Friday, August 9, 2013

Time to Take This Show on the Road...to School

So, it's Back to School time!  Panic and chaos are constant.  Teachers everywhere hope its just a dream and we'll awake and its really just the 2nd week of June.  But, nope.  This is reality!

In the name of loveliness, I decided to add a little of it to my classroom.  For months, my teacher friends have been talking about making banners using book jackets.  I walked into their rooms this week and....follow through! They have the banners up and they're BEAUTIFUL!  I have also been talking about it...but haven't done it!  SHOCKER! Not, so much!  I'm kind of a procrastinator.  Any of my kind out there?! Can I get an amen?  BUT, I said, "procrastination will not get me this time!"

First, I gathered my book jackets.  Many are from books in my classroom.  Others are left from an awesome librarian friend who used to mail them to me from Orlando.  Yes, Charlene, I still have some left. 


The next step was to glue the jacket together.  I would not have thought to do this.  Meghan from A Carry-on and a Camera (one of the teachers I was talking about earlier) suggested the idea.  And I'm glad I did!  It looks much neater. 

Then for the fun part...HOT GLUE!  I LOVE using hot glue guns!  I don't know why.  Maybe its the smell.  Maybe its the fact that for so many years of my life it was a "grown-up" tool and now I'M a "grown-up."  But, whatever the reason, its one of my favorite crafty tools to use. 


Anyone else have a favorite go-to item???....double-sided tape, sharpies, rubber cement....???  I'd love to hear about it!

So, hot-glued the back of each book jacket to ribbon (left-over from my wedding over a year ago...we have ribbon coming out of our ears here at home!  Hey, maybe ribbon is your thing!)


And that was pretty much it!  The banner or bunting....I read that somewhere.  Bunting sounds fancier!  Here is the finished product:





 I'm so loving the way the bunting turned out!  As you can see, I made 3 smaller sections instead of one long strip.  I'm loving the little bit of beauty I added to my classroom.  Maybe this will make me more excited for school to start....or maybe not!  Either way, its pretty and it makes me smile!  And teacher-bonus....maybe it will get my kiddos excited to read those books!

14 comments:

  1. Love It! But I can say that I am very jealous! I'm on that train to make the book banner, but my glue gun (hopefully) is at school and I didn't want to buy another one just to make the banner! But yours looks great! Can't wait to make my own! Yay for you!

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    1. You can do it, too! Can't wait to see yours!

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  2. I am loving this. A wonderful idea, I may steal this :) The kids will love this. Excited to see more pictures of your room. Adore the quiet zone. My favorite classroom item is "post-its", all colors, shapes, and sizes.

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    1. Please, steal it!!! I certainly didn't come up with the idea! If you search, Pinterest, you'll see a lot of cute examples!

      AND post-its!! YES!! LOVE them!!!!!! Just bought three 5-packs for the start of the year!

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  3. That turned out really nicely. I'm definitely not of the "crafty" variety, so my walls are primarily populated with posters (guess double-sided tape is my thing). This looks really cool, though. I might have to try something with book jackets.

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    1. Hey, there's nothing wrong with "pre-made" stuff! Glad someone else out there loves putting stuff on the walls...posters count!

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  4. Shelley, yes, I can be a procrastinator at times, too! Usually it is because I am waiting for an ample block of time, until I realize I just have to jump in, because that block of time isn't going to happen!

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    1. AMEN!! I'm always waiting for that elusive block of time that never comes!

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  5. That bunting is very cute! I think it would look adorable over my classroom library. We will see if I ever get started on that project. The 'tool' that I am obsessed with is markers, especially Sharpies. I have a whole bin of my markers, but my Sharpies have their own private bin. I am sure I have a Sharpie in every color ever made. I get excited to buy them, even if I already have the colors... you can never have too many!!

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    1. You should totally try! It only took me 45 minutes to make! And yes, Sharpies should always have a special home of their own!

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  6. This is so cute! What a great idea!!! I always take those covers off anyways but never do anything with them. I love the idea of putting them on display for students to see so they have new ideas of books they can read but I also love that it adds a fun flair to your room. By the way you are not alone when using the "adult tools" ha-ha. I enjoy the glue gun too!

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    1. Glad to have another glue gun lover! You should try to make the bunting with those jackets.

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  7. Thanks Shelley for linking back to my blog! I felt so special. It was so hard actually gluing the covers, but once that was done, it's exciting! Looks great in your classroom and your kids will love it. Keep creating loveliness.

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  8. Oh, I will! And thanks for the inspiration!

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