back in the saddle, again...

Whew! I think there were just as many cobwebs in my blog as there are in our new house! As I logged in tonight, I seriously thought, "do I even remember how to post?" 
It's been an amazing summer! Unbelievably hectic, but nonetheless great. Two biggies: I started a new job at my church working with young children and their families - LOVE it!!  Aaaaand... we finally closed on our new house - YAY! The house needs work, but I have waaaay to many ideas. I think we will just continue unpacking, and just "BE" in the space for a while so I can narrow down my ideas and thoughts to fewer choices. Of course the unpacking would be so much easier if my little darlings would stop making messes in rooms I just straightened!! 
Ok, so I have two MDS projects to share with you today. The first is an "art" piece I made using a sentence from one of my pastor's sermons. I like to create digital "art" pieces (some I print, some I just view on the computer, some I share) with inspirational quotes... thoughts... ideas. It keeps me motivated. This one helps me so much, especially when my days start to feel "cluttered" with lots of little tasks. 

I originally created this for the blog I write as part of my new job, but I thought it might help you as much as it helps me, so enjoy!   :}

My second project is simply because today is "Talk Like a Pirate Day." That's right! And my little Aaron absolutely LOVES everything pirate, so it feels like a holiday created just for him.  He even hid his pirate hat in his backpack to take to school! 

Isn't he a cutie? It was really hot when the kids got off the bus this afternoon, so of course Aaron had to take his blow-up pirate ship for a cruise in the pool! Good times  :} 

Just as soon as I unpack the rest of my stampin' goodies and clear off a desk to stamp on, I'll be back with more fun stuff to share. I wanted to unpack and set up my craft room first, but hubby had this crazy idea we should set up the kitchen and bedrooms instead. That's so unfair, right??!!

Teacher Appreciation Week - Friday

Whew! I made it... five gifts (well, ten since they're for two different teachers) in five days. See the smoke coming from my paper trimmer?   ;) 

All of the gifts were fun to make, and the teachers deserve them very much! Both of my boys have talented, kind, helpful teachers. We are so blessed! 
I'm not sure how I will live without the Fancy Favor Bigz XL die. I was actually shocked to find this "go-to" Big Shot die on the Retiring List. Well, I won't exactly be "living without"... it will go into my vault!
Anywho, I assembled the Fancy Favor box to hold gardening gloves and seed packets. The largest flower (Mixed Bunch) is stamped in Melon Mambo ink onto Twitterpated DSP and punched out with the Blossom punch. The other two flowers (Fruit & Flowers) are also stamped in Melon Mambo ink; one onto Blushing Bride card stock, and the other onto Whisper White card stock. 
I've seen the sentiment "thanks for helping me grow" added to a nice flowering plant. That would have been a super gift, but as I mentioned in the other "teacher appreciation gift" posts, the boys are the delivery service for all of these. And they ride the bus to school, for about twelve entire minutes. Boys can do lots of things in twelve minutes! Can't you just picture the dirt trail from their bus seat, down the steps, into the school, down the hallway... Ummm yeah, seeds work just as well with this sentiment. I created the sentiment using My Digital Studio, and then trimmed it to fit. Easy peasy! To make sure it all arrived inside the Fancy Favor box, I slipped the gifts into Gusseted Cellophane Bags and tied them closed with Melon Mambo Scallop Dots Ribbon.

And now... the conclusion to Aaron's animal alphabet book! I hope you found some inspiration for your classroom and/or punch art creations in this book.

 

National Scrapbooking Day 2013

I usually laugh at all the "made up" holidays (I'll try to find the energy to create an apology if anyone is offended). I mean, do we really need a National Sandwich Day?? A National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day??? You are dealing with someone who doesn't even understand Sweetest Day! But why, oh why, isn't National Scrapbooking Day celebrated with even greater flair than a Federal Holiday?! We should all have the day off work, free babysitting, and hours of scrappin' time. Oh, and maybe even a short parade where they throw out embellishments and ribbon instead of candy!  We certainly shouldn't be freezing our dupas off in the rain at a campout for our cute little Cubscouts. Perhaps I'll stage a sit scrap-in next year... 

I made this 12x12 digital layout with some fun photos I took of my oldest son playing in the snow. My boys were so happy to finally get a chance to use their sleds from Santa. It was pretty strange for us to have to wait until the end of March to see this much snow!  Of course it was gone as quickly as it fell...
I love how my title turned out!! The letters to spell spring are "punches" filled with "paper."  I will probably copy and paste the same title onto the pages for my youngest son. Heck, I might just create duplicate pages and change the photos! Have I mentioned how much I love My Digital Studio?! 
So what are you scrapbooking today??? 

let's talk about scrapbooking

Hello and Happy Friday!! I'm hoping to spend the weekend doing a little scrapbooking, but somehow I have the feeling I'll be taking more pictures to "scrapbook later" than I will actually scrapbook. Well, that is if the rain doesn't turn into a downpour at our campout.
I've been pondering scrapbook styles lately... 
My scrapbooks are primarily 12x12 full-page layouts. I will occasionally create a smaller album for a trip or special event. I also like to make digital pages just for the heck of it (these pages of my boys are saved onto a disc for them to keep). But there are so many options... page size, bound book vs individual pages, single page vs full-page layout, traditional vs digital or hybrid... 

Inside my scrapbooks, you will find pages created with "traditional products" --

Note: the chalkboard art technique looks just as great on scrapbook pages as it does on cards. Be sure to try all of your card-making techniques on your scrapbook pages! 

You will also find digital pages...

Note: I started this page to measure 11 x 8-1/2, but I have plans to import it into a 12x12 project. I LOVE that I can do that in seconds with My Digital Studio! 

...and "hybrid" pages. Hybrid projects combine both digital and traditional products.

Note: One great benefit of digi-scrapping is editing my photo size multiple times while creating the layout. On this layout, I ended up making one photo cover the entire 12x12 page - LOVE!

Note: traditional supplies include stamped and punched layers, chipboard, buttons, etc.

So what are your thoughts on scrapbooking? Are you a traditional or digital scrapper - or both! What's your preferred size? Do you scrap single or two-page layouts? What types of projects do you like to look at online? I'd love to get a good discussion going!!

***** Isn't that title/ journaling box on the digi page neat?? Click on over to my Facebook page to get it (and two more!) for free. They will look great on your scrapbook pages! Print them now so you can use them tomorrow while you're scrapping for National Scrapbooking Day!  :}  *****

I've got Mojo, yes I do... I've got Mojo, how 'bout you?

You know when you get in a crafting groove and it just feels so awesome you can't stop??? I LOVE that feeling! And I love a good sketch that just "speaks" to me. This week's Mojo Monday sketch really grabbed my attention - I liked it so much I have both a card and a digi scrapbook page to share today!  Yahoo!!

My first Mojo Monday project was this card for a family friend who fell and broke his hip. I thought the bright colors in the Summer Smooches DSP might cheer him up a bit.

For my focal point, I stamped the vase-of-flowers image in Lucky Limeade ink, punched it out with the 1-3/4" Circle punch, and adhered it to the Lucky Limeade Scallop Circle. After cleaning my stamp, I stamped the image again in Island Indigo so I could snip out the vase and adhere it over the Lucky Limeade vase. The circle-flowers on the stamped image were a little small (in my humble opinion), so I used an eye from the Owl punch and a Circle punch (Itty Bitty Shapes pack) to create Real Red and Tangerine Tango card stock flowers. 

Now, as I said, this card sketch really, really "spoke" to me... so I used it to digi-scrap (My Digital Studio) a funny picture of my son, Aaron.  **Warning - you might need your sunglasses! It's pretty bright!  :P  

My husband's Aunt bought the boys new swim trunks and goggles for Easter. Aaron slipped the goggles on right away and went to play outside. He looked so stinkin' funny running around in nice clothes while wearing those neon-yellow goggles.  

Seriously, if you can still see after looking at this neon background, you are smiling now, aren't you??? Gotta love little boys! 
So how did I get that crazy color that matches the goggles??? I used one of my favorite features in My Digital Studio - the color picker tool. Stay tuned next week for more deets on that.  ;) 

Thanks for dropping in today! I'd love to hear what you think about the card or the digital scrapbook page - feel free to leave me a little comment. Have a fabulous day!!  :}

can I get some digi love?

I love waking up on Tuesday mornings and creeping down to my computer to see what the newest digital downloads are! Today's downloads are cute - LOVE the digi papers in the "Because I Love You Swatchbook Template." I can't wait to make some projects with them!

For the past few months I have been babysitting the cutest little boy in the afternoons. One Saturday, his Mom and I took him to the park. I had my camera with me and tried to sneak in a few photos. It's hard to get a good picture of a running toddler, but two pics turned out really nice. Soooooo, I made a digital scrapbook page for her. 

Want to know something really, really awesome??? Most of the digi supplies on this page came from the FREE digital downloads! That's right - the freebies Stampin' Up! offers us from time to time. I just had to "think outside the box" a little to use them.  For example, the grassy look at the bottom of the page is from the March Wallpaper digi embellishment. And my "LOVE you forever" title is from the Pocket Cards download. 
To get some of the elements I wanted to use, I created new (separate) projects with the Greeting Card and Pocket Cards templates. Then I imported them (an additional page) into this scrapbook project. After that I just copied the elements I wanted, and pasted them onto this page. 
Here's the part where I need some digi love...
I'm entering this scrapbook page into a little contest from mydigitalstudio.net and I need all the likes and comments I can get!! Could you pretty please help me out? All you have to do is Click Here to visit my sample, then click the "thumbs up" and leave me a comment.
To say thanks in advance, I created a simple "page" with all of the freebie item numbers for you.  :}  Enjoy!

happy Easter everybunny!

Don't you just love stamping cute Easter projects??? I have a fun Easter card to share today that shows a great way to use up some scraps! 

I had some card stock and Tea for Two DSP scraps left over after cutting kits for my card class at the bakery, and I just can't bear to waste. Soooooo, I put them to good use on this Easter card. 
Isn't that bunny in the balloon just the cutest?! I stamped this image from the Everybunny stamp set in StazOn® ink so I could "watercolor" without the ink smearing. After adding spots of color gently with the Watercolor Wonder® Crayons, I smoothed out the color in each section of the image with a Blender Pen.

Here's a close-up so you can see all the details. The Chevron Embossing Folder adds the needed texture to the So Saffron card stock... and I folded the "blue" DSP strip back and under (on the right side) before adhering that card stock layer. Everything is adhered with my favorite liquid glue except the focal point, which uses Dimensionals for some height. 
I liked the simplicity of this card, so I kept the embellishments simple too. A Certainly Celery Button with a bow of Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine is all this card needs.  :} 

After I finished the card, I thought it would be fun to create the same "layered strip" look on a digital scrapbook page! 

Aaron is so sweet... don't you just want to hug him?! I LOVE this Easter Bunny basket he brought home from school, and I had to take a photo right away. 
I used pieces from a few downloads on this layout, but most of the "supplies" come from the Eggceptional Easter kit.

Here's a close-up of the basket-

The top and the two flat sides opposite the handle are cut away to create the opening. The handle is left intact in the back. Aaron got to draw a bunny face on the front... "with a PERMANENT MARKER, Mom!" The two bunny ears are stapled to the top, and the students got to play Easter Bunny by bringing some goodies for each basket. How fun!!

another quilt card, and more fun!

Since I know how much you just loved yesterday's quilt card, I thought I would share another one with you! 

This is one of my Christmas projects for Tuesday's class at the bakery. There are so many things I love about this card. For one thing, I love the greeting (More Merry Messages). It says exactly how I want others to feel - happy! And it's so... British.  :}  Perfect for a Christmas card since the sending of Christmas cards originated in England.

After adhering the four strips of DSP to a 4"x5-1/4" piece of Very Vanilla card stock, I gave the whole layer a "quilted" look - and feel! - by dry embossing it with the Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder. 
I die-cut a scrap of Garden Green card stock with one of the Framelits in the Labels Collection. Then I used a template from the Festive Paper Piercing Pack to add the pierced details.
Apparently I tried to use all of my Framelits on this card! I used two other sets to complete my layered focal point... one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits for the Crumb Cake layer, and the smallest from the Window Frames Collection (after stamping) for the Cherry Cobbler layer.

I hope all of you have had an enjoyable Saturday so far. I've had a great day with my boys! We woke up to find that "Elfie" had returned to stay with our family for December. 

And, he brought very cool Advent calendars with him - yay!! I'll bet he was planning on writing us a message on the memo board, but had a hard time finding a dry-erase marker  ;) 

We also started a new family tradition this December - a family Advent calendar. Each day, we will spend time together doing the activity stated on that particular day's card. I created all of the cards as a swatchbook using MDS2. (We will be looking at them on my computer until the printed version arrives!) I'm leaving space on some of the cards to add small photos and journaling after we complete the activities. 

 I created a simple swatchbook cover that includes the year... 

 ...and here is the page for December 1st.  Not only will we have fun enjoying the Christmas season together as a family, we will have a mini scrapbook album, too!

I'm looking forward to sharing the rest of our family activities with you. Do you have any special Christmas traditions that you love sharing with your family? 

Thank You, Veterans

The Things That Make A Soldier Great 

                                          -- Edgar Guest 

The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die, 

To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why, 

Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red, 

The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed, 

The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall: 

'Tis these that make a soldier great. He's fighting for them all.   

'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave; 

'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave; 

For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam 

As when behind the cause they see the little place called home. 

Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run, 

You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun. 

What is it through the battle smoke the valiant solider sees? 

The little garden far away, the budding apple trees, 

The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play, 

Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray. 

The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome 

But to the spot, where'er it be -- the humblest spot called home. 

And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there 

And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air; 

The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green, 

And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been. 

He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call, 

And only death can stop him now -- he's fighting for them all.

Doesn't that poem choke you up a bit??? I'm such a marshmallow... I totally cried. I'm just so thankful for all the sacrifices our veterans give for us to live in freedom.

This is another page I created in MDS2 for hubby. His grandfather, father, and his brothers also share in the honor of having served our country as Marines. Don't you just love a man in uniform???  :}

I can't begin to tell you how completely awed I was on Friday. I am so thankful and blessed that my children attend a school that spends as much effort honoring veterans as it does celebrating other holidays. The school held an assembly on Friday, with coffee and yummies for veterans before the assembly started. I thought the kids were just going to sing a song or two and clap for the veterans... boy was I wrong! 

After the 600 students filled the bleachers and the parents and veterans were officially welcomed, the assembly opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem sung so well by a 5th grade student that it gave me chills. Everyone - EVERYONE - stood, removed their caps, held their hands over their hearts, and saved their applause until the soloist finished. 4th and 5th grade students took turns reading about the history of Veteran's Day and sharing poetry. There was even a flag folding ceremony. And the entire grade school sang five songs so well, you couldn't help but smile. 

My Dad - a retired veteran and teacher - was just as amazed as I was. Although I did tease him for coming just so he could have some doughnuts.  ;)  While we were mingling in the cafeteria, I saw these adorable art projects the students created. 

 inside the speech bubble: We are thankful for our Veterans!!! 

Aren't these projects great?! If I were still in the classroom, I would definitely do these projects with my students. LOVE them!! 

I will leave you with a short video of the students singing their hearts out: 

God bless all the the men and women who so bravely serve our country!  

happy birthday, Marine Corps

I love, love, LOVE using Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio to create scrapbook pages! Especially with all the new features added in MDS2  :}   If you haven't checked for new updates in a while, be sure to do that ASAP! 
Did you know that today is the 237th birthday of the United States Marine Corps?! WOW. Celebrating it is quite a tradition, and my husband has many fond memories (and stories I won't repeat here) of those celebrations. 
As my husband digs up photos from his time in the Marine Corps, I create pages in the My Digital Studio program for him. This page highlights his time as a Tank Commander on an M-1A1 tank. Some day, I'll compile all the pages together into a book... but I might as well wait until he's done finding all those photos!

One of my favorite embellishments for vintage and/or masculine projects is digital tape. Here's a short video tutorial on how I used it on this page: 



Thanks for dropping by! And for all you Marines out there... OORAH!

Woohoo!!

I feel like a little kid today... I'm so excited to share my projects with you! So excited that almost skipped making coffee so I could start my blog post... almost. 
I found a really neat blog the other day, and since they're hosting a challenge, I thought I'd play along. This week's challenge on the Cupcake Craft Challenges blog is to use the color Kraft.  Teehee, that's like challenging me to breathe!!
Did you know that the color Crumb Cake used to be named Kraft? It's been a while since the latest color revamp, so I forget sometimes... but it's handy to know in case you're ever in a knock-down, drag-out battle of Trivial Pursuit -- the Paper Crafting Edition.  ;} 
You might not give the color Crumb Cake (Kraft) all that much thought. I mean, who gets excited about shades of brown? (well, besides me) But Crumb Cake is the perfect neutral... the perfect "base" for tons of projects. It can be simply the "glue" that brings the colors in your project together, or a main player in vintage and masculine projects. 
On today's project, the Crumb Cake card stock was the base that I started with, and built all of my elements around. 

Ok, stop staring at the wine and focus on the tag.  ;}   Hubby made the wine, and I made the gift tag so I could thank a friend.

I started with a 3" wide strip of Crumb Cake card stock, scored a fold line at the top, and used the 1-3/8" Circle Punch to make a hole so that the tag could just slip onto the neck of the bottle. 
Then I used sticky notes to mask the bottom and the left side before I stamped the Woodgrain Background stamp in Early Espresso ink. I pressed lightly for that soft, partially stamped image. I removed the sticky notes and spritzed the Crumb Cake card stock with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz®.  A strip of Orchard Harvest DSP and embossed Raspberry Ripple card stock complete the "base" of the tag. (click here to see how to create the embossed diagonal stripes) 

The leaves are die-cut from Very Vanilla card stock (Autumn Accents Bigz Die) and stamped (Wonderfall stamp set) in Cajun Craze, Lucky Limeade, and Raspberry Ripple ink. I made the medallion out of another pattern in the Orchard Harvest DSP, scoring the 12" strip every 1/4". I had to add the apple (Perfectly Preserved), since this is a bottle of apple wine... hubby made this with apples from a local (for us at the time) orchard in Kenosha, WI. A Vintage Faceted Button and some Linen Thread are just the most gorgeous finishing touches! To make the doubled up Linen Thread bow (hmm... that's a "Kraft" color, too) simply fold a length in half and thread both pieces through the button holes at the same time.

Now, I know you're lovin' this project and you're ready to grab your Crumb Cake card stock... but WAIT, there's MORE! 
How about a freebie on my Facebook Page AND a video tutorial??!!  Woohoo!!! 

You're Welcome  ;}  Thanks for dropping by today. Luv ya!

working through grief

It's been a really long week, and I'm looking forward to starting a fresh one tomorrow. My Grandad passed away Monday night. His visitation was Thursday evening, and the funeral was Friday morning. I'm so thankful we have a close, loving family that is there to support each other in troubling times. 
Maybe it's just me, but music and scrapbooking are comforting to me in times of sadness. I like to hole up in the evenings after the kids are in bed, turn on some of my favorite music, and work with family photos. Sometimes I create digital pages, sometimes I work on traditional scrapbook pages. 
I've been working on a digital scrapbook using some of my Grandad's pictures. My mother made a huge (70 pages!) digital scrapbook, that we burned onto a disc. It was really nice to have it playing at the visitation, and talk about happy times with our friends and family. Here's the scrapbook I made for myself: 

Of course the first few times I watched my scrapbook, I bawled like a baby. But like I said, this helps me work through my grief. As I watch it now, I think about the happy stories and memories my family made through the years, and I'm looking forward to many more to come. The book isn't quite finished yet, but it's at the point I want it to be... for now.
Thanks for stopping by, and a big thanks to those who've kept my family in thoughts and prayers. 

PS- don't forget to set your clocks back tonight!   :}

Ahoy, Matey!

I'm so happy - I have the perfect scrapbook page to share today! So here you go, in honor of international "Talk Like a Pirate Day," a digital scrapbook layout of my little pirates :} 

Earlier this summer, I took the boys to Pirate Night at the Children's Museum. They had a blast! The event was well organized, and included games, crafts, and a treasure hunt. We will definitely be attending again next year :}
This layout was super easy to create. I used components from two different digital kits: Ahoy, Matey and Downtown Grunge. I really like one of the new features in MDS2 - designing the layout with the pages side-by-side. I've found that I can work faster, with better results, working on both sides at the same time... just like traditional scrapbooking!
Ok, you scurvy dogs... the small folks need tending to. Find some time to craft today, or else you'll have to walk the plank!  ;}

last day to save on your printing!

Today is the last day to save on all of your My Digital Studio printing. Here's one of my Christmas cards I had printed during the special: 

I love all the new features in MDS2! Can you spot one that I used? The "Merry Christmas" sentiment is curved! This feature is called text on a path, and Holly Linford made a wonderful video that shows how easy this feature is to use. 
After I received the printed card, I used the Scallop Edge Border punch to add detail along the bottom. Then I used a Mini Glue Dot to adhere a knot of Chery Cobbler Seam Binding - so pretty! For a bit of sparkle, I made tiny berries with the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details  :}  Love it!

CALLING ALL TEACHERS!!

YES - I'M USING MY OUTDOOR VOICE!! I'M SHOUTING AT A LEVEL 5! I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU ALL HEAR THIS :}

My Digital Studio Program for Schools... for FREE!

It's back to school time, and Stampin' Up! has discs of the original version of the My Digital Studio software that I can give to schools for free.   ** Supplies are limited, and you don't want to wait... they're free!
My Digital Studio is a great addition to the classroom... I would have LOVED using this program in my Kindergarten classroom!!! You can use it to:

• Create bulletin board décor
• Make certificates and awards for student achievement
• Make birthday cards for students
• Create parent flyers or newsletters
• Create a photobook of a special class activity (like a field trip), or an overview of the whole year
• Create calendars and bookmarks
• Design Book Report and Journal Covers
• Supplement lessons on patterns, shapes, colors, letter and number recognition
• Create a flip book for sight words, spelling words, contractions, antonyms, etc.
• Create custom stickers and reminder notes
• Design a "scrapbook" movie (with music, too) to show at Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Make an end-of-year "scrapbook" DVD for parents
• Create your own predictable stories using photos of students and photos from class trips {Examples: Ben, Ben, who do you see? I see Aaron looking at me.  or  Pumpkin Farm, Pumpkin Farm, what do you see? I see a red tractor looking at me.}

And, if your school is in the southeast Wisconsin or central Illinois area, I would be happy to come give a brief overview of the program and show the teachers and staff some of the ways they can use it... Yup- I'd come show you for free  :} 

Here's a sample of a scrapbook page I created after chaperoning one of Ben's field trips:  

And here's what you need to do, to take advantage of this opportunity:

Email me as soon as you can (jenn.inklings@gmail.com) and I will send you the Donation Request Form for your school. Each school has to fill out it's own request form. A separate registration key is required for each computer that the software is installed on, so schools may request multiple copies (although they are not guaranteed the amount requested). The software should only be installed on computers (including laptops) that were purchased by and are owned by the educational institution, and should only be used for professional/ educational purposes.
Don't delay... in my experience the only free stuff that disappears faster than free educational materials, is free food in the teacher's lounge!  ;)

Notes: 

• If your school has already received a donation from Stampin' Up! and has exceeded the amount of donations that Stampin' Up! allows in a given time period, you will not be able to participate.
• Donations will be met on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.
• Stampin' Up! will follow-up with the schools to see how they are using the software and may contact them for stories about the usage.
• This offer is only available in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. 

Feel free to email me (jenn.inklings@gmail.com) with any questions you may have - I'd be happy to help!

back to school... back to spool!

Every late-Summer, I think about that office supply store's commercial from a few years ago... the one with the Mom gliding down the store's aisle with a huge grin - while the music "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" plays in the background - and the kids come trudging along behind her.  :}
My boys were not exactly thrilled to start school, but thankfully they are enjoying it now. Aaron is especially excited about it! He loves riding the big bus, and he's happy to be at the same school as Ben. For the past week, Aaron has told me every day, "Mom, I love my new school!" Music to my ears! I adore his teacher, and I think Aaron will always have fond memories of Kindergarten. Ben is still trying to transition to the new school routines and learn his way around, while making new friends. Things seem to be improving, and he is a little happier each day. Plus, he is ecstatic to start Cub Scouts in a few weeks. And apparently, he has a "girlfriend???" since one of the girls told him that she "loves him."  What???? Third grade??!! Lord, help me... 

Here are a few pages I created using My Digital Studio. I had all these fabulous pages planned in my head, and of course the boys wanted nothing to do with photographs on the first day of school. Oh well... 
I created these pages in minutes by starting with a designer template and adding my own touches. I think that the Downtown Grunge and Back to School kits are going to get tons of playtime - they are two of my favorites! Plus, I am working with MDS2, which makes creating soooooo much easier. The more I play with it, the more I understand why Holly Linford had such a hard time deciding which one of the new features was her favorite!

And now that the kids are back to school, it's playtime for Mommy!! You can add some extra fun to your playtime with Stampin' Up!'s promotion for September  :}

click here to shop in my online store

Need a good laugh? Check out this video that Stampin' Up! had waaaaay too much fun creating: 



Well, I'm off to pick Ben up from a birthday party. Happy stamping... and shopping  ;)