Some Sunshine for the Teachers

Not a lot of crafting happening in this house lately, but we did take some time out from all our activities this week to make some little gifts for Bridie's teachers.  The combination of Washington Apple patterned paper, and the saffron and red riding hood card and ribbon really gave this 'post it 'note holder project a bright and sunshiny feel.  Bridie was really pleased with them, and her teachers loved them.  Success all round!

A Challenge Card for Mother's Day

First things first - Mum, Look away!

Okay, now on with the show.  Creative time has been a little short around here lately, and when that happens, I find that challenges are often just the kick start I need to get creating without too much mucking around and wasting of precious time.

For this card I used two different challenges for my inspiration.  The first was the Inkspiration Inspiration Challenge #21:

The second was the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #67 :

I used the 'Fifth Avenue Floral' and 'Short and Sweet' stamp sets, an assortment of inks and markers (saffron, pretty in pink, rose red, regal rose) and card (pretty in pink, regal rose, and pink pirouette) and finished the flower off with a half pearl bead from the pretties kit.  The patterned card started life as a plain white piece of card, but some stamping and sponging transformed it into a perfectly coordinated patterned piece instead.

Hoping to squeeze in a bit more craft time tomorrow - probably with the help of another challenge or two.   Blogging about it though, is a whole other 'wait and see' kind of story!

Party Favours for 10 Year Old Boys

Earlier in the year we celebrated Hayden's 10th birthday.  Last year he had only been at his new school about a week, and so a party with friends was not on the agenda, but you can bet he wasn't going to miss out this year!  Instead of a party though, he and his friends decided they really wanted to go to a movie.  The boys have all read and enjoyed the Wimpy Kid series of books, and they all agreed that 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' was the movie they wanted to see.  Of course, the movie hadn't actually been released when they made this decision, but they agreed it would be worth the wait!

Which worked out well for me too - it gave me time to figure out what to do about those party goody bags.  Do 10 year old boys even need party favours?  (a quick survey revealed that YES! We HAVE to have goody bags Mum!)

And then I remembered the pile of hardcover notebooks I had in my bargain box.  I had originally picked them up (for just $1 or $2) thinking they might be good for teachers gifts.  Instead, I realised they would be perfect for the boys - which just a little bit of 'decorating' by me first.

I wasn't sure if the boys would appreciate being called 'wimpy' themselves, so I took the liberty of changing it to 'awesome' instead.  I was still a little nervous about how they might be received, and was so pleased to see that the boys all loved them.  And just quietly - if you need to keep a group of ten year old boys quiet at a restaurant while you wait for the food to arrive - give them their own diary to write in - I think the staff were shocked at how well behaved and quiet they all were (and I don't think their teacher would believe it without photographic evidence!)

As for the thank yous - we figured we had two choices.  Hayden was  initially leaning towards a note with a booger attached (actually a glue dot carefully coloured with ink!) but then when I made a 'stinky cheese' prototype he decided that would be better.  Nothing like giving your friends the cheese touch!  

Disclaimer time:

1.  If you haven't read the book you will just think I am being gross now - but I assure you - boogers attached to notes, and stinky cheese slices were not my idea - it is all taken straight from the Wimpy Kid, and despite the gross factor - ten year old boys - and their six year old brothers, love it!

2. While the diaries are great for keeping kids quiet, it is a good thing you don't give the thank yous out right there in the restaurant.  Yelling and running and kids having fun is pretty much guaranteed.  Quiet time - not so much!

Spreading Some Sunshine!

Well lucky me!  The lovely Helen Williams sent me some sunshine yesterday.  If you need a present for Mother's Day Helen has some gorgeous bookmarks over on her blog, not to mention a very clever circle flip up book.

Having received the sunshine award, it is now my turn to pass it around!

Here are the ‘rules’ for the award.
1. Put the Sunshine Award on your blog and/or within your post.
2. Pass the award to other bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they received this award by leaving a comment on their  blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the  award.

So, the bloggers I am going to send the sunshine to are all a wonderful source of inspiration and support to me - lovely ladies who I have been lucky enough to have met through Stampin' Up.

In no particular order, please help me send some happy thoughts the way of:

Rachael Knight
Roz Begbie
and Diane Robertson

If you have a few minutes please go and see the wonderful creations these ladies have been making (maybe have a snack before you visit Diane as she is frequently making wonderful things in the kitchen and making me feel hungry with her posts!)

Thanks again Helen.  You made my day!

Inspired by... Sparkly Shoes!

Take one little pair of sparkly shoes:

Add some card and pink ink, sponging and masking, vintage vogue stamps, a butterfly punch, heat and stick powder and some dazzling diamonds glitter...

And you get one happy afternoon and a pretty girls birthday card, which I think fits in with the latest challenge (Birthdays?) over at Corrosive Challenge.

Now just to get to the Post Office....