Making a Meet the Teacher Movie

Blogging twice in one month?  I know.  It's shocking!  Summertime does wonders for me.

Social media is such a wonderful thing (when it's used properly).  I love connecting with teachers everywhere.  Sharing ideas and getting new ones for myself in an instant is amazing.  Yesterday I shared a picture on Instagram of my Meet the Teacher powerpoint that I turned into a movie so it could be set on replay since our school runs an informal Meet and Greet night. 

I had a few questions about how to make this or if I have a template in my TpT store.  No, I do not sell this template because the watercolor backgrounds are from Schoolgirl Style's Flamingo Watercolor collection.  However, I made a video to walk you through making one for yourself.  It's so easy!  I have a MacBook so I am using Keynote and iMovie.  The movie file was too large to include here so click the picture below to take you to the video on my Google Drive. :)

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail (whalecometo2ndgrade@gmail.com) me or comment below. 

Crate Seats

Hey y'all!

I posted this picture on Instagram and Facebook yesterday and had so much feedback and questions.

1. Where is the fabric from? 

JoAnn's

2. How do you keep your crate seats clean? 

My kiddos always take really good care of these crate seats, but they do get a tad bit dusty and dirty throughout the year.  My solution?  RECOVER THEM EVERY YEAR! I like to see minor changes in my decor from year to year and this is a perfect way to do it. Small price to pay for a change that seems pretty big. I don't strip the old fabric off, I just add the new fabric on top.  This also adds extra padding every year. 

3. I'm making for the first time.  Do you have any suggestions?

Of course!  So the first year I made these I used thinner padding.  They weren't as comfortable as I would like, but my kids never complained.  This year I purchased 1" regular density foam (pictured below) from JoAnn's for $4.99 and added it on top of the old fabric.    

4. Why should I make crate seats?

Flexible seating + storage... BOOM! Need I say more?

I use a staple gun to attach the new fabric to the wood.  When I first started to make these 3 years ago I tried to use a regular crafting staple gun from Hobby Lobby.  This didn't cut it because the staples wouldn't go through the wood.  My husband got me this Arrow Fastener hand staple gun with heavy duty staples.  This works perfectly!  

Making these crate seats is SO EASY!  The nice men at Home Depot cut the wood at the size I needed for me since I don't have access to power tools. I even brought in a crate to show them and for us to test it out on.  Make sure to measure the inside of the crate where the wood will actually sit.   

How easy are these to put together once your wood is cut?  SO EASY!  I'm not making this up. I have posted a video below of me putting one together.  I tried to get a good video angle without the camera tipping over (ugh) and this is the best I could get so I apologize in advance. 

I hope this helps and answers some questions. Please contact me for any specific questions or further advice: whalecometo2ndgrade@gmail.com