First Day

Well, in just a few short days, my baby will be starting Kindergarten.  I can't believe this day has come...I have thought about it many times since he was born and now, here he is, heading off into the big bad world.  To say this coming Tuesday will  be difficult for me is an understatement.  As  a teacher I know all too well the kinds of things he is going to be exposed to at school and it scares the bejesus out of me!  I am just hoping I can keep it together long enough to drop him off at school and then come home and have a  good cry!  I created this card to tuck in his back pack on the first day.  I was inspired by two challenges:  the sketch at Nacho Average Challenges and the Back-to-school theme at Stampin' Royalty.  Firstly, here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

First Day of School card for NAC9 and SR139 featuring the Greeting Card Kids stamp set and sentiment from First Day (retired)

Inside view with sentiments from Bring on the Cake and Perfect Words (retired)

This card is a real blend of old and new.  I love the images in the Greeting Card Kids set and this particular one really speaks to me as the little boy looks just like my little guy (spiky blond hair and all!).  I chose to use the Storytime DSP for this card, but opted out of the school-theme patterns so that the focal image would really stand out.  I coloured the image using a blender pen and watercolor crayons...if you haven't tried these yet you absolutely don't know what you're missing!  The sentiment on the front of the card is from a long-retired set called First Day.  It is one of the few retired sets I just couldn't part with and I have to say I use it an awful lot.  On the inside of the card I used two different sentiment sets.  The Wishing you a wonderful day comes from the Bring on the Cake set and the Big Hug is from the Perfect Words hostess set from last year's catalogue.  The little apple is from the brand new Perfectly Preserved set and I die cut it out with my Cannery Framelits set.
I know my boy will appreciate this card.   He so loves any card I make.  He is my best marketer...any time I make a card for one of his friends or teachers he is right there saying "My Mommy made this card.  She's really good at making cards.  She can teach you to make cards too"!!  Gotta love free advertising!

An Apple for the Mojo

Time for something new...I know...it's about time!  Yesterday I sat down to stamp and pulled up some of my favourite sketch challenges on my iPad.  This week's Mojo Monday sketch jump-started my creativity...have a look:

 

First day of School card and coordinating envelope for MOJO256 featuring the Perfectly Preserved stamp set and Orchard Harvest DSP

I finally caved and ordered the  Cannery Framelits.  I really thought I could just fussy-cut the images in my Perfectly Preserved stamp set, but who am I kidding?!?  The Framelits are SO much faster and perfect every time!  Anyhow, I put them to good use cutting out the apple and stem on this card.  I designed it to give to my teaching partner, along with a little gift, on the first day of school next week.  We work so well together and I always like to give her a little something to get the year off to a good start.  I really like the way the different patterns in the Orchard Harvest DSP work so well together.  It makes it so easy to mix patterns.  The best part about this card is that I'm actually posting it in time to enter the challenge!  I've been a wee bit off in my timing so far this summer!  Why not try your hand at this sketch?  I'd love to see what you come up with!