Thursday, January 31, 2013

You're Such an Amazing Friend

You are.  Really!  You keep reading my posts day after day, making nice comments, coming to my classes!  I really value your friendship!  So this card is for YOU!



Thank you for everything!  I really enjoyed designing this card.  I was using the criteria for the Dynamic Duos challenge #37 this week:  Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.

I love the monochromatic look, especially in the neutral shades.  It looks so old fashioned like a sepia photograph.  I took a photo of our backyard this week, covered in a new blanket of snow.  I added a sepia filter and it does make it look aged.


Have you ever been really excited about a card design you've created, and then gone and checked your files and found a swap card you'd been given that was so similar that you couldn't take credit for the design without acknowledging at least the subconscious impression left by the other card's designer.  That's what happened with this card.  After I finished it, I was looking at my swap cards and came across a similar one created by Sandra Ross of Truro, Nova Scotia! Thanks, Sandra, for the inspiration!

The card, of course, uses a palette of Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla as a neutral, and uses the Amazing Family stamp set from the Spring Mini Catalogue.  It uses some of the lovely embellishments from the Spring Mini as well, like the 5/8" Flower trim and the Paper Doilies.  The little butterflies are stamped with the Papillon Potpourri Stamp set and punched out with the Bitty Butterfly coordinating punch.

And we now interrupt this post with an important announcement:

WE HAVE PRODUCT SHARES READY FOR YOU TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF!!!

If you have been wanting more of the amazing ribbons, papers and embellishments in the Spring Mini Catalogue, but your budget won't let you buy them all, then why not share your purchases with other customers so you can all have the variety in smaller quantities for less money.  Check out the shares available by going to the top menu bar and clicking on Product Shares or check it out here.  All the information will be there for you.  And readers who do not live close by, as long as you are in Canada, I can ship your product shares to you!  I'm really excited to offer my out-of-town readers the first of many opportunities to be part of my stampin' community!  

Stamps:  Amazing Family (w129189; c129192), En Francais (w109521), Papillon Potpourri (w123757; c123759)
Papers:  Soft Suede (115318), Crumb Cake (120953) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Crumb Cake (126975) and Soft Suede (126978)
Embellishments:  Paper Doilies (129399); 5/8" Flower Trim (126869); Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); 5/8" Crochet Trim (118481); 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Soft Suede (122967)
Tools:  Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976); Bitty Butterfly punch (129406); Ovals Collection Framelits (129381); Big Shot (113439)

Amazing Family
En Francais Stamp
Papillon Potpourri
Flower Trim

Monday, January 28, 2013

Craft Room Reorganizing and Leadership Swaps

Whew!  I had so many stampin' plans this weekend, but I really only accomplished one of them and that was cleaning up and organizing my overcrowded and messy craft room!  I vastly underestimated how long it would take.  I got my DH to do some renovating of my shelves - basic IKEA wood shelving units with ridiculously large spaces between the shelves.  He added some shelves to make the space more usable.  So my clear mount stamps are all organized and accessible in alphabetical order.  Now I just have to get him to do the same renos on my wood mount shelves.  I also was able to get my growing punch collection out of the plastic drawers in a rolling cabinet and onto a shelf where I can see them and they don't tip the whole cabinet over if I open the drawer too far.  After this, my long-suffering hubby has promised to make me some ribbon holders out of PVC drain pipe cut in half.  Once that is done, my crafting space should be much less frustrating.  Of course, I'd like to have the resources and time to install custom cabinets and work spaces, but that will remain a future goal for the time being!  Here's some photos:

My clear mount stamps, newly organized.  
My DSP and specialty papers organized alphabetically.
My punches newly liberated from their drawer!
The "Before" picture of my wood mount stamps, waiting for some shelf renos!

I will definitely post the "After" photo when it is done!  I'm actually looking forward to stamping tomorrow in my more organized room!  

I wanted to share another swap card I made for Leadership 2013 in Orlando.  This was by far the most time intensive of the 4 swaps I made.  But it was well worth the time and trouble as I received some amazing cards back.  Thanks to Barbara Welch for organizing the Wow Vintage Swap.  Here was my entry in Group 4: 


I used muted colours such as River Rock and Baja Breeze along with some DSP from the Sycamore Street collection, which you can earn free for every $60 of product you purchase during Sale-A-Bration!  This particular Summer Starfruit pattern is perfect for a vintage themed card!  The sentiment is from another Sale-A-Bration product - Vintage Verses - one of my favourite products of Sale-A-Bration!  The dress form image is from Established Elegance, a stamp set from the big catalogue.  

 To complete the vintage theme, I added some Paper Daisies, some of which I dyed using reinker and water,  some sponged and crumpled ribbon, water stains courtesy of French Foliage stamp set, and some curls on the Happiest Birthday flag (stamped with Loving Thoughts).


I stitched on the eyelet edging created with Finishing Touches Edgelits, and added the requisite pearls and it was finished!  Then I had to make 16 more!  I don't mind saying that I had some panicky moments wondering if I would get it done in time, but thanks to my wonderful downline, Doreen, who came over to help and stayed long past her bedtime, we got the task completed.

Stamps:  Vintage Verses (w129633; c129636); Established Elegance (w122530; c122532); French Foliage (w120845; c121166); Loving Thoughts (w125843; c125845)
Paper:  River Rock (108640), Baja Breeze (111352) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stock; Sycamore Street DSP (127540)
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Crumb Cake (126975), Soft Suede (126978) and StazOn Jet Black (101406)
Accessories:  Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); Baja Breeze 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon (122331); Paper Daisies (119243)
Tools:  Finishing Touches Edgelits (127010); Stampin' Distress Tool (127562); Labels Collection Framelits (125598)

Baja Breeze 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon

Stampin' Distress Tool

Established Elegance Stamp Set

Thursday, January 24, 2013

WOW Valentine Swap #Leadership 2013

I am really into Valentines right now!  I love the lavishness of Valentines!  I like the idea of telling our spouses, friends and family that we love them!  I love the colours and the sparkle!  My earliest card making efforts were Valentines.  We used to buy books of punch-out Valentines that we diligently assembled to give our friends at school.  Does anyone remember those?

Did you know that there were TWO St. Valentines?  Check it out here.  That was news to me, but I also did not know that St. Valentine's Day was celebrated much as we celebrate it today as far back as the 14th or 15th centuries!  Lovers back then would give each other cards called Valentines, flowers and candy!

So, with the weight of lengthy tradition behind me, I would like to share with you a card I created for Laura Fernsler's WOW Valentine Swap at #Leadership 2013.


I just love the colour scheme which I drew from the More Amore DSP, even though I haven't used any of it in this card.  Pool Party, Pretty in Pink and Primrose Petals  make a lovely pastel combinations with a splash of Real Red and Glimmer Paper to create a focal point.

The DSP on the back panel is from the Twitterpated collection.  Then I took some Pool Party Core'dinations card stock and embossed it with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder and sanded it to let the lighter core show through. 



The next panel I created using images from the Hearts a Flutter  and En Francais stamp sets on Whisper White and sponging over in Primrose Petals and Pool Party ink.  I then stamped the Sweet Floral background stamp in VersaMark and heat embossed it with Clear Stampin' Emboss powder.  I sponged over this with Pool Party ink again to bring out the Floral design, all creating a visually interesting, but not overpowering design.

I used a combination of the Hearts Collection Framelits and the Hearts a Flutter Framelits to die cut the various hearts.  I embellished with some Pool Party ribbon from the Sale a Bration Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack, the 5/8" Flower Trim from the Spring Mini as well as a flower from the Artisan Embellishments kit.  The tickets are stamped using That's the Ticket stamp set.

This was lots of fun to create and it will be a lovely Valentine for someone in my family!  (Not my hubby - not masculine enough for him!)  Have fun creating your own Valentine cards!

Stamps:  Hearts a Flutter (w129249; c129252), That's the Ticket (w128072; c128075), Sweet Floral (w122855; c122857), En Francais (w109521)
Paper:  Pretty in Pink (100459) and Whisper White (100730) card stock; Pool Party Core'dinations card stock (129321); Twitterpated DSP (125406); Red Glimmer Paper (121790)
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Pool Party (126982), Crumb Cake (126975), Primrose Petals (126858) and Real Red (126949);  VersaMark ink pad (102283)
Embellishments:  Pool Party Sycamore Street Ribbon (SAB 130812); 5/8" Flower Trim (126869); Artisan Embellishments Kit (129328); Stampin' Emboss Powder Clear (109130)
Tools:  Lacy Brocade embossing folder (127819), Heat tool (129053), Stampin' Sanding Block (129367);  Hearts Collection Framelits (125599); Hearts a Flutter Framelits (130359) or bundled with Hearts a Flutter stamp set (w131098; c131097); Ticket Duo Builder Punch (126883)


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

SALE-A-BRATION is HERE!!!

It's finally here!  The time of year that all papercrafters dream about.  Sale-A-Bration, from today, Jan. 22 to Mar. 22, means that for every $60 you spend, you get to choose 1 free item from the Sale-A-Bration brochure.   I'm soooo excited!




How will you party during Stampin’ Up!’s premiere event? There are three ways—choose all that apply!


Have your friends over for a party and earn fantastic Sale-A-Bration freebies with a qualifying order! For a minimum $200 party, you’ll get a FREE pack of Silver Glimmer Paper (silver paper for Stampin’ Up!’s silver anniversary!). Host a $525 party, and you’ll get the free Glimmer Paper PLUS a FREE product bundle—and that’s in addition to the normal hostess benefits (including $90 in FREE products of your choice)!
Let me know if you want to book a workshop!  Best time of the year to do it!


Shopaholics unite! For every $60 you spend, you’ll get a FREE Sale-A-Bration product—there are nearly 20 to choose from!   Call or email me with your order, or shop 24/7 at my online store!



Party all the time when you become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. Plus, when you join during Sale-A-Bration, you’ll get 25% more products for FREE in your Starter Kit! Click the Join link above to take advantage of this limited-time offer.


Sale-A-Bration is one of the most exciting times of the year at Stampin’ Up! How will you Sale-A-Brate?   Let me in on your plans!!!  Leave me a comment!








Sunday, January 20, 2013

Draw Results and By the Tide Swap Card



Phew!  Finally back home after quite possibly the worst vacation I've ever been on!  Yes, even worse than the one when my kids were younger and all three of them came down with the stomach flu while we camped in our tent trailer!  Even worse than the one where we set off camping, stopped for gas and the van with tent trailer attached stopped dead and would not start at the gas pump.



We flew home in three legs:  Orlando to Toronto, Toronto to Calgary and Calgary home to the Okanagan.  It took us about 18 hours, and it was close to 23 hours of being awake.  But all went smoothly and it was heavenly sleeping in our own bed again.

Anyway, I can finally do the draw for my blog candy, as I promised here.  And the winners are: (Drum roll please!): 
Third Prize:   Holly Finney


Second Prize:  Lori Carter



And First Prize:  Rebecca Hendricks



I will be contacting you ladies to make arrangements to get your prizes to you.  Congratulations!

Now that I am back at my good ol' PC, I can finally share some of my swap cards with you.  The first one was created for a Technique Swap, and the technique I used is called Faux Metal Tin Ceiling.  Here's my card:


 This technique involves heat embossing a piece of card stock twice with silver embossing powder, punching out the squares with the Postage Stamp Punch and then running them through the Big Shot in the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  

The stamped images are from one of my new favourite stamp sets from the Spring Mini catalogue called By the Tide.  I guess a lobster is a little strange on a birthday card, but I was thinking (*a rare look into the cluttered and somewhat illogical mind of this blogger*):  Hmmm!  Tin roof tiles< often found in fancy kitchens< where a gourmet chef prepares lobster!  Simple really!

 And there you have it.  I am planning to finally start filming some more video tutorials, so stay tuned for more details on an up-coming video!


Stamps:  By the Tide (w129117; c129120); From the Heart (w126555; c126557)
Paper:  Crumb Cake (120953), Very Vanilla (101650), Sahara Sand (121043) and Primrose Petals (126841) card stock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Crumb Cake (126975) and Primrose Petals (126858); VersaMark (102283)
Accessories:  Linen Thread (104199), Antique Brad (117273); 1/8" Mini Brads (122941); Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (109131)
Tools:  Heat Tool (129053); Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder (120175); Big Shot (113439); Postage Stamp Punch (122344)

Monday, January 14, 2013

More from Leadership 2013

Sorry about the abrupt finish to my last post.  For some reason, my tablet or blogger or both refused to let me add any more, even a period!

I wanted to I wanted to tell you about my exciting moment crossing the stage at Leadership!  I did cross the stage at Convention, but that was for being a Canadian, an accident of birth, not anything that I, myself, accomplished.  This time I was eligible to cross the stage because of my promotion to Senior Consultant this year.  How exciting to be recognized, and I just made it to the session in time, because I had been to the hospital visiting Ken just before!

I am really confident and excited about Stampin' Up's future, because they stressed that, no matter the economy, the important thing for us to remember is to do what we love and share what we do, helping others to discover their own creativity.

One other great session I took part in was called "A Blueprint for Success" with Brandi Barnard, where we learned how to ensure profitability in our businesses.

I can hardly wait until I can get back home


Stampin' Up Leadership 2013

Well, Leadership 2013 is all over and what a ride, in more ways than one! DH and I flew to

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I Tried!

I had great plans of writing some posts here in Orlando while I'm at Leadership Conference and showing you my swap cards, but using my tablet, I just cannot get Blogger to upload the photos, no matter what I try.  Sigh!  Oh well, at least we're having wonderful weather to feel sorry in!  Back home they have meters of snow, and an Arctic front on the way!  Hope it's all done by the time we have to return!                                                                                                     In the meantime, I wanted to remind you about my amazing BLOG CANDY giveaway here.            Only  a few more days to post a comment until I am back to do the draw.  Hope to hear from you!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Looking Ahead to Spring

These are the dreary days of the year.  Nights are long, air is cold, colours are dull.  It's so nice to have spring to look forward to.  Imagine if it was "always winter and never Christmas" (from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis)...

Thankfully, there is a world of spring-like treats in our new Spring Mini Catalogue and I can now show them to you, and you can order!  Hurray!


Click on the picture to download the catalogue!


Inside there is so much to fill your artistic senses, you'll be drooling over it for days.  Go on, take a peek!  You know you want to!


Stampin' Up has also announced two Valentine promotions:
Click on the picture to take you to my online store to take advantage of this new offer!


Soon I will be heading off to Orlando, Florida, to attend Stampin' Up's Leadership Conference, and I will have some time to vacation with my DH before it starts!  I know I will come back with more great ideas and motivation!  Before I go, I have to finish making my swap cards - daunting task, so I must get at it.  I'll share the designs with you after the swaps are done.  In the meantime, Happy Stamping!


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013!  I always look forward to new starts and new plans!  I don't make resolutions because I've not had a great track record at keeping them!  Tell me I'm not alone in this!



I wanted to wish all of my readers the very best for 2013!  May it be your happiest, healthiest and most prosperous year yet!

As promised, I have some blog candy to give away, to celebrate.  Celebrate the New Year, celebrate my birthday month, and to celebrate Stampin' Up's 25th Anniversary!  Woo hoo!  Big Party!  I have three packages of goodies to go.  (Only to readers who live in Canada, unfortunately, as I can only ship in Canada.)

Here's the prizes:  Third Prize:


An unopened pack of Noel Notes Simply Sent (pg. 17 in the Holiday Mini), a partially used pack of Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack (pg. 20 in the Holiday Mini), and the Bold Snowflake Single Stamp.  The Festival of Prints stack still has 37 of the 48 sheets of double sided designs.

                             Second Prize:


 
 
Partial packs of Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock (5 1/5 sheets and 9 1/2 sheets out of 12 sheets respectively) and an unused Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps Holiday Pack.
 
 
                         First Prize:
 

 
 
A Snowflake Soiree clear mount stamp set (pg. 5 in the Holiday Mini) - brand new, a partially used pack of Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack (pg. 20 in the Holiday Mini) - 38 out of 48 double sided sheets; Partial packs of DSP - Be of Good Cheer -11 out of 12 sheets, Snow Festival - 5 out of 12 sheets, and Candlelight Christmas -  7 out of 12 sheets.
 
Now how are you entered in the draw??  You need to do 2 things. 
 
1.  Leave a comment about your plans and expectations for 2013 right here on this blog post.
 
2.   Join my site.  See the little box in the right hand margin, that tells how many followers a blog  has?  Well, mine looks a little pathetic and embarrassing.  I know there are more of you who read my blog.  Do you think you could click on "Join this Site" and help to make it look respectable?  If you have already done that, then you just need to leave a comment.
 
I will draw 3 names on January 14th, when I get back from Leadership Conference in Orlando.  So you've got lots of time to leave a comment!  Looking forward to hearing from all of you.