paper sack bird's nests

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend... I can hardly believe that May is almost over.  Next week is my last week of school!  I will be starting kid's crafts on Fox 9 Monday June 3rd.
Last week we made paper sack bird's nests.  Start by cutting off a couple inches off the top of a paper lunch sack.  Fold the top over a couple times and squish it down to make a nest shape.

We glued in brown and cream paper crinkles for the sticks.  To make the birds we glued 2 pompoms together and added feathers for the tails.  

We finished them up by adding googly eyes and beaks.

They looked very  cute on our mother's day bulletin board!

More birds!  Have a crafty day!

Five for Friday

Happy Friday!   I can't believe May is half over... only 2 weeks left of school.  I'm excited to have a little time off.  I will be staying very busy with my 3 daughters.  I will also be appearing almost every  Monday morning on Fox 9 this summer.  I will be sharing summer craft ideas... fun crafts to keep your kids busy!  

I've been knitting dishcloths lately.  I give them away as soon as I knit them up!

I just love these READ letters.  I made them for Izzy's teacher... I may have to make some for my classroom too!

We've been doing lots of fun froggy activities this week...

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Hello friends!  I wanted to let you know that I may not be posting as frequently in the next few months.  I'm going to try to get 3 posts a week in... Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Nothing is wrong!  Last time I missed a few days, I had all sorts of emails asking if everything was o.k.  I am working on some really fun new projects which I will share with you soon.
Today, I'm going to answer a few questions that I get asked all the time!

1.  "Do you craft every day?"
I absolutely do not craft every day.  I usually do a whole bunch of crafting in one day, and then write my blog entries.  It has become such a habit I can't imagine not doing it.  I get so much pleasure from it.

2.  "Where do you get your ideas?"
I have always been an idea person.  They spill out of me.  I am inspired by the seasons, art, colors, and the world around me.  I get completely obsessed with ideas.  I also love pinterest for that same reason... check out my boards here... http://pinterest.com/jenni_swenson1/boards/

3.  "How do you have time to be creative?"
I can't not be!  I make time for it because it's so important to me.  I'm lucky to have friends who love to craft together.    My favorite thing in the world is to knit and talk (I'm laughing to myself about that, but anyone who knows me, knows that it's a true statement).
If you have any more questions, I'm happy to answer them!  Have a wonderful day!

April showers bring May flowers...

Spring came late to Minnesota this year.  We've had lots of snow, rain, and cold.  We needed to bring a little spring into our classroom!
The first flower project I'm sharing is made with contact paper and tissue paper.  Older students can cut their own flowers, but I cut them out for my preschoolers.

Students arranged their spring gardens on 1/2 of their contact paper.  (Fold it in half first and it's easy to see the line).

They look beautiful on the windows with the light shining through.  The day I took these was very cloudy!

The next flower project might be my favorite of the year.  We were inspired by Picasso's flowers for this project.  I traced each child's hands and cut out stems, ovals and petals.

We made a pod podged group project first and then the preschoolers each made their own.

Picasso would be proud!

Mason jar cards

I just love Mason jars.  There are so many cute uses for them.  I've had the mason jar stamp set from papertrey ink for a few years, but just pulled it out to make some cards.  If you want more card ideas, check out my pinterest board here... http://pinterest.com/jenni_swenson1/paper-crafts/
You can buy the mason jar set here... https://www.papertreyink.com/stamps/friendship-jar-fillers-stamp-set/

I made a background for the paintbrush card by coloring a piece of white cardstock with copic markers.

I love the simplicity of the flowers in a jar too...

Happy crafting!

Five for Friday

It's Friday!  I'm linking up here today... http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/ 
I had my fox 9 appearance last Saturday.  I shared these cute ideas and a bunch more.

  

Are you ready for mother's day?  I will be heading north for a soccer game.  We will have Bob's mom with us too.  I'm sure there will be a little celebrating too.

We read about birds in preschool this week.  I thought these little bird's nests turned out very cute!

We also made these flower for mother's day gifts too.  The preschoolers were so proud of their presents!

My youngest got confirmed on Sunday.  We had a cinco de mayo party afterwards... lots of good food and great friends!  Have a great weekend!

Organized mama

Is your mama the organized type?  I try to be... but it doesn't come naturally to me.  Today's project are 4 cute little nesting boxes that can be used to corral all sorts of treasures.  I got them at Michael's for around $5.

I spray painted them red and cut paper to fit the insides and around the edges.

I mod podged the paper to each box...

now they are ready to be filled with all sorts of treasures!

Here's another fun, easy idea.  Take photos of your kids holding a sign... this is my niece and nephew last year.  They held a sign that says "we love mommy"... I then framed the photo for her and had it waiting on the table for her birthday.  Wouldn't it be cute for a grandma too?!