What a great message for this month! It's such a great reminder that despite any hardships we face, not just the ones in our families, we can turn to Christ.
Hope you all are having a great General Conference Weekend. My husband and I are having a great time. We made breakfast together. We had french toast, scrambled eggs, and hot chocolate. Yum! Plus it's grey outside, a perfect day for staying at home snuggled up in your pj's. I plan on creating a few General Conference memes, so stay tuned for those. Reading through this month's message, there were two quotes I was touched by. So instead of picking a favorite, I did both.
If you've noticed, there's a lovely watermark on the image. Well, folks, I want people to come to my site. So therefore, if people want to download my printable, they need to come to my site to do it. It's still free, its just not as easily accessible. Just click on the titles above for your free download. It's a png, but I can give it to you in PDF format, just let me know through my Contact Form.
Thank you for coming to visit. If you love what I do, please subscribe. It's at the top and the bottom of the page. You can also follow me on Facebook or Pinterest. Stay tuned for more inspiring quotes.
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This is a follow-up post for my DIY - PVC Pipe Stand. In that post, I wrote how I created a classroom background for my job at VIPKIDS with PVC Pipe and Fabric. I’ve had an overwhelming number of you express interest in this project, it’s so great! Please continue to ask questions if you have any, I’d be happy to help.
In this post, I’ll be sharing how I use this to create backgrounds for my classroom. That’s right, I’ve created multiple backgrounds!
This one here is my very first background. It’s featured in my intro video (parents are able to choose their teacher and we must post photos, an intro video, and a short message for them to get to know us so they’ll pick us). I made the clouds a long time ago for an "UP" themed party from this site (unfortunately, the link on that site to the printable clouds doesn't work... you can just as easily find cloud clipart and make your own printable). Then cut out rain drop shapes with blue card stock paper free hand. Then I stick it onto the fabric with Scotch tape. Very simple, but hey, it works!
Due to the nature of my classroom set-up, if I want a student to always see their secondary reward, I have to put it up on my background. So what I’ve decided to do was create different themes and have a few rewards that go along with the theme. For the rain background you see above, I’m planning on dressing Dino with a raincoat, hat, boots, umbrella, etc. I haven’t made this yet, so stay tuned. Another background I’ve done with my clouds is that I’ve gotten rid of the rain drops and put up airplanes or balloons. I try to make sure I have a boy-centered reward and a girl-centered reward.
I start with just the clouds in the background and then slowly build up the background as I reward the student. After a while, you get a feel of where the airplanes go so you can see them on the screen.
Because of limited storage space and the nature of my classroom, I have to set-up and put away my classroom everyday I teach. I wake up a half hour before classes start to get ready. Setting up the stand, fabric, and background decor can take about 5-8 minutes (depending on which background I use).
I like the freedom of being able to pick and choose which backgrounds I use. For me, it helps keep things fresh that way I can be the best teacher possible.
Of course after a while, the tape loses its stick and I’ll have to replace the tape. But that is something I am OK living with. I’ve contemplated using Velcro and having some standard places I keep them up, but I’m not sure I want to make that commitment yet. I feel that once I place the Velcro onto the fabric, it can ruin the cute look of my fabric. Also, I won’t have as much freedom in what I want to do with my background and it can be expensive as I make more rewards... So many things to consider! Next time, I’ll post my night sky background and what cute/fun rewards I have for that background. Afterwards, I’ll share my standard classroom with a banner I created for my room. If you’d like to see these in the future, I won’t be posting them on any VIPKID Facebook group. Some groups don’t want me to and I feel the purpose of those pages isn’t to promote my blog. Join my Facebook page, CallCrafts (there’s a cute picture of me sipping a mug) or my Pinterest page. Eventually, I’ll set up an email subscriber list you can sign up for. *Edit: I have just recently opened a mailing subscribing list. Please continue to scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up!* Want more tricks? Check out my new post: My VIPKID Classroom Upgrade. You'll love it!
P.S. If you think this will be a fun job to join, I’d love to help you through the interview process. You can email me with the mail icon below for any questions. My referral code (for when you apply) is: 04A7J3
I've recently joined a company called, VIPKids. For those who haven't heard of this company, I stay home teaching kids in China how to speak English through video conference. It's been a great opportunity and I've been having so much fun.
I teach kids ages 5-12 and I have to provide my own props. These include toys, stuffed animals, and rewards. With everything I'm going to do to make my classroom fun, I'm going to be sharing here on my blog. Starting with this PVC Pipe Stand my husband and I created for my classroom. Here we go!
When I say, "classroom" I mean the background the students see during my lessons. They want teachers to create a welcoming, educational environment. They don't want the students to see your house. Makes sense. I could have easily used my laptop to teach and then just set up some space against a wall, however, my husband has a REALLY comfy chair, a nice headset, and his computer is connected to the ethernet (in order for conferences to work, and to get the job, you need a headset and good running internet).
After some debate, my husband and I agreed using his computer would be the best option for this job. Plus my husband is a gamer and he's always wanted a green screen. It was a great compromise.
The size of the frame will depend on what size you need. We needed something 5'x4'. So the first step is to measure. How big does it need to be to do the job? I found a photo from Bible Money Matters with a blueprint I based my stand on. I just changed it so it fitted the size I needed.
We only needed to buy 3 pipes for the job. We asked someone to cut the pipes there and we were on our way! The pipes and joints cost us $16 (as I am not a professional and just writing about my experience, this may not be the amount you will pay). Next we needed fabric. We bought a green fabric for the green screen and a fun, yellow fabric for my classroom background. In my research, I read that any kind of green will do, but the more obnoxious it is, the better. We also bought white fabric to place behind our colored fabric. This is to prevent people seeing through the fabric, makes the colors more solid. I use this stand to create a temporary wall while I teach and I don't want them to see through it to my living room. Assembling the stand was easy, once we were able to get the sizes we wanted. Then because I don't have a sewing machine, I safety pinned the white and colored fabric together. Ghetto, I know, but I'm the only one who sees it. So who cares!! Origionally, I was planning on clamping the fabric onto the frame with A clamps. But they were hard to manipulate. It was a huge hassle to put it up day in and day out. So here's what I did instead:
I roughly measured how much fabric I needed for the width and cut off the excess. Then I took the pipe that would hold the hanging fabric and measured how much I needed to create a loop. This is where I'd push that top pipe through, having it hang effortlessly. Then I safety pinned it together.
I didn't pin right at the corners because I wanted the fabric to cover the edges of the stand, so the pins on the edge are further in. Then I bought Velcro with an adhesive back. I taped it into the fabric and then onto the pipe.
And now set-up and takedown only takes a couple of minutes. Super easy. Now with this background, I have the freedom to change it however I want. I currently have two backgrounds I'll use regularly and am working on a third, "standard" background. One of them is a rainy day background and the other is a starry sky. With these, I can incorporate student rewards into my background. Like put up rockets and aliens for the starry sky background.
In future posts, I'll be sharing backgrounds I've created and how I use them in my classroom. Thanks for reading. Follow me on Facebook or Pinterest. I'll keep posting fun ideas!
P.S. If you think this will be a fun job to join, I’d love to help you through the interview process. You can email me with the mail icon below for any questions. My referral code (for when you apply) is: 04A7J3
Ha. I'm so punny.
This craft came to be because I needed something tall-ish for my bathroom. We moved to a new apartment and the countertop is long. Believe me, I love the space, but it needed a little something or it would end up looking empty and lame. I let the idea marinate in my mind for a month or two to figure out what I wanted there. Soon I decided I wanted flowers with a couple of pieces next to it in the corner. Great. How to get a vase that isn't expensive and something I like. I don't know, but I don't really like the vases I kept finding at craft stores. Some of them are too elaborate for me, others aren't the shape I'm looking for, and then others just cost too much money. One day, I was at Walmart, getting some things I needed. I had the time and energy, so I decided to look around and see if I could find anything I needed for my crafting projects (yea, I keep a to-do list of craft projects, and things I need for them, on my phone). First I found these beautiful flowers and grabbed two stems. With these flowers, I decided I needed a tall, skinny vase to go along with it. So I turned around and looked at the vases available. Then I found the bottomless wine bottle. It was the perfect height and width. The only problem was it was a clear bottle. I wasn't fond of the idea that you could see the stems of these flowers. But then I thought, what if I just painted the bottle? I did a quick search online and found several different ways people had done it and found a method I liked. This is the method I will share in this post. This project is simple, but a little time consuming. But all you do is take the color pain you want and spread the paint all through the inside of the bottle. Most people tip the bottle around until the paint covers the entire bottle. That took a little too long for me, so I simply grabbed my brush and spread the paint around. This is one benefit of having a bottomless bottle.
Then you tip the bottle over and let it dry. This took a couple of days because I had the bottle standing right up, so the part that needed to get dry wasn't because it was covered. After a couple of days, I got smart and flipped it over and it dried in a couple of hours.
And done!! Still love this piece and the flowers that go with it. See how well they compliment the counter? It really adds to it. I also added a little twine bow for extra cuteness. So easy and this project cost me $5. Thanks for reading, for more craft ideas, follow me on Facebook or Pinterest. I'll set up a subscriber email soon, don't worry. This is still a new blog.
I've finally created and posted this month's Visiting Teaching Message! Better late than never, right?
What a great message this month! It's so amazing how the power of the Atonement can change our hearts to make us more like Christ. This is the quote I selected for this month. Expect Harmony - Sept. 2017
It's so true! When you follow the commandments, everything in life seems to come together. Click on the title above to download a PDF version of this design.
Thanks for following! Stay in tune for future posts!
I have the cutest baby ever! A few weeks ago, he turned one month old. And he'll be two months old next Saturday (holy cow! Where did the time go?!).
Of course I have to take those monthly photos and share them on FB, but I thought, I'd really like to design my own stickers. So I made these. I choose to feature a monkey on these stickers because of his "monkey" toes. He can spread them out so wide and the curl them up so tight that he could probably grab something with his toes. I found this design on Miss Kate Cuttables. I am not receiving an financial compensation for this information, just simply sharing where I received my clipart. So after I created the design, I printed them out on printable sticker paper. I got mine at Hobby Lobby. Just make sure it's a plain sheet that it isn't made for a specific shape. Then you cut them out and stick them on a plain onsie!! As I do not own the rights to the adorable monkey clipart on my sticker, I cannot distribute this design. But stay updated on more craft and designs.
Sorry I've been MIA. It's been SUCH a busy month! I've been adjusting to the duties of Motherhood, making sure I get enough sleep, and I applied for and was accepted as a teacher for VIPkids!!
I am soooooo excited to be a part of this company. I can still earn an income and be a SAHM. I am so lucky! I love being home with my son. And maybe one day I'll earn an income from blogging too. Baby steps...baby steps.
This project is easy to make. I found the idea on Pinterest, but I couldn't find a printable. All of the labels were handwritten. I have a confession to make, I don't have great handwriting. So I decided to design my own label.
When I created the printable, I printed it out, cut it out, and taped it onto the jar. See? Simple. It was a labor of love, as I gave this jar to my husband when it was finished. Below is the image of the printable. Just click on the title below the image to download. Enjoy!! Kisses from the Mrs. Jar Label |
About MeHello! My name is Char. Thank you for visiting my blog, CallCrafts. I am a wife and mother who LOVES to make things. Read tutorials on crafts I've created to decorate my home, for parties, and more! Read more about me in My Story.
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