Teacher Week 2013: Tips & Tricks - Make a Fabric Bulletin Board from "scratch"

 

I'm back for a quick post on the last day of teacher week!

 

I've gotten a lot of questions about the fabric "bulletin boards" that were in my classroom pictures earlier this week.

 Example #1 - blue polka dotted board beside the Smartboard

Example #2- yellow chevron board above community supply shelf

Example #3 - hot pink board above (soon to be blue shelves) for math manipulatives

The truth is they are not bulletin boards at all...it's just plain ol' fabric on my painted cinderblock walls.  So, I figured I'd go ahead and make that a quick trick to share.  I think I've finally mastered the easiest (and quickest) way to put fabric on the walls after several years of trial and error.

 

So, first things first.  You need to meet my hot, new BFF.

 

Here she is.

 

 

Isn't she beautiful?

 

This is a cordless glue gun.  I've borrowed one from one of my coworkers for going on 7 years now so I finally broke down at bought my own (at JoAnns).  It's fabulous.  You can use it for quite a while before putting it back on its base to heat up again.  I'm sure you could do this without a cordless gun but this makes it way easier.

 

I put up almost everything in my room with hot glue because it's the only thing that stays all year.  Most of the time it pops right off of the wall with no problems but every now and then you'll get a glob that doesn't want to come off without the paint. 

 

Soooo...I figured out a different way to hang things instead of putting the hot glue directly on the wall. 

 

 

Painter's tape!

 

Just put the tape wherever you want to hang something and the hot glue goes on the painter's tape.  If you need to take it down, you just peel the painter's tape off and there is absolutely no mess or damage!

 

You can also put painter's tape on whatever it is that you are hanging so that it won't be damaged if you want to take it down or move it but I didn't do that with my fabric because I figured by the time I wanted a change, I would be ready for new fabric.

 

The best part is this makes the whole process go super duper fast AND helps you get your fabric straight on the wall!

 

 

More tape and the fabric is on its way up!

 

*Notice the purple bandaid...yes...my hot little bff can be kind of feisty sometimes.  We have somewhat of an unhealthy relationship.  She burns me.  I say bad things to her and then I forgive her and love her once more.  Sigh.*

If you need a little extra staying power for a larger board...this stuff works great and wipes off the wall with a Clorox wipe pretty easily.

 

 It works fine without anything except hot glue around the edges, though!

Then, you can put your border up the same way OR hot glue your border straight on the fabric.

 

Now you have a brand new bulletin board and less ugly cinderblock wall!

 

Please excuse the hot mess below the board.  It is going to be dealt with soon. ;)

 

Happy Friday!

 

 

 

Teacher Week 2013: Ten Random Tidbits about ME!

I looove teacher week!  We are squeezing in one last summer vacation right now,  so this post is going to be short and sweet but I did not want to miss out on the party! 

I also LOVE my new blog design.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to Kassie at The Cutest Blog on the Block for giving my blog a little one year anniversary makeover!

Here are 5 random tidbits about ME:

1.  I got married in May in the Outer Banks.  It was the most fun thing I've ever done!  We rented a gigantic house and all of our family and closest friends stayed with us. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect, laid back way to start our lives together! The whole event was so "us."

*Another fun fact: My older brother got ordained online and married us because we didn't want a stranger at the beach to do the ceremony!  He now has the nickname "Rev". :)

2. My husband's name is Andy.  He's a firefighter in the same city where I teach.  We have a dog, Sawyer, who we treat like a child.  He was even part of the wedding!

  

Sawyer is completely spoiled rotten.

3. My dad was the principal at my high school.  It wasn't as bad as it may sound because I was a pretty good kid (had to be, right?!).  I wish I was at home to share a high school picture, but I'll just have to leave the awkwardness to your imagination.

4.  In high school and college, people used to get my best friend and I mixed up all.the.time.  It was ridiculous.  We get it less often now...but what do you think? Twins or no? 

This is us during our freshman year at Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!

And now...

Maegan is in Uganda serving as a missionary since January and I miss her SO daggone much!

5.  Andy and I hope to have children of our own in the future but for right now we LOVE lovin' on our friends' babies and our precious nieces and nephew.

Cuteness overload!

6.  I've seen Bon Jovi concerts in 4 different cities.  Maegan and I may been considered groupies for a short time. We actually traveled to Denver to see him one time (from Virginia...wow) and it was totally worth it because we had front row seats.  No one believes me except Maegan, but Jon Bon Jovi did indeed blow me a kiss at one of the concerts.  And I liked it.

7.  I met M.C. Hammer when I was a little kid in an elevator in Richmond.

8. If I go to a restaurant and they have fish tacos on the menu...there is a 95% chance that is what I will order.  My favorite fish tacos of all time are from a little place in Blacksburg, VA called "Cabo Fish Taco."

9.   I wish I could draw.  Even my stick figures are sad.  :(

10.  My favorite place in the world to be is at the beach!  Which is where I am now...which is why I need to get off of the computer. :)

Don't forget to link up and check back all week for fun teacher week posts!

Happy Back to School!

Favorite Pins Friday

I love this linky party because I've been a pinning machine this summer!  Thanks, sweet Cara!  It makes me feel productive without really doing anything. ;)  

YES...it should.

Here are some of my latest favorites...

Painter's tape to make handwriting lines...easy and useful!

(the link was bad on this one...let me know if it's yours so I can give credit where credit is due!)

I am skeptical that 24 will fit in a soapbox but Pinterest says yes...so it must be so!  I'm hoping I can find a pack of 3 at the Dollar Tree?!?!

I am afraid to print this yet, for fear it will suck the rest of my precious black ink out...but I love it and plan to display it in my classroom this year and refer to it often.  It reminds of Bambi when Thumper says "My momma always told me...if you can't say nothin' nice, don't say nothin' at all." So true!

Click the image to find the original source!

Here is a dreamy little pin for my pretend beach house. ;)  This looks like the PERFECT room for afternoon napping.

Click the image to find the original source.

And I've been pinning LOTS of ideas for finishing our basement onto my "DIY...or ask Andy to do it" board! :)

Click the image to find the original source.

And last but not least...this pin was titled "hundreds of healthy lunch ideas that don't involve sandwiches."  I get in such a rut when I pack lunches for school.  I think it's the hardest meal to plan for.  I love some of these ideas...and I love that there are pictures! :)

If you want to see more...follow me on Pinterest!

Happy Friday & Happy Pinning!

Sunday Randomness & some WINNERS!

 

 

Michelle over at Fabulous in First is hosting another Sunday Smorgasbord linky...perfect for me today because I'm feeling all kinds of random!

First things first... I have some winners!

(Sorry it has taken me so long to post this...no good excuse...summer just "got in the way" ;))

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Congrats, girls!  I'll be sending you an e-mail today so you can get your goodies!

 

We had a RIDICULOUS amount of rain last week. It rained every. single. day.  It was crazy.  I did some work and redecorating around the house and then busted out some school work! 

 

I usually wait until closer to August but I have some fun projects that are calling my name. :)  I made a new "class rules" poster. I always use the same 3 rules...but I just redesigned it. I like to keep the rule "list" short and sweet...and pretty much any behavior can relate back to these 3! I'm going to put it in some sort of pretty frame to hang but I haven't found the right one yet.  If anyone wants this, feel free to grab it! Just click the image and download or pin it for later!

 

 

 

I also made a trip to Hobby Lobby when I went to Greensboro to spend time with my sweet neice. 

 

 

Love this little girl!  Now, if we can just get our trip to Nashville planned to see our other precious niece and nephew...my summer will be *almost* complete!

 

We don't have one where I live...which may or may not be a good thing.  I found so many things I HAD to have for my new little home office and my classroom.

 

The first thing I saw when I walked in was this sign!

 

 

 

I love it (and it immediately made me think of sweet Teri at  A Cupcake for the Teacher!) I really feel like you should have this in your house! ;)

 

 I didn't get it, but oh so cute!

 

Here are some of the goodies I found for my office, mixed in with some TJ Maxx finds!  I'm waiting on my dad to paint my desk, so for now...to the floor it goes!

 

 

 

 Here is a peak at some of the fabric I got. I also found a good deal on some scraps from fabric.com that I'm waiting to receive! I got the awesome contact paper on amazon.com and I'm planning to do one of the little filing cabinet makeovers that I've seen on Pinterest with it!

 

 

 

And I loved this little sign so much that I got it for my house!

 

 

 

My new Erin Condren planner arrived this week as well! I love seeing my new name on everything.  Well, except my driver's license.  I didn't realize they would make me take a new picture so I went to the DMV MINUS a shower and PLUS a rainstorm and let's just say the picture on it was as good as I thought it would be after the camera clicked...oy.  It's a special kind of bad. And no, I will not post that. ;)

 

 

 

OK...enough randomness!  I think this little boy is ready for some pool time with his mom!

 

Thanks to everyone who entered my little giveaway! 

 

Happy Summer!

XO, Amy

FREEBIE Friday :)

I linked up with What the Teacher Wants last year for a behavior management linky party and ever since, this little picture has been pretty popular on Pinterest! 

I wish it wasn't such an awful picture! Ha!  It was before my Canon came into my life. ;) 

Anyways, this is a super simple concept that you can use in your classroom daily to encourage good hallway behavior.

Just pick a name (cards, chips, popsicle sticks...anything works) before you leave the classroom and look at it, but don't tell who it is.  The idea is that you will watch this person very carefully the whole way to your destination and back.  If they do an excellent job in the hall...they get a "ticket" or small prize.

(I also encourage them to line up quickly and quietly without throwing elbows and the other strange things they do to be "first" by saying I will only pick a mystery walker if they are lined up and ready by the time I get to the door!)

FYI: The colored chips in this picture are from Staples (in the teacher section) and I use these tickets from Creative Teaching Press for my behavior management system in my classroom so it's very easy to give a ticket to my Mystery Walker. 

My students collect these tickets for monthly raffles for fun coupons and prizes.

About halfway through the year last year, I also started picking a "secret student" on occasion...especially when we started doing more independent work. Same concept...just pick a student and tell them that you will be watching them do whatever activity you are working on.  After that activity, if they did what they were supposed to do...ticket!

I've had people ask me...and no, I do not call the "mystery person" out if they did not earn the ticket!  I just act extremely sad and say something like "Oh well...maybe my mystery walker will earn their ticket next time when they remember to keep their hands to themselves in the hall..."

(in my best teacher voice, of course)

Since these little ideas worked so well for me last year, I revamped my signs for my classroom and you can give them a try, too!  Click the picture to download the mystery walker sign FREE on TPT.

(and click the link below the picture for the secret student sign)

Secret Student Sign

Happy Friday!