Hello Pebbles fans! It’s Monique with you today. I love making cards—in fact, I make them for almost every occasion. Creating these particular cards was special as I made them for my kids. I think it’s such a shame the summer break is already over. I have really enjoyed having all three kids home for a longer period of time. Having said that, I secretly have to admit that I’m also looking forward to them going back to school, especially both of my boys (they tend to spend way too much time behind their computers playing games!).

For their first day at school/college/uni, I decided to create a card for each one of them to put into their school bags as a surprise.  That way, when they take out their books or laptop, they will find it and know I’m thinking of them.

Here are the “Back to School” cards I created for them using the fabulous Girl Squad collection:

What I love about Pebbles’ Girl Squad collection is that it can easily be used to create projects for boys as well. I created the pink card for my daughter (obviously) and the blue and yellow ones for my boys. For those of you who want to know how I made them, here’s a quick tutorial.

To Begin:

Cut a piece of cardstock measuring 4″ x 12″; fold it in half (the cards measure 4″ x 6″).  Cut two strips of patterned paper: one measuring 2″x 6″ and the other 0.5″ x 6″.  You’ll also need Thickers words, washi tape, die-cuts, (puffy) stickers, enamel dots and a white Sharpie.

Here is a collage of the step-by-step directions:

1. Fold the piece of cardstock in half and cover the bottom with the 2″ x 6″ strip of patterned paper.
2. Add the 0.5″ x 6″ strip of patterned paper to the top of paper from step 1; also add a piece of washi tape beneath.
3. Glue a die-cut in the top right corner and adhere one of Thickers words above the patterned paper.
4. Add one of the smaller die-cuts in the bottom left corner and (in this case) a sticker above the Thickers word.
5. Create a little cluster in the bottom left corner by adding three enamel dots and a die-cut. Add a puffy sticker as well, overlapping half onto the sticker above the Thickers word.
6. Last but not least, use a white pen to doodle a line along the edge of the top half of the card.

That’s it!

I used this same concept for all three cards and I really like how they turned out. Hope you do too!

Here are all three of them together:

The “Go Girl” card is for my daughter, who starts her second year in university (she wants to become a teacher):

The yellow card is for my oldest son, who starts his second year in college (he is studying for a job in IT, like his dad):

The third card, the blue one, is for my youngest, who starts his first year in High School and is so happy he finally belongs to the “big” kids group too!

I am so blessed with my three kids and really loved creating these “Back to School” cards for them. I can already imagine their faces when they find them.

Supplies:
Girl Squad Cardstock Stickers (733715)
Girl Squad Thickers Phrases (733716)
Girl Squad Washi Tape Rolls (733717)
Girl Squad Puffy Stickers Mini Icons (733718)
Girl Squad Ephemera Cardstock Die-Cuts (733719)
Girl Squad “Go Girl” Patterned Paper (733703)
Girl Squad “Besties” Patterned Paper (733704)
Girl Squad “Good Vibes” Patterned Paper (733706)
Girl Squad “Food On The Go” Patterned Paper (733707)
Girl Squad “Cool Treat” Patterned Paper (733708)
Fun In The Sun Enamel Dots (732834)
American Crafts Textured Cardstock Pack 12″ x 12″ 60/Pkg, Neutrals (71252)