Stool makeover!

This is something else that I have seen on Pinterest and have been wanting to do.  I finally got to this, also this summer. 

 

I don't sit often while teaching, but I do use this quite often during spelling pre-tests and spelling tests, etc. 

 

This is what the sad looking stool looked like before...

 

 

The lake is by far the prettiest thing in this picture.  It was pretty awful looking.... but it had served the purpose.  So now it looks like this...

 

 

So, now it is pretty while serving its purpose instead.  :-) 

 

The polka dot fabric is actually a bandana from Hobby Lobby that I had left over from the curtains I made. 

 

In case you were wondering about my curtains I made, here they are. 

 

 

 

I folded over bandanas and stitched them so they slid onto curtain rods.  I love them!  They were fairly expensive to do.  To buy enough for my four wide windows, it was about $30.  As I mentioned before, I bought them from the Hobby Lobby website.  This is the second year I have used them and I am not even close to being sick of them.  I still love them just as much as the first day they were up. 



Toolbox makeover!

I had my husband buy one of these for me at Lowe's when I saw it on Pinterest.  I had been wanting to do a makeover for awhile.  I finally got to it.  :-) 

 

This is what it looked like before...

 

 

 

I put duct tape on the outside part, and added polka dot shipping/packing tape to the fronts of drawers.  I got that at Target.  It is clear with black polka dots.  I used my new label maker to make the labels for the drawers.  Here are some pictures of what it looks like now.  :-)  

 

 

It is in front of the window in my classroom so the light comes through.  I love it!! 

 



Student mailbox revamp with binder clips!

I needed to do something about my mailboxes.  My parents bought them for me about 8 years ago and they were looking a little... haggared.  There had been lots of layers of labels.  I saw an idea on Pinterest and adapted it to what I wanted to do (and had time for).  

I had been wanting to get a label maker for quite a while now, so this was the perfect time to get one.  They are about $20 at Wal-mart.  

 I made labels to go on the front of binder clips.  On the top of the binder clips, I added some polka dot Smash tape to each. This is the tape I used...

 This is what the labeled binder clips looked like...

I was happy with how they came out.  I then took the plastic parts off the mailbox and covered them with purple duct tape.  I slid them back on, then put the binder clips on and it looked so much better!  Fairly simple fix!  

 

Great student teacher present!

I did not make this for a student teacher, although it would be a great gift for a student teacher or someone that is going to be a teacher.  

I had a wonderful Ed. Tech. last year who is taking classes to become an elementary teacher.  This is what I did for her.  :-)  

 In the top picture you can see what I made to include the best.  I covered a clipboard in duct tape.  I had a ribbon hanging from the metal part at the top with her name on it.  Part of her duties last year included carrying around a clipboard, so I wanted her to have a cute one! :-)  

My classroom is a polka dot theme, so before school started I had made one for myself.  Here are pictures of how it came out...

She loved her basket of goodies and her new clipboard.  What teacher (or teacher in the making) doesn't love school supplies??? :-) 

Christmas presents for students!

Last year, I had 32 different students, so I wanted to do some that wasn't too expensive (about $14).  This is what I came up with...

 I bought the candy cane looking crazy straws at the Dollar Tree (I think there were 6 in a package) and boxes of hot chocolate at Wal-mart.  I cut out around the Christmas labels (while still on their backing) and punched a hole in it.  I also carefully punched a whole in the hot chocolate packet.  If you do this, be very careful not to puncture the packet.  I then used ribbon to tie it all together.  They really liked them.  It didn't take too long and it didn't cost too much.  

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This year, I only have 17 students, so I did something that cost a bit more (about $23).  The weather had been bad and I had a lot going on, so I had one night to buy everything and put it together, along with everything else that had to get done.  I got everything at Wal-mart.  I got boxes of hot chocolate, small Christmas jigsaw puzzles, sliding picture puzzles, yo-yos, and bags to put them in.  This year's group LOVES puzzles!!  I wrote on the bags in Sharpie before filling them.  They were excited to get a "bag of goodies"!  :-)  

4th grade pen pals from the other side of the country!

Below where this picture is taken, are pictures of all of my students' pen pals.  

We began having pen pals from California very close to the start of the school year.  My students are LOVING it!  What a great thing to get to know more about another place, different people, and learn the value of handwritten letters.  They get SO excited every time we get something in the mail from them.  Last Monday, we received a box from them containing a fleece scarf from each of their pen pals.  The students made them for the friends in Maine in hopes to keep them warm during our very cold Maine winter.  They cut the fleece into a scarf size strip then cut slits on the end and tied knots in them.  This is a picture Mrs. Gomez took of the fleece before her students made them... 

 There were all kinds of fun designs; camo, pink camo, black with brightly colored peace signs, butterflies, flowers, and others.  

We wanted to send them some "snow" from Maine, so we sent them some foam snowflake ornaments.  The students each added a design in glue and then we added glitter to them.  The students added their pen pal's name, their name and the year.  

I can't wait to see what the rest of the school year has in store for us!  Maybe we will continue our classes being pen pals after this year as well! :-) 

Towel rack makeover!

We were given my grandfather's old chrome towel rack, it is decades old and had seen better days.  The rubber feet on the bottom were all cracked and ready to fall off and the towel rack itself had some rust spots on it.  I wanted to see how it would look redone and it was well worth the try.  My husband took off the feet and used a wire brush on it to get the surface rust off.  We used Rustoleum metal primer spray paint first.  Then we used this:  

This is the same spray paint we used on the doorknobs and hinges.  It came out great.  We bought black rubber feet at the hardware store.  The whole makeover cost a few dollars.  Here's the result:

 We love it!