Friday, September 13, 2013

Conversation Box


Good morning my friends! Thank you all for all of the wonderful birthday wishes and e-mails! It brightened my day more than you will ever know! :)
With today’s kids living in a technology age, conversations seem to be an old art these days.  I do have a rule at my dinner table, or any dinner table, that they can not use their cell phones!  So we usually end up talking about our day at school/work, but there are times, when there is a lull in the conversation.  So here’s where I come in!!  A Conversation Starter box! All you need is a cheapo recipe box or something similar to alter.  Mine was from the dollar store. : )
What is a conversation starter box you inquire? It is a box filled with questions you can ask your kids at the dinner table that gets them talking…..thinking.  They can be included in the process by coming up with questions to ask you. I decorated the top of the box with the two kiddos from the Dr. Checkup Cartridge.
And I used a word bubble from the CCR Exclusive Cart called Word Bubbles; ) The words were done on my computer. I added glossy accents to their eyes and tongues…….
I’ve even included a spot inside the box for extra journaling bubbles.  Kids like to  participate in generating questions, so all they need is a pen and an extra word bubble to write their questions on.

Here is a sampling of questions inside the box. By the way, for all of you teachers out there, this would be great to use in the classroom too!  I know myself I find questions on the Internet, or a great quote and would love a place to write it all down….. so here is the solution! And once again, you can have your students come up with some of the questions and add them to the box.
 

My little box now sits in my classroom, where I add to it whenever I see a great question or quote from the Internet.  It's been a great place to organize my questions! 

 
  This was so easy to create and hopefully, your dinner conversations will be a bit more lively and fun! : )


I have our last golf outing tonight and then the rest of the weekend? I am planning on relaxing a bit and hopefully getting in my craft room.  I need a down weekend with no chasing! ;)
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!!!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Another Year Older.......

Yep. It's true.  I am one year older today.
I am wiser I suppose with each year that passes. 
I appreciate more now than I have ever in the past.  Time is precious. People are precious.
Little things ARE the big things in life. 
I have come to the realization that my imperfect life IS perfect. It's mine and I'm so blessed because of it.
This hobby has been a savior for me. I am so thankful to have all of you. I can't tell you how much it means to me when you leave sweet comments and e-mails about my kids. Often that is the "picker-upper" I needed that day. :)
Life's curve balls have made me who I am. 
The forty something wife, teacher, mama, friend, neighbor, daughter, sister, crafter, photographer......
:)


Since I know you didn't come here to listen to me become melancholy, I DO actually have a card to share with you.  The main image is by Crafty Secret's Digital Flower Garden. I colored it using my Inktense Pencils.  
The back panel was a bit of an experiment.  I used a Heidi Swapp stencil and my Inktense to trace around the circles.  I added a bit of water to "fill in" each circle.  It gave the green panel a bit of character and interest I think.  The rustic green paper is by Paperloft.  I added a few vintage buttons and a bit of trim to finish it off. 
I am off to work today!
Have a great day my friends!