Create a Back to School handcrafted card for your favorite student!
In about three weeks time, most students will have gone back to the classroom. Moms will either breathe a sigh of relief or tense up with stress.
As a former teacher, I once had a grandmother say to me, “Thank God school has started back! I don’t know how y’all do it.” She wasn’t a young grandmother and taking care of two young kids all day everyday was a little too much for her. And afterwards, I always thought about her at the beginning of the year and wondered how many other caregivers thought the same … but were just too embarrassed to say it. 🙂
Now with two grandchildren of my own, I understand why childbearing years are when you’re young. That wasn’t a mistake. So kudos to all those grandmothers who are raising their grandkids. My hat is off to you!
Help your child be excited about going back to school …
Anyway, I made this Back to School handcrafted card for my favorite new 4th grader. I wanted to put a little something in the mail for her to make her feel special and to help get her 4th grade year off to a great start. Because very often, how a person feels depends on the behavior and expectations of those around her. And I want Dakota to feel excited about school, so I’ll do what I can to help make that happen.
Inside: Make yourself proud!
I made this card myself, but you can purchase a template here for $2.00. (This is where I got the idea.) It even comes in different sizes.
I used craft cardstock, yellow cardstock, and some plain pink scrapbooking cardstock. I adhered everything with double sided tape since I’m out of glue dots, except for the ribbon. I used Martha Stewart’s glue to adhere the ribbon, then a tiny foam dot to stick on the bow.
To make the card …
- I cut the craft paper 6 x 6 inches
- Used my Score Pal to score it at 3 inches so that it would fold and measure 3″ wide x 6″long
- I visualized the card in thirds, so I made the point of the pencil 2″ long.
- I measured off 2″ on the back side, found the middle point on the end and used the papercutter to make the two diagonal cuts through both thicknesses of paper to create the point.
- I cut the yellow paper 3 x 3 inches and then drew off the curvy end and cut it out with scissors.
- I think I cut the pink paper for the eraser 1 x 3 inches. I can’t remember and the card is sealed in the envelope. You can cut it 2 x 3 and then adjust it as needed.
- I used the corner of the tape dispenser as a template to round the corners on one end of the pink paper.
- The band for the pencil is 1/2 inch wide.
- Then I added red polka dotted ribbon. I had to cut the ribbon in half to get it narrow enough to allow the band of the pencil to show.
- Used the same ribbon to make the tiny bow.
- I adhered the bow with a tiny foam dot because the foam dots seem to hold better.
- Then because I quickly threw this together to save time, I used a black craft marker to add the type and color in the pencil point.
- Normally I would have printed the type onto the yellow cardstock with my computer/printer before cutting it to give a more professional look. But like I said, this was a rush job, and I knew I was going to have to use the marker to print the inside anyway because that craft cardstock is too thick to go through the print. But afterwards I was sorry I didn’t take the time to do it on the computer.
Now to get the card in the mail … something I’ve never been good at. Hopefully she won’t be in 5th grade before she gets it! 😀
Hope you have a great Back to School start. Don’t forget to help those returning students feel excited about returning to school … which translates into being excited about learning! An education is too precious to waste.
As always, go forth and create!
More handcrafted cards …
The Hidden Magic of Handcrafted Cards
Little Boy Blue Handcrafted Card
Handcrafted Thank You Card for Law Enforcement
Leave a Reply