Valentines Day Craftyness

     So I'm not the most crafty person out there, but the freedom of Sunday afternoon put me in the mood to make something.  There's one type of crafting that is essentially fool-proof: mod podging.  I decided to make a little sign for my college sister's dorm room, and I think it turned out kinda cute.  Nothing too fancy, but it's just perfect for her.  :]

     I started off by picking out some different scraps of pink and red paper.  Those would act as the background on top of which I would put the other phrases and stuff.  Over the years I've collected pictures, phrases, and interesting patterns to use for mod podging, so I had plenty to choose from.  I arranged them on a scrap of cardboard and glued them down.

     Next I had to find something to hang it up with, and since I wanted it to be Valentine's themed, I grabbed a pink bandanna.  I rolled it up and put a bit of hot glue throughout so that it would stay rolled. 

Trying to take a pic of the "action" in the style of YHL.

     While the bandanna was drying, I painted the back of the cardboard black.  This is my favorite black paint because it's just slightly metallic.  So much better than a plain black matte.  After two coats of black paint had time to dry, I hot glued the bandanna to the back.

     And that was it!  My sister really liked it, especially where it said, "Bring out your sexy."  I know she appreciated that part.  ;]

Her initials are HRS, just FYI.

See, she likes it!

What are you doing for your loved ones this Valentines Day? 

Cool Kandinsky Circles

     Hi, everyone!  By now you all know that I am a long-term sub for an art teacher.  What started as something I thought would be a piece of cake has evolved into a very rewarding challenge.  For example, when I read the teacher's lesson plans for first grade and it said "Kandinsky," I didn't know if we were learning about an artist or some strange type of modeling clay.  After a teeny bit of googling, I discovered Wassily Kandinsky, the coolest artist ever.  Seriously, look at his stuff!

Yellow, Red, Blue

Composition X

     I could go on and on all day, but I won't.  Anyways, I showed my first graders a slideshow of his paintings and had them draw two or three things from each painting that they liked.  They got so into it!  They loved searching the paintings to find interesting shapes and lines to put on their papers.  Then we took our "notes" and used crayons and oil pastels to draw those shapes on our own pieces of paper.  After drawing the shapes, we are going to paint some black lines while listening to music.  I'm excited to see how the students interpret the "fast" and "slow" music through their painting (we already discussed how Kandinksy saw colors when he listened to music).  The last step is cutting out circles from paper we painted to make the center concentric circles, a la Kandinksy's painting titled Concentric Circles.  Those circles will be mounted with 3D foam stickers in the middle of our paintings.

     I am so excited about this project.  Right now we are on the step of transferring our notes to our final copy paper and the kids are loving it.  They all get to feel successful with this project because they can all make shapes and lines, and it's so cute to see their 6 year old creativity.  :]  Plus, whenever I show them the example I made last week, they flip out.  To those 6 year olds I am the best artist ever.  ;]

     So, that's the craft I've been working on this week, all for my "Cool Kandinsky Circles" lesson.  I'm linking up with Laura at Along for the Ride for Saturday is Crafty Day. 

     Enjoy your weekend!  I'm heading out to do some shopping with three of my favorite people (two sisters and an honorary sis), and then to a hockey game with the fam.  Go Gladiators!  ;]

Fill in the Blanks: Guilty Pleasures

     This week is my first week linking up over at The Little Things We Do for Fill in the Blank Friday.  Who doesn't love answering questions about themselves?  ;]  This week's theme is guilty pleasures...oh boy...

The TV show/website that I watch/read that I would be embarrassed to tell anyone about is lamebook.  It is so addicting to read the ridiculous things people say on facebook.  Plus, it makes me feel very intelligent, although sometimes I feel kind of dumb for reading it. 

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An item of clothing that is worn and torn but that I love far to much to throw away is probably every single one of my t-shirts.  I remember where and when I got each shirt, so I can't bear to get rid of them because I feel like I'm getting rid of a memory.  Honestly, I have 70+ t-shirts.  Too many.

My grocery store impulse buy is ICE CREAM every time.  My favorite is Extreme Moosetracks by Mayfield...it's essentially normal moosetracks with chocolate ice cream.  Amazing.

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Something I do at work to pass time that I wouldn't want my co-workers to know about is picking at the glue bottles.  The kids are awful about leaving glue dripping down the side of the bottles, so when it dries I'll just stand there and pull off all the pieces of dried glue.  It's oddly soothing.  Weird, I know.

One thing in my life that I could give up, but never will is meat.  I've thought about it, but I could never live without my weekly Chick-fil-A. 

A little indulgence that I have is Chick-fil-A.  Like I said before, I can't live without Chick-fil-A.  I eat there at least once a week (last night and tonight).  Best. Food. Ever.

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The junk drawer/area in my house is my closet.  I have boxes of stuff that I've had for years and I just can't get rid of it.  Every few months I go through and throw out a bunch of stuff, but there is still so much.

     Well, those are some of my guilty pleasures.  I'm slightly embarrassed about the lamebook and glue ones because they seem so weird to me.  Well, that's ok, because now you can go tell the us about your guilty pleasures.  :]

WIWW: Week Seven

     My seventh week participating in What I Wore Wednesday! Once again I only have two pictures...oh well!  Remember to go link up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy (plus, another fave, Gussy, is guest posting this week).

Shopping with my sister!  And yes, I am an outfit repeater.  I don't really care since I didn't wear it to the same places.

sweater: Old Navy

tank: Old Navy

jeans: Mossimo by Target

*new* wedge heels: Target (These are brand new for spring!  Super cute!)

*new* necklace: Charming Charlie (seriously my new favorite store, after Old Navy and Target)

Church!

grey sweater: WalMart

black shirt: Target

jeans: Old Navy

slippers: on clearance for $5 at Target!  So warm!

necklace: same one from the other day

Sophie the cat: straight from God  ;]

     I'll see ya'll back for WIWW next week!  :]

MFT: Watching Grey's Anatomy Online

     About halfway through the epic Snowmageddon a few weeks ago, I started to get bored (big surprise).  I'd exhausted all of my options of things I wanted to do (i.e.- sleep, eat, sleep, play in the snow), so I had to find something with which to occupy my time.  "I can watch a show online," I thought.  Long story short, I googled "Grey's Anatomy" and since then I've watched seasons 1-4 in their entirety, as well as episode one of season five just last night. 

I liked Addison until they did that whole "let's set up for Private Practice" thing in the middle of a season. Lame.
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     Have I been watching too much Grey's Anatomy?  Possibly.  But it's great that I don't have to wait a week between each episode.  Although I've experienced four years worth of story in less than a month, which is kind of trippy.  To all the non-believers in finding shows online: google is your best friend.  Any site that links you to MegaVideo is choice.  Don't be afraid to look around a bit before you hit the motherload.  Oh, and season one of Grey's is on hulu for free (the last time I checked).  Enjoy.  :]

     If you could watch any show online, which one would you choose? 

     Don't forget to link up your "My Favorite Things" post below!  I'm trying out Simply Linked for the first time, so let's hope it works.  :]

My Two Loves

     While I was in the shower this morning, I had a thought: what if my two loves could join forces and become the awesomest (real word, I promise) creation ever?  Well, that would just be the dandiest thing to ever happen.

     You know what I say, blog friends?  Follow your dreams.

He always was quite the activist.

So right...you tell 'em, Beatles.

Just a happy Saturday thought.  :]

WIWW: Week Five & Six

     I missed a week, but now I'm back for WIWW!  I need to work on taking pictures before work instead of waiting till I come home.  Because once I come home *BAM* the sweatpants are on...I got home 30 minutes ago and I'm already in my pink sweats and black sweatshirt.  Niiiice.  Anyways, enjoy two of my "non-sweats" outfits.  :]

Dinner at P.F. Changs

 blue turtleneck: Old Navy

jeans: Arizona

sweater: Old Navy

grey flats: Shoe Dept.

necklace: Charlotte Russe

Church and Shopping

grey sweater: Old Navy

white tank: Old Navy

jeans: Old Navy (are you seeing a pattern here?)

necklace: Charlotte Russe

moccasins: Target

     Obviously I looove myself some grey sweaters.  Remember to head over to The Pleated Poppy to link up with Lindsey!  :]