Party Buntings

I have heard that Michigan has had another snow storm!
Schools have closed yet again.
The weather is creeping back to the negatives.
Ugh.

Good thing we are still in Utah.
There are flowers blooming over here!
Sorry babe.
You are a lone man in a freeze fest.
Wish you were here!

To celebrate NOT being in the freeze fest of the Great Lakes,
I have made some Party Buntings!

Come do a jig on over to my TPT store and get some Party Buntings!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Party-Buntings-Set-1-Lined-and-Color-1157314

Are you ready for your free bunting?

Time to do another jig!

I hope you like it!

Terms of Use:

My free clipart is just that "free".  You are free to use it for personal and commercial use (obviously you can't sell my actual image..).  If you do use it for commercial use, such as your TPT products, it would be wonderful if you gave me the credit for the bunting and help me spread the word about my store!  Thank you!

Clowning Around

I started my Teachers Pay Teachers store in October 2013.
I really didn't have big plans for it.
My plan was simple
Share things that I made for my own children.
If people happened to find them useful, great.
I put up my first free product.
My Butterfly Life Cycle worksheet.
I didn't think about it for awhile, then one day, I checked on it, and what do you know, people were actually downloading it!
I was quite surprised.

Gradually, I have been adding to my store.
Free and For Sale.

One of my favorite things to do is doodle.
So I doodle and make my drawings into digital images.
I use my drawings to make handouts, worksheets and coloring pages for my own children.
I put the finished drawings and borders in my TPT store so that others can do the same.

It has been fun!
Plus, I continue to learn new ways to improve my work.

Then I found Deb.
Actually, she found me.
She happened to stumble upon my store and left me feedback for one of my free packs.
I asked her if she would consider helping me with ideas for building my clip art collection.
I wanted to make images that teachers would use.
I told her that if she gave me suggestions, I would be happy to make them for my store.

That led to my

Ice Cream Shoppe clip art
And my
Flower Shop clip art

Check out what she made here and here.

She was kind enough to feature me on her blog.
And she let me be a part of a giveaway that celebrated 2000 followers on her TPT store.
That led to me getting some new followers.

That sparked a small flame inside of me.

It made me wonder.
If 158 people like my products enough to follow my TPT store,
maybe, just maybe, more people would like my style as well.

So far I have not tried to do anything aside from posting new products to attract more followers.
Perhaps I should give a little incentive to get more people to my store...

So, I'm going to start featuring my new products here, on this blog.
Each time I make a new set,
I'm going to give you one of my images for free.
What do you think?
Is that a good idea?
Will you follow me if I give you something?
(What? Did I just bribe you to follow me?  I guess so.)

I just finished "Clowning Around".
It was fun to draw!
Thank you Deb for the suggestion.  I love it!

Drum roll please....

This set is great for making coloring pages, decorating a bulletin board, using for your scrapbook and so much more.  It even has juggling balls that can be labeled and journaled on.  Add the banner to any project to give it a little zip.

Come visit my store and get it here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Clowning-Around-Lined-and-Color-Clip-Art-1151151

Do you want to see my free clown?

Colored and lined!

That's right, I know what you want.

These images are free for personal use and commercial use.

If you are using them for commercial use, I would appreciate it if you gave me the credit for the clown by adding a link to my TPT store or blog.

Make sure you follow me so you can always know when I put up a new product and of course a free image!

If you would like me to draw something to add to my clip art collection, let me know!  Most likely, I will make it happen.

The Book of Aim Zing

I have put my heart and soul into this book.
It is pages and pages of sketching and doodling.

It is one of a kind.
It is bright.
It is inspiring.
It is ready!

For years and years I have put together a goal book for me and my mom.  Every year I think I have it just right.  Some how I always find a way to change it and evolve it into a "better" version.  This year I wanted to make a book that  included all of the changes that I have made through the years that have made it just a little bit closer to the "perfect" goal book.

I wanted there to be a lot of boxes.

Boxes for doodling.
Boxes for quotes.
Boxes for thoughts.
Boxes for things to do.
Boxes for things the kids say and do.

I wanted there to be a lot of color.
I wanted there to be order.
I wanted motivational words on the pages.

I wanted it to be something that others would want to use.
I want you to be inspired.
I want you to use this book to change your life.

Become a lover a life.

Introducing:

The Book of Aim Zing

Wait for it...

This book with give you a place to "Aim".  You can use as much or as little "Zing" as your heart desires.

Make your life amazing ("aimzing"...get it?  I totally rocked that title.)

I think one of my favorite parts is the Cover page.  I love how it came together.  I totally gave myself a lot of pats on the pack and air high fives.  I might have even given myself a fist bump.  Yep.  I'm a nerd.  Oh wait, I'm giving myself a thumbs up right now.  Yep.  I am truly a nerd.

The Quote at the beginning.  Because I love pretty word art.  

More pretty words.

Dividers.

Goals for the year.

Calendars.

Planner.

This planner is set up so that you make all the decisions.

I didn't put any labels on any boxes.

You decide what you want those boxes to be.

I gave this planner a lot of  "aim".

It is up to you to put your own "zing" into it.

What do you want to do with your life this year?

Do you want to have purpose?

Do you want to have aim and a place to put that aim?

If so, then this is for you.

186 pages of awesome-ness.

You can get it at my teacherspayteachers store.

HERE!!!!!

If you are not a member of TPT you should be!  It is such a fantastic resource.  It is free to sign up and you get to be a part of this great community where parents and teachers are seeking to better our children.  Parents and teachers work really hard to offer a variety of handouts and resources.  Anyone can be a part of it!  There are so many free things to choose from too.  If you make comments you get credits that can go towards any purchases you make.  Pretty cool!

Giving Thanks

The Family School, Literature 1.7

The Thanksgiving story is definitely one of faith, strength, perseverance and gratitude.

The pilgrims were devoted to God.

They showed that devotion even in the midst of great trial and hardship.

One of their favorite songs to sing was Psalm 100.

When they were finally able to get off the Mayflower, this is what they sang.

How incredible that they would want to sing a song of thanksgiving and praise when things were so difficult!

We watched a short clip of the First Thanksgiving.

You can find it here.

Then we talked about our many blessings.

Of course, we watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

and The Mouse on the Mayflower.

I made some gratitude cards with my rectangle doodle frames, circle doodle frames and Thanksgiving clip art.  The kids colored them and wrote their "thankfuls" on them.  It is our privilege and responsibility to show our gratitude!  Let's be thankful!

I made some cards for those who would prefer to just write and not color.

You can get the PDF of these handouts at my Teacher Pay Teacher store for free.

You can find them here. (The pictures of the handouts on the blog are just thumbnails, so the quality is not very good for printing.  It is definitely better quality in the PDF).

If you download them, I would really appreciate it if you would rate it for me!  

Thank you so much!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Eat a lot!

Doodling

I'm a doodler.
I always have been.
While taking notes at school.
I doodle.
While listening to a talk.
I doodle.
While writing in my journal.
I doodle.

I know something is really important to me if it has a lot of doodles with it.

Likewise, I know something was really boring if it there are a lot of doodles.

That being said,
I think everyone should have a chance to doodle.

As I was giving a lesson during Family School, I saw my two youngest getting a little restless.  I completely understand that.  Some of the things we learn are challenging for them.  But I love that we are together so I don't want to send them to another room.  So I had a thought.  When I was in school, I doodled.  Why not find a way for them to doodle while I teach?  Then, perhaps they will be able to listen a little better, or if nothing else, they will not distract the older two.

This is what I came up with.

And guess what?

It worked!

Not only did they sit quietly through the entire lesson,

but they also actually heard what I said and learned something!

I also made sea life creatures.

You can check it out at my TPT store.

They are begging me for more, so be on the look out for more "Doodle and Draw" creations.

I also put up some doodle frames and some more free clip art.  So go on over there and see what you think.

Thanks!

Have an "aimless daze"!