Pages

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Vinyl ALL the Things!!!

I did it!  I bought a Silhouette Portrait!  2 months ago.  It sat in the box for awhile... a standoff of sorts.  I finally had this machine that I had coveted for years.  I may have entered every.  damn.  giveaway in the hopes of winning one.  {ahem}...  They have an amazing teacher discount by the way... you just send them a copy of your teaching license and VOILA!  Ok... back to the story.  So... the machine sat in the box for awhile... I was very overwhelmed with all the magical things that it could do... that I didn't know where to even start!  I finally opened that baby up in July and practiced cutting out letters on some scrapbook paper.  I think that I squealed with delight the first time it started cutting!  Once I got into back-to-school mode... I decided to upgrade my status to VINYL!!!  ...and let me just say that acceptance of your problem is the first step...  I am loving me some vinyl.  I am secretly thinking of all the different surfaces in my classroom that could use some sprucing up!  Well, maybe that's not a secret anymore.  Check out what I've done so far:
I vinyled (?) the corner of my desk with my Melonhead... and I'm kinda in love with it!!!
I made vinyl letters for the white board... that way all I have to do is write the date everyday...  it looks so crisp on the white!!!
More black vinyl on my white board... this is the area where I hang my I Can statements.  The best part about the Silhouette machines is that you can cut out letters using ANY font that you have on your computer!!!  (and I have a lot of favorite fonts)
I bought polka dot contact paper at Wal-Mart to cover the back of my bookshelves... and I had some left over.  Hmmmm, wonder if I could use the contact paper like vinyl with the same results.  I tried it and it totally WORKS... and it's a LOT cheaper!  I have a galvanized tub for my pillows (thank you Goodwill for pillows) and a galvanized tub for my clipboards.
I was so excited to get our class pet.  I did a grant through Petco and went to pick up Lulu the guinea pig last week.  I decorated her cage using white vinyl and a uber-cute guinea pig pic by Melonheadz!!!  Within about 5 minutes of having Lulu at our house, I had a severe allergic reaction... so no class guinea pig for us!  Lulu is now back with her family at Petco!  I will blog more about that later! {I know you can't wait!!}.

I have taken a TON of pictures while I've been working in my classroom.... but it will have to wait for another blog post.  Tomorrow is our 3rd day of school... and I need to hit the hay soon!  I hope that you guys have had a great weekend... talk to y'all soon!

13 comments:

  1. Looks great! I especially love your desk!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love it! I am borrowing a silhouette from a friend and it too is sitting in the box staring at me! I think it is time to break it out!
    Stacey
    Teaching Ever After

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love it all! I would love to have a silhouette!

    Rambling About Reading

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm a Silhouette user... How did you cut the Melonheadz design? Did you have to change it to a SVG file?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Mrs Harbron... this was my first time trying to cut out an image... I watched a youtube video to figure it out. I inserted the png of my Melonhead and used the trace feature to get it to be a usable Silhouette file. Is that what SVG is?

      Delete
    2. Thanks! :) I'm gonna try it! All your stuff is adorable!

      Delete
  5. I've heard so many good things about them but don't think I could possibly find any more spare time to take on something new. Everything you've done looks great!

    Lindsay
    For the Love of First Grade

    ReplyDelete
  6. You know that I am completely obessed with this? Right? I shared it on my Five on the Fifth post. Cause I love it. And it's so cute. And I really need it. Ahhh!!

    Megan

    I Teach. What's Your Super Power?

    ReplyDelete
  7. So fun! Nice job! You should try gerbils as a class pet. They are so easy to care for and super entertaining because they are not nocturnal! I can't wait to hear more about your pets! Good luck
    Laura
    First Grade Spies

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have a Silhouette CAMEO, and I absolutely love it {when I actually have time to use it}! :) Thank you for sharing your ideas! Your Melonhead rocks!

    Dawn

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am going to look up Silhouette Cameo now. Awesome. Sorry about the class pet. I had several pets for years. It does it old (quickly) to have to clean the cage every week!- Hope that and a clear head helps to get over it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can completely relate! I now have sayings and math measurements on my classroom walls along with all of my binders labeled with the vinyl. I found some vinyl at our local dollar store for $2/roll and it works great. The labels I put on the portable classroom doors last September (outside) are all still there!

    ReplyDelete