Open House Dinner Party

Every year Stampin' Up! brings out a new catalog with lots of new toys to create with.  I love sharing them with my friends/customers so every year I go all out with decorations, treats, displays, and a fun evening.  One of them is the 5 new colors, available for 2 years only, that Stampin' Up! introduces. This year the new colors are Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron & Tip Top Taupe.  With colors like these, who wouldn't think of food?  This year was my first ever dinner party and I have a few photos to share with you.  The theme I chose for this year's party was Vintage Garden Party.

My Menu -

Light Salmon Salad Sandwiches with Delightful Dijon

Cucumber Crush Salad 

Mini Watermelon Wonder Slices

Mint Macarons

Iced Tea

In this photo you'll see my menu card for my guests to see before dinner was served.

In the background you will see a mini bonnet & flower pot.  I was unable to do as much decorating on them as I had wanted to so I invited the girls to come back & I will show them how to make the paper flowers that I had planned on using.  I'll show you those photos later.  The flower pot needed a couple more accessories, photos later.

At the top of the photo are hand-stamped gift bags.  I'll post a close-up later.

These glass milk jars are so cute.  I decorated them with Soft Suede Cardstock and lace.  The paper straws, from Michaels, were a perfect match for the Mini Macarons. 

I took a Hershey's candy bar and wrapped with Soft Suede Cardstock, lace & Gold Sequin Trim.

Instead of after dinner mints I had vanilla and watermelon salt-water taffy.

Weekly Deals For Jul 7 to Jul 14

Confetti Hearts Border Punch [137415] $22.00 $15.40	Crumb Cake 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon [138428] $9.00 $6.75	Floral Frames Framelits Die [127012] $27.00 $20.25	Hamburger Box Bigz Xl Die [133724] $43.00 $30.10
Kraft Tag A Bag Gift Bags [138315] $3.50 $2.63	Merry Moments 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock Assortment Pack [139007] $7.00 $5.25	Mossy Meadow 5/8" Striped Cotton Ribbon [138419] $7.00 $5.25	Night Of Navy 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon [134571] $7.00 $5.25
Ornate Tag Topper Punch [137416] $23.00 $16.10	Timeless Elegance 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock Assortment Pack [139008] $7.00 $5.25	Whisper White 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon [138429] $9.00 $6.75

On Point

Good morning to you.

I am finally recovered after my Open House/Dinner Party from last week.  It took up a lot of time, it was a lot of work, didn't get everything done that I wanted to do, but all in all it was a success.  I think everyone had a very enjoyable evening.  I will share photos and more about the evening in the next few days.

The weekend was a good one for me.  Saturday was a really nice day weather wise here in Topeka.
I got out around lunch time as I had to go to an urgent care center for a script of my pain pills, take it to the pharmacy, grocery shopping and lunch.  I made it back home around 330p with an hour of creating before I left for church at 430p.  Pastor is really good at combining patriotic holidays with his message/service.  Donna and Melanie sang "American Tears."  Oh my gosh, I was sobbing like a baby!  What an emotional song that is.

I like the color combo of Night of Navy and Blushing Bride so when I saw this week's color challenge from Pals Paper Arts, I was inspired to create this card.

Recipe:

Cardstock - Whisper White, Cucumber Crush

Stamps - Watercolor Wings

DSP - Envelope Paper In Color 2015-2017

Ink - Watermelon Wonder, Night of Navy

Pretty Accessories - Night of Navy 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon, Neutrals Designer Buttons 

Cool Tools - Big Shot, On Point TIEF, Paper Snips

Weekly Deals For Jun 30 - Jul 7

2" Circle Punch [133782] $18.00 $13.50	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers [133654] $15.00 $10.50	Brights Sequin Assortment [138389] $5.00 $3.50	Build A Banner Kit [138379] $23.00 $17.25
Calypso Coral 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon [134569] $7.00 $4.90	Classy Designer Buttons [138393] $6.00 $4.20	Fun Flower Punch [133785] $18.00 $13.50	Fuse Fast Adhesive [129026] $10.00 $7.50
Pretty Petals 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock Assortment Pack [139001] $7.00 $5.25	Silver Sequin Trim [138399] $5.00 $3.75	Smoky Slate Thick Baker’S Twine [138415] $3.50 $2.63

Thinking of You

Hi.  How are you?  Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Last night was my monthly demonstrator stampin meeting.  Since my birthday is Monday, I made one of my favorite cakes to share with everyone.  It was sooo good, unfortunately there is half a cake left over and I just don't need the sugar or the calories so I'm hoping to get it into the freezer before I eat the whole thing.   Forgot to mention it was a white cake, white frosting and coconut on top!  Yum.

I found the meeting very productive.  Lisa showed us how to make a darling little paper treat bag that I will be sharing with you soon.  We enjoyed sharing our swaps and learning which new stamp was used from our new catalog.  Next month Monique and Joy are hosting a pool party where we will have 4 new make and takes, more swaps (all using Pool Party Cardstock).  I'm going to provide some business tools.  Did I mention the taco bar and snacks?  Yes, for lunch we are going to have a taco bar which everyone will be providing all of the necessities for one of my favorite meals.  And also everyone was asked to bring a sweet snack.  I did get permission to bring peanuts - no carbs!   :)  And last, but not least, lots of time for dips in the pool.  It's good to be me!

Ok, so on to my card for today.  This is another card from my Masculine Card Class.  I just love this card. I've never really used this stamp set before.  Since I don't have it, I borrowed Lisa's. I enjoyed using it so much that I spent several days making quite a few cards.  Will be sharing those soon also.

Recipe:

Cardstock - Whisper White

Stamps - Work of Art, Moon Lake

Inks - Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Memento Tuxedo Black

Pretty Accessories - Linen Thread, Whisper White Square Envelope 3-3/8" x 3-3/8"

Take Out Box

Good morning everyone.  I have been really busy with my 3 c's - cleaning house, creating & I have forgotten the other one and no time to look it up!  Oh well.  I have also been taking care of several medical issues and seeing several different doctors.  Just one appointment takes up a couple of hours a day!  And of course, one must eat and it is easier to eat out than to come home and fix something and clean up afterwards.  I've succumbed to the marketing overload we have been hit with.  Now that I am aware of how unhealthy fast foods and eating out is, it's very hard to change that but I keep trying.

I recently had a class where we focussed on masculine gifts and cards. Today's project is just awesome.  We decorated one of our Take Out Boxes to look like a vest.  Isn't it adorable?  Hmm, who should I send this to?

Recipe:

Cardstock - Kraft, Basic Gray

DSP = Adventure Bound

Stamps - Traveler

Ink - Basic Gray

Cool Tools - Note Tag, Bow Builder and 1/8" Handheld Punches

Accessories - Basic Metal Buttons, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Velcro 

Weekly Deals For Jun 16 to Jun 23

1" Square Punch [124094] $16.00 $12.00	Circle Card Thinlits Die [133480] $33.00 $24.75	Gold Stampin' Glitter [133457] $4.00 $3.00	Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [129378] $7.50 $5.63
Marina Mist 1/4" Cotton Ribbon [134561] $6.00 $4.50	Sweetheart Punch [133786] $16.00 $12.00	Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon [134550] $7.00 $5.25	Whisper White 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon [134573] $7.00 $5.25

A Flower For You

Hi everyone.  Did you have a good weekend?  It's amazing what I can/can't get done when there's nothing on TV to entertain me. Yesterday I noticed that while I was in my work room I didn't see all the things that needed to be done so today I brought my "to do" list with me and hopefully/prayerfully I can check some of them off.  Say a little prayer for me as Aretha Franklin would say.

I can't remember if I made this pretty flower yesterday or Saturday but once I got started it wasn't so bad.   Because this was my first flower, I kept putting it off as I knew it was going to challenging.  The petals and stamens are die cut from the Bouquet Bigz Die and glued together with my hot glue gun.  There is a vertical slit at the bottom of each petal that allows you to overlap the two sides.  I used the bone folder to break down the fibers of the cardstock to make them more pliable and curl the edges.  Hope it brings a smile to your face today!

Recipe:

Cardstock - Hello Honey, Mint Macaron

Cool Tools - Big Shot, Bouquet Bigz Die, hot glue gun and bone folder 

Rustic Wedding Congratulations

Friday I went to Kansas City with my friend Chrys shopping for scrapbooking supplies.  I cannot believe that Kansas City only has one scrapbooking store now.  Everyone else has shutdown and the larger ones have only on-line shopping.  Still, we had lots of fun and we ate at my favorite restaurant Strouds.  I plan to go back sooner

Country rustic weddings are so popular now.  You will see Mason Jars used for holding candles including using them as lanterns or decorations on the tables, putting crayons in them for the kids.  Rustic wooden crates for holding cards.  Wood slats for signs saying wedding or one for the bride and groom. Wooden crates for holding cupcakes.  Tin containers for iced drinks, cutlery, flowers. Wheelbarrows for holding the gift bags.  Burlap, twine & jute for bows, flowers, wrapping, ring bearer pillow, banners and so much more.  I love Pinterest!

My card today is just for such an occasion and I love how it turned out!  

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.

Recipe:

Cardstock - Basic Black, Basic Gray, Whisper White

Stamps - Stippled Blossoms, Itty Bitty Banners

Inks - Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark

Cool Tools - Big Shot, Ovals and Bitty Banner Framelits Dies, Stylish TIEF, Heat Tool, Dimensionals

Pretty Accessories - Black Embossing Powder, Pearls Basic Jewels, White 1-3/4" Jute Ribbon