Monday, March 16, 2020

The Gang's All Meer for Freshly Made Sketches


A funny thing happened on the way to the Craft Retreat! As you may know I was planning a fund raising 1 day crop this past Saturday - right about when the whole COVID-19 virus issue heated up! We had been advised that gatherings of less than 250 people were still okay, and as we were only 32, well below the target number set by the Center for Disease Control, we decided to go ahead, with precautions. We gave an out for anyone who felt uncomfortable attending and also asked that anyone who felt unwell not attend. I was able to offer a partial refund plus all the treats, Swag Bags and make & takes. There were a few who felt more comfortable staying home, but here is the amazing part: Not one of them wanted a refund. To a person, they all donated it to the cause, so we weren't out a dime! Crafters are the coolest people!

But there's more: Friday morning around 4:30 am, I woke up coughing, with a slight fever and my chest feeling a bit tight! Major dilemma! I'm running the retreat, but by my own criteria, I shouldn't be there! Do I cancel? But then the cause I'm raising the funds for would go without the badly needed money! Luckily, I was working closely with a friend from the organization, who also happened to be one of my former downlines, and she stepped up and ran the retreat beautifully, with extensive directions from me. I kept in touch by text, phone and Messenger.

BUT: all those cards I was going to get done didn't happen, because all my stamps and equipment was down at the retreat site so I had nothing to work with. I scrambled on Sunday, after getting my craft room put back together again, to get a card made for my post today.

I decided to use the layout from last week's Freshly Made Sketches' Challenge:


I wanted to make thank you cards for our caterer and for Kim, who took over for me. And I wanted to use "The Gang's All Meer" which is kind of ironic, I guess, since we are all now practicing "Social Distancing"!

Here's my entry:



  • It's a fairly simple card to fit the layout. I used Sahara Sand for a card base to match the desert-like feel of this stamp set. I paired that with Old Olive that I would use for a cactus in the desert, and added a strip of Tropical Oasis Designer Series Paper for some texture and a good base for those cute little meerkats to stand on!
  • I stamped the meerkats in Soft Suede ink and coloured them in with the Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Marker Combo, with a little Light Pink Pirouette (retired) for their cheeks. I keep the Light Pink Pirouette around for just that purpose, as Flirty Flamingo is too bright to be subtle enough. After outlining them all with Light Smoky Slate, I fussy cut them out  and mounted them on the card front using Dimensionals.
  • The top sentiment is from the Woven Heirlooms stamp set in the Annual Catalogue, while the bottom one, tucked under the DSP on Old Olive paper, is from the Gang's All Meer itself.
  • This is the version I made for Kim, who ran the Retreat for me at the last minute when I got sick. The same information applies to this one, except that the sentiment at the top is a masked version of one of the ones in The Gang's All Meer. I covered Happy Birthday at the top of it with tape when I inked it up and then removed the tape before I stamped it.

              


I don't know about you, but I've been thinking a lot about my family in the last few days as the COVID-19 crises consumes the media and changes our way of life! I love that the next Paper Pumpkin box focuses on family and telling them how much we care! As many demonstrators feel the need to cancel classes for the safety of our customers and to slow the spread of the virus, and many of our customers are self-isolating or practising social distancing, we need things to do - often with our kids or grandkids- to keep everyone busy and happy. A Paper Pumpkin subscription is the perfect solution! It has an affordable price point - $30 a month which includes shipping, it is all inclusive with everything you need right in the box, it's easy enough for you to do with your kids, but there's lots of alternative ideas to give you more of a challenge if you want it, it's delivered right to your door every month, and it's easy to stop and start your subscription when you want, if money gets tight!


Sound like something that could solve your crafting problems in the next few weeks? Here's where you can find out more and subscribe: Paper Pumpkin


If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my OnLine Store.

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3 comments :

  1. I hope all is well with you. It's so nice of you to sit home and create thank you cards - and they are so sweet! Thank you for playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

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  2. Wow! How wonderful that someone took over your retreat. Hope you are well. This is an adorable card- hard to resist a meer cat! Thanks for joining us at Freshly Made Sketches!

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  3. I'm so sorry you have become ill at a time like this Heather and I hope you're feeling better now. It really is best to err on the safe side in this instance and I'm so pleased that your friend stepped forward to run your retreat for you. How heartwarming that no-one would take refunds too :) I love your meer cat card - that colour combo is one of my favourites! Vicky x

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