It's a Jungle in Here!

So much for keeping up with the blog. What's it been...four months? Well, as you can see below I've been pretty busy setting up my new jungle/safari themed classroom at my new school. I had so much fun buying, creating, and even sewing materials for my classroom. I'm so grateful to all the people who have shared ideas on the internet. They truly inspired me! I wanted to be sure to share my own classroom pictures, too. Maybe this will spark some more ideas. Enjoy!

Still Addicted to Vista Print

I have shared my love of Vista Print with some of my colleagues and they have become just as addicted as me. We are a bad influence on each other, too. Every time they show me something they've made, I want to go and make/order more stuff, too. Here are some of my latest projects.

I got this idea for a rubber stamp from a colleague. I plan to use this on practice worksheets I sometimes send home with the students.

Here's another idea inspired by some of my fellow teachers. Next year we will be doing math stations in addition to literacy stations so I thought it would be good to have this small banner posted. Gotta love the giraffe print, too!

I "borrowed" this idea from something I saw in a catalog and thought it would do well on the small car magnet. I also found a cute stuffed turtle in the "2.50 section" at Target to go with it.

I usually print "Fun Friday" reminders on my printer so I thought I would let Vista Print do it for me with these small postcards. They are cute, colorful, and will last me for the next few years.

I saw this cat themed Premium Business Card template and knew I had to make something out of it. A homework pass seemed to be the perfect idea for this template. :)

I'm sure I will be visiting Vista Print more this summer. Stay tuned!

I'm Working on My Summer To Do List...

I have already started my to-do list for this summer and it is growing every day. Every time I see a cute idea, I have to add it to my list. :) Here's a few craft ideas that have caught my eye as I have been reading some of my favorite blogs.

At Paint in My Hair she has this awesome tutorial, The Undercover Crate, for making fabric covers for plastic crates. I have the crates and just bought some cute jungle themed fabric. I can't wait to make these for my classroom.

I love this Dessert Stand idea using terra cotta pots. So cheap and cute! Take a look at A Girl and a Glue Gun for other creative terra cotta pot ideas.

Check out this fun idea for a Library Bag from Lulu's Tiles. I've been learning how to do applique in my quilting class and love finding cute, applique ideas. I think the owl is so adorable and this is a perfect project for me since I am always toting my books to/from the library. Also, I'm sure I have everything I would need to create this project so it's FREE! Even better!!!

My Someday Crafts

There are so many great ideas out there in Blog World. Here's a few craft ideas I hope to make someday...

I found this idea at Tulle Cool. I thought I might could make something like this for my Vista Print postcards I have ordered (which by the way I can't wait to finally arrive...any day now!).

Here are some cute, cute, cute ideas (with tutorials) for making bean bag chairs at Making it Fun. I wonder if I'm brave enough to tackle a project like this. :)

So many craft ideas...so little time. I can't wait for summer!

Yard Sale Deals

It's Spring and time to hit the yard sales.  So many great deals!  My husband and I often go out together to look for deals, though, he is not the serious shopper that I am.  I like to hit them hard and fast, quickly scanning for treasures and then quickly moving on to the next house.  He is a little bit slower in the process and loves to stop and chat with people we meet along the way.  He just doesn't get it that the good deals go fast and you have to "wheel and deal" and move on.  Well, he's learning and it's nice that he goes with me.  We (meaning "I") got some great deals today.  He got some kind of clamp and a cow skull (don't ask!).  He helped fix someone's computer at one house so we ended up getting some freebies there.  What a guy!  In all we spent about $35.  Here are my treasures... 

Friends game (my favorite TV show of all time), Little Miss Sunshine (on my "Need to See" list), a couple of favorite books, some cute polka dot ribbon, and a picture frame that I plan to turn into a dry erase calendar for either home or school.

Treasures for my classroom...cute monkeys (the big one is a "Build a Bear") for my Classroom Library and take home bag, a cat for our class mascot and take home bag, a bulldog for school mascot and take home bag (I was SO excited to find this.  I was just about to spend $20 on Amazon to order one.), jungle print stool and container, zebra pitcher, safari print scarf (room decor), sidewalk chalk, and a movie reel wall display (I use to do a "Hollywood" themed literacy station and have been thinking of doing it again so I thought this would be great for decor.)

Books - I'm kind of picky about buying books at yard sales.  They have to be in pretty good shape and CHEAP.  I got some great deals on these books.  One place had them for 10 cents each.  I got at least 10 books there. Most of the books are for my niece and nephew since I already have so many for classroom.  I found some wonderful books perfect for young children. 

I don't usually buy clothes or shoes at yard sales unless they are new or excellent condition.  I found some good deals at one house, though, and got a new GAP shirt and some GAP/Old Navy shorts and vest that were in great condition.  I also got the sweater for free thanks to my husband's computer skills.  The water shoes are brand new and great for the next time I go to the lake.  The red bag was another great find and perfect for carrying my treasures.

Stay tuned for future deals! :)

Say it with Postcards!

Well...I had a few minutes while my husband puts air in my bike tires so we can go riding, so I thought I would upload the rest of my project pictures.  I think the Vista Print templates I have used the most are the postcards - both the regular and oversized ones.  When you order the free ones, you get 100 of the regular sized ones and 50 when you order the oversized.  I am excited that I will be able to use these for several years. Here are my postcard projects.

Oversized Postcards

This is the back of the Welcome postcard.

Regular Postcards

More Vista Print Deals

The ideas just keep coming.  Here are a few more of my Vista Print projects.  I used a "Rack Card" template to create labels for my plain, white book boxes.  I will put the student's picture on the blue rectangle and his/her name on the blue stripe at the bottom.  You get 50 cards which I will probably not need because I plan to reuse these from year to year if I can.  I may just cut off the top part of the extras and use the bottom part for other projects. I'm still thinking about the possibilities.  

I also made a cute personalized notepad. You can never have too many of those! :)

Projects Made From Small Car Magnet Templates

I love, love, love these big magnets.  There are so many possibilities especially since I can use them on the brand new, magnetic white board I will have in my new classroom next year. I will also use some of them on our classroom door and any other magnetic surface I can find. :)

I plan to put the "Student of the Month's" picture on this magnet and display it on our classroom door.

More Vista ideas coming soon!

I LOVE Vista Print!

I have rediscovered Vista Print and their awesome, free (well, almost free) products.  You can check them out at www.vistaprint.com.  Once you sign up, they will send you all kinds of emails for free products. You just have to pay shipping & handling.  You have to be careful, though, because shipping depends on the type and quantity of products you are buying.  My average cost for shipping is about $12 or $13 for about 5 to 6 items...not too bad.  I have become a bit addicted over the past few days and have spent a good part of my Spring Break creating new materials to use in my classroom.  I think I have purchased about 23 products and have spent about $50.  Many of the things I have created can be used over the next few years so I feel like I will be saving time, effort, and printing costs down the road.  I was fortunate to find ideas online from other teachers who have used Vista Print.  Once I started making things, though, my creative juices really got going.  I can't wait to get my products! Check out some of the things I have made. I'm still getting use to uploading images so I am adding only several ideas at a time.

Small Banners

Products Made From Business Card Templates

Long Time No Blog!

It's been way too long...well over a year and I'm ashamed it has taken me so long to get back to my blog. I would really like to make a commitment to keeping up with it and updating at least a few times a month.  I'm transferring to a new school next year and I'm brimming with all kinds of ideas of new things I want to do and make. I'm hoping this blog will help keep me motivated and give me an opportunity to share.  I would also like for this blog to help me keep up with the other blogs I like to follow and all the wonderful ideas that I'm finding in Blog World.  For this reason I am letting this blog move in a new direction that incorporates both ideas and projects for home and school.  Let my blog begin......um, I guess that's re-begin. :)