#TPTVegas15

I am back from #TPTVegas15, and wow! What a week! I had so much fun taking in the sights and sounds (and foods! LOL) of Vegas, and especially enjoyed two amazing days of TPT Awesomeness. I have had a hard time finding the motivation to blog, create, or do anything related to school or TPT, so this was just the motivation I needed to turn on my computer and get to work! I have lots of fun products in the works, so stay tuned for those in the coming weeks... but for now, enjoy some of my highlights from Vegas.  Also, if you aren't following me on Instagram and Twitter, please do! I shared many photos and quotes from the conference last week, and even tried out a new twitter app called "periscope" -- I am still a little camera shy with periscope, but I plan on using it more as I become more comfortable with it.  Anyway, enough of my rambling... here's my week in pictures! *disclaimer: these photos are in no particular order... enjoy :)

Tuesday Night - Michel Jackson: One -  AMAZING. Go See it. You will NOT be disappointed. Here's a preview video below... seriously, I could watch it all day.  The dancing is simply incredible.

Brunch with many amazing TPT'ers at Grand Luxe

I shared this photo on Instagram last week... to me, this is what the TPT community is all about. Anna from Simply Skilled in Second was SO EXCITED to meet the lovely Lory Evans... apparently she was too shy to say hi last year... I snapped this photo at just the right time. TPT has blessed us all so much, and we have made countless friends thanks to it!

a few of us getting ready to zipline across the Rio Hotel Towers - 51 stories high! (Umm, did I mention my fear of heights? Yeah... oops!)

Lory is taking in every minute of the zipline... meanwhile I was wondering where the handles were to hold on for dear life! LOL!! And no, this is not photoshopped... that's really us, ziplining across Vegas!

go noodle photo booth at the teacher/blogger meet-up - so fun (well, the photo booth part was fun, anyway)!

Lory, Brynn, and me in the TPT photo booth.

Some of my favorite foods from the week... See the milkshake at the bottom... I might have had THREE of them that night #sorrynotsorry - couldn't let that amazingness go to waste. If you're looking for a good place to eat, hit up B&B Burgers at the Venetian and get a Nutella milkshake... I'm not kidding, it's THAT good. The 3 pictures on the far right are from a new restaurant at the Venetian called Yardbird. The Belgium Waffle was from brunch at the Grand Luxe

I met so many wonderful people this week -- Top: Dee Dee Wills, Deanna Jump, Alyssha S.; Middle: Jen Jones (Hello Literacy); Laura; Krista; Bottom Row: Lory, Emily, me, Jenny, Heidi (Emily and Heidi are a team of sisters who blog at Second Story Window... love them!!)

TPT Paul, TPT Amy, Rachel Lynette, Jen Jones, Kayla Delzer (Top Dog Teaching)

Top left - Meredith Scott Lynn - anyone recognize her? Lory and I were both starstruck, but for totally different reasons!; Shelley Gray, Farley (Aka the queen of currently!); middle row: Jessica (Second Grade Nest); Stephanie (falling into first); Cierra (Adventures of room 129); Tamara (Mrs. Russell's room) and a lovely photo bomb from Breanda (Primary Inspired); Bottom: Blair Turner, Ashleigh (Ashleigh Education Journey); Amanda (Mrs. Richardson's Class)

And now, I'm home from Vegas and having withdrawls, so we had a little mini-meet-up yesterday while my car was being serviced. Lory played shuttle driver so I didn't have to sit at the car dealership all by myself all morning. Don't you love how she tells us to pull funny faces, then smiles? Yeah, me too :) HAHA! But, we had a great time chatting and can't wait for #TPTVegas16

thanks for the fun morning and yummy treats!

5 tips for a Relaxing Summer

Hi friends, WOW, I have sure been MIA from my blog lately... but if you follow me on facebook, you've already heard my exciting news... I will be working in a new position next year! BUT, I will get to that later... today I am blogging over at the Elementary Grapevine, where I'm sharing 5 tips for a Relaxing Summer... heaven knows we teachers need a break and need to relax, so I promise to fill you in on all the latest and greatest happenings soon... but for now, go check out my post over at the grapevine and enjoy your summer break... you've earned it! XOXO 

Click on the picture to read my tips

All I Want For Christmas Is...

What is the best gift you can give a teacher?  I'll give you a hint... 

It's not another "#1 Teacher" coffee mug!

How about a TeachersPayTeachers gift certificate?  Every single teacher that you talk to would LOVE a TpT gift certificate!

A TpT gift certificate is worth gold! Seriously! Being able to purchase top-notch teaching resources instead of having to create them yourself saves precious time, time you can spend over the holidays enjoying special moments with family and friends.

That's why I'm excited to be teaming up with some of my teaching blog friends who are each giving away a $10 TpT gift certificate. You'll find all of their links at the bottom of this post. You have to enter each contest separately, so be sure to read the directions on each blog.

TeachersPayTeachers recently gave their gift certificates a make-over, and now each certificate has it's own unique color. You can purchase a gift certificate for any amount between $10 and $200. Wow! Imagine what you could do with a $200 gift certificate! Click over to the TpT Gift Certificatepage to take a look. After you log in, you'll see the page below.

How to Enter

I'm using Rafflecopter to host my giveaway, and you can earn up to 5 entries if you complete all the items listed. To enter the contest, complete any or all of these entries before midnight EST on December 23rd. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit these blogs and enter each contest for a $10 TpT Gift Certificate!

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas Cookie Mats

Hi everyone, thanks for joining me in the Holiday Blog Hop sponsored by The Elementary Grapevine.  Today I'm going to share with you a super fun and easy Christmas activity that I do with my students every year. All you need for this is some large red construction paper (12 x 18 size works best, but you could also do it on a regular piece of construction paper as well), a few other colors of construction paper for some circles, (any colors will work), some white copy paper, and crayons. That's it!

Here's a picture of the completed project (minus one circle, which has been covered by the plate):

This is a sample made by my nephew when he came to visit me at school a few years ago... He did such a good job coloring it!

I have included all the templates and clip art that you need in one convenient download... all you have to do is copy the templates you wish to use, and you're good to go!  Once the cookie mats are finished, I run them through the laminator for durability. I've been doing this with my students for years and it's always a big hit. I hope it something you can use in your own classroom. Click on the image below to download the directions and file :) Merry Christmas.

Want even more holiday goodies? Keep hopping along... Up next is a RAK idea over at Crayonbox Learning. 

12 days of Christmas Giveaway

I'm so excited to be participating today in a quick giveaway with some of my favorite bloggy buddies, in conjunction with Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs.  If you don't follow Zippy on facebook, you'll definitely want to so you don't miss out on any of the fabulous giveaways going on all month!

Today's giveaway includes a $30 gift card to amazon, as well as a winner's choice item from each of the following TPT Stores:

Good Enough Teacher

Growing Firsties

Deedee Wills Kinder

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs

Use the rafflecopter below to enter.  Good luck!  Also, be sure to stop back here on Tuesday... something great is coming :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway