Mother's Day Project! The Best Gift EVER!

Hey friends! What are you all doing for Mother's Day gifts this year? For the past two years, I took a break from my favorite project to try out a few new ideas. They turned out SUPER cute but somehow, they just did not have that sweet *I made this special project for you by myself and Mom, you're going to CRY when you see it * feeling. You know what I mean? So this year, I'm going back to the one I love best! 

Here's a little history behind my all-time favorite Mother's Day gift:

When my son was in second grade, he took ME to work at HIS school. I was also in second grade! My child's amazing teacher, my scrapbookin' friend, Kathy, suggested we make a lunch bag book for our Mother's Day craft. She had seen them in a magazine and fallen in love. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about... but I went with it!

We had no patterns, NO CLUE, no materials and so the creativity began! Together, we came up with some sweet sentiments about moms, rounded up cardstock papers, scrounged around for ribbon scraps and tried making an example. After some trial and error, we had created an adorable project and the students LOVED it! 

Because I knew what I would be getting from my child as a gift, I worried that I might have to practice my excitement over it for Mother's Day. They managed to keep it a secret from me though, so I never saw the finshed project until that special day. He was so proud to give me that little book that fit perfectly in his tiny hands. It was so sweet!

Of all of the gifts my child ever brought home from school, my very own, made with love, lunchbag scrapbook is my most cherished. Why? Because we finished it together at home and made another happy memory. 

In it are all of my favorite reminders of him at age 7. 

AWWW!

I have to confess that I'm not into scrapbooking at all. I never had the time or patience for that sort of thing. I never made even one for my child. It sure was easy enough for me to add my favorite photos of the two of us like this one from our amazing trip to Mexico.

The bag book has a few journaling cards inside the pockets. I jotted down some cute things that we used to say to each other like I love you more than you love me! Somehow, I thought I'd always remember those little things, but time makes you forget. There are all sorts of other things in there too like zoo passes, movie tickets, and more reminders of our fun times together. 

I still love to look back at my darling little scrapbook every once in a while. I had it displayed on a small easel for many years, but recently packed it away for fear that something might happen to it in one of my wild cleaning frenzies.

Kathy is now happily retired, but I have continued our lunch bag scrapbook tradition with lots of classes over the last 10 years. I even made one for my OWN mom! 

Thanks to technology, I was able to redesign the patterns, and add instructions so other teachers can enjoy making it with their kiddos too.

 It is now new and improved and cuter than ever in 2015!

 I hope you like it too!

It breaks my heart knowing that some kiddos we teach do not have a mom to celebrate with on Mother's Day. The file also includes alternate pages so those children are able to participate and make a book for their Grandma or an aunt.

This  Mother's Day Lunch Bag Scrapbook was one of my first items available at Teachers Pay Teachers! Many sweet teachers have written to share how much their students and parents loved it! That makes my heart SO happy!

 If you have already purchased this craft, be sure to go back to download the *new version* under your purchases. It now includes pull out tabs with adorable fill in the blank pages and cards for the kiddos to illustrate! There are new tracer patterns that can be photocopied too to make prep even easier than ever! 

I can't wait to get started on this project with my class next week! I plan to share some photos of our beautiful masterpieces as we complete them!

 This year, I am collecting 2 dollars from each student. I bought some really pretty things to decorate them with that the Moms will adore. The kiddos have to do some chores to help out and earn the money. Yes, there is a note for that in the file as well!

A Little Giveaway

If you are still on the fence about a project for  Mother's Day, you might like to try this scrapbook keepsake out. You may even like to have it for your own children to make for Grandma! Just leave me a comment with your email and next week, I'll choose THREE to try it FREE! 

Have a great finish to your week! Set a reminder and be sure to check back here on Saturday and Sunday! There will be some super duper posts from the Weekend Warriors bloggers and a few other surprises you won't want to miss!

Disclosure:
The winners for this little giveaway were chosen very scientifically by the king of randomness:

Congratulations to Suzy, Lori and Hannah! You won the Mother' Day craft! Check your emails ladies! 

:)