Teacher or Grandma Gift: “We love you all the time!” Clocks

Love You All the Time Clock

I’ve made at least eight of these clocks for teachers and grandmas. It’s a fun personalized gift for Teacher Appreciation Week, the last day of school, or Christmas.

To make your own clock, you will need:
Clock (Mine is 12″)
12 photos (Mine are just printed at home on regular paper.)

Colored card stock
Glue stick
Scissors

Here’s the “before photo” of the clock:

Clock

Step 1: Print “We love you all the time!” on colored card stock.  You may have to experiment with font sizes to make it fit your clock.  You will need a large space between the words for the center (which holds the hands of the clock.)

We love you all the time

Step 2 : Remove the clock from the box.  You’ll do this by unscrewing the two screws on the back of the box.

Step 3: Remove the glass from the front of the clock.  You’ll do this by taking out all of the screws on the back of the clock.

Then you’ll have to remove the plastic circle that is holding the glass on the clock.

Make sure you save all the screws!

Step 4: Decide how large you want your center circle(s).  I used a vase and a bowl to cut out two circles. The center circle will need to fit around the words, so find a bowl that’s larger than your type and still fits in the center of your clock.  Paste the circles together with a glue stick.  Find the center of the circle with a ruler.  Cut a straight line from the edge to the center, then cut a nickel-sized circle in the center.

We love you all the time

Step 5:  Cut out your face circles.  On a 12″ clock, I found a bug spray can was the perfect size!  Trace your circle on card stock to make a template.

cutting circles

Use this template to trace around each face.

Then cut out the faces.

Glue the circles over top the numbers with a glue stick.

Step 6:  Wiggle and gently bend your circle (with the words) around the hands of the clock.  Then glue it in place by lifting up the edges.

Step 7: Replace the glass and plastic rim to the front of the clock.  Drill the screws into the back.

Step 8: Return the clock to the box and re-drill the two screws in the back of the box.

Step 9: Wrap it up and add a card!

 

ABC Books- Perfect Gift for Toddlers

ABC Books

My mother-in-law has given these books to my kids when they turned two years old.  I have helped several of my friends make them as well.

ABC Books 

There’s a photo for each letter of the alphabet.  Some of my friends have pasted multiple photos on each page but I like the simplicity of one photo per letter.  Some of our books have fabric covers and some are just plastic covers with a piece of paper slipped in front.  Any way you do it, the kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having their own books.

I have used small 5.5 X 8.5 inch binders with a 1-inch ring for these books. The page protectors fit a half sheet of paper. They also measure 5.5 x 8.5 inches. I go to local scrapbook stores to find the paper and use their dye-cuts.  Most stores let you use their dye-cuts for free if you buy their paper!

 

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

Isn’t Christmas so fun?! One of our favorite holiday activities is making little gingerbread houses out of graham crackers.

Last Christmas, I helped A LOT of kids make candy-covered cottages. We made twenty in my son’s kindergarten class, thirty in my other son’s third grade class, and five at home. –So I am feeling like a real pro. Here’s what to do:

Gingerbread Houses

Collect empty milk cartons at school lunch. Rinse the cartons and leave right-side-up and open so they can dry. Once dry, close the cartons and staple the top so they will stay closed.

Milk Carton

Collect lots of sugary decorations and lay them out on plates. Some ideas for decorations include cereal, cookies, licorice, sprinkles, pretzels, gumdrops, candy canes, kisses, gingerbread men cookies, M&Ms, Smarties, jellybeans, coconut, chocolate chips, and gummy bears.  At school, we sent a note home with the students to ask parents to donate candy and decorating supplies.

Decorations

Prepare Royal Icing. You’ll need to double/triple+ recipe if you are making many houses. I have found one recipe will make about five houses. I used 4 lbs of powdered sugar for 20 students and 6 lbs for 30 students when we made the houses at school.

Recipe for Royal Icing

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice or vanilla

2 egg whites

Put the egg whites in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until frothy. Stir in lemon juice. Add sugar. Beat with mixer until thoroughly mixed. The icing should be very thick but thin enough to push through a small decorating tip. 

 

Scoop the icing into quart size Ziploc bags– two large scoops per bag. When you are ready to work on the houses, snip a corner off the bag, then push the icing toward that corner to pipe out.

Before the kids begin, give each child two small paper plates, 6 graham cracker squares, and a milk carton.  One paper plate will be used as the base for the house.  The other will be used to carry candy and other sugary decorations from one location to another.  –At home we didn’t need two plates because the candy was on the same table as the children.  At school, we had a table with all the treats and the students worked at their individual desks/tables.

Royal Icing

Explain to the kids that you and the other adults will be the “gluers”. Divide your group into manageable sections– 4-8 kids per adult. The kids should raise their hands whenever they need more icing. The adults roam around the room, piping out icing as needed, and complimenting the little engineers with great enthusiasm.

Gingerbread House

Happy building and Merry Christmas!