The little things that make me happy here on Bliss Road~~Emily Keaton

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Back to School

I was in a panic earlier this week when my DH mentioned that our August vacation was coming up very quickly and that we would only have one week of summer break left after that before the kids go back to school. How could that be??? There are so many more things that I want to do with the kids this summer--it can't be over yet!!

Of course, it's not (over yet, that is) and they don't go back to school until September 7, so there's time, but I've got to make sure it doesn't get away from us. Adding to my panic was the matter of back-to-school supplies. My DD starts middle school in the fall, and she received her class schedule and supplies list in the mail this week. With my new awareness that time is flying, I was afraid that if we didn't get a handle on school supplies now--before our vacation--that nothing would be left in the stores (or on sale) by the time we get back. SO, we hit the back-to-school sales yesterday and today, and I'm happy to report that DD is now completely provisioned with her middle school supplies! She was a huge help in surveying what could be re-used from last year and is tickled pink over all of her new stuff, including her 3-ring binders, highlighters, calculator, Wite-Out, and 4GB USB flash drive, all of which are making her feel so grown up. She can't stop looking at it all and has been carrying her loaded school backpack around the house today. It's so cute!! DS hasn't received a supply list from his new teacher yet, but second grade supplies aren't nearly as complicated, so we guessed. New crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, and an assignment folder are safe bets, so he got to pick out all of those. If he doesn't need them at school, we're sure to use them at home. When his list does arrive, we'll take a quick trip to buy anything that's missing at that point. Whew! I'm feeling a little less harried now!

With the fresh scent of school supplies still in my head, I had so much fun this afternoon kicking back to make this "Back to School" theme card for the Paper Sundaes #28 Challenge! I don't normally send back-to-school cards as such, but I thought it would make a great teacher thank you card later in the year, so I'll put it aside for that. This is also for:
  • today's SCS challenge, WT281, to incorporate woodgrain in a card. I don't have anything woodgrain, so I tried making some faux woodgrain (by dragging my burnt umber ink pad across a scrap of kraft card stock). Here's a close up. Not too bad, I thought!
  • this week's {ippity} challenge IHHC34, which is a your-choice 1-2-3 challenge. I chose 1 great sentiment, 2 punched butterflies, and 3 buttons.
  • this week's Unity Addicts' Challenge UAC11, to make a card with no designer paper. No problem! I ripped a page from an old dictionary as my background paper, plus used {ippity}'s A Bit of Burlap background stamp in several places, and, of course, a panel of my faux woodgrain!
  • Flutter By Wednesday #115
  • Card Patterns Sketch #74 Challenge, which was a bit tough. There's a lot going on in this one!
I'm looking forward to meeting a friend for dinner tonight. I've hardly seen her this summer! So it will be great to relax and catch up. We're going to a local grille famous for its barbecue. My mouth is already watering for one of their pulled-pork sandwiches!! Can't wait :)

Thanks for dropping by to share my little slice of bliss today!!

SUPPLIES:
Stamps: {ippity} Books a'Flutter, {ippity} A Bit of Burlap
Paper: PTI kraft CS, various Paper Company CS, book page ripped from vintage dictionary
Ink: Palette burnt umber
Accessories: SU tag corner punch, MS royal butterfly punch, colored pencils, OMS, paper blending stump, buttons from my stash, brown burlap string, glue dots, dimensionals
Techniques: gamsol magic, faux woodgrain

14 comments:

Marisa said...

Hard to believe summer is half over! We will be taking a trip over the border in the next week to pick up some supplies as they are so much cheaper down your way than up here!! Will get as much as we can and the balance of it up here.

That pile of books looks like my nightstand LOL! Always growing and not enough time to read it all. The Outlander series has me totally enthralled right now! Can't put it down! Up late every night reading. Going to kill me when school hits and I can't stay up late reading because of an earlier wake up time and my inability to function the next day. Will have to enjoy the late nights while I can LOL!

Darling card. Love the text in the BG and the buttons. Great use of the sketch!

Tenia Nelson said...

So love this card!!!!!

Silke Ledlow said...

Super cute card Emily!!! I'm so thrilled that my kids go back to school on Monday wahoooo!!! Enjoy the rest of your time...it goes by fast!!! Hugs ~S~

France Ringuette said...

Really adorable card, Love the text, so appropriate.

Thanks for playing at Paper sundaes..

France DT

Tanya said...

This is a wonderful card!! Thanks for sharing it!! My oldest son is starting middle school this year too but we will get his list next week. I can't believe that summer is already ending!!

Ravengirl said...

So glad to see the close up of the woodgrain! Looks great!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous card Emily! i love the woodgrain efect, it's fantastic! Well dome on getting your kids' school supplies sorted. I used to love starting the new school year with brand new crayons, pencils, notebooks etc etc! I guess most of us cardmakers have a history of stationery obsession! x

Alica said...

wonderful! Great color combination and I love the buttons too!
Thanks for joining us at Paper Sundaes this week!

Alice Regan said...

I love your card! It's just so inspiring and beautiful. I love all the elements that you used, especially the buttons.

Emily (stampingout on SCS) said...

Such a super cute card, Emily! Thanks for the reminder about snagging those back to school supplies before they are all gone! :)

Danni said...

My kids go back to school on Monday...our summer really flew by!! Love your card, so wonderful! Thanks for playing along with my flutter by challenge!

Colleen Dietrich said...

Good job on the woodgrain!
I can't believe summer is half over either. Let's not talk about it!

whoistracy said...

Adorable!! I love that book image. So glad you could play along with us at Card Patterns.

Pattie said...

So cute - I love the dictionary in the background...thanks for joining us at Paper Sundaes this week.