Tea Wreath- My First Pinterest Project

Whew, I didn't think I was ever going to be able to post to this blog again. :P I had trouble logging in to the account a while ago, and then because I attempted it so many times, my access was denied. This happens sometimes, especially when you have a million accounts online with variations of pretty much the same password. The major problem occurred this time, however, when I clicked on the trusty old "password recovery" link and it look me to a page that was entirely written in arabic. Oh no. I read absolutely nothing in any language but English. I'm not quite sure if the website used my ip address to set the language or what, but to make matters worse, I couldn't find the link to translate it back. Eeeekkkkk. Normally, amist the sea of arabic letters, I can find the one word to save me from my own ignorance- (English), but this time it was no where to be found. I tried randomly clicking links, filling in foreign fields, or any form of guesswork I could manage but to no avail. The only thing I succeeded in was resetting my password to something I don't know or can't read, I'm not entirely sure which. I was positive my access to my blog was lost- until today! Then I realized Paul had editing access to "our" blog. So I will be posting from his account from now on. I only hope I don't get his access denied also. :)

Anyway- on to the real blog for today, my new addiction: Pinterest.

http://pinterest.com/all/
http://pinterest.com/nikki_fiely/

I found a website that lets me save all of the little gems I find online such as recipes, cute crafts, school projects, or stuff I want to buy. It also helps me remember all of this stuff that I decide I might not be able to live without. :) First, let me explain a little about pinterest- it's basically an online version of a pin board or tack board to keep things you want to remember. Once you find a website you want to save, you "pin" it to one of your boards. It's there for others to see or for you to reference when you need it. Its quite handy, actually. And addictive. I spend quite a bit of time lazily searching through pins of others and occasionally pinning something I like while sipping tea. Then I found my first real project- a tea wreath. I had no idea I needed a tea wreath until I stumbled upon this one. It was crafty, cute, and colorful. Not to mention it displays different varieties of tea! I can't wait for someone to come over for tea and actually use my new creation by selecting their flavor of teabag from the attached clothespins, which I will be able to refill once they leave. :) My mother in law Deb and aunt Brenda will be here on the 27th, they might just get to be my guinea pigs. Otherwise, this is now an open invitation to anyone that would like to pop over for tea- I have it handily displayed for you to choose your flavor. And any of you that know me, I love having a variety of options. Now on to actually making this handy little pinterest project:




1. Create a cardboard circle of the size of desired wreath by tracing something round in that size. I choose a plate and the bottom of a salad bowl for my two circles. Make sure to leave enough room on your circle to fit clothespins!





2. Select the colors you want for your wreath. The colors of scrapbook paper and clothespins can vary. You can even choose to spraypaint the clothespins if you want the sides and middles to be a certain color. I chose to do a variety of colors but left the clothespins their natural wood color. If you are going to use this wreath to clip something besides teabags, you can choose appropriate colors accordingly. For example, if you wanted this wreath can hold Christmas cards or small advent gifts, you might choose to use red and green paper.

















3. Cover the cardboard circle with scrapbook paper by tracing the cardboard circle and cutting slits in the paper to glue to the round edges.
































4. Once the cardboard wreath is covered with the background paper, cover the clothespins. Cut the paper to size and glue to the tops of the clothespins.















5. After all of the clothespins are covered, design your wreath. Do you want the colors random, purposeful, or in a pattern? Make sure to put all of the clipping ends facing out and the pinching ends facing in the middle of the wreath. Otherwise, the tea will be on the wrong edge of the wreath.



















6. Tie a ribbon around the wreath and hang on the wall. I choose a grosgrain ribbon, because how can you go wrong with grosgrain? :) It is also available in Paperchase (Al Mushrif mall here in Abu Dhabi) in a variety of colors.




7. Clip a variety of teabags to the outside using the clothespins. You can also get really creative and make a wreath to hold notes, cards, lists, pretty much whatever you want. I love the idea of displaying a variety of tea flavors.

8. Invite friends for tea and enjoy!

9. For all of my teacher friends, this will also at some point be adapted for some kind of holiday or Mother's day gift for my students to make. Depending on the age of students, they will be able to do many of these steps. It's an easy and fairly inexpensive project that many mothers will enjoy. :)

Joys of Teaching

Educators often hear how lucky we are to have summers off. And of course, we are. Not waking up to an alarm, special afternoons with family, leisurely lunches with friends, and plenty of time to travel are some definite perks to teaching. Being an educator isn't about having the summers off, though. Maybe it's just me, or how much I actually enjoy my job, but I miss the hours of my days that are spent teaching and learning. In fact, I seek out opportunities in the summer for those experiences. This week my "fix" comes in the form of another summer day camp. Yes, it's hot outside. Yes, there are lot of other things that I could be doing with my time. No, of course it doesn't pay very well. Monetarily, anyway. Giving kids who are interested in particular topics the information they're dying for, planning for and allowing authentic learning experiences, and guiding students to better understand the world in which they live are only a few of the joys of teaching. The rewards that happy faces and eager students provide are immeasurable. We are also paid by witnessing understanding spread across a confused face. We are given the chance to expand a future generation's view of the world through discussion. A specific amount of money in the little white box on a check doesn't create the same pride, reward, and hope that making a difference in a child's life does. A joyful face, a tight hug, adoring eyes, or comments like "I love camp, I couldn't have imagined it any better!" are only a few of the many joys of teaching.