Name Display For My Classroom

Note: Bear with me if you've already seen this post (on my old blog, Always Write 2012). I am slowly but surely trying to transfer all of my DIY projects to THIS blog so people don't keep finding my crafts on my OLD blog. I want them reading over here!

The original idea I found for this on Pinterest is one that someone posted for a baby's room, but I fell in love with the idea and knew immediately that I HAD to have it in my classroom. (Note: I made these in the summer of 2012 and have already had them hanging in my classroom for one year!)

WARNING: WAY too many pictures were taken in this process, and I am sharing them all. Enjoy! :)

Basically, I wanted a sign that has my name on it to hang over my desk. When I saw this canvas idea, I was hooked. I bought 11 blank canvases (okay, I bought 12 because they came in packs of two... and it's always good to have an extra just in case something goes wrong, ya know). The canvases are 8x10 in size. I bought the same number of pieces of scrapbooking paper in the same pattern in 12x12 (so they are big enough to wrap around the canvases to give it the "real" canvas look. I bought wooden letters to spell out: "MISS VANNICE" to be glued onto the scrapbooking paper after it was glued onto the canvases. I also purchased metallic pink and teal acrylic paint to make the wooden letters pretty. (You will see all of this in the pictures below). I used Mod Podge to stick the paper to the canvases, and I used hot glue to stick the letters to the paper afterward. I think they turned out extremely cute, and I can't wait to hang them up in my new classroom! :)

(in context with the rest of the room... oh, how I miss this classroom! Moving sucks.)

So, what do you think? 
Would you use something like this in your classroom/office/house?
Have you ever made anything similar?

First Week of the Year

Well, the first week of the new year has been an adventurous one.

Last Wednesday, January 2nd, I set up my new classroom. No, I don't have a new job. My school had to move to a different location, and we had just one day to get everything set up. My wonderful fiancé came in for a couple of hours, and he helped me get things set up, such as my name letters and lots of posters. He also helped me with my massive bulletin board. I am so thankful for him.

Thursday, the kiddos came back! They seemed to be happy to be there, the feeling was mutual. I was SO ready to see my students again, and I hope they ALL decide to show up this coming week instead of just 75% of them.

When the week got to Friday, something happened. I was hit by a train. No, not literally. But it certainly felt like it at the time and for the following 24 hours. I came down SUDDENLY with an awful cold around 10:00 am that day, but I persevered through the school day. On my way home, I stopped at Walgreens and bought everything I could find to fight the cold. Then, I passed out for 14 hours, from 8:00 pm until 10:00 am. It was so nice, but I still felt pretty sickly on Saturday.

Dan had a genius idea to have Indian food for lunch that day, and it sure did clear out my sinuses! Then, we went out with Michael and Lizzie that night, and Lizzie is currently staying at my place for the week. We had a lot of fun! Today, Dan and I went to the Harlem Globetrotters game, and it was a BLAST! They are so much fun, and it was a great Christmas gift. :)

As far as my goals for the year, I am doing okay. I am almost finished with one book and about halfway through another one, so I am ahead of schedule on that front. I do not have any races lined up yet, so I guess I'm a bit behind there. Oops. I have written in my "thankful" journal and my "Q&A" journal daily, though, and they are such nice outlets before going to bed. I don't know what I would do without writing. Blogging twice a week is weird, but I guess I'll be able to maintain it. If I could make 366 posts in one year, surely I can make 104 this year. Right? My spiritual journey is already expanding as I finish reading the Bible. Dan and I went to church today for the first time in a while. It was AMAZING, and I miss it. A lot. And so does he. I'm so glad we found a place where I am so comfortable, and we are going to attend a new member meeting next Sunday after worship. We have been going sporadically for the past two and a half years, but it's time to make it official. And that leads me to my final goal of being fearless. Going to a member meeting at a church is NOT in my comfort zone. This will likely be my first big test of 2013, but I am ready to tackle it head on.

How is everyone's 2013 going?