December Monday Made-It

Oh my goodness, December is already here and I only have 2 weeks left until my Winter Break. Now how exciting is that? I realized that it has been a while since I linked up with 4th Grade Frolics for some Monday Made-it. I definitely would like to share with all my wonderful bloggy friends what I have been up to this month. So . . . here I go!

Acrylic Sub Tub

My good friend's birthday is coming up and I decided to hand make her a gift this year instead of buying something she might not need or like. Recently I have been obsessed with acrylic items; from my acrylic bed tray to my acrylic EC recipe box. So, when my friend Aris from Sailing into Second, introduced me to an acrylic file organizer from Target turned into a sub tub I just had to get myself one. 

Below is a picture of the one I made for myself:

(Yes, I was too lazy to take my tub out of my shelf. Don't judge!)

Here is the one I made my friend:

(I feel like the one I made her came out WAY better than mine. LOL)

Aaaaannnddd . . . here is what I mean by obsessed with acrylic:

(I even had to get myself an acrylic pencil holder, which is really a straw holder)

Nautical Whales Book Hospital & Box Top Bucket

This past summer, I remember going to Learning in Wonderland's  blog and telling myself that I needed to make myself a nautical book hospital and box top bucket like she did for her owl themed classroom. However, that project got put on hold since I was teaching a 2/3 combo class for the first 2 months of this school year. BUT now that I am a regular 3rd grade class teacher again, I have time during weekends and breaks to actually craft like I like to! I was finally able to create my projects using my Cricut Explore:

(I'm SO happy with how my project turned out! You can't tell from this pic, but the whale to the left is also holding a box top sticker)

Winter Classroom Projects

Pinterest has seriously been my best friend this past year. I saw this awesome D.I.Y for kids using mason jars as snow globes and decided to try it to test out the level of difficulty. It actually is a very easy project, especially if you have parent helpers helping in the classroom. I will be having my kiddos bring in an empty and unlabeled glass jar to school next week along with a picture of themselves. I also used my Cricut Explore to make labels that say, "There SNOW Place Like Home". Just search for "mason jar snow globes" on Pinterest and you will find all the directions and list of materials needed!

(Believe it or not I don't print out pictures and this old picture of me feeding a deer at the SD Wild Animal Safari Zoo was the only picture I could find of myself)

 Elf on a Shelf Delivery

Tomorrow, Santa will be delivering my Elf on a Shelf book along with a letter to my class. My sister made this awesome bow and I am using Jaimie Knudson from Kinder World Way Elf on a Shelf resources and note tags this year. I can't wait for my class to meet their elf!

 Stampin' Up

Isn't my sister so crafty? She held a stamp class for my teacher friends this past Sunday. These are the cards we all made! My favorite one is the car with the Christmas tree and the snow angel. I just hung mine up on my mini tree.

 O.C.D Tendencies

Lately I have been getting WAY too many clip art (I mean can you blame me? They're just SO cute!) and I was starting to lose track of what I had already purchased or not. So . . . my crazy, anal, needs to be organized or my life is chaotic self; was inspired by Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd's "Organize Your TpT Cover" to organize ALL MY CLIP ART COLLECTION! 

This is what my file cover and 2 out of 10 pages of my clip art file looks like:

(Don't you just love the Aztec background paper? I'm also obsessed with collecting digital background paper if you can't tell)

As you can see, when I need a file I can just open my document open on my laptop and see if I have the clip art already or not. I am still working on adding the actual title of each clip art above each picture. My summer plan is to have all my digital files that I purchased on TpT also organized by subject. Life is just easier when it is organized, that is all I can say! 

Whew . . . what a long post! 

December Currently

It's The Most Wonderful Time . . . of the Year!!! It truly is because Christmas time is my favorite time. You know what else is my favorite? Farley's Currently linky at Oh' Boy 4th Grade


Look how cute this button is! It even has a hidden elf on a shelf on the lower left. Ah...I die! Too adorbs!

Listening: Okay, Okay . . . so I have another teeny bopper song that I am listening to. Surprise surprise! But seriously, how can you not find this song catchy? I don't care if Selena Gomez is singing about the Biebs. Whatever she needs to heal and move on, I support ya, girl! After all, what female doesn't know or has not gone through a bad relationship but still was in it because that's what the heart wanted at the time? Luckily for a lot of us, our brain caught up with our heart.

Loving: I am SO in love with all the Christmas decorations that are up around my neighborhood! BUT, because nobody ain't got time to go house by house to take pics of my neighbor's decorations, I'll settle for showing you what I have been working on at my house instead.

This is my night view when I enter my community's gate:

Found this awesome Christmas countdown at Target:

My dress form even got a make-over all thanks to Victoria Secret:

Two new friends surround my night table. Aren't they cute? All at Lowes!

My work/craft table:

Thinking: 3 more weeks until my 3 weeks Christmas break! Let the countdown begin!!!

Wanting: Urban Outfitter's Macaron shaped jewelry boxes. I mean . . . let the picture speak for itself:

Even though it is Cyber Monday, I just can't bring myself to cough up $10 each for these. First of all, if I get it, I would have to get ALL of the colors, which there are a total of 10 on the website, so that would cost me $100. SIGH . . . decisions, decisions . . .

Needing: I said it before, but I'll say it again . . . I need to hit the gym! 2015 Resolution (again).

Giving: I have never done this before since I am not a TpT seller, but I will try it and hopefully it works. I am putting up my "While You Were Absent" folder covers that I have for my students when they are absent. I made several versions of it to last me an entire school year and here are 2 for you to choose from. Enjoy! (You can find my original blog post on how I use these HERE).

CLICK HERE TO GET THE COVERS!

Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!