Pinterest Flower Ring {DIY}

I know I am not very good at this blogging thing, but I actually have an excuse this time. My trusty laptop has finally quit on me. Being a newly wed and teacher, doesn't leave a lot of money just laying around for a new laptop. :)  We are using my husband's net-book as our home computer, but it is super small and a little slow, so blogging hasn't sounded like fun.  

My husband brought home a laptop from work this weekend, so I thought I'd share with you my latest craft project. I had some scrap fabric and an old ring just laying around, so I thought I'd make a little "Pinterest Inspired" ring from this {flower tutorial Pin}

I cut out a 1" flowers from black chiffon fabric (8 total), 1" circles from black tulle (5 total), and a 1/2" circle from felt.

 I folded the flowers into quarters and hot glued them to the the middle of the felt square. I did 2 layers of the chiffon and then a layer of the tulle and finished with a couple of the chiffon pieces on top. 

When I was done, I glued the felt circle to the ring. 

When I was finished, I thought it needed a little something, so I glued an old button to the center. 

Ta-da! 

A Preschool Christmas...

I figured it's about time I update you on what is happening in my preschool classroom.  If you are a parent of one of my students you have seen some of these things and some of them you have not. If you read this, you have to promise me that you will act surprised at the things you have not yet seen. Deal?

So... without further ado, I present Christmas in Preschool. 

The Bulletin board. 

It says "Do you know his name?" and then lists the names of Jesus from Isaiah 9:6 which just happens to be the verse we're learning. :) 

The gifts we made for our parents.  We talked about how Christmas isn't just for getting, it's for giving.  So we made something to give.  

These are the gift bags I found at walmart for $.25!  I punched holes in them and I'll tie ribbon through them once the kids put the ornaments in them.  I had them color these cute tags to add a little more of a personal touch {parents love that stuff... or so I'm told ;)}

So, that's what we have for now.  Next week we will have a little birthday party for Jesus and hopefully I'll remember to take pictures and share them.  

Merry Christmas!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds... Our new favorite

Now, before you decide not to read this post because you don't like roasted pumpkin seeds, hear me out.  I am not a pumpkin seed lover.  I remember trying them a few times when I was a kid, but was never a big fan... until now.  

I found this recipe on my new addiction...time-waster...Pinterest (feel free to follow me!).  I was planning on making them and taking them in to my class to let my kiddos try them.  

You can go to the original blog post here.

I started with rinsing my seeds to get most of the pumpkin goop off of them.  Then I drained them and let them dry on paper towels over night. 

They stuck to the paper towel a little bit, but I just peeled them off and put them in a bowl. I had almost 2 cups.  I put all the seeds in a bowl, then mixed the seasonings together.   

3 Tbs butter, melted

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

3 shakes garlic salt (this cracked me up when I read it!)

3 shakes onion powder

*If you are an exact measure kind of person, just let it go for this one recipe :)

Then I poured the mixture over top and stirred until all the seeds were covered.

I preheated the oven to 250 degrees and lined my baking sheet with foil (this made for easy clean-up!). I placed the seeds in an even layer on the baking sheet and popped them in the oven. I stirred them every 20 min and baked them for a little over an hour.  Next time, I'll probably let them go a little longer.  They were not quite as dark as I wanted them. You may need more or less than an hour depending on your oven. 

Here is the finished product. They tasted like chex mix and were delicious!

In just a few hours the bowl looked like this... needless to say, my kids didn't get to try them. oops! ;)

Happy Fall!

Popcorn...

Today is a first for me.  I am going to post my first DIY project recipe.  Today, I'm tackling microwave popcorn!

So as I was surfing my some different blogs today, and I discovered you can make your own microwave popcorn!  Of course, after reading it I just had to try it myself.  I am not a HUGE popcorn lover, but I do enjoy an occasional bowl.  I prefer to have it made in a popper instead of just the store-bought microwaveable bag, so this seemed like it could be a good alternative.  

So, without further ado... 

**drum roll please**

...and in true blogger fashion... 

I bring you Microwave Popcorn! 

Although, a true blogger would post pictures along with the instructions,  I decided my new "friend" Jessica went through all the work of taking pictures I'll just let you see hers here. :)

Here is what you need: olive oil, popcorn kernels, brown paper bag, toppings

1. place 1/4 to 1/2 cup of popcorn in a paper bag

2. add 1/2 to 1 tbs of olive oil to bag and shake it up

3. fold over the top of the bag a couple times

4. place in the microwave for about 2 minutes

5. pour into a bowl and add your toppings of choice

Voila! Popcorn!

I tested it out and had fun doing it!  I think it would be a fun thing to do with kids too.  

Here are a couple things I learned... 

1. I think 1/3 cup of popcorn would work best with the size of the paper bag. I did 1/2 cup and it was very full.  

2. I used 1/2 Tbs of oil, and it worked well. You could also make it without the oil, but then you miss out on the fun of shaking the bag! :) 

3. I cooked mine for less than 2 min and a few kernels were burned in the middle, but 95% of it was perfect!

4. Toppings... There are so many different things you could use.  I used parmesan cheese and a little bit of salt.  Some other ideas: butter and salt, dry  ranch dressing mix, m&m's, craisins, powdered cheese topping, garlic, cinnamon sugar, seasoned salt, taco seasoning, and I've even heard of lemon or lime juice (haven't tried that one yet) Go here for more topping ideas. 

Overall, I would give this project an A. :)