Back to School with Practical Scrappers

Today at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS, we are showing off our back-to-school themed layouts.  This was a great challenge for me because I usually struggle with fall-themed layouts and that includes back-to-school stuff - maybe because it still feels like summer when the temperature gauge keeps steadily hitting 100+ degrees here in Tejasland!

The Huntress actually has one more week left of freedom before school starts, so I decided to do a little journaling and create a quiz reflecting her current likes (and a dislike) and what she hopes to accomplish in school this year. 

Just like a real quiz, the categories are on the front and the answers are on the back.  Want to know the answers to my 8th grader's quiz?  Yeah?  Here you go:

1.  Favorite movie (A: Scott Pilgrim)
2.  Fave T.V. show (A: Adventure Time)
3. Favorite New Song (A: Wow by BtoB)
4. Besties (A: Crystal and Kamber)
5. A fun activity (A: Getting crafty with Pearler Beads)
6. Can't stand (A: It's still brocolli)
7. Fave Foods (A: Pizza and Spaghetti)
8. This year I hope to... (A: get good grades, have nice teachers, and improve my singing)

My journaling tag tucks nicely into a pocket sewn into the back of my photo frame.

I used CRATE PAPER'S Portrait Collection to creat this layout - an older collection, yes, but it contained the "back-to-school" colors I was looking for without being overly "fall-y" or in-your-face back to school.  In other words, just the right papers for my project!  One thing I love about Crate Paper is that their collections always include a page of paper die cuts, which are perfect for creating clusters or titles - like mine! 

 

I also used this SKETCH found at Page Maps to get me jump started.  My layout doesn't look much like the sketch at all - but it got me going and that's all I needed!!!  By the way, Page Maps is having a contest with this sketch right now which is open for another few days - be sure to check it out!

 

That's it for me today.  Before I go, tell me, what kinds of papers do you prefer to use for your back-to-school layouts?  Do you go traditional and use themed collections or do you buck the trend and do your own thing?  I'm curious...