We love this time of year!! Yes, the summer has come to an end, but it’s the beginning of something new!! And, yes, we know we aren’t in school anymore and thankfully we still have another year before Georgia starts pre-school. But there’s just something about the change in the air that get’s us rejuvenated and ready for the fall.
We are reminded of the past years when we fully participated in the back to school shopping. New notebooks, markers, clothes, and shoes…what’s not to love!?! We may still indulge a little just for fun. And of course there are all the traditions!
Growing up we had several traditions. Shopping with mom, covering our textbooks with brown paper bags, and getting a new backpack were just a few. But our biggest tradition was - of course - “The First Day of School Photo.” Like many families we took this photo in the same spot every year…in front of our front door! In my memories of these photos, you could always see my Grandma’s face peeking out through the windows.
My brother looking very professional on his first day of Kindergarten.
My brother a little more casual, showing off his cool Batman bookbag on his first day of 1st Grade.
The same year as above, on my first day of the 5th Grade. Matching shirt and socks a must!! Not seen in the photo...my super cool french braid.
A little bit older. 8th grade & 4th Grade. Apparently we were ok with being in the same photo this year.
We love any opportunity to take a similar photo every year. Some people photograph their child when the school bus arrives. Others pick a background in their yard. It’s always a nice retrospective to keep a photo from each year in one album. The outfits are a time capsule in themselves. Plus, you get to see how your yard changes and the trees grow over the years.
This is Hannah starting her first day of 1st Grade! So grown-up. Her mom took the classic school bus photo! We love the yellow of the bus and we think it captures the moment perfectly!! I'm sure they will treasure this one forever.
This is Rose & Kate. They are two of my cousins. Every year they take a picture in front of the big oak tree across from their house in front of the town's elementary school. Both of my aunts excel at taking these kinds of photos. They even have a halloween album, a sisters album, and a cousins album which they include photos from specific times of the year. I always love flipping through them when I visit.
Rose (4th Grade). Kate (7th Grade)
This is Jane's first tree photo. She wasn't even in school yet, but couldn't be left out of this photo.
Rose (6th Grade). Kate (9th Grade)
Jane (Pre-School) . Kate (Senior Year), Rose (8th Grade)
My husband, Chad, coming home from his first day of school. circa: 1980-something. Love the bus shot!
Truth be told: I'm not sure if this is the first day of school, but I'd like to think it is. This is the man I married!!
Again, might not be the first day of school photo, but how do I stumble across this gem and not post it on the internet. Sorry ladies, he's taken!!
To celebrate this time of year we made a Limited Edition Collection of Back-To-School themed note cards. They are perfect for writing a note to your child that can easily be tucked into their lunch box. Has anyone seen that Post-It commercial, where the mom leaves her daughter a note in her lunchbox on a Post-It? Not sure if I’m still coming off the emotions of the P&G Olympic Commercials or if I’m just a sap, but it gets me a little choked up every time. Our cards give you a chance to make that same impact in your child’s life with a little more style.
These cards can also be used when sending your teacher a quick thank you note. Or you can take it one step further and order a pack to give as a thoughtful teacher’s gift…because really how many candles can one teacher use?
We were inspired by this bright, fun cardstock we found at Michael’s and these encouragement stamps we bought from Hobby Lobby!
We chose a smaller card (4.25x5.5) with your child’s lunch box in mind. We cut the paper down and layered the different patterns on top of each other.
For half the cards we used pattern on pattern and the other half we chose the lined school paper as the center element. This gives you another opportunity to customize the card. You can either write the recipient’s name or a short message. We then hand embossed the encouragement stamps using gold embossing powder and mounted them on contrasting colored card stock.
We hope you are having a fantastic Back-To-School 2012!! We’d like to leave you with this article we recently read in the Huffington Post. If you thought those P&G Olympic Commercials made you cry, you haven’t experienced anything. Get the tissues out for this one. It’s beautifully written and it hit home for us.
We’d love to see some of your first day of school photos. Send them to us at jac@lovejac.com and we’ll post them on our Facebook page!
Have a great week!