Gearing Up For Creative University

Gosh I’ve been busy behind the scenes here lately getting ready for Creative University and a visit from my aunt and cousin from Massachusetts who are going to be here when I return from C.U. and stay with us as they travel cross country to LA.  Crazy stuff!  We DID finally get Christmas down and put away and even de-junked the Christmas/Seasonal Decor closet (aka under the stairs). Yahoo! 

I’ve also been working on 60 charms (20 art charms, 20 fillers and 20 extras for swapping on my own) for the Charm Swap that I am in and in charge of and working on the jewelry class that I am teaching.  I’m prepping my supplies, packaging them up and planning the agenda for my class (so I can keep on track, haha!)  I really wish I could share photos with you of what I am working on, but it’s supposed to be a secret so I can’t share just yet…

However, I do have some photos of the roomie gifts that I did last year and don’t think I ever shared these with you so I’m going to share them now. :)

I wanted everything to kind of have a little “theme” so I found some fun goodies in the CU “colors” and put these together.  They were very affordable and easy to make. Everything except the mini nail polish (Sally) and the treats  (Wmart Valentine’s aisle)came from the Michael’s dollar aisle.  I wanted to be able to do 5 sets of gifts at a reasonable price and still have some fun.  Presentation is the key to sprucing up dollar items.

Here’s the package all done up.  I bought the bags at Michaels ($1) and created some digi art in Photoshop for the front of the bags.  I also cut and punched out some cute lacey borders and adhered them to the main “label” and then to the bag.  I looooove the lacey lingerie background.. fun and whimsical.

 

Here’s a snapshot of the “loot” laid out.   The notebooks were $1 and I added some altered chipboard (covered with BG paper) and some Maya Road flourishes that I glittered to death and adhered to the front of the notebook.  The pencils came in a pack of 12 for $1… I split them up and made little tiny label size wraps that I stamped with a CTMH stamp “Special Delivery”.   The mini pedicure kit was also $1 and I tied a little stamped shoe tag (also glittered) to it with a ribbon.  The nail polish was less than 99c at Sally, I think I got it on sale and the sleep masks were also less than $1.  The princess door hanger came in a pack of 4 for $1 and I pulled out the pink and green ones and glammed them up with glitter and put a cute little sentiment on it.  The treats came in multi packs from Walmart’s  Valentine’s treats aisle.

 

Whether you’re headed to CU, a different retreat, or just need some fun little giftie ideas, I hope this inspires you.  This year I am doing something completely different and without quite so many goodies, but it will still be fun!  Can’t wait to share the pics with you later!

Inky Smiles!