I took some Islands with me!!

Well I am back, in blighty.....I survived flying, what was the most daunting aspect of air travel was the checking in and the weighing of luggage, and it was only me, out of our group that set off the airport alarms...any surprises there though!!

On to the more important stuff..... Spending the day site seeing, in Paris, on the Thursday prior to convention, was fantastic, although I do have to say that the 'Tour De Eiffel' was not at all as romantic, as we expected it to be.....until the light faded and night was upon us....then Paris really came alive, and so did my French....words I had never used since my GCSE days sprang from my lips.....During the day I managed to ask for directions, gel shoe inserts and a cork screw....get me and my metropolitan lifestyle!!

Anyway all to soon we were catching the last train back to the Hotel, and getting ready for 2 action packed days of 'Stampin' Up!' Convention (And wow-sers....they were action packed, full of info on new product lines and top tips...there is so much to cover over the next couple of months!!)As I was attending as part of the 'Julies Jems' team, we all made each other little team swaps, I am still pouring over all the lovely makes I received, but here is my make for the team swap.

And yes, it is a play on words, but I took 19 of these little boxes, made from our delightful 'Island Indigo' card stock with me...get it?? Islands with me!!

The boxes are based, on a cheese wedge style I was taught years ago, but I loved bringing an old idea to life again with modern products. The fab sentiment came from the lovely 'Petite Pairs' Stamp set and was then punched with the modern label punch, with the little flourish from 'Tiny Tags' added for some decoration, and to finish the tag, a bit of SU bling!!

The boxes were given a simple bit of stamping, with the swirl from 'Everything Eleanor'.....and a light misting of the champagne.....well we were in Paris.....shimmer paint, that I had watered down.To hold the box closed and fasten the tag in place, I used a 12cm length of the new crochet trim, and as knotting it, slipped in a short piece of the 'Basic Black- Striped Grosgrain'........I have used 3 rolls of this for my convention makes......Its a good job I get a demo discount!! But I couldn't just give my teamies, an empty box, well the make inside, was something to wear......

A beautiful ring!

I am extremely grateful, that my good friend Deborah, is an avid 'Kirsty Allsop' fan, she saw a gorgeous make similar to this on her craft TV show, well the next day whilst I was out and about Deborah phoned me, to ask had I seen it, well I hadn't, but all she said was...' She just stuck the paper roses, you have been making on to ring backs and Voila....she had made a ring'. It was sort of a serendipity moment, as she rung, I happen to be stood outside a Haberdashery shop, which stocked the ring backs!!

And as soon as I got home, I used all my little scraps of 'Timeless Portrait' Designer Papers to create the roses.....to make them more sturdy, I gave them a couple of coats of 'Crystal Effects' and just before the centre set, popped in a large, sparkly bling......well I couldn't afford real diamonds....sorry girls!!

I hope the girls loved my make, as much as I have loved theirs, swapping was such a special part of convention, only 'Stampin' Up! demonstrators, can attend the convention, so if you don't want to miss out on all the HOT SU news, learn new some new craft skills, and even make new friends, then join my team.......OOOoo and the location for convention next year.......

Mainz, Germany

on November 2 and 3, 2012!

Make plans now to attend this wonderful event!

I can't wait for you- to become a

'Stampin' Up! ' Demonstrator with me!!! XXX