Thanks so much,ya'll! You should've heard him telling his Mama all about it when she got home. I should mention he is only 5 years old,lol. He says Mama, MeMe had blood going and going and going :D We told him how good and brave he was..I'm just fine, I'll have to make another appointment, since my next one isn't for 3 months. And I totally forgot about the aspirin I take every day.... About the crafts, all the links are on my blog, but I will add them here. The hat box was easy, I had HossFly measure the side so I could cut it out just the right size. I used my rotary cutter and mat that I used to use for making quilts,lol. For the lid and the bottom round parts, I just traced it and cut it out about half an inch bigger all around. I cut little snips in it like you would if you were sewing curves, and I used cheap white school glue mixed with enough water to make it smooth like paint.Glue on the top and bottom circles, then the side of the box, and the side of the lid. I didn't have to worry about the fit, because these boxes are made for covering in crafting. You can buy these papier mache hatboxes at places like Hobby Lobby and Michaels for about $5..that's the original price on the bottom of mine, but she paid .50.Try to smooth out all the air pockets, but I wouldn't worry about it too much, it all flattens out once it starts drying, it just might have a few wrinkles, which would be perfectly okay if you want an antique look. Then I used the water/glue mixture to paint it, like you would use Mod-Podge. I only used two coats on the hat boxes, it was plenty. Brown age spots showed up, but they pretty much go away once it dries. Also I sprayed it with a clear spray you can find by regular spray paint, about a dollar a can at WalMart. Two coats of that. The star pattern link is on my blog,too,but I'll add it here :D I cut out two stars, and one piece of white posterboard. I scored the posterboard according to the directions, then glued the map on one side, trimmed it, and glued the other side and trimmed it, then folded it along the scored lines. I happen to have a metal star just like it, so I took it off the wall and laid my paper star over it to dry. You could put something under the center of your star to hold it up a little while it dries. The roses........now those are just GORGEOUS! I've never seen any more realistic in my life! I saw this on Martha Stewart, and the nice lady Cassie has the pattern there with directions. Of course you could buy the kits, or buy them ready made,too,from her site. I still don't have my green floral tape, so I haven't really made any yet, just that practice one with no tape on it. star pattern http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.homehints.com.au/images/steps/noimage/step/step4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.homehints.com.au/Calendar/966/how%2Bto/make%2Byour%2Bown%2Bornate%2Bchristmas%2Bstar&usg=__W7290yH-1cZakLHg-QJUgj2sbc8=&h=156&w=208&sz=5&hl=en&start=17&um=1&tbnid=JRrgywH9FAnRJM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhow%2Bto%2Bfold%2B3d%2Bstars%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN I made mine bigger, that's why I needed Hoss' math skills :D Check links on my blog for more! Here is a link that might be useful: cone coffee filter roses

I think the best way to go is to use generic holders and make the cards themselves customized to fit the Titanic theme. So, if you already have holders or want to buy some, find something elegant but simple that you can reuse. Then, you print off the luggage tags or boarding pass or whatever. That part is easy. You do all the art on the computer, then print on regular paper with a color printer and cut them out. I've done this sort of thing many times. You can use Word to do it. So, for the tags, you can buy some tan colored card stock, or just print on regular card stock. Then just draw in the shape of the tag, a dark brown ring on the left to simulate the reinforcemnt around the hole, and all the rest of the art on there - the star, the border, the lines to be filled out, etc. Once you have the art the way you like it, copy-paste it as many times as can fit on a page. Then print and cut. Use a hole puncher to punch the hole and attach the string. Admittedly this can be time consuming - it takes time to draw all this on the computer. But it's definitely not difficult and would be so cute.

If I had a $12k carryon you'd better believe I would wrap it In plastic film just to carry it on. I would be the traveling version of the old lady with plastic covers on her sofa! Go to worldtraveler.com and look at Ghurka, Kaeler, Filson, etc. they also have Heys luggage, which has a darling spinner with a world map on it. Super cute, I'll be your girls would LOVE it. I have a set of Victorinox in Kelly green that I love, and it is cute but not versatile, demanding a certain wardrobe to be coordinated. I can see how white luggage would be the answer to that problem but I would never dare. You may not want luggage that is too dear because it changes with new materials, new wheels, more wheels, better interior organization, etc. I finally gave away a lovely set of Hartman luggage that was sitting in the basement. It had been very expensive---- not near the realm of Hermes or LV, but still----so I held on to it for a few years after it was no longer useful. What did I think, it was going to grow wheels, or suddenly people would go back to carrying their suitcases instead of pulling them? Lol, from that point on it was strictly middle of the road luggage for us. Except for my cute German boiled wool pet. Which I also don't use any longer.

If you have a Harbor Freight near there are endless manny man stocking stuffer things cheap but useful. These are great for women as well. A pack of those teeny tiny little screw drivers , earplugs, a wall mount magnet for tools or knives, safety glasses , tire gauge, chip brushes, good picture hooks, furniture slides, a level, extension cords, little power strips, retractable utility knife (can't have enough), pepper spray, combination lock, car interior cleaning wipes ,little portable work light/ flashlights , tow strap, little voltage tester, and batteries for all the remote controls.