My Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration order

It's my usual brag of how much I saved on my Stampin' Up! order during Sale-A-Bration. Here's the pile of boxes from my workshop order.

Then, here's the pile of stuff I paid for...fun!

And, here's the pile of stuff that was free with hostess dollars and my 50% off items. There should be another 5 free things in that pile from SAB, but I sneaked them in the bags of my other guests' orders. Hope they like them.

Ruffled Ribbon Topiary

I made 15 of these topiaries last year for party centerpieces. The ribbon and elastic took the longest to complete. And a LOT of straight pins.

They cost about $20 each in supplies. Good luck finding matching color ribbon all over town if you're making more than one. I found the tutorial for making them here: Ruffled Ribbon Topiary They use a smaller styrofoam ball and therefore a smaller amount of ribbon. I think there were about 8 yards of ribbon on each 5" ball of mine.

There are a few places that make it easier to find some supplies. I used 4" terra cotta pots from the hardware store ($0.79) and the Dollar Tree actually had green styrofoam pot inserts that fit the pots. Then I could push the dowel through and pin the red tulle to the foam better. Paint your pots and dowels first of course. Try your own color combination.

New Daddy Survival Kit

My brother-in-law is going to be a new daddy soon, and we thought this kind of kit would be fun to give on his birthday before the baby is born.

It's kinda hard to tell what's in it since my hubby already packed it up and "wrapped" it. He says he made a bow out of the strap. But, there is a list of everything in there with instructions on how to use it for the baby.

Here's the instructions so you can read them. (Yes, that's sloppily on purpose duct tape)

How to Change a diaper

Please read all instructions, as any hesitation, uncertainty or mistakes may result in the need to call in a Hazmat team, and psychologist to aid with emotional scaring.

Prepare Yourself:  It is vitally important that you do not skip any of these steps.

• ·         Put on the poncho.
• ·         Securely fasten the face mask and safety glasses.
• ·         Put on a pair of rubber gloves.

Prepare the Baby:

• ·         Ensure the pacifier is properly used, offer correctional advice and demonstrations if needed.
• ·         Remove the babies clothes to expose the diaper area.

Diaper Removal and Cleanup

• ·         Before proceeding warn all people within a 15 yard radius that things are about to get dangerous.
• ·         Ensure that all people are at least 2 yards away (safely outside the ‘Splash Zone’).
• ·         Remove the diaper attempting to clean any soiled areas, use words like ‘eeew’, ‘yucky’, and ‘poo-poo’, as this reassures the baby.
• ·         Wrap the diaper back up and place in a hazardous waste bag.
• ·         Clean the baby with the baby wipes.
• ·         Use tongs and turkey baster in extreme cases.
• ·         Apply a clean diaper following all approved manufacturer instructions.

Sanitizing and Disposal

• ·         Clean all supplies thoroughly using alcohol sanitizing wipes when needed.
• ·         Dispose of the Diaper at the nearest Hazmat drop-off.
• ·         Pack everything back in to your kit, and mentally prepare for next time..

Q: What if I don’t have my kit with me?  A: Without your kit, you are no better than ancient caveman dads, and unfortunately cave-children typically score in the lowest 10% on standardized tests… Coincidence? … not likely.

Q: How do I know if I am ready?  A: You are not ready, embrace that fact and prepare for anything.

Q: What should I do if the situation gets out of control?  A: Call in backup! Never wait or attempt to handle it yourself.

Q: Isn’t this a bit excessive? A: Safety is never excessive, follow all instructions.  Don’t give in to peer pressure.  Remember, you want your child to be successful. 

(Caveat: I did not write these instructions, my husband did. It's all his own opinion on how to care for a child)

Seeing as my hubby left some supplies out of the instructions, I guess I will list them here:
Toolbox
Diapers
Baby Wipes
Poncho
Safety Glasses
Dust Mask
Rubber Gloves
Ear plugs/nose plugs
Tongs
Turkey Baster
Pacifier
Hazardous Wastes bags (Ziploc with hazardous waste symbol taped on)
Hand Wipes
And a small photo frame

Ladybug tags for Stampin' Up! Workshop

Here's my make-n-take for my Stampin' Up! workshop this weekend. Ladybug tags!

I want to teach a couple new techniques to my usual class attendees. One is the watercolor background and the other is making your own glitter paper. I didn't take pictures of the process, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Watercolor background:

Get out your silicone craft mat and swipe 2-3 ink pad colors directly on the mat. Try not to overlap your colors and get your pads dirty. Then spritz the mat with water to dilute the ink, and press your watercolor paper into the ink. You can re-dip your paper in the color if you didn't get the coverage you wanted, try no to muddy the colors. Let your paper dry and decorate as desired.

Custom Glitter Paper:

You'll need some scrap white cardstock, Sookwang 6" wide tape, and extra fine glitter or loose flocking. Cut your paper to the size you need. I didn't need very much for the lady bugs. Then cut off the size you need of Sookwang tape to fit on your paper. Don't worry about covering the entire piece of paper, just stick it on there. Take off the paper backing of your tape and cover with the glitter or flocking of your choice. Brush off the excess and burnish the glitter into the tape. (That means rub your finger all over the glitter on the tape until all the tiny pieces are laying flat on the paper.) This will help make the glitter sparkle better when they're all rubbed flat. You'll see when you try it. On the lady bugs I used black flocking on the bottom layer and red glitter on the top later. Then run your paper through the die cut machine with your dies.

List of supplies: (for those that really want them)

140 lb watercolor paper

Scrap cardstock; pink, white

Ink: SU! Blushing Bride, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Wisteria Wonder

Red Glitter-generic

Black loose flocking: Doodlebug

Elizabeth Craft Designs Die: Ladybugs

Ribbon: SU! Seambinding Rose Red, Ruffled Lucky Limeade

Punches: 3/4" circle punch, 3/8" circle punch, 1/2" Corner Chomper

Stamps: SU! Precious Butterflies (hostess), Posy Punch (hostess)

Adhesives: Sookwang 6" tape, Tombow liquid glue, foam dots

Silicone craft mat, water spritzer, die cut machine

Crochet Entrelac Blanket

This is one of those past projects that I managed to get a picture before it was gifted as a baby present.

It's a Tunisian Crochet Entrelac blanket I made for a co-worker and her first baby. This is a Lion Brand pattern (Lion Brand: Crochet Entrelac), and I did use the LB Vanna's Choice yarn for this project. Probably about $60 worth of yarn if you have coupons. 

I thought it was a simple technique and a great introduction to Tunisian crochet since you don't need the long hooks for this blanket. Everything is stitched on a regular crochet hook. Be careful you don't miss a stitch. I think I had to unravel a couple rows twice because the stitches weren't lining up. 

My sister-in-law liked the pattern while I was working on it, and she wanted to make one for her friends. She used Caron Simply Soft yarn (One of my favorites), and it looks just as soft and plush as this one. 

Edit 8/31/14

My sis-in-law did take a picture of hers. I swiped a copy of it.

She managed to square off the ends, unlike mine which are points.