Snowflakes for Sandy Hook

One of my wonderful parents sent me a link with a list of ways to show kindness to the Sandy Hook community.  One idea was to create unique snowflakes for the students returning to school in January. So on the last day before Christmas vacation, my fabulous Teacher Assistant, who by the way is now our school's TA of the year- Woo! Hoo!, guided the students in creating one of a kind snowflakes for the Sandy Hook students.

Here are a few samples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These snowflakes will go in an envelope and mailed to Connecticut. My heart continues to grieve for the Sandy Hook Community- the children, the parents, the citizens, EVERYONE~

These snowflakes will definitely not take away the grief and pain, but hopefully relay the message that WE CARE~

If you would like to join in on the effort, click {HERE}. All snowflakes are due by January 12.

Thanks for stopping by~

You've Been Elfed: A fun Christmas treat for the kids

You've been booed~
You've been egged~
But have you been elfed?

I "elfed" my second grade students with these fun treats.

It is not my idea.  The inspiration post is {HERE}- The gals over at Quilt Taffy made these as a neighbor gift. These gals have outlined all the materials and step by step instructions. I struggle with solid scrapbook paper, so I rummaged through my stash of pattens and pulled a few green sheets.  I really like the way the shoes turned out. My kids were so excited to receive them.

I know you're kids are out of school, but if you need a quick neighbor gift, scout treat, or stocking stuffer, these elf shoes are too cute to pass up.

The pattern link is here:

 Thanks for stopping by~

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary



Clean and Simple Christmas Cards

Like most of you, I am a Pinterest addict.  When I saw this card on Pinterest, I immediately pinned it to my one of my boards.  I love it's simplicity and the polka dots.



Original post {HERE}

 

 

I needed to make a few cards to send to some family members in Minnesota.  This was the perfect card. So I used my tree punch and found a few scraps in my scrap paper drawer. This is my version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by~



Main Street Christmas

Hubby Jaggar and I joined in the festivities in our town's Christmas Holiday celebration last night. The weather wasn't too cold, but chilly enough to enjoy the hot chocolate and cookies provided by the local businesses. (We were in the 70's earlier this week.  I wore sandals to work and short sleeves, so I welcomed the long sleeve weather.)
 

 

Luminaries lined the streets around the Cultural Arts Center.

 

 

 

 This Christmas tree is made from discarded books from the library. It is proudly displayed in the foyer of the Public Library.

 

 

A close up of the folded pages.  The person /people who folded all those pages had to have a ton of patients and great company.

 

 

 

A live Nativity with the reading of the biblical Christmas Story.  This was my favorite.  Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

 

 

The lighting of the Christmas Tree at the Methodist Church.

 

 

One of the decorated houses in the Historic District.  I love the charm of older homes.

 

 

We still have time to mail our letters to Santa.

 

 

Other activities included pictures with Santa in the Town Hall, crafts for the kids in the Cultural Arts Center, music on the lawn outside the Public Library by local school bands, a hayride from the church to the library, and a chit-chat with Mrs. Claus in one of the Activity rooms.

 

The crowd was large, but not so large that one couldn't enjoy the the experience. 

 

What does your town/city do to celebrate the season?

 

Thanks for stopping by~

 



 

Memories and Easy Snowflake Ornaments

I know some of you have had up your Christmas tree(s) since October. Others of you probably  have never taken your tree(s) down from last year.  The tradition at our house is to put up the trees on Thanksgiving Day and take them down on Christmas Day.  Yea~ you are probably saying a few choice words right now,but this ritual works for me.  After the tasty Thanksgiving dinner, the trees (yes, plural- two of them) go up.  On Christmas Day after all the gifts have been opened, the trees are packed away safely and neatly in the attic until the next Thanksgiving.
 
Each year as I place the ornaments on the tree, I'm reminded of the stories that go along with each of them- the mason jar ring holding a picture of Sid's preschool years, or Jess' paper plate angels that adorn the top of each tree, or even the  ice cream cone (a real one) with a round ornament as the scoop with Mike's name printed in glitter, or even the "World's Best Teacher" ornament from 15 years ago.  Many of the ornaments were made by our kids or given to me over the years by students I have taught. Each story is unique.  Each ornament is unique.  Each kid or student is equally unique.
 
These are my memories.  It's a lot like Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge visiting the old folks home with a "box of memories" for the residents who live there.  As a parent, I adore the handmade ornaments the kids made in school.  The trees will always have space for them. Always.  As a teacher, I want my students to create a memorable ornament for their parents to remember that particular school year.  I've made a variety of ornaments over the years, however when I saw this ornament on Pinterest my mind was made up.
 

 Our 2012 Class Christmas Ornament

original post {HERE}

 

I did a trial run at home to make sure it was as easy as the post describes.  It really is SUPER easy. The trial ornaments will be sold in my shop. 

 

Materials include Crayola Model Magic, a snowflake cookie cutter, rolling pin, and a straw. I bought a large tub at Hobby Lobby for around $13 with the 40% off coupon.  It will make about 50-60 ornaments (depending on thickness.)

 

After rolling the dough to about 1/4" thickness, I then carefully cut out the dough with the cookie cutter.  Use the straw to make a hole.  You won't be able to do this later once the dough dries.

 

 

Here is a close up. The ornaments are very smooth, yet very soft.  It takes about 48 hours to dry completely.  If you are in a hurry, this would not be a good project for you.

 

More close-ups

 

 

Because I wanted to put a few in my shop, I worked on packaging.  Presentation is KEY. Here is the final product.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Ornament Making and...

 

Thanks for stopping by~









Happy Thanksgiving

I'm keeping it short and simple tonight. 

 

 Happy Thanksgiving to All,

And to All a Great Feast~

 

 

I enjoy making this Indian Corn each year with my students. It can easily be done at your family get together at the children's table as a simple craftivity.

 

Happy Thanksgiving and Thanks for stopping by~

 

My Outlet and a Simile Freebie

A few weeks ago I opened my own brick and mortar "Field of Poppies."
 
Well, sort of!
 
If you remember {this} post, I was debating whether or not to rent a space at one of my favorite shops.
 
About a few weeks ago all the stars lined up in my favor. An affordable booth became available.  The booth comes with a few restrictions like having to have a 3 foot passageway from the storage door per the fire marshall.  Due to my booth being in the corner, it is not a perfect square like the others either.  It has a slanted corner. No biggie.  I'm a teacher. I deal with "thinking outside the box" each day with my students as well as tracking in and out of my classroom opens the door for new furniture arrangements.  So I was up for the challenge. Let the creative juices flow.  In a shop of this sort, presentation is key.  My booth is a work in progress, but I want to share with you my little piece of earth. (I borrowed this phrase from Mary in The Secret Garden.)I'm happy with my decision.  It's my outlet.  This little space allows me to be who I want to be, just like this little blog.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On another note...

 

I have been working with my students on including comparisons in their writing. 

 

We read this book.

 

I created this activity as a follow up to the book.

 

 

 

  Download it {FREE} from my TPT shop.

 

 

What is your outlet?  I'd love to hear about it~