Taggin'

Hi all!

We have all survived the first week of school!  MAN was it busy!  For a SAHM I sure don't spend much time actually at home.  I checked my calendar and I don't have a free day until Sept. 17th!  We also started gymnastics and soccer this week and now she wants to add a musical instrument plus Girl Scouts starts in a couple weeks!  She may have to make some hard choices here soon.  I have also started my first run on the PTO board so that has been keeping me busy with commitments for that, helping at school, beginning of the year IEP meeting -mercy!  I am iffy about her teacher so far - for one she has still not even read the IEP much less put into place the things Hollyn needs in order to make it through her day successfully and it has been a bit rough on her.  Hoping that gets resolved quickly.

This evening Hollyn is attending a SUPER idea of a birthday party - it is an UNsleeping sleepover party.  We will drop her off at 5 in her pjs and then all the girls are picked back up at 9.  I am very nervous about leaving her on her own without me to help her navigate being in a group but I am hoping for the best.  She is very excited.  Of course I had to make a tag for the gift and I was inspired by the following challenges:

• Deconstructing Jen - Sketch
• Simply Create Too - Show Us Something New (Using new doodlebug paper)
• Crafter's Cafe - Child's Birthday
• Divas By Design - Tags
• House That Stamps Built - Celebrate Birthdays
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Clear It Out - Anything Goes
• Splitcoast Stampers - Etsy Inspiration: {more} sprinkled joy

I so need some new wrapping paper :P  I actually got 2 things so I wrapped them separately and then attempted to tie them together using 37 miles of curling ribbon.  This technically requires 3 if not 4 hands but I didn't have that advantage so it was lots of fun.....and NOT very effective so I ended up duck taping those suckers together but the unwrapping could get tricky....

I got some new-to-me birthday patterned paper - ADORABLE!!!  It is called Sugar Shoppe by Doodlebug Designs (I think I have loved every collection they have ever made.)  I got a 6 x 6 pad for making tags for Hollyn's friends.  While she was helping me design the card she got all whistful and said she feels jealous of her friends because they always get such cool handmade tags and she just gets store-bought ones.  I was surprised and happy that she still thinks my handmade ones are so much better!  I also need to make some for her apparently - I never do that :(  In reality the odds are quite high that 1. the tag may never even be seen, 2. whoever sees it may not even know it was handmade and 3. it will get ripped off the gift and thrown in the trash.  Guess what?  I don't care!  Because for just over an hour I sat in blissful semi-seclusion in my studio playing with paper and colored pencils! 

I colored the images with Polychromos colored pencils, doodled a border around the edge and put it all together!  I have her write a little to/from message on a sticker and stick it to the back of the tag.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!