Father's Day T-Shirt Card

In high school I learned how to fold up a dollar bill into the shape of a shirt, which I think is one of the most random skills I can say that I know (other than making a four-leaf clover shape with my tongue). Now, many years later, that skill has finally proven worthy in a crafty sort-of way.

In honor of Father's Day (and because I ran out of bills to fold), I decided to take this same origami magic but turn it into a card for my wonderful, loving Pop!

Here are the steps to fold the origami shirt: 

1. Take any bill or rectangular shaped piece of paper (I used a 12 x 7 sheet of paper).

2. Fold it in half - hot dog style. Then open it back up.

3. Take one of the long edges and fold it to the center line you created in step 2.

4. Repeat step 3 with the other long edge.

5. Turn the newly formed rectangle over so that the flaps are on the back and fold over one of the short edges about 1/2 an inch (this will become part of the collar).

6. Turn the paper over again, this time the flaps will be towards you. Take one of corners (on the same side as the collar flap) and fold it diagonally towards your original center. Repeat this diagonal fold with the other side of the collar so that the two sides meet at the middle (points touch about 3/4 of an inch down).

7. Once your collar is formed, fold the remainder of the long rectangle so that it fits right under that collar.

8. Open up that fold. Then, diagonally fold out one of the two bottom flaps.

9. Repeat this diagonal fold on the other side flap. The "wings" will become the shirt sleeves.

10. Lastly, fold the bottom of the rectangle back up and tuck it underneath the collar pieces. Tada! All done!

But before sealing it up in an envelope, I added a piece of plain paper to the inside of the shirt (as shown in the first picture above) so that I could write a cute note to the recipient of the card.

If you are feeling extra crafty, cut out a piece of paper in the shape of a tie and stick it on your shirt and draw on a pocket as well.

There you have it. Now that is one of the most cute skills I know...if I do say so myself. :)

-Mrs. G

Confessions of a First Year Teacher

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus, I'm DONE with my first year of school!

I know, I know, technically Friday was my last day, but I was at an in-service curriculum development all week - so I dub today as the official last day! Summer has finally arrived!

Along with the summer season, comes a plethora (look at me and my big word) of craftiness. But, before I get completely ahead of myself in this area, I would like to share a video that is near and dear to my heart.

For the end of my first year of BTSA (a teacher induction program), I was asked to make or bring an artifact that represented my first year of teaching. My husband, Daniel, and our dear friend, Josh, helped me make what I like to refer to as a memoir of my first year as a teacher. It is titled "Confessions of a First Year Teacher" and it is what Daniel likes to call a depressing, but oddly redemptive depiction of my dreams of teaching becoming my nightmare, I mean, my reality.

As much as I am glad my first year of teaching is behind me and I can now focus on the rest of my career, I am nostalgic of the time I spent with my students and the memories we created as a class. It was truly a year I will never forget - yes, in a good way. :)

If you feel so inclined, please take a couple minutes to view this video, it was a wonderful way to sum the challenges as well as victories and joys of my first year of teaching. Here's to many more! Confessions of a First Year Teacher

Wow! Has it really been that long?!

Ok, so apparently my blogging-life takes a back seat to my wife, first-year-teacher, only-daughter, house-hunting, crafty-life. I promise, I have still been crafting and have so much to share with the blogging world. I just need to survive the last couple weeks of school before I can do so! ;)

If only I could look this graceful doing it...

So stay tuned, I promise there is a whole bunch of fabulous on the horizon!

-Mrs. G

Admit One Ticket Box

So...my friends tell me I have a problem.

I know acceptance is the first step towards recovery, but what if I am in complete denial about it? Who says keeping ticket stubs from every show and movie I have seen since high school is really that big of a deal?!



Well...I suppose it wouldn't be that big of a deal if they weren't taking up the precious space in my already receipt-filled wallet. I knew I didn't want to get rid of them, but something had to be done!

Oh, wait...do I sense an opportunity to be crafty?!

Opportunity gladly accepted!

Admit One Ticket Shadow Box here I go!

 Materials:

• 8x8 shadow box (bought mine on sale from Joann Fabrics)
• Scrapbook Paper
• Black and Gold Vinyl (or any color you choose)
• Cricut Machine
• Storybook Cricut Cartridge
• A mountain of show and movie tickets

Step #1:
Clean and empty the shadow box by removing any unwanted packaging and cleaning the glass.

Step #2:
Cut preferred scrapbook paper to fit inside the frame. I actually used three different sheets and layered them.

Step #4:
Using the Cricut Machine, cut out "Admit One" out of the gold and the black vinyl. I cut them out at 1.5 inches and used the "shadow" setting for the gold in order to layer the colors.

Step #5:
Carefully place the vinyl letters in the desired place on the glass screen of the shadow box. Place the gold shadow down first and then the black top-layer. I was too lazy to look for my transfer tape, but if you have that handy, I am sure it will be faster to use it.

Step #6:
Dump all your ticket stubs into the shadow box and replace the backing. And there you have it, an awesome ticket memory box!

Yay, another night of crafty fun! My wallet thanks me. :)

BYOP

On October 28, Daniel and I had our 3rd annual Bring Your Own Pumpkin Party. We invited our friends to bring their own pumpkin and carving instruments while we provided the venue and treats for an evening a merriment and pumpkin goodness.

This year I decided I needed some extra-cute candy dishes since all my other plates and platters are in storage. So I went to the Dollar Tree and picked up 3 candle sticks, and three candle holders (two round and one square) and got down to crafty-business. My complete list of materials and steps are below.

Materials:

• 2 Round Candle Holders (from Dollar Tree)
• 1 Square Candle Holder (from Dollar Tree)
• 3 Candle Sticks (from Dollar Tree)
• Black Vinyl to cut into shapes for faces
• Scissors
• Glass Glue (from any craft or hardware store - I got mine from OSH)
• Sandpaper
• Orange, Green, and White Candy

Step #1: Once your supplies have been purchased. Remove all stickers and wash your glass items. Then sand down the surfaces that you will place the glass glue on (the glue has specific instructions on this and may differ based on the type you get). After items are prepped and ready, place a generous amount of the glass glue on the surface and attach the candle sticks to their corresponding holder. I allowed the candy dishes to dry for 2 hours before I did anything else with them.

While the dishes were drying, cut out three ovals for the ghost face; three triangles and a smile for the jack-o-lantern; and four circles, a line, and a chevron pattern for the Frankenstein face out of the black vinyl.

Step #2: Once the candy dishes are dry, carefully place the vinyl cut-outs in place. Then, fill each candy dish with goodies in the corresponding color.

These were a hit at the party and super cheap and easy to make. I am thinking of making more but with designs for other holidays.

Now, enough with the crafty and on with more party details! :)

Everyone seemed to have a great time at the BYOP Party...even the Giants' fans, who never left the couch due to the World Series Game!

Here are the Hesslers with their gigantic pumpkins from Oregon! I was so surprised that Cassie could actually hold onto hers.

The soon-to-be-Peines with their very creative carvings. I was super excited about the melon ninja turtle with a glow-stick lighter!

Vanessa and I were yet again trying to be crafty with our melted crayon pumpkins! Vanessa added an 'M' and I couldn't help but add a bow. :)

And here is my lovely Pumpkin Man. I am so proud to call him husband! ;)

This year's Golden Pumpkin Award was given to Taylor for her Hipster Unicorn pumpkin. I wonder how she will decorate the trophy for next year.

All in all, it was a great evening of fun with our friends. Can't wait for next year!

-Crafty Mrs. G

School Stuff

Well, apparently it is a bit tough to manage my first year as a junior high teacher with a crafty life style and have fallen drastically behind my blogging dreams... But I figured it would be best to try posting again, and what better way than with some school stuff!

So in honor of the new school year, I thought I could post some fun crafty like things from my hip new classroom. Drum roll please...

My super cool and totally smashing, orange file cabinet! Thanks to a thrift store find and my husband's (and his coworkers') help, I was able to transform a totally drab piece of furniture into an awesome treasure for my room!

Next, I have an awesome paint-chip calendar which functions as a dry-erase board. I will post a tutorial on how I made it in the next couple days (hopefully)!

Last, but definitely not least (or final), I have my library "Read" bulletin board! This, I made after visiting a fellow teacher's room. Instead of using butcher paper, I covered this section of the wall with book pages from a thrift store find (I just looked for an appropriate book with a lot of pages and words). I chopped off the spine using an industrial paper cutter (if you don't have access to one of these - take your book to Office Max or Office Depot and they can do it for you). Then I took orange tissue paper, rolled it lengthwise and scrunched and stapled it as the boarder - a super cheep alternative for store-bought boarder. Then I made a coordinating pennant banner with the word "READ!" on it. I really like this, and it adds a fun, whimsical feel to my classroom library!

 So, I did it! I finally made another post! Hopefully it won't take 2 months for my next one. :)

Nail-Polished Keys

I have to admit, this all began when my husband decided that he has way too many keys than he can distinguish between. So as the wonderful, helpful, and humble wife I am - I came up with a crafty solution!

Materials:
- Nail-Polish in whatever color(s) you so desire
- Clear Topcoat
- Newspaper or any surface to paint on

Step #1: I took the keys I wanted to paint off of the key ring and wiped them with a wet napkin.

Step #2: After deciding which color would go with which key (came up with different tricks to remember them - Orange for his Office), I painted the first coat of the nail-polish on them. I alternated painting each side and made sure to get all the sides and crevasses of the keys. It is important to make sure each side is completely dry before applying the next coat. To help prop-up the keys I also created a makeshift key holder from the top of a candle jar. 

Step #3: The keys dried over night and then I applied the clear topcoat. After ample drying time, they were done and ready!

This project is super fast and super easy. I was so excited about my husband's keys that I painted some of my own, but make sure you have a spare key with you, so you don't lock yourself out of the house while the keys are drying on the table... :)