Mail Anyone?

Mod Podge Mail

So I was trying to think of a creative way to make play mail for my classroom. Something durable and non-destructive. You know, the kind of toy that a 3-year old will touch and it won't disintegrate in their hands within five seconds!.

Well this is what I came up with. Mod Podge Mail.

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They're made from cut up pieces of cardboard from one of the many boxes that came into my house, plus scrapbook paper, stamps that I uploaded from a website called alltheweb.com, mod podge and address labels. The address labels I actually made and printed on cardstock. They have funny names like Brent Bacon, Grandpa Grumps, Cousin Cookie ... you get the idea.

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They took no time to make and turned out really cute. I may also make a batch and use plywood or something. We'll see how long these last in the destructive hands of a 3-year old.

Corny Valentine

With this year maybe being Brent's last year to give Valentine's, I thought I would go out with a bang when it comes to craftiness. I had seen an old-time Valentine with the phrase, "To a Pop - Pop - ular Teacher" and thought of how I could change it for kid Valentine's.

I came up with this ~

It says, "Not to sound 'corny', but Happy Valentine's Day!"

I made them using popcorn boxes that I cut into 4's. The saying was made on my computer and after printing them out, I mounted them on red construction paper. Then I attached the saying card to the popcorn box with some white curing ribbon. To finish off the project I used packing tape to attach a mini bag of popcorn to the back.


I really love how they turned out and Brent can't wait to give them out tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Well, with the snow days that we had, his Valentine's party was postponed.

Big Sky Country

I found this picture on the internet and just had to share it! How I would love to be there right now! What beauty.

Chicken Wing

This is Chicken Wing. That's not his real name, but it's the nickname his family came up with. His parents say it's from a song, but I've never heard it. CK is such a happy little boy. Every time I pull out my camera or he sees it lying on the table - he'll make his little baby words or will motion to the camera. I ask if he wants me to take his picture and his answer comes in the form of a big smile.

He's such a little poser. CK's mom, April is helping me start my photography business, by letting me use her children as practice. If all the people I photograph in the future are as good as CK, I'll have no problems.

Another Talent

So, I love to scrapbook, take photos, sew, and cook, but now I found another talent that I have - beading! It's a lot of fun and quite easy to do. There are two types of beading. One involves wire and different types of pliers. The other uses elastic cord and tying a knot. Guess which one I like better? Of course, the elastic type. Now don't get me wrong. I can wire, but using the elastic is sooo much easier.

I recently made two bracelets using these beads and a 1mm elastic. You can find beads at most craft stores and there's also "Bead and Glass" in Pitman, NJ that you can go to and make jewelry. I decided on my pattern and off I went.

This is what the finished product looks like. Very fancy! I kept one for myself and gave another one to my friend April for her birthday. She liked it so much that she's going to start beading. It's very relaxing and I find myself making mine while watching TV.

I think that the next few I make will have matching earrings and geared more toward Spring. We'll see!

Marble Bag Makeover

Tonight I decided to make a new marble bag for Brent. The one he had was plastic, he lost the cord for it, which was junk, and it was starting to fall apart, as you can see in the picture below.

Now came the tricky part, what to use. I've been trying to purchase less and reuse what I have so when I saw this old Slip-Cord backpack that had a busted seam, (I never really used it, Brent used it more) I figured that would do. Just trying to be more frugal!

First Brent and I decided how big he wanted it to be and then I cut the material.

I then sewed the bag together, while Brent took the pictures. He's commented on how much better he's getting and I agree.

After I finished sewing the bag together, we used some of the cord from the original bag, feed it threw the bag and tied knots on each end . Brent couldn't wait to load it up with his marbles. I didn't realize how many he really had!

Here's the finished product. It's not really fancy, but very functional and Brent loves it, so that's all that matters to me.