Mojo Monday "Blues"

As I sit here blogging, I am waiting for a call from my husband, to come pick him up.  It is going to be a two-hour drive to accomplish that, because today he will have biked over a hundred kilometres, taking part in something called RIDE 2012, sponsored by our denomination, Alliance Church of Cananda, to raise funds for ministries in the inner cities of Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.  Now, my DH is no spring chicken, but he is in pretty good shape and often rides his bike in the hilly area where we live.  I'm a bit worried about dehydration, however, because he is riding to one of the hottest areas in Canada, on a hot day where temperatures can reach the mid to high thirties (mid to high nineties and one hundreds for Fahrenheit fans)! 

One lady we met on the weekend, had been with the Ride on the Calgary to Kelowna leg, through the Rockies.  She biked the whole way, and here's the inspiring part:  she turned 83 on Sunday!!!!  Amazing!

And here I sit in front of the computer....

...well, that was a long enough guilt trip. 

It's Mojo Monday time again and this is Challenge # 252.  Because it is the last day of the month, it is Round or Square week and I chose square.

Here's my card:

 Here is the sketch provided by Julee Tilman.

                                                

I am also playing along with The Paper Players this week, in their Tic Tac Toe Challenge.

I used the top line: Circles, Birthday and Favourite Colour, which right now is Pool Party, but that could change tomorrow, as it customarily does.

My 5.5"x5.5" card base is Soft Suede card stock and I added a rectangular piece of Comfort Cafe DSP to it.  I cut a vertical flag banner from some Storytime DSP and adhered that on top of the base.  I dry-embossed some Pool Party card stock with the new Chevron embossing folder and my trusty Big Shot and cut the bottom of a Soft Suede rectangle with the Large Scallop Edgelit. 

The image is from the stamp set, "You're Amazing", stamped in Riding Hood Red, and the So Saffron circle in the center is stamped using the center of the largest medallion in the "Daydream Medallions" set.  Instead of hearts, I stamped and fussy cut the hot air balloons from the "You're Amazing" set and added little hearts from the "Owl Builder Punch".  One balloon is popped up using dimensionals.

This versatile card could be used as a masculine birthday card or as a card for a child.  Either way, I like it's cheery, innocent look.

I hope this gets your Monday Mojo going.  I'm looking forward to the drive down to Oliver for one reason only:  Tickleberry's!  The BEST ice-cream on the planet!  I'll let you know which of their 70-odd flavours I picked!  Cheers!

Stamps:  You're Amazing (c 126722; set of 6; $27.95), Daydream Medallions (c126467; set of 5 {plus centers}; $32.95)
Paper:  Soft Suede, Pool Party and Riding Hood Red card stock; Comfort Cafe DSP (126898; 12 sheets; $13.50); Storytime DSP (126907; 12 sheets; $13.50)
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Riding Hood Red (126968), Pool Party (126982) and So Saffron (126957), all $7.25
Accessories:  Subtles series 3/16" brads (119738; 120 brads; $8.95)
Tools:  Owl Builder Punch (118074; $22.95); 3" Circle Originals die (122125; $21.95); Large Scallop Edgelit (127019; $9.95)

You're Amazing

Comfort Cafe DSP

Storytime

Midsummer Christmas Card

"Jingle bells, jingle bells!"  .... 

Okay, I know it's hard to get into a Christmas frame of mind when it's in the mid-thirties (mid-nineties for all you US folks), but I wanted to preview a beautiful stamp set from the new Stampin' Up Holiday catalogue which we will all be able to order from on Aug. 1.  It's called "Evergreen" and whenever I say it, I think of Hunger Games! (Katniss Everdeen).  But it really has nothing to do with Hunger Games, and I'm certainly in a random state of mind right now. 

Let's get on with the card:

 

The card base is Chocolate Chip card stock.  The back panel is either Natural Composition Specialty DSP with the music score embossed or the lined Natural Composition DSP with the Music Notes wheeled over it with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Clear embossing powder.  I sponged Cherry Cobbler ink on the edges and lightly in the interior in random places.  The mattes for the image panel are die cut from Chocolate Chip  and Very Vanilla card stock and the new Champagne Glimmer paper with Labels Collection Framelits.

The image begins with a soft sponge of Cherry Cobbler ink in the middle.  I then stamped the solid background tree shape with Crumb Cake.  I inked up the word image (Silent Night) with Versamark and embossed them with white embossing powder. (Make sure the previous ink is completely dry and DO use the embossing buddy to get clear lettering because it is so fine.)  I then sponged the edges and a little in the middle with Soft Suede to bring out the words more clearly.  I added Rhinestone basic jewels and some Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details to make the tree sparkle a bit and popped it up on the mattes with Dimensionals.

Finally I tied a bow around Clear Mount Block D on the narrow end, snipped the back and adhered it to the back panel before mounting the card on the card base.

 Enjoy!  Merry Christmas in July!

Stay tuned for news about the new version of My Digital Studio!

Stamps: Evergreen, Music Notes Wheel (120327; regular;$7.95)                                        

Paper: Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla card stock; Natural Composition Specialty DSP (126917;12 12x12";$15.95); Champagne Glimmer Paper                                                                               

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Cherry Cobbler(126966) ;  Crumb Cake (126975); Soft Suede (126978); all $7.25; Versamark (102283; $9.95)

 Accessories: White embossing powder (109032; $5.95); Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon (120992; 10 yds.; $9.50) ; Rhinestone Basic jewels (119246; 150; $6.50); Dazzling Details - Cherry Cobbler (125585; $3.25)                                                         

 Tools:  Embossing Buddy (103083; $7.50), Heat Tool (129053; $36.95), Stampin Sponges (101601; 3 sponges; $4.25)       

Affection Collection

Here's the first of what will be a regular Thursday post.  I'm making it a goal to be consistent in my posts so you know when to expect them.  My Tuesday posts will most likely be a MOJO Monday challenge entry, and Thursday and Saturdays will be other challenges like Paper Players or Pals Paper Arts or a Splitcoast challenge entry.  I am also going to attempt, as soon as my DH sets it up for me, some video tutorials, so stay tuned for that.  The only thing that daunts me is that I would need a manicure.  I hate nail polish!!!  But every video tutorial I watch has a hand model doing the steps with an immaculate manicure.  Umm - not happening, I'm afraid.  I'll be happy if I can get all the Midnight Muse off my fingers!  I'd probably have to get a voice dubbed in, too.  Anyone else out there NOT like the sound of their own recorded voice??  No, you'll have to like me or leave me, I guess - hand models and voice dubs are not going cheap these days! lol


Convention was awesome, as I've mentioned and we were given a stamp set called "Affection Collection" for free, among many other freebies.  It is one of the new products from the Holiday Seasonal Catalogue, which comes into effect August 1.  I just love the layering you can do with this set and I set about doing just that as I designed a card for my oldest daughter and her husband for their anniversary.

I also used the new Natural Composition Specialty DSP for the back panel.  It comes pre-embossed and makes a great background for this card.  The card base is Cherry Cobbler and it forms a matte for the front Very Vanilla panel as well.  I layered the stamps on the front panel by stamping the lightest first in Crumb Cake Ink, then overlapping those with Soft Suede and Cherry Cobbler Inks and finally Early Espresso for the "always" sentiment.   I distressed and sponged ALL the edges in Soft Suede except the base. BTW, I also used a background stamp from the Clockworks set in the main Idea Book and Catalogue.

I used sticky strip across the front, and after adhering some 1/8" Early Espresso Taffeta ribbon to the middle of some Victorian crochet trim, I pleated it onto the sticky strip.  I finished it off with an Antique Brad.

Let me know if you want a copy of the new Holiday catalogue.  It's bigger and better than in the past and you can order from it starting August 1.  Better yet, join my team and get your very own previews and preorders before anyone else!  Just click on "Join the Fun" on my Stampin' Up website!  It's only $125 to join now and you can choose anything you want in the catalogue up to a value of $155 and you will also receive a business pack valued at $70!  It wouldn't be long before you would be running a profitable home-based business and getting discounts of 20% on all your products.  Email me if you want to join my team.

Stamps: Affection Collection (127949 c; set of 8; $26.95)*; Clockworks (127292 c; set of 8; $21.95)

Paper: Cherry Cobbler (119685;24 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11; $8.50) and Very Vanilla (101650; 40 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11; $9.25) card stock; Natural Composition Specialty DSP (126917; 12 sheets of 12 x 12"; $15.95)

Inks: Classic Ink Pads in Crumb Cake (126975), Soft Suede (126978), Cherry Cobbler (126966)  and Early Espresso (126974), all $7.25.

Accessories: Antique Brad (117273; pkg. of 20; $7.50); Victorian Crochet Trim (118481; 5 yards; $9.50) , 1/8" Taffeta ribbon in Early Espresso (119959; 10 yds. for $8.25)

Tools: Stamping Sponges (101610; 3 sponges; $4.25); Paper Piercing Tool (126189; $4.95)

*available Aug. 1 from the Holiday Catalogue

Clockworks

Natural Composition Specialty DSP

Stamping Sponges

Ribbon Share

Well, friends and neighbours, it's time for......

A Ribbon Share!!

And what is a Ribbon Share, you may well ask??  In order to have a more varied selection of ribbon, without having to buy whole spools of each colour, we purchase in groups of 5 and divide the ribbon into 2 yards of each colour and divide the cost between us.  I will provide 3 different possible shares:  Seam Binding Ribbon, Ruffled Ribbon and Stitched Satin Ribbon.  I need 5 customers in each group for it to work, but you may purchase 2 or 3 shares of each or any group if you wish.

Here are the groups:

Group  #1:   1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon:  2 yards each of 8 colours of seam binding ribbon.
      Colours include:  Always Artichoke, Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Daffodil      

       Delight, Pool Party, Rose Red and Very Vanilla (see page 172 in the Idea Book and Catalogue.)

       $20 per share (includes tax and shipping share)

Group #2:     3/8" Ruffled Ribbon:  2 yards each of 5 colours of ruffled ribbon.  Colours include:

                     Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder. (see

                     page 172 in the Idea Book and Catalogue.)

           

                     $18 per share (including tax and shipping share)

                    

Group #3.   3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon:  2 yards of each of 5 colours of stitched satin ribbon.  Colours

                   include Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple and Summer

                   Starfruit. (See page 172 in the Idea Book and Catalogue.)

                   $17 per share (including tax and shipping share)

Email me here if you want in, or leave a comment on this blog!  Ribbon is the BEST for adding WOW to your creations!

Stampin' Up Convention 2012

WOW!  I just got home last night from my first Stampin' Up Convention and "they" were not kidding when they said it was exciting and wonderful!  I hardly know where to start!  Here's a photo of the Salt Palace Convention Center:

This is just a sample of the free goodies we were given in Salt Lake City, Utah:

Is that not the cutest bag with the yellow chevrons on the white with grey trim???  Stamp sets, fabric, paper and gobs of accessories!

This is what it looked like just before the first opening session:

And here is some of the decor:

I have to say that the highlight was my up line, Desiree Spenst, being awarded the Founder's Circle, and being invited on to the Advisory Board, one of only 6 demonstrators in the U.S. and Canada, a huge honour.

(Desiree is the third from the left!)
And here is a photo of Desiree's team "on the red carpet"!

I'm on the left.  Amanda, Desiree, Holly and I had a blast along with two friends of Desiree's, Sarah and Tara!   This is the whole group: (minus me, the photographer)

I'm usually sceptical of the hype of sales conventions and I don't like being "played" by a company with tactics that create sleep deprivation and emotional responses.  This time, however, I definitely got the sense that Stampin' Up sincerely cared about it's demonstrators and wanted to support, encourage and motivate them.  The seminars were excellent and I learned notebooks full of valuable information at every one of them:

In "I am Doing Business My Way" with lovely Bonnie Thurber, I heard examples of creative ways of doing the Stampin' Up business by Ronda Wade, and Tami White.

I learned to set my goals on earning bonuses in "I am Making Money" with Pam Morgan (who I happened to sit beside at Awards Night!), but also had the example of Deb Snyder who uses her business as a ministry of encouragement to others!

At "I am Having Fun" with Shannon West, I learned how to "set the scene" at any event I'm planning to maximize the FUN.

I learned how to make a fabulous Hostess Gift using our new Simply Scrappin' divided page protectors at "I am Savvy" by Donna Griffith, Meg Wheeler, Dawn Griffith and Laura Milligan.

There were some great practical tips from Emily Montoya on how to reach Generation Y friends in "I am Reaching Out". I'm creating a board for my business on Pinterest and...learning how to text! lol

Social networking can be a wonderful business tool, as I found out in "I am Open for Business"  with Carrie Cudney, and I decided to reach the goal of "Rising Star" this year after attending "I am Starting Out" with Emily Montoya.

Our new incentive trip is a 6-day, 7-night Western Caribbean cruise with ports of call in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Labadee, Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, and Cozumel, Mexico.  I definitely am planning on achieving this goal after listening to Karen Hauley, Jill Hilliard, Meg Holland and Cynthia Miller in  "I am Earning an Incentive Trip".  And Karen, I LOVE your T-shirt.  Karen is a breast cancer survivor and her shirt says, "Of course they're fake.  The real ones tried to kill me!"

And finally, I learned how to provide friends with the opportunity to get involved with this great business and show them how they could also achieve their goals, whatever they may be, with Stampin' Up, in Jill Leigh's class, "I am a First Time Recruiter", with Jocelyn Rhodes and Colleen Vassos.

And that's a wrap for #convention 2012! Look for more consistent posts from me from now on!  Check in tomorrow!  Let me leave you with the Theme Song from the convention, a Lip Dub.

Pre-Convention Crazies

Well, tomorrow I leave for my first ever Convention, and if the rumours prove true, it is going to be a CRAZY time!  It is held in Salt Lake City and we're travelling there from British Columbia, driving part way and then flying in.  I've been madly trying to complete gobs of cards for swapping.  I think I'm finally done and now I must pack.  But before I go, I wanted to leave you with a couple of cards.  One I created for the swaps and for the Paper Player's Wordsmith Challenge.  The other my daughter made while she was here for the weekend.  In between all the preparations,  two of my daughters arrived for an impromtu visit and brought both my grandsons.  Can you say, "Grandmother Heaven"?
So hard to concentrate with two lovely baby boys to hold and play with!  I'll post some pictures when I get back.

Here's the first card:

I thought it was so appropriate for swapping at Convention, because, aside from getting great card samples, it's all about making new friends with the same interests as you.  I used the new stamp set, From My Heart.  I so love the images and sayings on that set!  I also used some DSP from the International Bazaar series, a base of Midnight Muse card stock and Marina Mist for the label.

Here's the wording of the challenge:

I'm short on time, so I'll have to add the recipes when I get back.  Sorry about that!
And now, here's the card my daughter, Jaimie, made:

 

It was made using a "bundle" from the new Holiday Mini Catalogue, which comes into effect on August 1.  This is the "Perfectly Preserved" bundle which includes the Perfectly Preserved stamp set and the Cannery Set of framelits!  So cute, as you can see.  She has so many eye-catching elements on this card and a great colour palette! It was so nice to spend some crafting time together this weekend, as she lives 11 hours away and we don't get many hours to spend together!

Hope you like these little samples and I'll have TONS more to share with you when I get home from Convention in a week!  Be good 'til then!

Citrus Celebration

I love citrus!  Flavours, colours, everything about citrus!  My house is painted in citrus colours (not as wild as it sounds)!

My favourite lifesaver flavours are all the citrus ones.

 So I was excited to see that The Paper Players had chosen a citrus palette for their 103rd challenge.

  Here's what I came up with:

I used a technique that I've heard called "Faux Mosaic".  I described how it's done in this earlier post.

I was debating whether to use this card, or the one in the previous post as a card swap for Convention.    I think it's going to be the other card, because masculine design is always something people want samples of.



I just need to find some different paper for the bottom panel, as that DSP is now retired.  Any suggestions? 

If you want to know how to make the delicious little double bow on the first card, follow this link to a video tutorial by Ann Schach.  It makes it SO easy.  Love it!

Okay, must get back to my prep for Convention, Class and Workshop this week!  Phew!

Stamps:  Elements of Style (c 120045; set of 5; $24.95)

Paper: Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade and Whisper White card stock; Watercolor Paper (122959; 5  6x9 sheets; $5.95)

Ink: Classic Stampin' Pads in Calypso Coral (126983), Lucky Limeade (126984) and Daffodil Delight (126944), all $7.25; VersaMark Pad (102283; $9.95)

Accessories:  Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon (122976; 10 yds.); Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder (109130; $5.95); Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246; 150 jewels; $6.50)

Tools:  Large Oval punch (119855; $21.95); Scalloped Oval punch (119856; $22.95); Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder (116824; $9.95);  Heat Tool (129053; $36.95)

Elements of Style

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Heat Tool



Beautiful Sunday!

Finally, Summer has decided to show her face here in the West.  Gorgeous weather: hot and sunny; clear blue skies.  For you folks back east, this may be a touchy subject.  I can see how you have been suffering for weeks now.  I'm hoping you'll get some relief soon, but we were starting to wonder if we should build arks here in the West!!

I wanted to do a quick share of a workshop make-and-take.  I CASE'd this from this lovely card I received in a swap with my sidelines.  Just not quite sure who made the original.  Let me know, team, and I'll post the proper name.  I have seen the cut outs done before and I have been wanting to try a card making use of them.

Card swaps can be a great source of inspiration.  That's why I'm working so hard on some swaps for Convention.  I know I'll get some great ideas with all the cards I get back.

Here's my take on this card:

I used Island Indigo as my card base and some DSP from the International Bazaar series as the next layer.  I embossed the Whisper White piece with the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder and punched out the flower shape using the Blossom punch.  I stamped two of the images from the Mixed Bunch stamp set, one in Lucky Limeade and one in Island Indigo and punched them out as well with the Blossom punch.  I also punched a third flower layer in Pool Party cardstock and stamped a center in Pool Party ink and punched it out using the 1" Circle punch.  I layed all the flowers, after curling the petals a bit, with a brad and used a glue dot to attach the Brights Designer Series Button.  I used glue dots as well to attach a snippet of Lucky Limeade Ruffled ribbon to the back and then to attach all to the card.  A button is also used for the center of the cut away flower and a Pearl Basic Jewel was added to each button.  The sentiment is from a set called Loving Thoughts and some Pool Party Baker's twine is threaded through the little button and tied in a small bow.

 

And there you have it!  Fairly quick and easy and effective!

Enjoy your Sunday in the sun!

Stamps:  Mixed Bunch (c 125537; set of 6; $26.95); Loving Thoughts (c 125845; set of 11; $28.95)

Paper: Island Indigo, Pool Party and Whisper White card stock; International Bazaar DSP (126920; 12 double sided sheets of 12 x 12; $13.50)

Ink: Classic Stampin' Pads in Island Indigo (126986) and Pool Party (126982), both $7.25

Accessories: Lucky Limeade Ruffled ribbon (122977; 10 yds., $13.50); Pool Party Baker's Twine (125574; 25 yds.; $3.95), Brights Designer Buttons (119747; 72 buttons; $10.95) 

Tools: Blossom punch (125603; $22.95); 1" Circle punch (119868; $15.95); Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder (116824; $9.95)



Mixed Bunch

International Bazaar

Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon