Are you ready for another round of Bright Ideas???
Today I wanted to share a fun way to update some of those old bookshelves.
You'll need a few things for this project:
-an old bookshelf
-some pretty fabric in your favorite color/pattern
-a staple gun
-a hammer
As I was setting up my classroom this year, I went shopping for some fabric that matched my peacock theme. I ended up finding a great sale of just some solid color fabric, so I bought a ton of it.
Then I didn't know what to do with all the pretty fabric!
I had seen a couple other teachers use fabric on their bookshelves, so I decided to give it a go.
First, I enlisted the hubby's help :)
He started by taking off the back panel of the bookshelf.
We cut the fabric to match the size of the back panel. Holding the fabric against the back of the shelf, we stapled it on the top and sides.
Then we put the back panel back on.
Voila! Instant pop of color to an otherwise blah bookshelf.
Now, I chose to just use solid color fabric because I had so much of it. But these look really great with some pretty patterned fabric! It stands out much better.
Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Instagram to see other fun teaching ideas!
Check out these other fabulous bright ideas, friends!
Its really happy for me, because we are headed to Savannah for a little R&R. Can't wait to put my toes in the water! You may not hear much from me this week as I enjoy some much needed beach time with my family :)
Last week, my sweet niece and I had a sleepover. She is visiting from Kentucky, so we only get to hang a couple times of year...I have to take advantage of the time I get!
We decided to have a sleepover, complete with pedicures, cookies, the Bachelorette, and crafting! It sure was fun :)
We decided to make those adorable bubble gum machines that have been floating around Pinterest. Here is how mine turned out.
All of the materials came from Wal-Mart (except for the raffia from Joann's and the wooden knob I stole off an old dresser at my mom's house) and cost me a whopping $5. There are lots of cute and colorful gumball machines on Pinterest, but I wanted to stick with the chalkboard to go with my classroom theme for next year. I made the vinyl letters on my mom's Cricut, which she's had since Christmas but had never used before this week.
It certainly got lots of use once she busted it out, because I fell in love with the vinyl letters! My sister helped show us how to work the machine and we cranked out a couple other things as well.
I made the 'welcome' below and put it on our front door.
I also made our last name and put it over the doorway leading to our dining room.
I really need some curtains in here!!!
Please ignore the mess on the table!
I already have tons of other ideas of where I can put vinyl lettering, so her machine is definitely going to be put to good use this summer!
I would love to hear some ideas from all of you, too! Leave me a comment below with an idea and your email. I will pick one winner tomorrow. The winner can pick any 3 items from my TPT shop.
Are you guys having a rockin' Friday night in like I am???
The hubs is at work, so I've dedicated this night to craft night!
And boy, have I been crafty!
I got the bug the other day to start decorating for my favorite season. I think I thought that if I made it super fallish around here, then the actual season would hurry up! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately, so at least there's that :)
In my quest for all things fall, I turned to pinterest for some 'pin'spiration. I mean, where else???
Here are some things I have made tonight:
1. New fall wreath! I had so much fun making this thing....and I only managed to burn myself once in the process. Thinking I might actually go back and add a few more rosettes, though...
2. Fall decor! Got everything to make this from the Dollar Tree....score! Cute and cheap....my kind of decor :)
3. Fall subway art! Okay, I didn't actually make this one...I downloaded it from here. But I did buy the frame!
4. Fall cupcakes! Pumpkin, to be exact. My favorite thing about fall is pumpkin EVERYTHING! These are not just for me, though, they are for the ladies that will be at the Carolina Meetup tomorrow!
5. Fall Fun Math Centers! I couldn't stop with the fall creations, so I went right ahead and made these super cute math centers! This packet includes addition to 20, counting by 5s, ordering numbers from least to greatest, matching numbers with their written words, and telling time to the hour AND to the half hour.
I have been waiting for this day, because I am so excited to share my Monday Made It with you guys!
Sooo....when the hubs and I were discussing paint colors and such for the new house, I thought it would be really cool to do a big graphic design on one of the walls. And who doesn't love a good chevron, right?
This was my inspiration...
Totally awesome, right?
I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to pull this off, but I was definitely willing to give it a go!
I enlisted the help of my mom, aka queen of crafty, and we got busy!
First, we gathered all the supplies...
*paint (2 different colors)
*painter's tape (I used a 3 in. Scotch painter's tape)
*measuring stick
*pencil
*rollers
*chalk line tool
I painted the whole room a light gray color that matched our duvet perfectly. I chose a slightly darker shade of gray for the stripes. No, I didn't go all fifty shades..... :)
My mom did all the measuring for me. Here is how the wall looked after we painted it the light gray.
Here are the basics when painting chevron stripes. The distance between peak to peak and crest to crest should be the same. The crest should be exactly midway between the two peaks of each stripe. Does this make any sense? This is a video that we watched before hand, and it does a much better job of explaining...
Much better, right?
Okay, so next we decided to snap a chalk line to help us measure out the points. It's kinda hard to tell in these pictures, but that light blue line is the chalk.
We used some tool that my folks had...it looks like this.
Now comes the hard part! Using your painter's tape, tape off each stripe so that the tape is in the inside of the base color. If you take a close look at my stripes, it looks like they are not even, right? But trust me...it works out in the end.
Remember that it doesn't have to be perfect :) Imperfection is what makes it unique!
After you have your stripes taped off, go back over the edges and make sure they are pressed down really good. The video even suggests using the base paint to seal in the edges.
Then paint your stripes! This was the fun part :) We put about 2 coats of paint on each stripe, then let them dry for a few hours.
And here are the final results!
I love, love, LOVE my chevron wall! I think it turned out amazing, and it looks just perfect with our bedding! Now our bedroom is all kinds of romantic :)
I still have some styling to finish in there, but I was dying to share this with you guys.
Well, I am knee-deep into my first class of the Ed.S program. I am actually honestly really enjoying it! Partly because I have had the professor before (twice for undergrad and once for my master's program) and have always really liked her...and partly because there is only 6 people in the class. Having a class that is so small really allows you to open up and discuss all kinds of things with the other students (in this case, other teachers :)
It is also a really great refresher for me, because this course is all about authentic literacy assessment(in fact, that may even be the name of the course...is that bad that I don't 100% know that???).
Anyways, the class is only 10 days long, but we meet every day for four hours!!! Hence, my lack of posting :)
I just wanted to share something real quick with you guys. I found these little babies at Hope Depot the other night...
I just had to have them! So I bought a couple (I would have bought a lot more, but the hubs stopped me at 2...for now!). They were less than $3 a piece, so I think they are pretty reasonable.
Here is what the inside looks like..
The first thing that came to my mind when I found these nifty cans?
"I can Mod Podge those!!!"
I think I am slightly obsessed with Mod Podge.
Anyways, I picked up some cute scrapbook paper and got to work!
This is how they turned out..
Cute, right?
I LOVE this paper, and the colors coordinate perfectly with the owl set that I am working on for my classroom next year. Oh, you can be on the lookout for that...I am working so hard on it and you guys are gonna love it!!!
I am planning on making some labels for the lids and keeping these in my word work stations. The two that I made are going to be for my scrabble tiles and magnetic letters.
Anyone have any other labels they would like to see before I make a set? I would most happily share them with you guys :)
Now, my family is going on vacation next month to Gatlinburg, and Kerri from Ms. Kerri and her Krazy Kindergarten told me she lived there.
Wanna know what I immediately thought?
Blogger meetup!!!
Soooo....any Tennessee bloggers out there want to meet up sometime in July? I will be in Gatlinburg from the 3rd thru the 8th. If so, you can either email me or Kerri to let us know your interested, and we will announce the details later.
