Graduation Rehearsal: Senior Year

I'm tiptoeing into this one...

Yesterday was the last day.  Mandatory school is a thing of the past for baby #1.  Seems like only yesterday that we were singing about getting a letter with Blue's Clues before this crazy thing called school even entered the picture!

In my Artbooking mini-album we have come to senior year.  Words cannot describe.

Vellum is such a great accent to add a delicate, feminine touch to these pages.  Sparkles with vellum is even better!  I used the School Years My Acrylix to stamp the year on this one in White Daisy Pigment Ink.

I  do so love this Keyboard Uppercase Alphabet My Acrylix from Close to My Heart.  It is one of those, "I don't have to be too careful to line these up" sets.  :)  It worked perfectly alongside one of my faves in the Ariana Complements chipboard shapes.

The very last page is this darling envelope.  I decided to add the rest of the wallet-sized pics that didn't have a place in this album.

Tomorrow is the big day...ready or not!  My heart will never be quite ready, but my girl is certainly running to cross the finish line...

Countdown to Graduation Continues...

Four days and counting...

I am almost ready for this HUGE moment.  ALMOST.  And I am not just talking about the party.  Actually, I am not sure a mom can possibly EVER be ready for her firstborn to graduate from high school!  I'm slowing things down a bit here to revisit almost 18 years of pictures in my Artbooking mini-album made with the beautiful papers in the Ariana Paper Packet.

Up today are the first three years of high school.  She might not like these first two school pics, but I love to see the progression from year to year, so I didn't leave any out!  It's totally my prerogative as the mom.  :)

I love the way this page came together.  The name of each school year is stamped from the School Years My Acrylix in White Daisy pigment ink onto vellum flags.  If you love vellum like I do, then check out the sweet Free to Be Me paper packet available this month from Close to My Heart!  It comes with two different vellum prints--gold polka-dots and feathers!  I swoon just thinking about it!  ;)  Back to the mini...

This awesome title element is taken from the Overlay key on the Artbooking cartridge.  Here is what it looked like before I trimmed it up...

I accented each of the fishtails with the Sparkles Chevron Shapes.  I admit I was a bit scissors happy with these embellishments.  A real cut-up.  Should I stop now?  ;)

LOVE the Junior year picture sooooo much!  :)

 Glitter paper, CHECK!  :)  Oh, and let me tell you...texting is BIG-time around here, lol.

I cut part of a Sparkles Flourish for this one--shocking, eh?  This is absolutely the perfect Complement to use,"Be who you are and no one else."  Words she has definitely embodied over the years.  *sniff*  Oh man, here we go again with the tears...see you tomorrow!   

A Box Card fit for a Teacher

I don't know about you, but each year, about this same time, I realize that May is CRAZY!!!   I'm talking about birthdays, Mother's Day, End of the School Year, and this year--GRADUATION!  How does it all manage to sneak up on me?  I need an alarm to go off sometime in the middle of April that reminds me of the craziness to ensue so I can get a jump on it.  ;)

Well, this weekend I checked one thing off my list.  I finished up a card for my daughter's teacher--and it wasn't just ANY card.  It was a BOX card!  They are all the rage right now, so just had to try one.  I LOVE how easy it was!

If you stick around just a bit longer, I will show you all the details!  :)  I used a few of my current and retired Close to My Heart My Acrylix including Sightseer, School Years, and Terrific Teacher.  The tops of the front panels are meant to look like chalkboards. 

I used several Cricut cartridges and my Expression 2 for this project.  Have you ever used the Cricut Craft Room to search for shapes?  It is so much easier than going through each of the handbooks if you have an extensive collection.

I ended up using this apple that I already had in my leftover cuts, so not sure which that is on...but the rest are as follows:

clouds and grass:  Close to My Heart Artiste
school house:  Wrap It Up
ruler:  Close to My Heart Artbooking

These single digits were just left over from the ruler...

My sun is made with an old CM punch...

Here is what the card looks like while it is closing or opening...

...and here it is fully closed.  The one I made fits into a size A2 envelope!  

I just used the tutorial over at Splitcoast Stampers for this one...making a tiny adjustment to make the panels at the top just 1/4 inch shorter.  You really need to try it!  :)

Babycakes Lunchbox Note

Time for that lunchbox note that I created with the sweet Close to My Heart Babycakes Paper Packet...

This Babycakes B&T Duos paper featuring the letters of the alphabet is perfect for school related projects, don't you think?

Besides the paper, I used the same products as I did before in THIS POST.   I substituted the Tan glitter paper to match as well and stamped in Honey Ink for a darker yellow pop.  I like it in both color schemes.  How about you?  :)

Lunchbox Notes with Laughing Lola for Back to School Sparkle

Hi everyone!  Like I said on Monday, my kiddos started back to school last week.  A new school year calls for new lunchbox love, so I made some cute little cards with my Laughing Lola Paper Packet to put in their lunches.

I am linking these cutie pie lunchbox notes up with My Creative Time's newest challenge to make something for back-to-school time!  :)

These 3x3 cards didn't take long at all to put together, but the payoff was huge!  My daughter loved this one on the right that I sent in her lunch.  I was afraid she was too old for this, but I think the pattern paper and bling combined to make her day a little less stressed with some love from home. 

Unfortunately there was one snag...she asked me what the chocolate chip meant, lol!  I had to tell her it was a Hershey's Kiss!  Can you tell which one my kids see more of at home, lol?

I used one of my all time favorite stamp and die sets from MCT for the kiss and the little tag.  I had just discovered not too long ago that the wafer dies will actually cut through the glitter paper like butter with my Big Shot!  SOOOO easy.  I used the perfect stamp for the sentiment from a new Close to My Heart My Acrylix stamp set called School Years.  In a moment of pure inspiration, I also spied the stamp with the glasses...and realized they fit the Kiss perfectly!  :)

 

Here is the inside of the card...

I used a retired Classmate Alphabet for this sentiment, but you can use practically any that is the right size!  I recommend this CTMH Pennant Alphabet which has a simple font very similar to the one I used.

Why not send some sparkle in YOUR child's lunchbox tomorrow?  You never know when a loving word from home will hit the spot! ;)

I will share my version of this lunchbox note with the Babycakes Paper Packet later this week, so be sure to sign up for email updates! Thanks for stopping by!  :)