I posted earlier this year about how I created these bead and ribbon bookmarks. Valentine's Day was coming up at that time, so I made them all in red.

Now with Easter and Spring here, I created some in pastel colors too. These would also make good teacher gifts along with a book store gift card or a book. You can really make them for any occasion, since you can use any color of ribbon and beads.

Click for for my original post on this project. It has some tips that will help if you decide to make your own bookmarks.

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Today I want to share a craft project with you. It’s inexpensive to make, the end result looks high-end, and you can make this with your kids. This idea comes from someone you might not automatically think of as frugal or doing craft projects, but you’d be wrong.
I’m talking about Rene Syler. You probably know her best from CBS’ The Early Show. Well, she is also an author (Good Enough Mother: The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting), founder of the popular blog Good Enough Mother, an ambassador for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, commentator on CNN and other television shows, and most importantly a hands-on mom.
Rene is also an active Facebook user and one of my Facebook friends, and when I saw her post about this craft, I knew I had to share it.
When she was looking for teacher gifts at the end of this school year, she found some photo frames she loved in an expensive boutique. The problem was they were $50 each. Rene couldn’t justify spending that much, so she did what a sensible mom does, and made her own—well, Rene’s kids made them with some help when it came to the hot glue gun. The total amount she spent to make three frames was less than buying just one boutique shop frame.
This is the end result (I’m showing you my favorite one). Rene and her kids actually made three completely different styles of frames. Here’s the link to Rene Syler’s website, Good Enough Mother where you can read her step-by-step instructions and see exactly which products she used.
You’ll notice there’s a note inside the frame. Each child wrote a short letter to their teacher saying “thank you” for everything they’d done for them during the school year. I think that was a thoughtful touch, and I’m sure one that the teachers appreciated.
I only wish Rene’s kids hadn’t gotten out of school so late! My kids have been out for at least ten days, so I missed out on being able to do this project for my kids’ teacher gifts this year. I will keep this in mind for next year though or may-be Christmas.
This would also be a good summertime craft project for a rainy day.
Thanks Rene for allowing me to share this one!

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