And They're Off!

Well, we've been super busy the last couple weeks (thus no recent blog posts), but today is finally the day.....the first day back to school!  We always have so much to cram in those last precious couple of weeks of summer and this year was no exception.  And it's always extra busy around here since it's not just the kiddo's going back, but my hubby too since he's a teacher.

For this year's end of summer rush, we were very excited to be able to spend a weekend out of state with my sister in law & brother in law and also take a day trip to bike & swim at Lake Erie.  Both were very enjoyable since we can't get away from the farm very much! We also spent a lot of time the last couple weeks repairing things - both at our place (my washer & dryer both were having issues).  And also for my sister & mother in law - they both were having plumbing problems.  And since they're both about an hour away from us, we always try to squeeze in their stuff before the end of summer too since it's harder to get down there once school's back in.  And of course, most of our back to school items needed attention too.  Yesterday we spent the entire day getting lunch boxes, backpacks, clothes, ID tags, etc., etc., etc. all ready.

So it's just been a whirlwind of activity around here and all to get to this all important day!  It's BACK to SCHOOL TIME!

Creativity, I've been working on some new SNS projects during all this activity.  (A couple of my first digi's too!)  So you'll want to keep an eye out for that stuff in the future.  But last night (quite late, last night lol!), I took a quick break from everything to make up a couple simple back to school projects for everyone to start to school year off on a good note!



 I made up these two simple cards for the kid's teachers.  I saw these great Teacher stamp sets from PapertreyInk during their Aug release and just had to have them!  Since I do A BUNCH of stuff for school and the PTO; and since my husband, myself, and my sister are all teachers - I knew they'd get lots of use!  This card uses a combo of the stamp set they just released and an earlier coordinated set as well as one of their dies.  Both sets are really super cute. 









 I did these up fairly simply in school colors (& tiger stripes) - just a little note to their new teacher's to let them know we're thinking of them and looking forward to a great year!

(paper is from the Paper Studio & the cute ribbon is from Michaels)

 I also did a couple really quick Lunchbox notes for the kids using PaperTrey's coordinating apple die and some stamps I picked up at a discount store over the weekend  Again a very simple project, but paired up with some colorful Heidi Grace paper; they're just the ticket to let them know I'm thinking of them even when we're apart!

(Both Stamp sets TPC Studio)

I even did a larger one of these for my Hubby & put it on his car's dash before I went to bed - it's his "first day of school" too LOL!  (He did appreciate it too - he texted me as soon as he got a chance to say thanks! I'm sure it made him smile!)

So for us (and probably many of you out there too!), life's about to take a complete 180 degree turn - back to our "other" schedule again!  I think it's going to take me a while to rearrange my schedule again too LOL! 

Well, I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to and share those couple simple school projects with you real quick.  The kiddo's ought to be home real soon; so I best get ready for them.  I'm sure they've got LOTS of stories (& papers lol!) to share with me!! 

Here's a pic of them before they headed out this morning.  They always look so cute all dolled up for their first day!!

Until next time,

***Julie***

Furry Friends Winners & Another Project

Hi Again Everybody!  When I can, I love to share another project with you when SNS announces the winners for the hop.  Kind of a little "thank you" for hopping by.  Well, today I have one for you!  But first - Congrats to all the winners for the Furry Friends hop:

GRAND PRIZE #1

Stamp Set of your choice on Cling Cushion

Lori Gugan

GRAND PRIZE #2

Stampette set of your choice on Cling Cushion

Selma

SPECIAL UNANNOUNCED PRIZE

3 Digital Images of your choice

Namabear

1st PLACE:

3 small glitters in your choice of color

Laurie (anonymous)

2nd PLACE:

3 small embossing powders of your choice

ShirleyTACS

3rd PLACE:

choice of 2 Glitter Tinsels OR 2 Flocking OR 2 Sparkle N Soft Flocking OR a mix of 2 of any of those

Shereen VH

Congratulations, again to all the winners!

If you're a winner, be sure to stop by the SNS Home Blog for details on how to claim your prize!  And to everyone that hopped with us - a Very big thank you for joining us!  It means so very much to each of us to have the opportunity to share our work with you & receive your heartfelt thoughts!

So....as a little thank you, how about another "furry friend" card!  So today's card isn't quite as "fancy" as the card I had on the hop, but it is SO FUN!  This card is done with Sparkle N Sprinkle's stamp called Wet N Wild. Not only does he just make me smile, but he is PERFECT for what I wanted to do with this card!




Wet N Wild was colored up with Copics.  Then, before I attached him to that great bright teal print from Memento papers, I placed him on a Wobble!  If you're not familiar with Wobbles, they're little plastic spring bases that "wobble" back and forth when you touch them.  (See how he moved from left to right in the two pictures?!  Even better when you see it in actual motion!)  SNS carries Wobbles in their store and I swear this image was made for these fun little gadgets!  Ok, not really, this stamp has been around for a little while; but BOY are these PERFECT for each other. When you put this in motion, it really looks like this guy is shaking off the water.  (My family couldn't stop playing with this guy lol!).








 The "Go for It" saying comes from the same set - Set 368 (a neat mix of fun dogs with a few matching sayings).  And the saying is just perfect for making this a multi-purpose card.  Right off the top of my head, I could see it used for a birthday, an encouragement , or even a graduation card!  I bet you can think of even more uses!  I love all purpose cards - always great to have a bunch of those on hand so you have something special ready when you need to grab a card for someone special !

I sure hope you enjoyed this fun and adorable pup card!  Be sure to let me know what you think before you hop on by today! 
Thanks again for joining us on the hop and also for stopping by again today!!

Unitl next time,

*** Julie ***

Sparkle N Sprinkle Furry Friends Blog Hop

Welcome to my page on SNS's Furry Friends Hop!  Hopefully, you've been hopping along and enjoying some great projects related to all our furry friends. If so, you've just arrived here from Karalee's Blog.  If not, you may want to go back to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Home Blog and start from the beginning so you don't miss any fun & furry ideas!  And don't forget, we have some great prizes to be awarded too!  All the details will be listed there too!

What I have for you for today's hop is a "fun fold" card.  Over at Sparkle N Sprinkle, we've been having an in-house challenge to design some of our cards with "different" folds.  You know, anything other than your standard "fold it in half" type card base.  So, I did this fun design with today's hop in mind!

My furry subjects for today are Eternal Friends - two sweet little kitties that also come on a great cat set called Kitty Trio - Set 231.



My fun fold card design for these little cutties is called a Diamond Fold card.  The central diamond shows off your main image and it kind of pops up from the rest of the card making your main image really stand out.  (The ribbon band actually helps keep it closed).








To "open" the card, you pull outward on the two side sections.....and then you get a completely different look!  How cool is that!  These are really fun to play with......open - close - open - close....it's hard to put them down LOL!

Click any image for a closer view

Here's a little mini tutorial on how it's made......The main card base is made with a 4" x 12" piece of cardstock.  Scores are made at the 2", 4", 8", & 10" marks.  And then diagonal scores are made from the 2" to the center point (top & bottom) and also from the  10" to the center point top & bottom.  This is what the card base looks like with all it's scores.

After your crease all the scores, you "push in" on the 4" and 8" score lines until the diamond pops up and the side panels start folding behind the card.  The first time you kind of have to "coax" your folds into all the right positions.  But once you get them in place; they will all open & close quite easily.  This view shows the card after it has been folded into position once (and the decorative paper side panels have been added).

 

From there you can chose to fill in the rest of the pieces with designer paper (as shown) or leave it the color of your cardstock.  Put your message on the panels that pop out or write it on the back. 

For my main image, I chose to make my pink diamond a little bit bigger than the card base diamond so it hung over the edges just a little bit.  You can also cut your main diamond a little smaller & let your base cardstock make a frame around your image. 

 So many options - the choices are endless.  But one thing is for sure.....

After you make one of these, you'll want to make a bunch!  If you'd like to make a card like this one, full instructions for this card can be found in the SNS Art Gallery here.

(Check out that beautifully "furry" Sparkle N Soft that frames the diamond & the word "Purr" - just the perfect accent for all types of critter cards!)

I sure hope you enjoyed today's card!  Be sure to stop back after the hop (later on Saturday) and I'll have another fun furry friend to share with you here after the hop winners are announced!  And don't forget to leave a little comment to let me know what you thought of todays card and qualify for the great prizes too.  Now hop on over to Shanna's Blog for even more fun and furry ideas!  Hope you enjoy the rest of the hop and Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time,

***Julie***