Monday, February 27, 2017

Dragonflies and Daydreams for Freshly Made Sketches



I have a busy week coming up! I have the dialogue for our church Easter production to write, so I have to wrap my mind around that. I have a team meeting mid-week, and I have to get my newsletter published. The biggest job where that is concerned is doing my project tutorial. I usually do a photo tutorial, but because the next card involves some techniques it is easier to show in a video, I'm thinking I'll probably do a video for the tutorial and have limited access for only those who are on my newsletter email list.

The card I want to teach you is this card that I've done for Freshly Made Sketches' latest challenge:

I love the simplicity. It gave me lots of room for interpretation and I wanted to do a collage stamping center panel using some emboss resist and sponging. I've always loved Watermelon Wonder and Tip Top Taupe together with Whisper White, so I had my card mostly planned in my head before I started. I got out my Awesomely Artistic and Timeless Textures stamp sets, two sets that you can't do without if you're going to do any collage stamping. And I took my Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits which seemed perfect for the element on the side. Here is how it turned out:


  • The extra white panel was really important for this card as the contrast was badly needed with so much of the other two colours. It really sharpened everything.
  • I think I was able to catch the Wink of Stella on the dragonfly. It looks pretty eye-catching in real life! The images and textures in the collage panel are a mixture of Awesomely Artistic and Timeless Textures, with the large flowering shrub image embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, then the whole thing sponged over with the Watermelon Wonder and Tip Top Taupe inks. What's cool is that you can still see the stamped images under the sponged ink.
  • There are many pearls on the image, but they are harder to see in the photograph. They add a little more texture.
If you would like access to the tutorial for this card, so that you can learn how to do this collage stamping and emboss resist technique with sponging, make sure you are signed up to receive my free monthly newsletter by email. Just add your email address to the box just below and click "Go".


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Announcing: Double Papercraft Cat Reward Points Until the End of February!

I won't lie! What with snowstorms, and the flu and who knows what, sales in February were not great! To end the month on a better note, I am awarding Double Papercraft Cat Reward Points (aka Pickle Points; aka Paw Prints) until the end of February! That means for every $30 you spend you will get 2 reward points instead of 1. (Rewards points are still awarded only for purchases that are multiples of $30 before tax and shipping) This is a good opportunity to earn a Sale-A-Bration Reward at the same time! Think of the swag!!  For $60, you will get your awesome Stampin' Up! product, plus a free Sale-A-Bration reward of your choice from the two SAB brochures, plus 4 Papercraft Cat reward points! Wow!!

You can choose to shop on your own at my On-Line Store 24/7 or phone or text me at 250-768-7379 or email me with your order! You only have until Tuesday night, so don't miss out!

Friday, February 24, 2017

Wild Ride for As You See It Challenges



When we decided to make As You See It Challenges a two week challenge, it seemed like gobs of time, but I can't believe how fast that time flies by. It's already time for our newest challenge and Amanda has given us a great one again. And I used Always Artichoke!!! When does that happen these days?? It's been ages since that poor stamp pad has seen the light of day! But it seemed just right for my One Wild Ride stamp set and Basic Gray with Crumb Cake and Sahara Sand for the perfect masculine card! This was one that I made on my retreat in Okanagan Falls last weekend.

Here's Amanda's sketch:



I know it looks a bit more feminine, but I seem to be thinking outside the box a lot these days. Here's a closer look at my more masculine take on the sketch:

  • The diagonal stripes were accomplished with the motorcycle tire track, stamped in Basic Gray Archival Ink, and the 5/8" Burlap Ribbon with some Urban Underground Embellishments taking the place of the Baker's Twine. 
  • Unfortunately, the tire track stamp did not reach all the way diagonally across the page and I didn't bring my Stamp-a-ma-jig along with me on the retreat ( I know, I should never go anywhere without it - it was an oversight!) so I had to eyeball it as best I could. This was the best of about 4 different attempts. It's not perfect, but it's close enough - and I had a limited amount of Whisper White with me as well!
  • The sentiment is from One Wild Ride as well. It works well on the diagonal.
  • The bike was stamped and fussy cut, then mounted on the card front with dimensionals. The badge at the top was stamped in Always Artichoke and punched out with my new Best Badge Punch.
What have you got cooked up for the weekend? Why not spend some time in the craft room and enter our new challenge over at As You See It Challenges! You could win fame and fortune! Well...fame anyway!



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

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

New SAB Rewards and Fun with 3D!


My card today is a 3D affair reminiscent of hot air balloon festivals - a riot of colour and movement!

I'm using the Lift Me Up stamp set, of course, and a Double Z fold technique with a little extra structure thrown in:

 All so you can add extra images to add to the three dimensional effect of the card!

I love that the Carried Away Designer Series Paper (which is one of the first Sale-A-Bration Rewards that can be earned for free with a qualifying order) is the perfect backdrop for this card, and I used the same palette of colours to create the balloons, clouds and sentiments. Here's another view:

This card also folds flat for mailing, although with it's thickness, it would likely need extra postage.


All the balloon images were die cut with the Up & Away Framelit Dies which can be purchased separately or bundled with the Lift Me Up stamp set for a savings of 10%.

Because I will be making this card at my Tea & 3D class tomorrow, I don't want to tell you much more than that! If you are in the area, why not plan to attend? To register, click here today, as I will be preparing packages for the class today.


The second release of Sale-A-Bration rewards has started. Click on the brochure above to download it and see it all. The three items now available along with all the other awards first introduced in January are the Reverse Words Stamp Set, the Glimmer Paper Assortment Pack, and the Make a Medallion Stamp Set. Take a closer look by clicking on the brochure cover above. You can earn these for free, one for every $60* you spend per order with Stampin' Up! between now and Mar. 31, 2017.

*before shipping and tax
These are really awesome:



The Glimmer Paper Assortment Pack! I bet this one is going to go fast!



The Reverse Words Stamp set comes in Clear or Wood Mount! It's a watercolour wash with the word being the negative space!

The Make A Medallion Photopolymer Stamp Set has so many possible permutations, and coordinates with the Layering Circles Framelit Dies!

I bet that makes you want to earn some new rewards, doesn't it! My On-Line Store is always open! Stop in anytime, or email me with your order. You can also text me at 250-768-7379.

Monday, February 20, 2017

A Simple Thank You with Succulent Garden


It's funny how often I initially don't warm up to a product at first and end up loving it in the end. Such is the case with the whole Succulent Garden Suite in the Occasions Catalogue. I've never really liked succulent plants that much, where my husband loves them, so when I saw them in the catty, I was like, "Meh." But then I played around with them for a while to create some decor for my Catalogue launch and was amazed at the realistic look you could get with the framelits when you make the little plants and put them in flower pots.

But today I want to show you how beautiful the Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper is. I made some simple thank you cards for my customers with some of the patterns from the series and I think they really highlight how gorgeous that paper is. Take a close look and try not to drool on your tablet!


Mint Macaron is paired with the sentiment from One Big Meaning in Old Olive here.


Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe and Old Olive here with the sentiment in Old Olive again.


I just love this sweet Sweet Sugarplum gingham print with the little white knot using the Whisper White 1/8" Grosgrain from the Sending Love Ribbon Combo Pack.


This weekend, I was in Okanagan Falls for a small crafting retreat with my stamping group down there!


We had a lot of fun! Good food, good company, great talk and lots of crafting fun took place.











I usually host these, but this year was a little different, because one of my group has become a brand new demonstrator and wanted to help me host the retreat! Actually she did most of the organizing of the retreat herself! I designed three of the projects and she designed three of them.
I wanted to show you the three she designed because I did those projects along with the rest of the group and thoroughly enjoyed making these great cards! Make sure you leave a little love for Dianne Gough in the comments today and tell her what a great job she did with her designs!





Some of the other projects I made have to be kept under wraps for a bit, but I will share when I'm able. I will let you know that I did this project with the others as one of my three and I think I created a monster!


Let's just say that there were a lot (A LOT) of shadow box frames created this weekend with all sorts of things in the middle!! Anyway, it's a wrap until next year, and a shout out to Dianne, my new downline, who took on that big an event so soon in her Stampin' Up! career! Kudos!


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