DIY: Make The First Day Of School Memorable!

My eldest nephew is starting kindergarten and I can't help but feel bittersweet about it.

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It's a huge milestone if you think about it. His life will never be the same. Gone are carefree days. From now on, school will be a major part of his life. Yes, I'm being a bit dramatic. It's just kindergarten afterall. I suppose I'm projecting my own icky feelings about school onto him. Haha. He's actually very excited!
I asked him if we should have a back to school (or in his case, first day of school) party and strangely he said no. Still, I wanted to do something for him so I made this first day of school frame to capture this time in his life.
I was going to get an old frame from the thrift store but I was at Michael's so I picked up these stretcher bars:

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I've used these before when I made the seating chart for my friend's wedding in June and I love how easy they are to work with.

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I like that they come in a variety of sizes allowing you to customize your work. I made mine 16" x 20".

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I lucked out when I came across this coloured wooden apple. It was just what I was going for! I thought I was going to have to make one.

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I spray painted the frame a matte black to emulate a black board then used white foam letters that I had left over from the love quote canvas and seating chart from previous projects. These foam letters are awesome! I've used them on three different projects and I still have a bunch of letters left.

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I put a K on the apple to represent Kindergarten.  My sister can use this for all her boys and just change the K to 1, 2, 3 etc. depending on the grade they are entering.

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(The apple is attached to the frame with foam tape)

I think it'll be a cute little tradition!