Friday, August 24, 2012

Freshly Made Back to School Card

Most of my life I was excited in August to get ready for the school year. I loved going to school as a child and teenager so it was natural for me to choose teaching as a career. This week my "old school district" started school. I had lunch with another retired teacher yesterday and we agreed- we didn't miss it enough to want to give up retirement!

When I feel those wistful yearnings to teach again, I either visit grandkids or remember that the 30 years I spent teaching reading laid a foundation for many young lives. I also remember that I need to pray for my grandkids to do well, pay attention, and work hard and for their teachers. It's an overwhelming but important job to meet every child's needs in our education environment today.  I chose a sentiment to remind myself and my retired friends of their teaching influence.  I used apples showing their seeds and some that aren't because that's the way our influence seems. You can't always see the results of what you've accomplished in young lives, but the seeds are always there, even if they're hidden for a time.

Freshly Made Sketch #49 was perfect for this card.

 
I modified the sketch from a square to 5.5" x 4.25."
 
 
I wanted to use my Quikutz embossing folder to make the apples. I brayered red ink on the raised side of the folder which debossed colored apples. (Since they're colored, it's hard to tell that the apples were debossed.) I colored between the thin lines of the "peel" on the four outlined apples using the Ruby alcohol marker. I cut them out and pop dotted the middle solid apple.
 
By the way, we all had teachers, too. I'm sending this card to my 6th grade teacher whose address I recently found. I want her to know she was the one who influenced me to teach.
 
And even as we age, their influence lives on in us. May we never stop learning!
 
I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Crop Stop Challenge 86 - Back to School
Simon Says Stamp - Simon Says Back to School
 
5.5" x 4.25" Card Recipe:
Paper - The Paper Studio "Linen Closet"; Close To My Heart Cardstock
Stamp - My Favorite Things "Clearly Sentimental About Teaching"
Ink - CTMH Cranberry, Black
Markers - CTMH Alcohol Ruby, Ponderosa Pine
Accents - MME baker's twine
Tools - The Paper Studio "Notebook Paper" embossing folder, Quikutz embossing folder
 

11 comments:

Linda Suarez said...

Hi Vickie! What a great teacher card! The notebook paper embossing is very cool! Thanks for joining us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Karen said...

Love this card Vickie!

May said...

Beautiful card, I love how you have embossed the front.. great design & detail. Thank you for joining us at Fussy & Fancy... May x

Vicki said...

Fantastic card! Thanks for joining our CropStop Back to School Challenge.

Sarah J Moerman said...

Great card! Love the notebook background, apples and sentiment! Perfect for back to school! Thanks for joining us for the Simon Says Stamp Challenge!

Venus and Luanne @ Sisters Craft Cafe said...

Wonderful card and sentiment.
Thank you for joining Simply Create Too Back to School challenge.

Luanne - DT
http://sisterscraftcafe.blogspot.com

Cindy Hall said...

Very nice card! I love the embossing and the colors you used for this back to school theme. Thanks for sharing with us at Freshly Made Sketches this week!

Corrinne said...

Super adorable! Love it! I welcome you to share this with us at Tuesday Alchemy http://tuesdayalchemy.blogspot.com for our Back To School challenge! Lots of prizes!

Lots of joy,
Corrinne

Allisa said...

Your embossing folder is perfect for your card! Thanks for playing with us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Eileen Ng-Frumkin said...

Aww you're so sweet to contact your teacher to let her know! What a lovely card to receive!

Thanks for sharing it with us at Tuesday Alchemy!

Eileen

Kristen said...

Such a cute card. Thanks for playing with us at Going Grey with Scrap-Creations back to school challenge!