Paper Bag Valentines

Earlier in the week, the Capital City once again was forecasted to have yet another Winter Storm.  Read about last Friday's weather threat {here}. 

It was a crazy, CrAzY, CRAZY day at school.  To be proactive in anticipation of the storm,yesterday,  the school system I work for decided to release school 3 hours early today. Sounds great, right? Well after the start of the school day, we received yet another memo stating that school would now be released 4 hours earlier, no longer the 3 hours mentioned the previous day.  That meant our school would be released at 11:45 a.m.

So the mad dash was on-music, math, lunch, and dismissal. Once all the kiddos were on a bus, in a car, or headed to an afterschool program of some sort, I headed home.  The drive home that usually takes less than 10 minutes, took over 30 minutes due to a thin blanket of ice on the roads.

So now I'm perched on the bed in my comfy clothes, peering out the window, listening to Roseanne in the background, and sharing with you a fun, simple valentine treat.

Materials needed:

• paper grocery bag

• Hershey kisses

• sewing machine

• sentiment stamp of choice

Directions:

First, I cut out two heart shapes using my Cricut from a leftover paperbag.  You can definitely cut these out by hand. Kraft paper works well, too.

Next, I stamped a sentiment on the nonprinted side of each heart shape. An alternative to the stamp would be to write a handwritten message or sentiment.  My handwriting is not the best, so if I can find a stamp, I go with it.

Then, I sewed about 3/4 around the heart with red thread using my sewing machine.  I stuffed 3 Hershey kisses inside and finished sewing around the remaining 1/4 of the shape.

Finally, Share with a special person. (Tear to open.)

Super Easy and takes less than 5 minutes.

Another alternative would be to use decorative paper bags or scrapbook paper. The possibilities are endless. I personally love the look of the paperbag.  Be creative and have fun~

Now off to make some hot chocolate, load another episode of Rosanne, and enjoy the remaining extra time at home with my family! They're all home.

Thanks for stopping by~

Don't Cry Because It's Over, Smile Because It Happened!

My track-out is over.  For the last month, I have enjoyed working and creating new items for my consignment shop.  I've become obsessed visiting surplus sales, yard sales,  antique shops, Goodwill stores, book stores, and ReCrEaTiNg in my craft room and garage.  I don't want it to end. I DoN't WaNt It To EnD. I DON"T WANT IT TO END.   And yes, I'm crying because it's over and smiling because it happened.  Did I mention I was crying because it's over? This has been my hardest track out - in terms of being ready to go back. I won't have this opportunity again for another 9 weeks.

My students come back to school on Tuesday.  I work in a year round school- 9 weeks on, 3 weeks off.  This year because we are double tracked on all tracks, we have to pack up our classroom twice during the school year onto roll carts.  We then roll them into a track out space where our classroom goodies hangout for about three weeks and celebrate. Then, on my last workday before tracking in, which by the way is usually optional or an Early Release, I have to reassemble my classroom in just a few hours and be ready for students as if it were the first day of school.

The problem came on Thursday night when we were forecasted to have SNOW. Oh, no! SNOW! Many people would jump for joy to have snow, but oh not me.  I needed to track into a classroom (even though the opportunity to stay home and create more goodies for my shop was very inviting) and the teacher I was following needed to finish tracking out of her room.  I was already destroyed by the fact that I will now have limited time- very limited time- to add to my shop. Now the  possibility of canceled school and setting up my classroom before the arrival of students added to my anxiety.  This would mean my students would show up on Tuesday morning with our classroom still on three carts outside our soon to be classroom.

On Friday, the school system posted a two hour delay- Hooray!  No cancellation. While school wouldn't start until 11:15 a.m., I hurried to school at 7:45 and assembled a classroom in just 3 1/2 hours. I unpacked these three carts without the other teacher's consent, but she was jiggy with it when she arrived around 10:30 a.m. Now my classroom is set up. I am going to make the best of my last extended weekend for a few months and CREATE!

I am now stepping off my soap box. 

Have a great week and follow my Facebook page~

Thanks for stopping by~

Clean and Simple Origami Cards

Today I want to share with you an easy origami valentine card.

These are the materials I used.

I cut paper into 5 x 5 squares. (I purchased the paper from the dollar bin at Target.)  Then I followed this tutorial.

It didn't take long to make these.

I put the finished valentine's  through my sticker maker.  Double sided tape will work just fine so don't worry.  I placed a valentine on the front of kraft cardstock.  I bought a large pack of blank kraft cardstock cards on Black Friday for next to nothing at Michael's.  I stamped a sentiment onto the front.  I grabbed this stamp from the dollar bin at Michael's as well.

 

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 I will be sending these cards to my gals in the Random Act of Kindness Card Club in which I belong. 

Thanks for stopping by~

Great Games at the Dollar Tree and a Chair Makeover

I don't visit the Dollar Tree often, but on a random recent visit while searching for a mini puzzle for a Pinterest project, I spotted these games on the toy isle.

 Telling Time, Counting Money, Addition, and Subtraction Games

I will use these for my early finishers and my "I'm Finished, Now What? Station"

 These reproducible sheets will come in handy for students who need additional practice with manuscript letter formation and acceleration practice for those ready for cursive.  My kids think cursive is fancy writing and will think its a special treat.

 These timed tests will be great as well for remediation and acceleration.  I'll place these in a basket with a timer.  The students can time themselves or have a friend time them.

 I think this activity will be great for Work on Writing during Daily 5.

Head on out to your local Dollar Tree to snatch up these wonderful classroom deals.

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 This is the makeover chair on display in my consignment shop.  (I love this display.  I'm learning so many things hanging out on Pinterest. I've also become obsessed with my shop.)  

The process was pretty simple.  This chair was originally brown. (Sorry, I don't have a before picture.  Once I get started on a project, I forget I need to take pictures through the whole process.  Sorry~)  It was a chair discarded by the school system I previously worked in.  Being the person I am, I have hoarded it in my storage space for the last 7 years. It was time to clean out the storage and give it a new life.

After two coats of primer, it was time to choose the paint color.  So I just headed down to the Home Depot and stood in front of the spray paint waiting for one to beg me to take it home.

 

Summer Squash yelled the loudest, so I took it home and sprayed the chair with two light coats.  Allow time between each light spray.  Don't rush or get too close.  You want to avoid "runs."

 

Two coats later, this is the result.  Next, I took this picture perfect chair into the garage and roughed it up using my Black and Decker hand sander.

Distress the furniture to your liking.  You really can't go wrong.  I stopped when I got this look.

I've been adding a little water to brown acrylic paint to give my furniture the distressed look, but I decided to try a walnut color by Minwax.

 

It wasn't as easy to work with as my acrylic paint. I'm not convinced that this particular product will continue to hang out on my paint shelf.  I do like that it is water-based versus oil based.  Better on my airways and less stained hands. Here was the chair after an application.

Not too bad.  Overall I like the end product.  The summer squash is a keeper on the shelf.  I'm loving my new found interest in repainting simple pieces of furniture.  And I'm loving all the positive feedback I get from the visitors at the shop.

 

Thanks for stopping by~

Knock, Knock! Who's There? Another Redo. A Door Makeover.

My last post was about a bar stool redo. (It has already sold in my shop, so I guess I will need to get another one. This time for me.  Fun! Fun! Fun!)

Today I want to share a door redo.  I totally love the way it turned out.  Its story goes a little like this...

On one of my trips to the Habitat for Humanity store a few months ago, I noticed a cart labeled "FREE DOORS" at the entrance.  I immediately stopped in my tracks and began looking through all the freebies.  I'm not sure why others were just bypassing the cart as if it was full cootie bugs.  But then again, I'm glad they did. Because I found a diamond in the rough. Anxiously waiting for me.

Fumbling through the assortment of doors, I noticed doors in all conditions- good, fair, and poor. (All the good ones were inside with price tags on them.) Some had what appeared to be 15 layers of paint, some had major damage with chunks missing, and then I spotted "the door."  No paint, no major damage- Absolutely perfect. It was literally begging for me to take it.  So I did.

I shy away from doors with lots of layers of paint due to having to test them for lead. No way Hosea for me. Too much work. And doors with major damage, well I'm a little creative.  I would be stretching my limits there.  So the plain brown door had potential.  Lots of potential.

I brought her home and placed her against the wall in the garage.  There she stayed for about two months. Last week I pulled her out and gave her a makeover.

I gave the door a light sanding and then painted the front and back with my favorite primer. Two coats.( Don't ever skip out on the priming. You will pay if you do with more work for yourself.)

I

I, then gave the door two coats of Limeade by Valspar Signature. (It's hard to see the color in the picture.) Since the paint color was light, the two coats of primer were definitely needed.  One coat would have left light and dark spots all over the door. Not good. If you notice I left the top insert paintless... for now.

Next, I sprayed the the top section with chalkboard paint to add a little twist.  I also distressed the door front and back with watered down brown acrylic paint. I totally love it.

I displayed the door in my consignment shop.

Well, the wreath I made definitely covered too much of the door.  Who would know it had a chalkboard? So I moved to wreath to a different spot in the booth and added a saying I found on Pinterest.

By the way, today is my one year blogger-versary.  I don't for one moment regret starting this little blog.  I'm hoping in the year to come, that Field of Poppies will continue to grow and be an inspiration to all who visit. Thanks for your comments, encouragement, and support.

Thanks for stopping by~

A Little Distress~ Furniture That Is

The holiday's are over.

YAY~

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is very tiresome for me and a bit overwhelming- the shopping, the cookie exchanges, this Christmas program, that Christmas program, this gift exchange, traveling here and there, and all the cooking.

Don't get me wrong, I love the sights and sounds of the Christmas season, but I'm a bah-humbug for Christmas shopping and looking for the "perfect gift."

Now that the Christmas trees are down, the cookies have been eaten, and the parties are over, I'm looking for a little peace and quiet.

Today is my first official day of track out.  All the kids were back in school and hubby back at work. I had the whole day to myself. Nirvana~

Time to myself means a lot of time to CRAFT.

I picked up a bar stool from a yard sale back in the summer for a very minimal cost.  I used it as a plant stand on the front porch to hold a beautiful plant until a few weeks ago when the plant had to come inside. After very little thought, I decided to "spiff" it up a little.

I used this primer.  To me it's the best. It will hide anything with very little sanding.

 

I gave the stool two good coats of primer on my craft room floor. Hubby Jagger didn't seem to mind.

 

 

After a few hours, I drug the stool into the garage and sprayed it with a satin Aqua color.  (I just love going into the Home Depot and looking at all the beautiful paint can lids.)I will not use anything other than Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover. It's a little pricey- around $3.50 a can, but it covers sooooo well.  I still have a lot left for my next project which is always a plus.

 

 

After it dried, I  sanded it around the edges, watered down a little acrylic paint, and gave it a little distressed look.

 

 

  This is the final product on display at my consignment shop. (If it doesn't sell by Spring, it will be back on my front porch again.)

 

 

Are you working on any projects? 

 

This week I will also be sharing a chevron desk makeover that I hate.  Stay tuned~

 

 

Thanks for stopping by~