fluffy clipboard

i've been seeing all these adorable clipboards on pinterest lately.  each time i saw one i thought to myself, "too bad i don't use clipboards more often," when BAM! it dawned on me.  i knew someone who uses a clipboard!  jackie.  jackie is our ela teacher at school. since she moves from classroom to classroom a lot she tends to carry a clipboard.  and she's super good at her job.  i love her ideas and wish she could work in my classroom more often instead of just sending my ela kids to her for small group work.  i totally asked her about her favorite colors and got to work.

all i needed was purple and yellow paper, yellow tulle, an old clipboard, and some spray adhesive. 

i loved the yellow and purple polka dot sheets.  a few snips later, and ta-da!  i was done! 

here's the finished product.  i used my cricut to cut letters out to spell her name.

i was worried the tulle would make it too girly/fluffy, but it actually turned out to really pull the clipboard together.  jackie loved it and i love seeing her walking around the school with it!  it almost makes me want to make one and carry a clipboard around.  tell me about your latest craft adventures...

last day of summer vacation

today was my last day of summer vacation.  tomorrow starts up bright and early with teacher meetings and such for the rest of the week.  on monday, we have a work day and tuesday is the first day of school!  i am excited for this school year and all my new students, but i will miss summer and all the relaxation it brought.

this was a good summer.  i feel as if i were productive more than i usually am during the summer!  i made a list at the start. here it was:

1. read 10 books

2. lose 12 pounds

3. make 5 pinterest projects

4. organize literacy materials at school

here is my progress

1. read 7 books

2. lost 6 pounds

3. made 3 pinterest projects

4. completely organized literacy materials

granted i did not succeed in all areas of the list, i feel as if i accomplished a lot.  i also learned a lot about myself.  i re-realized how much i love reading.  i figured out i really DO enjoy making projects and creating.  and, i've decided i must continue to read, make projects, and keep up with that weight loss.  i need to make a first quarter goal list for myself!

here's how i spent my last day of summer vacation:

making spaghetti sauce

sewing a skirt - more photos to follow!

my mom fixed my school bag for me!

supper

my sweet little boy

care package

remember this post?  since revealing my pinterest project list i have had a chance to complete some of the projects.  i started with an easy one and made my friend jessica a pink care package.

jessica and i met our sophomore year of college.  we were dorm mates both paired with freshman roommates.  we met around october/november and were acquaintances.  at the end of first semester my roommate was moving out of the dorms leaving me without a dorm fridge or warm carpet to cover the cold tile floor.  it just so happened that jessica had everything i didn't and vice versa.  so, she moved into my dorm and we quickly became best of friends.

               

                                 

jessica gives me the excuse and support to continually watch disney movies, eat endless amounts of goldfish crackers, and introduced me to the concept of wearing sweatpants to classes.  yes - i do confess i never, ever, ever, ever would have been caught in public wearing sweatpants until jessica.  anyone who is around me today knows that is quite the opposite. :)

                                               

ok, so i bet you're dying to see the details of the care package, right?

i started by making my own envelope with leftover scrapbook paper.  i just took apart an envelope and traced around it.  another helpful hint is when you are folding the new envelope, place the old envelope on top and fold one section of the old part and then that same section on the new envelope.  it helped my lines stay straight and even.

for the actual care basket, i just searched for fun pink items.  jessica is also a teacher so this is more of a teacher basket.  here's the breakdown.

1. pink basket

2. pink dispenser of white out tape

3. pink chap stick

4. pink erasers

5. pink life water

6. pink sticky notes

7. pink nail polish

8. pink gum

9. pink pencil sharpener

in case you're counting, that would be TWO of the projects i hoped to make!  anyway, this is well on its way to jessica.  i hope she enjoys it.  if you were to make or receive a color themed care package, what color would it be?  what items would you put in it?  i would love to hear your thoughts.

feeling crafty

summer is slipping away.  fast.  before i know it, school will be in full swing.  i have been feeling the urge to craft and finally make some pinterest items.  the projects i've completed from my pinterest account are mainly food and items for the classroom.  here are four projects i would like to try soon!

these yarn balloons are one of the first items i ever pinned.
my first attempt was a disaster.  my friend, erin, told me
to place a thin layer of vaseline on the balloon before
glueing so i'm ready to try again.  more details can be found
here.

this comes from one of my favorite blogs, a beautiful mess.
i have so many old sweaters that i could use to make some
adorable and warm mittens.

this sunshine care package would make me so happy to make
or receive.  i have a special friend in mind to receive this.
more details here. 

these envelopes are made from scrapbooking paper.
i have so much paper to use since i no longer
scrapbook.  more details here.

so, now that my list is public i better get started on some of these projects!  what have you been wanting to make lately?