Reading Incentive Bucket for the Classroom

Hello everyone!  I hope you're ready for the 3-day weekend...  I know I sure am!  I don't have a card to share today, but I do want to show you a project that I did for my classroom.  This is an idea I saw on Pinterest, and I just had to make it.  I use it as an incentive to get my students to achieve more Accelerated Reader points at school.  They have a goal of making 4 points a month, and if they reach the goal they get to "pick" a sucker from the READ bucket.  This has been a major hit in my classroom!

Here's a picture of mine, and my friend Sarah's.  My sister also made one, but she made it after this picture was taken.  :)  We have all found this to be very successful for us!

The letters on this one were cut using white vinyl, on the Cricut using Doodletype- size 2".  I then embellished it with some blingy flower stickers I had in my supplies.

The letters on this one are 1.5".  We glued the letters down onto a layered rectangle with rounded corners.  Then we mounted it to the metal bucket using foam tape.  Added some bling, and it was done.

I just put a Styrofoam ball inside my bucket (just kinda wedged it in there), then I stuck the suckers into the ball.  You can see that the ball is just sitting in the top of the bucket, and can be lifted out (no adhesive holding it in there).

Now for the super fun part!  When the students come over to "pick" a sucker, they have a chance of getting one with a green stick.  If they get a green stick, they will ALSO get a prize from the treasure box.  Everyone holds their breath when someone is picking their sucker, and they all cheer if it has green on the bottom!  :)

 

I think this would be a hit with many different grade levels.  My friend Sarah and I teach 2nd grade, and my sister teaches Kindergarten.  All of the kids love it!  Hope you can use it in your classroom too!  Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Thank You Card

Hey everyone!  Well I am officially on summer break now!  Woo hoo!!!!!!  It doesn't quite feel like it yet because I'm taking a class for the next two weeks, but it still feels nice!  :)  I am in desperate need of some thank you cards right now because I have had a lot of people helping me out lately...  I have decided to make the move from teaching 1st Grade to 2nd Grade!!!!  *biting off fingernails*  My principal was practically begging me, and I really love that grade level, so... I'm taking a leap of faith!  It was definitely not an easy decision, and it was quite bittersweet...  I'm ready for the change, but I didn't want to leave my comfort zone!  I shed a little tear when I left my old room for the last time...  Anywho, my friend Sarah will be the recipient of this card because she helped me pack up my old classroom, put everything away in my new room, and she's going to help me decorate the walls!  :)  AND this card meets the requirements of the new Krafty Girls challenge!  The challenge this week is:  Pinterest Inspired.  Make a card you were inspired to make by something you saw on Pinterest.  I think we can all safely say that Pinterest is addicting, and when I saw this card I knew I just had to make it myself!  Here we go...

Here was my inspiration... so cute!  I love the bakers twine wrapped around the letters!  This is from Weekly Scrapper.

Okay, here's what I came up with...

A2 sized card

Mini Monograms- scalloped circle cut at 5"

Doodletype- "thank" bold cut at 1.35", "you" cut at 1.24"

Bakers twine

A la Mode- sparkle embossing powder

Rhinestones

THANK YOU for stopping by, and I hope you'll join us over at Krafty Girls for the Pinterest inspired challenge!  :)

P.S.  Mom and Dad you will be getting a thank you card for all of your help too!

P.P.S.  Because of this challenge title, I can't get Chicago's "You're the Inspiration" out of my head now!  :)

Thank You SNOW Much Card

Hello everyone!  I have not been doing anything over the past couple of days!!!  All I have been doing is cleaning, organizing, crafting, etc...  Tomorrow I am getting out of the house, and I am thrilled about it!  I can't believe that I have another card today, and I was able to squeeze it into a few challenges!  YAHOO!!!  Next week I will be back at work, so I won't be able to craft like a maniac (as much)...

Little Scrap Pieces- winter
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog- use your favorite embellishments (mine are Stickles & twine)
Creative Cutter Room- shaped thank you card
Mojo Monday- use the sketch
Go Fish Challenge- snow or winter
My Paper Crafting- snowflakes
Shabby Tea Room- monogram madness & photo inspiration

      

Wild Card- scalloped card base cut at 5.47"

George and Basic Shapes-  circles cut at 2.29 & 4.65", rectangle cut at 4.06"

Winter Woodland- large snowflake cut at 1.82"

Christmas- smaller snowflakes cut at .65"

Doodletype- "L" cut at 1.71"

Cuttlebug- snowflakes

Joy's Life Stamps- Wintery Puns

Stickles- star dust

Twine- stone

Thank you SNOW much for stopping by!  :)

Just My Type Card

Hello and Happy New Year!  Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's...  Mine was really nice, just spent time with my family.  I am so excited that I actually made a card, AND I'm going to enter it into some challenges!!!!  Woo hoo!  I haven't entered a challenge in almost a year, so I'm excited about this...  :) 

Die Cuttin' Divas- follow the sketch
Cut It Up- use something you wouldn't typically use in paper crafting (I used foil)
Scrappy Moms Stamps- use the Tic-Tac-Toe board (glitter, sentiment, die cuts), they also had a secret phrase on their blog hop "baby New Year"
Little Miss Muffet Challenges- anything goes

Doodletype- typewriter cut at 2.18"
George and Basic Shapes- paper in typewriter cut at 1.82", circles cut at 1.5, 1.75"
Hoot 'n' Holler- heart cut at 1.35"
Cuttlebug- doodle hearts (The Paper Studio)
Scrappy Moms Stamps- Quirky Quotes
Stickles- Christmas red
Brads
Aluminum foil

I could not get the aluminum foil to cut in my Cricut, it just kept getting torn to shreds (no matter what I tried)...  So, I just used my ATG gun to attach it to a piece of black cardstock (the cardstock was already in the shape I wanted), then I cut around it with my craft knife.  Hope you enjoyed it, and I'm so glad you stopped by!!!!  :)

Joy's Life Tags & Bags Blog Hop!

Hello and welcome to the Joy's Life Tags & Bags Blog Hop!!!!  If you just hopped here from the very talented Sarabeth, you're in the right place.  To start from the beginning click HERE.

I love Christmas!!!  This is such a fun time of year, and I am looking forward to making homemade hot chocolate, decorating the tree, looking at lights, singing Christmas songs, etc., etc., etc.!!!!  I also like to give a little something to my co-workers, and I think some Post-It's, hand sanitizer, yummy treats, etc. would fit perfectly into this little bag!  :)  This bag is also featuring Joy's BRAND NEW stamp set: Oh Christmas Puns!  I love this set, it's full of amazing puns and it has some cute images on it!

Tags, Bags, Boxes & More- bag cut at 6.06", tag cut at 2.88"

Winter Frolic- snow angel cut at 3.24"

Doodlecharms- snowflakes on bag cut at 1.94"

Doodletype- snowflake on tag cut at 1.12"

Joy's Life Stamps- Oh Christmas Puns (on bag), Wintery Puns (on tag)

Peachy Keen Stamps- Everyday Character Face Assortment

Stickles- star dust

Twine



Okay, that's my Christmas bag!  Hope we have been able to get you in the Christmas mood!  :)  Have a great Thanksgiving next week...  Your next stop on this hop is the awesome June.  Thanks for stopping by!

Joy: http://joyslife.com/
Maria: http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com/
Cyndy: http://arcyscraps.blogspot.com/
Stacey: http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Laura: http://www.laurascraftsandmore.com
Jennie: http://earthyscrap.blogspot.com/
Megan: http://thoughtsoftraveling.blogspot.com
Lori: http://got2bcrafting.blogspot.com
Sarabeth: http://www.chroniclesofsarita.blogspot.com/
Amy: http://redheadedcrafter.blogspot.com/
June: http://simplyelegantpapercrafts.blogspot.com/
Patty: http://craftykitten1.blogspot.com

Recycled Dog Treat Holder

Hello everyone!!!!  Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!  I want to thank everyone for your well wishes about my leg...  It's definitely healing, and I am able to move around pretty normally now.  I had to make several trips to the doctor, and he diagnosed me with "second degree road burn" on my lower leg!!!!  YIKES!  I got a tetanus shot, two different types of antibiotics, and lots of bandage changes!  I'm also very happy my dad is healing too, his arm has a HUGE bruise!  Soooo glad we're both getting better!  I'll share a couple pictures at the bottom of this post... Anywho, today is another challenge over at Krafty Girls!!!!  The challenge this week is: 3D projects.  I decided to turn an old peanut butter jar into a dog treat holder...  My mom hoards (I mean, collects) containers like that, so I put one of them to good use!  :)  My dogs sure do approve of this project!!!

Mini Monograms- I turned a scalloped circle into an oval H 4.10 x W 2.56"
George and Basic Shapes- oval cut at 2.94 x 2.10"
Doodletype- "yum!" cut at .76"
Peachy Keen Stamps- Wide Eyed and Bushy Tailed Face Assortment
Stickles- star dust, cotton candy
Patterned paper
White gel pen- stitching and paw prints
Peanut butter jar (mine's Jif, guess my mom's a "choosy mom"), hee hee
Dog treats

Okay, here are some pictures from my freak accident....

This is the "sinkhole" we fell into!  That was so scary!  I think the two pieces on the left are the ones that ate my leg!

Here's a picture of my upper leg!  This was after it was already starting to heal...  The bruise was much darker, and it looked really dark on that white leg (the camera flash really washed out what little color I do have on those legs, and trust me it's not much to begin with)! 

*I won't show you the lower leg (it's way too gnarly)!  My sister is pregnant and she gets sick when she looks at it, so that pretty much sums it up!

Well...  Hope you enjoyed my treat holder!  Now head on over to Krafty Girls and link up your 3D projects!  :)

Homemade Frozen Cookie Dough


Hello everyone and welcome to the Joy's Life Recipe for Fun Blog Hop!!!!  :)  If you just hopped here from the very talented Patty, you're in the right place!  To start at the beginning click HERE.

I have been so excited for this hop!  I LOVE cooking, and I love collecting recipes...  I have a ton of recipes that I keep in binders, and I also have a collection of cookbooks!  After I show you my project I will share with you my ALL TIME FAVORITE recipe for chocolate chip cookies!  I never use any other chocolate chip cookie recipe now that I have found this one!  I think you will also find that they are the best!

I found this idea for making frozen cookie dough on Pinterest...  During the holidays (for example) we are being given so many cookie platters, candies, etc., etc....  So, someone had the idea of making cookie dough and freezing it to give as a gift to someone.  Then, your friends and family can make the cookies when they are ready to eat them!  What an awesome idea!  This is what I did with my frozen dough...

From My Kitchen- recipe card cut at 3.71", oven mitt cut at 3", wooden spoon cut at 3.47"
Doodletype- "Chocolate Chip Cookies" cut at .61"
Cuttlebug- Argyle
Joy's Life Stamps- Yummy Puns
Twine 
Blue paper measures 5 3/4 x 5 3/4", and I rounded it with my Crop A Dile using the 1/2" side

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

(This recipe is from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are enjoying all of our tasty treats!  You're next stop on this yummy hop is Jeannie! 

Here's the order, if you need it:
Joy: http://joyslife.com
Stacey: http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com
Megan: http://thoughtsoftraveling.blogspot.com
Cyndy: http://arcyscraps.blogspot.com
Ashley: http://marklandandmain.blogspot.com
Maria: http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com
Patty: http://craftykitten1.blogspot.com
Amy: http://redheadedcrafter.blogspot.com
Jeannie: http://www.polkacabana.wordpress.com
Nina: http://waffleflower.com
Lori: http://got2bcrafting.blogspot.com
Sarabeth: http://www.chroniclesofsarita.blogspot.com
Laura: http://www.laurascraftsandmore.com
Jennie: http://earthyscrap.blogspot.com

Conversation Hearts Valentine Coupons

Hello everyone!!!  I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day yesterday!  My day was wonderful!  My students were so adorable, and they could hardly wait until after lunch to pass our their Valentines!  They kept asking me all day if it was time...  They showered me with gifts, and I felt really spoiled!!!  One of my kids said that "I spoil them, and they spoil me"!  How cute!  :)  I then went up to my parents and had a nice dinner with my family....  Can't complain about that!

Yesterday I was doing a candy heart graphing activity with my students and the idea for this Valentine popped into my head!  It was like a beautiful candy lightbulb going off over my head, and I don't care that Valentine's Day is over, I had to make it!!!! :)  On the back of the little hearts I would write down little love notes, or coupons that you can give to your sweetie!  For example, I would write "good for one movie night of your choice", etc....  Hope you enjoy!!! 

Be sure to enter my GIVEAWAY!  :)

My Pink Stamper Blog Hop- use red, a circle, pink ribbon, more than 1 MPS stamp, a die cut
The Cuttlebug Spot- use hearts and a stamp
Little Scrap Pieces- anything your heart desires
Die Cuttin' Divas- choose at least two of these colors: red, pink, white, black
Celebrate the Occasion- Valentine's, use a heart
Paper Playtime- Cricut creation with hearts or love theme

Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More- box cut at 4.18"

Create a Critter- candy hearts cut at 2.18", heart window cut at 2.12"

Paisley- "sweetheart" cut at .61"

Doodletype- "for my" cut at .69"

Mini Monograms- scalloped circle cut at 3.06", red circle cut at 3.31"

Cuttlebug- doodle hearts (on the transparency), swiss dots

My Pink Stamper Stamps- Love-alicious

Pink ribbon

Transparency film

Okay everyone!!!  Hope you enjoyed my little coupon idea!  :)

So Sweet Sundae Card

Oh, hello there!  I am just trying to concentrate on this post, and not keep thinking about ice cream!  Time really got away from me, but I made this card just in time to enter two challenges I've been wanting to join!  :)  Ice cream is one of my favorite things on this planet, so I enjoyed making this card.  I was also able to use a new product I hadn't used yet!  YAY!  AND I can't believe I made two cards today (last night's was pracitcally today), and I have another to post later!  Anywho, onto the card!  OH!  Don't forget to enter my 200 Follower Giveaway by clicking right ----->here<-----.  :)

FCCB- ice cream!!! :)
Getting Cricky- Simply Sunday "food for thought"
Scrapalicious- anything summer 

Birthday Bash cartridge- 3 scoop sundae cut at 3.19"
Doodletype- "so sweet" cut at 1.12"  (I welded the letters together on my Gypsy)
Stickles- xmas red
Glossy Accents
MS tinsel glitter- tourmaline (I sprinkled this on the wet Glossy Accents)
A la Mode- sparkle embossing powder (I embossed the letters with this)
Distress Crackle Paint- clear rock candy (I painted this on the dish and it really looks like glass)

Okay, I hope I didn't make you crave ice cream too badly with this!  Thanks for stopping by!  :)

**I also want to thank Karen from http://kaleidoscopicsparkles.blogspot.com/ for passing along some blog awards to me!  She is such a sweet person, she leaves really nice comments, and her blog is amazing!  Everyone should give her blog a peek!  :)  Thanks Karen!!!

                              

Dog Mini Album- Part 1

Hey there everyone!  I made this mini-album for my sweet little pups!  It's dimensions are 5 x 7.  This was my first (and only so far) mini album that I've made.  I was excited with how it turned out!! :)  Today I will show you the cover and the first pages...

The paper that I used was Pressed Petals Dogs 'n Cats Assortment (I glued the paper onto pieces of old cereal boxes to make the pages).  The title was a sticker that I had (sorry I can't remember which brand).  Both of the dogs were cut from the Paper Pups cartridge.  The white dog was cut at 2.18", and I made it fuzzy using Fuzzy Fun Flock-Cotton Ball White.  The black dog was cut at 1.47", and I used Fuzzy Fun Flock-Plain Old Black.  I inked all of the edges with my Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip ink pad, drew on some collars with a red marker, and added Star Dust Stickles and Glossy Accents for the finishing touches.



I made the frames for the pictures by using 2 scalloped rectangles from the Create a Critter cartridge.  The big rectangle is cut at 6.51" and the inner rectangle was cut at 5.11".  To make the tennis ball I used the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge to cut a piece of green paper at 9.82" (not sure why it was that big).  I made it fuzzy using Fuzzy Fun Flock- Lemonade Yellow, then I freehanded some white strips and cut them to glue on top.  For their names I used the Doodletype cartridge.  The letters are 1.24", and I welded them together using my Gypsy.  I used my white gel pen to do stitching, embossed them with "a la mode" sparkle embossing powder, and then covered it with Glossy Accents.  I love this embossing powder because it adds glitter and it made the letters feel like chipboard. 

Hope you enjoy!  Keep checking back to see the other pages.... :)