The hustle and bustle of school time

Can you believe that in another few weeks all the kiddles will be headed back to school with their backpacks in tow? My, has this summer flown by. Hopefully you've had time to cram in all the fun you can handle. If not—there's still a few days left!

But since the bell's so close to ringin', we'd like to start focusing on some A+ crafting projects that'll ease you back into the throws of school. Here's some especially fitting ideas for all you teachers out there. Hats off to you!

Here are a couple of awesome teacher's survival kits. The first one is created with the Cricut's Doodlecharms and Alphalicious cartridges. The second has Doodlecharms, Learning Curve, My Community, A Garden of Words and Base Camp. Whew. Looks like you've got everything you're going to need in these puppies: Click here and here for instructions on the Provo Craft web site.)

We R Memory Keepers has a great way for learnin' those kids their ABC's: (Find more great ideas in their Idea Gallery).

And just so you know, a paperclip isn't a paperclip anymore these days unless it's what? You guessed it: Embellished. These are done Sizzix-style: (Click here to view instructions and browse through more Sizzix project ideas.)

And finally, here's two super-useful ideas from Imaginisce's scrapbook kit: Teacher's Pet. And did you know that right now we're holding a Back to School Contest on Facebook? Yep. Just send in your pictures of your favorite and best-est back to school project for your chance to win the Teacher's Pet kit. Entries go to lana @ ohmycrafts . com, and the victor will be announced sometime tomorrow on Facebook.  Oh—and P.S.: winners might even get published on this here blog. But anywho, back to the Imaginisce projects. And to browse through more great ideas floating around in Imaginisce, click here.

Welp, that's all for today folks. But we've got more up our sleeve. Just you wait. Just you wait. 

Happy crafting!

Announcing our Hallowhimsy winner!

Okay everyone—it's the moment you've all been waiting for! We loved your ideas, and wish that we could give Hallowhimsy to everyone! (But that might put us out of business.)

So we randomly selected one name from the group of participants. 

And the lucky winner is:

Silvia! She said:

"Halloween is my favorite holiday...I love decorating and look forward to greeting our trick o' treaters!! I would use this kit to create a mini album and incorporate both my niece and nephews halloweens years from 1-9...the paper is so cute. And with my scraps I will create my annual family/friend Halloween cards. Thanks for giving us the chance to win these great goodies."

Congrats Silvia—and be sure to take pictures of your Halloween project and post it for us all to see on Facebook!  Please send the following information to lana @ ohmycrafts . com:

• Your full name

• Shipping information

• Phone number or e-mail to reach you.

Thanks to all who played! Stay tuned for more fun and more prizes right here and on our Facebook page!

Happy Haunting!

P.S. Have you seen the newest scrapbook kits from Imaginisce? Check out Spooky Town and Polar Expressions—just in time for the upcoming holidays! 

******************THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED******************

What would you do with Hallowhimsy?? Hallowhimsy is a spooky scrapbooking kit by Imaginisce—filled with ghouls, goblins, and lots of other haunts. It contains 6 sets of 3 high quality paper (12x12), brads, and four stamps. It's great for whatever Halloween craft that you may embark in (which—believe it or not—it's almost time to get started on it!! October will be here in the blink of an eye).

Well we plan on giving Hallowhimsy to ONE of you. Our terms are simple, really. We want to know what you'll use it for! Maybe you're an avid scrapbooker, and you'd like to make a boo-tiful mini album documenting all the costumes that your family has worn over the years. Or perhaps you'd like to make some invitations that go bump-in-the-night for the annual spookfest you throw every year for your friends and family. Or, have you been thinking about adding some All-Hallows zip to the decorations you use to adorn your house? Oooh, and here's a good one—maybe you'd like to give your jack-o-lanterns a nice paper hat or paper bow tie. With Hallowhimsy, the options are endless.

So here's what you have to do:

Just leave us a comment right here on this post! Tell us what YOU—the creative crafter—would do with the Imaginisce Hallowhimsy set. You don't need to own a blog to leave a comment. And if you've never left a comment on a blog before, it's easy! (See below for some helpful instructions.)

Be sure to leave us your name too—so we can identify you! We'll randomly select one name Monday afternoon (so that gives you the whole weekend to think of something.) And we'll be picking the names from this comment list, so a comment on Facebook or by e-mail will not get you into the drawing.

Here's a few cute ideas that can be found on the Imaginisce web site:

Good luck crafters,

Need help on commenting??

• First, you'll find a link to our comment box at the bottom of this post. Click on "comments".

• To comment, you can set up a Google account if you do not already have one. All you need is an existing e-mail address. You'll find a link to help you set one up. The picture below will help you locate it.

Introducing our first installment of:

We certainly have some talented women that work in our in-house craft room. And we plan to periodically share their work with you! Today's opening session of "From the Craft Room" is for all your Hello Kitty lovers out there. And if you receive our daily e-mails, then you've already seen the adorable "Hey Lady" card that our very own Katie Rasmussen designed.

Here's the supplies she used, all from yours truly.

Tools

Cricut Machine

Embossing and Die Cutting Machine (Cuttlebug, Big Shot, Epic Six...any will do)

Sizzlet Die: Hello Kitty with Bees, Flowers, and Ladybugs

Sizzlet Die Ribbons

Cricut Cartridge: Hello Kitty Font

Paper Trimmer

Small Craft Blade

Adhesive

Slick Writers (bold and fine tips in black)

Bazzill Paper

Piglet

Hot Pink

Tink Pink

Beetle Black

Snow

Bumblebee

Candy Apple

Stickles

Icicle

Xmas Red

Fruit Punch

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut an A2 size card out of the Piglet paper using the paper trimmer, set aside

Step 2: Using the Sizzlet die: Hello Kitty with Bees, Flowers and Ladybugs, cut out the Hello Kitty profile out of the Snow and Beetle Black papers. Cut 5 big flowers out of the Tink Pink paper. Cut 4 small flower centers out of the Tink Pink and 7 small flower centers out of Snow. Cut the ladybug shell for Hello Kitty and the hearts on the antennas out of Candy Apple. Cut the circle shell piece for Hello Kitty out of Beetle Black. Cut out the flowers on Hello Kitty's head out of Bumblebee and Tink Pink.

Step 3: Assemble Hello Kitty. With your craft blade, cut out the whiskers and antennas on the Snow Hello Kitty figure. Remove eyes and nose from figure. On the back of the figure, glue a small piece of Bumblebee paper over the opening for the nose. On the Beetle Black figure, cut the entire head off of the figure. Glue the front of the black head to the back of the white head on the figure so the eyes, whiskers, and antennas show through in the correct places. Glue one Tink Pink large flower and one white small flower center to the green large flower with the stem. Adhere this stem to the back of Hello Kitty's hand on the white figure so she is holding it. Cut the Candy Apple hearts for the antennas to the right shape and adhere to the black antennas. Cut the flowers on Hello Kitty's head to the correct shapes and adhere. Take the Beetle Black circle for the shell and the Candy Apple shell and adhere to the white Hello Kitty figure.

Step 4: Using the Cricut machine and Hello Kitty Font cartridge, cut "Hey Lady" using the Round Creative Feature Key from Beetle Black in 1 1/4" size. Then cut "Hey Lady" using the Round Shadow Creative Feature key from Hot Pink in 1 1/4" size. Position on card and glue down. Take completed Hello Kitty figure and glue down as well.

Step 5: Take the Ribbons Sizzlet die and cut out two "scallops" borders out of Beetle Black. Cut to the correct size to fit along the bottom of the card. Using a straight edge and the bold and fine slick writers, create the border along the top, bottom, and sides of the card. Adhere the scallops to the inside of the card so they are partially visible on the outside and when the card is open, they are fully visible on the top and bottom. Make sure the scallops line up on the top and bottom when the card is closed.

Step 6: Adhere the rest of the large and small flowers to embellish the inside and cover of the card.

Step 7: Using the fine-tipped Slick Writer, outline Hello Kitty, "Hey Lady," and the flower embellishments. With the Fruit Punch Stickles, embellish "Hey Lady" and the pink flowers. Using the Xmas Red Stickles, embellish Hello Kitty's ladybug shell and antenna tops. Using the Icicle Stickles, embellish the white flowers and the middle of the flowers on Hello Kitty's head.

And wal-lah! This project will brighten any lady's day! Still need to feed your Hello Kitty appetite? Here's two more decked-out-Kitty projects that Katie recently finished.

A Hello Kitty beach page! Just check out the detail!

And finally, a Hello Kitty car decal—made with Oh My Vinyl! This is a great way to declare your love for Hello Kitty to the world!

If you have questions about the Hey Lady card, or would like instructions for the beach page or car decal, send Katie a quick e-mail: katie @ ohmycrafts . com. Also, to view more pictures of these projects, you can visit the Oh My Crafts photo gallery on Picasa. Just click on "Katie's Crafts."

Happy crafting!