Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday so she of course needed a present. I decided to try my hand at some jewelry made using Filigree brads.

To create this necklace, I attached the brad prongs to jump rings to allow me to connect to the ends of the necklace chain and the bead strands.

I would have liked to have used some rhinestone brads to add some bling, but I didn't have any. However, I did have some great ruby colored beads. Using bead wire, I strung the ruby beads with some small round silver beads with a heart on them.


I wanted to present the gift in a nice package

so I altered a small brown chocolate box I had saved (Recycling is good!) by adding a strip of Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper (retired, but a good match with the necklace) to the lid. I also made a paper bow by curling small strips of the same paper and stacking them together.


Happy Birthday Mom!


God Bless and Happy Stamping!

My Digital Studio

I've been playing with My Digital Studio™. I'm finding this software to be very versatile and easy to use. Corporate headquarters at Stampin' Up!™ is presently taking demonstrators through webinar training and certifications to be sure we are fully versed in this product now that it is available for purchase by customers. I'm working on my certifications and have just created my first card. I'll be sending this to the professional printers through Stampin' Up! so that I will have the finished product on display at upcoming classes and workshops.

Since my Stampin' Up! anniversary is approaching, I decided to make an invitation to my upcoming Open House. I will likely use this as part of the evites I will be sending out for the Open House. Again, all the work was done in My Digital Studio.

Here is the front of the card (note, the copyright information is added only for posting on the blog):

And the inside:

One of the things I like about My Digital Studio is that it allows me to create some simple projects without committing anything to paper right away. I can play with colors, layouts, and stamp sets before I start cutting and gluing at my desk. The card layout shown here can easily be transitioned into a traditional paper card using all the products available through Stampin' Up! Although I'm sure I'll be using My Digital Studio for a variety of projects, I think I'll particularly enjoy having the ability to plan my projects electronically before I actually dive into the actual project.

This software will also allow me to better serve you, my customers. If you are struggling with an idea for a project, I can easily produce some layout ideas with a variety of color combinations and then provide them via email. The convenience of a demonstrator living in your craft room!

Be sure to come to my upcoming workshops and of course, the Open House on November 6 so you can see My Digital Studio in action.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

Boo Treat Bag!

Another idea from the folks at Split Coast Stampers ... A boo treat bag just in time for Halloween! This cute little guy is made using three Pillow Boxes cut from Pumpkin Pie using the Big Shot.

The basket takes three pillow boxes, these are cut from Pumpkin Pie card stock and then sponged with Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad Ink. Then following the directions provided in the resource area, I assembled the pumpkin by adhering the boxes end to end. I trimmed the bottoms and the top to make sure everything was even and then added the face. The face was done using a variety of circle punches and free hand shapes that I cut. The handle is made from a strip of Certainly Celery card stock.

Pretty simple and easy. As you will see on Split Coast, you can also adapt this design to a coffee cup.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

October Technique Workshop - DATE CHANGE

Most of you have should have seen the updated Evite, but I wanted to be sure to update here as well. Due to illness, I'm moving our October Technique Class from tonight to October 25 at 4:00 PM. We will still be making the Advent Calendars and I'll have a few October projects you might enjoy- including the new Build A Bear Diecuts. Class fee will be $10, guests are welcome. We are limited to a total of 10 participants so be sure to register in advance.

Please update your calendars and plan to join me on October 24th for this fun class!

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

Golf Party Part 3

Now for the golf course. Most of the holes were constructed using boxes with holes cut in them because I didn't think it would be a good idea to dig holes in our front yard. As I mentioned before, Tessa selected themes for each hole and I then decorated the boxes to represent the theme. I cut holes in the side of each box and then put a cup into the hole so it was easy to retrieve the ball after they sunk their shot. I don't have pictures of all the holes, but I'll post the ones I have.

Our first hole was a sand trap. Here, they just had to dig in a box of sand to find a colored ping pong ball which would become their golf ball. The box was cut and decorated as a sand castle and I put some sea shells around the box. We wrote each child's name on their ball.

The second hole was a music theme hole. I decorated the box with music notes and Hannah Montana pictures that I printed from the Disney website. I cut a hole in one of the music notes and the tee was a drum set that belongs to my son.

Hole three was the soccer themed hole. I used a retired Stampin' Up!™ set (I Love Soccer) to decorate the box and made the front look like a goal net. I cut the hole in the front of the box. Before the hole, I lined up some small orange cones which I use during soccer practice and they had to weave in and out of the cones before hitting it into the box.

The fourth hole was the kitty hole. I wrapped fuzzy yellowish fabric around the box, added a tail and face. The hole was the mouth of the cat.

The fifth hole was the birthday cake hole. I painted this box to resemble the cake I had made, including a candle and little golfer.

The sixth hole was a rock climbing wall. I made a fake rock wall out of some thick Styrofoam and cut hole toward the bottom. Then they just had to hit the ball through the hole and go to the next one.
The seventh hole was the dog hole. For this hole, I made the box look like a dog house. For fun, I added some croquet wickets in front of the hole.

The eighth hole was our water hazard. I used a plastic pan and I cut a frog lily pad out of craft foam and cut a hole in the foam to allow for a small cup. I also floated some plastic frogs in the water.

The final hole was also a birthday theme. I used a giant gift bag on this hole. I put a small box in the bottom of the bag for stability. I cut a hole in the side of the bag as well as the box.

After a round or two of golf, we headed to the 19th Hole (our dining room) for some food- tacos, pulled pork sandwiches, chips, veggies, and popcorn. After supper, we had some cake and opened presents. Before leaving, each party goer got to select a party favor bag from our Pro Shop. They also got to take home their golf club, ball and visors.

I made a map of the golf course using power point. I used this both on the score cards and I posted it at the start of the course.

There you have it, a wonderful and fun golf party, easy to adapt for any child based on their age and personality. Feel free to email me with any questions!

Golf Party Part 2

You've seen the invitation and cake, now for the party favor. This favor was made using the Fancy Favors Bigz Die as well as the Pennant Die for the Big Shot. I punched several boxes using Pumpkin Pie card stock and then several of the small pennants using some pattern felt.

Using my Crop-A-Dile, I punched holes along the side of the pennants to that I could attach them to a pencil like a flag for a golf hole. I filled the Fancy Favor bags with the party loot (I'll describe shortly) and added some shredded green for paper grass on top and then stuck the pencil in. All the favor flags have a 5 since it was Tessa's 5th birthday. I simply used puffy fabric paint to put the 5 on each flag.

For party favors, I bought notepads, the pencils used for the flags and some star shaped stickers. I also bought orange and green pony beads along with golf ball shaped beads. With these beads I made bracelets and zipper pulls to include in the party bags. These types of things are pretty standard party favors in our family. The note pads are always fun for the kids and can easily be customized to fit any party theme. I often use my stamps to make an image that I can add to the notepads to allow for customization.

For activity, we actually played miniature golf in the front yard, course designed by Tessa. I sent them out on the course in foursomes, each with a golf pro (one of my two older daughters). This helped keep the kids moving and not fighting over who got to go next. I made score cards with photos of my daughter and these also served as Thank You notes. They had crayons to take along with them for scoring purposes. The par for each hole was of course, five.

For the clubs, we cut PVC pipe to sizes suitable for the kids' ages. Each piece of pipe had a small slit in one end. I cut a golf club head shape out of a corrugated plastic sign and inserted it into the small slit. I then used orange duct tape to wrap the top to be the handle. Each kid got to take their club home. Before hitting the green, I had each child make a golf visor using foam visors I ordered from an online party supply source. They also were able to practice their swing on our make shift putting green- hula hoops in our side yard and a bucket of wiffle golf balls. These two activities helped kill some time as we waited for enough kids to arrive to start the first foursome.

Using powerpoint, I made a map of our course and added that to the score sheet. I also posted it near the first hole. The map was simple and I relied mostly on clip art available through power point or free on the web. Tessa selected the following holes for her course:

• Hole 1: Sand Trap, a Sand Castle
• Hole 2: Hannah Montana Music
• Hole 3: I Love Soccer
• Hole 4: Meow! - Cat Hole
• Hole 5: I Smell Cake- Birthday Cake Hole
• Hole 6: Rock Climbing
• Hole 7: Fetch! - Dog Hole
• Hole 8: Froggie - Water Hazard
• Hole 9: Birthday Presents
  

In my next post, I will share photos of each hole along with more detailed descriptions.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

Tessa's Golf Party - Part 1

For Tessa's 5th birthday, she decided that she wanted to have a golf theme so I put together a party complete with a 9 hole mini golf course. Sounds like a big endeavour, but was actually quite easy, especially when you add a few die cuts from Stampin' Up!™


First the invitation. I used Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Glorious Green, Whisper White, and Bermuda Bay card stock. The text is printed using my computer and then punched with the Modern Label punch. You'll see the adorable little girl from All in the Family. Since I do not yet own the Accessories for this stamp set, I did not have a golf club so I used the feet from the All in the Family to make one, I just added a handle at the top of of the leg. I will confess that the cake thought bubble and golf bag are not from Stampin' Up!, only because I did not have a set with those images from Stampin' Up! I colored everything using the Water Color pencils from Stampin' Up! The putting green was cut free form by hand.

On the back, I printed the party details onto the Glorious Green and cut it in the shape of a putting green. Using the Backgrounds 1 Texturz plates, I made golf balls from the Whisper White. I first embossed the card stock with the polka dot plate and then punched the circles. When I glued them to the Bermuda Bay, I made sure the bumpy side was down. I was sure to use golf phrases like "play through," "tee time," and "golf pro" to go along with our theme. If you use this idea for a four year old, change all the "fours" to "fore."


For the party itself, I made a golf themed cake. Very simple to make- a sheet cake frosted green with three areas cut out to be sand traps and a water hazard. The water hazard was filled with blue frosting and the sand traps were filled with crushed graham crackers. For the putting green, I created a template of the shape and laid it over the cake while I sprinkled green decorator sugar onto the cake. The trees are made from candies- gum drops and flavored tootsie rolls. The small golfer is a little mini Polly Pocket toy and the golf club was made from a toothpick and part of a gum drop. The golf ball is a Tic Tac. Along the sides of the cake, I added green colored coconut to be the rough.





Check back tomorrow for Part II, Party Favors and the Golf Holes.


God Bless and Happy Stamping!