Rest of the Downline Swap Cards

So I'm sharing the final three today - enjoy!!!! 

Happy Fall - Maureen Rauchfuss

Christmas Trees 2 - Kelea Nevis

Beary Christmas - Maureen Rauchfuss

Stop back soon for more stamping fun!  ~Maureen

Final Shoebox Swap Cards

Sharing the final Shoebox Swap Cards that I made.  For some reason the one I made of Virginia's is LOST :(  Don't know how that happened - I'll keep looking and hope to find soon - and when I do, I will post it!  But for today - we have Heidi's card which I LOVED - so simple, yet so great for birthdays - and the colors are fantastic!

Then Karen's card - she cased a card right off the front cover of the current occasions catalog - adding a few changes.  But it is also such a fun, happy birthday card -

Finally my card - which is also basically a CASE.  But using almost the same color combo as Karen's above.  With me sending cards nearly every day - each of these will be great to use for upcoming birthdays.  Do you want a card from me?  Email me your date of birth and address and you've got it!

Hope you enjoyed the cards.  Shoebox swaps can be some much fun and you come home with a bunch of cute cards.  Love it!  See you all soon!  ~Maureen

My exchange gift...

Today I wanted to share another one of our exchange gifts.  Diane ended up with my gift after the exchange game - and here is the Rose Tree I made. 

It's a cardboard cone covered with lots (and I mean lots) of beautiful paper roses. I was really surprised at how many it took - but it was a fun project to make.  I used some discontinued black polka dot DSP along with our current newsprint.

Here's a close up of the roses - you can see they are really packed in there.  The Stampin' Up! die really made making them a breeze though.  Everything was attached with a glue gun - so went together very quickly.

Hope you liked it.  I hope to make a few more and will share if I do.  See you soon ~ Maureen

Convention Shoebox Swap

Over the years it's become a tradition to do a shoebox swap with downline who want to participate.  This year 5 of us were together in one hotel - so we did the shoebox swap together.  Here are the five cards we came up with and made - we must have been in a "crumb cake" mood - as four out of the five cards used that!  A glass of wine, stamping and good friends  -- what could be better.  Enjoy these samples!

Devin's Card Design

Heidi's Card Design

Jen's Card Design

Maureen's Card Design

Sarah's Card Design

Hopefully next year we'll be able to get more together in one hotel and have a bigger swap.  ~Maureen

Shoebox Swap Cards - Part 2

The final four of our cards from last Saturday's Shoebox Swap, these are the ones I made of each of their designs -Enjoy!

Lyn's card

Maureen's Card

Paula's Card

last but not least - Virginia's Card

Thank you to everyone who came for the great cards, great food and great fun!  We'll do it again - soon!!  ~Maureen

More on Lois' Tree

I wanted to share a bit more today on how I made this Christmas Bulb Tree for my Secret Sister Lois.  I found a picture of something similar on Pinterest and had to try it.  You purchase different sizes of coordinating bulbs and then put them on a knitting needle - yes you heard correctly :) - to make the tree.  I used an empty ribbon spool as my base - I put the needle through it and glue gunned it to hold it in place - then glue gunned that entire base to the center of my red charger.

Then after putting all the bulbs on the way I wanted - I created a tree skirt using our medallion die and some coordinating paper.  I put the skirt around the bottom of the tree and glued it in place. 

Then I used a stencil and traced and cut out two of the glitter stars for the top of the tree.  I used glue dots to secure each of the points together - then slid it down over the top of the knitting needle.  It was my first attempt, and not perfect - but I was happy with it and I hope Lois liked it.  A special gift for a special friend.  ~Maureen

CSL gifts - Final Installment

Okay - so here are the final gifts from our CSL party -

So here is my tree up close - it is wrapped newsprint and glitter paper to make this beautiful tree - with spritz and gems for decorations - I love it!!

Here I am with my lovely Christmas tree from my daughter, Heidi - I can't believe she was my Secret Sis all year long - and I didn't even know it!  Makes me wonder what else she is being sneaky about :)

Here's Maureen S's exchange gift from Kathy W.

Sandy with her little Christmas tree and Ornament set in a handmade package from Secret Sis Virginia!

And Virginia with her adorable Handmade Christmas tree and card from Secret Sis Sandy - they had each other :)