Need an idea for my 1st swap - Back 2 School theme

[jpmayo]

I stupidly signed up to be in a swap at the LSS and I have NO idea what to make. It would be ok if there wasn't a theme for the cards but there is and it is "Back to School". I don't have any school themed stamps or children themed stamps, what do I do?
I was thinking of using black paper and the metallic pencils to draw on it like a chalkboard and maybe use my snap stamps to say "welcome back to school" but it sounds lame in my head, anyway.
I searched "back to school" in the gallery and of course get thousands of cards/projects but none that use any stamps that I have.
Help, please

Oh yah, the swap is in 2 weeks and i'll be on vacation in FL for the next week so i'll have a week of evenings after work to do it, it is only 10 cards but I have never even made that many at one time...I signed up for the next 3 months, too...stupid, I know...

[jpmayo]

I take it no one has done a card with a back to school theme?

[willosmama]

What stamps do you have???

Maybe you could do something like a woman all alone, enjoying her day to her self and it says glad there back.....

[anniem888]

do you have any apple stamps? How about vintage pens or pencils! What style and stamps do you have?

[Frenchy]

What about more of a "summer's over" theme using summer stamps.

[happystamper05]

I saw your thread an hour ago *just* before I had to take my DS to his ortho appt., and couldn't come up with a single thing.
Of course, when I was parking my car, it dawned on me...Apples! Could you make a card with apples (maybe A is for apple...).

Another idea, is could you borrow a school set from your demonstrator or a friend? If you live in MI, I might have a set you could borrow.

If it's a "non-card", maybe make some magnets for lockers, covered notebooks, covered post-it notes, etc...

Off to think of a couple more ideas.....

[jpmayo]

I have:
riveting, never-ending love, peaceful wishes, fun filled, first in fashion, unfrogettable,looks like spring, simply said, send a celebration, noteworthy, small script, all year cheer I II & III, olive you, love ya bunches, you're neat, fish frolics, natural beauty, bugs and kisses, polka-dot posies, bud basics, lexicon of love, seeing spots, best blossoms, alphabet soup, stars and swirls, word by word bg, canvas, linen, print pattern, french script, on the beach, lighthouse and some more that I can't think of off the top of my head.

I can beg and borrow others if I need too.

[happystamper05]

oh yea,
when my son entered kindergarten (along time ago), the teachers gave us moms the cutest little package and it contained (let's see if I can remember): a tea bag - so we could relax with (?), a kleenex - so we could dry our tears, etc.
Oh crumb - I'm not doing it justice. Let me see if I can find it.
maybe a search for a back to school survival kit....

[jpmayo]

Maybe those little covered notebooks where you just make a piece for the front of it?
It is just a regular swap which I know nothing about but would it be ok to make something that isnt a "card" like a notebook? That would bebetter for me, I think.
Stupid me thought "hey, i'll sign up and make some real live stamping friends...crazy!!
If I am this clueless about the 1st one, maybe I should bow out of the rest of them, next month is Halloween themed and that will be even harder for me unless I order a Halloween stamp...sometimes I feel so stupid.

[Mothermark]

What about finding some background paper downtown that is basically a background of numbers or letters and some half size pencils or nice new sharp colored crayons and somehow attach one to the card, maybe by making a slit in it. Your message could be Yearn to learn or just Back to School!....or another idea is to incorporate a yellow school bus. Can you borrow a yellow school bus stamp, that would be cute. I also like the apple idea.

[Frenchy]

What about "hop off to school" or something like that with unfrogettable.

[ajcmeyer]

What about something like Welcome a trail the snail leaves behind from the unfrogettable set? It would be really cute to have the snail have an apple on his shell!

[Rush'd Lady]

I'll be posting a student survival kit poem in my poem thread soon. See my siggie below for link.

[stampin4smiles]

Do you have an alphabet set? You could use primary colors and stamp some lets on it? If I knew how to get things sized right on here I would show you an example. Real Red as base, brilliant blue & yo yo yellow as accents, and white to stamp big ABC on and write back to school.

[jpmayo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stampin4smiles

Do you have an alphabet set? You could use primary colors and stamp some lets on it? If I knew how to get things sized right on here I would show you an example. Real Red as base, brilliant blue & yo yo yellow as accents, and white to stamp big ABC on and write back to school.

Thanks for the reminder!!!!!!!! It is next week and I haven't even started anything yet. I have the Letterpress Alphabet and so I think what you said is something like what I am planning on doing.
Oh, the DD gallery has a Back to School theme and there are some good ideas in there for me, too, using alphabets.

[allnitescrapper]

Don't be so hard on yourself... Signing up for the swap was a great idea just 'cuz it'll get you more connected at the LSS... and probably some good ideas (even just for card layouts & designs), and people will probably appreciate your creativity in using stamps not necessarily designed for "back to school"...

What about getting some of those little pencils/colored pencils (i'm thinking like the mini colored pencils target has in their dollar section for back to school) and tying a couple in a bundle, adhering that to the front, and then usually your alphabet stamps for a saying on the front?

Have fun with it... to get too stressed out...