Busy, busy, busy.........

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!

Last Day of School!!

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.

Sam is moving up to intermediate next year. He'll be "low man on the totem pole" in the 4th-6th grade classroom which will be an adjustment but I know he'll do well. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that he was in Kindergarten. Kayla will be in 8th grade next year which will be her last year at this school and then on to highschool....yikes!

Now that we'll have more free time I'm hoping to play in some of the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA challenges. If you don't know what I'm talking about, hop on over to the A Muse Blog and join the party!! There are challenges to inspire you, games to play and prizes to win!

Happy Summer!