Kindergarten

Woohoo!  It's almost summer!  I am so excited for the coming summer break! It has been a great school year for me-- full of new adventures, a lot of learning and growth! After seven years of teaching kindergarten, I offered to go to second grade this past year. I love second graders-- their "maturity" (well, compared to a kindergartener!), their humor and their helpfulness. I have really enjoyed the curriculum, too.  I found that I love teaching multiplication and division!  Who knew? :) Yet---  I am SO thrilled to find that next year I will be going back to kindergarten!  That is where my heart truly is. I really love teaching reading and writing from the very beginning. I love to see the growth and so many "aha" moments when literacy just clicks. I love being a part of helping those five year olds become real readers and writers.

These are pictures of my very first kindergarten classroom back in 2004. I had so much fun setting the room up and now I look forward to setting up my new kindergarten room. Don't get me wrong-- I am most definitely looking forward to summer break-- it is much needed, but there is something so special about kindergarten and I can't wait to get back there.

This scrapbook page was so easy to put together with CTMH's digital scrapbooking program. Let Studio J help you document your special memories!

Hugs,

Kristine

New York City!

It's been a while since Mike and I have been on vacation. We have a goal of paying off all of our credit cards before we do any pleasure traveling-- it has been a long road, but one I know will be so worth it in the long run. Anyway-- several years ago, for about five or six years in a row, my mom, my brother, Mike and I would travel to New York for a long weekend over the Memorial Day holiday. We would have a Broadway show marathon-- seeing about 5 shows in 3 days-- and also doing some great touristy sight seeing and eating at some fabulous restaurants. Such good times!  I can't wait until we are able to do that again! For me, there is nothing like the excitement and energy of the Big Apple. I do love my relaxing vacations too, but I really heart NY! 

These pictures were taken the year we visited the Empire State Building. We stayed at the Doubletree in Times Square and I believe we saw Spamelot, Wicked and a few other great shows. We ate at Norma's. Aquavit, the Carnegie Deli, and some other favorites. I love being able to just get out and walk everywhere! We did take a few taxis, and boy, those were thrill rides in themselves!  Where is your favorite place to travel to?

I used Studio J to put together these pages quickly. The layout is fairly simple-- but you can add as much or as little as you like with Studio J. I love how you can just drop the photos in and they are sized automatically. I do wish I had known about photo editing software when I made this, though-- I would have lightened up the photo in the top left corner!

Thanks 4 Everything...

I am an admitted Pinterest addict... I came across a quote a couple of weeks ago that made me chuckle. As a teacher, I am a little particular about spelling and grammar, and this little gem said, "BEFORE. B-e-f-o-r-e, not B4. We speak English, not Bingo." Hahaha! So true!! I cringe when I think of what texting is doing to our spelling habits (though I personally admit to being the Queen of Typos)!  Well, this little stamp, has the "4" instead of "for," but I have to say it's as cute as can be, and I love it in spite of-- or maybe even because of-- that little 4. :)

This card was a quickie-- still working on the thank you notes! I love the colors of the Cruisin' argyle paper, and I am crazy for gingham. The paper lace is a Close to My Heart product from when the company was called "DOTS!" It has little tiny heart punches along the middle. I think that there are some border punches out there in craft-store-land that offer a similar effect. The ribbon is also Close to My Heart. Did you recognize the big dots? Those are hand trimmed from the gorgeous Dotty for You paper. I think the one on the left needs a wee bit more glue to tack it down. I had a little red heart I was going to attach to the top left dot, but my husband convinced me that there was already a lot going on here, and maybe in this case, less would be more. Hmmm... he's probably right! :)

Materials:

Paper: Cruisin' Paper Pack, Dotty For You Paper Pack, Lagoon cardstock, Black cardstock
Ink: Archival Black
Stamps: W332 Wonderful You Incentive Set
Embellishments: DOTS Paper Lace, CTMH black gingham ribbon

Footloose

So... last night our air conditioner decided to just stop!  Now, it's early May, so we usually try to hold off putting the air on, but lately here in Georgia it is already getting hot. It was 85 degrees inside and almost 90 degrees outside. I was feeling a bit tropical, so I grabbed the Footloose paper and tried to make the best of it! :)

I'm still working on some "Thank You" notes and gifts for all of the wonderful ladies who help out in my classroom, so this one has the simple "thanks" sentiment and I'll add my own message inside. I used the cute little turtle from the Complements Dimensional Elements set and added some sparkles. I just love the colors of the Footloose papers-- the Lagoon and Sweet Leaf together are so cool and soothing (just what I needed with the sauna going on inside my house!). The Cricut AP Cartridge made cutting the patterned paper so easy. I was going for the effect of a little pond. How did I do? :)  Thanks for taking a peek! Our air is now fixed and we are all as cool as cucumbers over here-- hope you're staying cool too!

Materials
Paper: X7151B Footloose Paper Pack
Stamps: Say it in Style
Inks: Chocolate Exclusive Inks
Embellishments: X7151C Footloose Complements Dimensional Elements, Z1104 Clear Sparkles, White Daisy Grosgrain Ribbon

Dotty Thank You

Hello all!  I hope you all are well! I am so blessed to have this stamping and scrapping hobby of mine-- it keeps me sane :) and lets me feel a little creative! I also get to share the love with others!

As you know, I am a teacher, and this time of year, especially, I am so grateful for all of the help and contributions of time and resources that have been made to my classroom. This card is for one of the volunteers that comes in faithfully to help out. I love this "Thank You" stamp and the bright vibrant colors of the Dotty for You papers. I used the color ready wooden shapes some buttons and a little waxy flax to add some personality. I think the card turned out kind of cute-- I hope you do too!

Materials
Paper:  CTMH Dotty for You, Colonial White cardstock, Cocoa cardstock
Stamps: D1510 "4 My Friend"
Ink: CTMH Cocoa Exclusive Inks
Embellishments: Z1718 Color Ready Wooden Accents, Z1088 Waxy Flax, Z1358 Basic Assortment Buttons