement, I think she was a fan. She is such a hat girl. And a shoe girl. And a dress girl. She is such a girl!

The flowers and petals are much easier than they look. I cut strips of t-shirt and sort of folded and twisted them around like a cinnamon roll, starting in the center and sewing with my machine to keep the swirls in place as I went. The key is to not try too hard to make them perfect and just go with it!

I'd do a little tutorial, but I can't take pics while I'm sewing, so...
There are TONS of fabric flower tutorials already out there anyway, so take your pick!

I hand stitched the flowers to the top part of the hat and hot glued the one on the bill. Before I knew it I was done! So quick and easy!

Andie's Amineko

Andie doesn't know yet that we're dog people. She loves her "meows". I decided a stuffed one would be better than a real one, so I set out to find a cute kitty crochet pattern. I discovered the popular Amineko pattern (how have I missed this?) and decided to make it for her.

I love the way it turned out, and I think she does too. Now brother wants one - in blue and red, and minus the bow. Of course.

 

Lunch hour crafting - old school granny plastic canvas tissue box cover

In progress. For my desk at work. So tacky it's going to be awesome.

Wood bead t-shirt necklace

Jack has a few special friends that we made (ok, I made...) these cute necklaces for as Valentines. It's never to early to start training him that girls love to get jewelry on Valentine's Day...right?

Here's how to do it:

Paint wooden beads with acrylic craft paints and spray them with a clear acrylic sealer when dry.

Cut a 1.5" wide strip horizontally (so it will have some stretch) across the bottom of a white t-shirt. (You'll want to cut off the bottom hem of the tee first and then cut your strip. ) You'll end up with a big loop.

Cut into the loop so you end up with one long strip.

Center the first bead in the middle of the strip. Knot the fabric on each side to hold it in place.

Add the remaining beads to each side, knotting as you go.

Tie a simple double knot at the top to close it, and done!

Of course, we had to make one for little sister, too!