DIY

It's time for another DIY project!  Since I received the news of becoming a fourth grade teacher, I have gone from feeling shocked to feeling super excited.  I am actually heading to my school building tomorrow to move (once again) my classroom and check out the new space.  Don't worry...I will take some pictures to post the adventures of this new 4th grade teacher.

Since I am also obsessed with Pinterest, I recently saw some stools for guided reading tables that I fell in love with instantly.  I decided I had to make some of these stools for my new classroom.  Since it is my birthday today, I had mom come over and help me put these bad boys together.

Materials Needed:

- One large roll of foam

- Home Depot Buckets (& lids)

- Staple Gun

- 2 Yards of Fabric of your Choice

- Scissors

 Step 1: Trace the tops of the buckets on the foam.  Cut the circle pieces out.

 Step 2: Cut the fabric big enough to fit over the lid and foam.

 Step 3: Staple gun the fabric onto the lid.

 Tada!  How easy is that?!?! 

 They are the easiest seats to make for your classroom!!  I will say that I am exchanging the orange bucket for another purple.  It just doesn't "fit". 

I absolutely love the way they turned out and it really wasn't that expensive of a craft!  I would say it was about $35.00 for the buckets, fabric, foam, & lids!  Not too shabby considering real already made stools can be pretty pricey.

So give it a try!! :)

Until next craft,

XOXO

-Ashley-

Planking Photo Shoot

Happy Saturday to all my wonderful friends!  I have to first say thank you for all the positive words of wisdom and advice you all gave to me in my last post.  I can't wait to share the adventures and craziness in the days ahead with you all.

My birthday is tomorrow so today was a day full of fun events!  The hubby and I spent the day at the lake riding jet skis and enjoying the sun!  Then we headed to my parents house to spend time with my parents and sister.  While hanging out with my crazy family, we got on the topic of "planking" and "owling".  Certainly you have heard of it right?  

I first heard of planking in my work out classes and then I started to hear all about it on talk shows, youtube, and even the news!  It has become a worldwide phenomenon!  My sister and I decided to find places around my parents house to plank.  Here are a few of our shots...

 In the kitchen

 On my mom's car

 In the front yard.  Yes, I am planking on the bird bath.  This pic has now become my facebook profile picture too! :)

 In the middle of the road (not the smartest idea)

 On top of my hubby's car

On the pots from the front porch.

I laugh all the time when I see videos and pictures of people planking in the most random spots so to add a little humor to our lives, we decided to do it too! :)  Do you plank or owl?  If so, you have got to share your pictures with me!

Until next planking photo session,

XOXO

-Ashley-

OMG! My life is changing.

TGIF!  Hooray!  Even though it is summer, I still love Friday's!  I have the computer out, Saved By The Bell on, and I just get to lay here until my 9:30 Group Power class.  It is such a wonderful way to kick off the weekend.

On another note, I spent Wednesday and Thursday at the common core math training for second grade.  On my way home yesterday, I saw that I had missed two calls from my principal.  Instantly, I became a little worried especially when the voicemail said, "Call me back.  I have to talk to you this afternoon." After I called her back and found out what her news was, this is how I felt....

 Any guesses of what she told me?  Five minutes after our phone call, I felt like this...

 Then once her news suck in, I felt like...

Any guesses?  Let me tell you anyways.  I found out that I am no longer a second grade teacher and that I have been moved to fourth grade! OMG.  I have taught second grade since I started teaching and not to mention all the crafts and activities I have spent the summer making.  These are now out the window and I am completely freaking out. 

So, my fellow teacher readers...send some fabulous ideas or words of advice.  The bigger kids make me nervous ( I know, ridiculous, right?).

Until next freak out,

XOXO

-Ashley-

Happy Shopping

Happy Wednesday to my fabulous readers!  I have spent the day at a Math Common Core Standards training.  It sounds extremely exciting doesn't it?  I'm not going to lie...it was probably the most boring training that I have ever been to.  With that being said, I get to get up tomorrow morning and do it all again. Woohoo! (Can you sense my sarcasm?)  

Although today wasn't so fabulous, tonight is a great night for t.v!  I am really excited about So You Think You Can Dance and I am even more excited that Lady Gaga is going to be the guest judge.  I wonder what wacky Wednesday outfit she is going to try to rock?!?!  Any guesses?  Not only is that on but Big Brother is also on.  I'm telling you...big night!

When I got home today from my training, I checked the mail and was pleasantly surprised when there was a package inside!  Over the weekend (Saturday to be exact) I ordered three tops from Kohl's.  A big thank you to Lauren Conrad for designing such wonderful clothes.  I just couldn't believe that my package was already delivered today.  I wasn't expecting it until the start of next week!  Now don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining in the least bit!

Here are my most recent purchases...

 I got this top in green!  I love the flowers on the left shoulder.

For these three fabulous tops, I only spent $37.00!  I absolutely love shopping at Kohl's and I love Lauren Conrad's line even more!  I am super excited to wear these clothes and the best part is that they can be dressed up or down.  What new purchases have you gotten lately?  Anything to brag about?

Happy Shopping,

XOXO

-Ashley-

Happy Crafting!

Now is the perfect time to blog!  I was in the middle of watching The Bachelorette and of course was really into Constantine telling Ashley that he really wasn't "that into her".  How can Obama just interrupt this moment? Totally jk...maybe.  Tonight I also worked on another craft!  Oh yes....you're looking at Mrs. Crafty Pinkture Perfect right here!  :) Again, inspired by Pinterest, I saw this fun idea and adapted it to what I really liked.

What you Need: 

-1 frame (mine was a wedding gift three years ago that we hadn't used yet, Oops!)

- hole punch of your choice (on clearance right now at Michael's)

- Paint Swatches (FREE!)  Thank you Walmart for letting me do my craft!

-Glue

 Step 1: Use the hole punch on the paint swatches!  Make as many as you need to complete your project.

 ( I chose to do hearts!) Like I said earlier, the really fancy hole punches at Michael's (originally $8.99) are reduced down to $3.99!!!  I didn't know this until I got to the register which made this craft even more fabulous!

 Step 3: Then I put the hearts where I wanted them on the matte for the frame.  This prepared me to glue the hearts down with a plan, instead of going in cold turkey.

 Step 4: After gluing and letting it dry, I put the frame back together and there you have it!!!  A colorful piece of art to add a little glitz and glam to a room of your choice!  My choice?  Our formal living room that currently brown, yellow, and blue!  Woohoo! :)

I have seen pictures of other people that do hearts, circles, diamonds, and different shapes.  Some people use them for classroom projects or on smaller frames and only shades of one color.  No matter what you choose to do, I am sure it will look beautiful! :)

Happy Crafting,

XOXO

-Ashley-

DIY

It's time to start the week with another fun DIY project!  This project was inspired by my sister over at Artful Scheming.  She and my mom were able to go to Michael's and learn how to do this project by their fabulous employees.  My sister came to spend the weekend with the hubs and I so we knew a trip to Michael's was a must.  Although we barely spent any time crafting, I did manage to do this project.

Here are the materials you need:

-three wooden frames (.66 cents a piece)

-stencil (.99 cents)

-two colored paints (.49 a piece)

-one brush

 Step 1: Paint the three frames a base color of your choice.  I chose to do white because it matched the decor already in my living room.  Make sure to let it dry a little before moving on to step 2.

 Step 2: Place the stencil over the frame.  Look to see what pattern you would like to make on the frame.  Then use your brush to sponge paint your other color on the frame.

 Step 3: Pull the stencil off the frame and look at your beautiful masterpiece!

This whole craft takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes.  It is super easy and a great added piece to any place.  I think I will make a set for my classroom to make my desk cuter!  You could give these as a gift too!  What a fun and easy craft to do and all for under $5.00!   You can't beat that!

Happy Crafting!

XOXO

-Ashley-

What do you vote for?

Happy Saturday morning!  The hubby and sister (who is visiting for the weekend) are still fast asleep while I have been up with our three fur babies. Lucky me, huh?  I plopped down on the couch and was channel surfing only to find out that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was on...again.  Let's be honest: this movie is probably on at least once a week on the Family Channel.  I can't complain because I own it on DVD but there's no need to put it in the DVD player because it is on so much.  The big question is which version do you like best?

The original, 1971 version...

 or....

I am going to give my vote to the original movie, even though it doesn't follow the book.  I don't know but the original one just doesn't get old.  I could watch it weekly and to be frank I probably watch it at least once a month.  It's addicting and my poor husband is not a fan of the movie. Boooo!  

Alright so let's hear it...which one gets your vote?

Until later,

XOXO

-Ashley-

Really Good Stuff

I am pretty much addicted to Really Good Stuff and I can spend a whole lot of money on their materials.  Before the school year was even out in June, I found some things in the clearance section of the website that I knew I had to have.   I have even been browsing here lately and nothing has jumped out at me yet!  Have you found anything that you have ordered for the upcoming school year?

Here is what I have ordered:

 This is a beginning and end of the year activity.  The kids write letters to themselves at the beginning of the year.  They put it in an envelope and then open it back up at the end of year.  Cute, huh?

 I also bought this new system for jobs.  I have tried four different ways to do classroom jobs and I haven't liked any of them so far.  Sooo....I thought why not try another one?!?!  What works for you?

 I also bought this Venn Diagram activity!  I thought it would be cute to do at the beginning of the year.  My kids usually have an idea about Venn's at the beginning so this is a little reinforcement for them.

 I got these two gazettes because they were $1.99 each for a set of 32. Once I got them I realized they were a little above my kid's level but I could use them for enrichment.

 We study a lot of tricky endings so I got this poster and cards that help the kids work with tricky endings.  Sorry for the cruddy pictures!

Last but not least, I bought this "Pick-a-Pumpkin" writing prompt activity.  I can use this during my workshop time for my students to do!  It comes with a TON of pumpkins they can use to pick what they want to write about.  It is super cute and it was only like two bucks!

I plan to keep searching for some cute beginning of the year stuff too!  I love great deals and great materials!

Until next shopping trip,

XOXO

-Ashley-

Christmas In July

I have been really inspired lately by reading some of my followers blogs.  People have been traveling, crafting, setting up their classrooms, and spending the summer relaxing.

I tutor every morning for the month of July and on Wednesday's I tutor two different families.  During my tutoring hour break that I gave to myself I took a visit to Barnes & Noble.  To be honest, ever since I got my Kindle I rarely visit book stores.  I usually order all of my classroom books from Scholastic and I get my "adult" books on my Kindle.  While casually roaming around the book store, I ran across a clearance section.  Remember, clearance is my favorite word!!  I found these books:

 Since I teach second grade, we do a whole unit on animal camouflage and also life cycles.  I thought these books would be extra reinforcement for my students.  They were only $1.97 each and I just couldn't resist.  I love for my kids to read non-fiction texts and sometimes it is hard to find ones that really interest the kids.  I also found this book:

 It was really really on sale ($4.00) and it interested me because being a teacher we really are responsible for "raising" these children.  Although we are not their mothers or fathers, we still have the responsibility to teach them good character, manners, and a sound education.  I strive as a teacher to make good character a main goal of my classroom.  Many of my students don't get those daily lessons once they leave the classroom.  Has anyone read this book?

Along with these fabulous finds today, my mom (previous kindergarten teacher) gave me this book.

 I never knew this book existed, but how neat is it that the kids can read a familiar text that has been changed to feature important aspects of the state they live in.  Here are what some of the inside pages look like:

It is a really cute book!  The last page (not included) has facts about North Carolina!  I wonder if they have this book for all of the states.  I think every classroom should come with one.

After checking my mail today, I was super excited because a new Really Good Stuff magazine had been delivered.  Do you not just LOVE that magazine/website?  I seriously order a ton of stuff before a new school year.  What are some of your favorite items?

Until later,

XOXO

-Ashley-

Delicious Dining

This must be a big day because I am posting twice in one day!  Actually it's more like I am back into being addicted to blogging. When my husband got home from work today, he had grocery bags filled with tomatoes, peppers, bacon, shrimp, grits, milk, etc.  I knew these items weren't on the grocery list so I wondered what he was doing.  (BTW I attempting to be a coupon-lady however; it is frustrating trying to find matching coupons to sale items) Off my rant now.

 The hubs pretty much told me not to worry about anything and that he would take of dinner (which is not unusual seeing how I am not a cook in the least bit)  The smells from my kitchen were to die for.  Every minute was a different smell and my three fur babies and I were literally slobbering in the living room.

 It turns out that the hubs decided to cook spicy shrimp and grits!  Delish! 

 He pretty much chopped up the veggies and mixed the bacon, veggies, and shrimp all together!  I scooped the grits and topped it with this mixture and TADA! 

I have to say it was one of my favorite meals that he has cooked me!  And you wouldn't believe this but the hubs didn't like it one bit.  That might be sad because it means that he won't make it again soon....I'll keep my fingers crossed that he does.  If you are interested, I'd be more than happy to share the recipe with you!  I'll have to ask the hubs for it but, I know he'd be more than happy to share!

Until later,

XOXO

-Ashley-

Gettin' Craft With It

It has been one lazy day for me here at the house.  I figured out that I am way too old to hang like I used to.  Do you ever have those nights where you think you are still 21? Jeez...it will be awhile before I have those thoughts anymore.  I decided to take today to do a little crafting!  I found this idea from another blog (& I can't remember whose it was).  When I saw this idea I knew I had to try it out myself.

You need:  wooden dowels (37 cents a piece), little wooden shapes (59 cents a piece), glue gun, & ribbon  There are several different sizes of wooden dowels and honestly any of them will work!

When I first started teaching my mom gave me a bucket of pointers.  Some had the Jack-in-the-Box heads on the ends, shapes, balls, etc.  Over the years my students have broken them and some of them were not "cool" enough for my second graders.  I was dedicated to making some of my own but honestly I never had put much thought into making them.  Until now...

 I found the larger glitter shapes on clearance for 29 cents at Michael's and the smaller shapes for 59 cents.  Not bad huh?  I also bought some ribbon for 1 dollar a roll from Michael's.  Cheap craft!  Here are all of my completed pointers...