So often I run out of time for handcrafting anything.  My family is my 1st, #1, top-of-the-list priority, my job and the farm are my 2nd priority (priorities?), and managing my household is my 3rd priority.  And if I manage to run into a day with 36 hours instead of 24, my hobbies (crafting, reading, writing) are my 4th priority.  So, while my mother-heart hates Back-to-School time, I do love it when my hobby happens to magically align with my #1 priority and I have something crafty to post!

A new school year means…Lunchbox Love!

I sat down last night and pulled out my scrap paper tray and got to work on building my supply.

I have not figured out the best way to photograph my work, but I do know that in the bathroom with a low battery is not optimal.  Bare with me.  This one is actually quite small.  The giraffe sticker is about the size of my thumb and the whole card is about 1.5 x 2.5 inches.

This one’s about 3.5 x 3.5 inches, and it’s definitely not my favorite.  But I did get to use a couple leftover stickers from my stash and he’ll like it anyway.  He loves anything horses.  I did like the fringe effect cut in the bottom, so I’m sure I’ll probably use that somewhere else in the future.

And the kids love the glitter/shimmer/felt on the stickers or the fringe, hole punch, or scallop textures on the edges.  It doesn’t take much to please this audience.

This one is 2 x 2 inches and I was starting to play with my new scallop trim punch from Stampin’ Up! I really like it, although it takes a little practice to get the hang of it.  The flower burst sticker is from a pack I got on clearance at Wal-Mart and the picture just doesn’t convey how perfectly the colors match up.

This one turned out better than I thought.  Both of the scallop papers were test scraps with the new punch and the stamped image was a throw away from a bigger card.  This one’s about 2 x 3 inches.  I inked the edges to give it more of a vintage feel and match with the rougher quality of the stamp image (which is why it ended up in the discard pile to begin with).  I’m so happy with how it turned out, I’m going to try this pattern again on a bigger card.

I also made a full sized card, but I wasn’t happy with how it turned out.  I did force myself to finish it, if only for the learning experience.

I did end up liking how the sentiment turned out (orange on orange) and the new color combination.  So I might try parts of this one again too.

If you’re not into making your own lunchbox notes, Say Please has a line of Lunchbox Love for Kids and a Lunchbox Love for Everyone note sets you might be interested in.

Or for other do-it-yourself-ers, Kidprintables and FamilyEducation both offer printable lunchbox notes with cute pictures and sayings.  And a Google search will turn up tons more.  Like, 2,345,3234,987, apparently.  I found a couple other mom blogs that suggested formatting and printing them on cardstock with a business card template for the perfect size too.  So smart!

Enjoy!

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