Cricut in the classroom

If you are a teacher thinking about getting a Cricut, I highly suggest it!! I use my Cricut all the time to make stuff for my classroom. 

I made this owl from the "Create a Critter" cartridge. Then, the writing is Pooh font, using Cricut markers. You just put the markers in the blade's place and presto! I wanted a "woodsy" look, so it worked out perfectly. I am going to put this in my reading corner with a library pocket for each student. Then, when they "check out" a book for me, they will put that card in their library pocket. I'm hoping this helps me keep track of all of my books!

Who likes plain binder covers?? Not this girl! My theme in my classroom is sports. So, why not made binder covers using our favorite team's colors! Can you guess the teams?

Clipboards

I knew I wanted to make a beginning of the year gift for my new team members. But, I didn't know what to make them. Well, while cleaning out around my house I found 4 clipboards. Where did all of them come from?? I made one for each of my team members. I think for my first "set" they turned out pretty cute. I am looking for ways to improve them. For one, I used Mod Podge to put the paper on and it kept bubbling up. On the last one, I used spray adhesive and that worked a little better. I didn't have any ribbon to match Mrs. Byrd's so I added some bling instead! 

You'll have to turn your head on this one. I couldn't get my picture to turn and I sure tried! After making these, I decided that I need to add more ribbon to my collection. And, I need to buy more full sheet scrapbook paper so there isn't a seam at the bottom. Here's to more improvement! :)

We are at board

 At our school, we have to display where we are on the outside of our door in case someone needs us. Below is a picture of the board I made for my room this year. I used one of my favorite font cartridges, Cuttin' Up on the Cartoon setting. "We are at" is cut at 2.5 inches. The places are 1.5 inches.

I brought in a little bit of island flair with my paper. I wanted something bright to counteract our institutional white walls. 

In the past I have used laminated construction paper or a paper pocket with index cards. I'm looking forward to sporting this board. :) Keep up with more ways to use a cricut in the classroom!

My Pink Stamper Design Challenge

My Pink Stamper is having a challenge! Robyn is choosing new designers for her My Pink Stamper design team! I found this challenge... well, challenging. The challenge was to make a new project using orange, turquoise, green, and brown, which are not colors I usually use! That's what made it so hard. I used one of my favorite cartridges, Wild Card. The cards are fun and funky with some detailed icons and frames. My card is simple, because all of my designs are simple. I will post the recipe at the bottom. The orange icon was my inspiration for the project. I love swirlies! 

 

I made two of these frames, one for the outline and a turquoise one to fill in the frame. I really like the way the frame turned out. 

 If you don't have a Xyron... get one! I use mine all the time, especially for little pieces (such as the small ones used on my frame).

Here is my final product. Like I said... simple. I like the way it turned out. Here is the recipe.

- Basic 5 x 6 1/2 white card

-George and Basic Shapes Rectangle 6 1/4 inches (brown paper)

- George and Basic Shapes Rectangle 5 inches (green paper)

-Wild Card Stitched Icon (shift) cut swirlies on orange paper at 4 inches

- Wild Card Oval Frame (shift) at 5 inches. 

I used this step twice: once on brown, once on turquoise. 

I used the turquoise to fill the frame. 

If I had a My Pink Stamper stamp, I would have used that. But, since I didn't I used my swirliest handwriting and wrote "Happy Birthday". 

Simple. Easy. Perfect for busy ladies! Choose me Robyn!! 

Where did this week go??

I feel like this week flew by so fast! What did I do? I feel like I didn't get anything accomplished! Maybe next week will be more productive. It will have to be! We have a garage sale!

Test

I just downloaded an app on my iPhone. Seeing if it works. Thanks Katie for mentioning this app.

Corpus Christi

Krissy and I spent this past weekend in Corpus for a girls weekend/ archaeology lesson. I learned more about what Krissy studies, and hope to put that knowledge to use in the near future. But, along the way we squeezed in a lot of fun! 

 We started our visit with a Hooks game. The Hooks are a farm team for the Astros. The best part, well there are two fantastic parts. First, we scored free tickets!! Second, Hooks won!!

On Saturday, we went to the Museum and got a behind the scenes tour! Our guide, Eric, took us to the back room where there were a ton of artifacts! It was so cool to see all of this fragile, old treasure! Then, we spent a few hours at the beach. The water felt great, until we kept getting bit by something. Little did we know, there were a ton of jellyfish in the water!

We got back to our room and noticed that it wasn't cleaned but our towels were gone. So they came in our room, took our towels but didn't replace them, and didn't clean our room! Madness! Oh well, we laughed about it. 

This picture was taken while we waited for a seat at Joe's Crab Shack. I know, it's a chain. But, it was on the water and fun! After dinner we went to the Selena statue and searched for a cache, although we weren't successful. This statue made me sad. Selena was beginning to cross over into the American pop scene when her life was taken way too early.

So that fire ant feeling we felt earlier....yeah, here's why. All of the larger white things in the water, those are jellyfish!! Check out how many there are! I couldn't believe it.

Before we left on Sunday we went on a tour of the USS Lexington. These things always amaze me. I couldn't imagine living on one, it's no cruise ship. But they have everything you can imagine! We got a workout and saw some neat things. If you are ever in Corpus, you should check it out!

I had a great time with Krissy. I went someplace new in Texas, which I am always up for. Plus, I got to spend a great weekend with a great friend! I am truly blessed to have such great people in my life. 

Wedding Pictures

Brad and I will celebrate 8 years of marriage on July 26th. Madness, right? It's so hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly. I took half of our negatives to Ritz Camera and had them put on a cd so I could have a digital copy of the photos. Here is what I learned from looking at our photos (which a portion can be seen on Facebook):

- We were young! And... we have aged. 

- I didn't feel skinny then, but compared to how I am now... I was skinny. Looking at the pictures were definitely motivation to kick this weight for good. (This has been a constant struggle for me)

- A good photographer is worth the money. I wish we would have searched a little more. But, she was what we could afford at the time. 

- A lot happens in 8 years. We have gone through grad school, new jobs, moving to another state, the cutest puppy ever, 12 nieces and nephews, tons of weddings, and new babies in the family and from close friends all the time. 

If all of this has happened in 8 years, imagine 20... or 50! I am so thankful that I get to spend every day with my best friend and I am looking forward to the memories we are going to build throughout our lifetime. 

Friend Moving 1.0

I have 2 friends moving this month. This makes me sad. But I am also very excited for them and the new chapter in their lives. Lauren is moving to Albuquerque on Friday. Today we had a farewell lunch with her. Here are a few pictures. 

 We had to switch out for a picture with Michelle in it. 

The Fourth Grade Team (missing Ashley) before we all go our separate ways. 3 are moving schools, 1 is moving out of state, 1 is staying in fourth, and 1 is changing grades. I will miss these ladies. They made my job all the more enjoyable. 

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Birthday America!

We rang in the Fourth with courtroom fireworks... a.k.a The Casey Anthony trial. I am so anxious for the verdict and hopefully some justice for that precious little girl.

We spent the evening with friends and had a great time. I totally slacked on the picture front. I need to get better about this. We hung out and spent some time in the pool. Daisy was quite exhausted! Plus, we broke in our new grill! :)

Happy 4th Y'all!

E-Mealz

I don't think I already blogged about this. If I did, forgive me. :)

Brad and I recently subscribed to E-Mealz. It is a website where the membership is only $5 a month. For $5 you get a menu and grocery list every week. So far, the meals have been great. We subscribe to the low fat for two but they have many choices. If they have your favorite grocery store, the meals are based on the store's sales for the week. Our favorite meal so far was a taco pie. Tonight we had salad, garlic bread, and stuffed shells. I am cooking stuff that I never thought I would and the same goes for things that I am eating. I am really picky, yet everything has been really tasty.

So, if you are in a rut and tired of cooking the same meals all the time, check out E-Mealz.

It's a Grill!

Hooray! We have a grill! :) We had to get a charcoal grill because of apartment rules. We are braking this baby in this holiday weekend! I think Daisy is excited also, especially with the possibility of droppings.

Books, Books, and More Books!

I consider my students very lucky because I have a lot of classroom books! I spent the latter part of the week organizing these books and it took over my living room. Daisy was not too happy about me taking over her couch. 

 Just a portion of the chapter books from my collection.

 This is a picture of the backings from the library pockets. 300 library pockets later, chapter books are organized.

And here we have all of the pockets for picture books. I think 400 of them! All organized into 16 bins. I'm glad this project is done!