These last couple of weeks have been almost all about preschool. There's always so much to do at the end of the school year. And I'm not very good at budgeting my time.
One of the things that I seem to always put off is taking pictures for the end of the year video that we show at the ceremony for the kids finishing 4 year old and transitional kindergarten classes. Of course, we take pictures all through the year in the classrooms, but I like the video to be representative not just of their school year, but of their school day. That means getting pictures taken during carpool times... and I'm too busy then to take pictures so I usually grab my office assistant, hand her my camera, and get her to snap a ton of photos of the kids arriving and departing. This year she was taking a well-deserved day off when I realized that the last minute had arrived.
Fortunately for me, I was having coffee early that morning with a friend who has a camera. :) And she also knows how to use it.
Yeah, that's me at morning carpool. There were much, much better pictures... but they had the adorable faces of precious little kids in them and seeking permission to put a child's full face on my blog right now is just too much to think about. So... you get me instead.
But... you probably come here for something crafty, so I'll share the little thank you card that I made for Kristine, my stand-in photographer.
SHOW
I was using a scrap of cardstock so the card was a bit of a weird size, but it fit perfectly into a medium-sized glassine bag...
that I trimmed with pinking shears, punched and tied closed with a bit of baker's twine.
AND TELL: stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf, Fillable Frames #2, Flower Fusion #3); cardstock is PTI (Stampers Select White) and Stampin' Up (Real Red, Pink Pirouette, Pixie Pink); ink is SU (Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette) and PTI (True Black); button is PTI (Sweet Blush); baker's twine is from Divine Twine (Cotton Candy); also used PTI dies (Fillable Frames #2, Little Bitty Bird), a SU punch (double rectangle), a Quickutz embossing folder (Geometric Circles), and a fine tip black marker for each bird's eye.
So, yesterday was our last day of classes. But today was our "Last Day Bash". The day started with a little ceremony to recognize our 4 and 5 year old "graduates". And then the bash began...
We rented a bounce house, but most of the rest was just good, easy-to-pull-together preschool fun like...
Water, of course, is always a big hit...
And a little skilled competition...
like a beanbag toss is a lot of fun.
One of our dads built a sandbox for us just for the day...
which was a really popular spot.
And our local firefighters and police officers stopped by...
plus we pulled out our own "big wheels" and chalked out a bit of a road for the kids to ride on (or ignore, as the case may be).
There's more, but I think I'll save it for later. It's gotten really windy out and we just lost power briefly. Not once, but twice. So I think it's time to say goodnight. I hope your day was a real bash of a day, too! Thanks so much for stopping by to spend a bit of it here with me. See you again soon.
Janelle, love the sweet little birds on your card...and the pictures from the party at school...looks like you had absolutely perfect weather! Hope you have a relaxing weekend planned!
Posted by: Lynn | 05/27/2011 at 06:28 AM
What a gorgeous card (it has birds on it so of course I love it!) and how like you to thank your stand-in photographer in such a way. I have just seen cards in vellum envelopes just like yours in a VERY exclusive gift shop near my home.
I love hearing about your pre-school life Janelle. It seems such a happy environment for those lucky children. The picture of you at the car pool is great and your dress is just exactly what I've been looking out for! (I won't even ask where you got it as it's never going to be available over here!)
Posted by: Vicky | 05/27/2011 at 08:55 AM
The card is awsome and you look really great in that picture Janelle.
Here school end is on June 10th and until then teens will be taking their exams . so looking forward to that day!
Posted by: eleftheria | 05/27/2011 at 01:20 PM
I'm so glad you posted this. It was a treat to see since I missed it. Looks like it was a hit. The card is beautiful.
Posted by: Elizabeth | 05/27/2011 at 07:11 PM
Love your cutie card. But I think I love how you packaged it even more!!! LOL Weird, I know, but I would never think of something like that......and the little bit of twine, was the perfect touch. I'm sure your friend just loves her card. Beautiful!
Posted by: Stephanie Mino | 05/28/2011 at 07:08 AM