Blood. Sweat. And Bruises. And Splinters...

Have you ever walked through the mall and looked in the a store's windows? You probably have a million times, but I bet you never think about what goes into those windows. The ridiculous displays that sometimes look like they were just thrown in there. The odd things hanging from the ceiling. The mannequins that look like they woke up and put one of everything on. And then... when you come back the next week to return whatever you bought on a whim, they are totally different. Well that's what I do. Only for one store though, but it feels like I do it for all over the stores, at least, we're the only ones that do it as often as we do. It drives me bonkers. 


I just changed the four mannequins on Tuesday, and they had to be changed again on Thursday. Along with all of the posters and odd hanging pants and lamps that I put up last week. Let me tell you, those lights in those windows GET HOT. They never get turned off. This week the company (which shall remain nameless, though there is a bird in the title) decided we needed to have 6 hanging pieces of low grade plywood and put a sign on it and hang jeans from it. WTP!!! (What the Pajamas!) That's not even the half of it, but I'll leave it there for now.


I decided it was a good idea to have an Amp'd (energy drink) last night to make sure I was awake. Well, I sure was awake with the nasty headache it gave me. I got off work just after midnight, but didn't fall asleep for 2 hours despite how cruddy I felt. I woke up with the headache too, at 630 with the darn dog barking downstairs non-stop in single barks. She's 14, she doesn't know what she sees or hears, she does what she wants (sound like a old lady in your life?).  I was supposed to make my famous pudding cookies for my fiancee today for his birthday, but that's not happening. He's got a raincheck. I'll have to post some pics and the recipe next week when I make them. They are the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I've run into yet!




Those of you that are Snugglie Bag fans, I added 5 to my Etsy store this week. Here's a pic of one that had this fabric I was dying to use!

I'll probably have more up there mid-week, too. I need to get some more boy colors up there!

And onto everyone's favorite part, the freebie! This is number 42 for those of you that are counting! Click the preview below to download!

Your template will not have the white border seen in between the photos. It's only there so you can see that there are spots for 3 photos. Don't forget to check my older posts for more template freebies!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! Thanks for stopping by!

Finished Cataloging!

WHEW! That was a lot of books! Some of them were from when I was a kid... and that had that old book smell from being in a box for a while... you know the one. I just want to febreeze them (which I probably will everyday when they get in my classroom, especially since 5th graders don't quite get deodorant...)


Here they all are at my LibraryThing account... All 282, so far. I'm hoping for some donations from friends and will probably spend time at Goodwills and on eBay looking for more. I'll hit 325 before school starts easily.  I spent most of the day on eBay I think, because honestly, I can't really think of what else I did besides take Puddles to get her plug tightened. Puddles is my car... my 99 Acura that has been making little oil puddles in my driveway. What were YOU thinking? :0)


I would love to read "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry with my kids. Since I'm only teaching Reading and Math, there's not much room to teach the Holocaust and I think it is a subject that doesn't get enough attention at the younger ages. Hopefully, I'll be able to win a set of the books on eBay that won't break the bank.


More on classroom library organization: I am NOT, I repeat NOT putting those darn envelopes and loan cards in all of those books. That's just ridiculous! Instead I'm doing this:
Each student will get a card similar to a library loan card. It will have their name on the top (I'll pre print them)
Each time a student wants to check out a book, they will write the name of the book on their card and take a due date card (just like the ole libraries used to do). They put their card in the loan box and wa-la! I don't have to make 282 cards and glue in 282 envelopes! Thank goodness!


Creativeness time... I have another freebie for you guys!!! I think my head is bursting at the seams with them. I made template 40 and 41 at the same time and the numbers got all screwy, but don't worry you are getting two different ones. Here's template 41:

Click Here to Download!

And of course that awesome font is from kevinandamanda.com

I think my next post will have a helping of "Noodles" :0)

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the template :0)

Darn you eBay!

It's more of darn those snipers! (Last minute bidders) I was bidding on several things from one seller (punctuation posters, parts of speech, types of sentences, you get the point) but I had to go to work while they were ending and I literally missed two of them by combined 50 cents by a bidder in the final minutes. AGH! I won two but I wanted them all for combined shipping deal! Now I'll have to spend like 4 times as much to get the same thing at the teacher store... I wish there was a Goodwill for teacher stuff. I would live there.


Anywho, I have begun to catalogue all of the books in my classroom library! I sat and put in the ISBN numbers for a lot of books, only 174 so far have had working numbers. Some older and less popular books don't show up but oh well... I thought about paying to get a nice little barcode scanner and program to do it, but someONE (*cough* my better half) decided that I shouldn't spend my money on it because I'll just use it once. So I am using Librarything, it's free. Click here for a peek at my classroom library. I can't find all of my Goosebump, Boxcar Children, or Babysitter's Club boxes! I found only a few of each and I know we had a ton more!


I also made three more Snugglie Bags today! Boy colors today, here's a peak at those:

And what you've all been waiting for I'm sure....today's freebie template #40

Click the preview to download!

I hope everyone has a great hump day :0)

What a day

What a day. I still can't kick the after effects of that migraine from Saturday night! My head is still bothering me! Oh well.... I feel like I've gotten nothing done but I cleaned my hedgehog's cage, sewed 3 Snugglie Bags, and made another template which you will probably see on Thursday or so. I'm keeping stocked up on templates I tell ya!! 


I got wakened up last night by Noodles and her squeaking wheel and Moose Moose, who likes to put his treats in his wheel and run with them. AGH. Then I got woken up this morning by my mother calling to say she couldn't get a hold of my dad and she fell down a flight of stairs and is in the ER. Now granted, that sounds bad, but she had her knee replaced a month and a half ago, so it sounds even worse. She may have to have knee surgery again because they think she tore something when she feel. This woman, I tell ya.


On another note, here's today's freebie: Template #39. Click the preview to download.

Here's a look at the Snugglie Bags I made today, too. They will be on Etsy shortly.

I also made Snugglie Bag's Number One fan (*cough* my Noodles) a bag today:

Here she is sleeping in her current Snugglie Bag (what you see is her back), but little does she know they will be getting switched for cleaning tonight!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ode to the Weekend

Whatever happened to the lazy weekends when you could do anything you wanted, and not worry about going to work on Monday? I guess getting old happens....You can have one week that's busy and fun, but by the time you get through all of the weekdays, you're just tired for the next weekend!


To top this weekend off, I had a lovely migraine. I don't just get "migraines", I all starts with tunnel vision, then goes into losing feeling in half of my body (especially in my hand and face), and tons of nausea and horrible pain. It gets scary.... and while tossing cookies normally helps, I just couldn't do it, mentally and physically, because I did not want to pop a blood clot in my nose and end up with surgery all over again. I slept it off, but had a headache and stomachache the whole day. It stunk. Sorry for the grossness.


But I saw Eclipse anyway! LOVED IT! Cannot wait until the next one! I want to reread the Saga... and read it in Spanish!!


I'm in the process of labeling all of my books (teachers resources and kids books) with my lovely "property of" stickers.I printed like 150 so far, but I think that may barely scratch the surface! I found all of the books I had as a kid in the garage that oddly are still being read by kids! (IE Goosebumps, Boxcar Children, Babysitters Club) I read A LOT as a kid, so I'm going to need a couple hundred more stickers...


I'll be going back and forth between books, making templates, and Snugglie Bags this week, with class over for the summer and only have 2 days of work (ARGH!) I'll have plenty of time. It's the inventory aspect that is not going to be fun, nor is putting a library card and envelope in every book.  Any ideas to make this process efficient????




Well here's today's freebie template #38.... (FYI I posted SEVERAL last week, so be sure to check out old posts! I do not break links, downloads are always available!)

Click HERE to download today's freebie!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for another template!

Leave some love if you like my templates :0)

It's too darn hot...

....to do much of anything! I want to bake and make cookies, and that's not happening with the AC on blast! Kevinandmanada have this awesome zucchini and bacon lasagna recipe that I want to try too! I guess if I really want it, I'll have to make it at like 2am... but I like my sleep! I'm hoping I will get to see Eclipse today! I've been waiting for it to get un-crowded, and I just finished the Eclipse novella- The short second life of Bree Tanner, so I'm itching to go!!!

I hope that maybe in the next two weekends we might be able to go to the Indiana or Warren dunes. I haven't been there since MAYBE high school, and I want to go to a beach that is not gross like Chicago's. I just remember much cleaner water and beaches, hopefully, it hasn't changed to much. :0/

I have given up on being creative, that is, with the names of my templates. Don't you worry. They are just going to be numbered from now on. So here's today's freebie template- Template 37

It is quite simple and goes against my usual push for multiple photos on a layout.

You can download it HERE.

SPLAT!

Another day in the books and I still don't think I have much to show for it. I do, however, have an entire rubbermaid bucket full of ORGANIZED teaching materials. That took about 6 hours to do... straight, not fun, but it's done! WOOO!  Same goes with my last class of the summer... done as of now! Now perhaps, I'll have more time for sewing and making templates!


To get started, here's another template that I'm calling SPLAT! There's a good deal of kits out there that have a "splat" element in them, or you could use buttons, flowers, the possibilities are endless!

Here's an example of the template using Misty O'Brien's Geocache Kit.

We went on camping/fishing trip 2 weeks ago, and the fishing just wasn't happening, all we got were tiny fish. As always, the fonts I use are thanks to kevinandamanda.com, an amazing website for fonts!

Click HERE to download today's freebie! 

I have a line up of freebie templates over the next several days, at the very least, so be sure to check back daily! 

Old!

Last night, I almost had a darn heart attack. My little hedgehog was not waking up for her nightly run, no matter what I did to the hut she was sleeping in. I just got the hut last week from a popular crafter and thought it was great until I found my hedgehog barely responsive and almost in hibernation because of the draft she was getting in the huge opening in her hut. I ended up waking up my father, hysterical mind you, in the middle of the night to see if she was alive. And she was; I put her back in her Snugglie Bag with her Snuggle Disc and she immediately pepped up. I'm happy to say the least, I thought I lost my princess!

Anyway, before that all happened, I made another freebie template today! It is called Cirqus. For some reason it reminded of a circus, but not quite so that's why there's a Q. Random I know... Here it is:

Click the preview to download it! My TOU is not attached to this file, but same rules do apply (see older templates). It's on a different harddrive and I'm in the middle of organizing all of my stuff, mainly the past 4 years of teaching materials I have acquired through all of my college classes. IT'S A LOT!!!

I hope you enjoy the template! Leave some love (and encouragement)!

Is it summer yet??

I think I missed the memo when summer began... because I feel like I haven't taken a break yet! This summer has just been busy, with work and class and surgery and family thinkgs to do. I cannot wait until class is done this Friday, and then I get a month off of class! But that means Back to School shopping begins and working in clothing retail, there is no break. BOO!


Oh well. Life goes on.


I have been working on updating my blog to make it easy to find what you are looking for. I have gotten rid of some sections that weren't necessary. I have a section on the top right for my Snugglie Bags and I created a page that has all of my templates and their download links available. I just need to make the link on the home page.


Enough with the jabber! I have a new template for the digi scrappers. I'm calling it "Focus" and there are two levels for it: Minima and Minimal.

Click HERE to download.

This first one is the Minimal Focus:

This second is called Minima Focus

The example comes from Julie It Is's Tomboy Kit.

I hope everyone's having a great summer, enough for the both of us! 

Revamp!!

Just a quick note that my blog will be under construction this week, possibly tomorrow (hopefully ONLY tomorrow!). It's going to have a fresh look to it, courtesy of Trixie Scraps's amazing Defining Me Kit. I also hope to make the Snugglie Bag area bigger and easier to look at. Overall, some better organization is needed.

And of course... in the process, I hope to make a new template for my digi fans!

The unfortunate part is that my last class of the summer starts tomorrow, but the laptop is coming with so all should be well. There will soon be a facebook fan page as well. I have one for Snugglie Bags, but I was thinking about making it overall SweetTeaScraps, but that might be an odd mix of people. Thoughts?

In hopefully a week (pending the school board's approval) I will be blogging about my new (and first!) classroom :0)

Welp, swing on over soon to see the new look~*
Have a good week everyone!