Teaching With Style: crafts

Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts

Aloha! I hope everyone had an awesome Turkey Day - I sure did! My family flew over to Oregon to spend time with family and friends.  Here we are all dressed up for Thanksgiving at my sister-in-law's house.  She requested we all wear plaid.  So guess who all got new plaid shirts?? We did!

Turkey and family are definitely my two favorite things about Thanksgiving weekend, but saving money on things I love is a close third! Who doesn't love saving money? If you love cutting out paper and vinyl, well, lucky for you, Silhouette is having a big Black Friday Sale! 


That's right! Here are some of the deals you can score:
  • Free Shipping on order over $50.00 (in the contiguous United States)
  • 40% off almost everything in the Silhouette America store
  • 20% off Silhouette Design Store Subscriptions (using the code BLACK)
  • Machine bundles as low as $99.00 including:
    • Silhouette Mint $99.99
    • Portrait & Mint $189.99
    • CAMEO $199.99
    • CAMEO & Portrait $289.99
  • Lots more bundles featured on the site!  
The deals end on December 4th, so hurry! In order for these deals to work, you have to enter in the code TEACH at www.silhouetteamerica.com/bf!  

Happy shopping!

Read more »
Two years ago for Valentine's Day, I made heart shaped crayons for my class and taped them to a cute little card with washi tape.  I loved that project!

This year, I made treats for my son's class, needed something non-candy for my daughter's preschool class (no sugar allowed at her school), and also something for my class.  That means, my class got something easy.  Sorry kids!

My school had professional development on Friday, so I needed my class' treats ready for Thursday.  Wednesday night, I sent my husband to the store for a bag of candy and he came back with Wonka's Sweetart Lollipops.  I printed out these cards on light pink cardstock and taped them to the lollipop.  Easy peasy!


My son is in 3rd grade, so he wanted something "cool".  That means no hearts, no pink, and certainly no mushy sayings.  We went to the store Thursday night and picked up a bag of Pixie Stix for a little over $2.00.  Crafting in the Rain had an adorable idea of taping the Pixie Stix to the card with washi tape.  So I found the most boy-ish washi tape I had and printed his cards on orange cardstock.  I didn't have a class list for his class, so we made them without names.  It's way easier to pass out without names, anyway.  I love how they turned out!

Since my daughter's preschool is sugar-free, she got heart shaped crayons.  I used a different method than I did in the post I linked at the top.  I peeled the wrappers off a bunch of broken crayons and sorted them by color into ziplock bags.  I melted the crayons in a small metal bowl placed on top of a boiling pot of water and poured the melted wax into heart-shaped soap molds from the craft store.  I made them with two colors.  The first color I poured halfway.  Let it dry for a few minutes, then poured the second color to fill the mold.  I put the full mold in the freezer to help it harden faster.  Then I popped them out and put them in little zipper bags I had for jewelry.  I loved these bag toppers from My Frugal Adventures, but needed mine to be smaller to fit the small zipper bags.  

I also made cute little teacher gifts.  This is the one for my daughter's teacher.  I cut the vinyl on my Silhouette Portrait.  I used the apple from The School Supply Addict and KG's Always a Good Time font for the name.  I bought purple mason jars at the craft store and found these cool cup lids.

These would be great for Teacher Appreciation, too! 

If you are interested in the cards I made above, you can download them {HERE}.

What did you do for Valentine's Day? 



Read more »
Peekapak is a monthly box for children that combines the magic of storytelling with the excitement of hands-on crafts.  Each month, your child receives an original storybook featuring an educational adventure story and all the materials to create two items that are features in the story.

Peekapak offered to send me a complimentary box for my family to try out.  This is what our box looked like when we first opened it up.

The first project was to make storytelling puppets to use while reading the story.  We'll keep these to use with future boxes, too. 

We sat down at our art/homework table in the corner of our kitchen and got to work.  I cut the shapes out and Audrey taped them to the popsicle sticks.  The tape that came in our Peekapak wasn't that sticky, so I swapped it for some Scotch tape in our junk drawer. 

The story was about tangrams.  A wooden set with a page with patterns came in our box.

As we read the story, we got to make the same tangrams as the characters.

Audrey used the retelling sticks to act out the story.

These are the supplies to make a kaleidoscope.

She had a lot of fun decorating her kaleidoscope and looking through it!

This is what we needed to make a parachute drop.  The pattern on the cup is so cute!

All the activities in the box were great for a couple of afternoon projects.  And the best part was that they all can be used more than once.  Even after a few months, she still plays with the tangrams and the kaleidoscope!

Are you interested in trying Peekapak for yourself? You can get $10 off your first month with the code SPECIAL10.
Just click {HERE} to check it out!

Read more »
Are you an avid crafter like me? I love creating things for my home, classroom, and as gifts.  But one thing I hate is cutting things out.  It takes forever and makes my hand tired (I'm a lefty, so I blame all those non-left handed scissors I've been forced to endure! :)

Thank goodness Silhouette is having a Black Friday sale! Here are the sales they have going on, then scroll to the bottom to see my first project with my new Silhouette Portrait machine!

Bundle #1: a Portrait machine with 1 free year to Club Silhouette for $179.99

Bundle #2: Cameo machine, Designer Edition software upgrade, Dust cover, 4 tools, and $25 download card to the Silhouette Design Store for $269.99

Bundle #3: Cameo machine, Design Edition software upgrade and 1 free year to Club Silhouette for $299.99

Bundle #4: Cameo machine AND Portrait machine (one for you and one for a friend! ;) plus 2 $25 download cards to Silhouette Design Store for $299.99

Maybe you are like me and already have a Silhouette machine.  There are great deals for you, too! Use my code (TEACH) to receive 40% off at SillhouetteAmerica.com! Machines, design downloads, download cards, subscriptions, and gift cards aren't included, sorry! But, there is free shipping on all orders over $25 in the continental US.  If you are interested in designs, you can get 50% off all designs at SilhouetteDesignStore.com and there is no code needed! Woot!

Here are the deets:
The sale lasts from Thursday, November 26th at 10pm MST until Monday, December 8th at 11:59pm MST.
Code for sale prices: TEACH

The kind people at Silhouette sent me a Portrait machine to play around with and I'm in love! I already have a Cricut, but I feel so stifled by their design cartridges.  I've made some cute things, but I'd rather be able to cut the clipart and fonts I already own on my computer.

When I read about Denise's Student of the Month hanger, I knew I needed to make one for my room! My Star Student fills out an All About Me poster each month that I hang up.  But it keeps blowing off the wall from the fans in our room.  This hanger was brilliant and a perfect first project for my Portrait!

First, I got the Portrait machine all set up and downloaded my free images it comes with.  I even watched the instructional DVD! #nerdalert

Then I started playing around with the software.  I LOVE that I can see how it will cut on the page and that I can use my own fonts.

 Here is my completed hanger! I prepped (wiped with liquid deglosser, then sanded smooth), and painted with acrylic paint (Liquitex Bright Aqua Green mixed with a little white).  I rubbed the metal part with some steel wool because it had some rust on it.  Then I cut out my words and the stars with blue and gold vinyl that I already had.  The way the Portrait works is the same as the Cricut, but I feel like I have more control.  With the Cricut, I never knew how much paper it would use or how the letters would sit on the page.  With the Portrait, I get to choose.  I love it!

What would you make?

Disclaimer: I received a Portrait machine for free, but the ideas and opinions are entirely my own.  
Read more »
In my classroom, we are finally starting to get ready for Halloween! Hawaii doesn't have traditional seasons, so I don't do too much about fall.  We don't have any apple orchards so it doesn't make sense to do apple week.  We don't have trees with leaves that turn colors and drift to the ground, so we don't do too many activities around leaves and trees.  But we do have a local pumpkin patch and a long tradition of Halloween!

To gear up, I busy prepping my Pumpkin Life Cycles and Experiments unit.  I know the kiddos are going to enjoy exploring the scientific method while counting seeds, experimenting with pumpkins, and even tasting the seeds!

We talk about spiders, especially since there is currently a huge cane spider living in our classroom! Last week we made an adorable spider subtraction craft that my colleague Lora-lea made a few years ago.  Lucky for you she gave me permission to re-create it and share it with all of you! Thanks Lora-lea!  They're hanging in my room and are a fun, glittery decoration for fall! 

Click the picture to download your copy for FREE!

I enlisted the help of my son tonight.  First he colored the spiders and the border around the word problem. 

Then he drew a web with a white crayon and squeezed some Elmer's glue onto it.

Then sprinkled with glitter.


Shook the glitter off, then glued the spiders and word problem paper on.  

Another way I like to decorate is by using fun containers and manipulatives in math.

I downloaded this freebie Mixed Addition Halloween center game from my friend Fern.  We started addition a few weeks ago, so this is perfect! I printed, laminated, and cut the game pieces and placed them in this fun pumpkin basket I got at the craft store.  I then threw in 12 bat rings for the kids to use as manipulatives.  Luckily, the little bag of rings I got at the store has 100 in them, so I have plenty to give out to the kids and replace in case one turns up missing.  No biggie! 

So now, you might be wondering about all these extra goodies I've purchased, like baking materials for the pumpkin pie in a crock pot recipe from my Pumpkin Experiments pack, the pumpkin basket and rings from the game, or even the glitter for the craft.  That's where Coupons.com comes to my rescue!  You can search their site for coupon codes and get them for stores like Michaels, OfficeMax, and even Target! Check out The Good Stuff here! 

Right now there is a Coupons.com Halloween Creepstakes going on.  The Creepstakes gives you the chance to win $100 in daily prize giveaways and a $3,000 grand prize.  It ends October 31, so hurry quick!

One last goodie - check out this post from last year to snag my freebie Halloween goodie bag toppers! :)
Read more »
I'm joining up with Blog Hoppin for their fun week-long linky!


I LOVE crafting and creating fun things for my classroom, home, and gifts.  On my sidebar, you'll find labels of DIY and Crafts.  I also have a lot of projects on Classroom DIY that you can check out.

Back before I started my whole teacher blog journey, I had a craft blog, Nicole's Crafting Adventure.   I haven't posted on it in some time, but if you search around, you'll see the projects I like to make are not strictly for my classroom.

A couple Christmases ago, I decided to do all handmade gifts.  It was really fun to get creative and make things for people with my own hands.  I, for one, LOVE getting handmade gifts.  They are so thoughtful and I know the amount of time, effort, and love that goes into them.  The past two years, being in Hawaii, I sent people gifts from here, things they can't get on the mainland: macadamia chocolates, Hawaiian print things, shirts that say Lanai, cute surfer-chick hats, Hawaii Starbucks mugs, etc.  But now that the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over, I think I'm going to go back to my handmade gifts. In January and February, I have 7 friends and family birthdays.  What better way to celebrate, than to send them something I've made (especially since they should all still be full of Macadamia Kisses from their Christmas packages!)

Here are a collection of pins of things that I'm thinking about making:

I am obsessed with Colleen Wilcox's art.  It's so colorful and fluid.  I want to try to paint like her.
Via Pinterest
 I have the materials for making soap.  I need to do more of it and have fun with it.
Via Pinterest
I have an old towel like this from my Grandma.  I love how it never falls off the oven handle!  I need to make some of these in cute fabrics for friends who cook.
Via Pinterest

Some placemats would be a nice gift and easy to sew (I like projects that mostly include sewing a straight line).
Via Pinterest

I've made quite a few oven mitts and they make fabulous gifts.  I should do more.
Via Pinterest

Aside from planning upcoming projects, I've been hard at work getting classroom projects ready, too.  Here is my latest unit, hot off the presses - Snow Much Fun!  It's a language arts unit that incorporates science and art!


There are 2 art projects, quite a few writing projects, a literacy center with compound words, symmetry and alike/different practice, literature links, comprehension passages and questions, vocabulary, and even a poem! I'll post more about it later, but I wanted to be the first to let you know about it! :)

What projects do you have coming up?  If you make handmade gifts, what are you go-to's?
Read more »
My teacher friend Becky and I have been *slightly* obsessed with making signs from reclaimed wood. We've been seeing signs all over the place in upscale shops in Maui with cute sayings on them like "Relax" and "Aloha".  We thought, we can make that!

To get started, we asked the wood shop teacher if he had any scrap pieces of wood that he didn't want. He did!  He actually had a lot and said we can take all we want!

Here are the other supplies we gathered:
  • Cricut Cutting Machine (my favorite font cartridges are Cuttin' Up and Alphalicious )
  • Vinyl Sheets
  • Foam Brushes
  • Acrylic Paints
First, we decided if we wanted to white wash the top of the board or leave it wood.  Then, we cut out the letters we wanted and arranged them on the board.  We stuck the letters down and mixed paint to go over the top.  Once the top coat of paint dried, we peeled the letters off.  You can finish your project with a quick spray of clear coating or brush on some polyurethane if the sign might be outdoors.  We glued rope to the back of some to hang and hammered picture hanging hardware to the back of others.  It's fun to create signs that are unique and different!

We made this one as part of a going-away present for a fellow teacher who moved back to California at the end of last year.  She loves the beach and really did have shells in her pockets sometimes! :)

Becky made this one for her dining room area.  It says "Sun, Sea, Sand".

I wanted to try using the outside of the vinyl, so once Becky used the letters SEA for her sign, I made this one.  I glued real sand around the letters.  It was for my dad for Father's Day.  He has a sailboat and is obsessed with the ocean.  Needless to say, he loved it!

I made this one for our front door.

So after making a variety of fun signs, Becky and I decided to make one for a new business in town: Anuenue Juice Bar!  Anuenue means "rainbow" in Hawaiian and Tammy has some beautiful menus in her shop with black backgrounds and rainbow colored writing on them.  These menus inspired her sign.

First, we mixed bright rainbow colors and painted them in stripes on a large board.  Then, we cut out our letters in all caps and arranged them on the board.  Once we stuck them down, we painted black chalkboard paint over the entire board.  When we started to peel the letters, we could see the rainbow colors!  Becky is the resident paint mixer, as well as arranger (she just has a great eye for making things even), so her skills came in handy with this project.  

In process, peeling letters off.

All finished!  We painted the edge of the board a bold turquoise.   

Here it is in Tammy's shop!  We ended up polyurethaning it in case she ever wanted to lean it outside.  I LOVE how it turned out!  So bright, fun, cheery.  SO Tammy!  I wish her nothing but success in her new business! 

I'm linking up with Monday Made It!

Read more »
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)