Saturday, January 29, 2011
35 Minutes of Physical Activity
Well. This week we have to count pitching lessons, supervision duty of opening car doors and greeting students, and finally thrift store shopping and dancing with friends at the concert tonight. However, I did work in a great aerobic session with running and yoga thrown in. A great friend and I walked the hallways in our school and then we ran some- dodging kiddos getting out of Brownies and basketball practice! So it was a pretty good week and I can't wait to dance the night away.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
1, 2, 3 of 35 Books
Making good progress on the 35 Books Challenges: (see the link above for the full challenge)
Book 1: Made in the USA (Billie Letts) Awesome characters but a bit of disturbing story line!
Book 2: Dodger and Me - novel for classroom- Pretty good, will discuss it with some kiddos that already finished this book
Book 3: Shredderman- novel for classroom- Great story about bullying. Will read this aloud to my kids...after ISAT!
Book 1: Made in the USA (Billie Letts) Awesome characters but a bit of disturbing story line!
Book 2: Dodger and Me - novel for classroom- Pretty good, will discuss it with some kiddos that already finished this book
Book 3: Shredderman- novel for classroom- Great story about bullying. Will read this aloud to my kids...after ISAT!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Teach Sign
Here is a quick MetaMonday entry! Check out "Between Naps on the Porch" for more great projects. Mom started this sign in the fall but she wasn't pleased with it. Here it is after we touched it up a bit. I always love when we collaborate on projects!
Happy Creating! Have a great week!
Happy Creating! Have a great week!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Winterscape
A Winterscape for a Birthday Girl with a January birthday!
Peacock feathers dance between the branches of the light. The tall vase was a gift from my sister. I love the colors! The new napkin rings she gave me for Christmas this year compliment the vase and other colors of my first floor beautifully.
The table cloth came from an estate last summer. We had so much fun at rummage sales- instead of attending ISU classes or doing homework! Mom gave me these super cute white birds that are really the salt and pepper shakers.
Since none of my cloth napkins were making me happy- I decided to use these fun animal print paper ones that I had been holding on to for a special event.
Here is the layering of the plates. This idea came from Nell Hill's store in Atchinson, KS.
These brown stemmed brandy glasses were from my grandparent's set they had used.
These books with the blue binding have been in my collection since I was a little girl.
The pinecone plates were bought with my sister and mom a few years ago during our shopping trip to Nell Hill's sale. These were at an antique shop and we bought them the day before the big sale, also referred to as Ultimate Shopping- such a rush. Mom gave them to me for a Christmas present. I love them!
The brown plates being used as chargers were bought at the "good" Goodwill in Blue Springs, MO, while shopping with my mom and dad recently. I knew they would be perfect with the new napkin rings from my sister. For only $4 they are even more awesome!
Yep, that is sun in the background on a January day!
I am not afraid to admit that I am a leave-the-tree-up-through-January kind of girl. January can be so bleak and cold that I like the twinkle of the lights. They make me smile.
Thanks for stopping by our dining room table this week! Leave me a comment or, even better, become a follower of our kitchen table creations! Happy January- stay warm!
Peacock feathers dance between the branches of the light. The tall vase was a gift from my sister. I love the colors! The new napkin rings she gave me for Christmas this year compliment the vase and other colors of my first floor beautifully.
The table cloth came from an estate last summer. We had so much fun at rummage sales- instead of attending ISU classes or doing homework! Mom gave me these super cute white birds that are really the salt and pepper shakers. 
Since none of my cloth napkins were making me happy- I decided to use these fun animal print paper ones that I had been holding on to for a special event.
Here is the layering of the plates. This idea came from Nell Hill's store in Atchinson, KS.
These brown stemmed brandy glasses were from my grandparent's set they had used.
These books with the blue binding have been in my collection since I was a little girl.
The pinecone plates were bought with my sister and mom a few years ago during our shopping trip to Nell Hill's sale. These were at an antique shop and we bought them the day before the big sale, also referred to as Ultimate Shopping- such a rush. Mom gave them to me for a Christmas present. I love them!
The brown plates being used as chargers were bought at the "good" Goodwill in Blue Springs, MO, while shopping with my mom and dad recently. I knew they would be perfect with the new napkin rings from my sister. For only $4 they are even more awesome!
Yep, that is sun in the background on a January day!
I am not afraid to admit that I am a leave-the-tree-up-through-January kind of girl. January can be so bleak and cold that I like the twinkle of the lights. They make me smile.
Thanks for stopping by our dining room table this week! Leave me a comment or, even better, become a follower of our kitchen table creations! Happy January- stay warm!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Momma's Craft Mecca
For my Metamorphosis Monday this week- I have a doozie! My Momma's Craft Mecca needed to be cleaned up since she'd been busy this fall with several craft shows and then Christmas crept up on us all. Her room was in total disarray and she needed help. Of course, we jumped in and didn't remember to take pictures along the way- which is better because it was a mess and she'd be embarrassed to have let you see it. We were just going to do a little cleaning/straightening but then we rearranged some of the really big pieces in the room. Welcome to My Momma's Craft Mecca!
Jars of buttons, hardware, keys, bits and baubles!
This shelf was on another wall and couldn't be utilized because the table was in the way. The books are organized so she can easily find the foreign language section, hymnals or textbooks for cosmetology- you just never know when you'll need that in a hurry!
A shelf full of lace, ribbon and string- heaven!
Punches, punches, punches! The ones mom uses often are on a shelf near her work table but these are the over flow. Easy to get to though!
What a storage space! The big bookshelf came from "England's Auction" in Grandview, MO, for $17. Such a great deal. The paper on the shelves was added by mom but she didn't have to do the painting.
The cat helped the whole time so it's fitting that she showed up in the pictures. The black shelves are Rubbermaid and are on wheels. When mom is working she can roll this shelving to where she is creating.
Projects being worked on and some that are finished are displayed here. Best part- notice that open shelf at the top. Room to grow!
A wire rack turned inspiration board. The Merry is a license plate I gave mom for Christmas. The postcard is from a very creative plumber who writes messages that go with the colorful designs. He cuts them to perfect postcard size and then mails them! Great way to save money and not be frustrated by lack of envelopes.
Love the cricut and jukebox full of cartridges!
I love having the small pieces displayed and close at hand. She'll be able to see what she has and put it to good use.
Here is the black shelf rolled over to the table/work area. So convenient!
The view from the table! Dad hooked up the tv and we enjoyed some FoodNetwork while we were crafted this evening.
Room to grow!
A beautiful space to get your craft on! I'm so glad I could help her organize hers...now when my room in the basement is ready, she's coming to Illinois to help me! :)
Jars of buttons, hardware, keys, bits and baubles!
This shelf was on another wall and couldn't be utilized because the table was in the way. The books are organized so she can easily find the foreign language section, hymnals or textbooks for cosmetology- you just never know when you'll need that in a hurry!
A shelf full of lace, ribbon and string- heaven!
Punches, punches, punches! The ones mom uses often are on a shelf near her work table but these are the over flow. Easy to get to though!
What a storage space! The big bookshelf came from "England's Auction" in Grandview, MO, for $17. Such a great deal. The paper on the shelves was added by mom but she didn't have to do the painting.
The cat helped the whole time so it's fitting that she showed up in the pictures. The black shelves are Rubbermaid and are on wheels. When mom is working she can roll this shelving to where she is creating.
Projects being worked on and some that are finished are displayed here. Best part- notice that open shelf at the top. Room to grow!
A wire rack turned inspiration board. The Merry is a license plate I gave mom for Christmas. The postcard is from a very creative plumber who writes messages that go with the colorful designs. He cuts them to perfect postcard size and then mails them! Great way to save money and not be frustrated by lack of envelopes.
Love the cricut and jukebox full of cartridges!
I love having the small pieces displayed and close at hand. She'll be able to see what she has and put it to good use.
Here is the black shelf rolled over to the table/work area. So convenient!
The view from the table! Dad hooked up the tv and we enjoyed some FoodNetwork while we were crafted this evening.
Room to grow!
A beautiful space to get your craft on! I'm so glad I could help her organize hers...now when my room in the basement is ready, she's coming to Illinois to help me! :)Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Try to Remember
An amazing family asked me to create this piece as a Christmas gift this year. I found the lyrics and sheet music for the song, Try to Remember, without much trouble at all. Of course, the frame didn't start life black but rather a wood colored frame. It had a salmon colored background for an off-white (or maybe it is just stained from years) doily behind the glass. That will be used for another project...my wheels are spinning! Here is the Try to Remember Family picture:
I just love the simplicity of the rick-rack I found to use as the top of the tags.
As the snow beautifully cascaded down upon us on Christmas Eve, this wonderful family came over and picked up their framed artwork. I was so happy to have helped them on their quest for the perfect, personalized gift. Plus, I got to hang out with the cutest little girls in the world while they "trained" my big dogs. Perfect start to the holiday!
I just love the simplicity of the rick-rack I found to use as the top of the tags.
As the snow beautifully cascaded down upon us on Christmas Eve, this wonderful family came over and picked up their framed artwork. I was so happy to have helped them on their quest for the perfect, personalized gift. Plus, I got to hang out with the cutest little girls in the world while they "trained" my big dogs. Perfect start to the holiday!Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Saturday before Christmas my kitchen was taken over by gingerbread (graham cracker) house making elves. It was so fun hosting these two boys so their parents could go do their Christmas shopping. We ate as much as candy as we put on the houses. We used sugarplums, candy canes, twizzler ropes, loads of frosting, M&Ms and tons of sprinkles. 
Check out how creative he is with the gate that opens in front of the house! We laughed all afternoon. Did I mention that we had so much fun creating these? I have to say this was way better than when I taught 4th grade and we made the houses as examples of all the geometry terms we had learned. We just created, had fun, washed hands as wanted and clean up was way easier! I was tempted several times to point out right angles, cubes and cylinders but just mentioned them in passing.
Sunday I woke up with visions of sugarplums still dancing in my head and I was ready to do my Christmas baking. After creating a list I got started!
Pans of brownies are dressed up by cutting them out with a decorative cookie cutter. 
I called these Charcoal Chunks- for anyone who had been naughty this year! I hope that even the nice friends who got cookie plates enjoyed these. They were so delicious!
Christmas Granola Cookies starting whirling away in the mixer. Jovial (the red dog) is always right there to help during baking.
Oats, almonds, walnuts, coconut, chocolate chips: Christmas Granola- cookie form!
It grew a little out of control as I added all the ingredients! This is a new recipe that got rave reviews this holiday season. I can't wait for my dad to try them.
This scoop from Starbucks makes the perfect size cookies. I love finding multiple purposes for kitchen gadgets.
Plates are starting to form. Cookies are overflowing the bowls!
Time for the favorite- peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that first scoop from a fresh container of Jif!
Peanut butter cookie dough waiting to be crisscrossed...
Crisscrossed!
Racks and racks of goodness cooling. These fly off the racks...before they even cool.
Merry Moose Munch being coated with the caramel and peanut butter sauce in my $1 dutch oven- love a good auction deal!
Drizzled with chocolate and firming up on ourkitchentable! Check out the "blue hour" photo! Outside is a beautiful hue of blue when photographed at this time of evening. I learned about this at the Between Naps on the Porch blog. I loved that I was able to capture one of these magical photos! Also, there is a little bokeh going on (learned about that from PW)!
Sprinkle with M&M's to add holiday color.
ourkitchentablecreations! Plates of cookies and cones full of Merry Moose Munch are almost ready to be shared with family and friends. 
To package the Merry Moose Munch I used icing bags and tied them off with a tag. The back of the tag gave me a great place for a message of thanks and happy holiday wishes. The mailman as well as the recess supervisors and Secret Pals at school all got these as a token of my gratitude.
I also glued these on the cones so the friends would know what goodies they were enjoying.
Here are the labels I put on the top of the plates of goodies. I printed these out on cardstock and then used the cricut to cut the circles. A bit of glue attached them to the plastic wrap so they could be refastened to the plate after the snacking.
Six cookies wrapped together made perfect little gifts.
It was a great day of baking and I had a blast delivering to the neighbors and friends and family during the next week. I've really enjoyed snacking on these throughout the holiday as well! Thanks for coming by to snack on some cookies with me. Leave a comment if you enjoyed hanging out ourkitchentablecreations today...and I sure hope you did.
Check out how creative he is with the gate that opens in front of the house! We laughed all afternoon. Did I mention that we had so much fun creating these? I have to say this was way better than when I taught 4th grade and we made the houses as examples of all the geometry terms we had learned. We just created, had fun, washed hands as wanted and clean up was way easier! I was tempted several times to point out right angles, cubes and cylinders but just mentioned them in passing.
Sunday I woke up with visions of sugarplums still dancing in my head and I was ready to do my Christmas baking. After creating a list I got started!
Pans of brownies are dressed up by cutting them out with a decorative cookie cutter. 
I called these Charcoal Chunks- for anyone who had been naughty this year! I hope that even the nice friends who got cookie plates enjoyed these. They were so delicious!
Christmas Granola Cookies starting whirling away in the mixer. Jovial (the red dog) is always right there to help during baking.
Oats, almonds, walnuts, coconut, chocolate chips: Christmas Granola- cookie form!
It grew a little out of control as I added all the ingredients! This is a new recipe that got rave reviews this holiday season. I can't wait for my dad to try them.
This scoop from Starbucks makes the perfect size cookies. I love finding multiple purposes for kitchen gadgets.
Plates are starting to form. Cookies are overflowing the bowls!
Time for the favorite- peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that first scoop from a fresh container of Jif!
Peanut butter cookie dough waiting to be crisscrossed...
Crisscrossed!
Racks and racks of goodness cooling. These fly off the racks...before they even cool.
Merry Moose Munch being coated with the caramel and peanut butter sauce in my $1 dutch oven- love a good auction deal!
Drizzled with chocolate and firming up on ourkitchentable! Check out the "blue hour" photo! Outside is a beautiful hue of blue when photographed at this time of evening. I learned about this at the Between Naps on the Porch blog. I loved that I was able to capture one of these magical photos! Also, there is a little bokeh going on (learned about that from PW)!
Sprinkle with M&M's to add holiday color.
ourkitchentablecreations! Plates of cookies and cones full of Merry Moose Munch are almost ready to be shared with family and friends. 
To package the Merry Moose Munch I used icing bags and tied them off with a tag. The back of the tag gave me a great place for a message of thanks and happy holiday wishes. The mailman as well as the recess supervisors and Secret Pals at school all got these as a token of my gratitude.
I also glued these on the cones so the friends would know what goodies they were enjoying.
Here are the labels I put on the top of the plates of goodies. I printed these out on cardstock and then used the cricut to cut the circles. A bit of glue attached them to the plastic wrap so they could be refastened to the plate after the snacking.
Six cookies wrapped together made perfect little gifts.
It was a great day of baking and I had a blast delivering to the neighbors and friends and family during the next week. I've really enjoyed snacking on these throughout the holiday as well! Thanks for coming by to snack on some cookies with me. Leave a comment if you enjoyed hanging out ourkitchentablecreations today...and I sure hope you did.
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