Guest Blogger: Year End Teacher Gift

I asked my friend Laurie to be a guest blogger today. I've known Laurie since college. My bestest friend and former college roommate is her sister Krissy (also a crafty mama.) Laurie used to come to visit on weekends. Who knew we would be talking crafts 20 years later!

Laurie is a former nurse and a SAHM. She has two gorgeous boys! Laurie came up with a great end of the year teacher gift (even though she insists she is not crafty!) I think any teacher would love getting such a cute, personal and yummy gift!

Laurie: "I thought of you (Mama King) as we finished these up tonight. Tomorrow is Matthew's closing ceremony for Preschool 3. This is our gift to his teachers for tomorrow. We baked choc. chip cookies (from scratch!- Am I crazy?) and put them in specially decorated boxes. Matthew painted 3 panels on each box and then I adhered 3 candid shots of him and him with some of his classmates from different events throughout the school year. I hope his teachers enjoy them. We had fun making them."

Laurie had the same dilemma all of us moms have...no pictures of us with the kids!
I asked Laurie a few questions about crafting and her kids.

Kiddos names & ages:
Matthew (Age 4), Ryan (Age 2)
What is a goto craft activity you do with your boys?
They are at different phases. Ryan, my youngest is happy just pasting stickers in a notebook for a stretch. Matthew enjoys anything with glue and glitter.
What do you personally enjoy creating / crafting?
I think I enjoy crafting for the holidays the most. I like themes. : )
Where do you get your ideas from?
I get my ideas from sites like yours, through family-style magazines, other moms and we have 2 great community centers who put out some interesting craft projects.
What is your favorite thing you have made or your boys have made?
I enjoyed making Matthew's Halloween costume last year. He was a scarecrow. We made a great straw hat with a crow and dried leaves for embellishments. He was very excited. Ryan really liked making your Easter egg sun catchers and they turned out very sweet.
Why do you think it is important to do craft projects with your boys?
I think it is important to do crafts with my boys for a variety of reasons. Some reasons matter more depending on the day. Some top reasons- Helps with small motor development, helps them practice sharing/taking turns, in some cases it gives me quality alone time with just 1, great when they need a sensory stimulator and just want to get their hands into something.
Besides crafts what other activities do you like to do with your boys?
We also enjoy cooking (baking), outdoor activities from sledding to hiking to splashing in puddles.
Do you have any tips (organization, cleanup, setup, storage...)
For any multi-step project, I try to plan it over a few crafting sessions. My guys don't do anything for too very long yet. We only do it while it's fun. If they start to get frustrated, I call it. I store most of our supplies in small (portable) totes in the basement where we have our kids' table and easel. I keep some go-to items like crayons, stickers and Crayola wonder markers right in the kitchen. Egg cartons and Popsicle sticks are very handy for kids first using glue. I saved a couple trays from the "Kid-Cuisine style" microwave meals. They made great organizers when we did our Easter egg sun catchers. Great for sorting sequins, feather, tissue paper decorations, etc.

Thanks Laurie for being my first guest blogger!