Sympathy in Kind

When I stared working at Bruce school in 2004, I had just returned from the funeral of my mother in England, and had to start at a new school. I was greeted by a few staff, but one in particular stood out.

Blair was the French Teacher, whose parents were originally from Scotland. He is the best at accents, and he loves English comedy TV shows. We have that in common, (comedy, not accents). We became friends, and he made me laugh on a daily basis. He didn't know about my mum dying, but his humour made me happy, and that was how he unknowingly helped me with my grief.

Blair left Bruce school to teach at another school, and I missed him. However, I always stayed in touch, and if I ever go to England, I pick him up some Thornton's toffee and some Fortnum and Mason Lemon Curd. It gives me an excuse to see him.

This past summer I had to go home for my dad's funeral and again I picked up both goodies for Blair. We got together, grabbed a coffee and went down to Sugar Beach, where we found a couple of Muskoka chairs and sat and caught up on each other's lives. He had a scare last year with a heart concern, but he looked good and he made me laugh with his always very funny stories. Even though we don't see each other very often, I consider him a good friend and we can pick up wherever we left off.

I saw a Facebook posting from him letting his friends know that his father had passed away. It made me feel sad, initially remembering my dad's recent death, but then for Blair. He was very close with his dad, and I know he must be suffering the pain of losing him.  What can I do to bring him comfort? Well I will do what I know, I have made him a card, and I will be there for him when he needs to talk. I don't think I can make him laugh, but for sure I will try.

My deepest condolences Blair, I know the pain of losing a parent, and can only say to hold your memories close and your family closer.

Butterflies are Free

Didn't have time to make the second post, but will later when I've got time. Here is a quick one showing the 2 cards I made for a set to give to the principal of the school I work at. She is going to another school in September so I wanted to give her something. When people leave a school they always get gifts or cards, so I made these thank you cards. She loves butterflies, which gave me the opportunity to use Butterfly2build from Stephanie Barnard.

 And this is the folder I made to put them all in.

Thanks for looking.

Retirement Book

Wow, just realised there are no posts for May. So I will post 2 today!

I have had this lovely black and white paper pack for some time now and had been waiting for the right project to use it for. I had also found a mini stack that was also black and white and had a letter of the alphabet for each page.
So I got to work on this retirement book for someone I have only known for the past 9 months. She is the resource teacher for the primaries in my school. It was because I don't know her well that this book was so easy and pleasurable to make. I didn't know the colours she liked or her 'style', so that make it really easy to get to work on.

That is it. I just added a little bit of red to each page, to give it a little colour, and I LOVE it.

I gave Paula the book last week and she told me she was going to keep it beside her bed and will add things as she does them.

Easter Treats

I wanted to make a little something for the kids at school, and although I searched for an idea, I couldn't find anything that I loved. So I came up with these.

The first one was too labour intensive, the second one was too big, so the third one is the one I liked the best.

Here is the tutorial. Enjoy.
Cardstock 11" x 2 1/2"
Patterned paper 10 3/4" x 2 1/4"
Cardstock strip 1" x 9"
Scallop punch
Circle punch
Stamps
Scrap cardstock

Cut cardstock and patterned paper.

Adhere paper to card, then score at 3 1/4, 3 3/4, 7 1/4, 7 3/4, 9 1/4 and 9 3/4

Punch out an oval between the 9 1/4" and 9 3/4"

 Fold score lines and adhere the smallest flap down to the inside. This will leave the oval shape open where you put the mini chocolate bar.

Cut a 1" x 9" strip, score at 2 3/8", 3", 6 1/2" and 7 1/8". Wrap around the box and adhere to the other end, to make the belly band.

Punch a scallop circle and a circle. Stamp the image on the circle, adhere to the scallop then to the belly band.

Slide the belly band onto the box and you are done.

I also added a sentiment on the inside flap.

 I like the smaller size with the belly band. When there are lots to make, finding ways to cut down the time is essential!

Hope you can find some use for this tutorial.

HAPPY EASTER!

Valentines for the Sweet

I wanted to enter My Pink Stamper's challenge so I decided to make these sweet little Valentines cards for the kids at school. They look good enough to eat!

I used brown card stock, some Martha Stewart Christmas paper from a couple of years ago, pink ribbon, glitter covered Styrofoam hearts from the dollar store, some punches and some Stamps of Life stamps. I got the idea from something I saw on dollar store crafts last year.
First I cut the Styrofoam hearts

I used a serrated bread knife to slice them in half

Then I punched out the circles and labels and stamped them.

I added red ink to the edges

I added brown ink to the edges

I tied small bows and cut thin strips for the stick, then assembled it all together.

Admit it, you want to eat them!

No Valentine stamp, so I combined 3 stamps to make this

The perfect stamp for the back of the card

Thanks for looking.