Paper Eggs

I came across a project that I thought I'd try with the kids. Thanks for the inspiration, This Is The Year blog! I love the end result. I will say, that my daughter had more fun cutting the strips of paper for me than gluing them on. This blog site has all the details if you want to try them! Another twist on this idea comes from Creative Attempts. Check out that blog to see how she did the same project, but with tissue paper. Super cute!

Paper Cutter Extraordinaire

Seasonal Decor Blocks

I continually eye these decorative blocks when out shopping. I have no need for restraint now. I made my own. Thanks to Whimsi Kel and the great lists of letters and words, this project really was quite simple.

 I decided to use house paint as my block colors so that they would match my house during all seasons. I started with a base color of Sherwin Williams: Aqua Sphere. I painted five sides and when they were dry I painted the sixth sides. I then watered down some Weathered Shingle (tan color) from Sherwin Williams and brushed it on and wiped it off after a few seconds to get the antiqued look. Once this coat was dry, I cut letters out with my Cricut and used Modge Podge matte finish to secure them to the blocks. I had two extra blocks that I had painted and decided I'd cut out shapes to stick on them. Overall, I am thrilled with the turn out! I can't wait to use them all year round! Thanks Whimsi Kel for this great idea!

Rocket Launcher

I continually find that I am surrounded by so many people that bless my life. My dad is one of those people. He drove down to surprise us all and hang out for a bit. Of course hanging out turned into project time. I always have something that I want to work on. This particular project seemed a bit more overwhelming, so I was happy to have my dad jump right in on making the rocket launcher. My inspiration came from my summer 2009 trip to Houston, TX. More specifically, Johnson Space Center (NASA). After a week long educators only workshop on how to include Math and Science activities, NASA style, into my teaching I came home with more ideas than I could implement. As this school year seems to be zooming past and my aviation/NASA unit coming up, I figured what better time than the present to get this project underway. So here are the details.

The Parts:

The Parts Expert:

The Supervisor:

The Finished Rocket Launcher:

$32.67 for Home Depot Rocket Launcher Parts

20 minutes of quality time with my dad and my son putting the parts together

2 trials with no major injuries (launching over 30 feet in the air!)

hours of future entertainment: PRICELESS!

Quick Quilted Pillows

I decided to try my hand at recovering a few pillows. The original pillows had a zipper so I just stitched the quilted pillow so that the zipper could continue to be used. It worked and so I went with it! I love fleur de lis prints and had bought so much of it. I am just so happy that I found another great use for it!