Take a look at the stems not just the blooms – they should be green and smooth not slimy or yellow.

When buying a bouquet – check to make sure that the water they are in is clear and fresh.

Once you find your flowers, Ginger gave us a couple tips for keeping them fresh:

Keep them cool until you can get them in water, do not leave them your car while making one last stop before getting home.

Make a fresh cut about 1 inch from the bottom of the stem and Ginger showed how to cut them at varying lengths to create interest in your bouquet.

Make sure your vase and all cutting tools are clean.

Remove all the leaves that will be under the level of the water.

You should only use about 1/3 of the flower food that comes with your bouquet – you can use the rest when you change then water.

Keep fresh flowers out of direct sunlight and drafty windows.

Change the water frequently – every other day is good.

Finally Ginger gave us a list of flowers with a long vase life and these are the flowers she spoke about:

Alstremeria – usually seen in white, although the ones Ginger had today where a deep burgundy, the flower is bell shaped and has a freckled or spotted appearance. I thought the burgundy was quite beautiful.

Anthirium – these are a tropical plant with usually a red or pink with a large stamen of a contrasting color, normally waxy in appearance, although more expensive than most these are a wonderful addition to any bouquet!

Bells of Ireland – a green foliage that has a flower like appearance up the stem. Ginger showed us a sample and we all agreed, although we had never seen it – it was really different and something we would use!

Blue Lepto – which is mostly used as a filler flower has the look of cherry blossoms but are blue.

Chrysanthemums – a flower we are all familiar with and is also used as a filler flower because of its large variety of colors.

Carnations – not Ginger’s favorite, but also comes in a wide variety of colors and does come in a miniature version that has become very popular in bouquets.

Dianthus – most of us think of this as a annual for your garden but added to a bouquet with it’s small bright red, purple, pink or white flowers, they just pop!

Lilies – of any variety are really long lasting although the Asiatic Lilies are less expensive and are just as colorful and last just as long as the typical Stargazer Lilies. Keep in mind when picking them out to look for stems that have the most buds that will bloom long after you bring them home!

Orchids – once again on the expensive side most orchids are bright in color and add a lot to a bouquet and they will last up to tens days in a vase.

Spider Mums – this is a unique flower that comes in yellow, white and pink and adds style to your bouquet.

Sunflowers – this is a bright and cheery flower that makes everyone smile and lasts up to 10 days in a vase.

Daisies – another cheery flower on the lower end of the price range – just remember do not buy the dyed daisies as they have a really short life span – because of the dye. Ginger showed us to keep the daisy’s standing up straight by simply by putting the stem in a drinking straw.

Roses – when buying roses look for the freshest cut and the tightest buds this will go a long way in keeping them around for a long time.

When looking for the perfect bouquet, living arrangement, wedding flowers or an anniversary gift – Ginger at Willows Floral has the experience and eye for the perfect flower for you! Ginger finished the vase that was a wonderful explosion of varieties of flowers and colors!

Ginger Kaiser * Willows Floral * 303.989.6446 * flower_queencomcastnet

Today our second speaker was Terry Gore of Stampin’ Up in Golden, Colorado. Terry wanted to share with the wonderful experience that she had at the Stampin’ Up Convention last week. Half of the adventure when going to a Stampin’ Up Convention is that the attendees have to make a card the uses the Stampin’ Up stamps, colors, punches and creativity. This year’s “Over the Top” challenge was to have a five layer card that was decorated on the inside. Terry brought with her the best of the challenge samples and passed them around. Each designer that wants to enter the competition must not only come up with a design, they also must create 51 of them to share with the other contestants. These samples were all over the top and very creative! Terry won this year with her card that was beautiful and even had a spinning wheel that changed the message on the card with just a spin! At convention they also displayed some of the new stamps and creative ideas that Terry will be offering in classes through the fall. One includes, what Terry calls, “The Village of Cuteness”, which is a new offering from Stampin’ Up – they are wood blocks in the shape of little houses of varying sizes, which can be decorated either to match your décor or for the season – like Halloween and Christmas. The classes that Terry will offering will cost 35.00 and the dates are to be announced! To see the samples of the handy work and creative genius that was demonstrated at the Stampin’ Up Convention take a look at Terry’s Blog – www.terryscreativeprocess.blogspot.com. If you need to get your creative juices flowing give Terry a call and take a class!!!

Terry Gore * Stampin’ Up * 303.278.7985 * tlgorehotmailcom  (tlgorehotmailcom)  * www.mycreativeprocess.stampinup.net

Lori Bush-Engel * Modern Woodmen of America * 303-880-4084 * LoriBush-Engelmwareporg  (LoriBush-Engelmwareporg)   * www.modern-woodmen.org

Our second speaker today was Terry Gore of Stampin’ Up in Golden, Colorado. Today Terry wanted to have us experience what her classes offer. She had three volunteers Dr. Erin Foley, Lori Bush-Engel & Ann Allen make a cute card for Easter.

Volunteers hard at work

The final card which Terry made this morning for a sample was a little chick, out of yellow card stock with rubber stamping for accents on the wings and feet. The tools required for this project are the Stampin’ Up Big Shot (99.00) to cut out the main body of “the Chick” and the Stampin’ Up large circle scalloped die. When using this you will fold the sheet in half and only run in through to the fold. Then to create the feet you would use the Stampin’ Up small hand punch (16.95) with the small oval die and punch out 6 ovals. Then one each oval you use the sponge dauber with orange ink, the sponge dauber fits on your finger tip, and daub or smudge around the edges. Then you will take the Stampin’ Up small hand punch with the small circle scalloped punch and punch out one circle – then cut it in half to create the chick’s wings. Stampin’ Up offers three different types of gluing your creation together – the Stampin’ Up 2-way glue pen – with it’s chisel tip for easy application in small areas, the Stampin’ up Tombow Multipurpose glue stick – this stick is versatile for very small spaces or covering a large area and the Stampin’ Up Mini Glue Dots – these double sided adhesive dots are perfect for creating a 3-D effects or scrap booking. Once you glue all the pieces on the outside – using a Stampin’ Up stamp – stating your message from the many that they offer on Lucite blocks so you can see exactly where you are placing the message. Each of the volunteers then

Easter Card

 displayed their cards and even those who claim to not be creative came up with wonderful cards!

Chick card creationEaster Card

Terry also showed us another item that she whipped up this morning, a paper water bucket that was created from a Stampin’ Up template that you can download from the Stampin’ Up site and print out on any printer. Once you cut the shape out it is simply a matter of gluing all of the tabs together.

From start to finish of a Stampin' Up template

She also spoke to the high quality of the Stampin’ Up paper that she uses for most of her creations and it is thicker and are more stout than those that you can purchase at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s. Keep in mind that when you take a class from Terry – you get use all the tools and toys to create cards and home décor with out purchasing them! Give Terry Gore from Stampin’ Up a call to look into taking a class!!

Terry Gore * Stampin’ Up * 303-502-6782 * tlgorehotmailcom  (tlgorehotmailcom)   * terryscreativeprocess.blogspot.com     

Debbie Caperton * Premier Designs Jewelry * 303.988.7119 * rdahomecomcastnet  (rdahomecomcastnet)  

Our second speaker today was Ruthie Williams with Stampin’ Up – she has been doing a lot of bazaars and craft fairs this holiday season and has some cards and note card sets she wanted to share with us. She brought in a large selection of Christmas, birthday, get well and thank you cards for all of us to look at! She offers a wide variety of techniques with each card from dry and heat embossing, stamping, cut paper, sponging, glitter and medallions – making each card unique in it’s own way! They were all wonderful to look  and we all enjoyed passing them around. She introduced a variety pack that has a birthday card, thank you card, get well card and sympathy card - in a really unique holder. She was offering cards for sale for 4.00 ea (card and envelope) and the variety pack at 20.00 (4 cards and envelopes). Ruthie also offers classes for creating your own cards which sound like a lot of fun – you get to learn the techniques and come a way with a card of your own with your special touch! Upcoming classes are on Dec. 12th and 19th – just contact Ruthie for details!!

Ruthie Williams * Stampin’ Up * 303.278.3520 * ruthiemarykaygmailcom  (ruthiemarykaygmailcom)