Maybe if I extend an official invitation, spring will arrive. Eventually. Here in northern Indiana, we’re still shivering in our boots most days. The other day one of my girls had a tennis match and the other one had a track meet. I was trying to bounce between the tennis courts on one side of town and the high school track so I could watch both of them, at least for a little while. Fortunately for me, I was in the car most of the time since I was driving and then waiting for a while and driving again. But for the girls, it was pretty frosty out there! They both took warm, fuzzy blankets with them so they could wrap up when they weren’t participating, and they both had jackets (and I think gloves and hats, but what does a mama know about all that stuff???). But I could tell they were still shivering in that blustery, cold wind.
Then yesterday, the sun popped out and the wind died down for a while, and it was actually warm. For a while. I opened the door to our deck and a sudden gust of wind shipped a bunch of old, dried up, dead leaves into the house. I can’t wait to get outside and finish cleaning up all of the leaves, twigs, branches, and other debris that blew into our yard after we cleaned up everything in the fall. That brief moment of warm-ish breeze gave me hope that spring will arrive. Eventually.
While I’m waiting for spring this year, I’ve been a bit distracted from my creative projects since starting my new, part-time, work-at-home job, teaching English as a second language to children in China. It’s been a bit of a learning curve to understand the technology and how the teaching platforms work, making sure that my internet connection is stable and fast enough to work online in a one-on-one teaching environment. Now that I feel more comfortable with the whole process of teaching students via an online classroom, I’m beginning to find that I have more time to begin planning my next DIY, home improvement, sewing, refashioning, art journal projects. It really works great for me to have several projects “in process,” as my brain just works better when I can be planning different things.
I’m hopeful that my pretty wreath will encourage spring to appear very soon! If necessary, I just might make a couple more (since they are really fun and easy to make!) and pop them into my Etsy shop. That reminds me . . . I need to update my shop soon with some of the other creations that I’ve come up with over the winter. You can make your own “Hello Spring” wreath with the FREE tutorial HERE.
This new endeavor has really kept me pretty focused since the beginning of the year, so I’m really looking forward to turning my attention to those other projects. Of course, creating my online classroom was a creative project all on its own! I had to figure out how to make a “classroom” backdrop to create an educational / interesting setting for my students. I’m thinking they really wouldn’t care if they could see my little classroom / office that is set up in a corner of our freshly updated living room – but the company requires all teachers to have a “classroom” set-up. So here’s what I did . . . .
Our living room is quite large, so it works out great for me to have my computer and all the teaching supplies that I need all set up behind the love seat that faces the fireplace. We put my two file cabinets behind the love seat with a shelf across the tops to make a sturdy platform for all of my stuff. Then, I bought two tri-fold bulletin boards from Walmart and set them on top of the shelf. Since the love seat is behind the boards, there is a sturdy backing for my back drop so it doesn’t fall over. Then I decorated the boards with cute, fun stuff! I added some props, stuffed animals, books, and a white board for various activities with my students.
Now that I have myself organized for teaching, I’m off to my next creative adventure! In the meantime, while I’m waiting for spring to arrive, I wanted to share this spring wreath project, just in case you want to see if you can encourage spring to arrive at your house, too. Here are a few pictures of my Hello Spring wreath – be sure to visit again soon for the complete tutorial for making your very own Hello Spring wreath. Today, I hope you will join us for the Favorite Things Blog Hop and Linky Party. I’ll do my best to visit some of you this week. It’s been challenging to get around to very many of our weekly participants in the linky party, but I’m hopeful that I will have time for a visit with you very soon!
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Please join us for this week’s
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop and Linky Party

Katherine-Katherines Corner
Nina-Vintage Mamas Cottage
Marilyn-Marilyns Treats
Bev-Eclectic Red Barn
Angelina- Petite Haus
Theresa Begin – Shoestring Elegance