I've crossed over to the BTS Zone!!! {{Monday Made-It}}

Let me start by thanking everyone who visited My First Love last week. It was my best week EVER:)  As my Littlest Love's favorite character would say, "That makes my heart feel super happy!" As a thank you, please check out the giveaway at the end of this blog post!

Something happened to me this week. I can't exactly explain how, why, or when...but it happened. I suddenly went all BTS. I figured I better take advantage of it because with me, that BTS feeling can disappear as quickly as it shows up!

I am linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for her weekly Monday Made-It linky party. I love this linky because it has really motivated me to GET IT DONE! Beware - this is a LONG post because I actually made a TON of stuff for my classroom!

Click {here} to check it out!

This week, my newly-turned-5 year old joined in on the action. She has become OBSESSED with my laminating machine. She practically demands that I print out more stuff for her to laminate. So...there has been a lot of downloading, printing, laminating, and cutting this week. Here are some of my favorites:

Aacckk!  I love these!  But I have no idea where I got them from! If you know who these belong to, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!

Owl Birthday Signs from Across the Hall in 2nd Grade
Owls on Dots Clip Chart
Even and Odd Owls

I am totally IN LOVE with these!!!
Picture Direction Icons by Miss Kindergarten

Large Bright Owls and Polka Dot Word Wall Headers by Erica Bohrer

Bright Polka Dot Number Signs 0-20 by Erica Bohrer

Nouns Around Town by Faith Wheeler

Now onto the BIG stuff!  I have been so inspired by everyone's Monday Made-Its, that I just had to jump on the whisper phone and crate seat bandwagon. Mr. First Love and I headed off to Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, and Big Lots the other day to pick up our supplies. Our garage turned into this:

First up...whisper phones!

We started with a 3/4 PVC pipe and a hack saw.

We cut the pipe into pieces that were approximately 5 inches long.

We got 3/4 90 degree elbows and some rainbow colored duct tape.

The two elbows got pressed onto the pipe piece. It was such a snug fit that I decided not to use any sort of adhesive.

I covered the pipe part with the rainbow colored tape. Viola! 10 new whisper phones!

My own Little Love had a blast playing with one!

Next up... SEAT CRATES!!!  I am so excited about this one. I have been dreaming of making some of these for a long long time. I was at Big Lots last week and saw these adorable pink and green crates for 3 bucks!  Then, at Hobby Lobby I found the perfect Owl fabric and knew I had to give it a try. I only made 1 so far, because I wanted to make sure I could really get it done right. There are 7 four coming next week! No, they are not all for me. Since Mr. First Love is helping me, we are making 4 for my classroom and 4 for his. Did you know he teaches first grade, too?  {{{LOVE}}}

The nice man at Home Depot measured my crate and cut 1/2 inch plywood into strips for me. He said his big machine is not square and precise, so he didn't want to try and cut the actual rectangles:( I was totally hoping Mr. First Love could help me with the rest!

This is the strip we started with. I have 6 of these big boys. Each one can make two crates.

We use this scary saw and a cardboard template to cut the rectangle for the crate opening.

Since the crate corners are slightly rounded, we had to notch out the corners of the plywood just a bit. It's a perfect fit!

I bought 2x12x12 foam squares at Hobby Lobby. I was intimidated by the idea of using filler to make my own "cushion", so I decided to try this instead.  For my next crate, I might cut a strip from another foam square to put next to the foam square so that it is the same size as the crate opening.

I used a staple gun to attach the fabric to the plywood and added a little ribbon pull for easier opening. I am in LOVE!

Well?  Did you make it to the end of my never-ending blog post?  Thanks for sticking with me til the end!  I hope you have a terrific week. Good luck to everyone starting school this week (I'm sorry...but I can't even imagine!). I am off for a little vacation in Cape Cod with the family for a few days. School for me starts the day after Labor Day, so I still have a lot of summer to enjoy. Love ya!

I think ya'll deserve a little giveaway for making it this far!  How about one of my all-time favorite products!

This packet is jam packed with POPCORN word cards and activities! I really think you and your Little Loves with ADORE it!

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