Personal Progress Presents

Until very recently, I was the Personal Progress Advisor in our ward. I LOVED THIS CALLING!!! One of my favorites. Each month, on the second Sunday, I would give a small 2 minute lesson to introduce that months PP value & it's importance. Then at the end of each month, the YW who completed a PP experience in that months value, got a small prize from me.
Every month I had a hard time coming up with something fun and creative to reach the YW. So I am posting what I did for each value for those of you who may need a little creative help if you're in a similar calling.
FAITH-
LESSON:"Let your light so shine & trust in the Lord."
PRIZE: A small white candle with 'FAITH' written in vinyl on the front.
DIVINE NATURE-LESSON: "Each of us is the daughter of a Heavenly King. We are daughters of God. Which means some day, if we live worthy we will become Queens."
PRIZE: I made each of the girls a small key chain with a crown charm on it and tied it with a blue ribbon.
INDIVIDUAL WORTH-
LESSON:I gave the analogy by using money. First I showed the girls a crisp clean dollar bill and asked them how many of them wanted that dollar. Of course, each of them raised their hands. I then wadded up that dollar bill, smashed it, and stepped on it. Trying to make the dollar less desirable. I then again asked the YW who wanted that dollar bill. And again, all the girls raised their hands. I related the dollar to the YW that even though some of us may look pretty and crisp and others of us may look a little worn and tattered, all of us have value & individual worth.
PRIZE: 100 grand candy bars...which went with the lesson but are also in a red wrapper.
KNOWLEDGE-
LESSON: I related a story about my Mom when she was diagnosed with cancer. How when she was first diagnosed, I was scared. But as I studied about the cancer and learned more about how she would be treated, the more comfort I felt. The more knowledge I had the more confident I was with the situation.
PRIZE: I beaded each of the girls a book mark for their scriptures with green beads.
CHOICE & ACCOUNTABILITY-
LESSON: Every choice has a consequence. You reap what you sew.
PRIZE: A packet of seeds OR you could give them a flower for their hair.

GOOD WORKS-
LESSON: This was around the holidays so I gave each of the YW the challenge to serve somebody that they may not know well or better yet someone they may not like.
PRIZE:I bought each of them a pair of mittens (since you serve with your hands) and tied them up with a yellow ribbon.
INTEGRITY-
LESSON: I can't remember...it was in the midst of LDS prom, so I'm drawing a blank.
PRIZE: I found purple pedicure kits in the Target dollar section & added a tiny bottle of purple nail polish. The girls LOVED these.
VIRTUE-
LESSON: I gave the girls the definition of the word "virtue." I also talked about why virtue was recently added to the values.
PRIZE: I wrapped up 3-4 pack of smarties and tied them with a gold ribbon. I had a little label that said "You're a 'SMARTIE' for doing your PP."

Dynamic Diaper Cakes

One of my favorite gifts to make for a baby shower is a diaper cake. They are just so darn cute. Some people fill them with baby items. However, on my diaper cakes...I think less is more. I like just the diapers wrapped with layers of cute ribbon and then something attached to the front.
This is the very first one that I ever made. Here is one that I made for my great friend Rachel for an "impromptu" baby shower we threw here before the birth of here baby.

Lime-Time Baby Shower

A girl in our ward that I visiting teach, just adopted her second little boy...who is just precious. I was lucky enough to help host her baby shower. We did all the decorations in shades of lime greens, black & white. It was so fun, because it's been forever since I've hosted a baby shower.
I decorated the front door by adding lime green berries to my wreath on the front door.Making diaper cakes for the serving table centerpiece is my favorite. Such a cute, classy addition to a baby shower. With this one, I added the baby's first initial as the cake topper. My friend Emily helped by making these adorable black & white tissue paper pom-poms. I wish I could take credit but I tried & tried to make them and they would NOT turn out. Emily SAVED me!! I made a couple of cute custom banners out of scrap book paper in the shower colors. I also made one out of these ADORABLE green onesies that I found at the Dollar Tree.Here is a look at the green candy table we put together for the shower guests to take home as a favor. I found all of the green candy at Wal-mart or Target. I borrow the apothecary jars from some friends and then added the ribbon and flowers to them to dress them up. These are the cute buckets I found for the guest to fill with candy. Of course from The Dollar Tree. They were 3 for $1. Then my friend Cadi made the adorable "Thank you" label and tied it to each bucket.Here is a full view. I got the cute green lanterns at the Dollar Tree as well.

Teacher Gifts

Oh where to begin on my new "craft blog?" There is so much I want to post. I guess I will just start with some crafts that are relevant to this time of year. My boys get out of school this week. So last week I started panicing when I realized I hadn't thought of any teacher gifts yet??
I emailed my good friend Ang, who gave me the adorable idea below...

(photo from the blog mymixofsix)

An adorable vase with teachers name on front (in vinyl) filled with pencils. A cute and functional gift for teachers...who always need pencils on their desk.But when I asked my boys what they wanted to give their teachers, they came up with the idea of making their teachers beaded bracelets (which I am totally into right now) in their school colors. They will give it to their teachers on the last Wednesday of school. Every wednesday at our school is "spirit day" so all are encouraged to wear school colors. I thought it was a fabulous idea. So that is what I did. I added a cute tag that reads "Thanks for helping PARKER to shine" and tied it to the organza bag.

I thought it was a pretty creative gift for my boys to come up with. I made the personalized cookie jars for my boys teachers a couple of years ago. I found the jar at Walmart on clearance for $9.00. Then added the teachers name in vinyl. I think they turned out ADORABLE!! One last teacher gift idea that I have done in the past are personalized candles. I have done candles the the phrease "TEACHER-Touches a life forever" on it but I have also done candles with just their monogrammed initial. I like them both...However, with just the monogrammed intial candle, your teacher can take it home and enjoy it.