Welcome Back!

I like to have a wreath on my classroom door for decoration and to add a bit of a home-y feeling. This year, I've decided to create wreaths for the door that match the unit of study we are doing (ex. our first thematic unit is on survival, so the wreath will be survival themed). I didn't want to leave out a more home-y (not to be confused with homie) bit of decoration, so I decided to create some wreaths to hang between my two windows in the classroom. I made the first one tonight!

I didn't take pictures while I was working on it (sorry!), but all the materials came from Michaels. The frame is a basic green metal wreath. I wove burlap and ribbon first and used brown pipe cleaners to attach the burlap to the frame. The wooden bus was already painted when I bought it, but I painted the wooden apple and added my name with a thin tipped paint pen. I painted the wooden letters and hot glued all the wooden pieces to the wreath. Simple! All in all, it took me about 30 minutes total to complete!

The "No Sew" Pillow

It's been a while since I've posted...but I'm back!

This year I've decided to remove all the desks from my room and embrace "alternative seating" options. I'll have a few tables with stools and fun chairs from Ikea, but mostly I plan to have low, small tables with crates and pillows. We'll see how it goes....I told my principal that my type A & OCD personality may absolutely hate it and need my desks back asap, but I wanted to give something new a try.

At the end of the year last year a coworker gave me two throw pillows she was getting rid of from her classroom. I figured I could give them a fresh look with some new pillow cases. With only (sigh) two-ish weeks until we're back in action, I decided to get going on the pillows.

I am NOT a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, so when I saw these No Sew Pillows on Pinterest, I thought, "That can't be too hard!"

I found some fabric at WalMart that matches my color & pattern scheme (navy, yellow, gray, & chevron), and I guestimated that I'd need a yard for each pillow. Because the pillows have a dark and busy pattern on them already, I also got a yard of white for each pillow to act as a color buffer.

Hindsight is 20/20, and I should have measured the pillow and read the Pinterest directions a little more before heading to the store. Once I started folding the fabric per the directions, I realized a yard was not enough material. So, I had to do what all great teachers do - monitor and adjust! 

I first folded the pillow in the white fabric like I would wrap a present. Once that was folded, I placed it in the center of the chevron fabric. I folded the top and bottom of the chevron fabric to meet in the center of the pillow like shown above. 

Next, I folded the corners over like I do when wrapping a present. According to the directions I was attempting to follow, this would be the stage you bring both corners to the center to tie a knot. Unfortunately, my corners weren't long enough. 

I decided I could at least sew a button, so my "no sew" pillows became "almost no sew" pillows. I found these large wooden buttons at Michaels for .29 each. (P.S. They have a teacher discount and always have a great coupon on their app!) I painted them yellow and used them to connect each of the corners I folded into the center of the pillow. Just a few stitches, and I have two new pillows!