My First SU! Workshop!

So, last Saturday, I held my very first Stampin' Up! Workshop as a demonstrator!  I was also the hostess for this one, and let me tell you, it's a lot of work being both! Especially when you're already over-busy with the "real" job! Not only did I have to get the house all clean and pretty (thanks, Amy, for all your help with that! You're awesome!) I also had to plan the menu and the projects!

For snackies, I went basic--cheese and crackers, some fruit, brownies, and the not-so-basic bacon-wrapped smokies (so good.  so not good for you...) And again, thanks to Amy for wrapping the wieners (lol!  that just sounds so wrong to me!!!) So, I think the food-stuffs went over pretty well.

For the crafty-fun portion, I planned two cards--a basic greeting card and a gift card holder card.  And since we're in Sale-a-bration, I decided to use one of the SAB sets--the Punch Bunch.  I also used a hostess set I received at my last Workshop before becoming a demonstrator--Cute by the Inch.  If I do say so myself, I think the cards I planned are really cute!  Here're some pics:

Good for Business cards or Gift cards! LOL!

So, I had about 6 guests come to the workshop, including my momma!!!  I think my guests had a good time, and I was able to get some pics of most of their creations.  I have to say, the best part of being a demonstrator so far, is seeing what my guests created using my basic idea.  I'm just giddy at seeing what they did! 

The work area!  Sad to say, at my house, all we've got is the coffee table...

My momma!  and the inside of her card!

Ms. LaRita's card (and she didn't think she could do it....)

Now, of course, in true Rana fashion, I prepared too many supplies (I do the same thing in cooking...) So later on, I decided to use those supplies and make some more cards (I had fun...)  Here's what I made:

All cards using the Cute by the Inch hostess set.  Quite possibly, my favorite set....

Sweet Summer & Punch Bunch Sale-a-bration sets, punches, and the Funky Four set. And markers!  I love Stampin' Write Markers!!!! In fact, I'm a little bit jealous--one of my guests, Lynsey, ordered the whole set.  I want!!  Maybe for my birthday...

And of course, no crafty evening would be complete for me without some help from the kittehs...

Buttercup either wanted to use the wheel, or eat the wheel...

Dobby just decided to lay there and be cute.  And you must admit, he is teh kewt....

So there it is!  My first workshop, and it's aftermath! Lol!!  Thanks to all my guests for coming out, I hope you had as much fun as I did!

SU! Brights Patterned Hearts Wreath

So, a few weeks ago I mentioned a wreath I was planning to make with Stampin' Up's Designer Series Paper Patterns Stack - Brights Collection.  I finally got it done, and then finally got the pics taken and uploaded (iPhoto isn't working, so I'm learning to use Picasa.  I figured out how to crop photos! Whoo-hoo!!!!) So, here it is!

The hearts themselves are just a light cardboard from a calendar or something, and I Mod Podged the papers to the shapes, before hot gluing the whole mess to a wire wreath form from Michaels (and hey!  I didn't burn myself once!  go me!!)

The butterflies were punched out of the basic Brights cardstock with the SU! Butterfly punch.

I made sure to include at least one heart in every color, and in both patterns (the paper is 2-sided; very cool...)

The wee little accents in the center of each butterfly were punched from the patterned scraps left over, using the flower punch from the SU! Punch Pack set.

So there it is! Hope you like it!

Art Journaling, here I come!

Well, sorta... See, many areas of my crafty life have been neglected lately, including the art journal I was planning to start, mainly because my working life has taken over. 8 classes'll do that to a girl....

So anyways, I was at Walmart the other day with a friend of mine, and I found some oil pastels.  I've been wanting to play with them for a while now, but I just wasn't willing to pay the kind of prices I found them for at Micheals.  So, I bought them at Walmart!and tonight, I finally got to play a little bit!

The result--I can't draw... But I had fun anyway!!!!

My silly girl... Looks like she was drawn by a 3-year-old, huh... lol!

My nifty heart!  I just had fun playing with color and blending here.. 

So there you have it.  My first forays into oil pastels.  Now, if only I could actually draw things..... :D

CIF Goodies!!! (or, Catchin' up post #3)

Where was catchin' up post #2, you ask?  Well, that's the Sale-A-Bration post from earlier.  Yup, playin' catch up in Stampin' stuff, too...

So, last year, I participated in 2 craft it forward events, one on Facebook and one through the Hive.  I'm planning to do another in a month or so, because quite frankly I really like sending random crafty goodies to folk....

What's "Craft it Forward," you ask?  Well, essentially, it's the Pay it Forward philosophy, but with crafts!  

Anyway, I would post pics of what I made, but I foolishly didn't take any pics. Wait, I take that back.  I had pics of the first batch, but they were lost in the Great Mac Crash of 0-10... And the second batch?  Yeah, just never got around to it... 

For the Facebook CIF goodies, I made little plaques with a page from Shakespeare and the birdie ornaments I've been making lately.  They were very cute, and I hope the recipients liked them. For my Hive CIF goodies, I made non-christmasy Christmas ornaments (they were shaped like trees, but the papers and embellishments I used were not christmasy.  kinda fun!)  There was lots of  Mod Podge involved, and I had a blast.  Plan to make more soon.  I also made a little bracelet for each of my giftees... Just a basic elastic beaded bracelet, but cute!

But here's the real purpose of this post--CIF goodies I received!! I like giving things, but I really like getting things... :D

Jessie, of Points for Creativity, made the most adorable little clay mushroom.  He's just too cute!!!! I also watched her make some other clay pieces, and it's a blast to see.  She's got a great eye, and, unlike me, is not afraid of the clay!

 And Faye, from Twisted Imaginings, made the most gorgeous little ring! It's so comfortable to wear, too!  You can find more great pieces in her shop. (by the by, her prices are BEYOND reasonable; in fact, I think she might even be charging too little!)

So there you have it!  Craft it Forward is a lot of fun, and I'll let you know when I do another batch!