LMac's Catered Crops

Virtual Workshop - Part 2

Ready for more behind-the-scenes, insider look at workshop prep? Here's your back-stage pass.

Okay, here's project station 4, which was kind of a multi-purpose and extra-credit station:

Because it's the first station as you walk into the house, it also has the packets for the ladies to pick up for all their projects - there on the upper left corner. On the left side of the table, we did this sour-cream packet project.

 

And, on the right side of the table, we did the pop-up can project. Both of these are described in greater detail in this post: Goodie, Goodie.

After they picked up their packets and walked down the hallway to check out the other projects, my workshop ladies got to also check out some other project ideas - my inspiration board. Here's how I display my latest collection of projects (sorry, it's not the best quality picture).

Oh, yes, and there's the business/transaction station (catalogs, pens, latest promotion, calculators . . . ) As you can see, it just sits on an unoccupied space, my piano.

Now, there's nothing to do but wait for our guests. Mailey-dog is ready - she's napping, but right at the door so she doesn't miss greeting a single guest.

And now . . .

several hours later . . .

the aftermath . . .

I didn't even serve alcohol this time. But, I always say about stamping, if you don't get a little messy, you're just not having enough fun. And, then, with Christmas cards, if you don't leave with glitter all over you, you're just not doing it right. (Poor Tom, I think there was even glitter in his bacon the next morning.)

I always have fun with my stamping ladies. Hope you had fun joining us this time.

Virtual Workshop - Part 1

I thought I'd share with you a little bit about my workshop preps. If you've considered becoming a demonstrator or coming to a workshop . . . here's a little peak at the behind-the-scenes action.

My customers like to work at their own pace, so I set up stations around the house. That's fun for me, too, because while they're working feverishly, I get to float around the room and visit and assist. I usually set up three to four stations. This past November workshop I set up four stations with Christmas projects. Each lady received a bag with pre-cut paper and embellishments and they chose which stations to go to first. If their time was limited, they didn't have to go through all the project stations.

Here's station 1 where we made this card designed by the very talented Cyndee Rust.

I have lots of wonderful resources for my projects, including swaps from artists like Cyndee, Splitcoast Stampers, and the Stampin' Up! publications and web site for demonstrators. The card in the next station may look familiar. It's the card I originally designed as a tribute to my husband's uncle's seed business. I like trying to incorporate at least one or more new techniques in my workshops, and this card gave us a chance to make a shaker box.

You might remember this card from this post: Where do Snowmen Come From? I showed the ladies how they could tear fabric to make ribbon pieces, which is what I often use for wrapping Christmas presents. One yard of fabric will make enough ribbon pieces to last a lifetime.

And, in the kitchen, we had a third station.

I don't have a picture of the project itself, so I'll try to blow it up here.

Sorry, that's really not a good picture. But, you can see I like putting the projects on display with these big clips, and I put them in clear envelopes so folks can pass them around without damaging the card. You may have noticed, I love Stampin' Up! grid sheets, they're just invaluable. And, since I can barely stamp without them, I wouldn't ask my customers to stamp without them. I also don't cut my ribbon only because I hate working with tiny pieces of ribbon . . . so my workshop folks are encouraged to cut their own large pieces of ribbon to work with.

Since this Purple Peaceful Wishes card takes some embossing, we set up a separate embossing station.

Can you see what my embossing tray it sitting on? Extra floor tiles are great for embossing because they tolerate the heat well.

There's more . . . stay tuned for the sequel. We have one more station and a few other pix to share.

A Bitty Merry Bright

Here's a long overdue project idea for you, ooh, and it's easy, too. This is a great project for some cute little gift cards. It uses the Cutie Pie designer paper, Merry and Bright stamp set, and blue taffeta ribbon. I used the little 3 x 3 cards that came with the Three for You Punch Box promotion a while back to make a little spinner card.

This is very similar to the card we made below, and you can click HERE to get to the tutorial on how to make these fun cards.

We don't get much snow here in Central Texas, but I liked the idea of the mini snow man rolling in the snow and getting bigger as he played.  Reminds me of our Camelot snows in Indiana.

Ode to Thanksgiving

We had such an incredible Thanksgiving. The world just feels right and whole when everyone you love the most is close enough to pinch. When my Mom was with us, nothing made her more happy than to have all her family around her. So, she'd try to hold on to those sweet moments as long as she could. When it was time for us to go back home, she'd stand at the top of the driveway and wave goodbye until we were no longer in site. And, when the house was quiet, she'd sometimes capture those precious times in a poem. Here's a poem Mom wrote about a Thanksgiving past. The game has changed from cards to Wii, but the sentiment is the same.

Ode To Thanksgiving
     by Jean Black

The house was spotless when the family arrived.
The dog Annie greeted with nip on behind.
A friendly love leap to say, “Welcome to you,
It’s Thanksgiving Day, and we’ve lots waiting, too.”

A tournament of cards was started quite soon,
A tradition of sorts with a trophy, win or lose.
More family came, all loaded with food.
The turkey was baking; we hoped to eat soon.

Tom the chef, kept close watch of the bird through the day,
While all visited, told jokes, laughed and watched children play.
And soon time arrived when family gathered to pray.
Each thanked the Good Lord for blessing He gave.

The turkey was carved and a piece placed on each plate.
The menu so full, selection was great.
Mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes and corn pudding,
Dressing, cranberry salad, pies, and persimmon pudding.

More could be named at this glorious feast,
plates full of food enjoyed by all.
Some would have seconds, but some had to rest.
Some watched TV games, I mean football.

Some played in the tournament hoping to win with their cards.
And some were just thankful with love in their hearts.

Wii Round One - Tennis Doubles

Wii Round Two - Victory

Top Chefs

    

Adorable Chef! (twin sis Sharon)

And . . . the Feast!

Here's hoping you had a precious-memory-making Thanksgiving!

Don't laugh . . . it's true

Today I went to Academy and bought some workout clothes. Wha ha ha . . . Well, it's a start! Here's the irony . . . no one really sells workout clothes for fat people . . . who of course, need to work out the most. I'll turn heads when my son takes me to the gym tomorrow, but probably not in any way I'd like. It will be a hoot, but I'm excited. Just hope I don't embarrass my son too much.

So, that's kind of my big news. We've had a year full of tragedy with the loss of three parents, but, even though I have moments of profound sadness and miss them so dearly, my new mantra is not to let my grief define who I am. I am still a joyful, creative, lively person  . . . okay, repeat that again to my self . . . I am still . . .

All that said, I had my first physical in forever and am on a quest to feel and look better. I start a major doctor-supervised diet on Wednesday, and an exercise program . . . , well, I drove to Academy today.

Meanwhile, the Stampin' Up! lines are buzzing with news about the new catalog coming out in January. This is our first time to have two catalogs in one year, so we're all figuring it out. I just learned today of one of the new products . . . rub ons! Rub ons that coordinate with our punches and stamps. Oh my! They'll be in your preview mini catalogs. Here's some dates for you . . .

• November 30 - Spring-Summer Collection 2008 Preview Brochure will be mailed to customers. You won't be able to order from it yet, but you'll get to see what's coming.
• December 1 - Fall-Winter Collection 2007 retired stamp set and dormant lists will be available. Demonstrators can start ordering from the Preview brochure, so we'll start having some samples for all of you.
• December 10 - Fall-Winter Collection 2007 retired accessory list will be available.
• January 2 - Out with the old, in with the new. We can't order from the retired list any more, but we won't care because On January 2 everyone can start ordering from the new Spring-Summer 2008 Collection.

Several of my customers were asking whether they'd be able to order some of the things on their wish list after December. Unfortunately, we won't know what's being discontinued until the retirement lists come out. I'll keep you in the loop so you won't have to hunt down your wish list items on e-bay at three times the price.

I know, all this is hard to contemplate during the holidays with so much other shopping to do. Just give your wish lists to your family and have them contact me . . . we'll hook you up.

Okay, one of my resolutions for looking and feeling better . . . getting to bed sooner. So, off to my beauty sleep.

Do you snore?

I just couldn't resist sharing this with you. One of my dearest friends sent this to me today.

I had this image of me and my adorable sister sitting together . . .

just a few years from now . . .

Yep, that's us alright.

Purely Poinsettia

Can you tell I really like this new tea-bag-fold technique? Well, if you can stand it, here's another twist on the same fold . . .

Oooo, I used the new build-a-brad to make the center. I think the build-a-brad is going to be my new favorite toy. The rest of the recipe is just the Purely Holiday designer paper from the holiday mini catalog, Purely Pomegranate and Old Olive card stock, and a little Old Olive ink sponged along the edges. I thought by making the flower out of the pomegranate papers it might resemble a poinsettia. Okay, maybe it doesn't, but well, it still works I think.

Goodie, Goodie

I've had so much fun putting together little goodie treats, but I was really just looking for an excuse to use my new Pampered Chef safety can opener - very kewl.

Here's the top of the can - look, the pop-up lid is still intact.

Here's the side.

With the safety can opener, I can open the can from the bottom, empty out the fruit cocktail, clean the can, decorate it, and re-attach the bottom with crystal effects. So . . . without giving too much away, I think this will be really fun for that niece or nephew who really just wants cash, for stocking stuffers, our annual pickle gift, or co-worker treats. It's perfect for giving lottery tickets, jewelry, silver dollars, candy . . . anything small. (Looks like I'll be eating a lot of fruit cocktail.)

The rest of the recipe is:

• Stamp set: Punch Pals
• Punches: 1 1/4" circle, 3/4" circle, 1/2" circle, big tag, scallop, corner rounder
• Paper: Cutie pie (8 1/2" x 1 1/8") and Bashful Blue (8" x 1 1/2")
• Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Bashful Blue, Old Olive
• Ribbon: Stitched Purely Pomegranate, Blue Gingham, Silver
• Crystal effects and silver eyelets

And, since I was on such a roll with the treat thing . . . I made these sour cream-like holders.

My very talented friend, Chris Twing, showed me how to make these. The new designer wrapper paper is so luxurious, and perfect for this project. Basically, it just takes a 4 1/4" by 5 1/" piece of paper (or 1/4 of a regular 8 1/2 x 11 sheet), some sticky tape, and a crimper. Run adhesive on the very edge of the two long sides and one of the short ends. Put the two short ends together to form a tube. Pinch one of the open ends together and crimp. Then add a treat and pinch the other end together in the opposite direction to form the "twist", and crimp.

I used my Cricket die cut machine to punch out numbers 1 through 25 and attached them with the beautiful taffeta ribbon. So . . . hmm . . . should I tell you whose getting these. I'm so proud of her, I'll spill the beans. My daughter has been taking 15 credit hours, working two jobs, and still trying to do some charity work. It's been a very stressful semester for her. So, even though she's 20, I think she'll still enjoy counting down Christmas with a treat each day.

Here's a close-up.

My hostess club ladies are going to make these treats. So . . . ladies, if you're reading, start picking out some little treats to put in your pop-up cans and sour cream containers.

If you haven't heard, Stampin' Up! has a great promotion this month - paper! Ah man, I love paper. This is so dangerous. Anywho . . . for every three packs of two-sided designer paper you buy, you get a free pack (worth $9.95). Just in time for making your Christmas cards and gifts.

Here's swatches of the papers available - including the papers in the winter mini catalog: Download Paper Swatches, and here's where you can find more about this promotion: Paper Party Promotion.

Don't you just love Christmas!