In Case You Wondered...

...*yes*... I do live with a teenage witch, Optimus Prime Jr., and a furry chicken:




(...when it's Halloween!)

I hope you had a spooktacular and boo-riffic time trick or treating!

C is for...

Cabinet full of Cubbies:


I first laid eyes on this treasure during my visit to Farmstead a few weekends ago, but in an attempt to "be good" while Dear Husband is away, I kept my pocketbook safely stored inside of my purse that evening.

I experienced NON-buyer's remorse every day after walking away from the repurposed cabinet... and I mean E-V-E-R-Y....s-i-n-g-l-e...DAY.  Hoping for a miracle, I emailed Sheila and inquired about the piece, and as it turns out, I was in for a dose of good Karma. Dear Husband bought it for me as an early birthday present.

Braving rain, a longer-than-usual drive, and after navigating unfamiliar neighborhoods, I arrived to find Craig and Sheila of Odd Folies ready to let me adopt my newest find.  Once I got it home, I was giddy as I opened each drawer, finding fun little dividers, and drawers of multiple depths:





What does a cabinet full of cubbies hold?  Crochet, candles, and cards, of course!










Many thanks to Sheila, Craig and Dear Husband for this awesome treasure!
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C is also for cupcake toppers (Vanessa created and shares them over at A Fanciful Twist)...

... and Halloween cocktails (check out the Black Widow Martini shared by Hostess With the Mostess)...

... with window clings (at Scribbit) rounding out our letter of the day!

Autumn in Oz

Yesterday was the perfect autumn day for a drive:

At D.'s suggestion, I went out in search of a "Gypsy Flea Market," driving down winding roads, through beautiful neighborhoods...

...and arrived at a clearing which led to a barn, full of hay bales and furniture, odds and ends, books, clinky-clanky jewelry, and home-baked goods.

At which point my camera promptly died.

I've gotten into such a habit of carrying it with me wherever I go that I keep forgetting to put it back on its charger each evening.  I'm glad it lasted long enough to capture some of fall's splendor.

A Marcrest divided bean bowl and two tussie-mussie holders did manage to come home with me, as did two folding rulers, but the beautiful drive was the real treat yesterday.

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After leaving the flea market, I explored Parkville, and quite by accident came across the most heavenly needleart store, "Florilegium."  Though not a knitter or fiber artist myself, I couldn't help but be inspired by the beautiful and tactile displays- and the cabinetry.... If I could have purchased some of their old pharmacy drawers and cabinets I would have!  Click through the sub-categories on this page to see some more photos of the shop... oh, the ribbons, the beads, the studios!

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I'm three posts away from my 600th blog entry!

To celebrate I'll be updating my blogroll (right hand side- remember, the categories follow kindergarten/teacher themes, though not all links are to other educators' blogs...for example "Snacktime/Lunch won't take you to sites featuring healthy snacks for students, but will take you to some awesome foodie blogs that inspire me on a regular basis!) and figuring out a fun giveaway that all of my readers (and especially those following my blog) can participate in by simply leaving a comment.  Check back for details!

Being Boo'd...

... can be such a *fun* experience!




Carson-Dellosa Publishing shares its teacher version of this sneaky-fun all-treats-no-tricks activity, offering both color and black and white versions of the "boo note" as pdf's here.

(Psst, they're also having a 75% off clearance sale!)

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HOW TO BOO:

It’s a fun little game that’s easy to do. You could make someone’s day and share a treat, too!

1.       Log on to www.carsondellosa.com/boo and print out two copies of the “You’ve Been Boo’d!” Ghost PDF.

2.       Prepare two Halloween goodie bags filled with treats.

3.       Secretly leave the “You’ve Been Boo’d” Ghost and a bag of treats for two teachers in your school.

4.       Pass this posting on to your teacher friends at other schools.

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~Jen at Simply Inspired shared her Boo goodie bags in a post from a year go....

~Bright Ideas shares a version large enough for an entire family (or grade level!)...

~ But the cutest You've Been Boo'd candy container has to be Frankenstein!  He was created using a repurposed Almond Roca container and scrapbook paper over at The Ice...

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Batty for Skelanimals

Target, once again, partners with awesome Halloween mascots...this time, Skelanimals.

And yes, I think the bat, "Diego," is adorable.




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~ A cute handprint bat craft idea can be found at DLTK's Growing Together...


~ 4 Crazy Kings shares a folded paper bat pattern with google eyes- it's adorable too!

My Teacher Humor, a.k.a. "It's Obvious that I'm Easily Amused"

... because I'm seriously considering bundles of these (or combo-bundles with some of each) as Halloween treats this year:





Never fear, I'll let this sugar rush pass before I decide whether or not these will be passed out to trick-or-treaters or if I'll just leave them for other teachers in the teachers' lounge...

You are what you eat.

~*wink*~

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Looking for easy and fun Halloween crafts for your students?  Head over to MyHealthySchool.com to find instructions for spiders and bats made out of egg cartons, milk jug pumpkins and ghost wind socks...

Move through the slideshow at Country Living to find the cutest candied apples and candy corn-inspired cookies....

Ramblings of a Crazy Woman shares a recipe for INEDIBLE pumpkin pie play dough...

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Not allowed to wear traditional costumes for Halloween at your school?  Why not host a dress-up day featuring characters from favorite stories, fairy tales and poems?

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Farmstead Fun, Autumn Bliss

It's autumn... and the end of the first quarter of school... and we've happily decorated our house for Halloween...

How to spend a Friday evening?

At Farmstead's Farm Festival!



Like-minded crafty friend D. found the event's details online, and with a not-too-subtle-arm-twisting, convinced me to join her for a trip to Missouri.

Thanks to my trusty GPS, we arrived with plenty of time to spare, scoring a free gift bag, coupons and goodies to enjoy!



A wooded ranch with gently sloped hills was the perfect spot for vendors and shoppers alike~ I was glad I wore flat shoes! We walked up a dirt path toward the carriage house, barn, and outbuildings:





Featured along the path were vignettes created by craftily creative shops and artisans. First, a rusty shopping cart filled with autumnal goodies:



... a spooktacular candle tree:



... and of course D. and I appreciated the nod to Oz:





Every shoe lover enjoyed "Soles for Souls":



...but it was the treasures to be found in the barn, stables, and sheds that made us imagine new possibilities for our own home decor:



This is how I'd love to go camping:




... and though surrounded by burlap, hay, pumpkins, and gourds, even divas and royalty could find goodies to please:



Blinged-out boots anyone?



Letter love...



Sweets, treats, and Halloween essentials:





... and a jack-o-lantern guide to help us home again:



*~Sigh~*

It was autumn ~*bliss*~.

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Check Kelly's post "Back to the Farm" to enjoy photos of the glorious interiors in the carriage house!

Witchy Goodness

Dear Daughter had the day off from school today, so she spent time with me and my Super Stars in kindergarten. After sorting through my sticker stash, she found inspiration from an old Hallmark sticker shaped like a witch. Being a true "teacher's kid," she knew exactly where to find our school die cut machine and colored construction paper to mock up this simple Halloween art project.

While your scrap bin is the perfect place to find the bits and pieces necessary to assemble the witch, here's what we used to create the finished product above:

Background: brown construction paper (the big stuff...12X18 inches)

Face and hand: green construction paper (circle die cut- ours cuts both a large and a small circle with one punch; large=face, small=hand)

Witch's hat: purple construction paper (triangle die cut)

Hat brim: black construction paper; 3/4 inch by 6 inches

Witch's dress: purple construction paper; square die cut template cut in half to make a triangle shape. The right angle point is her rear end.

Witch's arm: black construction paper; 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inches

Broomstick: black construction paper; 1 inch by 9 inches

Twiggy ends for broomstick: black construction paper; 1/2 inch by 4 inches, three pieces per child.

Crescent moon: yellow construction paper, drawn and cut freehand.

Use a black crayon or marker to make the witch's hair, facial features, legs and feet. Use a white crayon or dab of paint (a white-out pen works great!) to highlight the eyes, hair and legs.

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~ Martha shares I Scream Sandwitches....

~ More witchy goodness can be found over at owlsorts' post "Black and White and Dread All Over..."

When the Web Isn't Available...

...I end up hiding away making banners!

Not sure why we had "an outage" in my neck of the woods, but the down time from the Internet gave me *extra* time at my craft table.

Funny how that works out, eh?

Halloween pennants with three dimensional glitter spiders:



...and a baby banner for a colleague:







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The spider banners ended up draped across our webby branches in the foyer:

Pattern Jacks

Why not integrate some Halloween fun into a math unit on patterns?

My classroom aide cut out pumpkins, black construction paper, and streamers:



After a quick review of AB and AAB patterns, my Stars used the streamers to decorate the bottom of each pumpkin with an ABC pattern:





The black construction paper was used for triangle eyes and silly smiles for our jack-o-lanterns:







The Stars then added a short strip of green fiesta fringe (purchased at Michael's) for the stem:



Now "pattern jacks" greet us each day when we come to class!