It's Almost Over

The End of Summer

Oh no! Where did it go? It seems that it was just the long weekend in May, and now in the blink of an eye, summer starts to come to a close with an onslaught of Back to School sales. As kids are getting ready to go back to school, I also get the itch to get back on a schedule. Just doing a little bit each day can help you to get organized and ahead of the game before the busy schedules of fall are in full swing. Need somewhere to get started? Check out these fun and practical ideas:

Stamp up cards to replenish your stash.

            Look ahead for the next 4-5 months to see how many birthday cards you’ll need to have on hand. Stamp up some extra thank you, thinking of you, get well, and note cards, too. You can use the Medium Die Box (#122220), with or without the insert, to keep your cards organized. (The box fits the standard-sized cards on end nicely.) You can even create some dividers for the different kinds of cards that you use. The Medium Die Boxes come with a nice label plate on the outside so that you can mark what’s inside. And don’t forget to make it pretty with a little bit of ribbon, and maybe a paper flower or two. Also consider getting yourself a personalized address stamp and postage stamps to keep with your card stash to make sending out cards a breeze.

Start your school year scrapbooks.

Or if you have one big scrapbook that you add to each year, start by making some general pages - first day of school, school pictures, sports, fall fun, etc. to get a start on the pictures that you’ll be taking throughout the year, This will make it easier to keep up with your scrapbook as the year progresses. The Simply Scrappin’ Kits are a great way to make scrapbook pages come together quickly. Check out our new kits, like Party Animal (#122372) and Tickets & Tags (#122373). If you are a digital scrapbooker, My Digital Studio software (#118108) can have scrapbook layouts ready for your pictures or you can create your own custom pages right on your computer.

Some other ideas you might like include decorating and embellishing plain old file folders with Designer Series Paper like the Pocketful of Posies (#122354) or Domestic Goddess (#122355), using Chalkboard Decor Elements, like Days of the Week (#122298) to keep the whole family organized, and creating mini bulletin boards with an inexpensive frame and our Corkboard (#119819). And if you are really motivated, you might even want to start thinking about and planning your holiday cards ...

So get ready and be ready! I know it’s hard to think about fall when summer is still lingering, but a little bit of preparation can ensure that you’ll be able to enjoy each moment in the busy months to come.