Teacher Gifts

Minty Muddy Chex Party Mix // A Fun Holiday Goodie

2 · Dec 16, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Ahhhh, I love this time of the year! Everyone is starting to focus more on family and getting ready for the holidays. I know in our house with the weather cooling down we are also slowing down and doing more things together like watching movies and playing games together. With all that… We are constantly on the look out for good snacks. One of our all time favorite is the iconic Chex® Party Mix. You can never go wrong when you are snacking on Chex® Party Mix!

Let's start with the cereal it's self… They have EIGHT different flavors! Seven of them are gluten free (Wheat Chex® cereal is not. For more Nutritional information please visit this site and make sure you read each label.) They have everything from Rice Chex®, Corn Chex® and even some super fancy ones like Chocolate, Vanilla and even Apple Cinnamon Chex® Cereal. All of them are like blank canvases when it comes to making Chex® Party Mix. Seriously… The sky is the limit. Don't believe me, check out the Chex® Party Mix Recipe site and you'll see all kinds of fun ideas. The nice thing about the party mix is that, yes… you get to have some of those scrumptious treats that we all crave but, you also get a nice helping of some good whole grains from the Chex® Cereal. Win / win!

The kiddos and I decided to create our own salty & sweet Chex® Party Mix recipe to have around the house. We call it Minty Muddy Chex® Mix and it's a fun flavor combination of sweet chocolate, Jiff's Whipped Peanut Butter & Chocolate Mint Spread, Peanut butter pretzels and salty Corn Chex® Cereal. It's sweet and nutty all at the same time. The bonus… It only takes 15 minutes to make!

Minty Muddy Chex® Party Mix Ingredients

8 cups Corn Chex® cereal

2 cups Vanilla Chex® cereal

1 cup butter

1 cup Jiff's Whipped Peanut Butter Chocolate Mint Spread

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 vanilla

1/2 cup powdered sugar

salt

1 cup mini M&M's

2 cups Rold Gold peanut butter pretzels

Minty Muddy Chex® Party Mix Directions

Start with a small microwave safe bowl. Add a 1/2 a stick of butter, the chocolate chips and the Jiff Whipped Peanut Butter Chocolate Mint Spread. Microwave in 30 second segments until the mixture has melted and is nice and smooth. Remove from Microwave and stir in vanilla. Place 3 cups of Corn Chex® into a large bowl and drizzle chocolate mixture on top. Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the Corn Chex® Cereal. Place the chocolate covered cereal into a large Ziplock bag and add powdered sugar into the bag. Seal bag and shake the bag until the chocolate covered cereal is covered with the powdered sugar. Pour out onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Place in the refrigerator to set.

In another small microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, add the remaining butter. Place in Microwave for 45-60 seconds or until melted. Add the remaining Corn Chex® cereal into a large microwave safe bowl and drizzle the butter over the top. Add a generous amount of salt to the bowl and gently fold in the butter and salt into the cereal. Once the mixture is mixed well, place in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the microwave and place in the refrigerator to cool for a few minutes.

Once your salty and sweet mixture is cool and set, place into a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Now, this snack is fabulous to share with family and friends during all of your favorite activities. This year I am going to make up several large batches and then bag them up as a fun holiday treat to share with neighbors, friends, co-workers, the mailman… anyone really!

This post brought to you by Chex® cereal. I have been compensated and given free product for my time & commitment, but all opinions are 100% mine

DIY Lace Flower Pots

7 · Dec 10, 2013 · 3 Comments

This post is brought to you by Elmer's Glue // I'm super excited to share this idea with you guys today! This time of year I am ALWAYS looking for fun handmade gift ideas. Gifts that are easy to make but huge on the WOW factor. These DIY Lace Flower Pots fit the bill just perfect!!

These are PERFECT neighbor gifts, teacher gifts… anyone really. Add a poinsettia or a festive evergreen and it's a stylish gift for anyone. Here's what you need to make them…

Lace Flower Pot Supplies

Terra cotta pots – any size.

Lace – for smaller pots, you can use scraps, larger pots will need possibly a yard or so. You will have to measure your pots for exact measurements.

Elmer's Craft Bond Fabric & Paper Glue

Scissors

Lace Flower Pots Instructions

First you need to measure the lace and make sure that it will fit your desired spot on the pot. Then generously add glue to the pot in small sections and lay the lace down.

Use your fingers to work glue around the lace. Don't worry about the white color. This type of Elmer's Fabric & Paper Glue dries clear. Make sure that all of the lace is covered in the glue and then move on to the next section.

NOTE: You may want to wear disposable gloves when working with the glue. I didn't and it took a bit to wash off my hands.

Trim the lace so that the seam doesn't show and then smooth everything down. Let dry over night. The next morning, you will have the most beautiful lace flower pots. It's just that easy! Now, all you have to do is figure out what you want to fill the pot with. You can fill it will any kind of indoor plant or you could fill it will a scrumptious batch of cookies. It's your call!!

You will be amazed at how strong the glue is! I actually tried to pull the lace off once it was dried and couldn't. I ran water over it and it still looked like new when it dried. Gotta say… Pretty happy with this gift idea!

What would you fill your DIY Lace Flower Pots with?

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Elmer's Glue. I am a member of Elmer's Craft it Crew and received payment and product for this post. Rest assured, I will never work with a brand or product that I don't whole heartedly endorse and use in my every day life.

12 Free Start of School Printables // Great Teacher Gift Ideas

141 · Aug 14, 2013 · 24 Comments

12 free back to school printables // It's here, it's here! Well for some of us anyway. It's back to school time! My kiddos actually started school yesterday, so we are already in full swing school mode. Some of you still have a couple more weeks before those school bells start ringing.

Today, I've teamed up with my talented Printable Club friends to share 12 fabulous back to school printables that are sure to make this year even more magical for your kiddos!

I created a fun printable tag, that when added to a stylish notebook along with some pencils or pens will make a great 1st day teacher gift. If you're feeling extra generous, you can add a Target gift card or something to really earn some extra brownie points.

I found my notebooks at Target along with the gold pencils that paired nicely with the gold accents on the notebooks…

I layered the printable tag with some gold vellum and then cut slits into the sides and fed a ribbon through to secure the tag to the book. I used glue dots on the back of the book to secure the ribbon in the back. It worked rather slick! If you would like to print a fun tag for your kiddo's new teachers this year, all you have to do is click on the arrow in the box below to download the printable tag from Box.com…

For even more printable fun, click through this blog hop to find 11 more free back to school printables from some pretty talented ladies!!

1 // The Dating Divas – A Back To School themed dinner for setting goals with your spouse AND the kids!
2 // Somewhat Simple – Fun and quirky Back To School Tic Tac Labels: Arm your kids this school year with cootie antibiotics, brain cell boosters, and more!
3 // Whipperberry – A great gift for your teacher to start the year off right!
4 // Crafting Chicks – Teacher Emergency Kit to wish them a great year!
5 // Tatertots & Jello – Instagram-ready "hashtag" first day of school photo props.
6 // L'il Luna – An adorable Back to School Teacher Gift!
7 // My Sister's Suitcase – Printable Keepsake to record first and last days of school memories!
8 // I Heart Nap Time – A small gift for the first day of school.
9 // The 36th Avenue – A weekly chart to help keep your kids on track.
10 // Paging Supermom – Free Printable Lunchbox Jokes to brighten your kiddo's school day.
11 // The TomKat Studio – A "Bright" Printable Gift Tag for Teachers!
12 // The Idea Room – DIY Back-to-School Homework "To-Do" Notepad

Ruffled Apple Pencil Holder // Back to School

1 · Aug 11, 2013 · 3 Comments

Back to School // Hello fabulous Whipperberry readers! Jenn here from Clean and Scentsible! I am back today with a cute and easy teacher gift idea for you. Yes, unfortunately {or fortunately for some of you!} it is almost back to school time!

One of my favorite projects from last year were these ruffled pumpkins. With just a little change of color and a few different embellishments, this idea was easily able to be adapted into this ruffled apple pencil holder.

Materials

4 inch Styrofoam ball
straight pins
red felt {I used approximately 10 8.5 x11 inch felt sheets}
green material or felt scrap {big enough to cut two leaves}
hot glue {optional}
pencil or pen
3 inch punch or other circular shape to trace for the felt circles
mini-chalkboard {optional}

To Do

Cut out or use a paper punch to create a circular template that is approximately 3 inches in diameter. If you are using the 8.5 inch felt sheets like I did, you may want to trim this down just a bit so you can get 3 circles across.
Cut out your felt circles. I'm not sure exactly how many I did but definitely over a 100. Place 2 or 3 sheets of the felt together when you are cutting so you can cut out multiple circles at one time. It's a great mindless activity to do while you are watching your favorite television show! 🙂
Using a knife, cut a small sliver off the bottom of the Styrofoam ball so that it will sit flat.

Using a pen or pencil slightly larger than your pencil width, poke a hole through the center of your ball. {this should run the full diameter of the ball}.
Take a felt circle, fold it in half and then fold it in half again. Place a straight pin through the pointy part of your felt circle and pin it to your Styrofoam ball. Start at the top of the ball and work your way down and around the ball overlapping your circles as you go.

The last row of pins on the bottom of the apple were a little loose and a couple of them were starting to pop out so I hot glued one more circle over top to cover the pins up and ensure that they stayed in place. It gives it a much more finished look as well.

I have had these mini-chalkboards lying around in my stash forever and I can't remember where I purchased them from. I just used one for my picnic caddy and had one left over. I just used a little stain to darken up the wood and added the teacher's name with a chalk pen. I used another straight pin to attach it to the apple.