Making Journals

For the new year, I decided to put together some Journal kits and have the ladies in my Bible study over to make them.  They can be used to write down prayers, Bible verses, thankful times, etc.  Here is one that I made as a sample to show the ladies what to do.  I love how it turned out and will keep this one for myself!

I created a variety of kids and I included the cut papers, some stamped items, a Bible verse and some embellishments for them to assemble their journals.  It took several days to make all of the kits.  I put all of the pieces together in a plastic bag so that they wouldn't get lost or mixed up.  

Here is a pic showing the different journal kits that the ladies could choose from.  I made a total of 20 of them!  I used a lot of retired Stampin Up designer papers and some various die cuts.  I got the composition notebooks at Walmart. 

Then I invited the ladies over to my house for a Tea Party get-together night and we made our journals after the food portion of the evening.  

Because not all of the ladies could come on the same night, I offered two different dates for them.  Here are some of the ladies enjoying dessert.  (I forgot to take a photo of them with their journals.)  

We had a lot of fun eating, chatting and working on our journals.  The ladies were excited to make the craft and were surprised at how easy it was to put them together.  

I supplied glue sticks and glue dots along with some scissors to cut out the stamped images.  There was so much creativity going on!  :)

What a fun night that we had!  Now what can I plan for our next ladies' get-together?  

 

Tea Party Favors

To go along with my "Tea Party" card class, I made these cute little tea favors.  They're made using a 6x6" square of designer paper and come together so quickly.  I added a tea bag, a granulated honey packet and a little spoon. 

I had so much fun making them that I made a LOT!  I decided to bring them to my demonstrator's meeting for each of the ladies. 

To keep it simple, I used all green designer papers, including the pretty Garden Lane and the Peaceful Poppies paper.

I found the spoons at the Dollar Store and tied a green ribbon around each one.  Then I stamped the Cup of Cheer from the Cup of Cheer stamp set.  If you'd like to make these, and trust me, you won't be able to make just one, click here for instructions from Chic n' Scratch.  You'll be glad you did.  :)

In the Tea Room

This week I decorated the pretty copper tins from Stampin Up's Tea Room Suite.  I thought the ladies who come over for stamping would like something a little different so I focused on the tins and some matching cards to go along with them.  The tins can be used to hold whatever you'd like: tea bags, small notes, and of course, some candy. 

We started with the tins; we had a good time making them look so pretty.  I copied the idea from Laura Fiorelli Allen, who always does such nice work.  Although it's hard to see, we used the copper vinyl stickers on all of the projects to add some detail work.

The first card was made using the Springtime Impressions cut outs.  We cut it out in vanilla and then sponged some Bermuda Bay onto it to give it some dimension.  Then I added a copper banner and an embossed saying.  The butterfly is one of the stickers.

We used some of the Tea Room designer paper for the card and for the flap on the matching envelope.  This idea is from Fran Sabad.

Everyone loved this card!

Our next card was made to match the tins, using the stamps from Time for Tea set.  Each item is stamped and then cut out using the framelits and added to the card.  Note the cute scallop at the bottom.  This is one of the framelits from this set!

Last up is a copper-themed card using some dsp from last year's Christmas papers.  We added the copper ribbon and some copper embossing.  The cute cut-out heart is from Stitched Labels framelits.  Quick, easy and very impressive.  This idea is from Leonie Schroder.

At the end of each class, I have the ladies vote which card or project that they liked the best.  All 3 cards received votes, but the tins didn't receive a single one!  And they were supposed to be the "star" of the class.  If it's any consolation, I did like the tins.  :)

Hope You're Feeling Special Today

This week I made some projects using one of last year's stamp sets that I never got to use, A Nice Cuppa.  

I started with this cute tea pot card and took out the saying,"I hope you're feeling Special today... because that's just what you are!"  I made this card last year at a fellow SU demonstrator friend's house.  I modified it just a bit to coordinate with the Succulent Garden designer paper colors.

Next, I made a square tea cup card to match that says, "You are totally awesome.  And I am totally grateful."  I was feeling quite positive and I wanted to use some sayings that would make the recipient feel loved.

The tea-bag holder made with the envelope punch board was a quick and easy envelope that you can put in a tea bag, a small gift or a note to someone.   It says, "You are Tea-riffic."  Cute, huh?  I got my ideas from Belinda Blom and Pootles.com.  

Then I finished it all up with a large clothespin that I made into a magnet for the fridge that says, "It's a good day."  When I was all done with the projects, I couldn't even decide which one that I liked best. 

I guess I just liked them all.  :)

Time for Tea!

I love to plan and have parties!  I love the planning, preparation and hosting.  Last month I held a Tea Party at my home that included tea and food, door prizes, games and then some stamping projects with a "tea" theme!
 
Part of the fun was collecting vintage tea cups, plates, teapots, cloth napkins and some doilies to decorate with.  I found this little vintage bird cage at a local consignment shop.  I just love how it worked so well with my theme!

I picked up this chalk board at a garage sale for $3 and hung it on the wall in my kitchen.

For the party favors, I sewed some little "tea bag" sachets and filled them with lavender.  I tied the tea bags together with a bow and added some matching tea cups for the tags.  I found the idea for them on Pinterest by Laurraine Yuyama.  I had a lot of fun making these, but they took way longer than I expected to make!  (I made 30 sets!)

 I asked the ladies to "dress for tea" and to wear hats if they had them.  There were prizes for the best dressed. 

 Of course I made cucumber sandwiches.  What would a tea party be without them? 

 There was also egg salad and tuna sandwiches, fruit, some pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and an assortment of delicious desserts and scones!






I even made the name tags shaped to look like a tea cup!

After we had tea and plenty of food, we played some games and then made some stamping projects- my favorite part!  

I ended up having the tea party on two different days so that I could accommodate everyone's schedules and have room in my home!  Both days were so much fun.






I'm already looking forward to planning another party- what theme should I have this time?