Monday Made It!

Monday Made It

Hi all!  It is still Monday for a few more minutes here so I am going to take part in Monday Made It!!!  This is a first for me.  Every week I carefully read all the amazing posts about what you all have made.  Now, FINALLY, I get to add one.  Don't get too excited ... but here are my Monday Made Its ...

Exhibit #1: Cute decorations for the classroom
My last name starts with a J and I just moved to room 8 so these two items will hang somewhere in my new classroom.  I especially love the 8 because I used a paint pen (FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER) to make those dots.  I may make them on the J also, but I don't want to go overboard.

Exhibit #2: Birthday Bags

Actually a former class mom and dear friend decorated these for me. (Thank you Melynda!!!!)  I set out lots of stickers and she got to be creative.  Then I stuffed them with goodies that will be loved by five and six year olds.  Usually I put their names on the bags but this year I am doing it differently.  (Do you notice the beautiful blue bulletin board in the background?  Read more about it in Exhibit #3!!!)

Exhibit #3:  My BEAUTIFUL Bulletin Boards

This may not technically be a "Made It", but I am going to count it.  Since I moved to a new classroom, I decided to paint my bulletin boards.  This is the third time I have painted bulletin boards and the other two times it was super easy; NO problems.  This time was a nightmare.  The paint started running, it was all streaky.  I ended up putting on three coats of paint and used up two gallons of paint.  YIKES!!!  That is a lot of paint!!! (...and remember, I only painted my bulletin boards, not my walls).  All I can think of was that I started on a hot day and that caused all of the initial problems.  BUT now (three coats later), I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how my boards look.  I have had many compliments already (and I don't even have a single thing on my boards yet ... except one birthday bag).  Now I can smile and say it was worth it ... but if you had talked to me last week, there were moments when I thought I would have to cover the paint with butcher paper.  BUT now I am happy and it is so, so, so lovely!

Exhibit #4:  My New Curtains

I saved my favorite for last.  I made a curtain for the window in my back door.  (My new classroom has TWO doors.)  The sun was shining in so this is not a great photo.  But I am in love with this curtain.  (Oh, have you figured out that I am having a blue and green classroom? Blue and green are my favorite colors.  I love nature and love the blue sky and all the green found in plants.  So having lots of blue and green in my classroom makes me feel like I have brought nature inside.)

So ... I got the idea for this curtain from Mrs. Anderson at Welcome to First Grade.  Here is the link.  That brilliant teacher found two plastic tablecloths at Target and cut them in half to make a valance for her blinds.  I loved the idea, but couldn't find any plastic tablecloths that I loved.  I found this one at Party City, but it was paper.  I knew it wouldn't last long.  But I really, really loved it.  So I laminated it.  Perfect!!!  It is being held in place by magnets right now because this is a metal door.  I will probably end up using velcro dots to hold it in place.  I am also going to laminate more of the tablecloth to create a valance for my blinds, just like Mrs. Anderson.

Now, be sure to go on over to see all the other Monday Made It projects at 4th Grade Frolics.  Thanks Tara for creating this great linky party!

Love to all,
Camille