Best Sharpener Ever

There is another giveaway for the "best sharpener ever!"  I really want one of these!  If you would like to have a chance at winning one of these, go visit Teaching Joys. Good luck! :)

P.S. You can also go to the Classroom Friendly Supplies website and enter a separate giveaway!

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As of right now, I don't have any fabulous finds to share this week.  I'm about to visit a consignment shop that was mentioned yesterday by Cyndi at Lacy's Letters.  Hopefully, I'll have some luck! :)

UPDATE: FABULOUS FINDS!!

The consignment shop "Once Upon a Child" was a success!  They had a ton of books, but I walked out with 16 (if I counted correctly).  All of these books were in GREAT shape.  I spent $20 which I don't think is bad.  Hopefully, they're books the kiddos will read!  I know Black Beauty is a classic, but I read it when I was in 6th grade and fell in love with the book.  I finally found a copy that had the great color illustrations! :)

Last fall, I bought this stamp off of Etsy.  I like the look of stamping my name in books instead of writing it or putting sticker labels inside.  I can't remember, but I don't think it was too expensive.

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I haven't purchased anything knew but I really wanted to join Kristen's July Summer Shopping Linky Party, so I'm going to reiterate some of my favorite purchases in July! :) 

(You can click on the pictures to go to the blog entry to read more!)

My #1 favorite purchase is my Clemson rocker!!  Expensive but worth it! :)
My favorite purchase in the 2nd picture is my chevron rug from Big Lots! - $16!!!

I got these flower from Michael's.  It will be nice to have bright, fake flowers all year!
My #2 favorite purchase is this Scotch Laminator!!  It has been so incredibly handy!

I got this cart from Michael's on super sale! $28
The buttons I found at the Dollar Spot and I personalized them to be Ron Clark test buttons.

My last favorite purchase is an Ikea Magazine rack that I painted and will use to turn in homework! :)

Fabulous Finds Friday

Is it seriously already Friday??  Good gracious!  I have a few finds to share this week that I meant to share last week, as well as a few new finds from this week.

These are the finds I meant to share last week.  All of this came from Big Lots when they were having 20% off your entire purchase.  The baskets are boring, but I'm really excited about the dry erase "boards" and my new rug!  I plan to use the white dry erase board on my back door to take attendance/lunch count with my bottle cap numbers.  I'm not sure how I will use the blue circles, yet.

I found these bright flowers at Michael's.  They were on sale and I was able to use my 25% off coupon!  I thought they would look great with my "bright colors" theme.

After seeing a few bloggers post about purchasing laminators, I decided I would give it a try.  I have wanted one, but I've been somewhat skeptical.  I'm so excited that I bought this thing!  Here, I am laminating Kristen's (Ladybug Teacher Files) CRAFT and VOICES headers.

1. Another find I saw all over blogger world last week was this rolling cart.  I have been eyeing it for about a month, but WOULD NOT spend $60 on it.  I saw on a few blogs that it was 50% off and there was a 25% off coupon floating around.  I  looked through my email and found it, so I couldn't resist! :)
2. Lamp: I'm going to use this lamp in my library.  It's going to be in a dark corner of the room, so we'll need the extra light.
3. Mainstay Shelves @ Walmart:  I bought two of these cheap shelves to use around my guided reading table.  We are not allowed to have teacher desks, so my GR table is my desk (without storage).  It will come in handy.

And last but not least, my Dollar Spot finds!
1. 5 2-packs of "Award Buttons."I saw this idea on Pinterest.  (Have you ever seen a great idea on Pinterest and thought you pinned it, but when you go back to look at it, you discover that you never actually did pin it?  Frustrating.)  Click here for the original blog post.  Whenever a student makes a 100% on a test, they get to wear a button for everyone to see!  It's supposed to be a Ron Clark idea...  I'm thinking I might go back and get more.  I'd hate for everyone to make a 100 and only have 10 buttons! :)
2. Great Work!  Stamp
3. Chalk Board: Have y'all seen this on Pinterest?  I would like to do a collage like this with my class this year.  I think it would be sweet to have up on the wall. :)

Those are all my finds for now.  I have more, but I'm going to share those on Monday! :)

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One last thing... Did anyone watch CBS's new show, 3, last night?  I thought it was the cutest thing ever!  What did y'all think?

Fabulous Find Friday: Shopping in SC

Coming home this week was the best idea I've had in a while!  I'm not going to bore you with all the school supplies my MOM bought me...  She is awesome and has saved me so much money!  Unfortunately, I will still need to buy more supplies.  We are SO underpaid, but y'all already know this...

I'll start with my biggest purchase and the one that makes me the happiest:

I'm so excited about my new Clemson Rocker.  This is going to be my chair for the meeting/smartboard area of my classroom.  It was NOT cheap, but I have wanted one for several years.  Might as well, right? :)  The students love to sit in the teacher's rocker, so it can be an incentive during their reading time.

I accidentally stumbled upon a theme for my room.  It's nothing like "jungle" or "hollywood", but it's a bright colors theme!!  Works for me.
Let's see:
1. Tissue Paper: I'm going to try to make those Pom-Pom Puff Balls to hang from the ceiling. (1.99 each at Party City)
2. Flower Hole Punch: I needed a special hole punch for the punch cards I'll be using. (40% off at Hobby Lobby)
3. Green Totes: Each pod will store their book baggies in these totes.  Also, I'll label these totes with these numbers I found at "technology rocks. seriously."  I wish I could afford the money and space to use individual magazine boxes, but it's not happening. (Dollar Tree)
4. Magnetic Locker Basket: I'm going to use this to keep my Expo markers in. ($2.99 at Target)
5. Funny Ball: Will be used for silent ball or to call on students. (Target Dollar Bin)
6. 4-Pack Purple Basket: I don't know what I'll use these for... (Target Dollar Bin - $2.50)
7. Supply Caddies: Each pod will use these to house their Expos, erasers, highlighters, etc. ($2.50? each at Hobby Lobby)
8. Mr. Sketch Scented Markers: These are the best markers for anchor charts! (6.97 at Wal-mart)
9. Colorful T-Shirts: You'll see what these are for next Monday! :)

I *THINK* I'm going to use all of this to hang my curtains.  The walls, blinds, windows are a little weird from what I can remember, so I'm not sure this will work out.  I'll have to wait until I get back in the school to see.  I just got the regular Command hooks, a light weight curtain rod, and my little secret... Bathroom Command Strips!  These strips hold up to heat and humidity!  I don't know how your room is, but at my school, it gets hot and all the papers curl from the humidity.  Hopefully these strips will help keep things on the walls.

My last Fabulous Find is Staples Printing Services!!  The other day, I printed about 30 color pages on 110 lb. card stock for about $25.  It sounds expensive, but when I consider the cost of ink cartridges and quality, I'm actually saving money.  I printed Kristen's (at Ladybug's Teacher Files) CRAFT and VOICES headers, along with a few other things you'll see when I move into my classroom.  If you need something printed with a lot of color and want it to look great, use Staples!!

Alrighty, that's all of my Fabulous Finds for this week!  Do you think the "bright colors" theme works? :)  I can't wait to see what everyone else has found!

Fabulous Find Friday: Birchbox

Ok, ladies, if you love make up or any professional products, I'm about to rock your world!  Birchbox is one of my favorite little secrets!  Let me explain what it is...  Two Harvard grads realized that women (and now men) would probably buy professional products more often if they were able to "try before they buy"... Kind of like a test drive.  So, they built this company, Birchbox, that will send you a box full of deluxe size professional products for $10 a month, and you usually get 5-6 samples and sometimes bonuses.  Does that seem like a lot of money to you?  Well, think about, the times you have gone into Ulta or Sephora.  They always have samples close to the register of professional products.  How many of those samples are $5 or $10 each?!  Two months ago, I received a Stila liquid eye liner... I'm still using it today.  MOST of the samples are not 1-time uses.  Also, I haven't bought perfume in months.  My regular perfume ran out shortly before my first Birchbox, but I've been using the samples I've been receiving ever since.  It's a really great!!  I received my, I think, 4th box yesterday.  Check out everything that was inside (and please click on the picture!)!!

Yes, those are earbuds...
they were a bonus this month!

Now, let me get to the really cool part.  Birchbox really and truly wants your feedback on these products.  To make you more likely to give feedback, they will give 10 points for every item you give feedback.  10 points.... great, right?  YES!!  100 points = $10 that you can spend in their online store!!  Basically, they're paying you to provide feedback!  I haven't given feedback on the new items yet, but currently, I have 280 points.  When I get to 300 points, that's $30 towards a purchase!  Think about it... If their is a product you really love, you could get it FREE!!  

Anywho, that's my product pitch of the day.  If you decide to check out Birchbox, please follow the links I've strategically placed throughout this blog post.  For every person you refer, you get points!  So, please!  Help me get more points! :)

Oh, really important!!  When you go to sign up, it will only ask for your email address right now.  You've missed the Box for July; however, before their next box is available, they will send you an email and allow you to sign up and get your info!  YOU CAN CANCEL AT ANY TIME (but you won't).  ;)

Let me know if you have any questions!