A lovely invite and a lovely day!

Hi Peeps! Happy Weekend! Yesterday I had the very distinct pleasure of hanging out with some awesome crafty girls here in my local area. We were extended a lovely invitation to come to the beautiful home of the super fabulous Regina Easter for a day of stamping, crafting, fellowship, and tasty treats. I had the best time! Isn't it wonderful when we can all get together around the circle of stamping and just laugh and enjoy each other's company? Yes, indeed! Crafty girls rock! My friend Ashley was there and my friend Lezlye, and I met some fab new friends too. What a gorgeous event Regina put together. I thought I would share some about my day - the projects I brought, and the treats I made, and all that good stuff. BIG thanks to Regina for being such a wonderful hostess! XOXO

We all brought a make-n-take card project to share so we all left the party with eight finished Christmas cards. The rules were simple, make it Christmas, and keep it clean and simple. Every single person brought a great card! Each one more pretty than the last one... I have had an idea in my head ever since I bought the FUN sweater dies from MFT so I used my idea for my card...

 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE this idea so much! I am obsessed with anything Nordic, Winter, old-fashioned, sweatery!! Does that make sense?? It just evokes a simpler time and place for me. Here is a side view of the layers. I didn't add a lot of papers - we were to keep it clean and simple, because we made nine cards in one afternoon! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like to make my word banners come off the edge of the card sometimes to add some visual interest. Here I used the cute sentiment from My Favorite Things and some rich black ink. 

 

 

 

 

This thing here.... FAVORITE STENCIL EVER. EVER. EVER. Buy it and thank me later. Seriously. Tim Holtz is a genius. Oh yes, and I do have a snowflake manicure at the moment! LOL. 

 

 

 

So I die cut my sweater shape from white paper and placed it on my table. Then I taped the stencil over it. I chose one of the big flower shapes for the very center of my sweater and then colored with some pretty Fired Brick Distress Ink...

 

 

 

 

CAN YOU STAND IT?? I cannot. That is all. 

 

 

 

 

The way the stencil comes out it makes the lines look like they're fuzzy like a real sweater! 

 

 

 

This die set comes with the collar, bottom, and cuffs too. I cut those pieces out of red paper and glued them on to my sweater. Tweezers help! 

 

 

 

 

In addition to bringing a project, we each brought something to eat to share. We had the most delicious lunch. Sandwiches, and veggies, and dips and hummus....All healthy stuff. But, I brought cupcakes! LOL. I really enjoy baking cupcakes and decorating them, so that's usually what I will bring to a potluck or event. For my cupcakes for our party, I made my chocolate peppermint cupcakes. Here is a photo of my toppers I made for them! Sweet Wishes.... 

The stamps are from Papertrey Ink and they are so adorable and the perfect size for this project. 

 

 

 

 

In addition to making cupcakes, I also really like to take pictures of cupcakes! LOL. Here they are, all ready for transport to the party. The toppers are glued onto the Wilton cake pop sticks. They are perfect for this. I glued the stick to the back of the topper and then put the two pieces together with foam tape. My scallop circle and plain circle are punches, which makes it easy to make a lot of them.

 

 

 

The paper wrap around the outside of the cupcakes is from Taylored Expressions. Too fun, right? I used some pepperminty striped paper to keep it festive. 

My cupcakes are Devil's Food - really rich. The frosting is a regular frosting recipe and then I add Peppermint extract to it - so it's nice and minty. Then I take some candy canes and break them into tiny pieces, and sprinkle them on top. MMMMM. 

 

 

 

 

Here is a super useful link about how to choose the right frosting tip for your cupcakes. I used the tip in the photo that has the pink icing.  After I ice my cupcakes I put them in the fridge for a while. It helps keep the frosting pretty and in the shape you want. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we all are at the gorgeous table stamping away. How nice it was to just sit and chat and craft as a group. Most of the time stamping is a solitary activity for me. It was a real pleasure to feel the energy of everyone else and share ideas. 

 

 

 

 

Regina made each of us a box to put our finished cards in - and placed the boxes at our seats. What a nice touch. I need to start putting jingle bells on everything, right? How adorable. 

 

 

 

 

Here is the table, before we started stamping. Our projects were put in red and green bins - so festive and pretty. 

 

Ashley is really good about making me take a photo when she's around. Since I don't really like to be IN the pictures....I like to TAKE the pictures! Hahaha.  I think her cuteness rubs off on me a bit. She is such a sweetheart - I was happy to hang out with her all day! XO 

 

 

 

 

  SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY! (Hint, you NEED that sweaters die!!) 

InLinkz.com

Comments

[Veronica Fairbrother]

Sooo Cute! Now I HAVE to have that sweater die and stencil. Thank you for your inspiration!

[Holly AKA KopyKat]

These are all so fabulous

[shannon white]

Wow!! How Fun!! 8-) What a Wonderful event Miss Wanda!! And I just LOOOOOOOVE your Awesome nordic sweater card!! So Cute and cozy and Festive all at the same time!! And don't even get me started on those scrumptious looking cupcakes! Wowza Girly! You out did yourself!! 8-)

Big Hugs!
Shannon

[Char]

Looks like a fabulous day !! Love all your creations!

[Leigh Penner]

Oh, what a fabulous post filled with wonderful projects! Love!

[Theresa]

STOP IT!!!!! That template is a need. You are SO right. I was thinking, "Oh my goodness, where did she get that cute die?" Then saw the stencil. Ordering now!!!

[Fonda Jo]

Oh, that is the sweetest card. I love it...
Your day looked like so much fun for all and your cupcakes ...to die for!

[Princess Judy]

No kidding I need that sweater die. How have I lived this long without it?! It looks like you had such a fun day. All your photos are pinterest worthy. Such awesome projects and decorations. Oh my!

[Jamie Vanskiver]

Love everything! Looks like ya'll had alot of fun!!!

[Julie]

I love that stencil, too--looks great with ink or texture paste.
Looks like you had a fun, crafty day.

[Susi K]

Your crafty time with gal-pals looks like it was a lot of fun! I'm involved with a small group of card-making friends and we try to get together once a month to share creativity, laughter and "girl time" :-) An awesome re-charge! I adore your card and quite simply, it may be the tipping point for me breaking down to buy that die (and yes, the stencil too LOL) - too cute! Happy Holidays and all the best in 2015!

[Lisa]

Wanda, gosh I have to move to another state or start a group myself! I Can't find a good group in my area at all. I have that stencil and have yet to use it, you so inspired me to use it, lol!! Anything peppermint is my favorite, I'm drowling just looking at them. Can I ask for the recipe for the cupcakes?

[Jill Norwood]

First - cutest card and cupcakes ever!!!! I just got the sweater die - now I need the stencil! Lol! Too adorable especially in red and white!!! And what fun to craft away together and get 8 Holiday cards made too! So fun! Thanks for sharing!!! :)

[Holly Saveur]

Such a great day out.looks so much fun.
A super sweet and gorgeous card!
love the cup cakes!
hugs Holly.

[Tracey McNeely]

How fun is this Wanda! Super envious of your fabby party and great cards. Your cupcakes look so yummy!