School’s almost out for summer across metro Detroit and kids couldn’t be more excited. As the final days in the classroom are crossed off our calendars, there are classmate birthday parties to celebrate, end-of-year parties to attend and, for some students, graduations to take part in. If your child is moving on to first grade, middle school or even, GULP, high school, there are some wonderful new paper crafting supplies available from one of my favorite companies, Stampin’ Up!, to put to use this month to have a suite of graduation-friendly cards to have on hand.
Whether you make them for your child or your child makes them to give to a friend or classmate, these stamps can help personalize a DIY greeting to give to a student of any age.
When I first saw this oversized stamp, I knew right away that it would make for perfect mini notes to give to the kids in my life. “Writing Notes” comes as a wood-mounted stamp or clear cling stamp. Measuring at 4 1/2 inches by 5 3/4 inches, it works well when paired with a standard A7 blank card or any larger size card you design on your own. The ruled lines on the piece of paper are just the right size for adding a special message.
When using a larger stamp like Writing Notes, you can’t ink it like you would a smaller stamp. For best results, turn the stamp over and apply the inkpad to the rubber stamp as shown above.
I sometimes have a hard time finding kid-friendly “congrats” cards or paper crafting supplies. They tend to be inappropriate for the age group I’m looking for, or they’re too serious in their well wishes. I like this set of clear-mount congratulations stamps, “Bravo,” because they’re whimsical enough to send to my two younger nephews, ages 4 and 7. These stamps peel off their plastic sheets and are affixed to a clear stamp block. When you’re done using them you store them in the plastic case they come packaged in.
My nephews didn’t have “milestone” graduations at school this year, but I still wanted to celebrate another year of hard work on their parts. To create this greeting card, I used a piece of Stampin’ Up!’s Schoolhouse designer paper to create a 5-by-7 inch card (close to a standard A7 card, for those who enjoy card marking). Using white cardstock as my background, I stamped the Writing Notes onto my paper and then the “congrat-you-lations” phrase. Cut both out and set aside. I cut a small piece of scrap white cardstock to use as a place to write my message inside the card once it’s opened as this scrapbook paper is designed on both sides.
To assemble the card, add the ruled paper image to the front of the card with a tape runner or double-sided tape.
Inside the card, add the congratulations image on the left side and the blank message space on the right.
Once all the pieces have been added to your card, add your message to the recipient and it’s ready to give.
Make sure to check out Stampin’ Up!’s website to see their brand-new offering of paper-crafting products for summer crafting.
