FREEDOM!!!!

Everytime I say that word I have the urge to scream it as loud as I can and throw my fist into the air with my imaginary sword as to lead my troops into battle. I like to invision this scenario instead of me laying tied on a table with a masked man getting ready to chop my head off like Mel Gibson in "Braveheart." Regardless, Ol' Mel does it way better than I do and I am afraid that I may watch too much t.v.

Wednesday was my last day of summer freedom. I am officially back to school. I am not going to say anything negative about already being back at school because I am trying to mentally pump myself up for a new school year.

With that said, I had an absolutely amazing summer break. I played around and made some really fun, cute things that I wanted to share with you. Everything that I have made is a trial and error process. I am not a professional and do not pretend to be. Some of my creations do have imperfections and minor flaws. I like to think they are a reflection of myself....

First, I want to show you an idea that I got from Pinterest. If you aren't on pinterest, you need to be. You have to be invited, so if you would like to start an account let me know and I will send you an invite via email. It has so many "how to's" and "do it yourself" projects for the home and for parties. There is also a free app on the iPhone. I spend more time researching on pinterest than I do on facebook and that is saying something. Anyways, I found a picture of mason jars used as illuminaries and wanted to give it a try.

If you look on Craigslist in the Athens area under "free" or under materials for Arts and Crafts people have stuff like mason jars, old windows, used paints, etc. for free or practically nothing. Just be careful if you meet up with someone to get your purchases. There are some creepy people in the world.

So, I got these three mason jars and filled the bottoms with glass stones that I received in the bottom of a flower vase from a Valentine's Day gift or something. Then, I placed a small tea light candle on top of the glass stones. You probably don't want to place just the candle in the glass without a buffer like stones, sand or rocks because the glass could possibly get really hot and burn your hands and even break.

Next, I took hemp rope that I had from some jewelry making crafts and tied a bow around the top.

For the wire hanging part, I took wire from a picture hanging kit that someone gave to us when we got married and wrapped the wire around the lip of the mason jar and then made the handle. I know they aren't anything fancy, but I thought they looked pretty at night hanging from my shepherd's hooks. It gave my back deck a very relaxing and romantic feel. Cheap, easy, and pretty darn cute if you ask me.

Alright the next idea I had I got from Cherry Street Cottage. I really like this blog. She has a ton of "do it yourself" tutorials and ideas for your home and gifts for other people. I LOVE receiving handmade items from people. It just makes me feel special like they were actually thinking of me and making the gift only for me when it was being created. I don't know, maybe that is just my vanity coming out. Any who....I do enjoy a good homemade gift so I love all of the ideas that Jessica blogs about on Cherry Street. The link will take you straight to the fabric flowers tutorial.

I did find that when making these little rosettes that certain materials are easier to work with. Thicker upholstery materials are a little more difficult to work with because you do have to do a lot of folding. The thicker materials just did not want to stay put. In contrast, I also found that the slinkier, silkier materials make really small and tight roses. Either way, I had a blast trying the tutorial out and the more you make, the better your roses become!

Oh yeah, when completing the first steps of making the folds with the fabrics, I used the iron so that the folds would keep while I was rolling and folding. Otherwise, the fabrics kept coming undone and would make the flowers awkardly lumpy. The iron really made things easier and much neater.

Okay, next I have a sneak peek of something I am working on. They are not finished and I am not going to tell you what they will look like when they are completed. But...I am super excited.

                                      
 
Obviously, they are old Snapple bottles. I realized while drinking my delcious Peach Tea that there are convenient little "S" designs on each bottle. Since my last name begins with an "S" I just found this extremely convenient. As you can see, I have painted the "S" with blue paint. That is all I am revealing now. Hopefully I will have time to finish at least one of the bottles by this weekend, but I make no promises at the moment. Because, remember? That's right.... I am back in the school saddle again.

The Old Blue Chair

Today is my last day of freedom. Although I am excited to get back to school to see the kids, I am pretty bummed because I had an incredible summer full of family, friends, 5:00 wine dates, suntanning, and exploring my right brain with arts and crafts. In my last few days of this wonderful summer, I have worked on a few projects around my house. First, I found this old blue chair with hideous upholstery at Agora.



Vintage Blue Chair from Agora's in Downtown Athens, Georgia - $20

 So, I found some pretty pale yellow silk striped upholstery from Hobby Lobby. It was the on the Clearance Rack for $3.00 a yard. Thus, I purchased one yard of my raw silk material to cover my blue chair.

$3.00 yellow silk from Hobby Lobby

I was lucky in that the chair's bones were in really great condition and I happen to love the color blue. My husband, on the other hand, is not totally sold on another chair in our house and the fact that it's blue is not winning any votes. It's kind of a silly story, but I will tell you anyway.

So, I have a bit of a habit. I really like to collect old, vintage and antique chairs. Most would not object to such a trade, but my husband and I use to live in a 1500 square foot farmhouse in the country. There wasn't a whole lot of room for extra chairs and antiquties that needed some TLC. But, that did not stop me from stopping on the side of the road and picking up what other people had thrown out.

Don't get confused. I am not a dumpster diver or a hoarder. I am looking for items that, with care, could have another life. Lots of people do it and I am certainly not the first.

Anyways, so I would rummage through yard sales and junk shops to find pieces I could recreate. My first purchase were two Queen Anne end tables that I picked up at a garage sale. The man wanted to get rid of the end tables immediately and said he would give me the pair for $50. Well, the end tables were in great condition and the marble tops were orignal to the pieces. You know the kind that lift off and weigh close to $100 pounds? Yep, that's them. So, I took my steal of a deal home. I sanded, stained and sealed my new end tables. I recently went into a high end antique store and found a similar end table. The price for the one, you ask? That's right. The ONE end table was priced at a whopping $350. And...my end tables are so much nicer.


                  


Okay, so you are asking "What does the hubs have to complain about?" Well, after this first magnificent purchase I went a little nuts. Next, I found two chairs. One at a yard sale and one at a junk store. I don't think I even paid $20 total for both of them. One was in pretty rough condition and the other just needed stripping and restaining. I covered both with some material that my mom had at home.


                                       
        


I was pretty pleased how both turned out, which only fueled me to find and refinish more. By this time, we were at a maximum capacity at our little 1500 square foot farmhouse in the country. We had a home full of furniture (and I was not slowing down at the adding of more) plus 4 dogs that we had collectively rescued at some point in our lives. I thought David was going to have a heart attack. But, it didn't stop me.




Our Collection of Pups - Goose, Kya, Bella and Tank


I was driving along Highway 72 in Madison County, Georgia when I saw 6 formal dining chairs on the side of the road in front of a huge horse farm. I immediately pulled over in my black F-150 and loaded all six chairs up in the back. I knew that David would not be pleased that I was brining MORE chairs into our tiny space, but everyone knows that formal dining chairs are the expensive part of the dining room table and chair combo. Structurally, all of the chairs were in great condition. I couldn't believe my luck! Six beautiful chairs for free!

So, my mom and I sanded, restained and covered these chairs with upholstery that we found at an antique store in Thomasville, Georgia. We bought the whole role of upholstery for $15 dollars. Ah-mazing! The chairs turned out incredible and I had the most expensive part of my formal dining room-to be. Now, I just needed a table and a house with a formal dining room.

            

Aftering storing my beautiful dining chairs in our cute bungalow in the country (which completely irritated my husband to have six chairs stored in the guest bedroom of our two bedroom home), we now officially have our own formal dining room. The chairs look great in the room and they look even better to me because I know how much money I did NOT pay for them! :)

Despite my talent in restoring old chairs, my husband still teases me every time I go junk store shopping or garage sale hopping that I "better not bring home anymore chairs." Well, you see how well I listen.

So, I purchased the vintage blue chair from Agora about a week ago and I hid it in one of our guest rooms that I knew he wouldn't have any reason to go in until I could recover it. That was, until he did. He found my forbidden fruit! But, he just shook his head and said "I knew it. I just knew it." He knows I cannot control my need to purchase/find old chairs to recover as much as he can control his desire to fly airplanes, ride dirt bikes or any other intense, life threatening, little boy's dream hobby he can have.

So, after all of that, let's get back to my blue chair that started this whole post. Here is the before picture of my blue chair again.
                                                       
                                                      

                 And here is the finished product. Do you love it as much as I do?

       


My new blue chair goes perfectly in my guest bedroom. And on a really good note, the hubs doesn't hate it as much as he thought he did. All is right in the world again...and I have plenty of places for you to sit. :)

Exercising the Right Brain...

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been fulfilling my life's "to do" list which consists of art, music, furthering my education and traveling. While this is a work in progress, I wanted to share with everyone a little of my creative exploration from this summer.

While rummaging downtown in Athens' Agora Vintage Consignment shop, I was asked if I would consider selling some of my jewelry and art work. Well, I am not entirely sure that I am confident enough to sell my pieces, I have thoroughly enjoyed flirting with the idea. Thus, below is my first logo.

This summer I created the monogrammed notecard (inside the frame) while partcipating in a silk screen printing workshop. I started by sketching my initials and the love birds. Once I had my sketch the way I wanted, I painted the sketch onto a wooden silk screen frame using a blue waxy substance. After the whole silk screen printing process (and I skipped a lot to spare everyone the details), I was able to choose the colors I wanted for my monogram. The above print was only the second print I had ever made. Not too bad for a beginner silk screener....

Surrounding my silk screen print, are various pieces of jewelry hand crafted by yours truly. While I am still learning all the tricks of the trade, I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed creating each piece. The most difficult part of making jewelry to me, is creating pieces that other people would wear and not just myself. I tend to love earthy tones and raw stones.

Silver plated monogram "G" with Lime Green Oval Stone and Glass Bead

I am trying to venture away from just making pieces for myself (as my husband is worried that we won't have anymore room in our walk-in closet) and start designing jewelry with a buyer in mind. Below are some of my first pieces. Please let me know which ones you like or if you have any constructice criticism for me.


          Amber Stone and Sterling "Snowflake" Design Necklace

         
                        Cobalt Glass Bead Dangles


         

                   Copper and Silver Beaded Earrings

I am super excited as I have signed up for a Jewelry Making course offered through the University of Georgia's Continuing Education Center. For those of you in the Athens area that are not familiar with courses they offer, here is the link: UGA's Continuing Education Personal and Professional Courses. They offer everything from a Spanish Certification, Painting, Photography, Jewelry Design, Music, to Drama. It's pretty amazing. They also offer several Professional Development courses. You should definitely check it out.

  

                  Cerulean Glass Everday Earrings

    

                 Cobalt "Create" Silver Necklace

My 5th grade students and I began making earrings last year as a way for us to raise money for a 3 day and 2 night trip to the Georgia 4-H Center at Jekyll Island. The trip is expensive and many of my students cannot afford the trip. Of course we have sold doughnuts, done the car wash thing, written persuasive letters to local companies, but none of the parents or kids were really excited about having to raise money. The fundraising had become another chore to them (and me).

So, after talking with one of the Special Education teachers, we decided to turn jewelry making into the 5th grade fundraiser. We taught the students how to make earrings and provided them with tools to create their designs. It was amazing. The kids were giving up their recesses and lunch time to make earrings to sell.

Also, they practiced their persuasive strategies (part of the 5th grade Literacy Georgia Performance Standards) in real life when we sold our hand crafted jewelry during the Open House of our new school, Parent-Teacher conferences and to their peers during their lunch times. Finally, we found a fundraiser that parents, teachers and students were excited about! And because everyone was truly invested in the fundraiser, we raised over $500!

                 

  Turquoise Stone and                          Turquoise Stone and

  Silver Leaf Earrings                        Silver Tear Drop Necklace

          

    Black Onyx Beads and Silver Leaf Pattern Stamped

                        Charm Necklace

But, back to my Intermediate Jewelry Design course. I am really excited to set stones and work with different metals. I have started flirting with wire wrapping, but I don't feel like I have completely mastered all that I can with it.  I want to learn more! As my wire wrapping abilities improve, I will definitely post my new creations.

    
                 Copper and Silver Wire Wrapped Necklace

        
            Brown and Cream Multi-Strand Beaded Necklace
                      with Antique Cowgirl Charm

I have approximately 2 weeks until school begins and I intend to make the most of every single day. In fact, I have been searching ebay, etsy and other websites looking for my very own silk screen frame. I already have a few sketchs that I am excited to put on paper and possibly cloth material.

I have also been looking into Artini's or Pints and Paints. I would love to get together a few of my good friends, a bottle of wine and do some painting. If you are in the Athens area and want to join me, let me know asap!

The last few pictures are more of the silk screen prints and random jewelry shots that I have made. Enjoy! And again, I welcome your praises as well as your constructive criticisms! :) Now, go and play with your own right brain and create something beautiful!

Been Awhile.

So, it has been a little while since I blogged. I have been quite a busy girl lately. But, today's post is not about where I have been or what I have been up to for the past few months. Today's edition is about the "why" I have been too busy to post.

Tragedy has struck several friends and families I know this summer. Some of the people directly affected by the tragedies I haven't seen in years and some are very close friends. It was like every time I turned around, I was hearing bad news. A teenage boy from my hometown was killed on a tractor, one of my childhood friends lost her sister in a car wreck, another very close friend was hospitalized for 18 days and diagnosed with life altering diseases, and several (yes, several) of my friends had miscarriages. And yet, none of the tragedy happened directly to me. But, it all affected me. It all changed my paradigm.

I don't know about you, but there are things that I have always wanted to do:  like grow a vegetable garden,  painting, make jewelry, take beautiful pictures people want to frame, play the guitar, form a band and be the lead singer, dance unhibitedly, have my own horse and ride whenever I want to, restore antique furniture, teach in Africa, get my Ph.D, and my list continues.... I understand that some of these things appear to be minor. You're like "Grace, go ahead and do it. Just do it." But, for some reason, I have always been too scared to just jump right in. I have always been timid at the start of something new.

But not anymore. If there is anything that I have learned this summer is that tomorrow may be guaranteed, but it's not necessarily guaranteed to you. So, I have been too busy to blog because I have been working on completing and preparing for things I have always wanted to do. So far, I have been making jewelry, completed a silk screen painting class, learned to draw Celtic knots, expressed my emotions through clay art, practicing on my guitar and harmonica, being the lead singer of my new band that consists of me and my truck radio, grew my first vegetable garden, applied to UGA graduate school for Spring semester and oh, I definitely danced unhibitedly all by myself while I was at the University of Connecticut's professional development for gifted learning. Yep, I was that girl swaying to the music all by my lonesome on the dance floor while people just stared. And it felt great because I was doing exactly what I wanted to do. As far as Africa, well I am looking into UGA's Tanzania trip for next summer. Anyone care to join me?

So, my challenge is for you to do the same. Write it down and get it done. Just do it. Why wait?

Wild Horses Keep Dragging Me Away

One uncertainty has been lingering over my head for some time now. The anxiety of this decision keeps building and building. What do I want to be when I grow up? When I say this to my students they laugh at me and say "You're already grown up, Mrs. Stan. And you are a teacher."

But the truth remains that I honestly don't know where I will be or what I will be doing 10 years from now. I assume that I will be somewhere in the field of Education, but I still have this overwhelming desire to live on a horse ranch in Wyoming or some other remote area. However, I also still frequently dream of playing the guitar and singing my way across the sidewalks of the U.S. I am not sure what either of these dreams means....I suppose that I am not finished being young and adventurous?

I have some major life changing decisions ahead of me and I honestly cannot make a decision for which direction to go...do I start my doctoral program in some area of Education? Should we start having children? Do I want to move somewhere new and begin a new career? Should I go all the way back to my original dream and retry for Vet school? All of the questions just have me super confused and completely frozen. I suppose the greatest pressure anyone can feel though is the pressure they put upon themselves.

I never was very good at making the best decisions. Anyone from my hometown knows that. Nor will they most likely ever forget it. Hahaha...Perhaps in my "old age" my choices have been getting better and I will end up exactly where I am supposed to be. Even if that place is gypsy singing cowgirl chasing wild horses.....

10 Years....

"You know how the time flies, only yesterday was the time of our lives. We were born and raised in a summer haze, bound by the surprise of our glory days."

Adele's words hit pretty close to home for me right now. I just received information on my ten year high school reunion. That's right. TEN YEARS. It seems like yesterday I was living Hartsfield, Georgia and spending more time in a bathing suit than any other article of clothing. It's like I just blinked and was 28 years old...

And this, my friends, has been a very hard pill for me to swallow. Some people age so gracefully and peacefully. It appears that they continue each year of their lives and are so content. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. I guess part of me still feels like a reckless teenager...

When I make comments like this to some of my older and wiser colleagues, they laugh at me and say "Oh Grace, wait til your 40 year high school reunion. Then, you are allowed to feel old." Well, I kinda feel old at my ten year. And oh the pressure that comes with that feeling....the pressure of children, of retirement funds, of more life insurance, the pressure of whether or not I should start botox....haha, are you getting my stream of consciousness? 

Despite my resentment to getting older, I am looking forward to the reunion. I find myself flipping through my old yearbooks to look up friends and familiar faces. I may not be ecstatic about getting old, but I am very excited and curious to see how everyone turned out, to find out where they are and where they have been in this world...

CCHS class of 2001, I guess I will see you very soon.

Raindrops on Roses....

So, I have to admit something. I REALLY don't want to go back to school tomorrow after this beautiful weekend off. I guess my pit of anxiety started when I thought about the fact that my students have 2 weeks until the CRCT. I try really hard not to let this assessment stress my kids (or myself) out. However, with the new education proposals to pay teachers based on student performance, it is becoming increasingly harder to NOT get stressed out. But...this post is not about that.

A list of 100 reasons (more like gripes) about why I didn't want to get up early in the morning to go to school started running through my head. And then I started thinking...I just spent three beautiful days with the most amazing children at the beach. What do I have to gripe about? So...to get my head out of the "Monday Blues" I decided to start thinking of my "raindrops on roses" or in simpler terms: things that make me happy. Life is just too short to complain, be bitter or dread going to work. So instead, why not make a list of things that make you happy and try to do at least one thing on that list everyday?

My list? Well, there are alot of things that bring a smile to my face so I will just name a few:

Laying in the sunshine
Painting
Making jewelry
Taking pictures
Gardening or planting flowers
Playing with my dogs and watching their little butts wiggle because they are so excited to see me
Going for a walk or run at dusk just when the temperature starts to drop
Beautiful sunsets
Making people laugh
Having a student truly appreciate something I do for them
My feet in the sand at the beach
Listening to the radio with my windows down
Night swimming during the summer
Golf cart riding
New shoes
A glass of wine with a best friend
Dinner Club with my neighbors
My family


As you can see, my list does not mention anything about sitting indoors making lesson plans or playing on a computer. So...I am going to go outside and enjoy my raindrops on roses......

Pure Joy...

 "I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!"

I had the amazing opportunity to take 42 fifth grade students to the Jekyll Island 4-H Center for three days and two nights this past week. Now, some might believe this a very daunting task, but for me, it was exactly where I wanted to be.

My morning began at 5:15 a.m. on Wednesday as I arrived to the school to meet 42 very excited and AWAKE eleven year olds. I was hesitant to load the bus to travel 6 hours as I knew my sleep would be limited by the chatter of eager students making predictions of what was to come. With help from the Big Man, we all arrived safely to the Island and I was able to keep a calm and normal blood pressure.

After settling into our dorms, we began our very packed schedule for the next three days.

The students enjoyed learning about Georgia's coast and all of the beauty it has to offer. Some of the amazing classes we participated in included Beach and Marsh Ecology, Fish dissection, Seining and Nets, and a Dock study on marine life. The students were "elbows deep" (literally) in fish guts, detritus, sand and ocean, and many other amazing things. We also took the students to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on the Island. There students were able to experience the "life of a sea turtle." They learned about the endangered species and ways that humans can intervene to keep from these amazing creatures from becoming extinct.

One of the students' favorite parts of the trip was an Eco Boat Tour in which we traveled out into the Inter-coastal Waterway. The students were able to handle different fish, squids, a horse shoe crab as well as witness dolphins swimming and jumping within 10 feet of our boat. It was amazing none of the students jumped overboard with their excitement. We also had the opportunity to see a pair of Bald Eagles sitting on a power line. I hope the students realize how special that moment was.

My favorite part of the trip? That's easy. Watching my students hit the beach for the first time. For most of my students it is their first time to the beach and for some it is their first time out of Athens. Unfortunately, many of my students come to school with basic needs unmet, whether it is food, shelter, love, belonging. There is truly too much baggage that I could talk about. But not today. When those kids hit the beach for the first time they are exactly what they are supposed to be: kids. I may not do anything else in my life that allows me to feel the way I do when I see that student taste the salty water of the ocean for the first time and say, "Mrs. Stan, it really is salty." And I played a small part in that life experience. The feeling I get? I call that feeling pure joy...

After three long (but incredible) days, we loaded back on our packed charter bus and headed back to Athens. As we left the island, the students were quiet and reflective about their experience. Many students wrote in their journals, while some stared longingly out of the windows remembering a time in which they will never forget. And don't worry guys, I could never forget either.