Teacher Gift

This year I was not particularly creative. However, our teachers are always running low on paper and they frequently request donations, so  they each got a ream of paper and a box of candy. Quick and easy AND useful!

Work of Art...

A few weeks ago we had our Evening in Excellence and we centered it around the theme of Creating a Masterpiece. WE had beautiful talks from our YW President and the Bishop. We shared how a painting has many layers of paint on it, and when you step back you get the full affect. We compared that to the girls and how every effort they make, every time they read their scriptures, or pray and learn adds a little bit more "paint" to their overall masterpiece. We encouraged them to continue in their Personal Progress; each goal helping them shape their own personal "masterpiece".

Here's a few photos of the awesome dessert table, that beautifully matched our theme.

We served colored chocolate covered pretzels (to look like paintbrushes) and cupcakes to represent different colors of paint on the palate.

BY WAY OF INFO: I would absolutely love to take credit for this whole night- it was that beautiful- but I can only truly "own" the pretzel sticks that look like paintbrushes. That was my contribution for the night. I am so blessed to work with some super crafty ladies!

Dress and Appearance Activity

For tonight's combined Young Women's activity we reviewed the Dress Standards found in For Strength of Youth and then we made tissue paper/table cloth dresses. Some of the girls were models and the others helped construct the dresses. We then had a runway show. Here's the fun:

Scripture Sidewalk Chalk Art

Since we have been focusing on the value VIRTUE this month we decided to review the Personal Progress requirement that asks every girl to finish the Book of Mormon from start to finish. 

We reviewed study tips and brainstormed ideas on how to make studying our scriptures more meaningful and fun. We then handed out a small scripture reading chart, so they can track their progress as they read. 

We concluded the activity by drawing scenes from our favorite scripture stories with sidewalk chalk. Some of the pictures a bit faint, but they were definitely more vibrant in person. Here's our gallery of scripture art:

Baby Blanket

I saw a picture of a baby blanket (sometimes called a "minky blanket") and decided that it didn't look too hard and that I was going to try it. The truth is that it wasn't really hard, just very time consuming. Basically you take the two cuts of fabric (one the soft, "minky" fabric, that reminds me of egg crates- and one just a patterned cut of regular fabric) and you stitch them together, diagonally, using the raised bumps as your reference. No batting needed! In theory, this is not hard, but I will say the "minky" fabric stretches and I found myself pinning every row of diagonal stitching I made, trying not to stretch in too much as I went along. Like I said, not hard- but time consuming. 

I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I'm not sure if I'll keep this one for my own little girl that's arriving soon, or if I'll make another one for us and give this one away, but I love it!