Guest Post: Live, Teach, Create

Well hello y’all! Before I begin, I must take the time to be thankful for being a Guest Blogger here on “Pocket Full of Pink”. I am so happy to have been asked to come back and happy to be here. So where do I begin? My name is Jennifer Smith-Sloane and I am a 30-something wife, teacher, mother to several dogs, country girl and all around creative person. I am currently in my 9th year teaching and am doing what I love. I moved down this year to teach 7th grade (from 8th) and added in Resource Math for 7th and 8th as well as a 2nd section of school newspaper. Yep, I’m a busy girl! I have been a creative soul for as long as I can remember and love every aspect of creating things whether it be for myself, my home, my family, my friends or my classroom. I was an avid scrapbooker up until this past summer. I still love the craft but my teaching has taken over with all that is on my plate. I have now been able to express my creativity in the form of making things for my classroom. My creative side has merged with my Masters in Curriculum and formed an amazing bond. [caption id="attachment_2665" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Click on the picture to be taken to the item in my TpT store![/caption] Every night you can find me creating something for use in my classroom from activities, to games and various different Flippables (folding graphic organizers) for our Interactive Notebook. It has totally become my passion and I am LOVING all the time that I spend on creating for my students (and other’s students). Because of this passion, I opened a store on Teachers Pay Teachers where I, among over 14,000 other sellers, are able to share creations we have made for our students with other like-minded teachers who want to find amazing things to use in their classroom to improve the lives and learning of their students. Since I teach middle school, many of my products are geared to grade 5-8 but I have started creating more that are geared to lower levels (K-4) due to the needs of my Resource Math classes. [caption id="attachment_2405" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Click on the logo to be taken to my TpT Store![/caption] As a teacher, I am constantly on the lookout for new and impressive ways to benefit the learning of my students. Going outside the box is my mission on a daily basis. I’ve recently filmed some videos of things I have created for my classroom and thought it would be a great time to share them with the public. Each of these activities are things that are not only created by me but tested by my students. They are my first trial for everything and I value their feedback that middle-schoolers are so proud to hand out. Not to leave you high and dry, but I have created a freebie for all “Pocket Full of Pink” members. In this freebie you will find a nice mix of Pink items that I’ve bundled together for you into a “Pocket Full of Pink Giveaway” bundle. To download, you will need a TpT account (it’s free) and then you can go straight here to download the bundle! I do hope that you are able to use the items or link them on to someone who can. Feel free to share the link for others to download and I would love feedback to be left if you feel so inclined! Thank you for allowing me to share a bit about myself today here on “Pocket Full of Pink” and I do hope that you might come check out my blog, Live.Teach.Create, or take some time to follow me on Facebook or Twitter (personal) or Twitter (teacher side).

Feather Boa Tree {Guest Post}

Hello Ladies...and I am sure a few Gents! Here is your Valentine's Day Tutorial!

I sneaked out of the house the other day while Eliza napped and Mark played video games, to swing by Michaels. While checking out I saw a "floral arrangement" on SALE for 49.99!! What?? I can TOTALLY make that! So I did!!


Small disclaimer, this tree does not photograph well! I did it in every light, with pro camera and camera phone, it just doesn't capture the awesomeness of the feathers. I SWEAR it is SUPER cute!!

Start off with supplies-

Styrofoam Cone
Feather Boa, or 2 if you buy a big cone
Ribbon
Embellishment
Candle Stick
Hot Glue

Start out with your cone, side note-you can not spray paint Styrofoam, didn't know that! So move on with your cone with whatever color you bought. Take a boa and find an end, trim the extra rope they use so it is flush with the feathers. Take your hot glue and put a large bead at the bottom of the cone.

Lay your cone down with the feather boa coming toward you. Do a string of glue along the bottom and roll the cone toward you gluing the boa to the cone.

Now take the boa and wrap it tightly around the cone, glue every once in a while.

Now if you want to use 2 colors like I did, start the next boa from the top. Sorry I have no picture for this, I didn't plan to have to use two boas and had to run to the store and was flustered when I got back.

As you come to meet the 2 boas in the middle you can choose to keep them completely separate or swirl the top one into the bottom feathers to combine the colors.


Take your embellishment and attach it to the top, mine was a pick so I just stuck it down into the cone.

Next is the ribbon. Here is a great way to make a bow.

Start with a long piece of ribbon

Fold both edges in to meet the middle, do a dab of glue and keep them down.

Now cut two long pieces of ribbon, these will be your tails.

Flip your folded piece over and glue each tail to the back

Now cut a small piece that will wrap around the middle.

Glue it on the back, wrap it around the front of the ribbon, between the two tails, pull tight and glue on the back again.

Perfect bow without the tying!

Glue the bow to the top of your tree.

Now take your candlestick and you can choose to attach it to the bottom of your cone, or just rest your cone on it. I decided not to glue so that I could do a different cone each holiday and just reuse the candlestick.

You are done! This took me less then 20 minutes and I love the funky way it looks.

Thanks again for checking me out this week! Come on over to And I Thought I Loved You Then for more crafts and fun chat. Also, check out Hangin 'Round for some of my wreaths for sale, use code BLOG2012 for 12% off your purchase!

It's super cute!  Love the adorable little heart picks hanging over the top.  DARLING!  Thanks for stopping by Kalyn!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Meet Bonnie from Revolutionaries!

Hello! My name is Bonnie and I'm the creator of the blog Revolutionaries. It is such an honor to be guest posting today for Pocket Full of Pink!

Over at Revolutionaries you can find a variety of things-- I mostly blog about crafting and redoing furniture, but I also blog about my faith and the band that I sing background vocals for. One thing you should know about me is that I recently graduated from college, so I am on a tight budget. When I say I'm a po' kid, I'm not joking! I consider it a good thing, though, because my budget forces me to get creative. For example, my favorite materials to use are toilet paper rolls!

 

 [A Project for Fall-- made from toilet paper rolls and branches]

[Electric Candle Cover-- made with toilet paper rolls and parchment paper]

Besides crafting, I absolutely love transforming furniture that I find at yard sales or on Craigslist. I love giving pieces new life and personality! These are my favorite furniture projects so far:

[Chalkboard Top Coffee Table]

[Sheet Music Desk]

Overall, I'm just a 22 year old craft nerd that loves creating beautiful (and cheap budget-friendly) pieces. If you're constantly on a budget like I am, or just like the challenge, I hope you'll come by Revolutionaries and say hello! Thanks again to Karen for allowing me to meet all of you lovelies today :)

Wow!  Isn't Bonnie so creative with those toilet paper rolls?  I love the Fall Wall Art she made with them.  Be sure to stop by and give Bonnie some love on her Blog!

Today's Guest: VB Creations

Hey there! My name is Venassa and I'm so excited to be posting here at Pocket Full of Pink!

 I blog about my crafty side over at VB Creations. And Me? I'm a mid-twenties girl from Canada, a new mom to a baby girl, and an obsessed crafter. I always had a bit of a crafty side, but after discovering blogging, and the oh-so-addicting Pinterest, I find myself inspired much more often.

I love painting and playing with wood, or trying to make some new DIY piece of home decor, but my first love will always be working with paper: scrapbooking and cardmaking.

And a new thing to create out of paper: wall decor.

During my pregnancy, not only did I go through my nesting stage, I also went through a crazy crafting stage, and I've been a bit obsessed ever since.

I had a Super Mario theme in mind for my daughter's nursery, but we were on a tight budget. Buying beautiful matching nursery decor was out of the question for me. Then, inspiration struck, and I created almost everything in her Super Mario nursery by hand. I made all the wall decorations out of cardstock, I made the Bob-omb lamp myself, painted a cheap shelf, and decorated the letters spelling her name. I was so pleased with how it all turned out, and it kept me busy at the end of my pregnancy.





Now with my daughter taking up most of my free time, I don't have the time to make even half of the projects I'd love to try, but I've finally managed to get in some creating time here and there. My favorite thing that I managed to create lately was super easy to make: A DIY dry erase message board.



It was a fun gift idea that I made with my newlywed friend in mind. She loved it, and I recently got a message from her saying that they've written on it almost everyday since I gave it to them. And of course it was Pinterest-inspired.

In the next while I'd love to get back into my scissors and glue and make some Valentine's Day cards to send to friends, paint some wooden numbers for my daughter's room, and create some brand new paper wall decor for her room now that I've moved. I can't wait to get started, and get blogging about it.

What's your number one craft love? Are you a painter? A paper crafter? A knitter?

Wahoo!  Isn't that train card and dry erase board so dang cute?  I love Venassa's crafty blog.  Stop by and give her some love today!

Today's Guest: Meredith from Haute to Sew

HI all! I'm so excited to introduce you to my blog Haute To Sew today! Guess I should tell you who I am first, right? My name is Meredith. I am a school photographer by day and a DIY, crafting, sewing nerd by night. I'm married to Mr. Perfect and have a 10 year old step-kiddo. I blog about everything from sewing to remodeling our house.

Not sure why his hand looks bigger than my head hehe

Moving on...today I want to show you some of my favorite projects.

First up, our bathroom remodel! We just finished this project not long ago. I'm so in love it! We had to work with this ugly yellow-ish tile all over the room, but it was a success! Check out how we took this bathroom from this:

To this:

Bathroom Remodel

Pretty sweet huh?! Ok next up, I upcycled these cheap plastic plates to match the curtains in my kitchen. I really think they turned out great. I smile every time I see them :)

Plate Upcycle

And I suppose I should throw in something sewing related, since ya know, my blog is named Haute To SEW. I made this tablet cover for my dad for Christmas this year. He loved it and I was super proud of it. It's really hard to give handmade, sewn gifts for guys sometimes.

Manly Tablet Cover

I also give tutorials on how to upcycle the clothes you don't wear anymore into pieces you will wear. Can you believe this used to be a baggy long sleeved shirt and a dress?? Check it out to see how it was done!

Refashions

I want to give a huge THANKS to Karen for having me share today!! I hope you will stop by Haute To Sew and see what else I've been up to! I have a lot of fantastic projects coming up soon so make sure you stay awhile {wink wink}. I'm also going to be starting a "sewing tips" series, so be on the lookout for that! Have a wonderful day!

xoxo

Meredith

Wow!  This woman is seriously talented!  I love the shirt refashion!  Thanks so much for stopping by Meredith:)

Christmas Garland {Upcycling!}

Hi, I'm Vanessa from Home Sweet Butterfly. 

I love creating fun and easy projects for my home while keeping the cost down. If you never been to Home Sweet Butterfly, I would love for you to stop by and look around.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year and I am so happy to be here with Karen and all of you today.
Today, I am up-cycling a old Christmas garland that has seen better days. You'll just need a green garland and two rolls of Poly Deco Mesh.

Take each end of the garland and hold it down with a chair , this will make it stable.

Gather the mesh in your hand 

Mesh should be 9 inches long

Make a puff  

Tie the mesh using the garland. Continue all the way down

First layer.

I added second layer, by using the same method.

Finish product. 

You can add ribbon going over the top and tying it off with the garland. Also hot glue Christmas ornaments as well. I love how the garland looks, its so fluffy and full. It looks great on top of my entertainment center. This would also look great over the fireplace or your entry way. I used Deco Mesh on my tree this year.  Thank you for having me Karen and I LOVE comments so drop me a line. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

Vanessa

What a gorgeous Garland!  I love the pretty ribbon.  Thank you Vanessa.

Stop by Home Sweet Butterfly for more of Vanessa's cute crafts!

Today's Guest: Ginger Snap Crafts

Hi! I'm Ginger, & I blog over at Ginger Snap Crafts. 

It's a fun place where I share my easy, simple & cute crafty ideas & projects. 

{Would love to have YOU drop by sometime!} 

It is so fun to be over here with Karen & YOU celebrating Christmas!
(It seems like I was just here during the Pumpkin Bash...yikes!  Where did all the time go???)
Buuuut I do love this time of year, and I am so excited that Christmas is almost here!  Yay!
 Today it will be a JOY to share my cute & easy {JOY} blocks tutorial. ;)

Supplies:

2x8 cut into 3 blocks

(7 in x 5.5 in, 5.5 in x 5.5 in, 6.5 in x 5.5 in)

vinyl lettering

(I used my Silhouette & software to cut mine.)

paint

Christmas ribbon

They are as easy as they look.  You just paint the blocks a creamy white.

Let them dry completely, apply your vinyl lettering & then add a festive bow.   That's it! :)

Over my blog I'm having a fun $5.00 and under link party all month long.

{This craft would definitely fall into that category.}

If YOU have any cute, easy & CHEAP ideas click the button & join the party!
I'll be choosing one idea of YOURS as our neighbor/friend gift this year!
If I chose YOUR idea I'll spotlight YOUR blog & show our version on Christmas Eve!

Thank you for having me over, Karen! I had a wonderful time! :)

Hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

I am in love with those blocks!  They are so bright and cheery.  Thanks so much for sharing Ginger!