Gard-In or Out

Hi readers!

I posted a picture not to long ago of a piece of the front of my house with my beautiful little chalkboard, bench, and pillows out there. However, in the picture was also my TERRIBLE landscaping which we let die over the summer. To be honest, we hated the thing when we moved in and therefore didn't really put too much thought to it. {pictured below}

Well, since this post my husband and I got to working. We went to Home Depot and DIYed ourselves a pretty good looking garden, if I do say so myself.

We went to Home Depot and picked some plants that we thought might look good with the style home we have, with the weather we get down here in SoFlo, and keeping in mind that we wanted a variety of heights, and colors.

We brought the plants home and placed them on the bare ground first to see where we wanted to place them. This is great tip because then you don't have to worry about replanting.

And here is the finished product:

So excited now to decorate for fall. Here is a very informational post on creating your very own garden bed by craftionary. So helpful!

Inspire.

Hi all-

So here is what I have been thinking about all day. Inspiration. As human beings, we constantly have the thought going through our heads of "Why am I here?" "What is my purpose?" or "Will I make a difference?" For me, it has always been very important that I make a difference in the lives of the people around me. I think this is the reason God led me to teach. I feel very blessed every day to be able to come to my classroom and touch the lives of the students that come in and our of my classroom every year. This then also leads me to another thought. Legacy. In order to really leave an imprint on the world, we must take a second to look at the legacy we are leaving behind. Not just our reputation, but also our affect on those around us, and how we've inspired them to do something to benefit the world {or not}. This takes me back to inspiration. Over the weekend, one of my students surprised me by emailing me a picture of something I inspired her to do. {pictured below} It got me thinking. The students in my class, your coworkers, or people you run into on the train, at the red light, or at the coffee store. They all are impacted, or inspired, by you. How are you inspiring others? Remember, smiles really ARE contagious, and a random act of kindness DOES bring beauty to the world.

The DIY steps for this are pretty simple and they are a GREAT way to spruce up any wall, whatever room in the house that wall might be in.

First- You need some canvases {You choose! This specific example was made with two 12x12's and one 12x16}.
Second- You need painter's tape, however, if the struggle is real, scotch tape will do
Third- Decide what colors you want {She chose white and black which made it so much easier for her}
Fourth- {If you are choosing a color other than white, this would be the step to paint and let dry, but once you let dry the rest of the steps, are the same} You get to choose whatever designs you want, laying the tape however you think fits your style best
{Remember wherever you lay the tape, that part will not be painted by your next coat of paint}
Fifth- You paint over the whole canvas and set aside to dry {Yes, even the parts that you covered with tape}
Last- Peel up the tape and Voila! you have your design

Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Open house'n it

Teachers! How was your open house? These are pictures of a great idea for a polite way to ask your class parents for donations. "The Giving Tree"! Do you have a cricut? These apple and leaves would be so easy if you did. Email me, I can make some for you!