You'll never know how disappointed I am with this post... Well, not the post itself exactly, but the circumstances surrounding it... You see, I'd had this particular entry planned since February 1... The day I mailed out the Trout Duo challenge stamp set to the Cookies... I had chosen the set strategically:
- I knew they'd never done anything with a predetermined masculine bend, and
- I was planning to unveil their creations, this post, and the blog giveaway on April 1 -- the first day of fishing season here in Maine. Such clever timing!
Imagine anticipating all that for so long, then getting the flu! Yup, a true disappointment. I think it might have been the biggest April's Fool joke ever!
Anyway, before I get to the Cookie projects and giveaway, I want to share a little bit about the Trout Duo set... My hubby is actually the artist, and the image came about after he and another teacher applied for, and received a grant to teach a conservation-type unit on brook trout in connection with a local stream called Finn Brook.
I can't give you all the details, but the real fish arrive in Mark's classroom as eggs from a hatchery, and his fourth graders monitor the hatching and growth for several months... Then they all take an expedition to Finn Brook, and release the surviving fishlings into the wild. There's a lot which goes into it, and the children learn oodles in a very hands-on way...
Well, one of the things each student does at the onset of this trout unit is to create his/her own science folder. Just one problem... left to their own devices, and being the fish they see are initially eggs, most of the 9-11 year old hand drawn renditions of a trout, look like something out of "Finding Nemo..." Realism eludes them.
This both disturbed and frustrated hubby to the point of his uttering,
"If only there was a stamp..."
I started laughing like a hyena -- In our house there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of stamps!
"But you know what I mean -- the right stamp..."
More laughter -- every stamper's plight, finding the "right" stamp...
"Mark, honey, if you want to draw one, there can be a stamp... I own a stamp company!"
This time the laughter was shared.
A week or so later, hubby had the artwork ready, and the wheels were set in motion for the Brook brothers, "Finn" and "Finn Jr." to swim into rubber.
I must confess, not all the Cookies were thrilled with finding this image the mailbox, but each still did a wonderful job using it. Their card projects can be seen HERE...
And as always, when there's a smART Cookie Challenge, I'm launching a little contest for someone to win her own set of the same stamps used in the challenge... For your chance at winning Trout Duo, here's what you've got to do:
Go take a look at all the Cookie creations then swim back here and comment on your favorite. A winner, will be chosen by Mark, and announced here on Friday (April 11).
Comments