Crafting and Creating

I'm joining up with Blog Hoppin for their fun week-long linky!

I LOVE crafting and creating fun things for my classroom, home, and gifts.  On my sidebar, you'll find labels of DIY and Crafts.  I also have a lot of projects on Classroom DIY that you can check out.

Back before I started my whole teacher blog journey, I had a craft blog, Nicole's Crafting Adventure.   I haven't posted on it in some time, but if you search around, you'll see the projects I like to make are not strictly for my classroom.

A couple Christmases ago, I decided to do all handmade gifts.  It was really fun to get creative and make things for people with my own hands.  I, for one, LOVE getting handmade gifts.  They are so thoughtful and I know the amount of time, effort, and love that goes into them.  The past two years, being in Hawaii, I sent people gifts from here, things they can't get on the mainland: macadamia chocolates, Hawaiian print things, shirts that say Lanai, cute surfer-chick hats, Hawaii Starbucks mugs, etc.  But now that the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over, I think I'm going to go back to my handmade gifts. In January and February, I have 7 friends and family birthdays.  What better way to celebrate, than to send them something I've made (especially since they should all still be full of Macadamia Kisses from their Christmas packages!)

Here are a collection of pins of things that I'm thinking about making:

I am obsessed with Colleen Wilcox's art.  It's so colorful and fluid.  I want to try to paint like her.

Via Pinterest

 I have the materials for making soap.  I need to do more of it and have fun with it.

Via Pinterest

I have an old towel like this from my Grandma.  I love how it never falls off the oven handle!  I need to make some of these in cute fabrics for friends who cook.

Via Pinterest

Some placemats would be a nice gift and easy to sew (I like projects that mostly include sewing a straight line).

Via Pinterest

I've made quite a few oven mitts and they make fabulous gifts.  I should do more.

Via Pinterest

Aside from planning upcoming projects, I've been hard at work getting classroom projects ready, too.  Here is my latest unit, hot off the presses - Snow Much Fun!  It's a language arts unit that incorporates science and art!

There are 2 art projects, quite a few writing projects, a literacy center with compound words, symmetry and alike/different practice, literature links, comprehension passages and questions, vocabulary, and even a poem! I'll post more about it later, but I wanted to be the first to let you know about it! :)

What projects do you have coming up?  If you make handmade gifts, what are you go-to's?