7 Days and Counting to Swiss Days, 2011

If you were at Swiss Days two years ago, you might remember our Wire Tree kit. We hadn't planned on selling them, but we thought it would be fun to provide one as a give-away. The response was overwhelming. This fabulous little tree actually got us a stint on KSL's Studio Five. About 6 months ago, we received an order from a customer in Tokyo. Typically, we don't take international orders because the shipping is so outrageous, but this new friend 1/2 way around the world REALLY wanted the kit for a company team-building project. When I took the package to FedEX, I asked for the different shipping options. They came back with two prices, one that was 940 something and another in the 600 range. I was confused. Was that in yen? I asked for the conversion rate. Oh no, that was in US dollars!! CRAZY. Technology is an amazing thing. I texted the customer right then and there in the middle of the FedEx store. I could NOT feel good about charging someone 6+ times the price of the kit just to ship it to them. Thousands of miles (and several time zones) between us and I get a response within 2 minutes to go ahead and ship the kit at the $650 rate. I kid you not!

I share the story because it is one that has gone into the Stories by Me Hall of Fame. I also share the story because we were able to get our hands on another 20 trees. Even better news is that we have a second version that is quite a bit less...both in price and amount of work! Be sure to check it out if you're at Swiss Days!

More Family Face Blocks Ideas

Did you catch our Family Face Blocks segment on KSL, Studio 5? It was fun sharing our block ornament ideas...even if I couldn't find half of my supplies. (Turns out that Brooke had already glued the missing paper to the block she was working on... Next time, I'll have EXTRA paper scraps!) Never have five minutes flown by so quickly. We completely ran out of time to share some of the clever ways to display the finished work... so here they are, in their limited glory!

5. Another Wire Family Tree option:
This idea goes along with the fabulous tree that got so much attention on Studio 5. We were a little worried about sharing such a costly, time-consuming project (turns out that we were in the minority!) so we looked around for another option that would be easy on the wallet and easy to finish! We found this metal tree stand at Rod Works. I think it cost around $10.00. You might have something similar at home already.

With Valentines Day right around the corner, I thought I'd feature wedding pictures of various family members. I finished the ornaments with fabulous-looking vintage paper and go-with-everything black ribbon, but some bright red and pink colors would also work great.


I love these pictures! We're not sure if the pictures on the left records my husband's grandparents wedding, but the time period and elegant dress are clues that it might. The couple on the right are celebrating an 1868 wedding. If you could see the detail in their clothing, you might notice that his suit is made out of same checkered fabric as her dress.


Family faces aren't the only thing to feature on these blocks. I thought the wedding announcement made a nice addition and it's a great way to document the actual event.

6. Gift Tags:

Here's another one of Erica's clever ideas... turn the ornament into a gift tag.

A dear, dear friend is celebrating the 21st anniversary of her 29th birthday. (Notice that I did NOT call her 50 years old!) We've had some fabulous memories along the way and I used the ornament to record a few of our highlights. (The sundae is in remembrance of a weekend get-away to San Francisco and death by chocolate!) This is the perfect eco-friendly gift tag... who could throw away the memories?

So that's what we've done with our blocks. What are you going to do with yours?

Remember that you have two more days to enter our drawing for your own Love Those Family Faces kit.

Love Those Family Faces, Give Away!

What's not to love about family faces? Ok, maybe some days are better than others to answer that question! Our Family Face project will help you preserve your special memories of those faces important in your life. Tomorrow we'll be sharing how easy it is to make the family face blocks on KSL, Studio 5. (Tune in at 11:00.)

Here's a sneak peak of what we're bringing...

1. Hanging Wall Decor - Scroll to the bottom of this posting for information on how to win your very own LOVE Those Family Faces kit.

For this project, I used 5 medium and 4 small block ornaments. All together, 36 pictures document those moments near and dear to my heart! I thought the metal hanger was perfect for completing the sentiment, but the blocks would look equally great hanging from a light fixture or curtain rod.

(We attached the metal plate to a floor easle for easy setup, but soon after the segment it'll be featured on a prominent wall in my family room.)

2. Wreaths and Garland -

We loved our holiday garland so much that we decided to continue the idea into the new year and create something Valentines'y'. Super easy and if you look carefully, you'll see just how verstile these ornaments are. Some of the decorative paper in this display say "Merry Christmas." Because the display space was minimal, I decided to use all black/white pictures. I changed out previously used green ribbon for red and voila ~ I'm now ready for Valentine's Day.

3. Say it with Blocks -

Let's not forget the stacking options. If there's time, we'll show off our Say it With blocks. Since we're so close to Valentines Day, we'll display the "All Because Two People Fell in Love" side.

4. Wire Family Tree -

This is the project that got Studio 5's attention. All together our wire tree holds 40 block ornaments...that's 160 pictures when the project is completed! We're not going to pretend that this tree is fast or easy on the wallet. Coming up with 160 pictures can seem daunting for some. Our kit costs 100 big ones, but it comes with everything ...you just come up with the pictures! Don't let our disclaimer discourage you from creating your own family tree. We think our tree branch version is just as meaningful and it's a great way to get your own family face ornament collection started.

So that's what we're bringing tomorrow for our brief moment in the spotlight. Who knows what will actually make it onto the segement. Believe it or not, this is just a portion of the list of ideas that Erica came up with. We'll work on getting pictures on these other projects and get them posted at a later date.

Are you ready to start making family face blocks? Instructions for making your the ornaments start here. We've created a video that shows you each step of the process. Last time we checked, the file was 858MB. The file is SOOooo big that we can't get it off our computer and on to the internet. We'll keep trying, so check back!

As we mentioned earlier, one lucky reader will get a complete Love Those Family Faces kit. It comes with 9 wood blocks (assorted sizes), glue, foam brush, sand paper/sanding block, distress ink/chalk, decorative end papers and ribbon, metal eye screws and the fabulous LOVE metal wall hooks for displaying your finished project. Just remember, you can't win if you don't COMMENT! Leave a brief comment about this project and we'll pick a random name on Friday, January 22.

Mark your Calendars, 1-19-2010!

Out of the blue, we received a phone call from one of the producers at Studio 5, KSL inviting us to come on their show to share a project. Imagine our excitement! We've been trying to make the connection for over a year...and they call us! We figured that it's the perfect time to share our fun and easy block ornaments. (We didn't quite get time to share these when we were on Good Things Utah last month.)

We've heard from many of you that really, really wanted display a Family Christmas tree during the holiday season, but never found the time to get these made. Well, we're going to inspire you! Our dear friend Erica spent most of her day yesterday coming up with unique ways that we can display these ornaments 11 months of the year. THANK YOU Erica!!

Check back in the next couple of days. We plan to share our instructions for making the ornaments here on the blog, along with Erica's wonderful ideas for displaying them. Then tune in next Tuesday to Channel 5 at 11:00am. (We'll provide a link for those outside of our viewing area.) Our challenge is to NOT call these cute ornaments, ornaments. The producer thought that sounded too Christmas'y'. We're trying to train our brains to call them Family Face Blocks! Count how many times we mess us!!

And the Winner Is....

We are excited to announce the winner of our Family Tree 3-Dimensional Tree Giveaway! Thanks to ALL the people who made their way to our Swiss Days booth and showed their support and excitement for our products. You made the hard work leading up to this event well worth it!

TRACY LASSCHE will receive the box filled with everything needed to create her own fabulous tree. Watch for an email Tracy so we can get your kit on its way to you!

For those who ordered their own tree kit; start gathering pictures! Your kits will arrive in the next couple of weeks. Check back as we'll share how we made our ornaments later this week. Right now we're enjoying a few minutes of well-deserved R&R with our families!!