DIY Wedding... Is It Worth It?

There's a lot to be said for budgeting and saving on wedding decor. But one things you don't always realize is how much TIME it takes to DIY. First you have to read the directions. Then you have to find the supplies. Then you actually have to MAKE it!

Lately I've been trying to make a lot of the decor myself. Pinterest is a LIFESAVER-- not to mention full of millions of ideas. Here are a few things I've been working on...

One thing I loved was the idea of taking an old suitcase and turning it into a card holder:

 

And luck must have been on my side, because I discovered my grandfather's old suitcase one day when I was helping my parents move. Here is the version my sister-in-law helped me create! 

Another decoration idea I thought was cute was the cupcake wrapper flower ball:

 

You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find decent cupcake wrappers. Plus, depending on the size of the ball-- you need a LOT. My mom and I ended up special ordering our wrappers online-- but they were perfect for the project! I finally finished one last weekend (only one more big one to go!):

 

So in the end, I've decided that it does take more time to have a DIY wedding-- but I feel very proud about the things I've invested my time in-- I can't wait until May!

Life at Super Speed

I'm not sure if it's the holidays, or just me, but it seems like my life is speeding up. Here are some things that have happened as of late:

1. I got engaged!

2. I only need 2 more classes to be done with my Master's degree!
3. It's only a few weeks until Christmas!

Ok, so in retrospect that wasn't very much. But they feel like very important life changes. And both, with the exception of Christmas, are happening next spring (fingers crossed that I can pull it off). Anyway, I find it's important to be able to take some time off and relax-- Here are some ideas:

1. Crochet. Random items. Useful items. Anything that strikes your fancy.

Poor Ellie and her sweater....

My first grown-up tree and skirt!

2. Do a different type of crafty item. I have made some Christmas items (like the above tree skirt) and this stocking for Ellie Mae.

3. One of my FAVORITE ways to relax is with a hot cup of coffee (using the best creamer of ALL time-- limited edition)

 4. Read a good book. If you are like me and you only enjoy reading teen or kid books, then I am going to list some of my favorite books that I've read this year.

• Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
• Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins
• Savvy, by Ingrid Law
• Finnikin of the Rock, by Melenia Marchetta
• The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen
• Graceling, by Kristin Cashore
• Because of Mr. Terupt, by Rob Buyea

I have attached links to book descriptions on the B&N website. Check them out-- you won't regret it! 

How do you stay stress free at such a busy time of year?

Time to Set Up Camp!

I have been slaving away in my classroom-- and I am finally seeing things come along! Our school-wide theme this year is camping. So I've scoured the internet for many different kinds of ideas ranging from owls to forests. You can find a TON of owl things-- but not a lot of just "camping" stuff. Today I finished my hallway bulletin board-- here it is:

My kids made those little sleeping campers at the end of last year-- the poem is called "Sleeping Bag". I told them to try and make the head look like their real heads-- I think they came out pretty cute! For my doorway I made a log cabin:

We also glued green paper along the bottom of our 4th grade hallway-- along with all the little skunks and birds and porcupines our kids made last year:

Inside the room I have a TON of bulletin board space:

"Zizzer Tickets" are our positive reward system. The kids get a party when they earn 100 tickets for good behavior.

My math board-- I will change out the info depending on what we are studying.

My AR board-- the kids write their points on their s'more.

My reading board/corner-- I have 2 more beanbags to add!

What's for lunch-- I'm going to clip the menu on the plate. And, of course, my birthday bugs.

I finally finished (I think) the area where I'm storing all my writing supplies and center activities:

I also glued some bright owls to my door:

And fixed up my student "job" area-- which is the door of my closet (the key is utilizing the space given)

And my desk area-- I had them move the file cabinets to beside my desk-- which is MUCH better than across the room. I am looking forward to having it closer! Sorry my desk itself is a mess-- my computer still hasn't been completely set up-- so I can't really finish it up yet.

The end is in site!

QUITE the week!

Well it has been QUITE a week. It's so hard to believe summer is coming to a close. I hate to see it leave-- and yet, I'm so ready for fall. The BEST weather EVER! 

This week I made a BINGO reward board for my classroom. Basically whenever a student does something really well (like always turns in homework), I have them initial their name on a square. Then once the board gets pretty full, I randomly select one of the spaces and that person gets a reward-- like maybe a free homework pass or a "sit by a friend for a day" pass. It took me forever to measure out the lines to make them straight-- but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

All I need to do is laminate it-- to make it like a dry erase board and reusable!

The next project I finished was for my teachers pay teachers store. It is a set of 31 page borders to use in your classroom (or on your TPT products). I had a lot of fun making these-- because I made them from scratch-- so they are unique. Click on the picture below to go check them out! 

The 3rd thing I created was a little mailbox for my desk-- for my kids to put comments or thoughts. This will be great for my kids who are a little quieter, but want to tell me something. I used a shoebox and painted a base coat on it. Next I cut a slot on the lid and added stickers for decoration. The final step was a few layers of Mod Podge and a coat of spray finish. Hopefully it'll last awhile! 

Then I had my 2 year anniversary with my boyfriend. To celebrate we went ice skating and to Olive Garden... I tried to take a picture-- but he pretty much can't take normal pics. I guess that's one of the things I love about him.

And, the last thing I did was adopt a dog! I've decided to name her Ellie Mae. So far she has been very good. She is house trained-- very quiet and mellow-- and likes to nap. 

 
I guess I better enjoy the little slice of summer I have left-- my school meetings start up next week! Yikes!

Extra time... oh, and a blog award!

Since I can't get into my classroom (they're cleaning the hallways), and I don't feel like going all "mission impossible" and breaking in through the outdoor window, I've been spending some of my extra time painting and working on Perry (the picture book I'm illustrating for Heather) and crocheting. Here's the sign I made for my classroom-- I haven't decided yet where I'm going to hang it-- but it makes me happy:

I also crocheted a stuffed owl... I'm not sure why-- maybe I just like a challenge. The pattern is at this link... and here he is:

Sadly, I'm not the best at actually sewing all the crocheted pieces together-- but I do the best I can. And I suppose the more I practice the better I will get. Maybe.

In other news, I got my first ever blog award! (I didn't even realize these existed, but I'm still excited!) Thanks so much to Deana over at "First Grade Chatter" for the Liebster Blog Nomination! This award recognizes blogs with under 200 followers! Deana's blog is super cute and she is always posting useful things! Make sure you stop by her blog!

Here are my choices for The Liebster Blog award:

Mrs. Perry at http://petalsandpencils.blogspot.com/ 

Love to Learn at http://lovetolearn2012.blogspot.ca/ 

Mrs. Siegel at http://theteachaholic.blogspot.com/ 

Mercedes at http://surfingtosuccess.blogspot.com/ 

Erin at http://adventuresinthirdgrade-brown.blogspot.com/

Stop by their blogs for a visit (and TONS of freebies, tips, ideas, and MORE)

And here's what the winners need to do:

1.Copy and paste this award on your blog.

2. Thank the giver and link back to them.

3. Reveal 5 other bloggers and let them know by commenting on their blog.

Fantastic work, ladies!

Manatees, Coffee, and Friends

This last week I had an amazing opportunity to visit one of my best friends EVER in Texas. While I was down there I tried to forget about my normal responsibilities (little things like graduate classes and getting my own classroom ready for the fall) and focus on spending time with Heather (and occasionally her husband Stephen-- when he wasn't away in Canada for the week). And it was AMAZING! I always forget how great it is to be with someone who completely understands you and relates to you on so many different levels. Best. Time. Ever.

While I was there we visited the Dallas aquarium. In case you've never been, the Dallas aquarium is an odd thing. It's not like regular aquariums. I mean-- there are fish and sea animals-- but there are also things like sea otters, jaguars, ant eaters, sloths, and birds. So it's almost like a little zoo habitat with sea animals thrown in.

Our favorite attraction was the manatees. If you do not know what a manatee is, you are truly missing out on life. They are pretty much the cutest thing in the water. Anyway, we wanted to see the manatee but it was super crowded. So the manatee swam by once and never came back. Heather and I left a wee bit dissapointed. We continued on, and when we reached the end of the aquarium we decided to go back and see the manatees 1 more time.

This was our lucky moment! There was hardly anyone in front of the giant tank and the 2 manatees were swimming about freely and happily.

Heather and I waited... and then-- to our amazement-- one of the manatees swam RIGHT up in front of us and even posed with Heather-- it really did look like it was trying to give her a kiss. Best. Picture. Ever.

True love.

Now that I'm back home from my trip... I realize how much I still need to do. But, I will get through it all with the help of Friends (the TV series-- I'm not forcing my actual friends into manual labor) and lots of coffee.

Here's a quick look at some of the centers I finished cutting out... Only like a bazillion more to go!

I'm also proud to report that I am managing to restrain myself in the buying of school supplies... Let's face it, the school supply aisle is pretty much the most awesome aisle of all time... So far this is all I've bought:

What is it about a brand new package of markers that I cannot say "no" to? Every year. Every. Year.

I can't get into my classroom for another week because they are waxing our hallways... but when I finally get it done I will post more pics.

Scatterbrained Me & School

Today I convinced myself it was Thursday, July 12. The only problem? It was NOT July 12... It was, in fact, merely Wednesday the 11th.

It seems that without school to keep me on my toes I tend to forget what day it is... Am I the only one with this problem?

I went up to my classroom today. I made one bulletin board called "Birthday Bugs". Each mason jar cutout is a month and I put little fireflies on them with my students' birthdays. Then I hot glued some plastic bugs on the board.

My next project was to continue working on my writing center-- so I created this "What can I write?" poster along with 8 examples of what students can work on during class. Then I laminated them and glued them to the wall!

Then when I was at home I took this bird printout and cut out 21 little scrapbook birds. I glued the birds onto clothespins. Later I will glue the clothespins to the wall (probably in the hallway) and use them to hang up student work! I think they are cute!

Feeling quite productive for such a scatterbrained day!