BACK TO SCHOOL FREEBIE!!

BACK TO SCHOOL FREEBIE!!

I officially have one more week of summer vacation and I plan on spending it at the pool!  So I took Gabby with me to school a couple days last week and we got my classroom all set up.  She was a HUGE help!!  Anyway, I finally got my new math journal finished up. Grab it FREE in my store and tell me what you think! 

It's Time For School!

I cannot believe my kiddos will be returning to school in 12 short days!  Where has the summer gone?  We had such rainy weather here for most of June and some of July that we spent the majority of that time waiting for the hot sunny weather to stay around for longer than a day.  We have really only just started feeling the dog days of summer.  Of course, my kids are at camp all week and it's gorgeous outside!  I've been cooped up in the house trying to get all of the school work done since I have the laptop all to myself this week.

I have been working tirelessly on my TPT store, updating old products and creating new ones, but it is so time consuming!  I've learned A LOT from other TPTers this summer and have been putting all of that new knowledge to use, but as with anything, it will take time for me to get it all down.  The good news is I enjoy creating all of this so much that I don't even notice the time passing by!

I am very proud of my newest product.  It is a frog unit!  For the first time I used actual photographs and I think it turned out really nice!  I enlisted the help of my teaching partner to peruse it and tell me what I needed to add and sure enough she had some great ideas!  This unit contains 65 full color and black and white pages of text, writing prompts, graphic organizers, a slide show, and more!  You can check it out HERE!

Right now it is full price in my shop BUT you can get up to 28% off August 3-4 only during the sitewide TPT sale!  EVERYTHING in my store will be on sale, those 2 days only.  So don't miss out!

Create Your Own Classy Beach Decor

I've always felt like a beach bum at heart.  I can totally see myself living by the beach, wearing flip flops and tank tops all year long.  Unfortunately I live in Ohio, which is nowhere near any kind of beach, so I have to live vicariously through the décor in my living room and imagine the day I can get a beach house. 

Summer is always a time of organization for me.  A time to sort through all of the piles I made throughout the school year but never had time to put away.  So while I was rummaging through my storage room I came across 2 picture frames that I decided to get crafty with. 

My first step was to spray paint these dark brown frames.  I went to the local hardware store and I chose a color close to Tiffany blue.  It reminds me of the beach and goes with the colors in my living room.  Next I got on Pinterest to decide what to put in those now adorable frames.  Somehow I came across a pin on using an inkjet printer and freezer paper to transfer an image onto fabric.  This gave me an idea.  I went to the craft store and bought some burlap, spray adhesive, and poster board. 

I cut the burlap and poster board to fit inside the frames, then sprayed the adhesive on the poster board so the burlap would stay put.

Next, I chose a quote and image I wanted to transfer onto the burlap and enlarged them in Microsoft Word.  It took me a while to figure out how to make a mirror image of the words, which I needed so that when I transferred the ink onto the burlap they would be facing the correct way.  After a lot of googling and clicking on buttons I finally figured it out.  You can get those instructions HERE.

Then I printed out the words, flipped over the freezer paper so that the ink was facing the burlap, and began rubbing on the back of the freezer paper with a spoon to transfer the ink to the burlap.  I continued doing this until all of the words and images were transferred.  You can get more detailed instructions HERE.

Finally, I stuck the burlap pictures into the frames and hung them on my wall.  They look so cute, and go along with the vintage mirror I painted the same color. Love.

Quick Guide: How to Change the Cover on your Pinterest Board

I never even thought to customize the cover of my Pinterest boards until I started really looking at other pinner's boards.  I just assumed that whatever pin you pinned first became the cover and that was just the way it had to be.  Boy, was I wrong!  You can change your cover page to fit your needs for each board on your Pinterest page by creating an image in Powerpoint and uploading it.  This is a great way to organize your boards and make them look awesome.   Here's how:

Step 1: In Powerpoint, use the shape tool to draw a rectangle.  At the top of the page there is a box labeled "Drawing tools."  Inside that box you will find a rectangle.  Click on the rectangle, then draw one on your slide.  The size does not matter, as you will be resizing it in the next step.

Step 2: Right click on the rectangle, and go to Size and Position.  You want to change your rectangle to the size that will fit in the area designated for the cover of your Pinterest board.  Once you right click, go down the list to "Size and Position" and click on that.  

Step 3: Change the size to a height of 2.04" and a width of 3.3".  Manually change the size of your rectangle to a height of 2.04" and a width of 3.3" by typing in those measurements.  

Step 4: Turn your rectangle into your cover page by designing it any way you choose.  Right click on the rectangle, then choose "Format Shape."

Step 5: Change fill color and line color to whatever you choose.

Here's what mine looks like so far. 

Step 6: Add a text box. To add a text box, first click on "Insert" at the top of the page, then "Text Box."  Draw your text box on top of your rectangle, then type your text. 

Step 7: Save the cover you just created as a picture.  Before you can save your image as a picture you must "select all."  At the top right you should see "Select" with a drop down menu that will give you the option to "Select All."  Once you have selected all, then right click on the image you just created and choose "Save as Picture."

Step 8: Upload your new cover page to Pinterest! To upload your new cover page, click on "Add a Pin."

Then choose "From your Device."

Once you have your image uploaded, you can go back in to the board and set it as your cover page. 

And that's it!  You are only limited by your imagination as far as creating eye catching covers.  Mine are still a work in progress, but if you want to see what I've been up to on Pinterest,  click HERE!

One last tip-if you prefer to use a background you created or purchased for your cover, instead of making a rectangle as your first step, copy and paste the background on to the slide, and then resize it to the dimensions mentioned above.  Then follow the rest of the steps.

Thanks for reading my tips on how to change the cover on your Pinterest board!  Please like my FACEBOOK PAGE and by TPT STORE.

Overload!!

I am feeling an extreme case of information overload!  Joining the TpT Seller's Challenge has been great for me.  I've gained the motivation to update my TpT store and products.  But I've learned there is so much more I could be doing to promote my store that I'm feeling extremely overwhelmed at this point.  One TpT friend said to come up with a "to do" list and to accomplish those goals one at a time. Good idea.  Here's my list:

TPT Seller's Challenge

Summer's here.  The days are long and lazy, and I can't seem to find the motivation to get things done when I don't have a schedule!  The TPT Seller's Challenge is just what I need to get myself in gear and get the work done on my store that I've been putting off all school year.

The first order of business in the challenge was to update one item in my store.  That was a LONG, and arduous task, but with the help of some other TPTers I was able to update many things in my store, with the hopes of having everything updated before summer is through.  Here are the results of my first makeover.

For week 2 I really needed to think about WHY I have a TPT store.  What are my goals?  What are my dreams?

Take Trips  I really want to travel.  I've always wanted to visit every state in the USA.  I would love to go to other countries.  I want to take a big trip to Disney World before my kids grow up.  I want to experience new things in different places.  I want to LIVE before I die.  Originally the plan was for my husband and I to wait until we retire to do all of these things, but life is too short to wait for retirement.  It is my hope and dream that the profits from my TPT store can supplement the trips I hope to take in the near future.

Debt Free  I would LOVE to be debt free, or at least have less debt.  Paying off my husband's student loans and my car would make a big difference in our finances.

College Savings  I was fortunate enough to have my college paid for by my parents.  I am concerned I will not be able to do that for my 2 children.  I do not want them to have the burden of paying off student loans like we are with my husband's loans.  It would be nice to have enough saved up to pay for their college education.

So that's it for week 2!  I'm going to continue updating my store and getting new products out there.  I am loving this challenge and am learning so much from other TPTers.  I can't wait to see what week 3 is all about!

Thanks to these gals for setting up the challenge:

Amber: http://www.peppyzestyteacherista.com/…/tpt-seller-challenge…
Ashley: http://www.teachcreatemotivate.com/…/dare-to-dream-tptselle…
Emily: http://www.thirdinhollywood.com/…/tpt-seller-challenge-week…
Jen: http://sparklinginsecondgrade.blogspot.com/…/tpt-seller-cha…