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

Friday, June 3, 2011

Unity FWF~~Teacher Thanks

Today I'm playing along with Unity's
Friends with Flair!

You can find out all of the details over on the Unity Stamp Company blog. (You should check it out--there are prizes involved!)

First, you should know that I am a thank-you kind of gal. I thank people for holding the door, for bagging my groceries, for stopping to let us cross the street. I thank my kids for emptying the dishwasher, my husband for mowing the grass, my neighbor for taking my son to school. I say thank you, I write thank you, I sing thank you. I'm teaching my kids to do the same. I'm a big believer in "Thank You" and its power!!

That said, I think June is the "Thank You" season! My kids' last day of school (June 22) is fast approaching, and we have a long list of people to thank for their leadership and service this year: teachers, helpers, coaches, scout leaders, youth advisers. The list could go on and on! So I'm trying to kick the end-of-year thank-you-gift-and-card-making into high gear!! And today I'm sharing a thank-you project that I collaborated on with my 8YO son for his second-grade teacher.
I stamped the adorable books image from {ippity}'s Books a'Flutter kit on a piece of notebook paper, and my son colored it in with crayons. The sentiment is a digital one that I downloaded from Paper Crafts magazine (here). I sorted through my kids' crayon boxes to find four that were still in decent shape (quite the task, I tell ya!) and used them to frame our notebook panel. Glossy Accents was perfect for gluing on the crayons!!

The background paper is actually a page from the 1964 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary. I bought it at a used bookstore last year for $3, specifically to cut up in paper projects. A great investment! (And in the long run, so much cheaper than buying text patterned paper by the sheet.) Anyway, I used the "T" dictionary page that included "teacher" and cut up the page so that the "teacher" entry would peek out strategically at the bottom of the panel. Fortunately, that approach to cutting also ensured that the entry for "teat," just one line down from "teacher" in the next column, was eliminated from the layout. Whew! As wonderful and fun-loving as Mrs. Berry is, I doubt that she would have found that amusing.

So, there you have it!! My son will write a thank you note inside following his patented thank-you-note-writing formula (which is suspiciously similar to the paragraph-writing recipe he learned from Mrs. Berry this year. See? They do pay attention! And won't that make Mrs. Berry proud?): greeting, opening sentence, 2-3 details, wrap-up sentence, "love."

I know it makes me proud.

Thanks for joining me for my little slice of bliss for today!!
Emily

5.5" x 5.5" Card Recipe:
Stamps: Books a'Flutter from {ippity} by Unity Stamp Co.
Paper: Wild Wasabi CS from Stampin' Up!, red CS from The Paper Company, notebook paper, page from vintage dictionary

Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: crayons, Glossy Accents, craft foam sheets, Martha Stewart loops punch-around-the-page set

36 comments:

SeattleStamper said...

This is sooooo stinkin' cute!

Meg said...

Aw, how sweet! What a perfect teacher card (although I'm sure she will appreciate the handwritten note on the inside the most!)

Benzi said...

I'm with you, Emily, on the thank you's. You are teaching your children by example and having your son involved with this card is perfect. I'm sure teacher will be so appreciative of this card.

Jingle said...

Super fun card! Great idea!

sharon g said...

How fun. Thanks.

Erin said...

What a creative use of the books stamp!!! Darling!

Erin (Homemade Cards by Erin) said...

You guys should work as a team more often! Great job.

Joanne (jojot) said...

as a retired teacher, I can tell you that this would be most appreciated especially because it is handmade AND from the heart...wonderful

Crafty Math Chick said...

AWESOME! LOVE the crayons, the notebook paper, the 'teacher' page of an actual dictionary - everything is so well thought out and perfectly selected. I am a HUGE believer in the importance and the power of 'thank you' as well. Have a great weekend!
~Meredith

Marisa said...

LOVE the crayons on the card!! Well done on showing your kids how important it is to say thank you. I get my kids to do the same, and despite the groans at having to do them at times, I know one day they will be glad they learned to do so. Proud mama you should be :)

Noelle Reese said...

LOL That is the cutest thng I have ever seen! The crayons are PERFECT!

michib said...

Awesome card! love your idea of using crayons on it and having your son colour it.

Anonymous said...

LOVE the crayons and how your son colored the image!!! Brilliant!!! Just a perfect thank you for the teacher!

lisa a.

Gwen said...

CUTE project! Love how you trimmed the Webster's paper!! :} And great job on teaching the thankful attitude!

Anne Tussing said...

Well, you made this teacher laugh out loud with your comments about the words on the text page:) Thanks!! It's so great that your son worked with you to make this card for his teacher. It will be very special to her, no doubt!!

jennifer mitten said...

Wel, thank you for sharing! I feel the same way you do and I love your card, by the way.

Angela said...

Wow! What a great card for a teacher -- I love that you had your son not only write a message, but do the coloring as well! Love the crayons, too -- what a perfect touch.

Carol said...

Cute project, I love the colors!

Carol B
ciaoitalia2007(at)gmail(dot)com

veronica said...

hey, your kid has great coloring skills! i am sure you have fun making things together!
love the dictionary print in the background too.

Alice said...

so fun! love that you used crayon in it! lovely card!

Annette Allen said...

very creative..i love how you used the crayons...

Emily Leiphart said...

Emily, I love that this card features both your work and your son's! Those crayons are a fabulous embellishment and I loved your story about the dictionary print in the background. :D

Kary said...

Hi Emily, this is absolutely adorable! Perfect for your son's teacher. Sweet!!

Dawn B. said...

This is precious and she will love it.. I really like the crayons. Great frame. I am a thank you kind of gal too. I drive my kids crazy but I hope it sticks. Thank you can go a long ways..:)

Glenda J said...

Oh my gosh... so cute! Fantastic!

Shelley said...

Very clever to use crayons as embellishments!

Laurel said...

Wow, this is so fabulous!

Mona Pendleton said...

What a fun card Emily! So creative!

Carol Hurlock said...

Oh Emzi you are my kind of girl....I thank everybody too!!! I use my gift for crafting to brighten someones day-it makes a difference in my life and I hope the person I thank...lol Your card is absolutely darling. Oh my gosh what a cute design element the crayons are. I love your description of your son's thank you note formula....so cute and his teacher will love this.

Bear Hugs,
Carol :O}

Anita said...

Emily, this is so perfect for your son to give his teacher. Love the card! And I think it's wonderful that you're teaching your children the importance of thanking others.

Jen M said...

Great card and a great life lesson for your son.... Love that he collaborated on this too!

Scrapcollectr said...

Love the use of the real crayons and the perfectly placed dictionary page! *smile*

Unknown said...

Well this thank you is going to come right back to you!! His teacher is going to take one look at this and say "Thank you" it is adorable..

Hope you are having a happy day!!

Hugs, Linda

Jessi Fogan said...

Oh, I'm so not sure I could have resisted having the word "teat" on there somewhere...even behind the main panel, just knowing it was there :P
What an awesome idea with the crayons - I can't believe you found the perfect colours intact. What are the chances??
I love that your 8YO helped with this, and that he'll write inside. I really do think that means more to the teachers than anything else :)

Emily (stampingout on SCS) said...

This is a darling idea! :)

Bonnie said...

Oh, Emily, I'm still chuckling over the teat! This is a great card and you did well to find 4 crayons in such good shape. Your son's teacher will be so impressed I'm sure.