Paris is Always a Good Idea

I FINALLY began scrapping our trip to London and Paris last night only to realize my darling 8 year old daughter has taken almost ALL the good pictures. She made a mini purse chipboard album titled "Keep Calm and Carry On" that came out GREAT and the best part was that she did it all by herself! :) BUT the downside is that she picked all my favorite photos and left me without the ones I had planned on using in my mind...

That being said, I DID make doubles of these pictures featuring Melanie and Ariana, Melanie, and Me and Ariana in front of the Eiffel Tower the day of Ariana's 18th birthday. I guess it's safe to say that Ariana is by far one of the most special students I have met in a long time... I think the last student who became family was Sasha... and she is basically my Dominican sister and the ONLY outside person in the world we would trust our home and children with who is not blood related. True story...

SOOO Ariana and Melanie bonded when I took a group of girls to Salem, MA last year. Ariana has a five year old brother (and a 15 year old one too) so she was super amazing with Melanie and they kinda just became close from then on... I had to warn Melanie not to hover over Ariana during our London and Paris trip, and for the most part she was ok with it... but Ariana was still the first person Melanie looked for at each major monument and, well, I can't blame her because I too was looking for Ariana over and over again, especially when we got to Paris on April 10th right on time to celebrate her 18th birthday!

At this point, Ariana and her whole family are truly my family as well. And the though they probably aren't aware (although her brother might have realized when I kept hugging him...), they can't get rid of me now... At Ariana's graduation dinner, my hubby and Melly kinda all melded together with Ariana's family dynamic; it was then that I realized the conclusion of our "professional" relationship became the start of our friendship, and although I already miss Ari as a student, I am looking very forward to seeing my friend soon!

This layout was created using the Little Miss papers, stickers, charm and rubons from Bo Bunny... Yes, I said STICKERS! :) I actually ended up scrapping this entire page more because of the Scrap Fit stickers challenge... I HATE using stickers. They are like my arch nemesis and my good friend Sherri uses them SOOOO well in all her work... Just the other day I commented on how she is able to incorporate stickers into her work seamlessly... This was definitely a challenge for me but the title sticker and the "Paris is always a good idea" sticker weren't SOOO intrusive as to make it difficult to include.... this time! :)

Here's a closeup of the clustered corner featuring pieces from my stash including Prima blooms and two mini tags created using Distress Inks (Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, and Victorian Velvet), the Bo Bunny Sticker, and umbrella charm.

Ready for Summer yet?

My students are officially done... And so am I! We still have about a week's worth of meetings and facuty planning going on, but I have officially checked out and begun to focus on my crafting (it's been TOOOOO long!!). And with the summer, comes fun in the sun with the kiddies and friends! :)

I scooped up this cutie Magnolia in Flip Flops stamp at Scrap-a-Doode Doo during one of my recent visits and HAD to add some Mud Puddles to create the sand effect... I think I'll include her in my upcoming fancy folds class featuring the side step and center step folds... What do YOU think? :)

She was colored in using copics (Hair: E50, E53, E31, E33, E23, E25; Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13 for the tan and R20; Shoes: E27; Flower: R22, YR02; Grass skirt and leaves: G21, Y06; Shirt YR21, YR25).

I'm entering this cutie into the Simply Magnolia challenge (Fancy Folds and Friendship) as well as Simon Says Stamp's Anything Goes challenge. Thanks for looking and I hope to be back LOTS now that school is out! :)

The Graduation Season is Upon us..

And last weekend the BA Class of 2012 bid their final farewells and took their first steps into adulthood. I can't say it wasn't a tear filled event, nor can I say I was totally unhappy it was their time to leave our hallowed halls... The Class of 2012 has such a special place in my heart for so many reasons...

I have taught many of them since they were Sophomores and because of that, I have had the joy of being a part of their lives for longer than usual. Which brings its own set of ups and downs, but also made me infinitely more attached to them than to any class before. I have been a teary mess since, say, April, because as I saw these ladies blossoming into young women before my eyes, I would flash back to when they were scared little sophomores and I'd realize just how far they have come...

I also had the chance to take ten of these girls with me to London and Paris this past April, so the bonding there grew even more... to the point that I honestly feel their loss in the hallways. I have been accused of having favorites this year. And with the exception of two or three girls in the class, I have to say that it is an accurate assessment... except that for so many different reasons they are ALL my favorites! I have, of course, one or two I'd personally adopt into my family, but there are so many special individuals in this class and I cannot WAIT to see how far they go in their own personal lives.

So with a somewhat heavy heart, I am sending my own personal farewell to a class that has taught me as much as I have taught them... A class who has fought me tooth and nail at times but a class who has enriched my personal and professional life as well. This class, I will never forget... Congrats girls!

Punchy AND Twisted!

Hey blogland!!! I mentioned in my last post just how addictive the Martha Stewart punches are once I was able to figure out how to use them correctly and as soon as I was done with my last layout I was brainstorming ideas for a card using them as well...

This twisted easel was made using the traditional easel base with the top flap folded in half at a diagonal instead of straight back, then I added the punched patterned papers at the 6X6 size to the base, cut some matted papers with the punches as well, then added the image.

This GORGEOUS Elisabeth Bell image is a Whiff of Joy stamp that I colored in using copics (Skin: E000, E00, E11; Hair: E50, E53, E31, E33, E25; Green trim--BG93; Paper pieced dress: YG21, R20). I had the hardest time finding markers to approximate the colors in the papers so I paper pieced her dress and added shading with the copics as best I could...

This one was made using the sketch over at Elisabeth Bell's Challenge World and the challenge over at Card Makin Mama's is to get Punchy!! :) (Pretty appropo, no?)

Thanks for looking and hope you have a wonderful weekend!