Binkies and Briefcases

I have no affiliation with Steve Spangler, I have just really loved his products for several years now. In my pre-mom life I was an elementary math & science teacher working with gifted children. These are, in my opinion, the best products on the market to make science fun for kids and they are also really affordable. I like to give them as Christmas presents, especially to kids to are in the awkward preteen phase where toys & clothes won’t cut it, but you want to give them a “thing” and not a gift card. Plus, I like to give stuff instead of money because a $5 bill doesn’t seem like a very generous gift, but I can buy something cool for less than that….ok, I’m rambling now. Just check out these awesome gifts that are all available on the Steve Spangler Science website for under $5.

Astronaut Ice Cream (freeze dried ice cream) for $3.95 makes an awesome stocking stuffer. I’ve given it to students during our units about the solar system and this year I’m giving this to my little cousins along with some Star Wars children’s books I picked up at our library’s book sale.

InstaSnow powder $4.95. I LOVE this stuff! (although it’s messy) I used this in my classroom every year in lessons about friction, polymers, and even part-part-whole addition. It is amazing!

Energy eyeball, $4.95. I’ve used this in lessons about closed circuits, but it’s also a cool stocking stuffer, especially for little boys.

Growing Alligator, $1.95. I’ve used these in lessons about measurement. The kids loved them, plus they are really cheap. It starts off small (stocking suffer size) and grows when you keep it in water. They even shrink slowly when you take them out of the water.

Individual test tube experiments, $3.95 each. again, perfect stocking stuffer size. I’ve given these as gifts and used some of them in my classroom as well.

I LOVE Steve Spangler’s stuff!!!!!

I also have his Ice Cream Ball, UV color changing beads, the Axle Annie book, and I’ve used the crystal trees in my classroom & worked with other teachers who have used the butterfly habitat, all with great success.

If I ever decide to home school my kids I will probably buy every product he makes-they are that awesome.

🙂

It’s my first give away!!!

Remember my Blueprint art work?

Well here is your chance to win an 8×10 copy of my blueprint.

(Frame not included)

Rules:

• You must be a follower of my blog to win
• The giveaway will end at midnight on Saturday 11/13.
• You must include your email address in each comment you leave.

To enter
(each comment counts as one entry)

• Leave a comment telling me what project on this blog has been your favorite and why
• Leave a comment telling me you are a follower
• Blog about this give away or share it on your Facebook page and come back to leave a comment telling me you have done so

Don’t forget to include an email address in each comment! I need a way to get in touch with you if you win.

Winners will be selected at random on Sunday, 11/14.
If I get more than 150 comments I will choose 2 winners.

Good luck!

Giveaway Directory

If you have never even touched a sewing machine until this moment, you can do this. I promise.

Remember how I told you Anthroplogie has a line of sweater skirts out right now?

When I saw them on their website (for a minimum of $98 each, no less) I had a serious Why didn’t I think of that?! moment. Here I’ve been making all kinds of stuff out of sleeves, I have desperately needed something to do with the torsos of all my re-purposed sweaters.

It’s so easy I’m almost embarrassed to post this as a tutorial. Almost.

The important thing is to find a sweater with a band at the bottom that is similar to your waist measurement. (A little bit smaller is better because it will stretch. If it’s a little big just belt it.) This one is a men’s medium and I picked it up at Goodwill today for $4. It’s important to use a men’s sweater because it gives you more fabric for length.

I chose this one because of the way the band curved in at the bottom, the neutral color, and the fact that it had my favorite words (“machine wash, tumble dry low”) on the tag.

Are you ready? There are only 2 steps.

Step 1: Cut a scalloped shape across the chest, just under the arms.

Step 2: Zig-zag stitch along the area that you just cut. This will prevent unraveling and will also create a little ruffle as you pull the fabric through the machine.

Done. Ready to wear in 10 minutes.

(I know these pictures of me are awful, but it’s the best I can do using the automated timer on the camera by myself)

You can use the sleeves to make some of my stockings or puppets.

Let me know if you make one!

I’m linking to
Trash to Treasure Tuesday
Tuesday Treasures
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Transformation Thursday
Get Your Craft On Thursday
Sunday Showcase
Refashion Party