Feels Like Monday...

Well, it's back to school today! After an incredible, relaxing, enjoyable 3-day weekend, I'm wondering why on earth I signed up to teach summer school! But I'm sure it will be fine when I get there (the power of positive thinking!). I actually did enjoy getting my lessons ready last night. I'll be teaching a two-hour block of math to two separate classes. On the agenda today: place value, ordering numbers, and rounding. Sounds easy enough, right?

I thought I would share today the projects my Stamp Club members and guests made last week. The first is a mini-album (featuring the precious twins Brooke & Morgan of my dear friend Cindy) using two-sided patterned paper and transparencies. The project idea came from here on Beate's blog...it's one that I must check out daily. She shares SO much. I've met her in real-life too, (okay, briefly, and I know I sound like a major name-dropper!), and she's just as nice and friendly as she seems on her blog. The instructions for the second project are also from her blog, you can find them here.

Hope everyone has a happy Tuesday, even though it feels like Monday!

Doodle This & Doodle That

Ahhhh, I do love the doodle sets! I've been a long-time fan of Elsie Flannigan (maybe because we're both Missouri gals?!) who originated this doodle style, and I even was lucky enough to take one of her classes last fall with my friend Lori. She was so sweet and down to earth, just an awesome gal. Anyway, I was thrilled when Stampin' Up! offered these doodle style sets, and I hope and pray they make it into the new catalog, plus some more would be nice too!

I have seen a lot of cards that feature "wings" around an object, so I thought this heart stamp from Doodle That would be perfect to make wings. The only trick was to reverse stamp it, which I had never tried. Luckily, it's very easy! I used SU Basic Black ink and stamped the first heart on the right side. I held up the flower to see about how much space I would need before stamping the heart on the left side. I then pulled out a solid image stamp (I used one from the By Design set, but any solid type image would work) and stamped the heart onto it. Then you stamp the solid image stamp on the card stock, and voila!, your stamped image is in reverse! It took a few tries, and I eventually did get out the Stamp-a-ma-jig so I could line it up perfectly. The rest is colored in with blender pens. Very simple, go try it!

Happy Everything!

I made this card last night right before I went to bed. It seemed to sum up the way I was feeling about school being out for the summer! I've had this Happy Everything set for at least six months, and yes, this is the first time I've used it! The shame!

Tip: use up all of the spare or leftover paper scraps around your work area on a card before cleaning up. Some of my best cards are created with scraps! I love Michelle Wooderson's suggestions and wish that I could make cards more like her assembly-line production (I will be working on that this summer). I've always been a one-card-at-a-time kind of girl, and once I've made a card once, I have no interest in making it again. The only exception is swaps, of course, and I usually do this in group stamping sessions with friends. When it's time for "creative" stamping, I must do that alone. It's very hard for me to be creative while running my mouth, which is what I'm doing when I'm with my girlfriends! lol!

Studio Inspiration

The goal today (and it may require tomorrow) is to get the studio/craft room all cleaned up and organized! Some out-of-control person dumped about 16 loads of school junk all over the floor. That just won't do. We bought new blinds for the windows at the first of the month, so maybe hubby can be talked into hanging them also. I'll try to post pictures when (not if, I'm thinking positively here!) I'm done. In the meantime, here is some studio inspiration I made this morning while surfing on flickr, enjoy!

School's Out for Summer!

Wow! I can't believe I survived my first year of teaching, especially at the ripe old age of 40! It was quite a career change, but I think it was the right one for me. Saying goodbye was really hard, and not just for me. I made each student a little stamped memory book with our class picture on the front and space inside for their teacher and friends to write notes, as well as a space to write their own memories. At the last minute, I realized I needed to make one for me too and have them write in it. It was a great last morning activity for us.

I'll be teaching summer school beginning next Tuesday, but it's only four hours a day for four weeks. I can surely handle that, right? And have lots of time left over for stamping and scrapping!