Frock Box, Clothe me!

I don't like shopping. I never have. I am a plus-sized girl, so here in Canada, that means I have the option of about three stores to buy clothes. I kept seeing posts all over the place about various subscription boxes, and mainly I just ignored them. Then my cousin was telling me about the subscription box he gets (Loot Crate), and how the best part of his crates is the clothes. Huh... clothes? I didn't know I could get clothes. You mean I wouldn't have to shop, or even know what stores to order online from? I like the sound of that! So I looked up what boxes are Canadian, because there is no way I would be willing to pay the ridiculous exchange rate for a US based box. This lead me to an excellent website called Canadian Subscription Box Addict! Jill from Vancouver has a whole list of all the main subscription boxes, and blogs about the many she has ordered! The best part for me is that she says which boxes are Canadian. So amazingly helpful!

That's where I found the link to Frock Box!
Use the code 15PLEASE for 15% off your first month!

Basically, Frock Box has people (actual people) who choose clothes for me based on the profile I create. To start, I choose which box I want. There are three options:

1. Frock Box Favourites ($24.95/month Free shipping) - you receive 5 pieces of clothing. Items are individually priced between $34-$69. You keep what you love, and only pay for those items. The original $24.95 is subtracted from the cost of what you chose to keep. The things you don't want, you simply put back into the bag with the pre-paid postage sticker and drop it back in the mail before the due date. So simple!
2. Frock Box Gold ($49.95 plus $9.95 shipping) - you receive one complete outfit each month for that cost. Done and done. Usually includes a top/bottom, dress, or top/cardigan plus a piece of jewelry to complement the outfit. 
3. Frock Box Jewel ($29.95 plus $3 shipping) - you receive one piece of handmade jewelry from a Canadian Designer each month. 

I chose Frock Box Favourites, because I like to be able to try on clothes before I buy them. Just because it is technically "my size" doesn't mean it fits well. I went through the sign-up process, which was super easy! It asks for your hair colour, sizes (height, weight, shirt size, pant size, bra size), profession, and birthday. Then it shows you a few outfits and you choose the ones you like. I do feel like a few more options on this page would be helpful. Next you choose what types of items you would like to receive. I chose tanks, shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, purses and jackets, and said I don't want shorts, shoes, hats, sunglasses, jewelry, sweaters or swimwear. It asks you what kinds of things you do on the weekend, but again, only gave 5 options. Then it asks if you want to "play it safe", "in the middle", or "trendier the better". I chose the last one. Go big or go home! Last it gives you space to type any other information you want your stylist to know. This is where I told her I am a teacher but don't want to look like one! I told her what the dress code requirements are at my work, because I don't want anything I can't wear regularly. I also attached a link to my fashion Pinterest page so they could look at what I like. That's it! Easy. Now... the waiting...

My August 2016 box came mid-month, and I was so excited to check it out!

In the bag (not actually a box, but doesn't need to be. This is less wasteful!) there were the five pieces of clothing, the invoice telling me the cost of everything, and a card asking me to enter a contest by posting a pic of me wearing the clothes on Instagram, and letting me know who my stylist is. My stylist is Liz. Thanks Liz!

Coral Lace Neckline Top - $39

This was the first thing I noticed when I opened my bag, and I immediately loved the colour! The fabric is thin and soft, and needs a cami or tank under to smooth out bra lines, but other than that, I loved it! I got LOTS of compliments on the colour the first time I wore it too! Yay!

KEEP!

Purple Grandpa Cardi - $49

I like the colour, but I don't care for things with buttons because on me they always gape when I do them up. Undone, I don't mind the cardi, and I might wear it... maybe. 

RETURN (although with the sale I kept it) *see below

Shop the Trends Black Blazer - $54

The fabric is a bit rough, but it works for a blazer. I've never really been a "blazer person", because I get too hot normally. But this fabric is fairly breathable, so I think I would be cool enough in it. I liked it both undone, and with a broach to clip it closed (I only wish it had a button to close it, and I might just sew one on). 

KEEP

Denim Shorts - $39

Now, I could have sworn I said "no shorts" on my profile. I can't wear them to work, so there is no point in having them. They were nice enough shorts, but I couldn't even pull them up past my knees. I am a size 16/18 in pants, and these weren't even CLOSE to that (even though the tag says they are). I don't recognize the brand but I think it may have been UK sizing?

RETURN

"Blessed" Sharkbite Tank Top - $39

This was my favourite item in the bunch! Soft and flowy, it fits nice, looks good, and with something over top, I could wear it to work. 

KEEP!

Note: they had a Anniversary Sale, where I could keep everything for $99. This was cheaper than just keeping the three things I wanted to keep. So, I marked the ones above that I would have returned, but this month I kept them all. The shorts I will donate to my local Thrift store. 

All in all, I was happy with my first month! If there is even one thing per month that I love, it would be totally worth it to me! Don't forget to use the code 15PLEASE if you decide to try it!

Crate Seats!

Storage is always an issue, or at least it has been in the school where I work. We have one tiny storage room in the school, but we aren't allowed to put any of our own stuff in there. My classroom itself has only a couple shelves and cupboards, but that is mainly used for stuff I use regularly. For years I put fabric around tables like table skirts, and stored all the extra boxes under them. It was a waste of space, and didn't really look good.

Last year, I bought a cube storage unit second hand for $100. It stores all the supplies for our science centres, my seasonal decorations, extra school supplies for my kiddos, novel study units, headphones for computers, extra letters and other bulletin board stuff, and much more! Best of all, it looks good! The whole thing even sits in front of a bulletin board at the back of my room, so that's one less I have to decorate! Win win!

But I still had 7 U-Haul boxes full of my Grade 6 resources and books. Again, I came up with an ingenious (if I do say so myself) plan, and made the boxes into a shelf along my front wall, covered them with fabric, and put paper bins all along them for student notebooks, extra paper, and things like that. Perfect! Until the first time I needed to get something out of one of the boxes, but couldn’t without taking apart my whole shelf. Not such a great plan after all.

This is the temporary version I threw together this year until my crates were ready. 

Plus, the kids always like to sit around the room when they are working, and would often sit on the boxes. Over last year, many of them broke or caved in.

There is "talk" all over teaching blogs lately about “Flexible Seating”, which is something I have always done. I had “standing desks” 12 years ago when I first started teaching, but I didn’t call them that. I just had some kids who preferred to stand, so I raised their desks up. Kids in my class have always chosen tables or desks or carpeted floor… wherever they work best.

So this year… CRATE seats!

I haven’t done a big craft project in a long time, so I was pretty excited about this! I bought 9 milk crates for $5 each from a farmer on Kijiji. I could have bought crates at Home Depot for $6.95 each and I actually wish I had just done that instead, because the ones I bought I had to wash and paint, so it actually probably ended up costing me the same or more. Live and learn.

I washed them with our pressure washer (kind of fun!) and then spray painted most of them black. I ran out of spray paint more than once, so I have some I left yellow. Again, would have been easier to just buy black ones.

Next, I needed wood, foam, and fabric. The wood was the cheapest I could find. $13.99 for a 4x8' board of OSB from Home Depot. At my Home Depot, the first three cuts are free, so I got the nice fella to rip three long 14" pieces for me.

My hubby (with a me only really helping a tiny bit) cut all the rest of the wood for me. For each crate, I needed a 14x14" piece and a 12x12" piece. We actually cut the 12x12 ones just a little bit shorter than that, so they would fit inside the crate without me having to round the corners. My crates do not have an inside lip (some do), hence why the inside piece to hold the top in place. 

For the foam and fabric, I hit my local Wal-Mart. The foam was a mattress cover, and cost me around $20. I bought two, because I wanted two layers for comfort and puffiness. The fabric was kids sheets, the Mainstays Kids Microfibre sheet sets. They had tons of different patterns, and were only $16.94 for a twin set. One set would have been plenty to make a dozen crate seats, but I wanted two different patterns.  

I cut the foam into 14x14" pieces and 16x16" pieces. The smaller piece would be the same size as the wood top, and the larger piece would wrap around the edges. Then I laid one piece of fabric, then the smaller foam piece, followed by the larger foam, and then the wood top. I wanted to sandwich the smaller foam in between the second foam and the wood so it would be thicker in the middle without a line where the smaller foam would be. I put some glue in between each layer so it wouldn't slide around over time. 

Then it was just a matter of stapling the fabric around onto the back of the wood. I started with the corners, and then the sides. It took some trial and error to get it looking decent, but even the first couple looked pretty good. 

Next I centred the 12x12" wood piece over the first part, trapping the fabric ends in between, and screwed it on with 3/4" wood screws. I decided not to glue them together, thinking that if my fabric ever starts to wear out, tear, or get super dirty, I could remove the bottom wood, recover the top with fresh fabric and replace the bottom part. Thinking ahead! 

 Place the finished top part onto a crate, and done!!! Beautiful crate seats, ready to be filled up with all my extra storage materials! The bonus to filling them is that it also makes them more stable, and I don't want my kids to move them all around the room. I will place them around the room where I want them, and they can pick one to sit on. I will be able to move them, but they will be too heavy for my Grade 2s. Perfect!

 All loaded into my vehicle, ready to go to school tomorrow. I will post pics in my Classroom Reveal once I get them filled and placed around the room. So excited!