Star Wars at Disneyland

Hayden is a huge Star Wars fan. So when we went to Disneyland this year and saw the Star Wars Padawan training program, he was hooked!

Last year when we went, we went to the show the last day we were there. They pick about 30 kids out of the crowd and put them in robes and give them a light saber. They teach them how to fight and then Darth Vader & Darth Maul come out and the kids get to fight one of them. It's all very exciting for the kids.
















Anyway, last year he did not get picked and there were huge tears and wonder about why he was not chosen. This year, we went the first day and he did not get picked again. More huge tears and pouting, I told him that he really needed to show enthusiasm and jump & down, making sure the Jedi Master saw him and that he really wanted it.

The next day we were determined to make sure that he got picked by the Jedi Master. We had seen two boys with signs who got picked the day before, so we figured we would do the same.
We went back to the hotel that night and made up a sign that said "Jedi Master, please pick me. Third time is charmed. And then my husband drew a light saber on the bottom.

Well, that did the trick. The Jedi Master was picking kids, went once around and pasted by Hayden. I thought, Oh no, another day of tears. Then, he came back around and said " this little patient boy with the sign". My kid, patient? Hmmm. Anyway, I was so happy for him, that I cried. Knowing his disappointment the other two times, I would have been just as crushed as he if he were not picked again. I was whooping and jumping around. I think I was more excited than he was.

Anyway, they did some training for about 10 minutes and then the bad guys came out. Hayden was on the stage and got to "fight" Darth Vader. He took this to complete heart, like he was really fighting the real Darth Vader. We have a video that I will try to post as well. He was so jazzed when he got done, he wanted to do it again. But we told him only once per trip, that he needed to give the other kids a chance to be picked for Padawan training. This is a moment that I will remember forever....

Gift Certificate Holder

This is a gift certificate holder that I did for one of my client's. Her son contacted me and wanted to purchase her a gift certificate for her birthday.

Last year I had done one of these as a money holder, so I just got it out and changed the dimensionals so that it would hold the gift certificate instead.












Here is the sample showing the gift certificate. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Recipe:

Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts
Ink: Old Olive, Ruby Red
C/S: Baja Breeze, Ruby Red, Old Olive, WW
Accessories: DSP Ski Slope, Circle & Scallop Punches, Sticky Strip, Slot Punch

Gift Jar

Isn't this a cute little jar for candies? One of my very sweet club members, Ronda Jaramillo, made this for me. She bought the jars at Ikea, it was a pack of 4 $2.99, that is a great price.

I will try to find some, it would be fun to make these at club in December.

By the way, for some reason, there are no more M&M's in this jar! Hmmm...

Disneyland & The Nightmare before Christmas

Ahhhh! Every year for Halloween, Disneyland changes the Haunted Mansion into "The Nightmare before Christmas". It is really cool and not scary at all, so the little kids can enjoy it. While standing in line, I asked one of the employees how long it takes them to turn it into this, I figured that they did it at night once the park closed and would be ready the next day. He told me that they close it down for 2 weeks! Wow. It is something else to see.

This is us pretending to be scared!


These are just some shots in the attraction.


















Here is "Jack" from the movie. We got some really good pictures of him, because this is were our car stopped, but he kept repeating himself and we got tired of listening. Hayden kept telling him to be quiet!

This is Dick & Lisa, my in-laws. They were in front of us on the ride. About half way through the ride, it stopped, I think that someone on the ride was either leaning out of the car or trying to get out, because they kept saying to stay in your car.

Lots more Disney posts to come, I figured I would batch them, since I have so many pictures that I want to share. Enjoy the "ride"! :)-

Frosty Day Sample

This is one of the cards that we made at my monthly club meeting last Friday. I used the Frosty Day Designer Series paper. I also used the Scallop Edge punch to create the square focal. It is really easy and you can view the tutorial on SplitCoastStampers. You use a 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 piece of cardstock and line it up evenly on the punch and then punch each side. I love the diversity that it gives the punch.

Recipe:

Stamps: Season of Joy, Punch Pals
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
C/S: Tangerine Tango, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Frosty Days Designer Series paper
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Build-a-Brad, Striped Tangerine Tango Ribbon, Scallop Punch, Dimensionals

Halloween Party

Every year our friends, Steve & Suzanne, have a Halloween party. This year was no exception. They encourage everyone to dress up, usually the adults grumble about this, but this year we embraced it! I have already mentioned in a previous post that our family did a Star Wars theme. I was Princess Leia, Calyn was baby Leia, Hayden a Clone Trooper and Greg was the Emperor Palpatine. It was quite fun and everyone had fun dressing up.

This photo is of me, Calyn & Jeanann. Calyn was hot in her costume, so she was changed. I had lost the wig but was still wearing my gown.





This is a picture of Calyn with her costume on. Doesn't the wig look more like ram horns? We were calling her little ram all night.






The picture below is of everyone. Starting from the left we have Baby Leia, Clone Trooper, Princess Leia, Princess, Darth Maul, Sarah Palin, Hanna Montana, Police Officer, Witch, scary "scream" guy, scary ugly guy, Ariel the Mermaid, Snow White and Dead Groom.
















This is a picture of all the kids. They had a blast.

Snowflakes

Christmas is in the air. Can you believe that it is not even Thanksgiving, yet all the stores are already selling Christmas items? I went to the salon this morning and they have their tree up!!

Anyway, I guess I am just the same. I have been making Christmas cards for the last two months. These cards were made with the Little Snow Flurries from Stampin' Up's Accents & Elements line. These little felt snowflakes make the cutest cards and I can not wait to create some scrapbook pages with them as well. In this set, you will receive 23 designs in 3 colors, that is 69 pieces in total! Wow, that is a lot. Love the colors: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze. I was not completely "sold" on these colors when they were introduced but boy, have I grown to love them!

Recipe below. Hint: When putting the adhesive on the felt flurries, apply it slowly. If you go too fast, it tends to just stick to your roller and not the felt. Button is just stuck on with adhesive as well. Super easy and really cute! Enjoy!

Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: Versamark
C/S: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, DSP Ski Slope
Accessories: Ribbon Originals Alpine, Little Felt Flurries, Buttons, Dimensionals

Sorry for the lack of posts...

Hello,

I just wanted to apologize for the lack of blogging last week. Early last week, I came down with the stomach flu and it knocked me down for the count. Everyone in my family had some sort of little bug. Now we are all feeling better and I promise to get some blogging done in the next day or so.

Hope everyone is well. Please go out and get your flu shots. It is supposed to be a bad flu season this year!

Cheers,
Elyse

Star Wars Halloween

We all got into the Halloween spirit this year. A friend of ours hosts a Halloween party every year and insists that EVERYONE dress up. We have grumbled about it in years past but this year we were ready!

Hayden is totally into Star Wars and wanted to go as a Clone Trooper. If you are not familiar with the Star Wars saga, a Clone Trooper is the same as a Storm Trooper. Both work for the evil Lord Darth Vader and are on dark side. So I thought, let's make it a family theme.

I was Princess Leia, Calyn was Baby Leia and Greg was the Emperor Palpatine. We had a great time. More pictures of that evening will follow.

Other costumes that night were: Ariel, the mermaid, Hanna Montana, Darth Maul, Snow White, Sarah Palin, a Cop, a dead groom, witch and two scary creatures.

Suede Paper Tulipe

This card was made using the Suede Paper that I had purchased for a Big Shot materials swap. The paper is very rich and feels, well, like suede. It cuts very easily and has a nice look, although it is hard to see on the card. I stamped "cherish" using Basic Brown, it came out a little lighter than I would have liked, but it works. I showed the card at Patty Bennett's Stamp-a-Rama and she wondered if you could use the iron to transfer a stamped image. I will try that and let you know. In the meantime, enjoy this one!

Yum Yum Feet!

This is a picture of Calyn enjoying her yummy toes. She has recently discovered that she has feet and loves to bring them close for inspection and chewing. I sure wish I was that flexible!