Every Inchie Monday - Throne

     Here you go!  And really on time for a change!  Wow!  I worked on this over the weekend.  Our word was "throne". 

     I almost did a bathroom throne!  That's my grandpa's funny word for the toilet, but then decided it might not be humorous to everyone. 
     Have a blessed day!

Slow down . . .

    I need to slow down.  This is my third blog post today.  I had two reviews to write and now I can write about the fun stuff.  Well, the products were fun, but drawing is of course the best.
     I finished up Diva's Autumn Leaves challenge.  Got one journal page done and two facebook tiles using the tangle - "betweed", one of my favorites.

Autumn Leaves

Week 39 - In the City

       I think I shall sit back and relax - school work is done, blogs are posted, and supper is cooking.  Thanks for dropping by and I hope you have a blessed day.

Smead Paper product review

     Let's take a look at some paper products by Smead offered by Shoplet.com.  First stop, erasable tab file folders.  Yes, I know you can do that with a pencil.  But I prefer to have a more permanent looking label on things for school.  These standard size file folders will let you write on them with a permanent pen and then reuse them or correct mistakes by erasing.  You need to make sure it is a permanent marker (Sharpie) and a white polymer eraser.  They said not to use ballpoint pens, or pencils - they can smear.  In a pinch, you can use rubbing alcohol to clean the writing area.  I like the way they were easily cleaned up.  I didn't leave the ink on for days, but my guess it that it would perform the same either way.

          Smead also has Erasable Hanging Folders.   They come in 3 colors and function like the folders above - remember permanent pen and white polymer eraser.  I probably should try something else to write with just to prove it doesn't work, but I hate to mess up these really neat folders.  Particularly since I see a need for them at school right away!
       The next part of my package is some more file folders.  But this time they are really different.  The first thing I noticed was, of course, the color.  They are pretty.  I like the bright, eye catching colors.   They are also vertical.  No more taping the sides to make my own.  These vertical folders are closed on two sides and will fit in most file cabinets.  Honestly if I could toss all my old ones and change to these I think I would.

    
     I love organization.  I like the rugged appearance of this organizer by Smead.  It has tiered tabs and a clear windows for easy viewing.  It claims to hold up to 600 sheets of paper and while it seems I have that many papers to grade, I probably won't get around to testing the limits!  It comes with monthly or A-Z tabs and has twelve sections.  I like this and hope to see it hold up better than the brown paper ones I have used.  It says waterproof and while I hope I don't find out, that is nice to know.

 

     Thank you for dropping by and checking out some really nice products. 

Pens Review

       It is no secret I love pens - particularly pretty ones.  I also love pretty paper.  So when Shoplet asks me to review pens and I get to keep them to play with - no problem! 
       My package had lots of pens in it.  The first I looked at was a Pilot FriXon Erasable Pen.  Generally I tend not to like erasable pens.  The ink seems to want to "skip".  I used this on several papers for school (cheap notebook paper) and then again in my journal.  I didn't notice any grabbing or missing marks.  It has a nice feel to it - the pen is large so it fits in my hand comfortably.  As you can see from the photo (I hope) it does erase.  However it leaves a bit of a trail behind, but really no different than a pencil might.  It also has somewhat "smudgy" ink.  Not a problem, if you let it dry a bit before moving your hand across it.

       An erasable highlighter?  Really?  Now how cool is that?!  I can see lots of uses within my classroom.  I tried it on several surfaces and was very satisfied with how it worked.  I have never seen one of these and really wish it had been around when I was in school.  They can be purchased by the dozen at around $11.00.  Not a bad price and erasable too.

      Before I could get to reviewing today, I had a lot of school work to do.  So I grabbed one of the pens from this collection - the Acroball.   I like the grip on this pen.  It is designed to be comfortable.  It also writes a very smooth black ink.  I plan on taking this one to school to use, since black ink can be needed at times.  However, I will guard it because it writes so nicely!

      And now for the "pretties".  The pens are pretty - but that ink!  The ink from the Pilot B2P Pens
 is really cool!  I love the colors.  These are gel pens, made from recycled water bottles!  They sort of have kept that water bottle look!  That is so neat.  The ink, as I said, is gel and a very bright color!  I like these very much!

      All of these things can be found over at Shoplet.com.  Check them out1    
    

Fall is in the air!

     I  love this time of year!  Totally.  The lovely fall colors will soon appear.  The crisp cool air.  It is my favorite.
     Every Inchie Monday's word was "salmon".  I first thought of the color, then of course the fish.  My favorite fish - oh, yum!

I did this over the weekend, but still took forever to get it up.  Good grief!  Thanks for dropping by and leaving me some sunshine.  Have a blessed day.

Challenge time!

    Yes, I know I said last post I needed some relaxation.  I need it even more this week-end.  It has been a very difficult week.  I have a wonderful group of boys and girls (third grade) this year.  They are a very challenging class.  They are need a lot of "catch up" in order to get through the curriculum.  That's okay.  Hopefully we will make it.  But that is stressful.  Then there is about 100 new things coming across us teachers' plates this year.  Lots of changes to how we do things.  None of them "bad", in fact most of them very good changes.  Just new and hard to learn (for the moment, I hope).  Add to all that I have a new working arrangement.  It is causing me a lot of difficulty.  I have always viewed myself as having once had a lack of confidence - well, this new person has taken that award away from me!  My goal is to help her see herself as valuable and a potentially good teacher (she's a student teacher), but it is wearing a bit thin on me. 
     So yep, zen was what I needed!  Big time.  First off Diva challenge!  We had to use phicops and Diva dance tangles.  I love both of them so I actually got two done!

     I also got my inchie done for this past week (and the one for next week too, but I won't share that yet).  The inchie challenge word was "schedule".  I decided to write my day's schedule into one inch.  Well, actually, I wrote it into a small space and then punched the inch out.  It looks crowded and too busy and there is not enough space . . . . uh, sort of like my day - crowded, busy and not enough time.

I hope you are having a very blessed day.  Take care and leave me some sunshine!  Lots of sunshine!

Relaxation

    After this week, I needed some serious relaxation!  I used this time to work on some facebook challenges and the challenge for Diva.  Since I have a day of school work ahead of me, I guess I best not be too wordy.  I do wish for an actual 2 day week-end, instead of one them being spent all day on school work.  Ah well . . .

Adele Bruno's string challenge

Diva's challenge to use "ing"

Facebook challenge to use "fescu"

      Thanks for dropping by!  Now it is off to the land of lesson plans and papers to grade!  Have a blessed day!

99 Red Balloons

      Every Inchie Monday's word of the week is "red".  I had tons of thoughts.  Strawberries, cherries, hearts, red lips - the ideas seemed endless.  But the whole while I spread my pens and "stuff" out to work on this inchie, I could not stop humming a song from my era that I loved - "99 Luft Balloons".  I loved that song.  So despite my wonderful ideas,  it had to be red balloons.  The only problem is that now I have that song in my head, it won't go away.  If you want to hear this beautiful song, head over to this link -  Red Balloons.  It is a beautiful song in English and German. 

     I completed a few more tiles.  One is for a string challenge by Adele Bruno.  The other is for a facebook group. 

      Hope you are having a blessed day and thank you for dropping by!!

Late arrivals . . . .

    Good evening to you all!  I will not be wordy today.  I have some things I must do.  (Don't we all?)  Here is Diva challenge # 183 - UMT x-did.  This is a really cool tangle I hope to explore more.

     Then here are last week's inchie - Quartz crystal.  Late, yes I know.  And also this week's (hopefully in time) - Renaissance.  I used a sticker of a painting and then cut it in half and did the rest on my own.  Not 100% sure if the picture was exactly Renaissance, but it was the closes I had. 

quartz crystal

Renaissance

     Hope you have a blessed day and thank you for dropping by!

Key Cabinet Review

Electronic Lock Key Cabinet     

     Time for another Shoplet.com review!  How does one review a product that I am not certain I will use?  Lots of careful observation and reading about the product - which I have done.  This box was designed to hold 30 keys and keep them safe and organized.  By all appearances it can live up to that expectation.  It is very sturdy and heavy.  It measures 12"H x 9 7/8"W x 2 1/2"D.  It is made by Fireking, a name I am familiar with.  The box is constructed from heavy gauge steel.

     There are 30 numbered key tags to help with organization.  It also has 5 yellow tags to use for loaned keys.  There is also a key control chart to mount inside the box.  On the top of the box is a slot to drop keys into when they need to be returned.

     Batteries are provided to set up the alarm system.  Which was the only difficult thing I encountered.  It was a bit hard to get it set, but once I did it works great.  The alarm is a numeric key pad.  It will automatically lock you out after three wrong entries and an alarm will go off.  Two manual over ride keys are provided.  It also comes with all the hardware you need for mounting.

     All in all it is a nice looking piece of equipment.  The price seemed steep - to me - but I haven't ever priced or purchased one of these so it may not be.  It sells for around $93.00.
     Check out this key box over at Shoplet.com.