Super-Teacher-Belt

 

This week is staff appreciation week at my oldest daughters school. The theme is super heroes. So we decided to make a super-teacher-belt, you know like batman has but only for a teacher. We thought about four fairly inexpensive tools teachers need and then set to work.

We used duct tape to make the belts. The best way to do this is to run the duct tape between to metal bar stools, or two kitchen drawer pulls, sticky side up (note: doing it on wood can ruin the finish of your furniture). Then slowly tape another piece of duct tape to the top, remove from stools and fold over ends.

Then make your super hero belt buckles. We used the school colors and the teachers initial. Make the shape you want and then trace it over and over for how many you plan to make. We chose the superman shield shape. An oval would work well too.  Cut out of nice card stock and glue together. Duct tape the buckle to the belt. We taped them together by using two pieces of duct tape behind the buckle, one at the top of the shield and one behind at the bottom, rather than a loop tape stuck to the back.

 

Finally tape your items to the belt. We used Sharpie markers, travel tissues, glue sticks, and Post-it notes. You could also use pencils, rulers, snacks, tin of paper clips, etc...

The teachers loved them! Some tied them on and some taped or stapled them on. They were about a yard and a half long for a one size fits all. NOTE: when buying the fancy duct tape you can only get about 5 out of that roll, with no mistakes. I'd stick to regular.

 

This idea could easily be adapted for a party favor for a kids birthday party. Instead of teacher gifts put on toys and candy or even super hero stuff. Some fun ideas can be, paddle ball, boomerang, licorice, punching balloon, a mask or those funny glasses with the nose and mustache.

Enjoy!

Birthday Crown Tutorial

Birthdays are so much fun. In our family we have a tradition that I make my girls a birthday crown to wear on their birthday. They are two sided so they can use them for two years. But sometimes I just put their initial on it. Below are some pictures of the crowns I've made for some of my friends and family. The boy crowns Velcro and the girl crowns tie a bow in the back.

So if you are interested in making one for your child, here is how to do it!
First pick out two colors of fabric at the store; a quarter yard of the main color and an eighth for the secondary color. Cut out a 5 pointed crown shape from a 6" x 18" rectangle.

 Print out your letters or numbers in the size you want. (if you are fancy just do this with your cricut). Then thickly pencil over the letters.

 Flip it over and rub off the pencil on to a sheet of heat and bond paper.

 Iron them to the back side of your secondary color. Cut out.

 Place them on the crown where you want them and iron them down.

 Then stitch each letter or number or flower down one by one.

Cut out two thin layers of batting or one thick to match the crown.

 Cut out two straps about 1" by 5" for a boy and 1" by 24" for a girl.

 Sew the straps, good sides together, on 3 sides leaving one of the small sides open.

 First snip the corners of the sewn strap with scissors close to where you sewed the one end shut. Then using a pencil on the sewn shut end push up to invert it.

 Pull the rest of the strap down over the pencil. Then you can grab the good side and pull the rest down.

 Then either using the pencil from the inside or just rolling each of the sewn corners between your fingers, to make the corners more of a right angle.

 Place both of the finished straps between your two crown pieces. Make sure you have sewn your letters or numbers to one or both sides before continuing.

 Pin the straps in place so you don't accidentally sew them in the seam of another part of the crown.

 Sew around the whole crown leaving one two to three inch hole open on the end of the straight bottom side of the the crown. Snip close to the seams around the tops of the points and in the valleys of the points of the crown. This will help it be more pointed when turned right side out.

 Snip off the excess straps and trim the batting.

 Turn the whole thing right side out. Iron it after all your valley and points are straight and sew up the bottom to the corner. Lastly for boys add Velcro to the straps the more lenght of Velcro you add the longer they can wear it.

 Voila!

 

Porcupine Cake

You might be thinking "Oh! I don't think eating a porcupine cake is safe!" Rest assured that this cake is perfectly safe to eat. My daughter read a book about a porcupine and I think thats why she decided on a porcupine cake.

To make a porcupine cake you:
*Bake your desired cake batter in a 9x13
*Cool it and flip it out
*Cut in half on the 13" side and stack on top of each other (feel free to frost between the two layers)
*Freeze overnight
*Cut it into a tear drop shape and carve the head section downward
*Make your frosting
*First add a tablespoon of cocoa and reserve a 1/2 cup to frost the face
*Then add more cocoa to make the dark body
*Frost the face first then the body (make sure to save some of the dark frosting for eyes and nose.)
*Add Pocky candy all over for the quills. Make sure to put them in at an angle. Use broken ones for the front.
And Voila! A porcupine!

Porcupine party ideas:

*Play hedgehog, hedgohog, porcupine (duck, duck, goose) or pin the quills on the porcupine.

*Read "How to Hug a Porcupine," by Laurie Isop

*If its a lunch activity have porcupine meat balls

*Give out cake pops with crushed oreo cookie sprinkles on top, to give the look of porcupine with out too much effort.