Fiesta!...A Thank You...

My "Get ready to PARTAY" card created especially for the amazing Journey Crew!

It started out with feeling a little grateful...then snowballed...into something amazingly fun!

I had a TON OF FUN organizing a TOP SECRET FIESTA for the Journey Crew a couple of weeks ago and with the help of a few other awesome Journey Coaches and the ever-so-sneaky Kim Kesti, the FIESTA went down last week.

I wanted to show the Journey Crew my thanks for the new and improved website launch so I pitched my idea to my downline and a few close-contact coaches (so as to keep it on the down-low and to ensure the super-secret nature of this idea).  They were ALL IN and that set the ball rolling...

The Journey Crew Rocks!  If you haven't already experienced visiting the new FSJ website/blog and shop (Check out my new site HERE), you wouldn't know the hours and hours and days and days and weeks and weeks and months and months of work that went into launching this site.  I'm sure you can appreciate completing a HUGE project after working on it for so long.  Well, that is an understatement for this crew for sure.  TEAMWORK, DEDICATION, SUPPORT, COMMITMENT, DETERMINATION...Yep, that's all there!

Their tireless efforts in this successful launch are so appreciated and we continue to celebrate them as they work through the kinks and subsequent updates.  We know how hard they have worked to produce a fabulous website and we are so grateful for their dedication!

I reached out to Kim Kesti with a little proposal a few weeks previous to this event and I asked if she would help us surprise the crew.  We knew it would not be a surprise if we had nine hundred packages arriving to the Journey Station, so we needed a Secret Agent...a burro of sorts. ;) We hoped she would accept the mission (even during this busy, busy time) and help us pull off this secret mission.  She said YES!   Kim received all the packages, checked and updated us on the arrival of the goodies, arranged a date for the fiesta and set up the party supplies.  She also chipped in and provided some salsa and drinks since our mixer hadn't arrived!  Most of all, she kept it all hush hush for us. We thank her so much for helping us deliver our thanks... FIESTA style!

THANK YOU CREW FOR GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO MAKE THE NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH A SUCCESS!  WE APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH!

Check it out!

Our Fiesta-in-a-Box included LOTS of fun:  

*A cactus pinata-with pinata treats

*Mariachi Band...Rubber Duckie Style!
*Sombrero Party Headbands

*Maracas

*Tortilla Chips

*Margarita Mixer (arrived after the party) from my favorite Margarita Texas!

*Festive Solo Cups, Plates, Napkins, Fiesta Tablecloth

*Handmade cards from the Coaches on this secret mission

*A gorgeous flower arrangement delivered to the station

Check out a few photos (Thanks to the JCrew and Kim Kesti for preserving these memories)

Thanks Rose for the photo!  We loved seeing what our "pick" ended up becoming on the other side!

The flowers arrived the day before...with a little hint about a fiesta or something to come...

Kim was our secret agent!  Thanks to her, the secret party went off without a hitch!

Journey Orange and Green was in order...but no proper fiesta can exclude the other festive colors of the rainbow!  

Thanks for the great photo Kim!

Of course a fiesta needs a pinata right?  Well, when in Arizona, a CACTUS pinata is in order!  Too fun to destroy so the treats are on the side!  

Thanks Kim for the photo!

I mean really, I think they're reserving themselves for Convention...We know they LOVE to partay!  

This is the best stuff ever! Check out their recipes too!

(Although the case of Margarita Mixer didn't arrive in time for the party (a few hours late), I hope they enjoy that another day (perhaps an After-Convention party is in order?)

You can just see the crew trying to contain their excitement...They're working, ya know.  Even the mariachi duckies couldn't convince them to jump up on the table and shake those maracas...OR DID THEY?)

Here are a few of the cards that arrived in time for the party...  They're still trickling in to Kim so they'll be loved and admired soon!

Cards:  Betty Giles "You Did It!", Jenn Gross "Hip Hip HOO RAY!", Kerry Urbatch "Margarita Mariachi-You Rock!"

Here are a few close-ups of my card:

 Yummy Glossy Cups are in order!

I forgot to color his belt buckle before taking the photo so I had to take another shot of his AWESOME BLINGED OUT FSJ Belt Buckle!  No Mariachi is complete without a fabulous HUGE HONKIN' rodeo style buckle, right?

I used the following supplies to create this fun and festive card:  

Felicidades AT-0156 (Stamp and Die Bundle HERE) 

Rock Notes (sentiment on inside) RETIRING SOON!  

Circle Film Die Set DI-0276 (Coming July 1)

Large Dauber Dowel

Electric Lime Ink

Outrageous Pink Ink

Cosmic Grape Ink

Turbo Teal Ink

Orange Rave Ink

Sour Lemon Ink

Whip Cream Cardstock

Cosmic Grape Cardstock

Electric Lime Cardstock

Journey Glaze

Sparkle Dust

Foam Squares

Non FSJ products:

White Tissue Paper (colored with FSJ Ink)

Black Micron Pen
Fine "0" tip Artist's Loft Paintbrush

Machine Stitching

Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop: Day 7: Boxes, Beans and Bows...

***Congratulations go to Claire Broadwater for winning my Flash Prize!!!  Claire can now shop my FSJ site and select $25.00 worth of her most favorite products FREE!***

Hey there happy hoppers!  Today I thought I'd do a little celebratin'!  Yes, you've got that right!  I'm celebratin' my last day of school!  WOO!  Well, not really my last day of school, but the last day my students came to school.  I have to pack my room up and turn my keys in on Monday, but other than that, I'm FREE!  WOOO! 

I created a little acetate gift box using an awesome die from FSJ.  This die usually cuts paper only, but with a bit of finagling, I was able to cut this acetate box.  I started out by dripping some FSJ Color Splash colors using a straw then let some of the splats drip a bit.  After letting it dry, I headed up to my scrap room to start working on the other parts to this project.  

I used the RETIRING set _ to create 20 little cards that I can place in this box and take with me to the Scrapbook Expo this weekend.  I'll share a few of these cards with friends as a reminder that we need to have a little play-date after the show is over.  I filled the acetate box with some coffee beans, added a ribbon and some sparkle thread and started working on my card.  

Here's a closer peek at the yummy coffee beans.  Don't you just wanna shake-shake-shake it? Naaahhh...Just sniff, sniff...Smells soooo good!

I wanted to create a little asymmetrical design for the drippy panel so I trimmed the top and bottom a bit.  After that, I added some star strip diecuts (LOVE THIS DIE SET) on top of some fringed graph paper.  And don't you just love those little people clips?! LOVE THEM!  I added some of the sparkle trim and applied this panel with foam squares to a blue panel I stamped with the "coffee" sentiment in this set.  

There are several sentiments in this set and I love each one.  I think this sentiment works best here. This closer peek also helps show the yummy diecut and the fringe paper.  That's a party goin' on right there.  :)

I hope you enjoyed my creation today.  I'll be back again tomorrow to share another fun coffee creation!  

FSJ Products Used:  

Enjoy Coffee Stamp Set (Retiring June 30!:  40% off)

Border Details Die

Treat Box Die

Whip Cream Card Base

Limeade Splash Cardstock

Pool Play Cardstock

Summer Days Cardstock

Blue Lagoon Cardstock

Blue Lagoon True Fusion Ink

Oatmeal Cookie True Fusion Ink

Hazelnut Blend True Fusion Ink

FSJ Color Splashes (thinned with water) Cool Pool,  Lemon Grass, Pineapple Smoothie, Citrus Cooler, Watermelon

Fam Bam Elements

Tinsel Trim

Olive Green Satin Ribbon

Foam Squares

Journey Craft Glue

Non FSJ Products Used:  

Canson Watercolor Paper

Graph Paper

Acetate

Metallic Silver Liquid Acrylic Paint (Liquitex) 

Reminder:  As a SUPER SPONSOR and a FLASH PRIZE SPONSOR for this hop, I will be giving away the following items to some lucky hoppers:  

Super Sponsor Prize:  

NEW (To be released July 1.)  "Hey Sugar" stamp set 

Flash Prize:  

$25.00 Gift Certificate to my online shop!  ***Congrats to Claire!  

*** You can view my previous posts here: 

Day 1:  Espresso My Love...

Day 2:  Bible Journaling:  I love You A Latte...

Day 3:  A Little Sip of Sunshine...

Day 4:  Hello Lovely...

Day 5:  Coffee Buzz...

Day 6:  Tiny Bubbles

***HAPPY SALES!***

Our 40% off Retirement Sale is Going ON NOW!  Check out all the amazing price cuts on our top-quality products.  While we hate to see them go, we've gotta make room for our new catalog products that will become available July 1!  (Our Coffee set:  ENJOY COFFEE SET is reduced to $10.17)   Hurry, all products available while supplies last!  

Thanks for popping in and have fun hopping! 

Thank you...

Continuing on with my Quick and Easy "Thank You" card stash is a little artsy number!  So fast, so fun!  To create this card, I used the Media Pattern spray pattern stamp.  I inked the stamp with Pool Play ink then stamped onto Whip Cream cardstock.  After that, I over stamped that with some Cranberry Bliss ink.  I didn't worry about aligning the image, just stamping over it to create more layering of color.  After that, I stamped the Thank You image with Clear Embossing Ink then applied Gold Embossing powder.  I decided to add some "confetti" to the card by flicking some Gold and Silver Silk onto the image, then applying some of the Lemon Grass Confetti Elements with some Journey Glaze. 

To finish the card off, I added a little punched tag stamped with an itty bitty sentiment and tied with a little black licorice twine.  Popping it up with a small foam square gave it the dimension it needed. This stamped panel was attached to a Denim Days card base.  

Supplies needed to recreate this card:  

Stamps: Thank You ATS, Tag Elements ATS, Media Pattern

Inks: Black Licorice, Clear Pigment Ink, Pool Play, Cranberry Bliss, Gold and Silver Silk

Papers: Whip Cream Cardstock, Denim Days Cardstock, Pool Play Cardstock

Embellishing Elements:  Gold Embossing Powder, Lemon Grass Confetti Elements, Tag This Punch and Punch Handle, Black Journey Twine

Adhesives:  Journey Foam Squares, Journey Craft Glue

Tools:  Heat Gun