Homeschool Classroom

All summer long, we (I) have been working on our homeschool classroom.  It's really our 4th bedroom that my husband has used as an office for about 6 years now.  Oh, and it housed our never-used elliptical trainer.  Starting with Craiglist, we got rid of a couple of things (said elliptical trainer...) and moved out/around some furniture to make space.  During this time, I dreamed about what our classroom would look like...maybe some built-in cabinets and desks for both kids?  Our a large table in the middle of the room surrounded by bookcases?  Check out these beautiful home classrooms I found on Pinterest: 

Maybe one day!

For now, we just want to start small and as the years go by, if we continue to homeschool, then we will design a classroom that fits our needs. 
Here is our classroom for the 2012-2013 school year:

Whiteboard with schedule, Word of the Day, Number of the Day; Clock, Birthday Calendar

This little table is where we do our desk work for now

Our Class Rules (at top) and Calendar

Our tree that covers the closet doors.  Every month we'll have a new theme.  In September, we'll be doing apples and the Fruit of the Spirit scripture

Conduct board, 10-drawer box system, posters

Clock I made, idea from Pinterest :)

Calendar

Bookcase/storage; floor mats I made for the kids

Our desk, etc.  (Sorry it's messy!)

First Day of School!

New Blog!

Welcome!
I am not new to blogging, as this is actually the 5th one I've ever done.  I don't really blog much anymore on the others, except for our private family blog that is more like a baby book for each of my children.  My other blogs are based around a specific topic, therefore I don't feel like any of them is really a place to start blogging about our new adventure.  My goal on this blog is to document all the fun we are having at the moment...whether it's trying a new recipe or DIY project I've found off Pinterest or having fun in the homeschool classroom.  I also plan on sharing about more meaningful topics, such as what the Lord is teaching me about things as well as sweet parenting moments.  I don't claim to be an expert in any of this, so I'm just going to keep it real here.  I hope you will join me!

PS:  All previous posts (below) are imported from one of my other blogs.

Porch Update

So last July I posted in one of my other blogs about wanting to do a project for my back porch. Find the post here.  My goals were that it would be very wallet-friendly and add some privacy as well as some personality to a somewhat large and empty space. 

As you might already know, fabric is expensive!  But especially outdoor fabric! And I had many feet of windows I needed to cover.  So in order to keep my costs low on the curtains, I went with already made shower curtains that I chose specifically so that it wouldn't look like...a shower curtain.  So my curtains are made from a neutral goldish-tan, plain fabric that I hemmed to the proper length for my window openings.  I found them for under $9 each at Big Lots (they are the Better Homes and Gardens brand.  Not too bad!)  The nice part is, they already had buttonholes at the top for me to add rings. I found spring-loaded curtain holders and curtain rings (I went with plain silver) at Big Lots as well, for less than $5 each.

I found some REALLY cheap fabric that coordinated and made some large curtain ties that hold two curtains together for maximum light.  From the leftover fabric, I made a table cloth and a coordinating pillow for my chaise lounge.

All for under $100.  Pretty good!

The "after" photos: 

New top...for me!

I made this top for myself (from Simplicity #2892) and I really love it!  The fabric is from the Amy Butler Daisy Chain collection.  The second picture shows the "bib" detail...lots of gathering and a small ruffle at the neckline.  Hard to see it in the photo, though.

New Dress

It's been awhile, but my Princess finally got a new dress!  It's a different take on a pillowcase dress. 
I angled the sides a bit, and then added a small ruffle near the bottom hem.  The dress ties at one shoulder with a bow made from matching fabric.  She loves it!

Bedroom Makeover

A couple of months ago, I finally got around to making over my Princess' bedroom from a toddler-looking room to a big girl room.  A double bed is now in place of a twin bed.  I switched to white furniture instead of natural wood color.  And of course, I sewed all of the pillows, curtains, tableskirt, bedskirt, etc.
I found the head board, which is very Pottery Barn-ish, in bad shape at a thrift store for $5! I sanded it, replaced some of the wood spindles, and spray painted it white and it's as good as new.
This room is the hottest in the house during the summer, so I had to line her curtains with black-out fabric to reduce the light and heat coming in the windows.  iI couldn't find a pattern I just loved, so I did it without any pattern and it turned out perfect, much to my surprise!  The curtains are full-length roman shades with pom-poms at the bottom and large ties for detail.

Here are the fabrics I used, some from Fabric dot com and others from Custom Baby Boutique dot com.

Unfortunately, I did not take "before" shots, but here are the after shots!

new curtains

new pillows

monogrammed pillow and table topper

new places for photos on the wall

happens to match her princess castle rug perfectly!