an update and a card

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  Mine was full of school work, prep and end of the year things.  While the summer is considered "vacation" for teachers, many of us are working behind the scenes to make the new school year as flawless as possible.  Some of us are taking new courses to upgrade our teaching credentials while others are creating time tables and curriculum outlines, studying new curriculum, organizing classrooms or making a technology friendly classroom.  I have the pleasure of wrapping up my 2010 school year with portfolio meetings with the homeschool families I work with, and writing report cards as well as IEPs (individual education plans).  In addition, I am working with my homeschool families to develop a plan for the 2010-11 school year using an SLP (student learning plan).  Lots of acronyms but those small acronyms also create BIG work.

In addition to my regular work I also homeschooling my son and am planning his 2010-11 homeschooling year.  I purchased some of the very best materials during the homeschool convention in early May.  Because of my son's unique needs it is critical to have a plan in place (IEP) as early as possible.  My son is a funded student so we also have to include the EA (education assistant) and therapy in his school year too.  This is the time of year all those applications are due to prepare for September.  For those of you who follow me on facebook you will know a HUGE thing happened to us last month.  We found out the neurodevelopmentalist we have been waiting to see  (Linda Kane) was finally traveling to our neck of the woods and we secured an appointment with her.  I have been studying the neuro developmental approach for the past few years (through Linda's workshops as well as through an organization called the Handle Institute) so it is a dream to actually work with Linda one on one.  I have tremendous hope that she will provide a framework for our son that will help him overcome his daily challenges. We meet with her this week!! *Note: I first shared our story HERE.  I have posted several more times sharing more information over the years.  That was just the beginning of our journey.  Our son has been diagnosed with quite a bit more since that time.  It is suggested he is borderline autistic.  He is also quite gifted and has a learning disability.

It was a blast to be creating cards all of last week.  It always amazes me how quickly release time goes by.  I have been working on a few more projects using Take Three: Summer but will likely get them posted later this week as my son's appointment takes priority over everything this week. 

Deck the Halls

So today's card will provide some holiday inspiration.  Too early you say?  I usually start making holiday cards in January so that I have a good stock by mid October/early November.  It is so nice to have cards to draw from especially during the busy holiday season.  I find that if I leave my cards too late I never get them sent out.  KWIM?  But if I start early then I don't have any excuses.  

What I really like about this card is how quickly it can be made.  You know how I like CAS cards.  Especially when you have 50-100 to make every year.

Instructions:

Step 1: Create card base.  Use scor-bug to outline edges.
Step 2: Stamp circle and image on different coloured cardstock.
Step 3: Using a 1 1/4 inch circle punch cut images.
Step 4: Stamp sentiment.  Adhere images and attach ribbon.

SUPPLIES
Stamp Set(s): images from Communique Curves by PTI, sentiment from Holiday Button Bits by PTI
Cardstock: Vintage Cream by PTI, Pure Poppy by PTI, New Leaf by PTI, Dark Chocolate by PTI
Ink: Dark Chocolate by PTI, Vintage Cream by PTI
Accent: Ribbon by PTI
Tool: Scor-bug by Scor-pal

Have a super day and thank you so much for all your support last week and for stopping by today.  See you soon.

Alli