COVID-19, Teaching From HOme, And A Room Transformation

With the school closure and virtual learning in place, being a mom of three little boys and teaching at the dining room table was quickly proven unrealistic.  I begged my husband to whip up a farmhouse-style desk, and after attempting to work from home for 7 days himself, he knew it was necessary, too.

I was thrilled to have a space...a space where I could close the door.  Then I made a stop at Smarty Pants Findlay.  Jane was amazing at providing THE perfect products to create a beautiful display for my at-home classroom.  These are products from the BRAND NEW ​Rustic Bloom collection, which fit in perfectly with the farmhouse theme I was going for in our office.  "Bloom where you are planted" has come to be one of my most favorite quotes, so this collection truly could not have been more perfect.

Jane also provided me with Better Than Paper for the background.  This stuff.  Is.  Amazing!!  After 14 years of teaching using everything under the sun for bulletin board backgrounds, from butcher paper, to felt, to bed sheets, this stuff FAR exceeded my expectations!!!    I would compare it to a vinyl material, but FUN FACTS:
1) It doesn't show holes when you staple in it.
2) You can write on it with dry-erase markers.
3) It won't collect dust like those navy blue sheets I currently have in my classroom. 
4)  It doesn't tear like paper. 
​It basically stays perfect, meeting all of the obsessive needs in my teacher bulletin board heart.

Jane recommended I use mavalus tape, another new discovery for me.  Oh my goodness...it is amazing.  How can tape be amazing?  Well this stuff holds everything in place.  Truly.  My bulletin board has quite a bit of weight on it, and it hasn't budged.  It doesn't take paint off of the walls.  I moved items around several times, and it didn't get less sticky, and the tape didn't pull the backing off of the bulletin board pieces.  I know.  Amazing, right??

The final component of the bulletin board is my favorite, though.  Flowers.  These flowers!!! As a mom of three boys, there's NOTHING girly about living in our house.  What's quite incredible about these flowers is that I did not have to make them.  Shew!  I would have had so much time in them.  They came prepackaged, and there are several different options.

The best part is all you have to do to create a flower is pull the two sides together.

I just think these are adorable!  They would be a wonderful addition to any classroom or little girl's room.  I'm pretty sure my sweet little niece needs them in her bedroom.  

With all of these components, my farmhouse bulletin board came together in full bloom!

I finally have my own girly space in this house that's overrun by all things boy.  Although, I have to admit that while on a Google Chat yesterday, my coworkers still asked about who had the crazy noise in the background.  The door was closed.  I tried.