Monday Made It: Painted Wine Bottles

I am back again linking up with 4th Grade Frolics' Monday Made It! Andddd this time I have something that I actually made! 

Good ol' Pinterest has gotten me obsessed with the painted wine bottles and Mason jars. Luckily, I just so happen to love wine....so I had a few empty wine bottles laying around :) I should know by now that nothing that looks easy actually is easy, but I really thought painting some bottles and jars would be. The tutorials I read all said it would be! Well.....after multiple attempts I finally figured it out! Below is the link to my original inspiration. 

To start this project I soaked the bottles and jars in warm water to make it easier to peel off any labeling. I then used a scratch pad to get any extra glue off. Make sure the bottles are completely dry before you get started. The paint I chose was just el cheapo acrylic paint from Walmart. The hardest part was deciding what color to choose! I used an old yogurt cup to mix the paint and water in. Now this is where it took me multiple tries....one post I read said to mix the paint with a little water. By little they mean like hardly any! The first couple of times I put in way too much water and then the paint didn't stick to the jars. So be sure to just put a few drops of water in with the paint and mix it together. Next up, pour the paint into the jar or bottle. The yogurt cup I used made it easy to pour, even into the wine bottle. I also looked at a couple tutorials that said to use a funnel or paint syringe. Once you have poured in the paint, hold the bottle or jar horizontally and slowly rotate it around to get the paint to fully cover the jar. After you have done this, set the bottles upright to let any extra paint drip out and then let dry over night! Use a wet paper towel to wipe away any paint that dripped onto the outside of the bottle. There you have it! Here are some pictures of my final products!

Has anyone else tried this? I thought it might be cute to put some sort of vinyl saying around the jars? Any other suggestions how to make these even cuter??

What projects have you been working on?

A Peek at My Week!

I'm linking up with Jennifer from Mrs. Laffin's Laughings for her Peek at My Week linky. It has been a while since I have participated in this linky so I'm excited to be back!

I don't have a single thing planned for the next couple of days so I plan on getting started on some projects I have been wanting to do!

First up I have been wanting to paint some wine bottles and Mason jars that I have been collecting. I have pinned so many posts on this so I'm hoping mine turn out like these: 

I cleaned my house before I left for vacation and then I got back and dumped my stuff everywhere sooooo I will be unpacking and cleaning up the mess I made!

The big project that I want to do for the week is change my bathroom floor.

The floor was just put when I moved into my house 4 years ago so it's in great condition, but its just not my style :( Hopefully next week I will have some pictures of the new floor!

Later in the week I am meeting up with a couple of coworkers for lunch! It will be good to catch up!

What are you up to this week? 

Technology Thursday: Newsela and Winners!

Today I am linking up with The Teaching Trio for their Technology Thursday linky!

Have you heard of Newsela? My students and I love this site! This site is full of kid friendly news articles! It has the most current world happenings and you can even choose the grade level you want the article displayed! We start each morning with a current event and the students usually beg for more! The site also allows you to give each student their own account. This is great because a lot of the articles have interactive quizzes that the students can complete once they are done reading. On the teacher account you can track the articles the students have read and the quizzes they have taken. Oh and did I mention that it is FREE?! Check out a few snapshots from the site:

Have you used Newsela in your classroom? If so, how do you use it?

And now onto the winners from my little giveaway yesterday!  Suzanna, Lori, Lisa, and Lovely Nina all guessed that I am in Denver and they are correct! I will be emailing you all later tonight! Thanks to all who played along! 

Wordless Wednesday: Giveaway!

Today I am linking up with Miss DeCarbo at Sugar and Spice for her Wordless Wednesday linkup! 

As of last night, I am officially on vacation!! I have been looking forward to this vaca with my BFF for weeks now! The photo below is from where we ate last night. The restaurant has been featured on Diners,  Drive-Ins, and Dives and let me tell you it was delicious! 

Can you guess what city I'm in?? Comment below with your guess and for those of you who guess correctly I will choose one or maybe even more of you to pick a product from my TpT store! 

Two for Tuesday: "I Can" Statements and "I Have, Who Has" Bundle

I am loving all of these linky parties in the summer! It is keeping me motivated to post more often! Today I am linking up with The Teaching Tribune and their Two for Tuesday party. This party  allows you to get some good deals on TpT. Bloggers put up two of their TpT products for 50% off for the day. 

Today I am putting up two of my favorite products....4th and 5th grade Common Core "I Can" Statements and my "I Have, Who Has" Science Game Bundle!

This past year our principal asked us to post the standards that we would be teaching that week. I was not thrilled about this and figured it would be a total pain in the butt! Believe it or not, I ended up liking this idea. Posting the standards that I was teaching each week really held me accountable for what I was teaching and also helped the students know exactly what I expected from them. Below are the "I Can" statements that I created. 

Next up are my science "I Have, Who Has" games. I have posted about these before, but they really are my students' favorite games. I love "I Have, Who Has" games because it forces everyone to pay attention or the game doesn't work. The games are a great review!

Checking out The Teaching Tribune for more great products listed for half off today!

Monday Made It: Mason Jars

I look forward to Mondays and seeing everyone's Monday Made It's in the summer. I get so many good ideas from all of you bloggers. My list of DIY projects grows and grows every Monday!

This is pretty pathetic on my part, but I'm going to share something my mom made that I thought was cute because.....wellllll I have done nothing that is share worthy!

My mom has a slight obsession with Mason jars, so when her friend asked her to help make some table decorations for her wedding reception, my mom was excited to get out the Mason jars!

She wrapped the jars with a burlap fabric, tied a bow around, and then added a tag with cute little saying at the top. Simple but cute :)

What cute things have you made lately? Link up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics!

Sunday Smorgasbord: Wedding Weekend!

I am linking up with Michelle at Fabulous in First for her Sunday Smorgasboard linky for the first time! Just a warning....this post is not educational at all, I just wanted an excuse to post some pics from my fun weekend!

My cousin Matt got married this weekend to his beautiful bride, Andrea. I have been looking forward to their wedding for months! I love it when the whole family is able to get together. My brother and cousin even made their way back from California.The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time! I can't tell you the last time I danced so hard! We even got a surprise visit from Tommy Hawk, the Blackhawk's mascot. 

In lieu of gifts Matt and Andrea asked for donations to Cal's Angels foundation. I was really touched by this. How many young married couples do you know that choose to not register for gifts, but instead ask for support towards a charity that has a lot of meaning to them?? What a cool couple! Cal's Angels is a foundation that helps grant wishes for children battling cancer. If you want to learn more about it click on the picture below. 

And now for some pictures from the wedding! 

The cousins!

Party bus!

My sis and I with Tommy!

My dad and grandma :)

Mama Bear and Papa Bear <3

Me and my siblings!

Spark Student Motivation: Rock Cycle Cookies

It has been a LONG time since I have linked up with Head Over Heels for Teaching's Spark Student Motivation linky, but now that I'm on summer break I'm excited to have time to share some of the activities we did towards the end of the year!

In college I took a geology class to get my science endorsement and as boring as I thought it would be, I was totally wrong. The professor was this crazy, old guy and he actually made learning about boring rocks pretty entertaining. So because of him I now enjoy teaching our rock unit!

I was lucky enough to get a bunch of rock samples thanks to Donor's Choose. I wish I had pictures to show you, but I don't :(. The students really enjoyed getting to look at samples of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks as they learned how each are formed. I also made up a silly rock song that goes to the tune of  "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, which the kids always enjoy singing. Maybe one of these years I will actually record my students singing it to share with you all so you can teach it your students too!

The best part of our rock unit this year came from a student! One of my student's grandmas used to be a teacher and she always made rock cookies for her students and asked if she could make them for us! This was the coolest thing! She brought us cookies to represent sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. 

I'm sorry these pictures are so bad but the sedimentary "rock" is a layered rice crispy treat... one layer of Fruity Pebbles, one layer of a marshmallow cream, and then one layer of regular Rice Crispies. The igneous rock is a fudge with some different crystal type sprinkles, and the metamorphic rock is a brownie with different candy pieces mixed up in it. The students were given tooth picks and went to town dissecting their cookies to figure out which cookie represented each type of rock. The students LOVED this activity and it showed that they really did understand how each type of rock is formed. 

What activities do you use to motivate your students? Link up with Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching! 

Pin It To Win It Winner!

And the winner of my "I Have, Who Has" science game bundle is......Chelsea M. Chelsea if you can leave me a comment with your email address, I will email you your prize! 

For those of you who did not win, I am putting my game bundle on sale for half off today only! Click on the picture below to head to my TpT store if you are interested!

"I Have, Who Has" Science Games-Pin it to Win it!

I finally finished updating all of my "I Have, Who Has" Science Games! My students love these games and they are perfect for reviewing before a test. I'm doing a pin it to win it for this set of games and will choose a winner Sunday evening. All you need to do is click on the image to repin the product. Then leave a comment below with the link!

Have a great weekend!

Technology Thursday-Geography Drive USA

I am linking up today with the Teaching Trio for their Technology Thursday linky party to share a fun new app with you! 

I admit that I am about as cheap as they come and wouldn't normally spend money to download an app, but I splurged and spent $1.99 on this one. It was well worth it! 

If you teach 4th grade, you most likely spend a lot of time learning about the 50 states. This is the perfect review game for learning the states and capitals and just general information about each of the states. Students will take a drive across the United States stopping at each state to answer questions. When you answer enough questions correctly about the state, you "unlock" that state. The goal is to unlock all of the states. This game will keep students busy for a loooongggg time! The great graphics and music will definitely keep the kids engaged!

Here are some pics from the game!

What are some of your favorite educational apps?

Monday Meet Me!

I love all of the fun linky parties in the summer! I'm starting my second week of summer break and am finally feeling well enough to be outside and enjoy it! I had to miss the last day of school due to my stupid mono so I finally went to school today to clean everything up. I had all sorts of goodies left on my desk from my students! I was so sad though to see flowers that a student had left completely dead :(. Someone also left me a gift certificate for a mani/pedi! How cool is that! Unfortunately, I have no idea who it is from! 

Anyways, I am linking up today with The Teaching Tribune for their Monday Meet Me link up!

Stitch Fix Review #2

I'm officially on summer break and officially feeling human again. I was super sick about a week ago and turns out I have mono. What a great way to start summer! I'm finally feeling better and may even leave my house today! 

Since I have been cooped up at home on bed rest, I was more than excited when my Stitch Fix came! Click HERE for a link to my first Stitch Fix review and an explanation on what Stitch Fix is if you haven't heard of it! I'll spare you pictures of me in the clothes since I still look pretty sickly, but here is what I received!

I loved everything I got this month AND everything fit perfectly! Since I have been feeling pathetic lately I decided I might as well buy them all.....maybe it will cheer me up! I'm sure I'll regret it later when my credit card bill comes, but for now I'm going to enjoy it! I have to look good on my vacations coming up right??

If you have been wanting to try Stitch Fix out, you can click HERE and it will take you to my referral page. It's a fun little surprise to get each month!

I promise to be back soon with some actual educational posts!