Well, hello Skip to My Lou readers! My name is Brooke and I'm one of The Crafting Chicks! I am thrilled to be a part of Cindy's amazing Teacher Appreciation extravaganza here. Her blog is FULL of awesome ideas and she is such a sweet person!And all of the previous teacher gift ideas have been inspiring.

While I generally like to give teachers supplies for their classroom or other useful items, I feel like there is always room for a sweet treat! You've probably seen all of the cute ways to make Oreo cookie pops, but I decided to do a smaller scale and use the Mini Oreos to create adorable mini Oreo apple pops to go along with the whole teacher theme! They are bite-sized, delicious, inexpensive and easy too.

Supplies for mini Oreo pops:

* Mini Oreos: I found these canisters in the Target Dollar Spot!!!

* Red candy melts: I used Wilton brand that can be found at many craft stores in the candy making section

* Airheads: Watermelon flavored (for the green color) as the mini leaves

* Pretzel sticks: for the mini stems

* toothpicks

First off I took a toothpick and gently stuck it into the middle (cream) part of the mini Oreo. This is to help with dipping the cookie into the candy melts.

You melt the candy melts according to the directions on the bag. It only takes a little bit of time in the microwave and you're good to go. Gently dip the cookie into the melted candy until covered completely.

Carefully tap the toothpick on the side of the bowl to let the excess candy drip off of the cookie.

Then I like to stick the dipped cookies into a piece of styrofoam to let them dry completely. Don't worry about messy toothpicks or extra drips, you'll be removing the toothpicks later on.

While the candy is still wet, break the pretzel sticks into small pieces (roughly 1/2 inch pieces) and stick into the top of the dipped Oreo.

To create the little leaves I simply used scissors to cut the Airheads into small pieces (example: bottom 2 pieces in above photo) , then I sort of pinched and rounded the sides with my fingers to make them into more of a leaf shape, like the 2 top pieces in the photo. I used a dab of melted candy to stick the leaves on the tops of the "apples" right next to the pretzel stem. Let everything dry completely. It takes less than 30 minutes to dry, or you can put them in the fridge to speed up the process.

Once dry I removed the messy toothpicks. Note: If you can keep the toothpicks clean you could leave them in and display them in a clean piece of styrofoam inside a cute container if you want as well.

These pops don't have to be perfect---to me when they look "rustic" and handmade it gives them character!!! I think these mini apples are almost too cute to eat!

You can arrange these mini Oreo apple pops in different ways.

Place them in pretty dishes with ribbons. . .

or little tins . . .

I may have snuck in a bite or two, just to make sure they tasted okay.

However you decide to package them up, I'm sure the teachers in your life (and the lives of your children!) will appreciate this darling mini treat, and it is easy on your wallet and pretty easy on your time too.

Thank you, Cindy, for including The Crafting Chicks in this fun collaboration!

I'm Ellen from The Long Thread , where I write about all things handmade. My new book, 1,2,3 Sew from Chronicle
Books will be available next month.

Today I'm going to show you how to make this simple drawstring pouch
for teacher gifts. These days, I'm big on practicality and not a fan
of clutter, so I often give our teachers gift certificates to
coffeehouses, grocery stores, or their favorite shops. Whether you
spend a little or a lot, it's nice to add a personal touch to your
gift by including a handmade pouch with a big "Thank You" from your
child.

Download the full instructions here.

How To Make A Drawstring Pouch