Crafty

It's that time of year! Time to brainstorm something to give to the various wonderful teachers who have given me 6 hours a week of free time. I mean, who have been teaching and caring for our children all year! First I grabbed some gift cards from Target, but then decided it would be way more cost effective as well as meaningful to try and put a little something together.

I had recently given herb pots to some close girlfriends of mine for their birthday. I just went off that idea and made these little herb pots for my older son's preschool teachers.

All you need is:

A flower pot (got these for $5 each at Target)
Dirt (not sure how much but pretty dirt cheap at Target. get it, dirt cheap.)
Herbs from Home Depot ($3 each)
A Sharpie!

You might be much more crafty than I, and find more ways to spruce this up. I can conceptualize crafts, but I'm not much at execution. But still, I thought these turned out pretty cute!

The pot says "Every day you plant a seed that encourages me to know, the things that I will need to learn to live my life and grow!"


I also thought this might be a cute idea to attach with a Starbucks gift card. My neighbor made me this very tasty granola, and sent me the recipe!

Homemade Granola

Over medium low heat, stir the following ingredients until the sugar dissolves:

• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Turn off heat and set aside. Then in a large bowl combine:

• 3 to 4 cups of granola (start with three and gauge how texture is once you add the wet ingredients)
• 1 to 2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 to 2 cups chopped almonds
• about a 1/2 cup sesame seeds

Pour in the wet ingredients and mix well. It should be slightly wet but not gooey. If it seems too gooey, add more granola. Put into a large cake pan or cookie sheet with sides. Place in the oven for 40 minutes and stir every 10 minutes.

In the used bowl add some chopped assorted dried fruit. Once the granola mix is done, dump it in the bowl and mix to combine it. Make a well in the middle, pushing granola to the sides of the bowl so it can cool evenly.

When its completely cool, serve in airtight jars or bags! This recipe makes 4-5 12 oz Mason Jars!