Bandana dress

    I suppose I am like most crafters in that I go through phases of being inspired to create and work on multiple projects and then times where the ideas and inspiration run dry.  Taking my sewing machine out last weekend inspired me to look into and try a few ideas I had seen online.   Today's project is a dress...made out of two bandanas!  Pretty cool, huh?!?  I got the idea from a blog called Trey and Lucy,   She calls it the 15 minute dress.  This dress didn't take me 15 min (more like 40), but that is because I had to rip a seam out--I discovered that the people who sew bandanas don't necessarily sew them straight!  One of them was 1/2 inch longer than the other.  Still it was a very simple project and Tanya's tutorial is great!   

One of the really cool things is that this is a dress for little girls, but turns into a shirt for older girls.  My "model" is a second grader.  I made this (and another matching one) for my nieces who are 2 and 4 and on them it should be a dress.  

Burp Clothes

I have wanted to try making burp clothes using cloth diapers for a while now. I even bought the diapers a while ago, but just haven't had the time. A friend of mine is having a baby shower tomorrow so it was the perfect excuse to get out my sewing machine and give this project a try.

Really easy...I started by measuring the thick part of the cloth diaper and cutting flannel that was about 2 inches larger in length and width. I then folded the cloth under about an inch on each side and pinned. It got a little interesting because the cloth diapers aren't exact in their sizing or necessarily straight on the edges. I then went around and did a zigzag stitch around the edges. Some people add ribbon going down the long side, but I wanted to keep them simple.

The nice thing about these is they are cute, but also very handy :) The cloth diaper is very absorbent for cleaning up spit up and yet the flannel is soft for baby's face.

Ice Cream Digital Scrapbook

I have been practicing using My Digital Studio with photos I never got a chance to scrapbook. The kit I used is called Ice Cream Party from Shabby Miss Jenn.

Digital Hugs and Kisses

I got Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio for Christmas this year. What a fun program! It will take me a while to get used to it and figure out printing pages, so we will see how that goes. Here is my first attempt at a page.

Kindergarten Open House

I thought I would share a few pictures from my open house at school. The theme was Kinder "garden." There were also a lot of photos up of things the kids have done throughout the year, but I tried not to share anything too personal.


These sunshines are one of my favorite crafts we made. The students traced and cut their own hands. It took forever, but was so worth it!

This bulletin board has lima beans that we "planted" in a baggie with a wet paper towel. They actually grew really well this way. Most had roots grow and one even got to the point of growing leaves. After open house these got sent home to be planted in dirt so they could grow more. *hint: if you do lima beans this way watch out for mold...don't ask me how I know this!
The students LOVED planting flowers and watching them grow. On the board behind the plants are pictures they drew while observing their seeds and plants. They drew a picture the day we planted, after a week, and after 2 weeks. The students also put sequence cards for how a plant grows in order.

We learned a little about symmetry to make these butterflies.

Another one of my favorites. These sunflowers have a clock face as their center. The students got to pick what time their clock was (we know time by the hour) and had to write that time on one of the leaves.

Oh Blog how I have missed you!

I started teaching kindergarten full time in November and since then life has been absolutely nuts. I haven't picked up a stamp since I started teaching and honestly I haven't missed stamping much...sad huh? I just haven't thought much about it. Life goes through seasons and right now this season is full of kinder lesson plans and crafts that have supplies like construction paper and tempera paint instead of cardstock and ink. And I love it! I do use my artistic side when teaching. I love coming up with crafts and projects that kids can do and have fun with. I thought I would share the gift my kids made their moms for Mother's Day (I don't think any moms will stumble on my blog ruining the secret :) ) I bought kitchen towels (the flour sack kind) and had the kids put their handprints on them in acrylic paint. They got to choose colors, these two just happen to be aqua blue.


















This poem went with the gift:
Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small,
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls.
But everyday I am growing
--I'll be grown up someday
And all these tiny handprints
Will simply fade away.
So here's a final handprint
Just so you can recall,
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small.
I love you!