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!