Retro Sketch

Good morning! I am soaking up the cool mountain air and some great music while I'm at it.  Happy camper.

Before I left for the mountains, I whipped up this card to have something to break up the blog silence over the weekend.  I used this week's Retro Sketch and took a not from Marisa, tilting the tag panel to add a little visual interest in the card.  I started with it straight, but it just felt  too narrow.  So, tilting it was.  I used a bunch of stitching with my sewing machine, a gorgeous PTI doily die (love these things, and they are so under-used by me!), and some flower/button/twine action.  I've had this little leaf die cut for months, just sitting on my desk. Lonely. Begging to be used. Someday.  Well, that day has finally come! It was one of those scraps (literally six months old or longer...) that I knew I would be able to use on a card someday. So glad I kept it!

It's back to the crisp, clean mountain air and some music on the side for me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Mat Stack 2 Collection
Paper- Kraft, Whisper White, Crate Paper- Paper Heart Collection, Simply Chartreuse
Ink- Red Riding Hood, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories- buttons, twine, MFT tag die, PTI- Mat Stack 2 die, doily die, flower die, SU leaves die, slot punch, ribbon, sewing machine, dimensionals

Sketch For You To Try

Good morning!  I'm dropping by (literally) to share another card with you today. I was bound and determined to play along with this month's Sketch For You To Try within the time limit.  Mission accomplished!

I am on my way to the airport in just a bit to fly home once more for the Mountain Music Festival held in my home town.  A friend and I are the official photographers. If they only knew that I am totally pretending to be  a great photographer!  It's all the DSLR. It makes me look good, lol.  But they invited me back for a second year in a row. How could I say no? Mountains. Music.  Monsoons.  Cool weather.  Yeah, I'm there.


As for the card, I stamped a brand new (to me!) Plain Jane from Verve (such a great verse!), added a few little flowers to the lonely side of the card, and called it a day.


That's all for today.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Philippians 1:6 Plain Jane
Paper- Lemon Tart, Whisper White, Bitty Box Basics dp, Authentique Journey dp
Ink- Basic Black
Accessories- ribbon, nestabilities, buttons, MS flower punches

Monday Made It

Good morning! I am so thrilled to be linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for a Make it Monday challenge! I actually got crafty without making a card. Imagine that! I loved using clipboards with my firsties last year for more than just kids that needed to finish work during recess time (outside because I needed a break!).

I discovered reading and writing the room. Intentionally reading and writing the room.  And bringing clipboards to the rug for group lessons (more than just white boards).

Therefore, my mission for this year was to purchase a class set of clipboards (I only have 3 before and would just have the kids use a hard book to write on).  Mission: Complete!  But I couldn't just leave well enough alone.  Those clipboards were a boring brown. You know the type. Boring.  Thus, this week's Make it Monday success!

I ventured out to Michael's to grab some 12x12 apple dp, cardstock, modge podge, and sponge brushes.  After measuring and cutting, I got down to business.  I added mod podge to the clipboard. Then, I laid the paper over it. I discovered that I need to let this layer dry before adding a top coat of modge podge to avoid the paper buckling or wrinkling.

Voila! The finish product! I made 21 of these bad boys!

Now it's back to card-making and literacy-and-math-centers-making.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp-a-Faire- Knots

After a quick lunch break, I'm back with card number two for Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-Faire. I am having such a blast playing along with the challenges and earning some badges!

Speaking of badges, this second card also helped me earn my first badge. Yay! This challenge was all about ribbon and using ribbon in new, fun, familiar, and exciting ways on our cards.

I chose to work with Dawn's challenge since it was a bit nostalgic for me. When I was first getting into stamping and blogging, I stunk at tying bows. Terrible.  Even the memory of some of my first months of cards makes me shiver.  Dawn had posted a how-to video waaay back when and I must have watch that ribbon-tying video at least a dozen times.  Armed with ribbon in hand, I practiced and practiced... And goodness, I'm so glad I did!  


Thanks Dawn for the fun challenge!


The roomie and I are off to a friend's house for a little bit to take part in some Christmas in July movie madness! We're lining up some of the BEST cheesy Christmas movies and dreaming of cooler weather. Sounds perfect!

I'll be back to the stamping this evening.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Tag-Its #1, Inside & Out- Thank You, Mat Stack 4 Collection
Paper- Smokey Shadow, Whisper White, Aqua Mist Pattern Pack, Aqua Mist
Ink- Basic Gray, Aqua Mist
Accessories- Turning a New Leaf die, ribbon, dimensionals, nestabilities, Mat Stack 4 die, score tool

Stamp-a-Faire- Make-n-Take

Good morning stamping friends!  I am up a little earlier than normal this morning to take part in Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-Faire.  A day when the stamping community "goes to stamp camp" in the comfort of our own homes (and air-conditioning!).

Nichole started bright and early (hello 7a.m. on the east coast!) and I most definitely was not up at 4a.m. stamping.  Nope.  Not during the summer! I mozied on out of bed around 9 o'clock!  I figured the stamping could wait for me. :)

Our first warm-up challenge was a make-n-take.  Nichole gave us all of the card paper colors, dimensions, and instructions to get us crafting. I, unfortunately, don't have the featured stamp set (yet!), so I pulled out my other favorite floral set, Rosie Posie.  I think I could use this stamp set on every card. Love!  I stamped the largest flower, and since it didn't have any middle stamping options, I got a little creative with my copic markers, adding some highlighting with a few oranges and pinks.  I have to admit that I have never used copics on top of solid stamps before. I can proudly admit that I am a new convert! 

I pulled out leaves from Turning a New Leaf, little dots from Harvest Berries, and a sentiment from Signature Greetings. I am usually not a Raspberry Fizz paper fan, but I love how this card turned out! 

Thanks for the warm up, Nichole! 

Next, off to earn my first "summer stamp camp" badge! Yay!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- PTI: Rosie Posie, Turning a New Leaf, Harvest Berries, Signature Greetings

Paper- Raspberry Fizz, Whisper White, Velum

Ink- Orange Zest, Memento Tuxedo Black, Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose

Accessories- score tool, score tape, corner rounder punch

Card Case Study

Good morning! I think I am going to hide indoors all day in the air conditioning. All of a sudden it's summer outside!  Fortunately, I knew it was coming and made a yummy cold pasta salad yesterday to tide me over until this heatwave passes.  There is no way I am turning on the stove or oven!

I am playing along for the very first time with the Case Study Challenge. I couldn't resist this week's inspiration card!  It's gorgeous! We are are CASE-ing the so very talented Kristii Lockart.  The moment I saw her card, ideas swirled through my head. I loved the colors: white, kraft, aqua, red.  I also kept the little scalloped edge, and a friend sentiment.  Though, I put mine on a little tag.  I used the heart from the the little birdhouse as my inspiration for the glossy heart I added to the fourth square.

Kristii Lockart's Inspiration Card

Lots more stamping to do today! I've also been busy printing off a ton of centers and activities for the new school year. My new, sweet laminater is about to get a serious workout!  I'm also in the midst of a third project decorating some new clipboards for my classroom. Pictures soon to come. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- PT: Mega Mixed Messages, Verve: Text Objects
Paper- Kraft, Whisper White, Bitty Dot Basics dp, Pure Poppy
Ink- Pure Poppy, Versamark Tuxedo Black
Accessories- ribbon, scallop punch, tag die, glossy accents, dimensionals, twine

Favorite Picture Books

Lindsey over at The Teacher Wife is holding what must be one of my favorite linky parties so far! It's all about BOOKS!  And even better than that, it's all about our favorite picture books to read in our classrooms. LOVE!

I have a slight addiction to books.  Not really a shocker at all, even if you only know me a little bit. I LOVE books.  I love to read, and the love of reading is one of the most important things I try to instill in my students.  Read Aloud is my favorite part of the day. It's also the part of day where I work on building my students' stamina right away.  By the end of September, I'm reading aloud for 20-30 minutes every day.  I never skip read aloud.  I love to animate the characters by doing voices. Getting all dramatic for the intense parts, and frequently crack myself up (while reading!) when something gets silly.

I almost always try to read books that are out for my students to read.  I want them to be able to cuddle up with that same book over the next week or two and read it again and again. I love watching them read to each other, trying to make the same voices that I used when I read it aloud.  So cute!  They are practicing great reading and they don't even know it!


On that note, is there is a Scholastic Book Orders Anonymous?  I'm not ashamed. Shopping through those little magazines each month makes me so happy!

Here are a few of my absolute favorite picture books:

Always a classic!  This book explains in hilarious detail how children should act if they don't want to have any friends. This is the one you read while staring at your little stinker special friend hoping they are taking the message to heart even listening.

I always start the school year off by reading this series. The stories and illustrations are hilarious and the my firsties have just enough school experience to understand the humor.

This is my childhood favorite and I love reading it to the kids to this day.

I love watching my kids synthesize as this story is ready aloud.  Their little brains work so hard listening to that pig trick the fox over and over again.

Do I really need to stay anything about this one?! LOVE!

This last one is a little lesser known, but FABULOUS!  Another GREAT book for synthesizing.  "Ms. B, someone colored in your book!"  Or DID they?!

Ah! It was so hard to narrow that down to only six books!  This may need to be a monthly linky party so that as each month goes by and I pull out more books and spot more favorites, I can add to my list!

Book-a-holic.

There, I've admitted it.

Admitting is the first step to recovery, right? :)

Thanks for stopping by!
 

Viva la Verve

I'm back! In So Cal, that is.  For a little while. For a grand total of six more days. Then I'm off and running again, lol!  For a summer with no plans, it sure is packed. How did that happen?!

I think it has been eons since I have played with Viva la Verve. I loved this week's sketch and had to play along. The other two have been saved on my desktop for weeks. Weeks!  I will play with them... Eventually.  But back to this card and this week's sketch.  I pulled out so MME dp that is uber-feminine (but gorgeous!) and ran with it.

I stitched around the perimeter, adding a little section of zigzagging along the top right, sponged some tea dye stains around the sentiment, went a little wild with some tiny jewels, and added some twine to finish of the girly-yet-slightly-rustic look.  It's very country if I look at it in a decorative sense.  Well, whatever it is, it's done and I like it!


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Thankful Accents
Paper- Kraft, Aqua Mist, Whisper White, My Mind's Eye Howdy Doody Miss Caroline dp
Ink- Chocolate Chip
Accessories- twine, nestabilities, Taylor's Tiny Twinkles, dimensionals, sewing machine, tea dye stains

A Little of This and That

Good morning!  I'm still blissfully on vacation up in the mountains, away from the 104F heatwave that has struck back home.  Even better, this afternoon/evening we are expecting monsoons! I LOVE monsoons! Monsoon season is my favorite "unofficial" season.  Something about the thunder echoing through the canyon, lightning bolting across the sky, rain pummeling down as if we were in Florida...  It's a wonderful thing. :)

Let's see. I've now been on my mini vacation for 9 days.  What have I accomplished?  HA! Not much!  Other than reading three books and a smattering of other little things.  I started a bit of back to school shopping (the online stuff) since I'm gone a big chunk of July and August. 

I've purchased a class set of clipboards! So excited to have these! I have always wanted a class set, but have never bitten the bullet and done it. Not I want to cutsie them up with some scrapbook paper and modge podge. I'll have to take pictures when I am done so you can see the finished product.

Oh, and I may have purchased one of these... I couldn't help it! I am one of those people who fortunately and unfortunately do not have access to my classroom and/or the school during the summer. It is closed.  They even take our keys!  I really want to get a head start on laminating some new centers, activities, etc before school starts (while I actually have time!) and I don't want to constantly be running to Lakeshore for laminating needs, so I bit the bullet and got a little laminater. And I am so excited!!! Who knew a laminater could make me so happy?!

While home in the mountains, I've been going on long motorcycle rides with my dad, shooting some pistols and rifles, trying to save our Mountain, and am gearing up for the Jazz Jubilee which kicks off this evening.  I'm helping our local Women's Club with their bake sale during the concert, which is always fun. I plan on spending the next couple of days at  the Jazz Jubilee soaking up some live music, dancing, and visiting with great friends.

My dad and I went out to the gun range a few days back to shoot up some cans and targets. So fun!  I definitely had the best shot of the day, annihilating a root beer can. The day before we went on a 100 mile motorcycle ride through the mountains. Heaven. :)

This was my Grandfather's pistol. The can was killed using a different pistol (9mm), but I forgot to get a picture! 

Our poor little mountain community has been traumatized over the last few weeks by the CEO deciding to shut it down for the summer AND next winter! Our town is in utter shock.  We had a huge town hall meeting on Tuesday evening (with around 300 in attendance!  There are only about 500 people IN this town!) that lasted for 3 1/2 hours discussing the closure, it's financial ramifications to the town and the county, and pretty much begged for the CEO to keep it open.  This could potentially be devastating to so many families and the economy up here. So sad! I grew up skiing on this mountain.

Meanwhile, our silent, quiet, sleepy little town has been humming with the sounds of helicopters, big trucks, security officers, and paparazzi due to a movie being filmed right by our house.  A little movie featuring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman.  I am thrilled they are filming here in JL, but I really could do without the film helicopter flying low over our houses at 6:30 in the morning. Mom and I took a walk down to the set the other day before filming commenced.  Here's what it looked like.

Oh, and on a random note, this was my view out the window when I was reading the other day.  I was not alone....

Monday it's back to reality. And the heat.  And air conditioners.  And my stamping room.  And back to school sales! (Though I usually try to avoid those until at least August. But I'm just so excited this year!  The temptation to shop is strong!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday on a Sunday

Good morning!  My card for today feels perfect.  Giving thanks... I am so thankful to be home with my family, soaking up the mountain air. I am thankful for toffee from Cathy's Candy.  I am thankful for home-cooked meals.  I am thankful for the cool breeze.  I am thankful that I get to see some old friends in just a few days.  So much to be thankful for!

I finished this card before I left town earlier this week, but saved it until now to post.  Nothing like submitting at the last moment! I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch, which, admittedly, had me thinking for a while. The sketch just felt lopsided to me...  It needed something in that bottom left corner to ground it, in my opinion.  And that's what got me thinking about this dp in particular. I love the flowers over the newsprint! It was perfect!  I added a little flower from Grateful Elegance (it only felt appropriate.  I mean it is named Grateful Elegance, after all.) by stamping directly onto Ocean Tides cardstock and adding some highlights with a copic marker.  Oh, and a little copic-colored jewel in the middle finished it off.


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Give Thanks Plain Jane, Grateful Elegance
Paper- Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate, Whisper White, My Mind's Eye Lost & Found- Breeze dp
Ink- Chocolate Chip
Accessories- ribbon, nestabilities, jewel, copic markers, dimensionals, tea dye stains, scallop edge punch

A Huge Celebration

I'm dropping in one more time today to share a huge giveaway happening over at Peace, Love, and Learning! It's her blogoversary and she has tons of goodies up for grabs! How can I not share and enter?!

If you are a teacher, make sure to stop by and check out her blog and the giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by!
 

Sketch For You To Try

Good morning!  I really am not sure if I have missed the deadline for this sketch or not, but I thought I would play along anyways. It's been sitting, saved on my desktop for a few weeks and needed to be used on a card.  Leave it to me to save it until the last possible moment...

I pulled out some Authentique: Blissful dp and pulled my cardstock straight from the color palette. The flowers are my much underused Beautiful Blossoms #1 from Papertrey Ink. I love these flowers and yet I so seldom use them. I always forget about them, truthfully.  There are so many amazing flower stamps out there that I usually get sidetracked.  Tough problem, eh? ;)

I added some buttons as the flower centers, a whole lot of twine, and even an extra little strip of ruler dp across the middle. A couple tiny dots of glossy accents helped my twine stay where I wanted it to stay.

Hmmm... Yeah, submissions are closed. Darn! Oh well. That's what I get for procrastinating. ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Signature Greetings
Paper- Whisper White, Basic Black, Authentique: Blissful dp
Ink- Basic Black
Accessories- twine, buttons, nestabilities, beautiful blooms #1 die

Currently

If all has gone well, I'll be on the road or home in the mountains when you are reading this!  Hooray for escaping the summer heat and chilling in JL for a week. Or two.  I plan on reading, soaking up some sun, attending some fireworks, hitting the Jazz Jubilee, visiting some good friends, and cooking lots of food for the family.  It's always more fun to cook for more people than just myself. :)

I am joining up, for the first time, with Farley's Currently linky for July!  This is something I discovered through teaching blogs and it looked like so much fun, I couldn't resist this time around.

So, without further ado:

Yay! Sucess! It took me a few tries to get this to save as an image instead of a document. Ah, technology.

Listening- I am a Pandora addict. Broadway, Big Band, Film Scores.... Enough said. Oh, and I had my kids addicted to the "How to Train Your Dragon" soundtrack last year. :)

Planting my summer veggie garden is one of my most favorite things to do each spring. I usually plant during Spring Break, but life was a little crazy this year and I didn't end up planting until Memorial Weekend. I ended up purchasing slightly more mature plants that I normally would to help compensate for the late planting.

I am just now reaping the fruits of my labor!  Cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapeno, cilantro, tomatoes coming out of my ears!  Yum!  Add in some fruit from the farmer's market, and you have my daily summer lunch.

In addition to Pandora, I'm a bookaholic. I admit it.  I've been on summer break for a whole two and one half weeks and I have already finished eight books. Yup. Eight.  This girl is in heaven!


I am procrastinating the washing of the dishes. I don't want to do them. Nope.  Maybe if I ignore them long enough, they'll clean themselves?!

As for reads:
1- I absolutely love to read Junie B. Jones to my kiddos!  I usually bust them out around January (it takes everything within me not to do it earlier!).

 I selfishly read around three chapters every day (am I the only one who thinks read aloud is the BEST part of the day?!  This is the first thing I keep pushing the kids stamina for at the beginning of the year.  By January, I read alound for 20-30 minutes daily, and the kids usually beg for more!), do voices and the whole deal.  I love Junie B. Jones!

When we finish the series, the kids are always so sad and wonder if Barbara Park will write a second grade series. :)


2-  This is an oldie but a goodie. I read this during grad school and continue to read it every August before school starts.  It's just such solid, common sense advice that I need to be reminded of every fall. Those first few weeks are SO critical in setting up rules and procedures.  I'm going on year eight as a teacher and I plan on reading this again starting in a few weeks.  It's definitely my "beginning of the school year" go-to book!

Well, there you have it. My first Currently!

Thanks for stopping by!