Back to School with Cut it Up! {Custom Teacher Plan Book}

Hi Crafters,

It's back to school time over at Cut it Up! This challenge is to create an altered notebook.  This is one of my favorite projects so far! I suppose I should adore it since I will be using it almost every day at work.

We have TWO wonderful sponsors for this challenge. Take a look at their websites that are packed full of wonderful products.  Be sure to link up your project at Cut it Up for a chance to win.

Too Cute by Jessica

As Cute as A Button

Now onto the nitty gritty details...

I covered chipboard on both sides for the cover.  The flourish is from Teresa Collin's Elegant cartridge and the font is Opposites Attract.

I created a 1 page style weekly planner.  I only have 1 prep so I was able to divide the page into sections: Day of the week, Classwork, Homework, and Meetings.  The headers have a space for the dates and the unit.  There is a space at the bottom for notes. One Prep Excel Planning Page click the link for the excel file.  I set it up with 2 tabs adjusting the margins to accommodate the binding for a front page and a back page.

Did you notice that Michael's gift card? That's my snazzy DIY page marker. I used an old Michael's gift card and punched holes with my bind it all.  I then took a pair of sharp scissors and cut small slits into each hole and cut off a small piece of the plastic to allow the rings to slide more easily into the holes. I have it positioned here not using the very top hole so it stick up to create an easy to find tab.

This section has a parent communication log.  It is very easy to keep up with emails through the virtual paper trail.  I am not very good with keeping up with phone calls.  I'm hoping this will keep me accountable for this aspect next year.  The columns are labeled: Date, Student, Parent, Number, Reason, Resolution. Parent Communication Log Excel Page 

I also included some blank white paper at the end. I jazzed it up a bit with a monogram.  This will come in handy at the meetings that I attend throughout the year. Lastly I cut the top off an envelope and added that to the end before the back cover.   I used my bind it all to punch the holes bind everything together.  

This is one of those projects to NOT wait until the day before you head back to the classroom to work on! I spent a couple of work sessions preparing my documents and putting everything together.  I hope this inspires you to get your year off to a great start!

Thanks for stopping by,

{They're Engaged} SQUEEEE!

Hi crafters,

I'm officially back at school today! I've had a wonderful summer. I'm looking forward to NEW school year!

I'm also looking forward to seeing my co-workers.  I'm blessed to have such great people in my school. One of my co-workers got engaged a few weeks ago. I put together a tote bag with a few of my favorite bridal items: a Martha Stewart bridal magazine, ring cleaner, and an engagement ornament.

The tote bag is done with freezer paper, it's a mixture of the Gypsy font and Opposite's Attract.  The flourish is from Teresa Collin's Sophisticated cartridge.

The ornament is Martha Stewart's Elegant Cake cartridge (for the first letter of the names and the "We're Engaged" sentiment) The lower case letters are from Opposite's Attract.

The silhouette on the card is from Sweethearts. The background is embossed with the cuttlebug.

Thanks for stopping by,

What's {bugging} You? Cut it Up Challenges

Hi Crafters,

We are wrapping up summertime over at Cut it Up! The next challenge is "What's Bugging You?" incorporate a bug into your project!

I created a summertime double layout for this challenge.

We have 2 wonderful sponsors for those participating in the challenge...

KaDoodleBug Designs

Eyelet Outlet

Has provided a goody bag with some fun brads for one lucky winner! 

The background paper is DCWV glitter stack.  The bugs and sentiment are from the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge. I embossed the caterpillar and summer sentiment with my cuttlebug.

The rick-rack is from Teresa Collin's Elegence cartridge.  I sewed the 4x6 photomats around the edge with a simple straight stitch.  

Be sure to head over to Cut it Up! to check out the design team projects and link up your project!

Happy crafting,

{Bulletin Board Tool Kit}

Hi Crafters,

It's that time of year again! I can't believe summer is quickly dwindling. I have been working at school the past few days on bulletin boards. This will be my 7th year teaching middle school.  I've been doing a majority of the school's bulletin boards for the past 4 years.

I thought I would pass on a few tips and talk about what I keep in my bulletin board tool kit (my rolling cart). I prefer to use a rolling cart that has the power hookup so I can plug in the cricut and my laptop/gypsy/phone as needed.

1- Cricut machine
2- 12x12 paper (and sometimes my cricut sliding cutter)
3- Extra cartridges, if it's a quick cut I won't fool with my gypsy or cricut craftroom
4- 2 cricut mats- one for cutting while I take the letters off the other one
5- Pushpins in an easy access container- this one happens to have a magnet on the bottom which keeps the tin from flipping over. I like an open container for this because it makes it easy to grab a few pins. I typically put up bulletin boards by myself (Check out my video tutorial on how to do this alone) and I could NOT do it without pushpins. It allows me to position the paper on the board starting at one end and working my way down. I can easily adjust it if it's not straight or has slack in the middle. They are also great for positioning those tricky letters straight! I'm can move them around without having to remove staples.

6- Laptop (for music, spell checking, using My Cut Search to find an image, cricut craft room,)
7- Gyspy--I am a gypsy girl over a craftroom. It's easy to design things before hand.
8- Scissors- a GREAT pair. Seriously, don't mess around with dull ones
9- Fishing line- it's great for quickly measuring how long your boards are so you know how much paper to roll out for the background.  Throw it away when you're done; it's cheap and it tangles!
10- Stapler- I have one that broke off from the base. This makes it VERY easy to staple things to the bulletin board. It's not so great to use in the classroom with students, but a happy accident in my case.
11- Tape- I tape the end of the fishing line to the board while I measure out what I need.
12- Extra staples- I typically grab a box and by the end of the year I have used all 5,000 of them!
13- Staple remover- I really like the kind that slides under the staple, not the jaws of life version. It helps prevent ripping if you're keeping the background paper intact.
14- Trash container- It gets messy!

I think that just about covers my messy tool kit solution! I'm thinking I may add on a 1/2 apron with pockets for next year to keep a few of those things a bit closer.

Here's one of the boards I finished up this week. It says Attitude is the mind's paintbrush, it can color any situation.  The font is Opposites Attract, the pallet is from Seasame Street Friends and the paintbrush is from Locker Talk.

Thanks for stopping by,