Back to School...

and so much opportunity to be creative.
Greetings to you, it's Jamie.
Tis the season for hitting the books once again. For some that is not such an exciting thought. But there are ways to add creativity to the busy-ness of clothes and supply shopping. Today's post is about using that scrapbooking stash to add some fun to your kids getting back into the routine of school. Even if you don't have children of your own, perhaps there is a neice or nephew that would love a gift from your hand. Or maybe these ideas will fuel a gift idea for another occasion.

Using chipboard elements, patterned paper, stamps, and ribbon I put together these backpack tags for my girls. Also helpful are those little ball chains. If you don't have any of those around, ribbon would work just as well. The 'happy' tag on the above photo was made by stamping the image on cardstock, cutting it out with a paper punch, and then adding diamond glaze to make a sort of epoxy element. I like how it turned out.

Here are a few more ideas:

This is a tried and tested idea in our home. Taking a 99 cent composition book and covering it with patterned paper. It's a simple technique but it always ilicits a smile from the recipient. For the book below I used a paper with a larger element on it (and what better way to use an owl), then I added trim with glue dots, and a bit of bling as well as cardstock letters and a die cut. Easy-peasy and it will be well loved and used. I have also added a pen holder to those I have made in the past and gave them as gifts. The mini-comp books are especially perfect for gifts.

A close up of the trim and bling:

How can you NOT love that face? She is so excited for kindergarten. This layout is page one of a two-pager. I just grabbed some shots of her and she added the excitement factor. I want to document all my kids this way, and use the second page to add some physical details.

Here's the second page. I left room for her to write her name (she was a bit reluctant before I photo'd the page). I then added some details about her, as well as a few more photos. I kept this really easy and relied heavily on masking tape. It just made for a fun page to put together.

So whether you are sending your kids off to school, or it's simply the beginning of fall for you, hope there was a bit of inspiration for you found here today.