Friendzy Friday-- Back to School Cones

A few years ago we found ourselves in a little German town having lunch in a beer garden and it happened to be the first day of school. We saw lots of little ones having lunch with their families to celebrate the big day and the kids were all clutching large paper cones which were brightly decorated and filled with little presents. I realised that I had seen a photograph of my father-in-law in the 1930s holding a similar paper cone on his first day of school in Germany.

So this week I decided that a version of these first day of school cones would make a great Friendzy Friday for TSF! I made one for my DH who will be heading "back to school" (back to work).

You will need a 12x12 sheet of stiff patterned paper, a stapler, ruler, pencil, scissors and liquid glue.



Fold your paper into a cone, overlapping the edges and trying to achieve a nice point at the bottom. Staple your cone in a few places so that it will hold its shape. Don't worry, you will hide the seam and the staples with your embellishments.




Draw a pencil line across the top of your cone to achieve a nice even top. Then trim along your line.



Add more staples as needed and apply some liquid glue along the seam as well.



Now that your basic cone is finished, let your imagination soar to decorate your back to school cone. I attached eyelets on each side and used this nice green ribbon as a holder. I glued this pom pom trim along the top to hide the edge. I punched lots of colourful stars from card stock, layered them and used them to hide the seam.



On Sept 6th I plan on filling this with little presents (like a Tim's card, chocolate, a new toothbrush, markers etc.) and hanging it on my DH's chair as a first day of school present. Maybe a new tradition is born??

Give these a try and show us your creations!

Australian Adventure!

This year our summer holiday took us back to Australia! My DH surprised me with a trip back to a land we first fell in love with in 2000.

The views around Sydney Harbour never disappoint. I never get tired of looking at the Harbour Bridge or the Opera House. We took this shot from the Manly Ferry.


We visited my dear friend Charlotte in Sydney. She took us to a cottage a few hours south of Sydney. Here we are on Culburra beach. Not bad for "winter"!!



We also explored Adelaide and South Australia this time. Here is a shot of a vineyard in the Barossa Valley! All the Shiraz I could drink. My favourite!!



We made new memories of Australia this time. I can't wait to scrap all the photos.



And on the way home, we got "stuck" in San Francisco for a night due to bad weather in the midwest preventing us from getting our connection to Chicago. So it gave us a chance to get a little taste of that wonderful city! Another iconic bridge to view!! The Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory.


We are already talking about going back to California to give San Francisco its full due. And of course the nearby Napa Valley beckons as well!

Thank you Char for such a wonderful holiday in Australia!

August DT Reveal

For this month's TSF Design Team reveal, I got to work with the Yankee Doodles line from We R Memory Keepers.



I created these two pages of the flowerpot formations near Tobermory.





Then I made two pages of a trip last year to Niagara Falls.









And finally the fun die cuts made a perfect sentiment for a card.



Be sure to check out what the other very talented ladies did this month!