Why Hello There & Who Might You Be?!?

     I'm Katy, wife to Pete, mom to Noah & Camryn, teacher to 18 2nd graders, sister, daughter, friend, and, oh yes.....the author of this little blog.  It's been a while--a little over an 8 month-long while in fact!  I have contemplated deleting this blog because I already have so much to keep up with {I also have a family blog and a teacher website that I maintain} and there just isn't much leftover time in my day.  However, I found myself going back to this blog tonight because I was using an idea that I had posted about at about this same time last year to use in my classroom (Holiday "Eye"-deas).  So, I figured that, since this is more of my crafting/classroom ideas blog, I would update with some of my latest craft projects :)
   
     Here goes...

I made this "B" sign for my sister Jen as a birthday gift.  I had made a "W" sign for my other sister for her birthday earlier this year and Jen mentioned wanting one for her special day, so I made her one with a little bit of a twist.

For Mother's Day, I made both of my sisters a family chalkboard.  I am kinda obsessed with chalkboard art and lettering right now.  I just love the style!  Found these cute blank chalkboards at Michael's and just couldn't pass them up!  My sisters both have them displayed in their homes and they look so cute & personalized :)

I can't really take credit for this craftiness right here because this is what Camryn made for Pete for Father's Day.  She may have the craft gene like her mama ;)

I have also gotten into making mesh wreaths over the past month (which I also posted on my fb page), but if you are interested, the two I have made so far look like this:

     I am hoping not to take such a long hiatus this time around, especially because I've made this a more general crafting blog and not solely for use in classrooms!  Happy crafting!

happy hearts day!

     I have been seeing some amazingly cute Valentine's Day arts & crafts popping up on my Pinterest page lately and it is so hard to pick which ones to create!  Seriously, there is some major crafty talent in this world.  While I'm going to let my kids pick which valentines goodies they want to make for their classmates, I went ahead and made their Valentine cards using some super cute graphics via the super awesome Eighteen 25 craft blog.  The sisters that created that blog truly post some of the neatest DIY projects!  These are the valentines that my kids will be passing out to their friends:

     I love them!  And the valentines ;)  Also on Pinterest, I found a great Hearts Day printable with the chorus to a song that my mom & grandma used to sing to me when I was little:

     I printed it out and placed in a 5 x 7 gold, glittery frame and it adds some cute Valentine's Day sparkle to our bar area.  Easy, peasy. 

     Once the kids decide on which Valentine's Day craft they want to make, I will add some pictures!  Happy LOVE month!

New Year, New Changes!

     Happy 2014!  I am going to be more regular with my blogging this year, so be ready for lots of crafting projects, thoughts, and ideas!  I have changed up this little blog a bit from one primarily focused on teaching to one mostly about being creative.  While I am a teacher, I wanted to expand to ways of being crafty in more than just the classroom, but in any area of your life {home decor, organizational tools, backyard, travel, etc.}
     My first post of the new year is about wooden letters.  I found this cute idea on Pinterest:

     I thought it would be a great gift idea and headed to Hobby Lobby!  I found this exact cross and, while on that row, also saw some wooden letters that I figured I could do something similar.  I like to test out my designs before giving it to anyone, so here's how my copycat turned out...

     I liked it :), so I decided to make one for my mom and sister for their birthdays!

     Not quite as *perfect* as the original, but my mom & sister loved them and I may have gotten some requests for future birthday gifts from other family members ;) I'm also thinking that these would be cute with polka dots, paisley, stripes....I'm sure I'll be practicing some more designs soon!  

Happy crafting!