More teaching stuff...and a birthday board freebie!

Just a few more pics I feel like sharing; these aren't as LEGO-y, either, so they may be of some use to another teacher. :)  I'm slowly, SLOWLY getting there.  Can't believe I only have about a month left until I start!

When students leave the room for speech, resource room, etc., they'll have to leave one of these on their desks first--it'll help me see at a glance who is out!  (You think you remember these things but it changes every day, and once you get into a rhythm...)  The only exception is the bathroom--they'll put the boy/girl hand sanitizer on their desks instead.

My "how we get home" board...with clothespins bearing each student's name on the appropriate circle (bikers/walkers, car rider, bus, after-school activity...)  I liked this idea because it was easily changed out from day to day. Downloaded it from HERE.

My "rate yourself" stoplight exit ticket board.  Gotta laminate it still...but basically, when we learn about something, I can then have the kids take out a mini post-it and put their name on it, along with rating themselves on how well they know it--if green, then explaining/performing it well; yellow, asking a question to clarify something; or red, they really don't get it and need extra help.  Self-evaluation is really important to me.

I also made up this birthday board.  Saw something like it on Pinterest but it wasn't free.  Mine isn't as cute, but it's a little more neutral and I'm offering it as a free download to anyone who wants it.  :) Gotta thank Connie Prince for the digiscrapping kit I used to make it (Go!Go!Go!). It's made to be a 16x20 poster, which Walmart will print off for you for about $13, but an 11x14 has almost the same ratio and works just as well for half the price.  You choose what's best for you.  :) When you frame it, it becomes dry-erase, which is awesome for the classroom.  Or, you could just add family birthdays in Sharpie.  OR, if you're tech-savvy, you could add text to the image before printing.  Lots of options.

DOWNLOAD HERE!

Still working! :)

A few more teacher-y goodies...

I have made a few more little things--'cause the little, generic details are all I can focus on right now--to add to my classroom.  I made a set in LEGO AND in Monsters, so I'm offering them both.  :)

The first are book bin/supply labels.  They can be used to label just about anything in a playroom or bedroom, too.  Or closet.  :)  They print as 4 labels in a 4x6 photo, so when you cut them down they'll actually be 2"x3".  You just write on them with a sharpie whatever you're wanting to name them, if that makes sense.  Here they are:

LEGO labels

Monster Labels

The second thing is book labels--just a quick lil' return address label (times 60) with a simple pic and some text, fully editable since they're just Word documents.

LEGO BOOK LABELS HERE

MONSTERS BOOK LABELS HERE


The third thing is my set of non-food reward labels.  This really is more a teacher thing than anything, given the nature of some of these rewards, but you could adapt the ideas.  They print on the blank business cards you can buy from Avery (the 10-per-page set).  Also a Word document, so you could edit them all you want.

LEGO REWARDS CARDS HERE

MONSTERS REWARDS CARDS HERE

Enjoy!  I'll post more as I make more...especially random things this summer, probably.  Until I have a classroom assigned I just don't know what to do but focus on the silly decor and details for my theme!

Alphabets...

One of the sillier things I've been looking for in all my searching for teacher goodies is a good alphabet, one that fits the theme of my classroom (for a brief time I wavered and thought I'd do Monsters instead of LEGOs...then I got smart).  No luck.  I thought about making each letter out of LEGOs and then photographing them...then I thought, "ain't nobody got time for that!"  So I went the easier way and made some with digiscrapping materials.  Free for personal use, of course, although I don't know what you'd do with these unless you're doing a bedroom, homeschool/preschool, or play room in a LEGO or Monsters theme...or if you're a teacher-to-be like me.

I really enjoyed this quick project and would be happy to help create a set for ANYONE in ANY color scheme or theme for free if you want.  Really, it's THAT fun and easy.  :)  Just shoot me an email and I'll get on it!  Each letter prints as a 4x6 photo, which is ideal for room decor.  As always, I got these kits for free and I'm giving the materials for free, so I have to give a shout-out to the digi-designers who made it possible!  The LEGO-looking kit is "Block Party" from KSV at DSE (sorry, that's all I had written down).  The Monsters is actually bits of a few kits: "Lil' Monster" by Everyday Mom Ideas, and "Monsters, Monsters Everywhere" blog train bits and pieces from B2N2 Scraps, Scrappin' Serenity, AZ Girl, and HDC at Stuff to Scrap.  Thanks for creating such fun things to work with and offering them for free so we can make cute things out of them!

Anywho, here are the download links anyway, because I like to share.  :)

LEGO Cursive set

LEGO print set

Monsters Cursive Set

Monsters Print Set

St. Patty's Day Digi Freebies :)

I always get a little stuck on St. Patty's Day decor.  I don't want a whole mess of rainbows or pots of gold, and half the crafts out there are for children--and almost all the other  half LOOK like children made them.  :)  Finding sophisticated and yet fun decor is just hard sometimes.

Here's an 8 x 10 freebie (the one you download is blank, ready for you to just insert your own pics and print off!).  Paint a cheap frame green and sparkly, scatter some gold coins around the base, and you'll be set!  I saw this idea via Pinterest and knew instantly I wanted a digital version to change out over the years, and even though they have a template for Photoshop I can't really figure out how to use it on Paint.NET...so I made my own.  :)  (Special thanks to Tam from Sew Dang Cute Crafts for the idea and template, even if I didn't use it...and to Trina from Delicious Scraps for the free Lucky Me kit I mostly used for the projects...mostly... :)

(Download HERE)

 

And, to go with, it, a little 5 x 7 jpg for you to record 5 things that made you "lucky" each day.  :)  Just print it off, put it into a cute 5x7 frame with glass, and use a dry erase marker to write and wipe off your gratitude lists each day!  :) 

(Download HERE)

Hope you like them!  More ideas to come...I hope.  I've got a few Dollar Tree items just waiting for someone to be creative enough to use up. :)  I love St. Patty's Day, always have, because it's the day before my BIRTHDAY.  So I always feel lucky.  :)

Happy Scrapping Decorating Celebrating!

Digiscrapping Blog Trains Galore!

There are some FANTASTIC freebies out in the digiscrapping world EVERY start of a new month, but I found this month's to be extra fun and wanted to remind you all about them!  Remember, digiscrapping is the most fun when it's FREE!  :)

First up, how cute are these lil' monsters?  With a fun, bright palette, this MEGA kit by dozens of designers is perfect for tickle monsters, silly faces, or any other fun pics of your own little monsters.  I am actually thinking about having this exact color palette and monster theme in my classroom someday (after I get tired of the LEGO one, of course!) and can't wait to use this kit as part of the decor!  Check out "Monsters, Monsters Everywhere!" at Stuff to Scrap!

Next up, take a ride to the Orient with Digi Scrap Forum's "The Chinese Orient."  If you eat Chinese/Japanese/Thai takeout as much as we do, or if you have fun celebrating the Chinese New Year, this kit is perfect for you!  And even if you don't, the orangey pinky red colors are beautiful and well-worth investing in just for the normal papers and generic embellishments!  Check it out HERE!

And, last but not least, who is ready for SPRING?!  I know I sure am!  This superkit from the Digi Shop Talk blog train, "Bright Days Ahead," is perfect for the dreamy and sweet springtime pages soon to come!  It's amazing to me how the same color palettes look so different from designer to designer--not that the colors don't blend, but how one can be dark and rich, while another can be light and fresh!  Anywho, without further ado, check out "Bright Days Ahead" HERE!

 

As always, happy scrapping!

Daydreams and Passports

I am definitely looking forward to summer break.  Not that I don't love my job, but one of the *perks* of working in schools is getting my summers off to spend on things *I* want to do!  Like crafting, writing more, catching up on a million and one projects, reorganizing the home, etc.  One of the top things on our to-do list this summer is travel.  Of course, with no savings to speak of, travel has to be modified.  Thankfully, we live in Indiana, where clearly residents always wished to get out and see the world even though they were always poor farmers and couldn't travel.  How do I know this?  Look at some of our city names:

Peru
Morocco
Mexico
Lebanon
Brazil
Ireland
Scotland
Warsaw
Versailles
Manila
Mecca
Paris
Rome

Clearly the "crossroads of America" really means this is where you have to pass through to get to the good stuff.  ;)  Just kidding.  I'm actually a little in love with the idea that I could actually afford to visit all of these places in a matter of weekends and we could talk like posh people who've seen the world.

SO.  Paul and I have decided that this summer we are going to do a "staycation" of sorts and travel to each of these cities, a few at a time.  We will stamp our own fun little fake passports, and do one fun thing in each city to remember it by (if you know of anything in any of these small towns, let me know! I've gotta start researching NOW).  We'll also take a picture by the city sign as proof of our adventures and compile it all into a scrapbook.  Sounds like fun, right?  :)

If you're in Indiana this summer and you want to join in the fun, let me know! 

If you aren't, but want a fun fake passport to download and modify with relatively little hassle, there is a cute one HERE. 

You can use it for your own travels around your state, or for homeschooling purposes (read about different cultures and stamp as you go), or "Around the World in 80 Days" youth/YSA activities, or whatever your heart desires.  :)  They even have some stamps included (to print off and tape, of course) and all you have to do it print, cut, laminate (optional), and write in the details.  I love not having to reinvent the wheel!  And I can't wait for our summer staycation to begin!  Daydreaming about it is really what's keeping me going through the sometimes LONG work days.  :)

Project 366--October 8-December 9 :)

Let's do this.  :)

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE



*Whew!* Only 3 more weeks (and one night) to go until we are DONE with this sucker!  Can't wait!  :)

Christmas Card

I'm struggling to find that "perfect" design for my Christmas cards this year. 

Traditional?  Multiphoto?  Details of the year added?  I can't make up my mind.  Here are the ones I've designed so far...

But none of them are "it." I wish I could take elements of all of them and make them all blend together into the perfect card. I also wish I had more time to devote to this problem. :) Unfortunately, there are REAL problems and REAL life yet to tackle and this may end up getting pushed back until New Year's like it has the last few years.  But while I figure it all out, here's a QP 5"x7" that you could use for your Christmas cards if you wanna.  :)

Download this .png 5"x7" QP HERE.  You're welcome.  :)

One more QP and some layouts :)

I forgot about this 9th QP I made...and I wanted to post the pages I'd made with the layouts.  Some I haven't used yet (like the Christmas page), but I WILL.  And I'm excited about it.  Just as a reminder, especially because it's the 1st of the month, find a few favorite designers on Blogger or Facebook (or check out the latest blog train for inspiration) and you will get SO MANY FREE KITS!  At least 3-4 a month, which is plenty for most people anyway.  And sometimes a LOT more than that. 

Anywho, this summery quick page was made using the kit "Summer Lovin'" by Inspired Designs by Crystal:

DOWNLOAD HERE

And here are some pages I've made that inspired the QPs offered a few days ago:

Happy December, and happy scrapping!