The past couple months have been a complete blur in our house! The end of the school year is always packed with lots of activities, field trips, etc and this one was especially so partially because Kayla graduated from the school she's attended for the past 9 years. Hard to believe she's going to high school next year! We've already met with the staff and done a walk thru of the school and so far we are very impressed with the staff and teachers.
I have had very little crafty time lately but we did manage to make altered clipboards for ALL the middle school teachers, the bus drivers and Kayla's aide. I think every teacher Kayla's had and the principal and vice principal now have personalized clipboards from us. She hopes that they will think of her when they use them and I'm sure they will. We made 13 this year so we kept them very simple. We were lucky enough to find some great scrapbook papers in each theme/subject so we let them speak for themselves. I kept the fronts pretty plain since they are usually covered with papers and put the best papers, etc on the backs.
As soon as I was done crying after graduation I had to pack Kayla and I up to go the the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. It was SO exciting to be there and be a part of the US Team. She didn't swim very well at the meet because she had a horrid cold and was swimming at altitude but it was more of a training meet and a dedication to Jimi Flowers, the US Paralympic Swim Coach that died tragically last year in a climbing accident. We attended meetings and received our uniforming for the World Championships.
We are home for a couple weeks and then off to Chicago for NJDC (National Jr. Disability Championships). The whole family is going on this trip and we plan to do a little sightseeing while we're there (including the Lego Adventure park for the boys) Never a dull moment around here!!
Because our summer is so busy, I won't be teaching classes until September but be sure to check out the other classes at the A Muse shop and don't forget A*Muse*a*Palooza is almost here!
I was so pleased with the layout of Heidi's birthday card that I decided to change it up a bit and make a Mother's Day card. Here I used Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate ink for the open Marigold and sentiment and the chocolate pearl sticker added the perfect touch!
How cute is this? I made it out of lunch sacks! Seriously! I found the idea on THIS blog. She added butterflies to hers which I thought was cute but didn't really go with my decor and I'm a simple kind of girl so I just left it plain with a pretty ribbon. Who knew that lunch sacks could look so nice?
I found these cute candy dispensers that look like a Wii remotes (they shoot out Smarties candy) and puzzle erasers shaped like pizza. I threw in some bubble gum pieces and I had perfectly themed treat bags!
Sam requested rootbeer floats instead of cake but it's hard to put a candle in a float so we made some fun candy sushi (my boy LOVES sushi). I saw the idea online for making sushi rolls using Twinkies but we decided to use crispy rice treats for the rice and went a step further making regular sushi with Swedish Fish. How fun is this?
My niece, Zoe, is about the cutest thing ever. Since she was born the kids and I have decided that her signature animal should be an owl since she's got big expressive eyes and she's super smart. Every holiday we give her something with an owl on it and it cracks me up because she calls them "hoo hoo's" (I almost wet my pants the first time she asked for her hoo hoo blanket!).
It's October in the Pacific Northwest and we've had some unusually sunny weather which makes the changing Fall colors even that much more spectacular! A Muse has a new release coming that is absolutely lovely and will give you the perfect excuse to do some crafting on those crisp Fall days. Here I'm giving you a little sneak peak of the Oak Leaf Flourish and a new Beautiful Autumn sentiment. The tree is from the Trees 1 Clear set embellished with Autumn Flower Soft (so fun!).
Ever have "one of those days"? I think this witch is! When I first saw this new image I knew I had to use that sentiment with it! 
Today was our last of school! The past few weeks have been crazy with school projects and activities so it's a big relief to have it all be done! I've known for quite some time what I was going to make for the teachers as end-of-the-year gifts but between being too busy or tired and a little procrastination thrown in, I didn't start them until last night. This picture shows the backpack boxes and matching cards I made for Sam's teachers. He's in a multi-age class so there are 3 grades and 3 teachers. I simplified the original design for this backpack by making the flap out of patterned paper instead of adding a layer of patterned paper to accent the base color. A Muse Petite Gingham is so cute on these and there are so many colors to choose from. I enclosed the little cards (quick and easy) along with a Barnes & Noble gift card. Kayla is in middle school so we only gave one to her advisor and I added a little chocolate as a bonus. I also made "happy summer" cards for the bus driver and Kayla's aide at school and gave them some tasty treats.
