Greatly Appeciate our Teachers

This week is teacher appreciation week, and in the life of my "special" kids, this year's teachers have been invaluable instruments in God's hands, unlocking minds, teaching not just academics but social skills and self-help, and truly loving all of the kids, on bad days and good. As a result, it is fitting that my most intricate, unaided, card came together so well (I think) in their honor...

I'm playing in the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, Let's Get Sentimental (also fitting!) this week. For our teachers, I did a subtle riff of the apple theme, creating a garden scene with dies from several Impression Obsession sets. My tree was watercolored by the kids actually, then stolen fair and square by Mommy for crafting. The apples and basket rings I did myself from some scraps of papers I had sponged using Tim Holtz distress inks to get the four apple hues. I popped up the basket and two of the apples with Joy! foam pads for depth.  The ODBD sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and embossed with Stampin' Up White powder. I couldn't resist throwing in a subtle Christian message, my shy way of bearing witness, et voila!

I also tried a version with the colors inverted (see below), which I really liked with the sponged background in such a happy spring color, die cut with the stitched die from MFT Blueprints 13, but then at the last minute I made a crooked stamp and blew it -- happens to us all at some point I guess!

Hope you enjoy them.