Last Day of 12th Grade

It's been a couple of weeks since I've done any scrapbooking, so I cleared off my desk and made this page about Trevor's last day of high school. 

Last Day of School (affiliate link)

It's hard to believe he's out of high school and off to college! Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday I was scrapping about the last day of preschool. Even though this is the last "Last Day of School" layout I plan to make, I still have most of Trevor's senior events (including graduation) to scrap. So I'll share plenty more school-themed layouts eventually. Good thing, since I still have a lot of school-themed scrapbook supplies. 

The Bash Your Scrapbook Stash World Series starts in a few weeks, which will give me the chance to make a big dent in my scrappy to-do list. In addition to the various Senior Year pages, there are a lot more topics I'm eager to scrap. I need to get photos printed before the competition begins. It's such a time-consuming task and I've fallen way behind on it. Good thing events like the BYSS World Series are there to kick me into gear!

Easy, Unique, and Affordable Homemade Halloween Costumes

I'm a big fan of homemade Halloween costumes. Not only are they guaranteed to be one-of-a-kind, but they are often less expensive to make than buying a costume would be. (I spent exactly $0 for Trevor's toga costume.) And if your child wants to be something besides a superhero, princess, or character from a popular TV show, you might have a hard time finding the exact LEGO Minifig Robber costume or campfire costume they're picturing at a store. 

You do not need to know how to sew to make a homemade costume. I can barely do a poor job of hemming a pair of pants, let alone sew an outfit. Most of the costumes I've made start with a men's t-shirt and involve scissors and hot glue, not a sewing machine. 

I've made a lot of homemade Halloween costumes over the years. These are some of the most popular. 

 

Did you happen to notice that all of the costumes feature the same model (Trevor) except for the center one? That's my niece, Allison, showing off the 'Put Me in the Zoo' costume. I love these photos. So many good memories! 

To find out how to make each costume, clink the link under the photo to go to the tutorial. You'll find materials lists and step-by-step instructions. 

    

* Campfire Costume * Knight Costume * Hershey Bar Costume *

      

* Light-Up Ratatouille Costume * 'Put Me in the Zoo' Costume * Bumble Bee Costume 

    

* LEGO Robber Costume *  Easy Toga Costume * Reindeer Pez Dispenser Costume *

If you're looking for Halloween projects, pumpkin carving ideas, or crafts for Dia de los Muertos, you can find all of those here: Halloween Crafts for Kids. Enjoy!

50 State Quarters: Coloring Pages Using Stabilo Woody 3-in-1 Arty

I'm really enjoying the process of picking different art supplies to complete coloring pages featuring the 50 State Quarters. So far, I've colored with Ohuhu markers (Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Wisconsin), used inks as a base and layered colored pencil on top (Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, and Montana), "painted" with Flair pens (Delaware and Indiana), and colored with classic Sharpies (Maine and South Carolina). This time, I completed the pages using Stabilo Woody 3-in-1 Arty (affiliate link). 

I had fun playing with the Stabilos. I love the way I was able to get different shades from a single pencil on the purple mountains of Colorado. (You did know that America the Beautiful's "purple mountain majesties" is in Colorado, right?) Despite there being only 18 colors in the set, I didn't feel too limited by my palette. Part of that is because of the particular quarters I chose to color with the Stabilos. Overall, the Stabilos were fun on backgrounds and larger areas, but using them for details was rough. I found the finest paintbrush I own to try to fill in the letters, but it was really hard difficult to stay in the lines and equally challenging (for me, anyway) to get a consistent amount of pigment onto the brush. You can see that I gave up trying to paint in the tiny little E PLURIBUS UNUM spaces on the New Hampshire quarter after I messed up the first letter (M. I always paint right to left.)

One final comment: I'm glad the Old Man of the Mountain is forever immortalized on New Hampshire's quarter. It was believed to be approximately 12,000 years old when it collapsed in 2003, just three years after the quarter was issued. 

Glitterific Art in the Sketchbook

Every once in a while, I get a shipment of fun goodies as a Plaid Creator. My latest box had the six new pastel colors of Glitterific (affiliate link here and below). I tested them out by playing around in the sketchbook.  

I started by painting a double-page spread with black acrylic paint. Then I added THRIVE using Folk Art White Gesso. 

Then I used the same gesso to stamp flowers on the page. 

While that was drying, I went to the paint shelves to find a pastel matte acryric to match each color of Glitterific. 

I painted over the gesso with matte acrylic. 

Finally, I added the Glitterific on top of the letters... and then went a little crazy and dabbed it all over the pages.  

It's hard to see in the photo, but Glitterific is well-named. So much glitter and so terrific!

State Names Quiz

I love trivia, especially about our 50 states. I've shared some state-based quizzes here on the blog, including State Capital Trivia, State Capitol Trivia (yes, they're different), and State Flag Trivia. Today's focuses on state names. All the questions can be easily solved by looking at a list of the state names, making it a fun classroom challenge for kids. Try to answer them without the list first!

1. Which seven letters of the alphabet do not begin the names of any state?

2. What are the four states that start and end with the same letter?

3. What is the only state with a one-syllable name?

4. What two states have only a single consonant in their names?

5. What are the first and last states in alphabetical order?

6. What is the only letter of the alphabet not used in a state's name?

7. What are the nine states with double letters in their names?

8. What are the ten states with two-word state names?

9. What two letters start the highest number of states with eight each?

10. What are the twelve states that start with a vowel?

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Bonus points; Name the 15 states I used in the graphic above. For an extra 100 points, pin the graphic, share the post on social media, or email it to a friend. 

1. The letters B, E, J, Q, X, Y,  and Z do not begin the names of any state. 

2. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and Ohio each begins and ends with the same letter. 

3. Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name.

4. Iowa and Ohio are the states with only a single consonant in their names.

5. Alabama and Wyoming are the first and last states in alphabetical order.

6. Q is the only letter of the alphabet not used in a state's name.

7. Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and  Tennessee are the nine states with double letters in their names. 

8. New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia are the ten states with two words in their names. 

9. The letters M and N start the highest number of states with eight each. 

10. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah are the twelve states that start with a vowel. 

Bonus: The states above the text include Iowa, Montana, Florida, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and  Louisiana. Below the text are Ohio, California, Idaho, Washington, Tennessee, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Arizona. 

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How did you do? Let me know in the comments! 

Homemade Envelope for a Cash Gift

Steve and I recently attended the wedding of one of his coworkers. The bride incorporated many aspects of her Chinese heritage into their ceremony and reception, so I did the same for our gift. Rather than just put money in a card, I thought it would be more meaningful to give it in a red envelope. 

You can use these same steps to make an envelope for any occasion where you want to give cash. Use school colors for a graduation gift, or red and green for Christmas. For a wedding gift, take color clues from the invitation or, like I did, the couple's culture. Affiliate links below. 

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Homemade Envelope for a Cash Gift

Materials: 

• 80 lb cardstock
• cash
• removable Glue Dots
• paper trimmer
• score board
• scissors
• corner rounder
• craft glue
• washi tape
• heart sticker

Steps: 

Put a REMOVABLE Glue Dot on each corner of the cash, then adhere it to a sheet of cardstock. Trim away the excess cardstock, leaving a small border around the edge. On the opposite side, write your message. 

Cut a separate piece of cardstock so that it will wrap around your card, with extra room to make the flaps that will hold the envelope together. Currency differs in size depending on your country, so measure if you're using anything besides US bills (which are 6.14 x 2.61"). I cut mine to approximately 13.5" x 6" (nope - I didn't measure). If you want larger flaps than mine, start with a larger piece of cardstock. 

Score the paper as shown below. You need a thin border on the top, left, and bottom, plus another score line in the center. (Again, I didn't measure.) Fold along each line. 

Trim away the tiny rectangles on the top left and bottom left corners, as well as the thin strip on the right-hand side of the top border. Then use the corner rounder on what remains of the top flap. Glue the bottom and long side of the envelope closed. 

Now decorate the envelope with a piece of washi tape. Use a heart sticker to hide where the ends come together. 

When the glue is dry, slide the cash into the envelope, then glue the flap shut. It's a nice way to make cash a little more special. 

Speaking of special... the wedding venue was spectacular. This is Crystal Springs, in Burlingame, CA. 

It's not my place to show pictures of the actual event, but here we are before it began. 

Everything about the wedding was wonderful. Huge congrats to the bride and groom! Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your special day. 

50 State Quarters: Coloring Pages Using Sharpies

I just finished two more coloring pages featuring the 50 State Quarters. Previously, I've colored with Ohuhu markers (Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Wisconsin), used inks as a base and layered colored pencil on top (Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, and Montana), and "painted" with Flair pens (Delaware and Indiana). I colored South Carolina and Maine with classic Sharpies (affiliate link). It was a fun challenge. 

I say "challenge" because Sharpies are not typically used for this type of detailed coloring. They soak through paper, they don't blend, and there is a limited palette. (As it turns out, according to their FAQs, there are 49 different colors. I don't have nearly that many. I just counted - I have 24 colors.) But the #1 reason not to use Sharpies for coloring is the smell. I couldn't work for any length of time before needing to take a break from the fumes. 

Don't think for a minute that I don't like Sharpies. I LOVE Sharpies. One of the earliest blog posts I ever wrote was about why I love Sharpies. They're just not a great choice (for me - you might think differently) for detailed coloring pages. 

Animal Birthday Parties

When we were going through Trevor's things so he could pack for college, we found his collection of many-times-used wrapping paper. Between the ages of about 4 to 6, he would wrap his toys, then throw a party in his bedroom for whichever of his stuffed animals' birthdays it was. (Trevor LOVED stuffed animals.) After many, many parties, the wrapping paper was barely paper anymore, covered in a ton of tape. Most of the Animal Birthday Parties took place when Grandma was visiting, though I attended my fair share as well. 

18-year old Trevor and I did find some treasures amongst the tattered wrapping paper. 5-year old Trevor and I had made birthday cards that could be presented to the Birthday Animal, then tucked away to be reused at the next party. He was in a phase where he enjoyed cutting pieces of scrapbook paper he liked into squares and gluing them to things. 

Trevor was (and is) a rule follower. He would never have broken a rule, but he loved pretending that some of the party guests were misbehaving. Apparently, Trevor and Grandma kept a notebook documenting each of the stuffed animals' less-than-perfect behavior. Trevor titled the list "Bad." Most of the entries are in Grandma's handwriting, but Trevor wrote about Fins and Jagy himself. 

   

For the record, Coyote is a coyote. Flops is a rabbit. Horse is a horse. Snake is a snake. Fins is a seal. Puppet Fish is a fish. Seaweed is an otter. Ears is a rabbit. Bones is a dog. Jagy is a jaguar. 

 

If I had to guess, most of the behaviors Trevor and Grandma documented were ones Trevor had actually seen at birthday parties or in his kindergarten classroom. But not all, hopefully. Flops was mad because he didn't get to go to the party and Snake was mad because he never gets to go to parties, yet they were right there in the same room. They had to watch the rest playing, knowing they weren't invited! This would make me mad too. Sad, actually. Sorry, Flops and Snake. I hope you enjoyed future Animal Birthday Parties.  

Such fun memories of special times with my creative little boy!

Dandelions and Fortune Cookie Messages in the Sketchbook

One of the many things uncovered when Trevor was packing to move into the dorms was a collection of fortune cookie messages. Neither of us remember when he was collecting them. I went through the stack, picked out four that I thought offered the best advice as he's headed off to college, and added them to this dandelion page in my sketchbook. 

 

The right side was already in the sketchbook (here's the tutorial for the dandelions). I didn't like what was on the left side, so I painted over it, glued the fortunes in place, then added the dandelion fluffs and the grass. 

Trevor, please do your best to remember each of these as you navigate through college and beyond: 

• Do not hide your feelings. Let others know where you stand. 
• You will obtain your goal if you maintain your course. 
• The strengths in your character will bring you serenity. 
• People enjoy having you around. Appreciate this. 

Sometimes, there's a lot of wisdom hiding inside a fortune cookie. 

Ten Years of Travel

Steve and I are moving Trevor into the dorms today (!) which means we've been going through a bunch of his stuff recently, as he figures out what he will be taking with him to college. Along the way, we have found some things we're both fine letting go. These include: 

• his extensive collection of barely-recognizable Rainbow Loom art (he gave away the kit itself years ago)
• the vast majority of his Perler Bead creations (we're keeping what fits on the display board) 
• random recyclable items he hoarded when he was young (because everything is a potential craft) 
• a lot of projects involving pony beads and lanyard string
• the projects from four books' worth of Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction (he's keeping the books themselves, for now anyway)

For the next few days, I'll be sharing some treasures we've uncovered. Treasures to me, anyway. After preserving them here on the blog, I'll be able to let them go. 

First up, this United States Field Guide. 

It came in the Little Passports Welcome Packet Trevor received for Christmas when he was 7. He diligently filled out the About Me page with his neatest handwriting. (Now, his handwriting is a barely legible scrawl, but he does know how to spell "because" correctly.) 

In 2013, Trevor had been to six states in addition to his home state of California. Of the remaining 43 states, he was most interested in visiting Texas "beacause it is so big and beacause it has a fort as a picture." Ten years later, shortly after he turned 17, Trevor visited his 50th state. That fort? He didn't visit it on his first visit to Texas in 2018, when we explored Austin. Nor did we see it during his second trip to Texas in 2023, when we spent time in Fort Worth and Dallas. (Despite the name, there is no longer a fort in Fort Worth.) It took a third visit to Texas last spring for Trevor to finally tour the fort in San Antonio that interested him at age 7. 

What a joy to rediscover the Field Guide that first got Trevor so excited about travel! 

It. Goes. So. Fast.

Tomorrow is a big day in the deRosier house. Not just big - huge. Trevor is moving into the dorms at UC Davis. Our only child is going to his top-choice university to study what interests him most in life. He has wanted this for so long; we've wanted it for him even before he knew what a university was. We are thrilled for him and so, so proud. 

But there are other emotions too, of course. Sending your child out into the world is hard, in so many ways. Somehow, 18 years has flown by. My baby is an adult. How?! 

Mary Louise Kelly, host of NPR's All Things Considered, gets it. I just finished listening to her memoir, It. Goes. So. Fast. I loved it. Affiliate link here and below. 

In terms of parenting experiences, Mary Louise Kelly and I don't have a lot in common. She was reporting on war zones during her children's early years; I was a stay-at-home mom, spending my days with other moms at parks and libraries. Her kids had a nanny; Trevor literally never had a paid babysitter. In their teen years, Kelly was live on the air when her kids got out of school; I volunteered at the school and picked Trevor up from school every day. But we both love our children with our whole hearts and we both now know firsthand how quickly the time with them flies by. 

Kelly's book is as much about her career as it is about being a mom, because the two are intertwined. And honestly, if her memoir wasn't about parenthood at all, I would still have loved it. She's had a fascinating career and is such a gifted storyteller. I usually recommend printed books, but in this case, get the audiobook. Hearing her words in her own voice is powerful, especially when she is talking about her sons. Pure love. 

Subpar Parks

I've been doing a lot of jigsaw puzzles lately, on my doctor's orders. (Best prescription ever!) Along with proper rest, healthy eating, and exercise, puzzles help with the brain fog that is associated with cancer treatment. Jigsaw puzzles have many other benefits, including reducing stress, improving short-term memory, and preventing cognitive decline. And not just for cancer patients. Everyone, including children, can benefit cognitively, emotionally, and physically from regularly solving jigsaw puzzles. 

My friend Kathy recently sent me the Subpar Parks puzzle. If you're not familiar with Subpar Parks, you're definitely missing out. Artist Amber Share has illustrated the actual 1-star reviews tourists have left after visiting each of the National Parks. They are hilarious. 

Subpar Parks is also a book. (Affiliate links here and below.) In addition to the illustrated reviews of each park, it has information about the history and features of the National Parks.  

I've been to quite a few of our country's National Parks. I'm a fan. I give the concept of National Parks 5 stars. They are, without a doubt, America'a Best Idea. 

That said, I don't love them all equally. Each park has many 5-star qualities about it, but I definitely think some parks are better than others. I thoroughly enjoyed Gateway Arch, but I don't think anyone could argue that it is better than Yosemite, for example, even at its most crowded. Hot Springs was really neat, but I preferred Acadia. I wouldn't have loved it nearly so much in the winter. I had a fantastic time at Congaree, but an even better time at Badlands... even though it was 105° when we were there. 

Obviously, there are a lot of factors that can impact how much someone enjoys a visit. I can see how crowds, high prices, bad weather, a closed visitor center, aggressive insects, and other factors could completely ruin a park for someone, but I have a hard time seeing how anyone could then leave a 1-star review. I'm glad they did, though. Not only are they really funny, but presumably the authors will not be returning, and that's one fewer miserable person there the next time I visit a National Park.

My Breast Cancer Journey

It has been less than four months since I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It's hard to believe, as it feels like breast cancer has been part of my life for much, much longer. Fortunately, I am at the end of active treatment (surgery and radiation) and now consider myself a breast cancer survivor. 

To be clear, I do not consider myself cancer-free, in remission, or in any way "done" with cancer. I have ten years of endocrine therapy and oncology appointments still ahead of me. I may have late side effects or even a recurrence. But I have survived so far. And I'm doing well. 

Throughout my breast cancer journey, I've been keeping friends and family informed through CaringBridge. I've now copied all of my posts over here to my blog, where anyone can access them without having to create an account. I hope that sharing the details of my journey will help future patients, or their loved ones, to learn more about breast cancer and see one possible outcome. 

https://www.cindyderosier.com/p/my-breast-cancer-journey.html

Crayon Melt State Fruits: Pear, Peach, Strawberry, Watermelon, and Tomato

It's been almost four years since I've pulled out the warming tray to do a crayon melt project. I'm surprised it's been that long, since it's one of my favorite techniques. I love the painterly effect it gives on these, each of which is an official state fruit.  

Pears are the state fruit of Oregon. 

Peaches are the state fruit of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. (Technically, peaches are Alabama's state tree fruit.)

Strawberries are the state fruit of Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina (technically, the state red berry), and Oklahoma.

Tomatoes are the state fruit of Arkansas, Ohio, and Tennessee.

OK, I lied. Watermelon is not a state fruit. It is the state vegetable of Oklahoma. If you think a tomato should be considered a vegetable and watermelon a fruit, don't take it up with me. Botanically, tomatoes are fruit and so are watermelons, but Oklahoma has valid arguments for considering watermelon a vegetable. 

I didn't make crayon melts of all of the state fruits. Others include oranges, apples, huckleberries, blackberries, plums, blueberries, grapes, cranberries, chokecherries, grapefruit, cherries, and pawpaws. Feel free to make those, or anything else, using the technique below. The materials list includes affiliate links. 

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Crayon Melt State Fruits

Materials:

• warming tray
• white paper
• crayons
• microtip scissors
• craft glue

Steps:

Plug in the warming tray. and put a sheet of paper on top. Scraps are perfectly ok. Use crayons to color in the fruits you'll be making. You can blend and layer colors as much as you want. 

I recommend removing the wrappers from the crayons and laying them on their sides for faster, more even coverage. When you do that, you're going to get wax that transfers to the crayon, but that's not a problem. Here you can see that I put the white crayon into an area I'd colored dark green, which blended and transferred to the crayon. To clean it off, just color on a clean area of paper. 

You have two choices when adding details to your project. For the watermelon seeds, I just dotted black crayon directly onto the hot red wax. Since the black shows up really well on red, this is a good option. 

If I'd tried to add the yellow strawberry seeds on top of the red wax while it was hot, they would have blended in too much. Instead, I removed the strawberry, let it cool completely, cut out my shape, then returned it to the warming tray for just long enough to warm up. Then I was able dot on little bits of yellow. 

Don't forget to color the stems and leaves that you'll be using on your fruits. When you've colored everything, unplug the warming tray and let the wax set. Then cut out the shapes using scissors. Glue the leaves and stems to the appropriate fruit. Have fun!

50 State Quarters: Coloring Pages Using Flair Pens

I just finished two more coloring pages featuring the 50 State Quarters. I've previously shared the first four (Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Wisconsin) that I colored with Ohuhu markers and the next four (Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, and Montana) where I used inks as a base and layered colored pencil on top. Can you guess what I used for the Indiana and Delaware coloring pages? 

If you guessed Flair pens, I'm impressed! (Affiliate link here and below.) Specifically, I used this 12-pack of 0.7 mm tip pens. 

I printed the images as 7" circles, which is a ridiculous amount of surface area to fill with a fine tip pen. If I'd colored them in using just the 0.7 mm pens, I would have: 

• run out of ink partway through and had to buy more pens
• wrecked my hand
• lost my mind

Instead, I took advantage of a fun characteristic of Flair pens: they are water-based. By using a moist brush, you can drag the pigment beyond the place where you colored. Look at the tires below. For each tire, I colored part of it solid black, then drew horizontal lines on the remainder. Then I used my brush to blend them out. You can see the difference between the ones I've moistened (left) and the ones I haven't (right). 

Compare the blue outline of Indiana above with the finished project. See the way I dragged the blue in toward the center? I did the same thing with the black outline around the entire design. I really like the effect. And this technique lets you add color to large areas and still save your pen, hand, and sanity. 

A few precautions before you try coloring pages with Flair pens and water. First, print or copy the image onto watercolor paper for the best results. I did a trial run using printer paper and, as expected, it was a disaster. I ended up using Neenah Bristol Vellum because it was the best option that works in my printer. It didn't allow for as much blending as a watercolor paper would, but it didn't fall apart like the printer paper. 

Second, expect to have a lot of drying time. You can't apply Flair pens over moist areas, plus if you moisten two adjacent colors at once, the colors will run. Instead, work on one section at a time and then wait for it to dry before going on to the next area. I worked on both Indiana and Delaware simultaneously so that one could dry while I was working on the other. 

 

To cover a large space with visible texture (like the grass on the Delaware quarter), you can draw lots of little lines. I wasn't consistent in blending it out, but it doesn't bother me that the grass looks inconsistent. What does bother me are the lines on the horse. The 12-pack of Flair pens doesn't have a brown, so I had to use the black pen in different ways on the horse, the tack, and the boot. I suppose I could have used the purple and embraced a horse of a different color. 

I'm looking forward to coloring my next batch of State Quarters using a different method. I've printed out the designs; now I just need to pick my next medium and get started!