Valentine Corner Bookmark

    Using up my scraps is a constant battle between me and the storage space where they are kept.  So I am always looking for small projects that will help me win that battle.  Projects that are useful for a variety of people is a bonus win-win. 

    This summer in one of my sewing classes we made a reading pillow. The bonus project for that class was a corner bookmark.  Since I work in two school libraries I am a big promoter of reading for all ages.  The link to the corner bookmark video on my YouTube channel - Sew Learn Create is below.  It is my most popular video. This project is a great scrap buster because it uses only 3 pieces of fabric.

    Since Valentines Day is approaching I decided to tackle my Valentine fabric scrap bag.  My daughter is an elementary teacher and loves to shower her kids with a small gift at holidays.  So, I created a corner bookmark with a Valentine twist.  

    By adding a small stamped heart on a piece of muslin it made these bookmarks so cute!  To create the stamped heart you use a regular stamp pad and stamp on 100% cotton fabric.  I used an unbleached muslin.  Once you have stamped your image then iron the image on a cotton setting.  This will set the ink on the fabric.  Then you are ready to add your stamped fabric to your project.

    Add your stamped fabric to the folded piece in the project before you lay out the sewing pieces.  I found that using a thread color that matched the stamped fabric for this looked a little nicer.

    To make these easy to gift I cut up an old book page and put the bookmark on the corner.  Then they were slipped into a plastic sleeve with a topper and label.

    I would love to hear your comments on corner bookmarks you make and any variations you add.  Keep sewing and Happy Valentine's Day to all you readers out there.

Danna

New Birds in the Flock

If you have been following this blog and read the posts regarding my classroom at school you will know that I love owls.  Well several weeks ago I received two new friends to add to my flock.  The first was an owl bag that my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday.

My new owl bag.

 

I love the bag and the owl.  She is so cute with her big bright eyes.  I think this will become m new go bag for travelling to my Craft Class to Go parties.  It has lots of pockets and an nice large middle section so it will hold all my office type items nicely.

 

The second owl added to the flock was another birthday gift from a friend at work.  He told me that every time he and his wife see an owl they think of me.  How sweet is that! I know I have friends that when I see certain items it reminds me of them and it always makes me smile.  This large owl is a cookie jar and the colors match perfectly to my classroom.  I am not the cookie baking type so she will probably stay at school for now.  Although she might come home for a visit this summer just in case I get the urge to bake something.  It will be more likely that I will get cookies from the store to fill her up.

 



Owl cookie jar.

 

It is always a nice surprise when you receive a gift that is just right for you.  The next time I see something that reminds me of one of my friends I think I will buy it and surprise them so they will know they are loved.  Maybe you can do the same for your friends.

 

Danna

Where did the Summer go?

My, my how time does fly.  It seems like yesterday we were wrapping up the school year and looking forward to a much needed summer break.  Well, now we are back at school and the summer has gone.  I wish the school year went by as fast as summer.  Below is a sign I have on my porch written on my chalkboard tile.  Although this summer in our part of Texas was not bad.  We did not have a loooooooong string of over 100 degree days.  And we even had some days that were below 90 degrees.  That my friends is a RARE thing in Texas.

 

 

But, now it is Back to School time and that means setting up my classroom.  I used my owl theme again this year just tweaking some of the bulletin board boarders and themes.  I did add an owl banner that my Mom purchased for me.  It hangs in the middle of my classroom.  I love the colors and the owls faces.

 

My new owl banner in the middle of my classroom

 

 

On my bulletin boards this year I am going to add to them on a regular basis fun technology facts and tips.  One of the teachers last year did a Did You Know? Sign outside her door and she wrote random facts on it each day.  It was fun to see what information was presented and I learned some interesting facts.  So I thought it would be fun to do the same idea but use technology facts.

 

Here is my Did You Know  version

My first fact.  The first computer I ever saw was the size of my current classroom, it was a punch card computer.  My how things have changed.

 

 

One other change I made this year was I added some washi tape flags to the tops of the pencils I use at each computer.  I am hoping this will deter the disappearing of my pencils.  (A girl can hope for a perfect world can't she.)  I used some tape I purchased from the Dollar Tree.  It is a little thicker than regular washi tape. 

 

The pencils turned out cute with the flags.

 

There were not many changes to my classroom this year so I am thinking that next year I might do a bee or ladybug theme.  I am still working on those ideas.  I would love to see pictures of how you decorated your classroom.  Post a comment or picture below.

 

Danna

 





 



Picture Book Pennants

Working in the library for years allowed me the opportunity to overcome my anxiety of throwing away books.  Once this hurdle was cleared weeding the library became refreshing.  Creating space for new books that students were excited about reading was the goal.  Therefore the discard cart began to grow and grow.

But, the crafty side of me had a hard time actually taking them from the discard cart to the recycle bin.  My mind would race with ideas of what these treasured books could be used to create.  I once shredded book pages to use as filler in table centerpieces for a band fundraiser.  Some of the students who came to the library frequently were mortified that Mrs. Webber would shred books.  I assured them they were not books that they or anyone else had checked out in years.

I no longer work in the school library but every time I visit our librarian and she has a cart of discarded books I always take the opportunity to grab a few.  (Okay, maybe a box is not a few)  This year I needed a decoration for my classroom to celebrate Spring and I created a bunting using picture and chapter book pages.  See Spring is Here! for the details of my creation.

As I was looking at the few (box full) of books I had snagged I thought what if I created a pennant using the picture book pages.  One of the Kindergarten teachers has always admired my colorful pennants in my classroom.  This gave me a reason to create the picture book pennant.  Here is the final product.

Sorry for the bad photo.  It was hard to get the full length in the picture.

 

I used a book that had very colorful pages and very little text.  This allowed for the pennants to be double sided.  On one side I added letters cut from chapter books that spelled out "Kindergarten Rocks".  When I gave it to the Kindergarten teacher she was thrilled. 

 



I spelled out Kindergarten Rocks

 

 

The other side is just the colorful picture book

 

The view of her classroom windows.  This makes me smile every time I walk by.

 

As my crafty side continues to grow and overtake my more rational side I am sure there will be many more creations made from discarded library books.  They are perfect for the creative mind to explore possibilities.  They are usually free or very inexpensive and have a vast potential for a multitude of projects.  Check out your libraries discard shelf and see what creative treasures you find.

 

Danna

 



Spring is here!

Spring in Texas is not a very long season.  It usually goes from very cold days to rather hot days in a very short time.  This year we have been fortunate and blessed with some beautiful spring days.  The mornings are cool and the sun has been shining, but the temperature has remained in the 70 degree range.

Since I have been trying to decorate my classroom door for the various holidays and seasons this year I decided to create something for Spring.  Even if it is a short season outside we can at least pretend inside that it does exist somewhere. 

As I posted earlier I have been using the bottom half of my door for this purpose.  So I did not need an abundance of decorations.  I wanted something that would be simple yet unique.  The bunting for Saint Patricks Day looked so nice I chose to use the idea again for the Spring season.  This bunting I created using discarded books from the school library.  Here is the finished door.

The bunting spells out the word Spring.  The bunny, chick and flowers are wooden pieces I found on sale last year.

 



The pennants are made from chapter book pages so they are black and white.  The letters are made from picture books and are more colorful.

To show my appreciation to the librarian for sharing her discarded books I made one for her that says Library.

 

The door turned out really well.  It is amazing what you can do with a little bit of paper, glue and a whole dash of creativity.

 

Danna

File Cabinet Upgrade for $1.00

In my classroom at school I have an ugly file cabinet.  There is no other way to describe the thing.  It is old, slightly beat up and that ugly file cabinet putty color.  It was in desperate need of an upgrade.

Last year I covered the top with contact paper in a pretty green and white. It was $1.00 for the roll and I only used about 1/3 of the roll.  Just adding that one element helped raise it a few points on the upgrade scale.  I have been looking around on Pinterest, and other sites to see if I could find another way to dress it up a bit more.  I am not able to paint it because it belongs to the school. 

While I was in my local Dollar Tree store the other day I noticed the Wall Décor stickers in a fun flower pattern.  Off went the Pink Lemonade Idea light bulb and I thought wouldn't that spruce up my file cabinet.  So I bought a package for only a $1.00.

Here is my file cabinet now. 

So, it isn't off the upgrade scale, but it is better than nothing on the front.

I liked the fact that there were flowers and polka dots.

 

This is the side.  I can see this from my desk so it holds my inspirational thoughts for the year.

The contact paper is stuck directly to the top.  It fit perfectly without trimming at all.

I liked the simple color and fun design.

This is the package from my flowers. 

 

I literally peeled the flowers off and stuck them on.  It took less than five minutes to complete this upgrade.  I wish all my upgrade ideas took such a short time.

 

The next time you have an ugly piece of office equipment that you can't totally redo look at your dollar store for some peel and stick stickers.  They might give you a mini upgrade for just a $1.00.

 

Danna

 

St. Patrick's Day Decorations

Last year being the first year I had my own computer classroom I survived doing just the basics of getting the room cleaned, set up and functional. So I was not able to do a lot of decorating for the different holidays of the year. This year I decided to do some simple handmade decorations for the holidays and use them on the bottom half of my hallway door leading into my classroom.

The door is a large beautiful wooden door with windows in the top. It is divided into sections with recessed areas allowing for a natural dividing line. Using those recessed areas I can easily use the “theme” decorations on the bottom half and leave the rest of my door the same.

For St. Patrick’s Day I found this great banner on this website All Crafts . She did hers in felt but since I wanted to laminate mine and keep it I used construction paper. The original site has a nice pattern to use for tracing the shamrocks, sections and letters.

Simple yet fun seasonal decorations.

 

A closer look.

What makes this banner cute is the detail of the stitching. In the original felt version the stitching gives the sections a nice outline. In my paper version the drawn on stitching gives the sections that little extra detail and dimension. I used colored pencils instead of markers to create my stitches. I felt the colored pencils gave it a softer more natural feel.

The bunting above the banner is made from cream colored construction paper and shamrocks with the same drawn on stitching detail. I had two sections left from the bunting so I clipped them on some clear plastic bins just inside my classroom door.

These were left over from the banner.  These bins are just inside my classroom door and I have not found a good use for them yet.

I think the door turned out simple yet very festive . By using paper and lamination I can use these for many years. Remember you can add a festive touch to your surroundings with some paper and glue.

Danna

A new bird in the flock!

As you can see in this post Classroom Theme I decorated my classroom this year with owls.  I like having a theme each year.  It provides the opportunity to create some great resources and do some fun projects.

One of the projects that went along with my owl theme was searching for all different kinds of owls and owl things to put on my back counter.  I had a great time sifting through knick knack tables at garage sales and thrift stores.  Searching the clearance isles at my favorite stores for any unique owl figures.  I managed to create a great display on my back counter and add few to my collection at home. 

Since the beginning of the school year several teachers have commented on how "cute" my collection is and how festive it makes the computer lab.  Then the other day a first grade teacher surprised me with a new owl to add to the group.

Here is her picture: (the owl not the teacher)

She fits right in with her bright eyes.

The teacher told me she saw it in the store and it was calling to be added to my classroom.  I always find it a great blessing when others enjoy things I am interested in and want to join in the fun.  Now each time I look at this new addition it brings a smile to my face and my heart.  Not only that someone was thinking of me, but what I do is enjoyed by others.

So, the next time you are walking down an isle at your favorite store and see something that reminds you of a friend or coworker, put it in your basket.  It will not only bless the recipient it will bless you as well.

Danna

Fun with Kindergarten!

In my school system all students K-12 must log onto the computer with a student ID log in.  This is a real challenge for Kindergarten since the log in requires numbers and letters.  At the beginning of the year they do not know their alphabet very well.  So, this year I came up with a fun game to play with a GIANT keyboard rug that my husband and I made.

The students were given a card with a letter and they then matched that card to the key on the keyboard rug.  My hope is that this will help them learn where the letters are on the keyboard when I begin to teach them their log in information. 

I made my rug by using half of a canvas drop cloth. My husband then helped me draw the keys with a sharpie.  The most challenging part was to figure out how large the keys needed to be.  I made mine 5" x 5" square with about 1" in between each key.

The students I had this week really enjoyed playing the keyboard letter game.  Next I will teach them the location of the numbers and the major action keys (i.e. Enter, Shift, Tab etc.)   After we played the game with the rug they then went to the computers and used alpha strips to locate the keys on their individual keyboards. (The computers were turned off of course).

The full rug is half of a 6'x8' drop cloth

A close up view of the keys

The students matched the letter cards with the key on the keyboard

 

I am looking forward to determine if this method will help them learn their letter locations. I would love to hear your comments on ways I could improve this process.

 

Making Pink Lemonade with Kindergarten!



Danna

More Classroom Ideas

As I told you in my previous post my classroom is full of windows and short on wall space.  Here are some of the ways I have expanded my wall display areas.

The wall in the stairwell that leads down to my classroom I put up signs about the computer programs we use.  This is also visible for parents from the above hallway.

 

This short wall is just big enough to put some small posters.  This year I put up shortcut

tags for the Microsoft programs.  I hope these will remind students and teachers that you don't always have to use the mouse.

 

 

I have two cabinets in the back of my room that are tall.  I use these to display my computer lab rules (picture in previous post) and my Technology Word Wall. 

 

To help add some color to my windows I made buntings for two of my walls. 

Since I have 10 windows this was much less expensive that making curtains. 

I hung the buntings from Command Hooks.

 

I would love to hear some ideas on ways you have created display areas in your classrooms. I am always looking for new ideas.

 

Classroom Theme - Owls

I operate the computer lab in an elementary school.  I see Pre-K - 5th grade students once or twice a week.  I believe teaching technology is an important part of a students education.  I love the fact that I can see all grades in the computer lab.

This year I decorated my classroom with an Owl theme.  It really got my creative juices going putting this theme together.  I only wish I had some of the owls my aunt collected for over 30 years.  She had an owl collection that was incredible.  I do have a few of hers but I did not want to take them to school, they are very precious to me.  Anyway, here are some of the areas of my classroom.  My room is in the "original" portion of the 100 year old building.  It has had many modifications over the years.  It was the first cafeteria in the building.  One blessing is I have 3 walls with windows.  But this also does not allow for display wall space so I have had to get creative about expanding my display areas.

This is the door leading to the lab

 

 I have two full bulletin boards.  They are actually white boards that I cover with

paper to create bulletin boards.  This particular board I will change throughout the

year to different technology lessons.

Close up of Crazy Clicker Bulletin Board

 

My theme bulletin board 

 

 Lab rules on cabinet doors

 

  My owl collection.  I spent a total of $7.00 for all the owls.  They came from garage sales, Target, JoAnns and the 3 fabric owls I made. The link for the Youtube and pattern is here Owl pincushion

 

 This bulletin board I got at a garage sale for $1.00.  It had a silver frame that was ugly.  I covered the frame with green checkered Washi tape.  It was the perfect width and really easy to apply.

 This is the inside door to my lab.  I posted my schedule so everyone can see

when the come to the lab.