Here we are, onto Day 4 for the July countdown! And to think I have even MORE exciting goodies to share with you! (I have created two posts today, so be sure to scroll down!)
First, I am thrilled to formally introduce a new duo of sets from designer extraordinare, Niki Estes. Not only did she just bring a new little baby boy into the world, but she has also been busy creating projects with her new sets which you can see HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE!
School Time is a wonderfully versatile set that is perfect for school-themed gifts & cards for teachers & students, not to mention a fabulous resource for scrapbooking special school memories.
The details.
- School Time will be available for sale on July 15th.
- It will retail for $24.
- School Time contains a total of 15 stamps (1 notebook page, 1 alphabet background/border, 3 additional backgrounds/borders, 2 frames, 4 supporting images and 4 sentiments)
Niki has also designed a companion set that is full of titles for each grade (Preschool through Senior) as well as a complete set of numbers in a coordinating font. This is an excellent resource for those of you that may have an ongoing scrapbook for all the school years. Perfect for creating customized gifts as well.
The details.
- School Time Additions will be available for sale on July 15th.
- It will retail for $15.
- School Time Additions contains a total of 40 stamps (21 number stamps <0-20>, 14 grade titles <Preschool-Senior>, plus 4 addition titles)
I am also officially introducing our Spiral Notebook Page die today as well. I designed this die to complement a lot of the sets from this release and am so thrilled with the way it turned out. The details it features in the top edge are so realistic. There is even a perforated line just below the holes, just like a real notebook. This size is perfectly scaled for card covers and scrapbook journaling. SO many incredible uses!
The details.
- The Spiral Notebook Page die will be available for sale on July 15th.
- It will retail for $8.
- The Spiral Notebook die measures 2-3/8" x 3-3/8".
Now let's get onto the projects!
As soon as I saw the adorable little school bus image in School Time, I knew I was going to have to do a layout about Owen's first day of school. It was an emotional day for me since he was the first of the brood to head off and I documented the emotions of the day in a blog post, which you can find HERE. I was able to take the journaling directly from that post and apply it to my page.
It was easy to fill this entire block with a fun alphabet border image that Niki designed for this set. She thought of everything and how to best design the strip so that it was easy to repeat. (You can see the tutorial she created for this technique earlier this week, HERE).
I decided to create a fun border with the school bus image I mentioned earlier. I started with a strip of Harvest Gold cardstock and stamped this "school style" journaling line across it using Versamark ink.
I then interchanged the bus image and a small star from "it's Official" down the length of the strip using Summer Sunrise ink.
I trimmed the top and bottom edges with my pinking shears and then stitched it into place.
The title was created with a few different elements. The double circle frame is from School Time and I was able to add the "original" image from It's Official within it's boundaries. I die-cut the ticket from Harvest Gold cardstock that was stamped with Polka Dot Basics II using Summer Sunrise ink as well. The frame is from the new Just the Ticket stamp set. And I was so pleased to see that the sub-titles from School Time will fit within the ticket frame like this. It opens up so many options!
I used my photo-editing software to add my journaling from my blog post directly to the page. A lot easier than trying to write it all out by hand!
Now, how about I show you an entire school album created with Niki's one of a kind stamp set.
This little 6" x 6" album is the perfect thing to store the essential memories from our first few years in school.
To create the scrapbook layouts, I started by cutting cardstock that was the same dimensions as the notebook paper image included in School Time. The image was then stamped on each card with Spring Moss ink.
These adorable little cards allowed me to add the apple image with Pure Poppy ink, followed by the grade levels from School Time Additions. The "A+" image is from It's Official and coordinates so well with the School Time sets!
The bottom of each layout is stamped with Black Noir ink and the "I Love School" border. Niki designed this text border so that it can easily be repeated across and up.
These are three of the completed pages. As you can see they are simple to make and don't use a whole lot of supplies at the same time. With these stamp sets at your disposal, you will be able to create coordinating items throughout the year!
As a fun little feature, I opted to create a vellum divider to help add interest the art pages that I will be showing you in a moment below.
I stamped the Library Card with Black Noir and added the "original" image (from It's Official) with Pure Poppy ink.
I attached the velum overlay directly into my post-bound album in between the page protectors. It is a fun feature that can be added to nearly any scrapbook, no matter the theme. I like that this overlay provided me a place to preserve the date the art was created and how I felt about it.
Here is one of the scans I made of Owen's artwork for his scrapbook. Each grade has 5-10 pieces of his artwork that happened to be my favorites at that time. This way, I don't feel as though I have to hang onto everything and it is all neatly contained!
After going to all this trouble with the interior pages, you definitely can't skimp on the scrapbook cover!
The focal point was created by using the Mat stack 3 & frame image from All Booked Up. I used Simple Alphabet to personalize the cover with Owen's name. A fun, progressive album that nearly anyone would enjoy updating each year.
This bright & fun card & bookmark would be perfect for any teacher on your list!
I kept the card to a relatively simple design that would be easy for anyone to recreate.
To begin, I stamped the apple border strip repeatedly across the bottom half of my Simply Chartreuse card front using Versamark ink.
I then created another little notebook page, this time stamping the lines in Aqua Mist ink.
I stamped the sentiment with Smokey Shadow ink, the apple in Simple Chartreuse & the heart (from Around & About Sentiments) in Hibiscus Burst. As an added detail, I also punched 1/8" holes on the side of the notebook paper to help it to look more realistic!
The Hibiscus Burst Grosgrain ribbon was stamped with the alphabet border image using Hibiscus Burst ink. It's subtle, but really packs a punch!
I used Background Basics: Tin Types on the upper portion of the card and adhered the ribbon across the center as a border. A perfect finishing detail was a little paper clip added to the top of the notebook paper. I love how vibrant this is!
The bookmark uses our new Bookmark Die as it's base. I die-cut it from Simply Chartreuse cardstock and then decorated the base in the same manner as the card.
The apple was punched out with a 1-3/8" circle punch and adhered to a Large Scalloped Circle in Hibiscus Burst. The sentiment was added last in True Black.
I created more of the alphabet ribbon for the top portion of my bookmark. After weaving it through the hole, I tied the layers firmly together using white crochet thread. Nice, clean & simple! :)
This last project is a thank you card that can used for anyone, not just teachers. However, it would be the perfect thing for teachers to have on hand to send home with students when gifts are given or donations have been made to the classroom.
I started with the Spiral Noteebook Page die and a sentiment from Signature Greetings. I was then able to add the pencil from School Time so it appeared to be "writing" the sentiment.
I used the "school-styled" journaling line vertically on the right-hand side of my card for a bit of something different.
I then filled in the remainder of the space with Polka Dot Basics II. I love mixing and matching background images like this.
To finish the focal point, I colored the eraser area of the pencil in with a Copic Marker. I then dabbed on some 2-way glue and added glitter for sparkle. I also added just a touch of the T1 marker under the edge of the pencil to help it look a bit more realistic.
A snippet of Summer Sunrise Twill was attached to the upper left corner with glue dots and a Summer Sunrise button.
Another shot showcasing how the background patterns work together harmoniously.
I hope that I illustrated for you just how versatile this School Time duo can be in both card making & scrapbooking. Did you see anything today that inspired you? What do you see yourself doing with these sets? We would love to hear your initial thoughts!
- School Time stamp set
- School Time Additions stamp set
- Spiral Notebook Page die
- Teacher's Apple stamp set
- Harvest Gold Color Collection (all six ribbons, felt, buttons & cardstock)
Leave a comment to have a shot at winning this amazing prize package (over a $100 value!). This contest will close on Wednesday, July 14th, 7am EST. Only one comment per person please. One randomly selected winner will be announced by noon EST on our July Release Winners page.
Stop by and visit Niki Estes today to see what else she has done with her new sets!
Alli Miles has more inspiration to share using her new Birthday Bash Sentiments.
Heather Nichols has more projects to share using her two new sets this month.
Dawn McVey is sharing more projects created with It's Official & the July Color Couture downloads.
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL LAYOUT
- STAMPS: School Time & Additions, It's Official, Just the Ticket (available July 15th)
- INK: Versamark, Summer Sunrise, Pure Poppy, True Black
- PAPER: Stamper's Select White, Classic Kraft, Harvest Gold, Ripe Avocado
- OTHER: Just the Ticket die, 1-3/8" circle punch (EK Success), Pure Poppy Twill, corner chomper (We R Memory Keepers), pinking shears (Fiskars)
- FINISHED SIZE: 8.5" x 11"
SCHOOL DAYS ALBUM
- STAMPS: School Time & Additions, All Booked Up, It's Official, Library Card (available July 15th), Simple Alphabet
- INK: Spring Moss, Pure Poppy, True Black,
- PAPER: Rustic Cream, Classic Kraft, Vellum Cardstock
- OTHER: Pure Poppy Grosgrain, Pure Poppy buttons, Rustic Jute Button Twine, Mat Stack 3 die, corner chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Making Memories 6x6 post-bound album
- FINISHED SIZE: 6" x 6"
GREEN APPLE CARD & BOOKMARK
- STAMPS: School Time & Additions (available July 15th), Background Basics: Tin Types, Around & About Sentiments (heart), Take Note (frame on bookmark)
- INK: Fresh Snow, Versamark, Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, Smokey Shadow, Aqua Mist, True Black
- PAPER: Stamper's Select White, Simply Chartreuse
- OTHER: Hibiscus Burst Grosgrain ribbon, paperclip, white crochet thread (DMC), 1-3/8" circle punch, large scalloped circle punch, 1/8" hole punch
- FINISHED SIZE: 4.25" x 5.5"
PENCIL THANK YOU CARD
- STAMPS: School Time & Additions (available July 15th), Signature Greetings, Polka Dot Basics II
- INK: Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye Duo
- PAPER: Vintage Cream, Melon Berry
- OTHER: Spiral Notebook Page die, Summer Sunrise button, Summer Sunrise Twill, Rustic Jute Button Twine, Melon Berry Copic Marker, 2-way Glue Pen, Prisma Glitter
- FINISHED SIZE: 4.25" x 5.5"
