Clean and Simple ....

.... and QUICK!!

That was my motto this week.  It's exam season (and yes, the sun is shining!).  Most years, I make a few cards for those friends' kids, neighbours' kids, etc., that I know who are doing state exams.  But this year, my daughter is one of those candidates, therefore so are all of her friends, and also seven or eight kids of staff at school too.  So I have had to be ruthless or else it would have been like doing the Christmas card production line in June!!  I've made one for my daughter and her cousin, both doing Junior Cert, and one for her "godbrother", doing his Leaving Cert, and that is it!

DD's card is my DT entry for this week's PaperPlay Challenges - "Flowers and Sparkle Galore".  We are being sponsored this week by Stitchy Bear Stamps, who are offering 4 digi images as a prize.

Here's my card:

I used Scenic Route "Appleton" papers - great for school themes (shame they've gone out of business, though).  I found the big old flower in my stash and covered it with stickles - it doesn't show up in the photo, but it is very very sparkly.  I'm also entering this into The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge "Buttons and Blooms".

And here are the boys' cards:

I had decided from the start not to use any of my usual distressing and stitching and stick to a clean style.  I found it very very very difficult indeed!!!  Although on the plus side, it took a fraction of the time!!

Thanks for looking!

Back to ....

.... early mornings, packed lunches, after-school activities. Oh, just take me out back and shoot me!!!

Sandie set this week's sadistic challenge on PaperPlay Challenges - I was thinking of not doing it, as a kind of one-woman protest!!!! But then I gave in - I've made a card for the teachers in DS's school. I'm going to bring in some choccy buns and the inside will say ".... bet you'd all forgotten what chocolate tastes like!" (the staffroom is notorious for always having niceies to eat - they've probably all been on diets all summer!).

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I used Scenic Route Appleton papers, which are perfect for school themes, stamped the apples with Hero Arts stamps and coloured with prismas, then mounted them with foam to give a bit of dimension, hand-stitched the red lines, and printed and cut out the lettering.

This week's prize is sponsored by Crafty Alley and it's a stack of 12" x 12" papers.

Thanks for looking.