Covering Up the Ugly! - Shelf Makeover

Last year, I took over a classroom mid-year.  I didn't have much time to decorate, so I did a quick rearrange and change bulletin boards on a weekend.  I purged the rest of the year (read about the moldy play dough here) so that I could start off this year FRESH!

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It to show how I covered up my ugly shelves.

I decided that there was NO way I could look at these ugly shelves in my room anymore!

This one actually had wood grain contact paper on top of the ugly shelf.  :/

I didn't want to take the time to repaint them, so I made a quick trip to Target.  I bought contact paper (not my favorite pattern but beggars can't be choosers), duct tape, and a sheet.

I covered the shelves in contact paper.

To make sure the contact paper sticks, I applied duct tape along all the seams and corners.

I have a TON of velcro in my room, so I ran a strip of velcro across the front.

Then I cut the sheet to fit, hemmed the edges, and applied a strip of velcro to the sheet.

Now my shelves look better, the stuff in the shelves are hidden from sight, and it looks way better!

Best of all, I can easily take this off if I decide I don't like it anymore (or find a better contact paper pattern).  It was cheap.  I only used a little more than 1 roll of contact paper, less than a roll of duct tape, and 1 flat sheet.  And it was quick to do, took a couple of hours to do 3 shelves.

July Currently

July!!!!  Say what?!?!  Slow down summer, I don't want you over just yet.  Teachers go back to work on July 28th in Hawaii.  Wahhhhhh!!!  I don't even want to think about school yet.  But I guess the days will just keep on coming so I better enjoy the heck out of the last few weeks I have off!

I'm linking up with Oh Boy 4th Grade for her July Currently.

Listening: Hubby and I are trying to watch The Leftovers, new HBO series, but our cable is being super glitchy.  Ugh!  I'm undecided on whether I like it or not.

Loving: I've joined a new bootcamp class with some of my friends.  It's kicking my booty every morning, but I'm enjoying the heck out of it.  Plus, I'm feeling so much stronger!

Thinking: This has been a fabulous summer break.  I so don't want it to end!  My family went to Kauai in June.  It was AMAZING!  

It was beautiful!

We jumped into tide pools!

We jumped off piers!

And had the best quality time!

Seriously, go to Kauai if you can!  Best vacation ever!

Wanting: New workout gear.  I really need new stuff to wear.  Any favorites?

Needing: More clean eating recipes.  I'm trying to use summer to try more recipes and add some favorites to our usual rotation once I go back to work.  I've been collecting recipes on Pinterest {here}, but I'd love to hear some of yours.  

4th of July Plans: We'll be BBQing with our neighbors.  I'm gonna "try" to eat healthy but no promises.

How's your summer going?

Summer Reading List

I'm a HUGE reader.  It's seriously one of my favorite hobbies.  I always have at least one book (or more) that I'm reading.  I love hardback books, paperback books, books on my Nook, and books on the Nook app on my phone.  Honestly, most of the reading I do is on my phone. 

So when I saw The Hands-On Teacher in First was having a Summer Reading List linky, I knew I had to join up.

My New Years resolution this year is to read 52 books for the year.  I've read 24 so far, and I'm in the middle of 2 more at the moment.  I track my challenge on Good Reads.  I love Good Reads for tracking which books I've read and how I liked them.  If you're a reader, you should add me as a friend {here}.

Now onto the list of books I want to read this summer.

This is a new release that is first on my list.  I love Emily Giffin books for a light hearted read.

This one has been on my list for awhile.  I love emotionally powerful books, but sometimes I have to work up the energy to read them.

I saw the previews for Maze Runner when I went to watch The Fault in Our Stars (book and movie were soooooo good).  Now I must read this book before the movie comes out!

Here's another upcoming movie preview that I saw and realized I must read the book.  The movie looked great, and If I Stay has some pretty good reviews on Goodreads.

And finally, I always find true crime stories really interesting.  

What are you reading this summer?