September! The months just seem to be on fast-forward these days, and there's no slowing down. My ArtMuse has been doing a lot of workouts with Distress Inks lately, so much that I seem to have perpetually inked fingernails. It's all good, since I would like to get ahead as I don't want to drag everything back to Upstate NY with me. That's going to give me more time for Princess cuddles, and Pecan tickles! School has been in session for the older 2 Grandbabies here in Indiana for the past 3 weeks or so. Peanut not only had to get new "big boy" jeans, having grown out of the toddler sizes, he also got his first Tooth Fairy visit! Princess Pistachio not only insists on choosing her own dress code but must apply her "makeup" before going out the door. She is strictly a fashion-conscious Princess! Academically, Peanut and Princess are both good students (I get them in my Sunday School Class), but Peanut likes to be the Social Bee while Princess is totally focused on her work. This will be Peanut's last year for Preschool and Princess will more than likely be the Teacher then. Princesses are like that, lol! Little Man Pecan was already in Daycare up in Red Wing, since he was just a couple of months old, but that got interrupted for the move to New York. He's been a stay-at-home-with-Mommy since January of this year and because his 3rd birthday is mid-November, it's likely he won't be starting Preschool until after the restart in January 2023. He'll be off and ready, having totally mastered puzzles of all kinds, and eager to see how things work. We've always been really blessed that our boys grew up with a love of books and stayed busy all through the year with accelerated reading programs. Our Grandbabies seem to have that same love for books. Yeah, there's the usual turn-2-pages-at-once-thing, just like most toddlers do, but the interest is absolutely there; especially if the book is about something they like! For the newest Grandbaby, Princess Rose... at this point, she's way more interested in simply sleeping... and eating, of course. Other than that, Preschool is a bit far off for now.
Preschool 2021 on the left vs 2022 on the right:
Last Fall, Princess was NOT happy to not be allowed to go
as she was just past 2 years old! In January of 2022, she got her way (turning 3 in April)
and when school started back up in August, she was a much happier Princess!
Baby Pecan is now Littlest Man Pecan...
... and he's ready to be the Life of the Par-tay!
Princess Rose is getting more beautiful by the moment and only wants her beauty naps!
And the subject of school is what our latest Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge is all about! It's time to get out the school stuff: books, alphabet letters, stencils, ephemera, stamps, glue, scissors, pencils, pens, markers, inks, whatever makes you think of learning or school! That all sounds kind of broad for a theme, but if you take a look on the Challenge Page, you'll find some great inspiration makes from Teri and the rest of the Design Team to help you get an idea for "Back to School"!
I'll help you get started...
Here's some links to help you find what I used:
After choosing pieces of Tim Holtz Ephemera (several different packages) that I felt
reminded me of school, I chose one of the TH Backdrop papers with school paper
for my mounting page.
I started with making the outside folder to hold my folded paper inside.
I used one large TH Baseboard (these are very old original Baseboards- well before the
collections that Tim has out now) as my 'ruler' and scored the Backdrop paper to fit as a front.
I clipped all the corners to make the paper fit better.
Then used a combination of Distress Oxides and Crayons to give everything an aged look.
Making the inside folded page was simple- do the same Distress Oxides
and Crayons to edge/age each ephemera pieces and photos,
and then adhere to the scored/Distressed Backdrop paper.
Add a ribbon to keep it folded and tuck into the folder.
It was that easy!
Front of Folder
Back of Folder
That Baseboard could fool anyone into thinking it's a small book!
Folder Front and Inside Folded Page
Inking is so FUN!
Distress Crayons make inking edges so easy-peasy!
The Inside Page
This kind of project is simple and can be done in one afternoon-
IF you can stop playing with all the TH Ephemera and Photos!
This was a 'first' for me doing any kind of simple item like this to use as a Design Team
inspirational make. I find that my toughest part is in choosing what to use!
I have so many 'stash items' leftover from the past 10 years-plus of Tim Holtz
and I decided it was time to get out some of my hoarded items and enjoy them!
Once again, it's YOUR TURN!
Come on; you know you've got a lot of school-related things in you craft space
that -put together- could make something fabulous!
Take some photos of it and tell a bit on how it came about.
Be sure to read and follow the simple rules,
when you share it with us over at
and YOU could win a Guest Designer spot or a $25 GC
Sponsored by:
There's more coming soon! Until next time...
Stay Safe &
HAPPY BLOGGING!
