Another Countdown

For the past 2 weeks, I have come home each day and flipped a number on my school coundown (I'm now down to 51 days!)... This has become something that I REALLY look forward to... Yes, it reminds me that summer is almost here and I will once again have the time to do all the things I enjoy... But more than that, it reminds me that I've made it this far... I started at 176 days and am now down to 51... I feel accomplished, I feel productive... And for those of you who know me well, you know that those two words probably describe me and what I strive for best.

So now I've made another countdown (51 is still a lot of days, I needed a quicker ending point)... The countdown shown below is counting the days until Spring Break (yay!!!)... I  used my super cute new font from Lettering Delights, PC Garden... I think I might actually take this one to school... I know my kids are all counting down the days, too... I had several students walk into my classroom today and say "Ms. Deslatte, I counted the days we have left until Spring Br--" and I very enthusiastically interupt them and say "15!"... But now the day is over and we have only 14 days until Spring Break... Happy crafting, all!

School Countdown

So after having a bit of a rough week at work (doesn't it always seem like a rough week?), I decided to make a countdown... a countdown until summer! I threw this one together in less than 5 minutes, just something to remind myself "you're almost done!" I really can't wait to sleep in until the sun comes up, exercise on a more than monthly basis, cook one meal at a time, run errands in daylight, and read something other than a science textbook! Wow! That sounds so good I may not go back in September! Eh, who am I kidding, I'll be bored and back in my classroom getting ready by July. The joys of teaching.

To make the countdown, I printed out a paper that said, "Days Left". Then I printed pages with 2 each of numbers 0-9. I layered those numbers, whole punched, and clipped them in binder rings. I also used a red file folder as a stand... like I said, I put this together in less than 5 minutes! But hey, it works! Happy crafting!

Composition Book

So today is one of my good friend's birthday... Happy Birthday, Heather! She just got married last November so it's still really fun to put her new name on everything. Below is her birthday present... I used a store-bought composition book then glued some patterned paper on the cover along with her name... three black buttons and a pink ribbon later... viola! She runs a preschool, so I figure she'd be able to find a good use for it. Happy crafting all!

Bookmark

I was experimenting over the weekend and somehow ended up with this bookmark. It's double sided - patterned fabric on one side and brown grosgrain ribbon on the other. I stitched an outline of the beige flowers in the fabric with beige string (super suttle). I then sewed the fabric and ribbon together... Of course, I only pinned one side as I passed the bookmark through the sewing machine and ended up attempting to pin the other side while it was still attached. Don't try that at home! So my new bookmark has already been put to work, holding my place in the book I started over winter break and haven't picked up since... Oh how I can't wait for summer! Happy crafting!

Create a Cupcake II

As I mentioned in my last post, I got new stamps! Thanks again, Jan! My new Create a Cupcake stamp set from Stampin' Up! is now officially one of my favorites. I made the cards below for two little cuties I know... Lily is turning 2 and Nathaniel is turning 1. Happy Birthday, Lily and Nathaniel! I think they turned out pretty cute, don't you? Happy crafting!

Create a Cupcake

YAY! New stamps! I received the new Create a Cupcake stamp set from Stampin' Up! for my birthday from the boyfriend's mom, Jan. Thank you, Jan! As you can see, I'm really excited! This stamp set is absolute perfect... I can make adult cards and kid cards all with the same stamp set. And! I can finally retire the one "happy birthday" stamp I do own which looks like a kid wrote it in crayon. The card below is my first experiment. I created this one for my dad. Happy Birthday, Dad! It very appropriately says "It's not about how many candles you blow out but how many cupcakes you get!". Needless to say, I made this card for the older men in my life. :D Happy crafting!

Valentine's Day III

It's finally Valentine's Day! Happy Valentine's Day to my very special valentine, Daniel. I love you lots! As I said before, I have the day off (YAY!) and I plan to spend every moment possible with my absolutely awesome and superbly sweet boyfriend. Normally we only get to spend weekends (late Friday through early Sunday) together, so a Monday off is a real treat! In the plans for today: straberries dipped in chocolate. Below is my Valentine's Day card for this year which I made using one of the heart stamps from my Simply Said stamp set from Stampin' Up!. Also pictured is a matching milk carton filled with goodies. I love that an absurd amount of chocolate is totally okay on Valentine's Day! I also love (as I mentioned before) that on this day each year it is totally okay for me to want to cuddle and say "I love you" every moment of the day! Yay for oversharing love! Happy Valentine's Day and happy crafting!

Valentine's Day II

Below is my Valentine's Day card from last year. I was really into using torn paper (who am I kidding? I still am!). Anyway, I used one of the stamps from my A Little Bit of Happiness stamp set from Stampin' Up! (see my Thanksgiving II post for a card made with another stamp from the same stamp set). I love how lovey dovey everything and everyone is around Valentine's Day... It makes me seem a bit more normally for just a couple weeks! Happy Valentine's Day and happy crafting!

Valentine's Day I

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I can't wait to spend my day off (YES! I totally get the day off!) with my super sweet valentine. I'm thinking strawberries dipped in chocolate (my favorite) and pajamas all day (my other favorite)! Below is my Valentine's Day card from two years ago. I used my Cricut to cut the heart-like flower. And I will admit, this card is probably one of my favorites... simple and sweet. Happy Valentine's Day and happy crafting!

Student Sticks

Okay. So I don't know what most teachers would call them, but I FINALLY made student sticks. My definition of student sticks: sticks in a can used by a teacher to call randomly on students, preferrably those not paying attention or participating. I decorated my can (which previously housed artichoke hearts, yum) with black grosgrain ribbon. I had to make it cute somehow! Anyway, I had avoided making them all year thinking it was too elementary, but it made a world of difference today in class! It forced me to call on the students I KNOW don't have the answer, which I definitely did not do before. Below is a really bad picture, but you get the idea. Happy crafting!

Birthday

Here's another birthday card... a simple one. I like simple. I used my Pocket Sillhouettes stamp set from Stampin' Up! and some happy colors. Yes, I just called the colors happy. And they are! Happy crafting all!

Love Him Much

I've been super stressed at work lately and the boyfriend has been absolutely wonderful, as usual. So after a long day in my classroom, I decided to reward myself (and Daniel) by making him a card. Below is the finished product... I used my Season of Friendship stamp set from Stampin' Up!, given to me by none other than the boyfriend. How appropriate. Love you lots, Daniel! And happy crafting to everyone else!

Birthday

Remember Jaimee? She's my fabulous cousin wearing the grey scarf a few posts down... Well it's her birthday! Happy Birthday, Jammers! Below is the card she received... The cute cupcake stamps came from JoAnn's and I colored them in with my blender pens from Stampin' Up! Easy as hmm... a cupcake? Nope. A pun doesn't quite work there. Oh, well. Happy crafting!

A Toy Story Birthday

It's my favorite little girl's 4th birthday and she loves Toy Story. In fact, she was Jesse for Halloween. So I dowloaded an outlined picture of Jesse, did some crazy loopy thing in my new editing program, and printed on cardstock. Then I used my blender pens from Stampin' Up! to color her in. A few pieces of paper, a ribbon, and a button later... Tada! Happy 4th Birthday, Bella! And happy crafting ya'll!

Thank Yous

This year's Chrismas thank yous... I used my go-to stamp set (actually given to me by the boyfriend two Christmases ago), Season of Friendship by Stampin' Up! and a thank you stamp from another stamp set. Easy as pie! Happy New Year's and happy crafting!

Scarves

So somehow I was able to finish all my scarves in time for Christmas... Below is a picture of the final scarf worn by my fabulous cousin, Jaimee. Doesn't she look all cozy and warm? I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! Happy crafting!

Signature

Hadar, my BFF, helped me create my blog signature... I am totally clueless when it comes to dealing with technology! Thanks Hadar! Below is a picture of Hadar wearing her Hanakkuh present. Look familiar? 3 more days til Christmas... happy hoidays and happy crafting all!

Merry Christmas

Last on my Christmas Card Countdown is this year's creation... I used my Big On Christmas stamp set from Stampin' Up! to stamp the center, then used several layers of paper to make it nice and cozy. And the final touch, a brown ribbon to tie it all together ! Ha! A Pun! 5 more days til Christmas... Happy crafting!

Christmas VII

This Christmas card is more accurately one of my favorites and was also made with my Crab & Company stamp set from Stampin' Up! And I probably love the phrase "jingle shells" even more than "sandy claws"! 7 days til Christmas... Happy crafting!

Christmas VI

Continuing on my Christmas Countdown is one of my favorite cards... This one was made with my Crab & Company stamp set from Stampin' Up! I just love the phrase "sandy claws"!!! 9 days til Christmas... Happy crafting!