my new 5th grade classroom reveal

Welcome! I changed grade levels this year from 1st grade to 5th grade. While I am so nervous, I am very excited for a new challenge and exploring the things 5th graders can do that 1st graders can't. I still kept some 1st grade elements to my classroom because 5th graders are still little kids at heart (I hope). Come check out my new room! (PS I went a little pennant banner crazy. #sorrynotsorry)

A place to hang their work outside our room, my "Currently Reading" and "Just Finished" boards outside my room for me to let kids know what books I'm reading (from MsAPlusTeacher), and my "What's the Password?" sign which I plan on putting vocabulary words on and they have to define them before they can come in.

Welcome! Come on in! Hopefully it's the happiest place you've ever been :) 

My 5th grade door... it's hard to read but it says "5th grade is sweet!" and I'll put their names on the cupcakes once I get my final class list. I promise the orange shows up better in person!

Daily 5 chart, compliment jars for all 3 of my classes (from Reagan Tunstall), yellow tape on floor for them to line up on, bookshelf with materials for the students to use

Classroom Expectations, hand signals

Front of the room (apparently 5th graders have homework and have to write in their agenda haha!)

Yes I'm keeping my rug, rocking chair, and easel. Hopefully the 5th graders will enjoy it!

Small group area

Probably my favorite part of the room. I made all of those pennant banners to look like curtains (since I'm too cheap to buy curtains) and I LOVE how they turned out! I also have all of my Kohls 5 dollar books and stuffed animals back there too. I love how they look all sitting back there! So happy! The book boxes are for Daily 5. 

Computer area. That back wall will be filled with anchor charts in no time!

Storage and job chart

Job chart that I made

My teacher desk, "Book Quotes" makeshift bulletin board in the background which is where the kids will put their favorite book quotes with a silver Sharpie (I added a quote from Wonder)

My teacher desk

The students' library. The kids will write the books they love on that makeshift bulletin board with silver Sharpie. The big yellow thing with the curtain and the metal bookshelf are storage for me. The Fridge bulletin board is for kids to hang their work on that they're proud of (like your mom used to hang your work on the fridge at home). 

One bookshelf in the library. I bought those book display holders on Amazon (12 for 7 dollars!). I LOVE how they display my favorite books! Hopefully the kids will want to read them now :)

More library. PS I'm taking chapter book donations if anyone has any they want to get rid of! 

Places for the kids to sit in the library.

Word Wall (probably will end up being a vocabulary wall) and the writing table for Daily 5

Focus Wall for spelling words, vocabulary words, essential question, etc.

The awesome tent my mom's friend Kathy gave me. My 1st graders LOVED to read in there and I'm hoping my 5th graders will too!

Looking from my small group table

My text evidence board. As a class, we will come up with phrases to show text evidence in our writing and put them on this board. I'm planning on putting our accountable talk charts here too once we make them as a class. 

Well that's it! I hope you enjoyed my classroom tour! I'm sure I'll change a ton as I learn all about my new 5th graders and their needs. But for now... this is it! I ultimately love how bright, happy, and cheerful it is and hopefully the kids will too! It's going to be a good year!

-Elizabeth

2nd annual books I've read (and loved!) in 2014

Yall, I love to read. I often get asked when I find the time to read. Being a teacher, the answer to that is that I read several books over spring break, summer break, fall break, and Christmas break. Breaks are when I can feel normal again! So below you will find the books I read (and absolutely loved) in 2014. I wrote a similar post about the books I read and loved in 2013 last year. You can find that post here.

 

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Books I've Read and Loved in 2014:
I've linked to all book titles to where you can purchase them on Amazon and also find a brief description of each

 

1. Dark Places by: Gillian Flynn
If you loved Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (it was turned into a movie), then you're going to love Gillian Flynn's other 2 books. They are obviously less known than Gone Girl, but I actually think they are better. Dark Places is incredibly chilling, disturbing, and mysterious. I read it in 2 days. It is that good!

 

2. Sharp Objects by: Gillian Flynn
Once again, this book is written by Gillian Flynn, the same woman who wrote Gone Girl. This book was sooo creepy. I don't understand how this woman can write these creepy, disturbing books and still be normal herself. I read this book in 1 day. It was such a great mystery! I thought I had it all figured out and then it all changed in the last 2 chapters. It is a very interesting read!

 

3. The Crossfire Series by: Sylvia Day (Bared to You, Reflected in You, Entwined with You)
This book series is incredibly similar to 50 Shades of Grey. So if you liked 50... you've got to read this series! Judge all you want friends... yes I've read 50 and yes I've read this series. The love stories are seriously what hooked me in! Sylvia Day writes an incredibly romantic love story that is far from perfect and surprisingly full of suspense and mystery. Eva and Gideon's romance is a whirlwind and borderline crazy, but I still love it. Sylvia Day just came out with a 4th book (Captivated by You) which I plan to read in 2015.

 

4. I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends by: Courtney Robertson
I hated Courtney on Ben's season of the Bachelor, but after reading her book, I kind of absolutely love her. She spills so many secrets in this book! If you are a fan of the Bachelor or Bachelorette, then you have to read her book! It is so juicy and you will end up falling in love with Courtney by the end of it.

 

5. The One and Only by: Emily Giffin
This book reminds me a lot of Friday Night Lights (which I absolutely loved). Once I got past the creepiness of this book (a 20 something girl ending up with her best friend's father)... I really liked the story. It was a nice vacation read. It sucked me in right away which I like from a book.

 

6. Labor Day by: Joyce Maynard
When I heard this was being made into a movie, I knew I had to read the book first. After I read the book, I thought there's no way I'm going to see the movie! I absolutely loved this book and the love story that unfolds. It also has some mystery in it which I something I love in a book. As of today, I still haven't seen the movie. However, it's on Netflix now and yall know how I love Netflix so I may be watching it soon! UPDATE: I finally watched the movie and it crushed me. I cried the last 15 minutes. The movie was identical to the book and definitely did it justice!

 

7. Wonder by: R.J. Palacio
Yall... this book crushed me. I cried my eyes out too many times. It came to me as a recommendation from my post from last year about the books I've read and I'm so glad that I took the time to read it. It also opened my eyes as a teacher and challenged me.

 

8. Yes Please by: Amy Poehler
Everyone should be saying YES PLEASE to this book! I absolutely love Amy Poehler and her book is no exception. She is funny and relatable. I found myself literally laughing out loud. You will love this book!

 

9. If I Stay by: Gayle Forman
I have a problem with reading books that are being turned into movies and then never seeing the movie. I still haven't seen this movie! The book was fantastic. I loved the flashbacks and seeing everything from a dying girl's point of view. Incredibly heartbreaking and enlightening. I need to see the movie soon!

 

10. The One (the 3rd book in The Selection Series) by: Kiera Cass

 If you read my post from last year then you know that I was OBSESSED with this series. It's got love, royalty, and a bit of the Bachelor feel in it which are my 3 favorite things. Well, the 3rd book came out in May (The One), and I devoured it in a day. It was so good and I was incredibly happy with how the series ended! Then I found out... she's writing a fourth book! The Heir comes out in May 2015 and I can't wait to read it!

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Books I want to read in 2015:

 

1. Captivated by You (the 4th book in The Crossfire Series) by: Sylvia Day
I just can't stay away from Eva and Gideon's love story. Looking forward to reading this one soon!

 

2. Wild by: Cheryl Strayed
I saw the movie and now I'm dying to read the book! I absolutely loved the movie and I thought Reese Witherspoon did a fantastic job. I hope I enjoy the book just as much!

 

3. Bad Feminist by: Roxanne Gay
Who doesn't love a book about feminism?

4. The Heir (the 4th book in The Selection Series) by: Kiera Cass
I thought this series was done and then Kiera surprised us with a 4th book! I am thrilled and cannot wait to read it once it comes out in May.
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Are there any books I should be reading in 2015? What books do you love? Let me know!

From one bookworm to another,
Elizabeth

I'll see the goodness of the Lord

Disclaimer: I've been hovering over this blog post for awhile now. Honestly, because I'm scared. It's scary to be open and transparent and invite people into your personal life. However, I've got a testimony to be shared and I will proclaim the goodness of the Lord to anyone who will listen! With that being said, keep reading if that's something you're interested in hearing.

I've got no cutesy pictures, no inspired words, no catchy phrases to go with this blog post. My hopes in writing this is to 1. share what the Lord has done/is doing in my life and 2. hopefully lift someone up who's been struggling with God's plan for their life.

Let's rewind to January 2014. For reasons that I'm choosing to keep private, I knew without a doubt that the Lord was stirring in my heart that it was time to move on from my current teaching position. Like I said, I'm keeping it private as to exactly HOW I knew that, but just trust me. It's between God and I anyway, right? So as soon as I knew it was time to leave, I began praying and praying for God to put me exactly where he wanted me to be. Did he want me in Metro? Did he want me in Murfreesboro? Public school? Private school? Elementary school? Middle school? I didn't care. Wherever God wanted me to be, I was game. (Note: I could still return to my old teaching job if another position didn't work out. I was just looking for something different.)

I interviewed for a school in late January kind of "under the table" because there weren't any open positions yet, but would be towards the end of the year. I waited and waited and prayed and prayed. This was the perfect school/situation for me (so I thought). Around the middle of April, I found out that they weren't able to offer me a position. I was DEVASTATED. But, Lord, this is where I wanted to be and I thought it was perfect for me... why wouldn't you put me there?! But alas, I trusted God that he had a purpose for it all and I moved on to other schools. (I later found out God's reason for me not being at this school... He's good y'all!)

This would go on for MONTHS. I would interview for a teaching job I thought I was perfect for and that I really wanted and I wouldn't get it. I just did not understand. I seriously went on at least 5 interviews and did not get those positions. What was going on?! I was exhausted, worried, nervous, and scared. The human in me was thinking "I'm a great teacher. I've got great TEAM evaluation scores. I'm highly qualified and trained. Why am I not getting these jobs?!" (The Lord later revealed to me the reasons why I didn't get all of those positions and he's still revealing some of the reasons. He was working on something bigger and better for me than anything I had dreamed for myself.)

I began to lose hope. It was summer now and most of the positions online were filled. However in the middle of June, I received an email asking me to interview at an elementary school in Murfreesboro. 5 minutes from my house. Where I actually went to elementary school at for 9 years. Where I still know some of the teachers at. WHAT?! Lord, is THIS what you had in store for me? Is this your plan?! I was so hopeful. I interviewed and then the next day the principal called me offering me a 1st grade teaching position. I gleefully and thankfully accepted that position, hung up the phone, and balled my eyes out. Then I praised God and have been praising him ever since for what He did in my life. (I couldn't announce that I had gotten the job until the beginning of July for HR reasons, but believe me I wanted to SCREAM it to everyone!!!)

So, the reason I write all of this is not to toot my own horn and show you how great I am. I hope you don't get that from this post. I write this to show you that sometimes things don't work out and our human brains are so confused. Why would God do that? Doesn't God want me to be happy? The answer is YES. Just wait. Things may not get better in the next day, month, or year. It took me over 6 months to see His plan for me unfold (and I know He's not done yet... He's got even more in store for me!). Don't lose hope. Keep praying. Keep being faithful. God will reward your faithfulness! I know how hard it is. I know how much you want to give up. Those 6 months were the hardest I've been through. But, I've seen the goodness of the Lord unfold in my life and I'm so thankful I stayed strong and faithful during that time!

Here are some songs that helped me during those 6 months of waiting. I would literally listen to these all. the. time. On the way to school, at school (before the kids got there), on the way home, while I was grading papers... all the time! If you haven't heard some of them, definitely check them out! (I've linked to each song on YouTube so you can listen!)

"Everlasting God" by: Fellowship Church

"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by: Hillsong United

"Psalm 13" by: Nate Hale

"In Christ Alone" by: Passion

"Always" by: Kristian Stanfill

"Forever Reign" by: Hillsong Live

 



I hope that this post brings you hope or inspiration to stay strong. I've got an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness in my life and I'm so happy to share it with all of you! Keep praying for God's will in your life and stay strong. He will deliver you. Thank you for reading!

 

"The Lord is my light and salvation. Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I be afraid?"

-Elizabeth




books I've read (and loved!) in 2013

Hello all!

So it's been about a year and a half since I last wrote or even looked at my blog. But it's Christmas Break for me and with all this extra time on my hands, I got the urge to post. Judge away, but I'll post what I want and when I want.

Anyway, this year I've really fostered my love for reading again. As a child, you're forced to read (I should know, I'm a teacher constantly telling my kids "READ!").  In college, you're forced to read educational texts that are dry and boring. It's not until after you've graduated from school that you have the time or energy for reading for fun again. At least, that's how it was for me. So this year I've spent all of my school breaks reading (along with knitting, watching Netflix, and sitting in my pajamas all day, but that's beside the point). So I thought I would share:

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Books I’ve Read (and loved!)

in 2013

http://hooperea.blogspot.com/

1. The Divergent Series (Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant) by: Veronica Roth

This series is the closest thing I've found to The Hunger Games trilogy. It's set in a future, post United States society. It's got a forbidden romance. It's got a strong female lead. What more could you want?! I have to say I honestly liked this series more than The Hunger Games. However, if you read this series, be prepared to hate everything after you finish the third book, Allegiant. I still haven't gotten over it.

 

2. The Selection, The Elite, The One (The Selection Trilogy) by: Kiera Cass

If you love The Bachelor, then you will love this trilogy. This book takes The Bachelor and classes it up a bit. It's about a strong female lead who gets chosen for the Selection. The Selection is to help the good looking prince find his wife. The setting is in a castle, they wear fabulous clothes, and it's got a love triangle. I've actually only read the first book (The Selection), but I have got The Elite on hold at the library and I can't wait to read it! I'm kind of putting off reading the 2nd book (The Elite) because the 3rd book (The One) doesn't come out until May 2014.

 

3. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

This book. Oh, this book! It's got more twists and turns than a rollercoaster and will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The first 3 chapters will confuse you, and I almost stopped reading because I thought there was no way she could connect these characters' lives. However, I am so glad that I stuck it out because the author not only connects the character's lives but makes you wonder how you never saw any of it coming. Mystery, romance, murder, female leads... I give this book 2 thumbs up!

 

4. Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank

First good thing about this book: it's FREE right now if you download it using the Kindle app! So if you're looking for a great free read then this book should be downloading now. This book is also centered around a murder, has a strong female lead, and romance. I'm just going to let Amazon give you their blurb because they're better at it than I am: "For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She's had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone's toilet's overflowed, but she's never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect." I couldn't put this book down! There's actually 2 other books in this trilogy (you can find them here and here), but I was satisfied after the first book and didn't feel the need to read the next 2. Maybe in 2014, I'll read the last 2 books.

 

5. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by: Mindy Kaling

I absolutely love Mindy Kaling and her book did not disappoint. Such a fun book for girls in their 20s. I loved that it was about Mindy Kaling's life but it also had great advice for girls in it as well. Strong female role model for the win!

 

6. Bossypants by Tina Fey

If you want to learn about Fey's experience as a female actress in a man's world, then this book is for you! It is so funny that I found myself laughing out loud. Just like Mindy Kaling's book, Fey tells about her life while also throwing in sage advice.

 

7. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

I'm pretty sure everyone has read this book by now. However, I was at the beach and wanted a good romance to read. It also helped that I'd already seen the movie and was picturing Zac Efron the whole time (I LOVE Zac Efron!). As they always say, the book is better than the movie.

 

8. Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler

I know some people view Chelsea Handler as the trashiest person on the planet. And her book definitely had some trashy moments. But it was really funny and fun to escape to Chelsea's world for a bit.

 

9. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Here's another murder mystery except in this one, you have no idea who is telling the truth or what the truth is. It's about a married couple who are living a perfectly happy life when the wife mysteriously goes missing and the husband is the main suspect. You think you know what's going to happen and then you get to a certain part of the book and everything changes. This book has been on every "must read" list out there so go read it!

10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
This book is being made into a movie so I had to read it before it comes out! It's also been on every "must read" list. It is about 2 teenagers with cancer that meet at a cancer support group. They fall in in love and it's an absolutely beautiful story to watch unfold. Fair warning: you will be depressed for days after reading this book.

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So there you have it! Those are the books I've read and loved in 2013. What does it say about me that most of these books are romance, mystery, or have a strong female lead? I guess that's my type! I am looking forward to finding more books to read in 2014. If you have any suggestions of books for me to read, feel free to leave a comment and let me know! I'm always looking for new books to read on my school breaks.

What books have you read in 2013? What were your favorites? Do you have a "type" of book?

Until next time,
Elizabeth

update on life + Christmas craft

Hello friends!!

First, I am so incredibly sorry for the lack of updates and crafts on my blog. I have still been crafting but I just haven't had the time to sit down and put it on the computer unfortuantely! Let's see if I can fill you guys in on what I've been up to since August 28 AND show yall a new Christmas craft I just finished! :) Life since August 28.....

September:

My good friend Emma got married and it was gorgeous!

I took my last 2 PRAXIS tests and.... PASSED THEM!!! Yay! I have finally taken and passed all 4 of my PRAXIS tests :)

Bid Night and Delta Omega's 8 beautiful new members!

October:

One of my best friends, Sarah Grace, and I went to multiple yard sales and found some great stuff! 

More great yard sale finds!

absolutely beautiful sunset at Lipscomb!

Bell Buckle Craft Fair for one weekend in October. I love the craft fair with my grandparents so much!

I was Mary Poppins for Halloween!

I took a new little for Delta Omega! Her name is Anna Spain and she's PRECIOUS :) These are all of the goodies I made her/bought her.

Part of my Delta Omega family! 2 of my littles, Anna and LauraBeth, and then my newest grandlittle, Bekah!

My newest little (Anna) and I went to a pumpkin patch! It was SO much fun!

I LOVE these pumpkins and actually bought the blue one for myself :)

On October 30, MY ROOMMATE GOT ENGAGED!!!!!!!! SO SO SO EXCITED FOR HER! :)

November:

Lipscomb Dodgeball... may sound silly but it's a huge deal at Lipscomb and pretty hilarious!

Lipscomb did a production of Hairspray and my roommates and I went to watch it. It was SO GOOD!!!

Nikki asked Sarah Grace and I to be BRIDESMAIDS!!!!! and of course we said YES!!!!!!!! :)

These are the precious 2nd graders I've been teaching this semester at Cole Elementary School. I have absolutely fallen in love with them! It will be so hard to leave!!!

and now I am just at home for the week because Lipscomb gets a full week for Thanksgiving break which I am SO thankful for! I've been relaxing, crafting, decorating, and sleeping! It has been so great :) Speaking of crafts, I think it's time to show yall the Christmas craft I've been working on! So I present to you......

The Picture Frame Christmas Wreath



It was so super easy to make!! All I did was paint a frame (mine was 10 x 14), string ornaments through twine and hot glue them to the back of the frame, and then cut a ribbon and make a huge bow and hot glue it on!!! I just love this and as soon as I get back to school this will be on our front door :) A picture frame as a wreath? Seems silly right? According to Pinterest, it's the trend! I drew my inspiration from here except I didn't make my ornaments like she did. I bought my ornaments and ribbon for super cheap at Michaels (love those 40% off coupons!) She also gives a tutorial if you need more direction on how to make this! :)

Well I think that's all for now, I'll try to keep this updated more regularly but between teaching, classes, and finals coming up.... it may not happen until Christmas break :) Love you all! Thanks for reading!!

the return

Hey friends!
First, I am SO sorry I have been a terrible blogger. Things have been CRAZY around here since school started and I'm trying to figure out how I am going to manage it all :) However, crafting and DIY seem to be my sanity and escape these days so I plan on keeping these up which also means I'll be blogging about it! So no worries-- I'm not going anywhere!

So this project that I'm featuring today I actually made about a week and a half ago. I just haven't had time to blog about it yet! So here you are! This project was inspired by many different projects that I found on the internet as well as by a couple of things I already had.

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The Magnetic Board Cookie Sheet

This is the AFTER picture :) I love it!! It was pretty simple to make also. I was inspired to make it by this project here although they made their's a chalkboard and I just made mine into a magnetic board. I first started with a plain cookie sheet that I got at The Dollar Store for $1. I spray painted the cookie sheet a tiffany's blue with spray paint I already had. Then I attached some brown craft paper I already had (but could also be found at The Dollar Store) with Mod Podge. I just cut a piece that would fit the inside and brushed a couple layers of Mod Podge on to it with a brush. NOTE: The brown craft paper doesn't make it magnetic or anything... I just liked the way it looked. The cookie sheet itself is magnetic so you could put no paper or paper on it depending on how you want it to look.

Here is a picture of the magnets I already had at home that inspired me to make this magnetic board out of a cookie sheet. I just really wanted to use these magnets but they weren't really powerful enough to hold anything on the fridge. I made these magnets last year after my friend Michelle showed me how. They are so easy, cheap, and cute! Here is a tutorial here on how to make them.

I chose to embellish my magnetic board with some book page flowers! Since I already had the books and hot glue gun and sticks, these were free and so easy! You can find a tutorial on how to make them here and here.

and this is just a close up of another magnet and the picture I have on my magnetic board right now. I love this thing because you can put pictures on it or receipts or coupons or whatever you need to keep track of! Love it! Then to hang it up I attached twine I already had with hot glue to the back and tied it in a bow.

So overall, this project cost me 1 dollar for the cookie sheet since I had everything else I used at home already. So cheap! If you used an old cookie sheet you already had at home and then you had the other things as well, this could be free! That would be exciting!

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and there you have it! :) I already had a couple of other projects that I have made that I just haven't had time to blog about so be on the lookout for those soon as well! Love you guys! Thank you for your encouraging words and prayers as always! 



wreaths wreaths wreaths

Hello everyone!
Well I am back from a wonderful weekend in Louisville! It was exhausting but so much fun! This was my first time in Louisville and it is SUCH a fun town! I absolutely loved it :) OH and there was this fabulous antique mall/flea market that Caitlyn and I found and it was wonderful! I got so many great things that will end up on the blog at some point!

So since school starts back in a WEEK (crazy!), I have been crafting away since I know I won't have much time to at school! Recently, I have been obsessed with wreaths on Pinterest. There are just so many cute ones!!! I'll share a few of my personal favorites then the one that I ended up making.



OBSESSED with this one... because it's yellow and grey of course!

I LOVE the bow on this one... not sure how the rest of the wreath is put together though!

love love love... but would take FOREVER to make

LOVE the burlap!

for when I'm a teacher! so cute!

precious!

LOVE all 4 of them!



and this is the one I decided to make! :)



So also on Pinterest when I was looking for an inspiration for my wreath, I found a great way to make a cheap wreath form! The foam wreath forms that you find at craft stores can be very expensive. So instead go to the plumbing department at Home Depot or Lowes and grab a six foot long piece of foam tubing for $.97!! Snip the length you want with scissors and duct tape the ends together. Voila! You have a really inexpensive wreath form. Such a great idea!

This is what the foam tubing will look like except MUCH longer. This was after I had already cut off the piece for my wreath. Then you just duct tape the ends together and you have a wreath form!

and here is my wreath after!!! I LOVE IT! As I mentioned, I tried to make it look like the one above but I added my own touches and made it look a little different.

Here's a close up of the flowers I made. I also used burlap and made a few burlap flowers.

and another picture of the flowers!

This project was so easy! Once I made the wreath form out of the foam tubing from Lowe's, I just wrapped the foam tubing in an old tshirt and then hot glued it down. Then I made my rolled tshirt flowers and hot glued those on there. Then I tied a huge ribbon bow on it and that was it!! So easy!

Price breakdown:

-foam tubing from Lowe's: $0.97

-everything else (tshirts, ribbon): FREE

So this cost $0.97 total!! So awesome! So give this a try because it was easy, so much fun, and looks great! Happy crafting!! :)