Unique Tree

The holidays this year are going to be a little odd for our family! We have put in a special call to Santa, and he is going to come to our house on the night of the 4th! The dates ran up on me a bit, what with convention and the craft fair, and I didn't realize that I should have already started the advent calendar and things!


So, our family made our Christmas tree this weekend! We took four shades of green Stampin' Up! cardstock and traced our hands and then cut them out. The kids then drew scenes on some of the hands and decorated with snowflake stickers I had in my stash.

We then put all the hands up onto this post that's in the middle of our main room in the house.

From the top of the post, I then wrapped the string from the Stampin' Up! advent calendar (only on sale through the end of the month...contact me to buy before they are gone!) Then I hung the boxes down.

I love how it turned out! I can't believe how fast time is coming!

Craft Fair...A Success!!!

Kelly and I finally had our craft fair! I think it was just in time! Our tables were so full, it looked like they might have collapsed from the weight of our products! We earned enough to cover our fun-time expenses from London last week--which was our goal! Thank you to all of you who came out! It was so much fun to create, share, and talk!

Check out the Before...

& After pictures!

For those of you thinking of putting on your own craft fair, here's a small list of the things that sold and didn't.

Best sellers:

skinny bags filled with M&Ms and a seasonal topper
bottlecap necklaces
Snowman/Reindeer Poop
Reindeer Food
Flip-flop scrapbooks
Tag Scrapbooks
Camera Scrapbooks
candy canes with cute punch characters on them
set of 10 Christmas cards with envelopes
"Homemade" fudge
Post-it note holders
gift bags
Christmas Ornaments

What didn't sell that we thought would:

Snowman soup
Other covered chocolate bars
DSP covered notebooks
Button bracelets
Stamped candles
Luminaries

Quick Treat Holders

I received a swap from Laurence Desnos at the EU convention. It was a simple treat holder, and I knew I just had to make some for the craft fair! (I know, the craft fair was two days ago...I will post tomorrow about how it went and what sold/didn't!)

To make these, I took a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and cut it into four 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 sheets. I then scored each of these, on the 5 1/2 side, at 2 1/2 and 3. Then I wheeled one side in Versamark and embosses in silver. After that, decorate how you want (I sponged the edges in silver and put a greeting on them). Take the Word Window punch and punch through both sides of the pouch at one time to make "handles."
 

Using sticky strip, put a cello bag upside down on the back flap of the holder. (I cut about 1 1/2 inches off the top of the bag.) After that, put a few candies into the bag and fold over, so the bottom of the cello bag is even with the top. This holds the treats in. How clever! Then simply run ribbon through the top to hold closed!

I Love What I Do!

Would you like to do it too?

Stampin' Up! has just announced an AMAZING deal for new recruits! You can get the Starter Kit or Digital + Starter Kit for only $87.50!!

That price is 50% off the normal price of the already great deal that is the starter kit! You will get over $310 of paper or digital crafting and business supplies for only $87.50!

Contact me today if you are interested in joining my team!

One More Day...

Ok, ok, last day of things from the EU convention. I promise! I went through my HUGE stack of swaps and picked out some of my favorites. I know you want to see them, right?

This wonderful ornament came from Bianca Schmitt. I can't wait to see it on my tree this year!

Another Ornament, this one made from Shrinky Dinks comes from Rose Jones.

Wonderful Winter Post card from Dörte Kessling.

Another ornament. This one had no name on it. If it's yours, let me know!

Adorable punch reindeer made by Lisa Runnalls.

Three cards using this set that I think I now have to have! Clockwise, they are by Rachel Booth, Melanie Reid, and Debbi Taylor.

Gorgeous distressed card by Gabi Guth.

Trendy friends by Carole Claxton.

Beautiful card by Susan Geringer.

Friends card by Maria.

 I hope you enjoyed these swaps as much as I did!

Swaps

I received some AMAZING swaps from the EU Convention last week! My friend, Kelly, posted most of them online. Here are two that I got that were very pretty! If you'd like to see more, let me know!

The first comes from Emma. I don't have this stamp set. That's probably my favorite part of swaps...but it's my checkbook's least favorite! :)

This next card is gorgeous! I also don't have this stamp set. I just can't believe Barbara embossed every single one of her lovely swaps herself!

Stupid Hour Part II

Earlier this week, I showed you what happened late at night (early morning really) at the EU convention. Well, on Saturday night, we also got together and had a shoebox swap! Many of us brought crafts to share with each other.

I didn't get to take a picture of all the things we made, but here are the ones I did get.

Sandra brought this for us to make! I didn't do it exactly like the example. I love how every one came out differently, even though they were all the same color!

Abi brought a gift card holder for us to make. Inside there is a little pocket, perfect for holding a gift card!

Angie brought this gorgeous Circle Circus card for us to make. I love its simplicity!

Emma showed us how to make a 2-4-6-8 box. I had to fold it down in order to get it into my bag, and I love the way it looks now, like the original as well too!

Thanks, ladies, for coming and crafting with the crazy Americans!

Love for my Airman!

Sorry everyone, I'm going to take a small break from showing you some crafts today. I promise that there will be more Stampin' tomorrow!

Today I would like to talk about my wonderful Airman, James. He is a wonderful husband and father. He is our own personal hero! James joined the Air Force straight out of high school, and we married a year later. Being a military wife is trying sometimes, but it is very worth it!

Thank you to all the men, women, and family members who sacrifice daily.

Stupid Hour At It's Finest!

My Stampin' Up! team is called the "Stupid Hour Inkers." This comes from us crafting until that hour in the night where everything just becomes silly and we laugh about every stupid little thing!

Well, Kelly and I had two Stupid Hours hit us while at the European Convention! The first was on Friday. Kelly couldn't sleep and woke up around 2 am! After trying, and failing, to fall back asleep, we decided to craft! (What else is there, really!?!)

In all our genius, we brought paper, scissors, a trimmer, DSP, every single marker from Stampin' Up!, and even rhinestones...we forgot stamps. Yes, we are silly!

We still came up with some very cute cards! I had no idea how to do an iris card, so my card is this:

Mind you, I was wearing my old glasses instead of my contacts, and it was 3 am. I might not have followed the tutorial for an iris card, and it might not be the prettiest thing ever, but I still really like it!

Kelly came up with this card:

She simply used a sheet of DSP and accented Stampin' Up!'s already wonderful paper designs with rhinestones. A little faux sponging around the edges from a marker, and it's a very cute card!

Samples from Convention

 I'm very sorry that I couldn't keep everyone in the loop during convention! Internet was so very expensive in the hotel! So, now I have so much to catch up on!! Here are some of the examples from the boards at convention. Enjoy!