Friday, May 30, 2014

My Friend for As You See It Challenges

Hey, it's Friday, my friend!  I remember how good, but how exhausted I felt on Fridays when I was a teacher. As a full-time Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I now set my own working hours, so weekends don't mean quite the same anymore, but I haven't forgotten that relief!

Fridays mean another As You See It Challenge is up and this one is SO much fun!  I hope you'll try it out, too!


So, I had a blast creating my card:


I take photos, I edit photos, I start writing my post, I upload the Challenge sketch.  Last minute inventory: Hexagon - check; Crumb Cake - check; Night of Navy (Midnight Muse is gone now!)  - check, Baker's twine - check! ......Wait!  What's that in the middle??  Oops, totally missed the flag!

Well, I wasn't redesigning the whole card so I added a flag, took photos and edited photos, and here goes the corrected project:


  • Just between you and me, I liked the one without the flag better, but I AM one of the design team, so I guess I had better follow the rules!
  • The hexagons are the product of the Six-Sided Sampler Stamp set and the Hexagon Punch.  I haven't played with them in forever so I was glad of this opportunity.  All the hexagons are stamped with Night of Navy ink and the plain one with My Friend on it was spritzed with some Crumb Cake reinker and alcohol.  It's a very subtle effect.
  • I think hexagons and Tea Lace Paper Doilies belong together, don't you?  And it looks especially sharp on the Crumb Cake, Night of Navy colour palette.
  • The sentiment on the flag is from A Dozen Thoughts and it was stamped in Crumb Cake ink.  I think it needs something else to define it a little better though. I curled it a bit before adhering it with Dimensionals.
  • The bow is from the Gold Metallic Baker's Twine and because it has the gold foil strip wound around it, when you go to adjust the size of the loops the twine twists as you are pulling it through and the loops twist around.  You have to hold both the end of the twine and the corresponding loop, on in each hand and untwist the twine to get the loops straight again.  I mounted it on the hexagon with a Mini Glue Dot.
  • A scattering of gold sequins, a button and several Pearl Basic Jewels completes this whimsical design.
Why don't you give this challenge a try?  Have a crafty weekend, everyone!
Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!


Product List

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Mojo Monday Bon Voyage

For Mojo Monday Challenge #347, I was inspired by the new Traveler Stamp Set to create a Bon Voyage card. I can remember being jealous of a friend of mine, back when we were young teens, because her family was taking her to England for a vacation.  That was great, because we were both fans of British mystery novels, but what I was most jealous of was that she was going by sea, and the voyage would take the better part of a week or two, at that time. I could picture her on the deck of the ocean liner, meeting with a variety of handsome fellow travellers or sailors and the whole idea seemed so romantic to me.



Never mind that I was subject to the most abysmal motion sickness, and if it had been me, I probably would have spent the entire voyage in my cabin on my cot or in the loo, but I could still dream. Flash forward 48 years or so and I still haven't gone on that cruise! I know ships are better equipped to lessen the effects of sea sickness and there are much more effective remedies, but something still cautions me not to spend a gob of money on a vacation I may never enjoy!  I think maybe I should try a short cruise, just to see how I do. Maybe to Alaska.  Oh, wait! Aren't there ice bergs on that route?  (Pictures a sinking Titanic in her head.)



Here's the sketch for the challenge this week:
It's a tall and skinny design so the finished card size is 3 1/2" X 6".  Are you ready for the reveal?





  • I used the Traveler Stamp Set which is new in the 2014-15 Annual Catalogue, soon to be available for you to order come June 2!  It has a vintage flavour to it and so that is how I played it.  I created a collage stamped background with many of the images from that set, as well as the camera as the focal point.  
  • The colours I used were the new Lost Lagoon, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla.  They create a soft vintage palette.
  • The strip of DSP is from the Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack, from the new Annual Catalogue and it makes me think of waves so that's appropriate for a Bon Voyage card.  
  • It's been a while since I have used the Vintage Trinkets - little safety pins and button-like brads in antique metal finishes- and I'm going to miss them because they are retiring.  If you like these you'd better order them soon, before they're gone for good.
  • Another retiree is the Victoria Crochet trim, and I would be extra sad about that, except that we have a different crochet trim in the new Annual Catalogue. Too bad the Victoria Crochet Trim is already sold out.  Hope you weren't still wanting it.
  • The sentiment is from Just Sayin' Stamp set, which is in the Occasions Catalogue and will be also featured in the new Annual Catalogue.  I inked it up with a Soft Suede Stampin' Write Marker so I could just use the words and not the word bubble.
Thanks for dropping by and leave me a comment about any voyages you have been on.  Have any of you who are prone to motion sickness gone on a cruise?  How did you do?  Should I try it someday?

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!

Product List
* New Product, available June 2 in the new 2014-15 Annual Catalogue
** Retiring product, available until June 4, while supplies last
***Retiring product, now sold out.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Hello, You!

Hello, You! Yes, YOU!  I've been looking for someone just like you!  Someone who loves to craft; who would rather craft than eat or sleep!  Someone who loves sharing her hobby with others.  Someone who could use a little extra income but wants/needs to set her own schedule!  Someone who would love helping others to unleash their own creativity!

And Stampin' Up! is making it SO EASY to become a demonstrator! For another month, until June 30th, Stampin' Up! is offering the Starter Kit at two prices.  You can still sign up at the regular level, for the already low price of $125 and get $155 worth of any current product of your choice.  But for the duration of this promotion, until June 30, you can also sign up for the low price of $60 and will receive $65 worth of any current product of your choice.




Do you recognize yourself?  Contact me and I'll tell you about all the great benefits you can enjoy as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, including a 20% discount on all those quality Stampin' Up! products you can't get enough of, a chance to see all the new catalogues ahead of the public and to preorder from them as well, a one-time 30% discount on your first order or $200 or more to help you stock up for your business events, terrific business resources and lots of business incentives!

As part of my team, the Papercraft Cats, you will belong to a network of terrific people with the same mindset as you have, who all love to craft and share and care about each other.  I can help you build your business your way, but you set your own goals!  We have regular team meetings where we encourage each other, learn business strategies and, of course, stamp together!

This is a great time to sign up, just as the new Annual Catalogue makes it's debut!  Think of all the new products you can get with a 20% or 30% discount!

This is a card I made just for you!

Well, and I also made it for The Paper Players Challenge #197:


Added by the talented LeAnne, this sketch gives you lots of possibilities.


  • I wanted to play with the new In Colours again and I pulled out the Mossy Meadow because I hadn't yet used it.  My Mossy Meadow paper lives with my Pistachio Pudding paper from last year's In Colours and they look rather handsome together!
  • I added some DSP (Design Series Paper) from the Moonlight Paper Stack, from the new Annual Catalogue.  This particular design pairs Hello, Honey with Sahara Sand and adds a kind of trellis look to the garden-like card design.
  • Regarding Dahlia's is the stamp set I used for both the image, stamped in Hello, Honey, and the sentiment, stamped in Sahara Sand. 
  • The sentiment was die cut using the Circles Framelits and the matte was die cut using the Starburst framelits.  The bow is made from the new Stitched Satin Ribbon, a new product that comes in all the new In Colours.

When you're ready to sign up, just email me or go right to the Join My Team button on this page, click it and follow the prompts!  You won't regret it!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!

Product List
*New products which will be available when the new Annual Catalogue starts on June 2, 2014.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Thank You to Our Teachers

I find myself getting riled every year about this time, because it is usually this time of year when our Provincial Government has driven the local teachers' union to the end of it's rope by provoking strike action so the government can legislate an agreement that further erodes the education system in our province.  I have seen my former profession changed so radically over the years, due to misguided, even malicious campaigns by the government, intended to break the union and, I suspect, undermine public education so it can be privatized! It's certainly not the same job it was when I started as a teacher back in the seventies, and, quite frankly, I would not advise anyone to go into teaching now.  I believe the only way to bring stability back to our education system is for the parents to stand up for public education, loudly and strongly!  Give the government the message that those who are entrusted with educating our precious children should be well-paid and respected!  When you spend 5 years in University preparing for this profession, you should have a level of expertise that is worth respecting with a decent salary!

Thanks for allowing my rant!  If you want to know more about why this gets me so worked up, email me.

But this is also the time of year when parents look for ways to thank the teachers who have worked with their children all year, so I want to post a thank you card for a teacher.


  • For a teacher's card... the Faux Chalkboard Technique seems a natural!  You heat emboss your image or sentiment with White Stampin' Emboss powder on a dark background cardstock, Basic Black in this case, then use some Whisper White Craft Ink and a Stamping Sponge to add the "chalk dust around the edges and in patches around the embossed part.
I used the Word Window punch twice to create the piece of chalk.  First you punch the Word Window shape from Whisper White cardstock, then reinsert the punched shape through the side of the punch and punch again to get the smaller piece.




  • The main sentiment is from the Feel Goods Stamp set.  All the sayings in that set I just love!  And it isn't retiring so you will still be able to order it after June 4th.  Starburst Sayings Stamp set from the Occasions catalogue provides the other two sentiments, and it will be available in the new catalogue as well.  I die cut the starburst shapes behind them with the Starburst Framelits, which you can still bundle with the stamp set and save 15%.
  • The card base is Real Red cardstock and I used a panel of Modern Medley DSP behind the "chalkboard"!
So, hug a teacher today, or even better, write a letter of support to the government on his or her behalf!

New Catalogue Product Shares are Now Posted!

I have organized the new product shares from the 2014/15 Annual Catalogue.  Check them out here and decide what you want.  This is an affordable way to get a variety of paper, ribbon and embellishments without paying for a full spool or package.  Four or five people share an order and divide up a spool or package between them.  I will post the whole share on my blog tomorrow!

Here are the latest weekly deals for May 27 - June2. 



Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!

Product List