Classroom Tour!

School is kicking my b*tt, argh, but I finally have pictures of my classroom to share! I actually got them a few weeks ago, but am just now getting time to post them. We have a new, rather complicated policy on taking pictures in our classrooms, but I'll spare you the details! :)

This is my classroom in our new building! These were taken before school started and before I was completely done, and I've already changed things (of course!), but you can get a feel for the space. I do love my room, and it's a good thing since I spend more time there than anywhere else! ha!

Love my pennants! I found the idea here. Around the whiteboard are these adorable teddy bear lights from Urban Outfitters, although they don't seem to be on their website anymore. They look so awesome turned on with the lights dimmed! The new Ikea red rug is super soft too, and the kids love it!


The plain black part in the next picture is my magnetic, chalkboard that I made for my old classroom. Now it looks more like this.

Next is this wall area, next to my Guided Reading table. Even though I teach math/science, all teachers teach one hour of Guided Reading, so I still need to have a space for reading strategies, etc. My green "bulletin boards" are twin flat sheets from Wal-Mart for $5, a Pinterest idea!

My Guided Reading table is to the left here, you can't see it, and these tables now hold the 6 student laptop computers. Nice! The two bulletin boards here now have Science posters on them covering things we've been studying...lab safety and the scientific method. Fun stuff! The blue bookcase is full of math manipulatives, games, etc that the students can play with. To the right is a blue locking cabinet for supplies and a restroom. You can barely see the super cute curtains to the left, also from Ikea.

This year our school is working to join the "No Excuses University" and really push college awareness. Every classroom "adopted" a university and ours is Texas A & M at Kingsville...the Javelinas! I cannot tell a lie...I Googled Texas colleges and picked my top 3 choices based on mascot colors! lol! I just couldn't risk purple or orange and brown!

Below is the favorite area of the kids...the library! I got the cool canopy thing at Ikea, it kind of inspired the whole room. I cleaned this old carpet the best I could, it's had 2 tough years already! ha!
Below is behavior stuff, class rules, class jobs, and not shown is a birthday cupcake graph poster we made the first week of school. The door is the entrance to the room.


This pic is by the front door entrance, there are two blue bookcases that hold lots of frequently used supplies. The silver box holds our classroom "clickers" to use with Smart Board software, very cool! You can kind of see the teddy bear lights better here, although they are not turned on. See the little white signholder for 99 cents from Ikea? It's going to hold something like this. So many ideas still, so little time!


Another view of the front:


Hope you enjoyed the classroom tour! Like I said, it's very different already (and much more full with walls covered!), so I guess I need to start the process of getting more photos taken!


Hopefully I will stamp again someday! In the meantime, thanks for stopping by! Hugs and happy everything!

Lucky You

Happy Saturday! My last *official* weekend off before returning to school on Wednesday! Shocking! (Are you tired of hearing about this yet?! Feel free to tell me to stuff a sock in it!)


Here's a so-so card I have ready to share. *smile* Here's the back story...back in June I posted this retreat make and take card (and see below) that I designed for my friends to make. Well, they didn't all make it, so I had leftover parts for 3 more cards. I decided the other day to challenge myself and make 3 more different cards with the parts. I had a ton of those scallop circles because each flower on the original card required five. Anyway, the other 2 cards are almost finished, so I'll try to post those tomorrow, maybe it will make more sense then! :)



So, I finished up a rough floor plan for my classroom using the room planner on Thomasville's website (it's SO easy, anyone can use it!), because dh didn't really want to move the furniture 12 times until I figured out how I liked it. I guessed on some measurements, so it's not perfect, but it was close enough for us to use, with some minor tweaking, of course! Here it is, just for grins. Oh, and the big box in the corner is a restroom. For the first time ever, I'll have a restroom in my classroom. I guess it's good and bad...it will be super convenient, but it will require extensive training in proper use and maintenance! :)
I got about a dozen boxes/tubs unloaded before dh started losing interest, so I'm heading back up tomorrow afternoon to work some more. Yesterday my bff Lori was kind enough to accompany me to Ikea and we found the cutest stuff ever for the classroom. I'm super excited! She also accompanied me there my first year teaching. I didn't have my blog yet then, but you can see the rug she helped me pick then here. Ummm, it's long since been out of commission! ha! Rugs seem to last about 2 years, we'll see if my new one can make it longer!


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Have a Wonderful Day!

Happy Thursday! How's it going? Hot enough for you?! hahahahaha, what an original thought!


Wow, am I getting busy now that the "final last days until school starts countdown" has started! I have had this Pleasant Av card for a long time, but all it had was the grass, the street sign, and the sentiment. I could never decide what to put on the grass. So In the meantime, when I was working on the Great Stamp Room Overhaul of 2011, I found a tag swap thing with an Andes mint inside (old and ewwwww, from the looks of it, didn't try it! ha!) and this owl on the outside of it.


Lightbulb!


Rip the owl off that tag swap thing and plant him on the grass on Pleasant Av. And yes, I think it works, good enough! Between you and me, I have had that owl punch since it first came out brand new (was it last year's catalog?) and still never used it! Argh! But now it looks like I have! ha!


If you're still here after that long story, God bless ya! Here's another old card, kind of simple, but he seems to go with the other one.




Feel free to skip this teacher part if you like...


Now, my brand new campus was opened today and teachers could start moving stuff in! That's good...and bad...you know what I mean?! ha! But I was thrilled to start getting this huge pile out of my living/dining room. Two carloads later, it's looking much better!



Here are some pics of my brand new classroom, just the way it looked as I walked in, before I started hauling my own junk inside! You can see some pictures from last year here and here, and two years ago here.






Everything is so shiny and new! I'll keep you posted with after pictures, I have lots of ideas! Luckily, I don't need to buy many things (she says after a *little* trip to Target today!), but here's a rug I love, I just wish it came larger...it's only 4' x 6':
Lastly, I'm thinking of starting a teaching blog, unless someone can stop me...


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

J is for Jack-o-lantern

Happy Saturday! Yes, I know Halloween has officially passed, but I'm running late...as usual...and not quite done celebrating! ha!


I still had one card left to share, another one that didn't get picked up by Paper Crafts. The card below, however, did get picked up and you can find it in the September/October issue of Paper Crafts!



Have I mentioned it's only 2 more weeks until Thanksgiving week break?! Whoo! Hoo! I was sick all week, so it was a rough one! I did go to the doctor Wednesday after school and get antibiotics, so hopefully next week will be better! I survived making volcanoes on Friday with the kids, schwooo, were they excited! They probably could have just worn the safety googles and been content, that was a lot of excitement for them! ha! Scientists have to be safe during their experiments, you know, they never know what the outcome may be and something may blow up!





Okay, Chatty Cathy is out of here! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

2010-2011 School Year Kick-Off!

Happy Wednesday! Day 3 and I'm dying already, ha!


Here's a couple of quick picks of my room!


Favorite moment so far:
End of Day 2 and little MB raises his hand and says, "I'm so happy!" SO. SWEET.


Worst moment so far:
Little AV looks at a picture of me taken four years ago and says, "Is that when you were young?" Yes. Before I started teaching.



How do you like the vinyl wall decor from Stampin' Up!? "Do good. Be kind." Love it.


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Teacher Thanks

Happy Saturday! It's the weekend! Whoo! Hoo!


Here's a card I made a few weeks ago and seems appropriate since I've been *living* at the school! ha! The base is SU Bordering Blue, which retired, but I've always loved it.


I'm finishing up a project here at home and heading back to school...still some more details to finalize. My room actually looks pretty good, but there's still more I can do. I'm going to try and make myself stay away tomorrow. I get so obsessive-compulsive, it sucks! I probably wasted two plus hours yesterday obsessively scrubbing the desks and trying to remove every last stain and bit of tape residue. Don't even ask how many Mr. Clean bars I used! ha! The day before it was the walls, baseboards, door trim, etc. It smells good in there at least!


Here's a pic of my library I took with my iphone last night and facebooked. I got that rug last year (you may remember, hee!) and it was pretty stained by the end of the year. Well, it cleaned up great with that Spot Shot cleaner. I've avoided pillows in the past because of lice, but we haven't had any cases for the last 3 years, and this pillow and case were so dang cute at Target, on sale for $7.49 each, I couldn't resist!




Hope you have a great weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Cards for Kids!

Happy Monday! Time to share the 62 cards I made for the 2nd graders to personalize and send to Winter for the St. Jude and Texas Children's Hospital card drives! They had so much fun with this! I went to a crop a few weeks ago, and I was too tired to pack up all of my stuff, but I wanted to hang with the girls you know...so I decided it would be a perfect night for this project. It started with just 20 card for my class, but then it grew to include all of the 2nd graders.


Below are some of the pictures of the inside of the cards. The kids were SO sweet, writing "We love you" and "We miss you", what a sweet age they are at! I'm sure my kids enjoyed it just as much as the kids who will be receiving the cards. Thanks, Winter, for organizing the project!





Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Fa La La!

Happy Sunday evening! I think this is my last card to share from the scrapbooking retreat, yikes! Looks like I better do some more "producing" fast! I totally planned on it this weekend, but somehow it never happened, sigh. Anywho, this is a super simple card with Kraft cardstock (again!) and some more Cosmo Jolly by Golly goodies. The ribbon is Sleigh Bells from the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini catalog, isn't it yummy?! I have to stock up on that before it's gone January 4.


Just for fun, here's a cute pic of little Wonder Woman and Super Girl at our Halloween assembly on Friday. So sweet! I survived the day...with the help of 9 Advils before the day was over, but I made it! lol! Thinking back on it, they were actually incredibly well behaved and we had a super fun day, I am so proud of them!


Hope you had a great Halloween! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Oh What Fun! (firefighters AND a card!)

Happy Friday! This "Oh What Fun!" card made with Cosmo Cricket goodies seemed appropriate for this post since I also promised pictures of our firefighters' visit! hee! hee!


I took them with them my iPhone and I tried to be "subtle" and not get TOO close to the firemen (I was supposed to be watching children after all, lol!), so here's what I got! One coming down the rope:


Showing off a bit, yumm!

Then they asked for teacher volunteers to do this, and I raised my hand! BUT, I thought they were joking. They weren't! I chickened out after I saw Mr. Campbell do it and saw how the harness belts did NOT look attractive! (I could just see them strapping them around my gut and thunder thighs! lol!) So I declined and the uber cute Ms. Hannah did it:

They raised her really high!


Here we are going on the truck...yes, I did do this!


We just got off the truck and they got a call and had to leave, so that was kind of exciting:

And that's that! Hope y'all have a happy Friday! I'm worried about the Halloween celebrations at school, they are going to be TOO wound up, plus we have the Fall Carnival from 5:30 to 7:30. It's going to be a long day, wish me luck!


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Artisan Award card #4

Happy Tuesday! Here's another Artisan card, only one left, don't know what I'm gonna do after that! lol! Guess I'll HAVE to make time to stamp! =)


This card is 6 1/2" x 3 1/4" and designed to fit into those longer envelopes. I actually had the idea for the pieced background with stitching and made the base of the card a few months before deciding to enter the Artisan contest. I loved it so much, but I could never figure out what to put on "top" of the card to finish it off. I struggled for a long time and it was the last thing I finished. It's hard to see in the photo, but the little medallion part in Baja Breeze was made after the cardstock was distressed and taken apart, so you're seeing the "inside" of the cardstock for that rough look. I think everything else is pretty explanatory...just lots of cutting of little squares and then sewing with that fabulous Janome Mini!


So, I survived the first day of school! Thank you for all your nice comments and well wishes! The kids are soooo cute and sweet (remind me of that later, okay?!), I really feel blessed. The day started with a tragedy when my diet coke fell out of my lunch bag and exploded in the parking lot at 6:30, yikes! That was my only one and we do NOT have a soda machine at school! The horror! You can bet I'm taking a six-pack with me today!


The other killer part...the kids go to PE from 8:10 - 9:00, which is when I get my planning period, so it then makes a very LONG day from 9:00 - 3:30 with no break! But I'm trying to stay positive, it is helpful to have that extra hour in the morning to get stuff ready and I'm not a morning person, so that helps me wake up a bit more.


Now for the cute stuff...here are my favorite things of the day. We were doing a "get to know eacher other" activity, decorating these leaves and answering questions about ourselves and finding friends with the same answers. With the question "Where were you born?" I got several "I wasn't born." answers. "Yeah, I've never been born." That was fun explaining without getting into the whole where do babies come from thing. And my other favorite: "I'm part Mexican and part Dallas." Love that!


Here are a few of my "after" classroom photos, there's lots more on here on my flickr page with descriptions, especially for those teachers out there who want to see. I don't like things too busy or too much color and I like to cover the walls with things that the students make mostly. But here it is for now!


Entry:

I made this calendar math time wall buy painting birch plywood boards from Home Depot with magnetic and chalk paint:


Front of the classroom:


Back of the classroom (they had to borrow a bunch of student chairs, for Monday morning, but they replaced them after school):


Word wall with those darling cards, attached with velcro to be interactive:



The best and cheapest window treatments, beach mats from Big Lots for $1.25!


Okay, gotta dash! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Artisan Award card #2

Happy Friday evening! Just popping in to show another Artisan Award card...this one is a gift card holder. If you peek behind the polka dot window sheet placed behind the 1 3/4" Circle Punch, you will spot an Anthropologie gift card...with a $0 balance on it, of course! At the Artisan dinner I asked Shelli if she was involved in the judging, because I used that gift card to subliminally influence her to pick me! lol! (She has admitted on her blog So Shelli to loving that store and shopping there frequently.) She laughed, but said, no, she was not involved in the judging.


Well, even after working last Saturday and Sunday and late every night this week, looks like I'll still be heading back to my classroom tomorrow. It may have something to do with the fact that I'm partially obsessive-compulsive (is that possible? partially?) and that I spent too much time using the Big Shot for certain projects, but oh, did they ever turn out cute! Here are a couple of "before photos" and there are more on my flickr page here, if you want to check them out. It's a HUGE L-shaped room with lots of windows and light, I'm loving it! I'll take some "after pictures" when I'm done and share them too.




Okay, that's it for tonight! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!