Giving School A Little "Boost"

It's that time of year again!  That's right, summer is almost over and the kids are heading back to school.  I don't know about you but I have had a fabulous summer with the little prince.  He made the choice early on that he didn't want to go to camp.  My first thought was "what exactly am I supposed to do with him all summer long?" followed by my second thought "great, that's money in my pocket".  The truth is we had a great time.  Besides the money that was saved {it should be against the law for parents to pay $230 a week for camp} I was able to truly enjoy some down time this summer.  I took it easy and didn't worry about much except trying to make memories with my kid.  Isn't that what summer is all about!?!

To get ready for the school year, I am joining my Silhouette blogging buddies for this month's challenge - SCHOOL.  I haven't participated in a challenge since our Organization challenge in January when I created my Simple Project Calendar, so I am excited to be included this month along with the other 17 bloggers who have come up with some amazing projects -- the creativity abounds with these ladies!

My school project is thanks to my best customer who needed help getting the school ready for the new year.  She was given the task of covering the school walls to promote the yearly fundraiser -- Boosterthon.  She asked if I would help her and I was happy to do so.  This year's theme is music inspired and she decided that she wanted "iPods".  I decided since it was for Boosterthon, the name would change just a little.  A trip to Hobby Lobby for supplies and I was on my way to help give the school a little boost!

I started by creating a template that I would use for all five.  

Using an exacto knife I cut out the the sections that I needed then traced the top portion.

Middle circle to be cut out

Circle cut out

I used a silver piece of posterboard to create the bottom circle.  I cut a smaller circle out of the middle of the larger one so the colored posterboard can be seen.

Circles glued in place.  Things are coming together well.

I guess I should explain Boosterthon a little for those who may know nothing about it.  Each year the theme changes but the premise remains the same -- teaching the children through five different character qualities.  Each character quality is assigned a fictional person (hence the faces on each).  So using the posters that she was given, I cut out each person to be placed on each board.

New name needed -- iBoost!  Cool!

Now it's time to put my Silhouette to work for all of the words and shapes that will be needed to bring this project to a close.

Each character quality is "highlighted" in green

Using the welding tool on the Silhouette software I was able to cut out each word as a whole.  This technique was a true lifesaver!  It would have taken me twice as long if I had to glue each letter individually.  The headphones were cut by my customer using the schools new VariQuest machine.  They are attached to each iBoost using black paracord and tape.

It looks awesome!  The school is ready to welcome teachers, students and parents alike on the first day.

Would you like more Back-to-School inspiration?  Check out these projects from my Silhouette blogging buddies.  Be sure to hop over and give them some bloggy luv and let them know I sent you!  

1. Weekend Craft // 2. From Wine to Whine // 3. Life After Laundry // 4. Adventures in All Things Food // 5. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 6. Sowdering About // 7. The Kim Six Fix // 8. Architecture of a Mom // 9. greylustergirl.com // 10. Please Excuse My Craftermath // 11. Simply Kelly Designs // 12. My Paper Craze // 13. Sweet Tea & Saving Grace // 14. Black and White Obsession // 15. Ginger Snap Craft // 16. It Happens in a Blink // 17. Creative Ramblings // 18. Little Blue's Room

Welcome to First Grade!

Our summer is officially over.  Those lazy days filled with late bedtimes, relaxed schedules and living at a slower more enjoyable pace have ended and we are headed into another wonderful albeit busy school year.

Monday afternoon we attended Open House/Meet the Teacher and you could see the excitement in my little guy as he ran up to classmates he hasn't seen all summer with a huge smile and ready to share information about what's been happening in their time away from one another.  We entered his classroom, found his desk and learned what could be expected this year -- we even got the chance to snag a picture of the school mascot!

Last year I decided I would start a school tradition, first day of school pics which you can see in my Back to School post.  So to keep with tradition, I redesigned his sign to welcome him to first grade.

I searched the school website for a picture of the mascot and saved it to my computer.  Using PicMonkey, I used the 'Create a Collage' feature.  After playing around with different collages, I decided the one that worked best was 'Square Deal'.  I wanted this year's sign to reflect the school itself, so the first order of business was to change the background color to yellow.  I then uploaded the mascot picture and placed it in the first square.  I had to make some adjustments to the size of the squares because the picture was so large and I didn't want to loose any of it with a crop.  Once I was happy with it, I moved on to adding the very cool school paper 'Swatch' feature to the bottom two squares.  Perfect!  Now, it was time to click the 'Edit' button in order to add the text.  In the second square using the 'Bilbo Swash Caps' and 'Impact' fonts, I wrote "Welcome to First Grade" in the coordinating blue color.  In the two bottom squares, using the new 'Freshman' font I added the text "First Day of School" and the date he started.  Aaa-mazing!

I printed this on a piece of cardstock, replaced last year's sign with this one and look....another memory in the making!

 Happy first day of school my little prince, I know this is going to be an awesome year for you!

Where we like to party!

Guest Post #2 - Life After Laundry

I'm back again this week hanging out and sharing a post over at Life After Laundry.

Last week I shared my Back to School post with her readers.  As we all prepare our little (and not so little) ones to head back to school, I thought this week it would be great to help them get everything organized with the Homework Station post.

Be sure to hop on over there and give Brenna some bloggy love!

Guest Post - Life After Laundry

Guess who has her first guest blog post?  Yup, you guessed it...it's me!  And let me just say that I am more than excited about this opportunity.  Growing as a blogger feels really good!

I met Brenna from Life After Laundry at a blogging conference this past May.  She is quite an amazing crafter/DIYer and seriously, I'm totally jealous of her sewing ability {she has offered to teach me how to sew, but well...you all know how I feel about my arch nemesis - LOL!}.

With a new linky party, a craft challenge this month and oh yeah...her family to take care of, she is a very busy lady.  Since her schedule is so full, I jumped at the chance to do something I've honestly been afraid to do...my first guest post.

With school about to start, I resurrected my Back to School post to get everyone prepped and ready for a new school year.  Be sure to hop on over and check it out and be sure to let me know what you think of my very first Guest Appearance.  {smile}

Back to School

This week I witnessed the end of one era and the beginning of another as I prepared my little guy for his first day of Kindergarten!

Though he has been ready for this for about a year {LOL!}, I still can't believe how FAST this time has come. I was a proud mama as I watched him enter the school and his classroom with the confidence of someone who has been doing this for years. After wiping away a few tears, I gave myself a "pat on the back" for a job well done in helping to instill in him a sense of wonder, curiosity and a desire to learn as he begins his educational career outside of our home.

Of course an occasion such as this requires some "craftiness" {giggle}. The blogsphere is filled with so many cute 'back-to-school' crafts but the one I love and found to be pretty simple was the "First Day of School" printable {I've found our new school tradition}. The Goodwill frame required just a little wood glue on the corners and I changed the original matting out for a more simple single mat. Using my Silhoutte machine, downloadable free fonts and vinyl, I created the lettering.

I LOVE it! It was simple and only took me about an hour to create and now I have something that will see us through high school! Here's hoping your child(ren)have an AWESOME first day of school too!