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!

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!

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!

Trip to the EU Convention

The convention trip started out a bit rocky. Anna was complaining she was sick the night before, and I was completely stressed out (as usual.) By morning, Anna was throwing up, and James HAD to work, so I didn't know if I would be able to join Kelly at convention! I thought she might just have to go by herself. Also, I caught Anna's stomach bug as well.

James was able to get home with just enough time, and he drove us to the Munich Airport. (We were supposed to take the train instead...first problem with the train on this trip!) We get there, and get to London just fine. Then we try to take another train...first we buy the tickets from a woman we cannot understand at all, and she doesn't write down how or where we need to transfer.

Kelly and I figured that the trains would be like the German ones...yeah...

Then we get to the first stop (which we luckily asked someone if it was the right stop!) The platforms are packed and there are NO TRAINS!!! Come to find out, the subway people are having a strike, and there is also a problem with the lines so trains are super delayed! So, we take a black cab out to the hotel. Screw the train! :)

We get to the hotel and start meeting/re-meeting our friends from last year. We have some food and I become the "designated walker" and spend some time in the hotel bar.

Kelly then woke up at 2am and we started crafting. I don't know how we did it, but we brought ribbon, paper, scissors, adhesive, markers...and no stamps! So we were able to make two cards with no stamps, but it was REALLY hard to find inspiration. :)

In the (real) morning we went to convention (yeah!!!) and had fun swapping cards, finding friends from last year, and buying things! That night (Friday) was the awards dinner for the EU demos. Well, with knowledge of how last year's dinner went, Kelly and I knew that we didn't want to sit through that again! So, we decided to go into London for a show!!!!

Not wanting to deal with yet another train, we took a cab. Our hotel told us it would be about a 30-45 minute drive, so we left just over an hour before we were supposed to be there...yeah. London traffic is (almost) as bad as Honolulu traffic! It took 1 1/2 hours to drive 12 miles! We were late for our show. :( That meant that we had to stand at the back of the theater. However, it was still the best thing! Plus, I got to say, "Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament!"

We saw "We Will Rock You." I HIGHLY recommend it!! I could go on forever talking about the show. Just take my word for it and go see it! I'm a huge Queen fan anyway, so I probably would have liked it even if it wasn't amazing. :)

We then had to wait in the rain for an hour for the cab to come back, but the trip back was VERY fast!

Saturday morning was more convention. We started with crafting, then we learned some more things, and then we got a free stamp set and a sneak preview of the HUGE sale coming up in January!!

Then 19 of us crazy SU! demos went out to dinner and I had a carvery dinner, which I was told was a traditional British dinner. The night was very crazy, but we had a wonderful waitress who put up with us. However, I'm sure I saw all the people seated around us breathe a sigh of relief when we stood up to leave!

Back at the hotel we commandeered the mezzanine and crafted for a long time. We made some very cute products!

Sunday morning it was time to come back to Germany. We took a cab to the airport and there was an old car race. Old, as in the crank type! It was so cool. The pictures aren't very good because we were in the car, but it was so neat to see.

Then, because we have to have more problems with the train this weekend, they changed our platform at the last minute for our train in Regensburg! We made it with just seconds to spare. At least we did make it.

It was a wonderful weekend. I am so glad that Stampin' Up! let us come again this year. I wish that we could join them next year at Disneyland!

Very Thankful!

Right now, I'm thoroughly enjoying the European Stampin' Up! Convention! However, I still have a craft I can show you that I made this week before I left.

I didn't come up with this idea myself. It was something I saw on Stampin' Connection. Stampin' Connection is just another perk of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! Ask me for more information on how you can get the perks for yourself!

To make this, I took 12x12 cardstock and cut it into 4x12 inch pieces. I then scored my 3 strips every 3 inches. Fan-fold the pieces, and then glue the end of one strip to the beginning of another. For the word "Thankful" I cut off 6" from one strip to make 8 rectangles along the length of the strip.

Then I cut out coordinating rectangles and put glue right along 3 of the edges. This made a pocket for my vanilla card stock tags to slip in and out of the pockets. A few punches, some stamps, and letters cut out from my Big Shot, and I now have a centerpiece for Thanksgiving, that can then be turned into a scrapbook for all your favorite Turkey Day memories!

Off to London!

Well, the day has finally come! Kelly and I are off to London to join the European demonstrators for their convention! If we have internet in the hotel, I will try to update this blog with pictures and crafts. I am so excited! I will leave you some pictures from last year's convention.

Be a Sister To Every Girl Scout

My daughter is in her second year of being a Daisy Girl Scout! She loves it so much. The girls are working on earning their petals. This week was the violet petal, "Be a sister to every girl scout." A great way to "be a sister" is to meet another troop, or to swap gifts with the another troop. My friend is a leader for a Cadet troop, so we made paper clip bookmarks for the troop!

Luckily, my friend, Kelly, just received these HUGE paperclips in the mail! She came over to craft, and let me steal some of the clips for the girl scouts. A few punches and die cuts, and the girls had a project! The Daisies had fun making this craft, and enjoyed learning about being a sister.

The flower on the right is for our Daisy chore chart we created for the girls.

Halloween Party! (Part 2)

I know it's past Halloween, but I have to show you the other things I made for the party! You can see some of the other items here. The first is an award I made for the costumes. OK. I didn't really make it. :) It was a template found online. Why recreate, when you can find wonderful things online? :)

Then I made special treats for the winners of the costume contest. I love the Top Note die! It is just perfect for simple treat bags.

The party was a complete success! The kids had so much fun! Please ask if you have more questions.

Take a Note

I had so much fun designing the sticky note holders, I had to make more! These ones are rectangle coasters, covered in DSP, a stamped image, and the sticky notes. How easy is that? I love simple crafts that make a stunning impression!

If you love these as much as I do, make sure you come to the craft fair on the 13th!

Bring on the Bracelets!

With the success among the teenage crowd of our bottlecap necklaces, Kelly and I decided to make some more home-made jewelry for the upcoming craft fair. Remember, it's November 13th on Rose Barracks, building 134 (behind the fire station). I hope to see you there!

Anyway, we went bracelet-crazy! My kids also had a lot of fun modeling the bracelets!

These are pretty easy to make once you learn the technique. I will try to explain. If you still don't get it, I would be very happy to try to make a photo tutorial for you!

 Supplies:

24" stretchy clear cording
6 buttons (more if you are using smaller)
Black beads
Scissors

Take your cording and find the middle point. Then take a button and put one end through a hole. Take the other end of the cording and put it through the same hole, going the other way. So, you have one end going from the top to the bottom, the other going from the bottom to the top.

Tighten the cording down until it reaches approximately the middle of the 24" of cording.

Now do the same thing again. Take the cording at the top of the button and put it down through the next hole, and the bottom string goes up through the next hole.

All you have to do now is string some beads on both strings at the same time. Then add another button, until it wraps around your wrist.

I then put the cording through the first button again, the same way, and tie off tight.

Wear with pride!