HOSTESS APPRECIATION PARTY - FUN!!!

Happy Tuesday stampin' friends!!! WHEW! It was a hugely busy weekend since I had my Hostess Appreciation Event on Saturday!! It was a lot of work, but it was really worth it because I think everyone had a good time!! I wanted to share the make n' takes with you today as well as some pics of the decorations and such! So, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy!! This first card is one of two make 'n takes that we did! The theme throughout the whole event was the Big Top Suite using all the fun papers in that collection and the Sweets for the Sweet stamp set as well as the Up, Up, and Away stamp set.  This one features the former and is just too too fun!  Sorry for the bad pic - not sure what is going on there, but my camera has been acting wonky lately!! The background of the card is embossed using the Polka Dots embossing folder, and I just love how it looks with those bold, bright colors! The pinwheels are stamped twice - once on the card, and then once on another piece of card stock, then cut out and popped up on dimensionals.  The two candy pieces are also up on dimensionals and all four items have the liquid diamonds on them so they are nice and glittery IRL!

This second card is a gate fold card, again using the Big Top Suite, although the sentiment is from the Happy Greetings Stamp set.  The small candy was stamped and punched out using the 1 inch circle punch, and the sentiment was stamped on Whisper White card stock, and then punched out with the 2 3/8 inch Scallop Circle punch, then layered on a 2 1/2 inch circle of Real Red card stock.  We added some rhinestones underneath the sentiment and again added some Liquid Diamonds to the candy piece so there is lots of glittery fun on the front of this card!

The inside of this card is really fun, with the balloons from the Up, Up, and Away stamp set floating away into the clouds!  I was not sure I was
 going to use this stamp set much, but I find myself using it for lots of different occasions, it really is very versatile and definitely fun to play with, lol! It's a great card that can be used for all kinds of occasions, so I made a couple for my card stash - you never know when you are going to need that quick card, right?? *wink*  These next pictures are just some of the fun decorations I made to spruce up the room we were using since it was at the back of the local pizzeria and has tons of sports decor - nice, but not really what I was going for, lol! I kept true to the theme, using the Big Top Suite! I am not going to address each and every decoration so if you have any questions about anything, you can just email me and I will be happy to answer them :-)

This was the food and drink table - it didn't look so empty once the pizzas were brought in, lol! I made a cute banner that says thank you, and then each water bottle had some flavor of Crystal Light to add. I also made some fun cupcakes because I think every party should have cupcakes, don't you??  Here are some better shots of each of these items so you have a better idea of the decorations and how they were put together! I tried to make it personal and fun since these special ladies hostessed for me all last year

and introduced me to lots of local ladies who have since become my friends and fellow stampers!!! Which is why I totally love my job - I get to meet wonderful people like these ladies!! Out of the 27 ladies I invited, 15 of them came, so I was thrilled to see them! I wish they all could have been there, but that just does not seem to happen with everyone's busy schedules these days!! They all know how much I appreciate them though - I make sure of it!! Aren't the little pennants cute on the cupcakes? I had such fun making those!! And, the water bottle holders were perfect to keep the little Crystal Light packets in and they brightened up the room as well! Many of the ladies actually kept the holders so I know they enjoyed them as well. There were lots of different flavors to choose from but I discovered that I really like the Green Tea Raspberry something I never thought I would drink - who knew??  LOL - it's very rare I try something new *wink*  I also made each of them a little goodie bag full of different embellishments as well as some 3x3 cards and envies and their own sponges!! For some reason, these silly things are so popular with them that I thought it would be fun to give them each their own and the loved them - a couple of the ladies actually squealed - over a sponge - I know, right??!! In addition to the goodie bags, I also made them each a treat box filled with an assortment of Hershey's kisses - they even have cookies and cream now! Aren't they cute with those pinwheels?  I had the best time making those although by box 20 I was done, lol!

Here are some fun pics of the ladies eating, doing their make n' takes and playing some of the games - we had bingo, word search, stamping scavenger hunt, and stamping unscramble, and they all competed for prizes of current product! 

It was funny to watch them get all competitive in bingo, and then frustrated over the word unscramble - they had a hard time with Crop-a-Dile, lol!! There was a lot of laughter too though, and that made me smile - I really wanted them all to have a good time, after all, it was for them!!

Dawn was one of my very first hostesses after moving to Northren California and we have become great friends! Her group of friends actually formed a scrap club that lasted a year, and it was a really fun time! She is super talented and creative, and enjoys stamping! Here she is holding up her make 'n take - what a ham, lol! Katie is also a real sweetie, and I had the added pleasure of also having her mom Kim there as well - I love to stamp with these ladies, they are amazing! I adore them, as well as the regulars that stamp with them - I always leave a workshop with them feeling really good and happy because they are some of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet! Here is a pic of Katie with her new sister in law to be Barushka - I am sure I butchered the spelling of her name, but hey, I tried, lol!!! She is a sweetie, and just discovered the joys of stamping, and, judging from all the wedding favors they have been making, she is quite the natural!

Katie is also quite the competitor, you can see here how hard she is concentrating at bingo, lol! She was one of the finalists in the three rounds, so she got to go home with some fun goodies!!  All in all, I thought it was a really fun day and I thoroughly enjoyed spoiling them because without them, my business would not be a business at all!! I hope to see many of them again this stamping year as hostesses and again next year at the Diva Event!!! I will leave the recipe for the cards so that you can know the products used, and again, if you have any questions, just let me know!!! If this looks fun to you, and you would like to come to my next Hostess Appreciation Event, contact me and let's get your workshop set up! I promise you it will be a lot of fun, and your friends will really enjoy the creating, the products, and ME :-) Plus, I would love to come and stamp with you - I am always up for a girls' night out *wink* Have a wonderful day and I will be back tomorrow (hopefully with clearer pics if I can figure out what is wrong with my camera) with another couple of fun projects I made this past week! Until then, take some time to be creative!!

Card One Recipe:

Paper - Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight card stock, Big Top Birthday designer series paper

Inks - Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Peach Parfait classic inks

Stamps - Sweets for the Sweet 

Tools - Big Shot, Polka Dots embossing folder, Modern Label punch, 1 inch circle punch, dimensionals, sponge

Accessories - Dazzling Details liquid

Card Two Recipe:

Paper - Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Whisper White card stock, Big Top Birthday designer series paper

Inks - Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Peach Parfait, Bashful Blue, Real Red classic inks and stampin' write markers
Stamps - Sweets for the Sweet, Up, Up, and Away, Happy Greetings
Tools - 2 1/2 inch circle punch, 2 3/8 Scallop circle punch, 1 inch circle punch
Accessories - Basic Rhinestones, Dazzling Details liquid