TBT: Crafting!

Hey bloggers!

I'm linking up with the amazing Cara at The First Grade Parade for Throw Back Thursday! :)

I've been doing some crafting lately (the heat index has been over 100 in Illinois this week...too hot for this pregnant lady to be outside!). So here are a few sneak peak pics of my current crafts and then we will get to the throw back!

The first project I'm currently working on involves chalkboard paint! I love this stuff. I saw something on pinterest recently that they also make whiteboard paint?? I'll be looking into this...Anyway, no details on this project just yet but as soon as it is finished I'll post! All I'll say is that one of the items I'm making is decorative for me and the others are things that will be used in the classroom!

I also picked up some gray & white chevron shelf liner on Amazon. They currently have a deal going that if you buy 4 packs, you only pay for 3! {Check it out} There are lots of colors & patterns to choose from! I will be using these in the classroom for sure. I plan to use them on the inside back (does that make sense?) of my library bookshelves for some added pop! I also want to use this to dress up my filing cabinet drawers! Unfortunately, my room isn't finished being cleaned so I have to wait another week or so on this project!

One last thing...have you seen the deal on Educents right now? You save $123 on a bunch of back to school items! It's being hosted by Freebielicious (there are only a few days left of this sale).

PLUS, if you sign up for the Educents mailing list right now, you can earn a $5 giftcard!! :)

Okay, now for the throwback part of this post {there's a freebie in it}!

Originally posted July 12, 2012

Hey all!

So, I made my bookshelf curtains today!! They didn't take long at all! I didn't follow any specific directions, because I had a pretty good idea of what I needed to do.

I joined the linky over at 4th Grade Frolics for Made it Monday!

So, I bought 2 yards of this ADORABLE fabric ($7) at Wal-mart. I love it! Rainbow Polka Dots...what could be better?!  And then 5 curtain rods ($14 total). They're nothing fancy, but they don't need to be. I'm only going to have 4 curtains but decided to get an extra rod, because I'm sure at some point I (or a child) will end up breaking one. So I'll just keep the extra one in the room.

I measured the width of the bookshelf opening and then doubled it so that I would have extra fabric for folding over and sewing the edges, as well as having extra to bunch up on the rod! Then I measured the height of the opening and added about 6 inches so that I would have extra fabric for folding over & sewing the bottom edge as well as folding over & sewing to create the opening on the top for the rod.

Like I said, these actually didn't take much time at all! The 1st one took the most time, since I was making it up as I went, but the other 3 went super fast. Total, it took about an hour and 15 minutes to make 4 of them. I made sure to pin & sew the 2 outsides and then pin and sew the top and bottom. If you make these, make sure you put the rod on the top of the fabric and fold it over to see how much extra you will need before sewing! You may want to pin the fabric with the rod inside and then slide it out when you're ready to sew. You can adjust how big/small the opening is by deciding how far down from the top you make your stitch! This is a picture of me sewing a side. I chose to just use a straight line stitch and back stitched on each end for extra support.

Here is a picture of the hole for the rod as well as the finished edges. I did the top fold last so that it would have smooth edges (from the sides already being folded over & stitched).

And the finished product!!

I love them! Unfortunately, I went into school last week and the classrooms were still a disaster and being cleaned. So I won't be able to go put these in yet. But I love how they turned out and know they will look great in my room. I'm planning on posting a "classroom tour" once we get closer to the start of school so you will get to see what my classroom looks like with these in there!

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Okay, thanks for sticking with me for this long post! As a reward, a freebie! Some divider pages for a daily teacher binder! Enjoy :)