A New Glass - Ozark Trail

Being from Texas where summer temperatures can run from February - December we like our drinks to have lots of ice.

Working in a school I need a glass that will keep my drink cold all day.  I have used all kinds of cups in the past and they would keep the drink cold until about lunch time.  Finding ice can sometimes be an adventure so I would bring some in a bag and try to put it in my cup at lunch time.  Most of the time the ice was frozen into a large brick and would not fit into my glass.  What a pain.

This year I have a new glass. Hearing wonderful things about the Yeti cups but not wanting to spend that much on a glass I began a search for an alternative  My choice was the Walmart Ozark Trail glass. I have been thrilled that I can fill it with ice in the morning and still have ice left at bedtime. These glasses are amazing.

Now with my new glass in hand I began to seek out ideas on personalizing my glass.  I love owls so using my Cricut I cut an owl pattern in turquoise blue vinyl and put it on my cup.  Since I have an unusual name it is almost impossible to find an item with my name spelled correctly.  Once again using my Cricut I cut my name in pink vinyl and placed it over the owl.  The design turned out really cute and now my cup is complete.

A personalized cup that keeps my drink cold all day!

Here a a couple of tips about adding vinyl to a cup that I have learned along the way.

1. I use sheet vinyl rather than the Cricut rolled vinyl.  In my craft store the sheet vinyl is with the scrapbook paper and is significantly less expensive.  It has worked well for the projects I have done.  The cost savings allows me to buy more colors.  To learn more about how to use this vinyl check out Vinyl Cups a Gift to Share.
2. I use clear contact paper to aid in positioning my design.  There are several YouTube videos that show this method of design placement.  Just search positioning vinyl using clear contact paper.
3. Hand wash your glass to ensure the vinyl does not peel off.

This was a fun and extremely useful project.  I encourage you to try using vinyl to personalize your favorite glass.

Danna

Picture Frame Wreaths

Who said a wreath has to be round?  Whoever it was would not appreciate the new trend of "Picture Frame Wreaths".  Yes you read that correctly - picture frame wreath. If you are on Pinterest or any other creative website or just driving through your neighborhood you will see tons of variations of this new trend.

Bring in any season with a picture frame wreath on your door.

The concept is fairly simple.  You take an old picture frame, any size will work, take out the glass and backing board then paint the frame if desired.  Next you decide if your wreath will follow a holiday, season or your present decor theme.  Now the fun begins.  Select something to decorate your corners, hang in the center etc.  Really the sky is the limit.

For the Fall wreath I found a yard wind chime on clearance.

I removed the chimes and added buttons to cover the holes at the bottom.

To spell out the season I painted a wooden banner blank

and added the letters in scrabble tiles.

To finish off your wreath add a large beautiful bow that fits your style or leave the bow off, what ever you like.  On the fall wreath I did not add a bow because the flowers in the corners were enough.  I hung the owl and wooden plaque from the center using jute twine.  You could make this part where it could be changed seasonally to extend the life of your wreath.

Here is another sample using a small 5x7 frame with a Christmas theme.

I like the smaller size for variety of locations to hang it.

For this frame I put each plastic ornament on a piece of gold ribbon and hot glued them to the back of the frame.  I then added the ribbon bow and glued an old Christmas pin in the center for the finishing touch.

The ornaments are plastic so they are light weight.

Be sure to secure your decorations well especially if the "wreath" will be hanging on your front porch or door.  For my wreaths I used garage sale frames, dollar store ornaments and flowers, old scrabble pieces and some ribbon.  The total cost to make each frame was about $3.00.

So dig around in your closets for those frames, take out the outdated pictures, gather some additional decorations, the hot glue gun and make your own Picture Frame Wreath.

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

 





 



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

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.