Pennies and Pics

Calming Bottle Instagram Post I saw a great idea on Pinterest a while ago about calming glitter jars being used in the classroom. I have not used it in the classroom yet, but here's what I'm thinking... Students who are upset (not violently) can go to an area of the classroom away from the other students. The area can have a stuffed animal, journal, timer, stress ball, and or the calming jar. I looked around my house for a jar or container that had a flat top so it could be turned over and low and behold I found the Starbucks iced coffee bottle. Here is what I used and did: Need: A sturdy bottle with a flat top bottle of glitter glue (color of your choice) I had a bottle of black glitter glue loose glitter (color of your choice) I had pink rubbing alcohol (for sticky bottle label removal) hot water decorative tape super glue Steps: 1. First I removed the labels from the jar and soaked it in a hot water/rubbing alcohol bath, after it was soaking about an hour o...

I wanted to do something nice for my friend who enjoys cooking, so I stalked her Pinterest. She had pinned a DIY cookbook and some recipes. This was a no-brainer; make her a cookbook and print out the recipes she pinned :)! Supplies Used: 3ring Binder with clear cover Printer/paper and lots of clear page protectors! Page dividers Scrapbook paper Stickers This is what the cover ended up looking like with the Family's last name as the heading In the back I added a cupcake box, and a Veggie cooking cheat sheet Closer look of what I added to the inside pockets Inside I added a card, recipe cards, a weekly meal planning organizer and other  chef must have's I printed one recipe for each section and placed it inside the page protectors The back cover;  Scrapbook paper, then glued a Measurement Conversion Chart to it for quick reference. Bad picture...but it reads "Get Cookin'" Personally, I used 6 page di...

  Sydney Turns 1! How I created an Owl themed party for my daughter's 1st birthday: Birthday Highchair Free Owl printables: banner, water bottle labels, and more The bib is from Kohl's and the personalized owl placemat from :  http://www.InkGarden.com/ Orded this custom personalized invite from Etsy Invitation Prints (Print your own/ customize and get download for $3) Treat Table: The cake was in the fridge A bunch of FREE Owl printable labels, cupcake toppers, cards, and more! Some snacks included: worms in dirt, ants on a log, and goldfish Make your own trail mix station  I used animal crackers, Teddy Grahams, Pretzels, Yogurt covered raisins, nuts, and more! Created a photo timeline 0-11 months and used cinnamon apple water instead of water bottles Apple Cinnamon Water Recipe Printable numbers for the timeline banner (Don't print all of them; just 1-11) A kid's station with edible play-dough, owl books, b...

For my sister-in law's baby shower I wanted to make her a Hospital Survival Kit without spending a lot of money...here is what I came up with: (The most expensive thing I bought was the $6 bucket @Michaels without coupon). All the goodies So I scoured my bathroom and pantry to find unused items I already had to add to the kit. Sleep Sheets sleep aid (free with instant rebate from Walgreens) for DAD, NOT MOM Loofa (in a shower gift pack I bought after Christmas) Revlon nail file (used coupon got it for a few cents) Hand sanitizer ($1) Secret deodorant (used coupon almost free) Free samples Treseme shampoo/conditioner)  Free samples Body soap Mouthwash (used coupon almost free) Disposable razor (from value pack) Chapstick Body lotion  Hair ties/head band (from value pack) Free sample face wash Gum ($1) Granola bars/snacks (from my pantry) Victoria's Secret beach bag (free with earlier purchase I made, I have tons of bags, so I kept it in the package for ...

For a DIY easy & cheap baby gift: make a big sister or brother kit. Here's what I used: Supplies Finished Product (also add ribbons or a bow) Closer Look Chinese takeout gift container (@ Michaels around $3) "Big Sister" T-shirt:  See how to make in my other post here (not yet finished). Berenstein Bears "New Baby" children's book   Buy Book Here  (about $4 on Amazon, another good one is Mercer Mayer "The New Baby".  Crayons & notebook ($1 each) Color activity kits ($1 each) Hand Sanitizer ($1) Snacks: I used goldfish got for $1 from Target $1bin Baby gift so she can give to her new baby brother: from Dollar Store Disposable camera for pictures of the new baby...and other stuff...(not pictured here)  Stickers for the name, gift tag, and a printout of the contents. (I used Pages to create the document and the "Chalkduster" font  

For my brother's 21st birthday I wanted to either give him $21 or lotto tickets and also make a hangover kit. I started looking around my house for containers, I found a coffee and candy containers, ribbon, bows and printed some labels from my computer and was all set. I then went to purchase 21 lotto scratcher tickets and items for my hangover kit. Lotto pull bucket: 21 scratchers tape printable label tape ribbon bow I made a label using Mac's Pages application by inserting a rounded rectangle on the page and measuring it to cover the label from my coffee container. Then I added text that said "Happy Birthday Sam, 21 is a lucky number! ". I placed the tickets into 3 piles (I had 7 , 3 different kinds of tickets and placed them into piles so I can make a pattern and alternate the kinds of tickets: 777, Hot Chili, Gold, 777, Hot Chili, Gold, etc....) then place them scratcher side down and tape them all together long ways. Then I used a knife and carefully...

I have the best husband ever! I am lucky he is so crafty and a hard worker. We have a laundry room with enough space for a desk, so I showed him some other craft rooms I've found on Pinterest and he got inspired! Here is my craft/wrapping/couponing space.                                                   BEFORE: Laundry Room Space Before Home Depot wood pegboard paint (white and "feldspar" Behr) I bought a whole gallon of the wall paint-half would have been plenty pegboard baskets (set of 3) + extra hooks     Other stores mason jars (purchased at grocery store) Photo stand (Michaels Craft store on clearance for $2) use to put iPad or books on "Imagine" wall decor (TJ Max) multi-plug outlet (already had, but you can find at a hardware store) Chalkboard Cookie sheet (used an old cookie sheet and sprayed it with chalkboard ...

Another great Pinterest find! I was browsing through DIY stuff to make for a classroom and came across a DIY wipe board. I followed the video and then decided to use it for my house since I still don't have a classroom of my own....yet... See the step by step video here:  DIY Dry Erase Boards Video Here is mine: I found a cute Morning Checklist Printable: childreninspiredesign.com This website uses a glass picture frame to hold the printable, I don't have space and would rather put mine on the fridge with a magnet- but the frame way is cute also... For the classroom I would use this printable for Pre-K-2 (find a cursive one for 3rd): printactivities.com This would go great in a "Writing Center" or as a "May Do" when students are done with work early...