Got Ribbon Storage? Let's see!

The last couple of weeks, I've been in a rut. It seems like I've been in a rut all year (will it EVER end?!) I haven't been doing much stamping.

BUT I have been working on organizing my work space. I FINALLY made divider tabs for all of my cardstock, and am in the process of covering my paper holder boxes with designer paper.

A project that I have been wanting to finish for a LONG TIME! It may just get completed in the next couple of days.

While organizing my workspace, I have been trying to figure out a solution for my ribbon. I have been on the hunt for some good ribbon storage. My search has been unsuccessful. Right now my ribbon is stored in a basket that sits on my table. It's too messy. I need something neater.I am on the hunt for something more accessible and more organized. I am trying to find something that will allow me to hang it on my wall above my work table. I want something that will allow me to easily remove a spool of ribbon if I need to, and something inexpensive. What methods do you use to store ribbon? Leave me a link in your comment if you have pictures. I would love to see. And maybe I'll copy and paste them here for others to get ideas.

I know it's been a while since I've checked in on my SBS5 sisters. I appreciate you all checking in on me, and I plan to go surfing soon!

Paper Bag Broom

The last couple of days have been crazy. We just got back from our trip, and moved right into Halloween. I wanted to send the boys with a treat for their teachers, and of course I waited until last minute. We, ok....I guess I should say I, made these paper bag brooms. I put them together this morning right before they had to leave, filled them with treats and called it good.

To make them: You will need 2 brown paper lunch bags. 1 Stick from the yard. Twin or ribbon. Scissors. Candy or filling of sorts.

STEP 1: Unfold one bag, and push the base of it out while folding in the left and right sides.

STEP 2: Using your scissors, cut the bag into thin strips, stopping just short of the base.

STEP 3: Take your second bag, and cut thin strips into only the top inch or two.

STEP 4: Open both bags, and place the second bag inside the base of the shredded bag. Fill it with candy.

STEP 5: Insert your stick into the bag and bring all of the shredded pieces of the bag up and fasten them with twine. Add tag.

A pretzle rod would make for a cute broom handle.

Here's what I've been doing the past week.

Post copied from our family blog.

We did it! We took a full week of life off. Kurt had to present his research poster at a convention in Anaheim, so we thought we would tag along. And if you're going to be in Anaheim for a week, visiting Disneyland is a must. It was our first time visiting this Dream Palace. We had a BLAST! The boys loved it, and the rides were fantastic. The ambiance and environment truly were magical.

The park wasn't very crowded, and we got on every ride we wanted to ride on. The wait time was minimal to none, and we even rode multiple times. Thanks to all of your Disneyland tips, we were able to maximize our time using the Fast Pass and we downloaded Ride Max to help plan our itinerary at the park.

Things to remember:

* Jedi Training. We didn't realize that not everyone got a chance to go up and train. You get picked out of the audience. Owen had high hopes, and I really wanted him to get picked. I made a fool out of myself, but we got noticed out of all the other hundreds of kids and he was able to go up on stage and train to become a Jedi and fight Vader. He LOVED it!

*Even if your kid is 40" tall, it doesn't mean you have to take him on the ride. I must admit, having a 2 year old who is 40" tall is a plus at Disneyland. No waiting to switch off with your husband so you can ride too. Gavin was tall enough to ride every ride we went on except , Soarin, Splash Mountain (he was tall enough, but we didn't dare put him in a seat by himself), and Grizzly River Run. We took the kid on every ride that we rode except the Tower of Terror. (I couldn't even imagine taking Gavin on this ride-I myself almost pee'd my pants.) The thing is, you think since he meets the height requirement that it is all good, it's a ride suitable for someone who is 40" tall. Not knowing what the rides were like, going into them blind, I think he was definitely traumatized after riding the Matterhorn and Space Mountain. Poor thing.


* Mickey Ears are a must! Even if it costs you $45 for 3 pairs. (Ouch!) Of course my boys opted for the pirate themed ears. Complete with bandanna and earring. They do monogram them for free to lessen the sting though.

*Strollers. I have never seen so many strollers in one place. The weird thing was, I felt that my stroller and belongings were safe amongst all the other millions of strollers.

*Souvenirs. It's not everyday that you get to visit Disneyland. You have to get something to remember your trip by. The boys chose pirate swords for their souvenirs, I on the other hand opted for this super cute purse that I found in a shop near the Indiana Jones ride. Although it hasn't one Disney logo anywhere on it, the nice little O'Neill logo on the front will do just fine. (Insert big smile on my face.)

*Gavin pretty much had no "potty" accidents the whole time we were at DL. It was awesome!

*Top 5 favorite rides. (in no particular order) 1. Splash Mountain. 2. Space Mountain 3. Soarin 4. Indiana Jones 5. Pirates of the Caribbean.

*Weather. Perfect.

*Hotel. Desert Palms Hotel and Suites. Free Internet, free parking, fridge/microwave, affordable, within walking distance to Disney. Would stay there again.

We're Going to Disneyland!

We're finally doing it. We're going on a "real" vacation!!! Our bags are packed, and we're ready to go. In about 2 hours (at the crack of dawn) we will load up the gang and make the 10 hour trek to California. We're going to Disneyland! We've never been, and couldn't be more excited!

Workshop Card

Last weekend I traveled to Rexburg to do a workshop for Brittney. (Hi Britt!) This is one of the cards that we did. I wanted to show some of the new punches including the scallop punch-which TOTALLY ROCKS, and the square scallop punch. The scallop punch is becoming one of my new favorite tools! We also used the Say It With Scallops stamp set which goes with the square scallop punch perfectly. I love that Stampin' Up! chose this stamp set as their Ronald McDonald House charity stamp set. Who wouldn't want to buy this cute stamp set knowing that a part of their proceeds are going to help families in need?

Simple One Layer Cards

One of the free stamp sets that came in our bags at convention was Eastern Blooms. I love the flower branch in this set! I wanted to use this set at my last stamp club to demonstrate simple one layer cards. I came across some cards at SCS that I cased or used for inspiration. These are really simple cards. And what's great about them is you can switch out the sentiment to match whatever occasion it is that you need.

I LOVE the simplicity of these cards.

This card is one of my favorites. It is a very simple card, but I love the colors, and the white on the branches really make this card pop. I lined the branches and the center of the flowers with a white gel pen. You can't really tell from the picutre, but the paper is soft sky blue. This card looks much better in real life.

All products used: Stampin' Up!

Cutest Bag EVER!

If you've seen the June??? issue of Stampin' Success, then this is where you've probably seen this bag before. I say June??? because I can't find my copy because my craft room is so stinkin' messy. Anyway, my upline's upline made one, and it was so cute and she said it was super easy.

I thought they would make a really cute gift bag for my stamp club ladies, since it was our last club meeting. I made 7 of them (one for me to keep). They turned out really cute, and they were easy to make.

First I stamped the stems using Old Olive Craft ink. Then I used Stampin' Up's! flower fusion to do the flowers. This is the first time I've used them, and I love them! Some I just put on using a brad, the others I found that using a glue gun works great and has a faster dry time than other adhesives. To adhere the ribbon, I used Stitch Witchery. Got it Walmart. It's a fusible bond that you simply iron on. And that's it! I might add that I got the canvas bags at Michaels.

I will definitely be toting this little beaut' around.

Inside I loaded them up with goodies. A personalized card, Ghiradelli chocolate bar, gum, sticky Post It Notes, and some Stampin' Up! chapstick.