Monday, June 29, 2020

Campology - Longing to Get There!!



I love to camp and it's been so long! We need to get back out there in our 5th wheel and hit the parks again. We've been given a cautious green light here in BC, and with an RV and being outdoors, the risk is low, but seeing what's been happening in the States right now, makes me take a second look at plans to be sure we can do everything safely. But being able to see our grandchildren again would be worth it! I miss them and they miss me!

Speaking of camping, we have a great new stamp set in the Annual Catalogue called Campology, and I got it for obvious reasons, but when I was trying to put some samples together for my Catalogue Launch last Saturday, there weren't many samples for this in the catalogue and as I tried to come up with one, I was stymied. The images are great, but so not to the same scale that you can't really build a scene with it.

I took some time to think about it though, and this is what I came up with:


  • I used the trees stamp as a background, inking it up in Just Jade and then stamping off once before stamping on the panel and then stamping twice more without reinking it to created some depth.
  • I stamped the the tent and the lantern in Smoky Slate and the coffee pot and mug in Mossy Meadow (stamped off) These shapes were die cut using the Rectangular Stitched Dies and the Coffee Pot, using the Stitched Shapes Dies.
  • The sentiment is stamped in Just Jade ink and die cut using the Rectangular Stitched Dies as well.
  • I used my Paper Trimmer to create mattes for all the panels, making them  1/8" larger in both directions. I used Smoky Slate cardstock for the mattes.
  • The sentiment is one of about 4 with this stamp set.


                                  


The Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue KickOff Promotion will be over in 2 days! About the only way you can get in on it now, would be to place a $300 order yourself in my Online Store and REAP the REWARDS! They are substantial!



You also have ONLY 2 DAYS left to take advantage of this great promotion! When you purchase the Starter Kit from Stampin' Up! and join my team! Until June 30, Stampin' Up! is adding a free stamp set and tool bundle to the already great deal of $165 worth of any current product of your choice for only $135, no shipping! And price is no object. Just pick a bundle and then pick the rest of your products from anywhere in the catalogue and ENJOY the life of a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. If you join now, you will be able to enjoy the new Holiday Catalogue a whole month before the public!! And you can purchase from it starting July 1st, while everyone else has to wait until Aug. 1! Just click HERE to join!


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.  

Product List

Friday, June 26, 2020

Getting Ready for a Virtual Annual Catalogue Launch



A couple of weeks of hard work started coming together yesterday for me as I put the finishing touches on my preparation for my up coming Virtual Annual Catalogue Launch. In previous years, I have held this event live, and it has been a very big deal, including my BOGO Rubber Rummage Sale, games, baking, decorating, favors for the guests and make & takes, with door prizes all over the place! 

This year I had to figure out how to translate that to an online event, to keep the ball rolling for my customers and help them learn about all the fabulous new products available to them in this new 2020-2021 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.

Some steps have been the same. I have priced all my newly retired products - and there were A LOT of them! Usually I don't bother photographing them and updating my photo inventory until after my Rubber Rummage Sale, but this year, I had to photograph everything and get my inventory all updated before the sale because it's all online! I have been making gobs of samples of the suites that I have purchased to show my customers, and instead of letting them just wander and look during the event, I will intentionally be showing them the samples as we discuss the catalogue.







Then I looked for games that we could play together on Zoom and printed them off and enclosed them in sealed envelopes so no one could cheat and do them ahead of time. I also had to find safe, wrapped snacks, still trying to keep them colour coordinated as much as possible with our new In Colours. Our Make & Takes had to keep stamping to a minimum since this is a free event and people would likely not have many of the new stamp sets yet. These are the two projects:


This is the party pack that will be delivered to each attendee:


The little Bumble Bee container holds some Sesame Snaps (in honour of Bumble Bee) and some Original Moritz Icy Squares, which have wraps with colours similar to some of our new In Colours! The bags for the Miss Vickie's chips had similar colours as well and then each pack had a individual serving package of Hot Apple Cider, of course, in honour of Cinnamon Cider! I made In Colour book marks for everyone's catalogue with a catalogue index on the back side and I had an old package of Snail for everyone, too! I hope everyone enjoys their package!

And of course, there are door prizes, that I collect throughout the year:


Those should be worth winning!

Here's hoping everything on Zoom goes smoothly for the afternoon! Thanks for reading!


Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Peony Garden DSP and Dies



I am busily making samples for my Online Catalogue Launch this Saturday and I always like to include at least one sample of home decor so I pulled out a little frame that I have and added some leftover Peony Garden Designer Series Paper on top of some Gray Granite cardstock. Have I mentioned how much I love this Designer Series? The Gray Granite, Basic Gray and Petal Pink are so appealing to me as a limited combo. It reminds me of a set we had a few years back and I think it was called Something Borrowed. It was based on Sahara Sand and Whisper White, and I think there were some pink embellishments that went with it! I loved that series so much and I don't know how many packages I went through! I think Peony Garden is destined to be the same for me!

But then there are the Peony Dies!! Oh, my goodness! When I first opened the package and saw them, I wasn't hopeful:



I was like, "What is this? It looks like a 50 piece jigsaw puzzle or something! What do I even do with this?!"
But after removing the outline pieces that coordinate with the Prized Peony stamp set, it turns out that there are only 5 flower pieces and 6 leaf pieces, with each of 3 leaves each having 2 parts.
And the flower pieces work so well: they slip inside each other smallest to largest, and match at the bottom edge, where you fasten them!! So much easier than it looks!

Anyway, here's another look at my picture frame:


  • I sponged and curled with a bone folder all the Petal Pink petal edges of the peony before assembling it. The center (in Basic Black) is added last of all the petals. 
  • The leaves are Soft Sea Foam and Granny Apple Green for the highlights.
  • I added some of the Elegant Faceted Gems that come with this set as extra embellishments to catch the light.
And that's it for today. As I write this, Tuesday night, I keep falling asleep and leaving long lines of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's, so I'm going to make it short!


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.  

                 
Product List
Peony Dies
[152701]
$54.00

Monday, June 22, 2020

Whale of a Time Samples for My Annual Catalogue Launch




My Annual Catalogue Launch is coming up on Saturday, and so I'm working hard to create a lot of samples from the suites I have purchased to give the people attending on Zoom an idea of what they can do with the different products.

Some of the products I worked with on the weekend came from the Whale of a Time Suite! I had a blast working with all these supplies and I wanted to show you what you can do with a stamp set, punch, embossing folder, Designer Paper, ribbon and sequins!

Take a look at these:


  • These first two are simple stamping cards that would be great to use for an online Make & Take project. One of them will likely be one of the Make & Takes for the Catalogue Launch itself. They require very little in the way of stamping, just a punch and adhesive and you're ready to go!
  • The Whale of a Time 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper is spectacular, colourful and fun, and it's easy to build an underwater scene with it.  The Whale Builder Punch coordinates with some of the paper as well so you don't even have to stamp the whales, you can just punch it out from the DSP!
  • You can easily stamp images like the sea horses and the fish right on the DSP as well, because it's the right scale for it. Then you can stamp some images on cardstock and fussy cut them and add them with dimensionals to give your card front some 3D appeal.



  • In these two samples you can see the difference between a whale punched and assembled from cardstock and one punched right from the DSP.
  • On the first sample, if you look closely, you can see about three whales punched from vellum, adorning the background. Don't you love the colour palette of the DSP, with the Pretty Peacock, Just Jade, Pool Party, Calypso Coral and Petal Pinks?
  • That Pool Party Sheer Ribbon is so beautiful and the coordinating Whale of a Time Sequins, with their round shapes like bubbles and their alternate sea shell shapes are so decorative.

  • Here you can get a better look at the ribbon and sequins and some of the other images that you can stamp, but what I want you to especially notice is the awesomeness of the Seabed 3D Embossing Folder. Right now, it's my favourite embossing folder of all!! There is just so much interesting texture, and it's just like a sea floor! 
  • In the sample on the right, I added some Whisper White Craft Ink to the raised area of the embossing folder before adding the Just Jade cardstock and running it through the embossing machine. It enhanced the texture so nicely. Just make sure to wash out your embossing folder right away after you are finished to be sure you get all the craft in out before it has a chance to completely set. Mine came out sparkling after some soap and water.
Other than the first two of the six cards I showed you, I used the catalogue to CASE the designs (Copy And Selectively Edit). It helps me when I want to make a lot of samples in a short time and it can be a help to you, too, when you want ideas for your own cards. If you don't have your own yet, let me know and I'll see that you get one.

I'm going to suggest the Whale of a Time Suite to you if you want to make some fun cards and you don't have a lot of equipment. It's on page 94 in the Annual Catalogue. To get the whole suite is $88.50 plus tax and shipping, but if you want to save some money, check out my suite shares, where you can share the paper, ribbon, and embellishments and still get everything, but for less money and you can earn a free gift if you add on the stamp set and tool. My prices include tax, but may have extra shipping involved depending where you live.
Check the shares out HERE.                                                    

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.


Product List

Paper Snips
[103579]
$13.50