Create●Share●Inspire

ornament frame... vintage bling fabulousness

2011-11-19T16:03:00.001-08:00

if you like VINTAGE...BLING...& GUADY
you will like this!!!

OK so my sister in law bought my mom in law a really neat frame for her birthday and

I LOVED IT!!!!

but she got it at an auction and paid a small fortune for it soooooo I decided to make my own!!!

Ken, Drew and I headed out to look for ViNtAgE ornaments and accessories.... we found a lot at Thrift town and Hob Lob and my favorite ...Homestead Hand Crafts!! I also bought a frame from the discount aisle at Tues. morning ... it had a HUGE scratch BUT who cares i am going to cover it up!!! I also got lots of glue sticks for my new needle nose glue gun!!! and I was ready!!!

First I emptied out the frame... glass, foam, and faux family pics.... I also nearly cut off my THUMB doing this so BE CAREFUL!!! Glass is SHARP!!!

I laid out most of my ornaments so I could see what I had to work with... make sure you get ALL different sizes of ornaments

I started placing ornaments where i thought I liked them starting with the corners...

and then filling in the rest

at hob lob I bought LOTS of BLING...in all sizes but only in clear...I could use the colored ones but the clear reflects the ornament colors so it worked!!!

see how I used the Bling to fill in where there was awkward space too little for an ornament

I used some quirky stuff too...like this plastic reindeer

here I used an old candy cane that use to be a pen but the insides were missing

I got the SpArKlY NOEL at Hob Lob in a pack of 4 and just cut the loop off that made it an ornament

I found this Santa in a vintage lot I found at Homestead... i thought he was CUTE!!!

AND

Here it is the FINISHED Frame..

it is VINTAGE... BLINGY... and GAUDY...

I LOVE IT!!!

What do you think?!?!?!

I am going to hit the after Christmas sales and stock up so I can make some for next year!!! can't wait!!!

Clipboards and Post-its

2011-10-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

I think it is a requirement of teachers to...

Love clipboards... and have about 1 million.... you never know when you need one.
Have a near obsession over post-its. Cant they be used for just about anything!?!? Math... yes.... Science... yes... Reading... always.... Love them!

So what's a better way than incorporating the two into a great gift for my Secret Pal at school. She's a teacher.... any by that fact... she must love school supplies. What teacher doesn't??? The smell of crayons... having paperclips in a wide variety of colors... and when paperclips cant work pull out those marvelous big guns.... the bracket clips....

Ahhh yes.... teacher supplies.

So this is what I made for my wonderful teacher friend:

It took me about an hour and a 1/2.... because I am a perfectionist.... but I did all 3 in that time! :) That's 1/2 and hour per gift! (yes... I am a math teacher... )

Here are the supplies I needed:

Lets start with the post-it note holder.... soooooo easy. Get yourself a cardboard coaster from a place like Chili's.

Grab your trusty mod podge. Mine is glossy, but I only used it as a glue.

The secret to all mod podge: some sort of squeegee!!! You must press out all those air bubbles or your paper will crinkle and it will not be pretty.

Use an exacto to carefully cut around the edges of the coaster.

One side was covered in dots, the other in black and white. After I covered both sides, I dipped my brush in black paint and painted the edges and speckled the side as if I were stenciling. I really like the effect.

Then just add a big clip with some post-its and you're done!

Clipboard:

Paint the sides first.

Cut your paper to the size you want. I wanted to use 2 different types of paper.... I started with the bottom and worked my way up.

Mod Podge only the bottom. I used mine only as a glue; I did not put a top layer of it on.

Use that squeegee to get it nice and smooth with no bubbles.

The toughest part was cutting around the silver head area. You could paint the top black and skip all the cutting, but I only wanted it covered in paper.

I used the same painting technique around the board like I did on the coaster. Then add a little bow... so cute!


I used stickers to spell out her name and some kinda paper boarder sticker that I glued on to add a little whimsy to the area where the 2 papers meet. The back of the board looks close to he same as the front. Only difference is I didn't add her name to the back.

Ta-Da! Done. And if you want to know more about the teacher survival kit... you can find that post right here. Or a little more about secret pals.... you can check here.

Have fun crafting.... and if you don't have a secret pal, maybe make something special for that wonderful custodian or secretary who we all know the school would burn down if we didn't have either of them :)

Fall Decor

2011-10-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

So, it's really hard for me to get in the "Fall" mood because Florida doesn't get cool enough or have the pretty trees.....yes, we cool down but it takes forever!!!! Anyway, I try to get inspired and decorate anyway:) I struggle with going to the store and buying already put together swags, and things because a) they usually are pretty pricey and b) they usually aren't exactly what I like. So, I go to Michaels and buy separate pieces of foliage that I like and then break them apart to put around my house.

I am quite impressed with how real these leaves look.

Magnolia leaves that I pulled apart into smaller sections.

Branches of seed pods that I also pulled apart.

Gourds or pumpkins. I had some that looked real but saw these at Ross and had to have them cuz they have glitter and they match my napkin rings I got at Pier One.

Once you have all the different pieces, start layering. I start with the biggest things first and then just add, tucking and layering as I go. Then when it's time to put it away and get out Christmas, just put them back in their "piles" and they are ready for next fall.

Yes, that's a pumpkin on a candlestick....weird but I kinda like it.

That's a big twig pumpkin in the middle...

Happy Fall all!!

2011-09-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Brought to you by the one and only
!!!!!

My exclamation marks look ridiculous next to that gigantic word.

What am I blogging about??? Ahhh yes.... my googly eye picture frame! So my school does "Secret Pals" for teachers at school. You fill out a simple questionnaire and then give it to the "head person in charge." She goes around with all the questionnaires (folded up so no one can see) and you draw one of the papers and that is your secret pal. Then you send weekly little gifts to your pal with little notes encouraging them for the week or day. Did any of that make sense? Anyway... on the question asking "what do you collect?" my pal said "frames."

So the light bulb went off and I decided to make her a picture frame similar to

Easy easy easy. I found a frame a Hobby Lobby for 50% off... so I spent $5.00

I placed the different size eyes first in a small area.

Using one of the best inventions of all time... the hot glue gun.... I hot glued my googly eyes onto the frame.

I used 3 different sizes. There was one smaller eye but my friend reminded me that I was likely to burn the crap out of myself if I used the tiny eyes. I am sure she is 100% correct.

After the googly eyes were glued on, I found some lime green card stock and some of my favorite sticker letters. I cut the card stock to fit and spelled "EEK!"


The finished product! I really like how the eyes even lose the googly eye look and become a pattern.

I want to sneak it into her room, but I'll probably drop it by the office and ask the secretary if she could have an office helper deliver it to her.

SO excited for her to get this gift!!!

Happy blogging and crafting!

Birthday Bulletin Board

2011-09-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my version of the birthday bulletin board I saw on Pinterest. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I have a teal, magenta, and black and white zebra theme in my classroom. It is definitely still needing some work, but coming slowly along.

I used my "George and Basic Shapes" Cricut cartridge to cut out the letters. I wanted them to match the letters on my clipboard holder. I used the regular, shadow, and shadow blackout functions to create the layered look on the letters.

As I said in my last post, I am obsessed with Pinterest. This is one of the adorable ideas I found on the website. When I saw it, I knew I had to have one in my classroom.

http://ericabohrersclassroom.shutterfly.com/63#83

boring gift card to Most Memorable Gift

2011-09-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

My problem...

what do you buy a 2 year old

who has every cute girly thing possible....because

her mama and Aunt Fancy own the cutest

GIFTIQUE in TEXAS!!!

(google or facebook Bless Your Heart Giftique if you want to know what I am talking about)

Answer... a gift card!!

How boring right!!!

Not if you get a cute butterfly gift card and do this....

First gather your supplies...

1 jar

1 tag

1 fake leaf

1 fake flower

some glitter

some sparkles

butterfly or other bug shaped gift card

and ribbon...lots of ribbon

and tool (is that spelled right)

you know that meshy stuff tutus are made of

and 1 pony tail holder

oh and a loaded glue gun

yes I am doing this on my stove
best place for my hot glue
and since I like to to make a mess with hot glue I can peel it right off of this :)
and any flakes you see are glitter :) NOT food
I made this and then took it apart because I thought
OH I can POST this
so when I dumped the glitter I made a mess!!!
ooops

glue the gift card to the leaf

while your jar is empty measure your ribbon around the top and get that ready

go ahead and tie it around the top of the empty jar and slide it off

trust me it will help you!!!

TRUST ME on this one!!!

fill the jar with sparkles

lots of sparkles

push and shove your leaf

around until it looks good

add your fake flower and sprinkle some glitter

i use the tool ribbon so I cut 3 sections and laid them on top of the jar

each one in a different direction

use your hair tie to hold the tool in place and put a dab or blob of glue

on the side where you want all of the ribbons to fall

so it will be hidden

slide your already knotted ribbon

from earlier over the

top and make sure

to cover the hair tie

add a few more dabs of glue

to keep the ribbons in place

add your gift tag

so they know who this cuteness is from

and

TADA

you are done!!!

it really takes a

blah gift card to a

more personal and thoughtful gift

and SUPER EASY!!!

it was a hit at the party too!!!

Memory Pictures

2011-09-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

I have been seeing these pictures all over Pinterest where the child's "favorites" or "memories" from that particular time are documented on the picture. Since I never have time to scrapbook, I thought I could start doing these for Wyatt once a month or so...then framing them as I make them. I even had the idea to print them all in a book at the end of the year on Shutterfly or something. It was so simple...I use the free download from Picasa to edit my pictures normally. So I just clicked on the TYPE link on the editing page and added some "memories" to the photo, changed the font(all the fonts from my computer were available when using Picasa), and I was done!

Here is Wyatt's Memory picture for 13 months.

Clipboard Holder

2011-09-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

I have become addicted to Pinterest! The other day I came across a cute way to organize and hold all the clipboards in your classroom. The original idea came from: http://web.me.com/ashleynichols1/The_Polka_Dot_Patch/My_Classroom.html

*******************************************************************************

In my classroom, I am kind of going with the black, white, and teal colors (along with zebra and polk-a-dot). I bought my container at Target, during the summer (it is actually an ice bucket). Then, I added zebra and teal and white polk-a-dot ribbon on the handles (from Michael's). I used my "George and Basic Shapes" Cricut cartridge to cut out the letters with vinyl. Even though it is kind of plain, I think it is an adorable way to keep all your classroom clipboards in one place!

Autumn is Coming.....time to put out that Wreath!

2011-09-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Today (in less that an hour) I made a fall wreath. I have never made one of these, but my friend made this beautiful table arrangement and posted it to facebook:

She said all the stuff she got was at Hobby Lobby, so I headed there yesterday morning and bought all this:

Which was all 50% off!!!!! WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!! Expect the grapevine wreath... it was $5.99, but I also had a coupon for 40% any single full priced item!!! Yes I had a smile glued to my face when I walked out of Hobby Lobby spending about $25 for all my goodies. The letters... F A L... were supposed to go on my wreath, but I decided no after I put it all together. Here is how I did it:

The only supplies I used were floral wire (24 gauge which I already had) and a wire cutter.

First I wrapped my fall leaf garland around the wreath.

Then I used my floral wire and attached some areas with it. Now it was time to BEDAZZLE it with all the fun goodies! I just crammed all these guys in there, and got my design the way I wanted it.

I had to keep it propped up so I could assess where I needed to add more. Then I just used my floral wire and wrapped the attachments to the wreath. I had to go around and pull on them to make sure I had attached them all. Now it is hanging on my front door.

The funny thing is, I saw some of these listed at Hobby Lobby for over $100!!! Can you believe that!?!?! Even with 50% off that $50 which is still twice what I spent and it only took me an hour!!!

I hope I didn't offend anyone who went out and bought it.... yikes....sorry....

Autumn is coming... even to Texas...eventually!

Hope y'all have fun crafting!!!

D.I.Y. Felt Car Play Mat

2011-09-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

I saw some adorable felt play mats on Pinterest and just had to make one for Wyatt. He loves playing with little cars and pretty much anything with wheels. Now I am just trying to decide if I should give it to him tomorrow when he wakes up...or buy some new cars and things for it and give it to him as a Christmas gift?? What do you think??

I started with a 5' x 3' foot piece of green felt, fairly cheap at the fabric store. For everything else I used the 8.5" x 11" pieces of felt from Michael's...they are less than a dollar each. They even have some cute textured ones I used for the stone pathways at the park.

I used my rotary cutter for the first time to cut all my straight lines, but everything else I cut by hand. I don't have a lot of free time, so I just went for it. My mother-in-law gave me a huge cutting mat...I asked her to borrow hers for this project and she said she had a brand new one that she hadn't even taken out of the box, because it was to big for her table...SCORE!!! It worked great.

I put the whole board together with a glue gun, because I don't know how to sew very well...and glue gun seemed easier, until I really badly burned four of my fingers last night...not fun.

Here is a close up look at the different sections of the board.

Airport/Runway

Construction Zone

School/Hospital

River/Lake/Trees

Park

Parking Lot/ Shopping Center...and Target too!

Zoo...after burning my finger there was no way I could make felt animals...these were I think 59 cents at Michael's.

House/Farm

Seashell Wire Pendant

2011-09-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hey all....before I went back to school to be a teacher and was blessed enough to stay home with my babies, I dabbled in the jewelry business a while. I'm hoping I can share several things that you can do yourself:) The first is a seashell wire pendant. I love working with wire and have made several things with it. So today I am sharing this.

Items you will need:

wire cutters

round needle nose pliers

20 gauge silver plate wire (Michaels has all kinds and in other colors)

a seashell

suede lace

a round pencil

Step 1. Cut about a 2 foot piece of wire and starting with the middle, wrap it in a spiral around the pencil until you have about an inch of wire wrapped.

Step 2. Now you have the 2 ends of the wire "hanging". Take your shell and put it between the 2 ends and up fairly close to the spiral. One of the wire ends should be on top of the shell, the other should be behind the shell.

Step 3. Now is the tricky but fun part. Holding the shell in place with one hand, take your other hand and start wrapping the shell with the 2 ends of the wire. One end will wrap from the front, one end will wrap from the back. The more you wrap (and space it out), the more secure the shell will become.

Step 4. When you wrap until there is no more wire to go around again, you need to loop the wire end onto another wire on the back of the shell. Always finish your ends on the back.

Step 5. At this time the shell should be pretty secure and you can cut another piece of wire. Loop it around another wire on the back to secure it and start wrapping again. How much wire you use is your choice. You have to have enough to make the shell secure but can add more for detail.

Step 6. Once you have all the wire wraps you want use your round needle nose pliers and carefully make small bends on the front of the shell. This will add detail and tighten the wire to secure the shell even more. Make sure you are always keeping the wire flush to the shell.

Step 7. That's it:) You're done! Just slide the pendant off the pencil and put it on the suede lace or leather cord. They also look great on the silver collars.

And here is the final product modeled by my baby girl who is home from college for the weekend:D

I hope to be posting some more of my wire creations soon. I do want to finish though by sayin, be patient, it might take a few tries to get it right and most of all, have fun!!!

Happy Craftin':)

Creating Line Graphs... Concrete Style!

2011-08-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

My 6th graders are having a hard time with line graphs. It's hard for them to plot ordered pairs, connect the dots and understand what they are looking at. As I was sitting on the couch looking through some books, I came across an awesome idea....AND I LOVE IT!!!!

The book is called Hands-On Math! Ready to Use Games and Activities for Grades 4-8. (Long title... I know... BUT it is sooooooo worth it!!!)

The great thing about this book is that it teaches each concept in 3 different ways: concrete, pictorial, and cooperative groups. Some things... well most... you have to make except for the pictorial, but the ideas are non- stop, easy to implement, and they home-run hit the point across. Not to mention the book has tons of higher order thinking questions to keep the students engaged.

Now that I have done my endorsement-unfortunately I am not getting paid :) --let me tell you about the idea!!

Focus Leslie..... Line Graphs....

So the idea for the concrete method was to buy a peg board, and using golf tees, plot coordinates. Then use some yarn to make your line for your graph!! After reading I had a huge smile on my face..... YES!!! This is what my students NEED!!! So I went to Lowe's (puffy heart them), and bought a sheet of peg board for $10. They cut it for FREE into 8 sections of 24"x24". Each group can have a board. Then I raided my husband's golf bag.... and finally found some yarn in my closet. This project cost me $10.77 (tax included).

I am going to put a container under each peg board so it gives the golf tees room to go through the hole.


Plot your coordinates using golf tees. You can use adding machine tape or sticky tabs to place numbers on the rows and columns.


Up close look at tees.


Next, get your yarn.

Tie it once around the first peg.

Go around all your pegs in the correct order, and then.....


You have your CONCRETE model of a Line Graph!

Students can then write about the trend that took place. First the trend (line) began to decrease. Then it increased rapidly. It decreased a little again, but then held steady for a while before the trend decreased rapidly. I CAN NOT WAIT TO SHARE THIS WITH MY KIDS!!!! I'm already thinking that I might give them the words and they have to make the line match what I say, or give them a chart and they have to graph it and also place their numbers and labels. Ideas are going..... Fun fun fun...

Happy Teaching and "Crafting"!!!

SuPeR EaSy SpIcEd CrAcKeRs

2011-08-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is a VERY EASY recipe

GREAT for that POT LUCK
AT SCHOOL
and it makes a lot and

is VERY wallet friendly!!!

here's what you need...

1 large mixing bowl

1 very large Ziploc 2 gallon or bigger

2 cups of canola oil (NO SUBSTITUTES)

1-2 TBS of crushed red pepper ( add more to spice it up)

1 tsp of onion powder

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 box of Premium crackers ORIGINAL all 4 sleeves

In your bowl mix all ingredients except the crackers

VERY WELL

Dump ALL 4 sleeves of crackers into the large baggie...be careful to not break too many!!!

Pour mixture over crackers and seal bag leaving in the air.

Lay baggie flat and start your timer... flip bag over every 15 minutes for an hour.

THAT IS IT!!! DONE!!!

Put crackers in another container... DO NOT leave them in the mixing bag because they will get SUPER SOGGY!!!

ENJOY!!!

SORRY NO PICS OF FINAL PRODUCT

I GAVE THEM OUT AT SCHOOL!
and they were gone by the time I thought to grab a pic!!!
YUMMY DELICIOUSNESS!!!

Teacher Survival Kits... Brought to you by PINTEREST!

2011-08-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

If you do not know about Pinterest yet, you have to go to the link!!!! Go now!!! But please come back so you can find out what I made today. :)

About a month ago, I found this lovely teacher gift idea at one of my favorite blogs,
Bee in our Bonnet

The lady is super crafty and makes some of the cutest things ever for her kids teachers and for her home.
So I made my own for a couple of my closest teacher friends.

This project takes no time at all, and is really cheap. These are my materials:

I used the fishing boxes from Walmart (less than $5.00) and spent $5.00 at Staples on the items below. I split them though between the two kits.

I also bought 2 bags of candy at Walmart for about $5.00 as well.


I just used the Starbursts and kisses though... I saved the Lifesavers for myself.... and my husband :)

After I got everything ready, I put my items in my kits. When I was in Guatemala, I had pens made with my friends' names on them. It was SUPER cheap and SUPER CUTE!!! I have a pen to give away once I reach 100 followers. (hint hint.... :)

I added a little Anti-bac that I had bought at Bath and Bodyworks a long time ago. It fit perfectly. So now I needed labels. At Bee in our Bonnet she has a template you can download, but it didn't work very well for me, so I made my own using Printshop. LOVE IT!!!!!!! You have to get one!!! Cheap and does TONS of stuff...

Anyway.... I used one sheet of card stock and made 2 labels on the one sheet. Then I cut them with my new trusty tool from Hobby Lobby.

Then I used that Crafty glue I have a love hate relationship with (it is becoming more loving however) to glue my label onto my red card stock.

Trim the left overs and you have a wonderful label. Then I put some adhesive on the back of the red card stock and attached it to my kit. I didn't want to go out and buy more ribbon, but I had some Christmas red ribbon, which I felt was just as good.

Add a little bow and you have a great gift for any friend!!! I think I am going to use this idea again at Christmas....

Happy Crafting!!!!!

Vintage Earring Hair Pins and Clips

2011-08-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

I LOVE antiques and anything vintage so decided to make some hair accessories out of vintage earrings.

Here's what you need to get started:

- vintage earrings

- hair pins and clips

- heavy duty glue (I used a glue called E6000)

- Small needle nose pliers

These are super simple:) First you need to break/bend off the earring backs. If you are using vintage earrings, they usually pop off pretty easily.

After this is done, simply glue the earring to the clips or pins. I tried hot glue at first and the earrings just popped off. You really need a stronger bonding type glue. Let them sit over night and in the morning, they're ready to wear:))

Happy Craftin:)

Post-It Note Holder

2011-08-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

My mom made one of these adorable post-it holders the other day. I liked it so much I asked her if she could send me her instructions so I could make one too. The differences between ours is that my mom used velcro, I used brads and ribbon and of course we used different paper and embellishments. It was super easy to do and you can get as creative as you would like. I am going to give this to one of my student's parents who already brought supplies in as a donation. We had a back to school BBQ on Friday night and start school on Monday, so I am sure I will have many more blog postings to share soon.

Here is my post-it holder:

Here is my mom's post-it holder:

Post-It-Note Holder Directions:

What you will need:

Paper (double sided works best)

Scoring board

Post It Note Pad

Double sided tape or glue

Velcro

Cute sticker or embelishment for the front cover

* Cut a strip of paper 3" wide x 8" long (double sided is cute because you will see the inside when you open it.

Scoring:

First fold is at 2 5/8"

Second fold add another 3/8", which makes it at 3"

Third fold is an additional 3-1/8", which makes it at 6-1/8"

Fourth fold is another 3/8", which makes it at 61/2"

You should have 1-7/8" remaining

Attach your Post-It-Note pad with either tape or glue. I took off about 10 sheets, because you will see that it is a little too thick otherwise.

Add velcro to the top and bottom with glue, and let dry throughly; see my photo.

Add your embelishment as your finishing touch and have fun with this project!

D.I.Y. Birthday Party on a Budget

2011-08-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

My son Wyatt will be one on tomorrow(the time really has flown by)...this weekend we celebrated with a farm themed BBQ. The only things I purchased for the party theme were the invites, party favor boxes, and one happy birthday garland. Everything else was a DO-IT-YOURSELF or craft project. I did need to get a few necessities like cupcake mix, frosting, and candy molds. Pretty much the rest of the materials I already had on hand in my craft room.

Party Favors...

Barnyard boxes full of tractor shaped crayons for the little kids.

Bandanna paper wrapped Hershey bars for the big kids and adults.

This table was set up right by the front door.

The E-I-E-I-O ("Old McDonald Had a Farm" is Wyatt's favorite song) banner I made with the walnut ink stained paper I showed you how to make in this post last week. I used my Cricut die cut machine to cut out the banner pieces.

The adorable pig was made by my mom last year for my son when he was born(his room is farm themed). She even embroidered his birthday on the front of the overalls...so special and cute! The chalk board is another cute decoration from my son's room.

Here are the crayons before going in the boxes.

...And after

I again used the walnut ink stained paper and stamped the tags for each of the kids,and then tied them on with jute. The letter stamps are from the dollar section at Michael's and the tractor stamp was also from Michael's in the painting section. There is a whole group of farm stamps including animals, a barn, fence, and the tractor. They are foam stamps sold individually and were each under a dollar.

For the Hershey bars I used bandanna printed paper made by Martha Stewart that I again got from Michael's. I used the farm foam stamps and stamped them on coordinating colored papers, cut them out with my scallop punch, and popped them up with foam dots on the candy bars...they were a big hit...we even used the leftovers to make the S'mores Bars I posted about a few days ago.

All you need: Hershey bars, printed paper cut to 5 3/4 x 6 inches, and a cute punch to decorate.

We arranged them on a cake stand...I just love how this table turned out!

In the kitchen...

I again used the walnut stained paper and farm foam stamps to make tags to label the silverware and for the cupcake toppers.

Cupcakes were cheaper than buying a cake, and for me, easier than baking a cake. With colored frosting and cute cupcake toppers, you can't go wrong.

For the cupcake toppers I stamped the farm images on the paper then punched them out using the scalloped circle punch. I used red Stickles(glitter glue) and placed a dot on each scallop on the cupcake toppers. When the glitter dried I used a hot glue gun to attach the pieces to toothpicks.

Here is the birthday boy enjoying one of his yummy cupcakes.

Story Stones

2011-08-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely in love with these little cuties (and with making them!). Guess where I saw them first?????? Pinterest. I got this inspiration from Red Bird Crafts...saw this and knew I just had to try to make them. So here we go:)

What you need:
      - small paint brushes
      - Mod Podge
      - Assortment of scrapbook papers and construction papers
      - Scissors
      - Colored pencils
      - Assortment of larger stones (Dollar Tree)

Go through your stones and find the ones that are flat...those are the easiest to use. Decide what you want on your stone and cut out the (tiny, tiny) pieces from your scrapbook paper or construction paper. We found mixing the 2 gave the "stone characters" a little more whimsy. Put your old friend Mod Podge on the backs of each piece of cut out paper. Set each one on your stone. If you need to add anything (eyes, mouth..) with colored pencils, do that before you cover the entire thing with Mod Podge. Once it dries (it's really quick) put on another layer of Mod Podge.

Head over to my teacher blog 4th Grade Frolics to see how I plan to use these in my classroom. The possibilities are endless:) Have fun....be careful though.....they are kinda addicting once you start making them;)

S'mores Bars

2011-08-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

While visiting this weekend my sister Katie shared a yummy S'mores treat with us that she recently got from a friend of hers. It was so easy to make and I actually had all the ingredients in the pantry, which is always a plus. They tasted so good, and are definitely a new family favorite! There are already just a few pieces left.

Here is all you need: graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, brown sugar(3/4 cup), and butter(3/4 cup)!

With an ingredient list like this, how can you go wrong!?!

Lay graham crackers out on a cookie sheet covered with tin foil to help with clean up.

In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar until well mixed and it becomes a caramel like texture. Pour over graham crackers and bake in 350 degree oven for about 7 minutes.

Add chocolate, we had left over Hershey Bars from the party, so we just broke them up and sprinkled them over the caramel mixture. Chocolate chips would be easy.

Bake again for about 10 minutes to melt down the chocolate.

Sprinkle with marshmallows. Small marshmallows would be easier, but we had some large ones left over from camping so we just broke them apart and sprinkled them on. It should be pretty well covered up with marshmallows, I just didn't get a picture before my sister stuck it in the oven.

Bake until marshmallows start to brown (about 5-10 minutes).

Leave on the counter to cool, then place in refrigerator to allow them to cool and harden.

Cut apart, serve, and ENJOY!

READ in style

2011-08-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

I bought the white block letters at Michaels. By the way, did you know that all teachers can get 15% off their entire purchase everyday, just by showing your teacher ID? I don't remember where I purchased the paper, it was some old scrapbook paper I had in one of my bins.

First, I turned the letter over. Then, I traced the outline of the letter on the back of the paper. Third, I cut out the traced letter.

Next, I glued the paper down on the letters.

Finally, I used "Modge Podge" to make sure it was secured onto the letter and it gave it a nice glossy finish.

I saw an idea similar to this on another blog and thought it would be super cute in my classroom. I was so excited to share them with everyone that I had to take a picture of them right now (in my house). So, when I actually get them into my classroom, I will take another picture and post it. I know they are pretty simple, but I didn't want to add too much to the letters. Maybe I will add a couple of ribbons or buttons....any suggestions?

Button Monograms

2011-08-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

I have been loving all the Button Monograms that I have seen {and pinned} on Pinterest. I have been waiting for a chance to make one myself!

This weekend my family and I are visiting my sister {Megan} in Northern California to attend my nephew's first birthday party. We came a day early to have a "family craft day". Yesterday we {my sister, mom, daughter, and me} sat around the table working on our crafts. Three of us made button monograms. Here's how we made them.

First, we printed giant letters for our last names and a peace sign for my daughter. I used a font called Plantagenet Cherokee at 700 pt with an outline setting. Then we cut them out and traced them with pencil onto a piece of card stock.

My mom and sister have an endless supply of buttons, beads, and brads. So that gave me a nice variety to choose from.

Next, we used tacky glue to place the first layer of buttons.

Then we had fun filling in all the little spots one layer at a time until we were finally done. Here's how mine turned out {plus a pic to show the details}:

Today we went out and I bought a frame for mine. I can't wait to get home on Sunday and hang it up!!!

Here's how my mom's and my daughter's turned out: {still awaiting frames!}

Our family crafting day was so much fun and I love how our button projects turned out! Megan will be posting another project we made sometime next week!

Filing Cabinet Redo

2011-08-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

Do you know about Freecycle?? It's a group kinda like Craig's list that can be specific for your area. You get emails from legitimate people in your town asking for items or trying to get rid of items all for FREE.

I received one Thursday night-- someone was GIVING away this lovely cabinet

It had some areas that needed sanding. After sanding, I cleaned it and primed it and left it outside overnight.

This morning, I went outside to start painting it with spray paint, but it looked awful. So I resorted to painting it with these acrylic paints that you can buy from Hobby Lobby.

The only bad thing about acrylics is they can scratch off easily, but you can put a clear sealant on top.

I planned on using scrapbook paper on the drawers, so I didn't paint the whole drawer blue. I painted the edges because the paper is not as big as the drawer, so I knew I needed a color on the edge. I also removed all the removable hardware before painting and put in into a plastic bag.

Then it was time to put on the paper, but first I needed a template. To do the whole paper part, I used the items below

The red piece of paper is card stock (I really used a scrap of blue card stock ) which is what I used to make my template. I put the blue paper on the drawer front with some removable tape, and with my exacto blade, I carefully cut around the sliding opener, the label holder, and the 3 holes for the screws to go through.

The tough part was seeing the holes, but I had a "light bulb" moment.... literally :) I placed a flashlight in the drawer, so I could see the light of where the hole was....(I felt pretty smart until it fell off the paper towels, and my husband just held it... wish I had asked him in the first place...);)

So then after I had traced all that, I cut everything I needed out of my template, and I placed it on top of the back side of my scrap book paper and attached the two with paper clips ----best invention EVER!

Then I cut it all out and placed the paper on my drawer front. I did have to slightly tweak a few areas... but nothing major.

I attached it with my loving nemesis....Tacky glue

I did that to 4 sheets, alternating patterns. It looked like this... I promise the pics are ending soon! :)

Then it was time for labels. I used yellow card stock, a few scrapbook letters, and a paint pen to finish my lettering.

Please pardon my GINORMOUS mess that is over taking the rest of the room. Here is the finished product... drum roooooooooooooooooooll please.................

Now to find fun folders to organize the mess that is sure to go into it.... Hopefully everything on that desk! :)

You can find this post and more about organization at my website Jack of all Trades

Thanks for reading and Happy Crafting!!!

Personalized Scrabble Game

2011-08-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a project I LOVE
making for gifts....

PERSONALIZED SCRABBLE BOARD

ALL YOU NEED is an
OLD Scrabble Board
LOTS of Scrabble Letters
Glue
a Nail &
a Letter tray

FIRST~

in the middle

(just like you are making the first move)

make the recipients last name...

all future words will come off this last name...

then start building off the last name...

make their names, their pets, kids, special dates, phrases, places, etc...

be creative...

our wedding date is October 10th so I used a blank and an I and an O for the 10 ((HA HA SNEAKY))

AFTER you have them placed and you check for spelling....

GLUE them down!!!

I made this one for me...so while it was drying

I got the letter tile tray (or rack)

and I nailed to the wall using ONE little nail.

Make sure the tray is nailed to the wall as if it were going to hold the letters...

and after it dries.... put it in place!!!

I hope you enjoyed my QUICK and simple idea!!!

These make great wedding shower gifts....

Christmas gifts

New Home gifts

and just a GREAT GIFT PERIOD!!!!

AND.... they don't have to hang on the wall my aunt keeps hers out on the table in her game room!!!

I can usually find lots of Scrabble games at thrift stores and garage sales!!!

PLUS it is FUN!!!!

Creating Notebooks!

2011-07-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Hobby Lobby had a LOT of scrapbook items on sale, including paper and stickers!!! I LOVE stickers... can't have enough! Anyway here is a set up of my craft project that took me about 1.5 hours to do 4 notebooks from start to finish. The composition books are on sale at Staples for $0.50. This year I am teaching two classes (morning and afternoon), but I am teaching both Math and Science to 6th graders.

I am a huge fan of notebooks and have been doing it for the past 2 years diligently in Science. This year I am going to give Math a shot, but I had an amazing teacher in high school who made me keep a Math notebook for Algebra 2, and you know what??? I still have it!!! In fact, I referenced it a few weeks ago when I was brushing up on parabalas for my 4-8 Generalist test. So glad I had that notebook.

Anyway.... the point of this blog is this craft. A month or so ago, a friend of mine, Katy, posted some images of these notebooks on her Facebook and I knew I had to make them. The key ingredient to making them is not in the picture above... see below:

No mod podge glue... just this tack spray, but it smells and can go everywhere!! I did this project in my house, since it was like 1000 degrees outside, but I had a fan going the whole time. I sprayed my notebook COVERS... not the paper, inside a box I was going to throw away-- that way the glue stayed in one place... the box.

Then I placed my papers the way I wanted them and then cut around the edges using an exacto blade.

I also did the back with the same papers, but maybe a different layout. Then the real fun began! STICKERS!!! I purchased all sorts of school stickers at Hobby Lobby and they worked out wonderfully. I also added some ribbon to all four. The ribbon is not a bookmark or anything, just glued to the front cover for added interest.

During the first few days of school, I will let the students decorate their notebooks using colored copy paper, magazine cut-outs, stencils, and glue sticks. I think if they take their time creating them, they will feel more connected to their work, and therefore, less likely to lose it. One thing I have not done yet is use a hand held hold punch, punch a hole in the top right corner of the back cover, and attach a large rubber band to it. This way when my notebook starts to expand (and believe me ... it will) , the rubber band will hold it all together.

You can check out more about how I organize my notebooks and grade them at my blog: Jack of all Trades!

Happy Crafting!!!

crayon remix:)

2011-07-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

I made these for my students for Valentine's day but wanted to share with back to school starting. If you are a teacher why not whip up a batch for your new students? Parents- what a great project to do with your children:) Or just an anytime gift.

To make your crayons you need
:used crayons
:baking tray such as a muffin tin or a cute shaped tin (hearts, cars, there are some really cute ones out there) I've heard from other bloggers that silicon molds work really well.
: a professional crayon peeler. Well not really but it's good to have some helping hands for the first step

Find some crayons. It's best to go through old crayons rather than buy some new ones

Lucky for me I have a whole box full at my house;)

Prepping your crayons is simply this:

Peeling off the paper, and breaking them down into small pieces to fit inside the muffin tin.

(this is the part where helping hands comes in use)

Next you need to spray your tins (so your crayons won't stick), then break up the crayons to fit.

Next: bake the crayons. You want to make sure you bake them until you see no pieces. (all liquid)

250 for about 15 min should be good

let them cool them pop them out

tada

Here are mine all sealed and ready to be delivered.

Last: pull out all the paper, coloring books you have and get busy!:)

Letter Puddles:)

2011-07-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

Saw something like this on where else.......Pinterest! So thought I would give it a try. The idea I saw was making magnets and I have to say, that is what I had in mind when I purchased the materials and sat down to craft. But, when they were done, I had too much fun sliding them around and playing with them and thought how fun this would be for students to practice spelling words or any type of word work activity.

What you need:

- 1 bag of clear puddles (flat glass stones, I call them puddles. Dollar Tree! Score!)

- scissors

- Mod Podge

- Small paint brush

- Wax paper

- Alphabet stickers (dollar section Target)

Notice the magnets...told you that's what I had in mind..

This is too easy to do. Simply cut out your letters to fit your puddles. Then with your brush put a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the back/flat side of your puddle. Then put your letter on and set it on a sheet of wax paper to dry:)

Putting them on the wax paper will keep them from sticking to something else if any of the Mod Podge leaks out.

We let our dry over night and ta-daa!

Aren't those fun?! Don't you just want to dig in and make some words:)

Happy Craftin!!

Chalkboard Clothespins

2011-07-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for new and creative ideas for displaying student work in my classroom. I had decided to put up a couple clotheslines this year. Then, I discovered Chalkboard Clothespins on Pinterest {where else?!} and decided to create some of my own.

To make them I used 2 packs of clothespins and 2 pieces of balsa wood (I would have preferred to use something a bit sturdier, but I needed something I could cut).

I cut the balsa wood into 2-inch pieces:

Then I spray-painted the pieces with chalkboard paint. When they dried, I used a stencil and traced it onto each one using a white paint marker:

I painted the clothespins to match the colors in the room:

Last, I used a glue gun to attach the chalkboard pieces to the clothespins:

I can't wait to see how these look in my classroom!!!

Baby Shower gift idea: Cupcake Washcloths

2011-07-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

One of the teacher's at my school had a baby shower during the school year. As a do it yourself fanatic I wanted to make her a gift and began searching for "inspiration". I came across Cupcake washcloths and knew I had a winner. These are super simple to make and oh so adorable.

All you need to make these are:

1) washcloths

2) cupcake liners

3) rubber bands or ribbon to secure the "cupcake"

Here's the instructions:

Step 1:Lay a baby washcloth flat on a hard surface. Jelly-roll the washcloth lengthwise until you have a long, flat roll.
Step 2:
Starting at one end, roll the washcloth up to the other end. Roll up at an angle instead of straight across to get the icing look. Adjust as needed to get your desired look.
Step 3:
Tie a ribbon or rubber band around the cupcake to secure it.

How you display them is completely up to you. Here's how mine turned out:

aren't they adorable?

I displayed mine in a cute lil basket

Now go get inspired,

Sunday Shopping Spree

2011-07-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

Over at Create-Teach-Share {my teacher blog} I shared some great finds from my shopping spree this morning. While I was out I picked up these Accent Gems from Dollar Tree and these Magnets from Joann's ($1.29 a pack):

Here's how I used them to create adorable magnets for my home and classroom:

First, I traced the stones onto scraps of scrapbook paper that I had left over from another project...

Next, I cut them out and used mod podge to paste them to the bottom of the gems...

Last, I used a glue gun to add the magnets to the back...

This was such a simple and inexpensive project, and I love how they turned out!!!

So Simple Saturday -- Using Walnut Ink

2011-07-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

Looking to add an antiqued look to your paper and fabric crafts...it's very simple.

I use a mix of Walnut Ink Crystals and Hot Water to age my paper. The container gives measurements, but I usually add more of the ink crystals to make it darker. If you don't have Walnut Ink instant coffee or tea works too, and makes your project smell yummy too.

I suggest mixing your liquid in a large, flat container so you are not limited to the size of the items you want to stain. Also collect as many things as you can to stain at once, because the liquid dries up within a couple days.

Right now, I am getting ready to work on some decorations for my son's first birthday so I stained a bunch of off white cardstock. I will also be working on scrapbooking some camping pages soon, so I stained some ribbon.

The paper dries pretty quick, within a few hours and the ribbon even faster. Once your items are stained you can do anything with them.

I will post pictures of my son's party decorations as soon as they are done, but for now here are a few projects I made last Christmas.

Tags:

Ornament (for this fabric my mom and I used a mix of water, instant coffee, and vanilla extract) I haven't tried using the walnut ink on fabric yet...

Happy Crafting,