Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge--Back to School

It's time for a new Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge!  Our theme this week is Back to School, and the timing couldn't be any more perfect as my two kiddos start 3rd grade and Kindergarten next week.

We have another wonderful sponsor this week:  The Alley Way Stamps is offering their Learning Curve stamp set to the LEAD this week, so be sure to play along for your chance to win!

My mojo has been absent lately, so I kept my design simple with just a strip of patterned paper and some stamped images from Paper Smooches' Smarty Pants.  I added just a few swipes of Copic marker to add a little something to the images without having to color.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (Kraft)

Patterned paper:  Fancy Pants

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Smarty Pants)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip), Copic marker

Tool:  corner rounder

This one might be going to my husband, my very own absent-minded professor, as classes start at the College next week, too.

I hope you'll join us for our Back to School challenge!  Be sure to visit the Challenge blog to be inspired by the Design Team and link up your creation.

Have a great day!

CAS-ual Fridays #67--Banners & Flags

Another week has come and gone, can you believe it?  I hope my friends in the Northern Hemisphere are making the most of the last days of summer.  My little family has been busy trying to squeeze in as much fun as possible before school starts.  How about you?

It just wouldn't be the start of another weekend without a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge, of course.  :)  This week we want to see your clean and simple designs using banners and flags!

I never really jumped on the banner trend, though I love seeing them on other people's cards and layouts.  To get my creativity flowing, I did a quick search on Pinterest and came across this fantastic quilt:

Source: flickr.com via Christina on Pinterest

This design really spoke to me with its bright patterns on a crisp white background and perfectly stitched seams.  It was super easy to turn it into a card, too.

Using a banner die, I cut all of the banners from papers in the Fancy Pants Off to School collection.  The red banner was stamped with a paper clip from Paper Smooches Smarty Pants set.

All of the banners were adhered to a white panel that was debossed with the Linen & Canvas impression plate, as a nod to the fabric in the inspiration piece.  I stitched across the tops and added tiny bows on the edges.

With such a busy background, I didn't want a fussy sentiment treatment, so I simply punched a circle from lined paper, stamped a sentiment from Smarty Pants, and adhered it with foam tape.

Cardstock:  WPlus9 Design Studio (White)

Patterned paper:  Fancy Pants (Off to School)

Stamps:  Paper Smooches (Smarty Pants)

Ink:  Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip)

Tools:  Papertrey Ink (banner die, Linen & Canvas impression plate), EK Success (circle punch)

Accessories:  thread

The other Girl Fridays have even more fun and clever uses of banners and flags to share today, so stop by and leave them some love, too!  I can't wait to see your entry in the gallery!  :)

Thanks, as always, for your visit!  Have a fabby weekend!