Exploring

It is hard to believe it has been so long since I have posted anything new. So many things have happened and have been created in the time that has passed. 

Most importantly the additions that have been made to my crafting supplies. The first is a Silhouette Portrait my wonderful husband got me for Christmas! AMAZING possibilities with this machine although there is a huge learning curve for me. 

Of course, I had to get a cute bag to carry it.

The first look. 

                                                                        

Trying out the font options!

Tom the turkey was my very first layered cut. I think he turned out great.

How amazing is this machine? I LOVE it! Now, if the money tree would start growing that money so I can fund all the things I am imagining in my head.

The second amazing addition is my Cricut Explore. I sold a few cartridges to fund this purchase but the idea that I can use my cartridges AND SVG files on one machine was just too cool to pass up. 

The two machines duel. 

                         

                 Glass etching after cutting a vinyl stencil with the regal font.

Negative photo of my cute baby Baron.

All of my tools stored in this awesome machine.

My first "craft" project with my Explore. Using font files and SVG chevron letter. This will be a cute addition to my classroom in the fall. 

I might have a slight addiction to vinyl now. 

From drab to fab!

It is that time of year that we all are headed back to our classrooms to prepare for the new school year. Today I spent a good part of the day in my classroom trying to set up my room and create my space for the upcoming year.

The back wall of my room is a collapsible wall. While this does have advantages like being magnetic, being able to open it up to the room next door to create a larger. collaborative space, and is probably more sound proof than the cinder block. The negative is that it is a very dirty (and quite ugly) mauve color. I finally got permission to hot glue on the wall covering at the end of the school year so I have spent the summer looking for great decorating ideas on Pinterest.

Here are a few shots of the work done today. I have a long way to go but it feels good to have a good start.



This is the first section of the wall that I started with. I used plastic table clothes from Party City for $1.99 each. They worked well but were a little thinner than I would have liked.

The first section is complete with the purple covering and the sophisticated B/W boarder.

I wanted to have a clear divide in the sections on the wall to create mulitiple boards so I used a different color for the center section.

The first two sections will hold reading and writing charts that I refer to often during lessons. To the left is the arrangement I have set up for my student teacher. He will have a book shelf and file cabinet to use and a table for his desk. On the opposite side of his book shelf I have placed one of the three book shelves I have for books the kids can read. The other black table will mover over to the right further to be behind my desk.



I didn't spend much time setting up my desk today but I have moved it this year to be at the back of the room and in front of the window. I had to work with our technology department to make the arrangment work since we have to have a computer at the front of the room that will connect to the projector and audio system.

Combining loves

What is one to do with time on her hands? Combine two of the best hobbies of course.

I decided to make some bookmarks with my Cricut using the Page Pals cartridge through Cricut Craft Room. What did I ever do before this program launched? I love all of the fun things I can create with it.

I also worked on a quote I am planning to put on my door at school.

Using my Cricut and Elegant Cakes cartridge I created this sign with clothes pins to hang papers with no names.

Organization overload

With my new found love of Pinterest I have found so many great ideas to help me organize my classroom. My first project was to organize my lesson plans and paper work I find that piles up on my desk.

I don't know why I never thought of this idea myself but thanks to Pinterest my lesson plans will always be easily found. Of course I have so many things pinned I now can't find who had this idea to give them credit. When I find it again I will be sure to give her credit because I can see this being a huge help for me this year.

Several people have pinned this idea as well but I thought I would add mine to my blog with a disclaimer. I do not recommend these drawers for the idea of putting paper on to make them cute. The front of the drawers have a curve that make it a pain to get the paper to lay flat on even when cutting slits to allow for over lapping. It will work for me but for those of you out there who haven't purchased your own just yet it's something to keep in mind.

A peak at the madness that unfolds!

With so much scrapbooking going on Amy had to create a space with enough for the two of us to work in her new home. This marks the first of our planned scrapbooking weekends where we get between 30-50 pages completed and a LOT of world issues resolved.

Amy returned to Kansas City for our next gathering. If there is a mess that means we are getting a lot done, right?

Trying out a new set up. That's right, not 1 but 3 Cricut machines to keep us going.

Had to expand our latest set up to include TWO more people. We love getting new scrappers together to join us. The more the merrier!



Where the love for this hobby began.

After college I moved backed to Kansas City and began my teaching career. There was one problem being a 20 something, single woman re-establishing life after college; friendships. I found that I was in a middle ground of life struggling to figure out who I was. Most of the friends I had in college were either back near the college or had moved on to their new beginnings as well and my friends in the area that I had from high school had moved on with their new beginnings as well.

I met my husband shortly after moving back to Kansas City and we eventually moved in together. It was at this home that I found my passion for scrapbooking. Actually, it found me. One day a couple of the neighbors decided they needed to meet the new people on the block and stopped by to introduce themselves and invite us to dinner. This was the beginning of a great friendship that brought scrapbooking into my life.

My new friend, Amy, invited me to join her and some of her friends for a monthly scrapbooking get together she was hosting at her house. I had NEVER done a bit of scrapbooking but thought it might be fun and could be a good way to meet some new people. My first scrapbooking event was as close to a complete disaster as you can get. I was overwhelmed by what these girls were creating and designing and all of the "tools" they had. I think I probably lasted an hour or two before I threw in the towel and headed home. All hope was not lost though. I was determined to find my place amongst this group and enjoy this time they made for the girls.

My goal was to invest in a few tools of my own and work at my craft so I felt comfortable during these monthy gatherings. It was not an overnight transformation but each month I began to improve just a little bit more until I finally found my groove. By this time my investment in tools had equaled if not surpassed those who were in this group. I started with the basics; cutting tools, markers, rulers, etc. and quickly expanded to my first major purchase of a Sizzix die cutter. The Sizzix brought a new life to my craft. And with this new life came a new found love for the hobby.

Fast forward a couple of years and Amy decided it was time to make her next investment and bought her first Cricut machine. WOW! The designs we started creating were elaborate and beautiful. It brought Amy and I closer as friends as we spent more time scrapbooking and as any scrapbooker knows that's like free therapy as you talk about how to solve all the worlds troubles. Before too long I couldn't live without having a Cricut machine of my own. My wonderful husband and parents made this investment for me as a birthday present. It is the best present they could have given me that year. I am now the owner of a Cricut Expression machine and a Cricut Cake machine.

A few more years pass by. Amy and I chatted occassionaly and got together a couple of times each month to scrapbook. That is when she broke the news that she and her husband were moving to Iowa to be closer to her husbands family. While I was happy for them it made me sad because by this time in life you learn that when people move away, regardless of what they say, they just don't keep in touch. I couldn't have been more wrong. Amy and I talk more now than we did when she lived two houses down. We have continued to grow our friendship and our scrapbooking hobby. We started with one visit per year and have grown to three or four visits throughout the year. We talk so much now that our husbands joke that we will be the old ladies in the nursing home talking about "remember when" stories and will have to remind each other of who the other is as we lose our memories.

My goal for this blog is to improve my journaling ability as that is the one area I lack in when it comes to my scrapbook pages. I will also share my layout designs and other projects that I create during my time with my hobby; the hobby I would never have if it weren't for the knock on the door from a stranger up the street.