My Pregnancy

Here's a quick overview of my wonderful pregnancy last year!

Conceived in March =) 

Baby Fisher due December 18th, 2013

Our fun gender reveal!

We had our ultrasound tech write the gender on a card rather than telling us while we were in the doctor's office. Then I had my sister-in-law poke holes in the colored balloon that represented the wrong gender for the baby. My husband and I then shared the news of our little one's gender in a photo booth.

I was so blessed to have a healthy and stress-free pregnancy. Our little one was strong and healthy from the start and she made my experience the absolute best. YES, I gain weight, had crazy dreams, terrible sleep, constant lower back pain, and swollen feet but overall, I loved being pregnant. Being able to feel my baby girl grow inside me was the most remarkable experience. 

Almost a YEAR!

I cannot believe I have neglected my blogging for almost a year now! Such a disappointment... I have always been a procrastinator and I hoped that I wouldn't bring that quality to my blog. Well, it appears that I have. HOWEVER, I have the absolute best excuse for my neglectful blogging.

I had a baby! 

Now that I'm back to my blog, I'm going to be spending the next few weeks updating about my experiences as a new mother and what lies ahead for 2014. So happy to be back on my blog and I really hope that I can remain organized and motivated to share this time around. =)

Past Bulletin Boards

I have been meaning to share a few of my previous bulletin boards from this school year and have just been putting it off to too long....so finally, it's here! =) I have a serious obsession to creating bulletin boards and really enjoy the creativity that goes into piecing together the children's creations. 

At the private school I teach at there are specific themes outlined for each month and the bulletin boards that become the most exciting are the Science bulletin board in my classroom and a seasonal bulletin board in the hallway outside my room.We also have a Fine Arts board in our class where we display the work that the children create that have been inspired by a master artist but those aren't nearly as fun since its just a display rather that a scene. 

For last month (March), our Science theme was Land Habitats and my co-teacher and I decided to create a jungle/rainforest to display parrots, monkeys and snakes the children made during art. You may notice that their art is very similar - our school incorporates 'directed art' into the art curriculum 3 days a week. Directed Art helps the children with their listening skills and ability to follow simple directions and sequences to create an art piece as close to the display as possible. I have taught an after school class that follows a similar structure so was well prepared for this style of teaching art. It's amazing how well the children can draw and paint in this format and even more remarkable, is how unique each piece is when the children are all listening to the same exact directions. So fun!

Sorry I don't have any close ups of this one, I wised up later on though. =) 

Also for March, I created a Dr. Seuss themed bulletin board in the hallway to honor one of my favorite children's authors and illustrators during his birthday month. The children created their own Thing 1 and Thing 2 for directed art, which I then cut out and labeled with their individual numbers (the reason for Thing 17 below). I also took a picture of each of my students with Lorax eyebrows and a mustache to create the other project. With the photos ready, I had the children watercolor one of two different versions of the Lorax that I drew. 

My truffula tree tops were made out of large butcher paper that I cut to size and then gave them a fun and messy layer of shaving cream paint. The children had a blast with this part, of course! I love letting them mess around with shaving cream but it was a MESS to move around the classroom as the large truffula tuft dried! It was still worth it though. 

For those of you unfamiliar with shaving cream paint, it's roughly 1C shaving cream to 2-4 tablespoons white glue. I've read a lot of other sites that it's a 1:1 but thats way too much glue. You basically just need to glue to be added until the mixture is similar to cake batter. It'll glob and slop around but holds together well and is thick enough to spread a generous layer. 

 The last bulletin board I'm sharing today is currently displayed in my classroom and I LOVE it!! 

I've never had a bulletin board quite like this before and I'm really happy with how it turned out. For  April, our Science themes were Plants, Sunlight and Moonlight and being the perfectionist I am, I wanted to do something that I figure others WOULDN'T do. So I chose the 'less likely to be chosen bulletin board theme' of the month, moonlight. 

 We planned this whole week around the bulletin board by learning about the different moon phases and created art last week that would fill up the night sky.

 The bats were done for directed art. 

 I jazzed up some Dollar Store letters with blue glitter and Mod Podge to add some sparkle to our night sky. I also added some glitter to stars on the border - maybe about 5 glittery ones on each strip. It really added a subtle detail to tie the whole wall together. 

The fireflies were inspired by Eric Carle's The Very Lonely Firefly. I prepared the separate pieces and then each child glued it together and then added details for the body, legs and face using oil pastels. 

I used the shaving cream paint to create the large crescent moon and sprinkled some irredescent glitter right away. Also, here's a close up of 2 of my favorite little bats - I love those eyes! So cute!

I also had a few children create the moon phases with yellow chalk (I penciled in the line for the phases in advance) and then gave them a quick blast with Glitter Spray. 

More colorful and fun boards to come once they're created! Next month's theme is Dinosaurs...

let the brainstorming begin....

My First Clipart Creation!

After venturing into the Teachers Pay Teachers world of teacher created lessons and resources, I have been obsessing about clipart! I'm a very visual thinker and love to incorporate colorful and fun images onto anything I create for my classroom. When I recently encountered a block in my TPT creativity, I started doing some research about how to create my own clipart. After scoring the internet and reading and watching all kinds of random attempts to help teach others how to create clipart, I FINALLY came across a single YouTube video that had a perfectly simple demonstration. With my new knowledge, I set out to create a simple image for my first clipart set and after what felt like HOURS....I DID IT!

I created these simple little owls using Powerpoint (surprised? I was too!) and posted them as a FREEBIE onto TPT. I hope you enjoy them!

Colorful Owl Clipart FREEBIE

Craft Room Sign

Here's a simple freebie I created to add some more detail to my craft room. 

I wanted to add some kind of framed artwork but since I chose such unique colors for the space, I had a challenging time finding something that worked. 

Yay Photoshop Elements! I have very little experience using the program but I'm so glad I spent a little extra time fiddling with it today! Enjoy! 

Download Here

Simple Pegboard Upgrade

With my craft room remodel in full force, one area that I hadn't given much consideration to was all the little bits and pieces that I would need storage for. I really want to keep the table top free of clutter. All of the big elements came naturally but staying organized is a lifelong battle for me so I'm determined to start off in the right direction. 

The more I plan the better organized I can be...hopefully. 

So the crafty light bulb went on when I was browsing my local Freecycle site and saw a FREE pegboard was posted. Free and a pegboard?! My problems were resolving themselves! So I picked up the pegboard, which ended up being HUGE and requiring hubby and I to snap it in half to fit it in our dinky Focus. However, the two pieces I was left with were still about 4'x4', more than enough for what I had I mind and extra for hubby to use in his 

man cave/garage :) 

Now everything that goes into my craft room has to charming and beautiful, of course, so I set out to find a pretty and inexpensive way to jazz up the simple board. I thought about framing it with crown molding but the thought of purchasing it, cutting it and painting it seemed like too much work so thankfully my hubby came up with a brilliant substitute!

The previous owners of my house left behind all kinds of random home decor items, which included this frame. 

I cut open the back and pulled away the staples which allowed me to remove all of the layers of paper and the glass. I then used a piece of the removed paper to measure the exact size to cut the pegboard. After the board was cut, I used some extra paint from my wall doodle to prime the board and then add some sparkle. 

Finally, with the board dried, I slipped the freshly painted board into the old frame, repositioned the original staples. Just like that, an amazing pegboard that cost me NOTHING to make!! I did spend about $5 on more pegboard supplies but FREE is just so much more exactly so I'm sticking to that. :)

I hope you can find some inspiration to help you with your space! And if you aren't plugged into your community's Freecycle page, I highly recommend it as a great way to find some great FREE resources for repurposing and to help us keep good items out of our landfills. 

http://www.freecycle.org/

My Craft Room Accent Wall!

I can finally unveil my finished accent wall in the craft room!

Since my husband and I are on a tight budget, I've turned to paint as a way to add personality and decor all in one. With my craft room remodel, I had to add some creativity to one of the walls. To add my personal touch, I decided to doodle on the wall a simple design that I tend to draw all the time. =) 

Here's where I started:

For my paint, I just went with an off white color. Valspar Delicate White

I also bought the Valspar Paint Crystals after reading about it on Pinterest, of course. I mixed about 1 pint to roughly 1-2 tablespoons of the paint crystals. As the directions suggest, mix the crystals in gradually so they don't clump in the paint. 

Then, I used chalk to draw out my design.

Then I painted...

               and painted...

                               and painted.

It really wasn't that bad... but I am a perfectionist and question just about every line before I add it. 

I also painted 2 coats to make sure the purple didn't come through and 

to guarantee that I'd get enough sparkle. Once the paint dries, the chalk can simply be wiped with a damp towel. 

Here's the final product!

I know its a bit dramatic but it's perfect and I love it.
The room is now truly my personal sanctuary and crafting headquarters!