#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!

#TPTVegas2014

** Warning: Prepare for picture overload :) **

This past week I went to Las Vegas for the first ever TPT seller conference and all I can say is WOW! I am still in awe of all the amazing people I met and all the great things I learned. I appreciated hearing everyone's stories and their TPT journeys... It was great to be surrounded by others who share the same passion and vision and to see that we're all in different places in our journey, and that's okay. As Deanna Jump said, it's all about quality, not quantity (though we all got a good laugh when she first said "it's all about quantity, not quality!" LOL!!!)  I would rather make one great product than five mediocre ones.

One of the highlights I enjoyed was finally MEETING so many of my "friends" that I've made through TPT and blogs.  I have to admit that it was a little overwhelming to be at a conference with 743 other TPT'ers (yes, TPT Amy knew the EXACT count of how many attendees there were!) but it a was such a great week! There was also a teacher-blogger meet-up on Wednesday sponsored by the darling gals at "What the Teacher Wants" and it was a blast! 600+ teacher-bloggers visiting, socializing, taking pictures, and being starstruck by the all-star bloggers in the room!  Oh, and did I mention we all got free scentos markers and pens?? That's right!!  

helping put swag bags together for the #2014vegasmeetup

Top left: Me, Lory, Rachelle; Top right: Mel D.; bottom left: Corinna; Bottom right: Sally, Tanja

Top: Utah bloggers (thanks @whattheteacherwants for the great photo), plus the one and only DEANNA JUMP, who jumped into our photo at the last second! Bottom: some of the darlings from "The Primary Chalkboard"; top right: Christina, middle: Corinna (again... guess I just love her a LOT!); bottom: The fabulous Greg, aka Kindergarten Smorgasbord 

This was a shot of the crowd on Wednesday night.... Oh. My. Word.  It was so crowded and overwhelming, but awesome!!

Here are a few of my photo highlights from the week :) (and to all the sellers who I didn't get a chance to meet or visit with, I sincerely apologize... I seriously get so overwhelmed with large crowds and sometimes it was more than I could handle!! But I love and adore all of you and look forward to meeting even more "friends" next summer!!)

Disclaimer: Lory would like you to know that she doesn't wear purple cowboy hats everywhere... only in TPT photo booths :)

Me with Paul Edelman, the founder of TPT.... such a nice and humble guy! (and a good sport to pose for photo after photo after photo!!)

The LOVELY Jen Jones from Hello Literacy... I *adore* this gal so much, and was so sad we didn't have time to sit down and chat :( Please come to Utah and visit me!!  I LOVE everything Jen makes... her graphic organizers were a staple in my classroom this past year!

Selfie time: Top left: Kimberly Geswein, right: Deanna Jump (couldn't resist a selfie with her!); bottom left: Marie; right: Shelley Gray

In addition to attending the TPT conference, I was able to enjoy some good old Vegas sight seeing and pool time. Here's a few of my highlights.

if you're following me on Instagram, you may have already seen this photo.... our first day altogether, and what do we do??  Play on our phones, of course!!

M&M World... you could just SMELL the deliciousness...

I saw this in the Margaritaville gift shop and had to snap a picture.... I wish I were living my life in flip flops, but after breaking my toe TWICE this summer while wearing flip flops, I have put mine away :( dang broken toe!!

the only kind of "shots" Lory and I did while in Vegas.... Coca-cola tastes of the world... Very interesting to say the least.  I think my favorite was Pineapple from Greece and Kiwi Mango from South Africa.  Don't worry, we bought some good ol' American Coke too while we were there!

Swimming at the Palazzo pool... working hard, or hardly working?! (notice the cute tote bag we got from TPT when we picked up our conference registration materials... these are my school colors, so I might use the bag this year!)

Fun times sight-seeing and meeting new friends :)

I also fulfilled one of my childhood dreams by attending my first ever New Kids On the Block concert. That's right. Be jealous!! It was so much fun.

We were a *little* bit tired at this point... it was Friday night AFTER the TPT convention and our "wild" night on the strip... But still SO worth it!

Big shout out to my wonderful roommate Lory... Be sure to check out her blog and store... Everything she makes is amazing and I am always in awe of her talent!

to all my new friends.... a message from Elvis, and Nikki, aka Melonheadz!

I'm already looking forward to #tptvegas2015 :) who's with me?!

If I were an elf {new pack + giveaway!}

If you recall my post about burnout this summer, you might remember some of the goals I set for this year... one of my goals was to work less, and live more... seems ironic to set a goal like that at the same time I open up a TPT shop and teaching blog :) LOL! BUT, I've been trying really hard to spend more time with friends and not spend so much time at school.  So between having a life and being sick (why am I cursed with sinus infections?!?!?!) I just haven't been on my computer much lately... and you know what, that's okay. There have been entire WEEKS where I don't turn on my home computer at ALL.  It's been nice... however, my TPT to-do list keeps growing by the minute as I get new ideas of things I want to make... sooner or later, I will get around to it {I hope!}

Anyway, it's been a while since I've posted anything new, but I finally got around to making up a new packet... mostly out of desperation... I have been trying to come up with things to keep my kiddos entertained during indoor recess. I don't know what the weather is like where you're at, but here in Utah it's been COLD.... and here's the thing... we can't take our kids out to recess unless it's at least 20 degrees... well, as you can see, we haven't had many outdoor recesses lately... thus my latest packet was born...

this was the forecast over the weekend... notice it says about 1 inch of snow possible.... that's because on Saturday night it dumped well over a FOOT of snow on us... and Monday morning I woke up to much more than just an "inch" of snow!

 

Today.... BRRRR!
 

So yeah, Sunday I was super sick, and woke up to a foot or more of snow... so I decided to hunker down, make some chicken noodle soup, and create.... And let me just tell you... I am LOVING my new packet! Just look how cute it is :)

 

I *LOVE* the movie "Elf", and bought some super cute elf clip art this summer, but never got around to using it... so one day I just printed off some elf pages for my students to color, and they were in HEAVEN! I haven't seen them  this excited since I don't know when... So once I sat down to start making this packet, the ideas just kept coming.... 70 pages later, my packet was finally done (for now anyway... just found more cute elf clipart tonight... might be adding another art project soon! LOL).  Anyway, here's a little information about the packet, as well as a few preview pages... but keep reading for your chance to win the packet!!

 

The packet has everything you need to turn your students into Santa's little elves... this packet has been such a lifesaver for inside recess, but would also be great for a last minute sub or a time filler between now and Winter break (I have 7 more days...I think I can, I think I can!)

 

There are 6 graphic organizers (bubble maps and standard list-type organizers); elf applications, elf information sheets, persuasive writing pages (the kids get to write letters telling Santa why he should hire them or why they would make a great elf); and an assortment of "elf yourself" style pages where the elves don't have faces -- that way the kids can either draw their own elf-face, or you can glue pictures of the children onto the elf. How cute is that?! Here's a few pages from the preview:

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to all of the above awesomeness,  there's a few extra pages just to give you and your class a good laugh... I added a "can, have, are" page, because my students have been rocking those graphic organizers with our non-fiction text lately, so I wanted to see what answers they would come up with for elves... trust me, it's hilarious!  I also had a request for an elf "craftivity" of some sort... Don't get too excited, it's nothing fancy.... after all, I have  7 days of school left... I'm more concerned with surviving than making a cute craft at this point.  If we get our ornaments and cookie mats finished, it will be nothing short of a miracle... (and if I have time, I will post the cookie mats later this week) SO, if you're looking for a super cute elf that you have to trace and cut out of construction paper and scrapbook paper, and add ribbons and bows, then I'm sorry to disappoint you... but if you're looking for something that you can simply copy and let your kids color and cut, then you've come to the right place :) (After all, I am the "good enough" teacher, not the "over-the-top-I-never-sleep-at-night" teacher! LOL!!) See that little elf sample above... I think that is SUPER cute and will look darling in the hallway... my class hasn't finished it yet, but if we get it finished, I will take a picture of the bulletin board.

 

I really hope you will check it out on teacherspayteachers... it's on sale until Friday... but you can enter to win by leaving a comment on this post... simply tell me how many days of school you have left, and what the weather has been like for you. That's it. Super easy.  I'll post the winner on Thursday night :)