A Small Snippet

i’ve gotten so many requests regarding the Teacher Book that i mentioned last year in this post that I made for each of my kiddos teachers last year, so i figured i’d devote an entire post to it today in case some of you are interested.

i’ve been room mom each year for my kiddos, and i have to say…i’m kinda happy to be passing the buck come next fall with a newborn in my arms!  i’ve loved my time as room mom, but it really is work, and i just don’t think i can handle it while adjusting to life with a newborn again.

however, each year, as apart of their end of the year gift from the class, i’ve compiled a little book for each teacher, and so far its been a hit!  i am working on them for Bella’s class again this year, and thought i’d give you the details.

the idea is to have each child complete a fill in the blank worksheet, attach a picture of themselves, and draw a portrait of their teacher, and then compile them all into a book as a way for the teacher to remember each individual personality.  this is an example of Bella’s from last year:

we give the books, along with a gift card, to the teachers as an end of the year gift to thank them for all that they’ve done throughout the year:

i think if i were a teacher, i would get a kick out of reading each of the kiddos answers, and seeing their drawings of me, and then i would cherish the memory of each of my students for years to come.

i created this template:  Teacher Book Template.  i, really really really hope, think that if you click that blue text that you should be able to download the document to edit for your own personal use.  if not, i unfortunately cannot individually email the document, as there is not enough time in the day to respond to those types of requests, but i would be more than happy to accept recommendations on how to upload it a different way.  however, i’m really hopeful that this works, as i just spent the last hour trying to figure out the best way to share an editable document with you.  i seriously at times cannot believe i even have a blog, considering how technologically illiterate i feel!

anyways, here’s the how-to:

i place one worksheet and a blank piece of card stock into a manilla folder.

i then send the bunch of folders to school to be sent home with each individual child.

i send an email to all of the parents with the specifics on the project, asking them to help their child complete the worksheet:

attach a picture of their child in the space provided on the worksheet (the dotted square), and then to have their child draw a portrait of their teacher on the card stock.

i then ask the parents to put the completed worksheet and portrait back into the manilla envelope, and send it back into school for the teacher to put in my child’s backpack.  (i make the teacher aware that they can’t peek into the folders.)

once i have received back all of the envelopes, i organize the worksheets and portraits together from each child, in alphabetical order.  i then attach a class picture to the book cover.  i’ve created a book cover template for you as well, that i hope, i think you can download here: Teacher Book Cover 

i then bring the stack to my local Fed-Ex (by now, y’all already know about my love of my local Fed-Ex.  they are so handy for projects like this!  i get zero compensation for mentioning them so often…i just love how they come through for me with projects!)  for a few bucks, they bind the book for me right then and there.  there are different options for binding, but i just go with the least expensive, which is a spiral bind, with a clear plastic cover over the front and a sturdy plastic back page.

i’m sure that if you know the world of graphic design, then you could make this super cute!  i unfortunately, do not, so this is the best its gonna get.

that’s it!  we usually present the book to the teacher during the end of the year class party.

hope you are able to download all the files and edit them for your personal use, and that your teachers love their books as much as our’s have!

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i recently realized that i’ve never given you an official tour of our new house.  our move was such a whirlwind for me.  we moved back in January, when i was smack dab in the middle of hardcore HG…so it was all completely a blur!  i’m pretty sure i didn’t pack a single box myself, but had the most amazing friends and family do it all for me…and i mean ALL!

anyway, we are slowly making our way through our new house, finishing up projects.  there is still lots more to do (including a nursery!), and there aren’t many rooms that are 100% complete, but i’m pretty happy with the progress we’ve made in the Boy’s room, and since some of you requested more info on his monogram above his bed from my last post, i figured i’d go ahead and lump it all together and give you a tour of his room while giving you details of the monogram.

you might remember from our old place that our kiddos used to share a room.  so moving to our new house, it’s quite a treat that all of our kiddos are gonna have their own individual spaces.  long before we moved, i had envisioned how i would like to decorate Canaan’s room.  i wanted it to be boyish, but not too little-boyish, and wanted something that could also grow with him.  i knew i wanted to have thick navy and white striped bedding, so once that came together, everything else kinda fell into place.  i had planned to make his bedding from some fabric that i saw at IKEA, but saw this bedding at Target and it just happened to be exactly what i wanted!  so i was thrilled to not have to make it…or go get fabric from IKEA, which unfortunately is not close to where i live.

i wanted to throw in some touches of orange, so i found the orange fabric at Joann’s and made the pillow.  his lamp was from Target a few years back, and i used hot glue to attach some navy grosgrain ribbon as a trim to the top and the bottom of the lampshade.

his Ugly Doll monster was a gift when he was a baby, (we named him UD, because at the time i didn’t want to teach him the word “ugly”…that feels like an eternity ago!).  i still think its adorable, so he lets me put it on his bed every now and then

his one request for his new room was a desk.  my brother and sister in law were getting rid of theirs, and it fit in perfectly with the rest of his bedroom furniture (which, btw, was from KMart about 6 years ago.)  i found the desk lamp at a garage sale for a few bucks, and the map was one of his birthday gifts (i’ll give more details on the map in a minute.)

i picked up his desk chair at a garage sale a few years back, and threw on a coat of Annie Sloan “Old White” Chalk Paint (obsessed would not even begin to describe how i feel about ASCP!)  i recovered the seat with some funky, colorful chevron that i picked up at Joann’s as well.

we used to go through a basketball hoop every few months, until Santa brought this Basketball Hoop at Christmas, and its been amazing!!  super durable, and makes for hours of room basketball fun.  i’m contemplating making some cool shelves to hang above his dresser to display his trophies, but am still trying to figure out just how to do that, so for now, its kinda empty on that side of the room.  (any ideas??)  and do you notice all the missing knobs on the dresser?  i have no earthly idea how they get lost, or where they could be.  i’m gonna have to replace them, but i’m not sure with what yet, so for now, they just sit empty.  i thought about photoshopping them in, but opted instead to just keep it real.  (the globe was a GoodWill find, and i’m currently on the hunt for as many globes as i can find.  i love a shelf full of fun globes!)

the monogram was not planned, but just happened to come together, and i really like the way it turned out.  i bought the frame at a garage sale last fall, not knowing exactly what i would do with it, but knowing that i loved it and was sure that i could find a billion uses for it:

as i was unpacking boxes, i found the “C” that i used in Canaan’s old room long ago, and thought it would look great above his bed.  but when i put it up, it was just too small on its own.  so i covered the back of the frame in burlap, spray painted the “C” orange (it used to be red), and hot glued it to the burlap.  i then used some of the leftover navy grosgrain ribbon that i used as trim on his lamp shade, and hot glued it as a border to the burlap.

i did this all in about 10 minutes, as a clutch-time decision (which is why the ribbon is exactly straight!), as a houseful of guests were on their way over for a dinner party.  it is a super easy project to attempt.  all you need to find is a hefty frame (you can paint whatever color you desire…mine was already this distressed blue when i bought it, but it wouldn’t be hard to replicate), cover the back in burlap, and use whatever wooden letter you want.  the one i have is a 13 inch wooden letter from Pottery Barn years ago, that i don’t think they sell anymore, but this one is a very similar size:  14 Inch Wood Letter.  you can spray paint it easily in whatever color you need.  then just create your border with ribbon.  a customized, monogrammed piece for barely any $$$ or time:

as for the curtains:

i’m always looking for ways to save money, but still want to achieve the look i have in mind, so for the curtains, i started with just simple, inexpensive white panels from Target:

then i bought navy grosgrain ribbon to match the ribbon i used for the lampshade and the monogram, just in a wider size, and hot glued a border onto the curtain panels.  a super inexpensive way to make cheap curtains look custom:

Canaan has always expressed an interest in wanting a wall map, and put it on his birthday list.  so we found this dry erase wall map at Urban Outfitters:

and then my father in law built the frame for it.  he adhered the map to a piece of foam board from Hobby Lobby, and i picked out this simple but slightly detailed molding from Home Depot.

he mitered the edges and nailed it all together to create a custom frame for far cheaper than it would’ve cost us to find a frame that size.

and as a little tip…i have learned the hard way to never let any kind of marker, crayon, etc in my house that is not washable.  so i picked up these Washable Dry Erase Markers for the map, and i don’t have to worry about unwanted marker marks  they have been working great on the map, and come off very easily.

(if i am remembering correctly, i think i got the buckets at a garage sale a while back.  they used to be red, and i spray painted them orange.)

and last but not least, the wall color is Benjamin Moore “Gray Owl.”  we needed to paint both kids’ rooms and our master bath before moving in, and i was too sick at the time to look at paint swatches and try to figure it all out, so i used Gray Owl on all three.  i love it in this room and in our bathroom, but anticipate that i will repaint Bella’s room before too long!

Canaan’s pretty happy to have his own space, and momma’s pretty happy too!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you momma’s out there.  this is the first Mother’s Day that i’ve spent with my kiddos in 2 years.  Jake and I are usually in Haiti this week, but Baby Berkeley has prevented that trip from happening this year.  i’m pretty thankful to be spending the day with my family!

i’ll be back with more house projects soon,

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I LOVE to read. Always have. The hubs does too, and it seems as if our kiddos have picked up the trait as well.

Bella is currently loving this sweet series:  Just Grace (The Just Grace Series)

and Canaan is making his way through The Chronicles of Narnia.  It seriously makes my heart leap when I see my kiddos crawl into their little reading nooks and go to town!

I’m a sucker for books. It’s rare that I can leave any kind of garage sale without purchasing some kind of book, which leaves our bookshelves overflowing.

With it being spring time, and with summer break quickly approaching, I’m always looking for a great read to throw in my beach bag, or read by the pool, or take with me while traveling. My problem is, when I start a great book, I can’t put it down, and end up reading it in a matter of days, and then finding myself needing another good one!

Enter in Charles Martin. I’ve talked about this author before. He’s absolutely one of my faves…has been for a couple of years. He has 9 published novels out to date, and I fly through them. His newest one is no different. I was priviledged, seriously, to receive an advanced copy of his latest, Unwritten, being released today! And because I feel like I know each of you, my group of blog reading friends, and because I think you’ll love it too, I have to tell you about it!

First of all, I’m kind of a critic. I don’t like all books. My main criteria for a great book is that I have to fall in love with the characters right off the bat. I have been known to start many a book, only to stop reading after a few chapters because it just isn’t quite worth my time. If the characters are not people who I either want to be friends with, or who I feel massively sad for and need to know their stories, then I can’t keep reading. I know that’s why I love Charles’ books. His character development is about the best I’ve ever read. He has a way of making you fall instantly in love with the characters, and/or NEED to keep reading to find out their stories. Its true of every book of his I’ve read. And it happens within the first few pages.

I also love a book that is unpredictable…where things happen that I couldn’t see coming, twists and turns that make you wonder just how someone could be so creative, so inventive. Charles is amazingly talented and creative at doing just that….story lines that will leave you saying, “oh my gosh! I had no clue that was gonna happen!” In fact, I’ve been known to say that exact phrase out loud when reading his books (and often times through tears), prompting the husband to wonder, and causing him to be so intrigued that he ends up wanting to read it for himself.

To give you an idea of what the story line of Unwritten is about:

A very famous, well known, beautiful actress is trying to escape her present day, pressure filled life, and in doing so, finds herself being rescued by a man, who’s own mysterious past has left him hidden from society for years. He offers her a plan, a way to leave her old life forever and start a new one, by faking her death. As the mystery of both of their stories are revealed, they realize that maybe there is a point to each of their brokenness.

I think one of the things I love most about his newest book, Unwritten, is the depth that is hidden within the pages. If you know me as a blogger, then you know that story is a big deal to me. I think everyone’s story is super significant…how our stories affect who we are, where we go, what we do, how we view life. What I love most about people’s stories is that there are always surprises, mystery, depth, brokenness, redemption, and that each other’s stories can play a significant role in our own.

I think that’s one of the reasons I loved this book so much…its all about story. Listen to these quotes from the book,

“And standing there, face to face, my bag of me over my shoulder, and your bag of you over your shoulder, we figure out that maybe my pieces are the very pieces needed to mend you and your pieces are the very pieces needed to mend me but until we’ve been broken we don’t have the pieces to mend each other. Maybe in the offering we discover the meaning, and value, of being broken….Maybe love, the real kind, the kind only wished for in whispers and the kind our hearts are hardwired to want, is opening up your bag of you and risking the most painful statement ever uttered between the stretched edges of the universe, ‘This was once me.’ Maybe that in and of itself is the story.”

Isn’t that beautiful? Isn’t that what our hearts deep down long for?

Charles Martin has a way of doing just that…bringing things to the surface through storytelling that put into words what our hearts long for. I like to think that if you are reading this blog, then maybe you are reading for that purpose, cause its what I set out to do too. And that’s why I think you’d love this book.

After having been asked why he writes stories the way he does, his response was this:

“At the end of the day, I hope my stories circumnavigate the hard places and touch what is still tender. Cause someone to feel something they haven’t felt, love in a way they had forgotten or hope for something that pain had caused them to scratch off their list. If I can do this, then I will have done what I set out to do. And if I’m really honest, I do this as much to reawaken the numb places in me as in other people.”

I love that. That’s exactly what his stories do. That’s exactly what Unwritten does. It goes beyond just a novel and becomes a story with depth, with purpose, with intrigue, romance, mystery, adventure, and hope, one that touches those broken places within ourselves and causes us to wonder if our brokenness just might have purpose too.

Unwritten is being released today, and today also starts the beginning of Charles’ book tour.  You can read more about Unwritten, as well as watch a trailer about the book, here.  You can see Charles’ schedule of events here, to see if he’s going to be in your area anytime soon. You can purchase the book here: Unwritten: A Novel

I’ll note too that his previous two books have made my top 10 favorite books list as well. The Mountain Between Us…is…absolutely…amazing. For so many reasons. It was actually bought by 20^th Century Fox and is in the works to be made into a movie. No doubt in my mind that it could be a blockbuster, and that my backside will be in a movie theater seat the day its released.

His last book released before Unwritten, titled Thunder and Rain, was also completely a page turner…suspenseful, romantic, redemptive. His stories are those kinds of books where you are kinda sad that you’ve already read them…and have to remind yourself of that famous Dr. Seuss quote, “Don’t cry because its over, smile because it happened.”  They are those kinds of reads. That’s the only downside to Unwritten, or any of Charles’ books for that matter. I can’t put them down, so I finish within a few days, and am left with the need to find another good book.

The hubs is reading Unwritten now. He’s stayed up the past few nights to do so, if that gives you any indication that I’m not the only one who can’t put it down

So if you are looking for a great read, one that has depth but is a great, catching story, with twists and turns and love and suspense, with characters that are loveable and mysterious, a story of hope when all else seems lost, then try out Unwritten. And then work your way backwards through Charles’ novels. You will not be disappointed!  And then stop back by and tell me what you thought, cause I’m kinda one of his biggest fans, and I want y’all to be too.

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