Burple Birthday Hero

My little grandson, Parker, just turned two.  It's so much fun to talk with him now.  I wanted to make a birthday card for him in his favourite colour, Burple!  And he loves trucks of any kind, so I got out the You're My Hero stamp set for the firetruck image.

And this is what came out of all the creating chaos:

• The palette was Elegant Eggplant, Island Indigo and Real Red, quite a vivid combination!  I don't know if you'll like it, but I know that Parker will because they are all his favourites.  I might not have added the Real Red, but, you know, firetrucks gotta be red!
• The Elegant Eggplant DSP is from the Regals Collection Designer Series Paper Stack.
• The stamp set is You're My Hero and that includes the sentiments as well.

• The two is from ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet and Numbers which fits perfectly into a 3/4" Circle Punch.  Then I used the smallest Starburst Framelit and die cut an Island Indigo starburst to adhere it on to.
• There is a medium Rhinestone Basic Jewel, coloured with a red Sharpie, for the emergency light on the top of the firetruck!

I can hardly wait to see how Parker will react to this!  Being a Grandma is so much fun!

Here are this week's weekly deals:

WEEKLY DEALS

We hope you enjoy this week's Weekly Deals!

	Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit Item # 130034 Regular Price: $37.95 Discounted Price: $28.46   25% off
	Extra Large Oval Punch Item #119859 Regular Price: $22.95 Discounted Price: $17.21    25% off
	Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons Item # 127555 Regular Price: $7.95 Discounted Price: $5.96   25% off
	Shaker Frames Item # 124155 Regular Price: $5.95 Discounted Price: $4.46  25% off
	Scallop Trim Border Punch Item # 118402 Regular Price: $20.95 Discounted Price: $15.71    25% off
	Epic Day This and That Designer Washi Tape Item # 131269 Regular Price: $6.50 Discounted Price: $4.88    25% off
	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad Item # 131172 Regular Price: $7.25 Discounted Price: $5.44   25% off
	Reasons I Heart You Swatchbook Template Item # 129013 Regular Price: $13.95 Discounted Price: $8.37  40% off

To purchase any of these supplies, just click on the link to take you to that product in my On-Line Store.

• You're My Hero Wood-mount Stamp Set
• You're My Hero Clear-mount Stamp Set
• Abc-123 Sketch Alphabet Numbers
• Elegant Eggplant 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Island Indigo 8-1/2 X 11 Card Stock
• Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Regals Designer Series Paper Stack
• Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad
• Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
• Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad
• Starburst Framelits Dies
• 3/4 Inch Circle Punch
• Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents

Salt Lake City for the Rising Star Trip

Well, I'm here in Salt Lake City for the Rising Star Trip!  So far it's been a blast and we haven't even officially started yet!  Stampin' Up really knows how to treat it's demonstrators, for sure!  I hate to sound provincial, but I travelled first class for the first time ever!  I'm not sure if that was planned or not, but it was...roomy!

We're staying at a Hilton hotel in Sandy, Utah, which is close to Stampin' Up Head Office, where we'll be training for the next two days.  Look what I got all to myself:  Woo hoo!

It's a small suite!  Two TVs. Separate sitting room.














And Stampin' Up left us some milk and cookies as a welcome gift.  And they were welcome after a day of flying with not much to eat except those desicated airline peanuts!


I met the other Rising Stars after I arrived. (I was the last one to get here.) We all went out to dinner and got to know one another.  I felt comfortable right away!  Such friendly people!

Tomorrow we are up early and at the head office all day!  More on that later!

I brought a gift for my fellow Rising Stars and I used the same design (different DSP) as I did for my roomie gifts at Convention in July.  Here's a photo or two:

Sorry for the bad photos, but I don't have my usual editing program on my hubby's laptop.  You get the picture though.  I used Season of Style DSP for these.  A whole 12 x 12 sheet!  No cutting, just scoring and folding and it is easy peasy!

The cool thing is, you can store it flat for travelling, and then open up the folds to create the box and add the belly band once you fill it with whatever! (See picture below!)

I have to sign off to get ready for my day of training!  Talk to you soon!

Stamps:  Label Love (w130619; c130622); ABC123 - Sketched Alphabet (c130565)
Paper: Season of Style DSP (132340); Old Olive (100702) and Whisper White (100730) cardstock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Baked Brown Sugar (131174) and Cherry Cobbler (126966)
Accessories:  White Tea Lace Paper Doilies (129399); Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Edge Grosgrain Ribbon (132135), Sticky Strip Adhesive (104294)
Tools:  Simply Scored Scoring Tool (122334); Artisan Label Punch (130920)

The Power of Toucans

Toucans - unlikely looking birds!  They look like some stuffed frightful that you win at a carnival!  Those bright colours are so unusual and they stand out even more sharply with the black body.

Years ago, when we first moved to the Okanagan, we were lucky enough to move next to some great neighbours!  We had so much in common with them.  Susan and I were both teachers and we both had a husband named Ken!  As well, both couples were landscaping their yards and helped each other out.  When we laid our turf, Ken and Susan decided to do some time-lapse photography of the process and make a slideshow out of it!




Later, the two Kens got together to make some really hilarious amateur videos.  I wish I could share a couple with you, but they are in VHS format and I don't have time to change them. They got the idea to call their amateur video company Two Ken Productions and their logo was a little toucan.

I know you're thinking:  "Okay, how could she POSSIBLY use this intro to talk about a card?"
Believe it or not, there is a tie-in!  I was looking for some ideas to complete the Dynamic Duos Challenge #69:

The bright colours made me think of a children's card and I wanted to use my new Label Card Thinlet to make a swing card.  I looked through my stamp sets and my eye caught the Zoo Babies set.  Then I saw the Yippee-Skippee sentiment stamp set, which I thought might have something for a kid's card.  When I sat down and opened both stamp sets, that's when the magic happened.

I simultaneously caught sight of the little toucan in Zoo Babies and the sentiment "Never Underestimate the Power of Two"  and I had a major brain wave:  Here it is:

I laughed myself silly at the idea!  That, however, is where the magic ended!  I had no end of trouble getting the whole thing together.  I coloured those silly little toucans about 5 times.  I had trouble with the "cans" part.  At first I found the word "can" on another stamp in the same set and used it, but then I could not find an S to add on that was the same size or font.  Then my daughter suggested I use an alphabet set and stamp each letter separately.  Duh!  Of course!  So I got out my ABC-123 Sketched Alphabet and Numbers and that worked fairly well, but it was bigger and harder to fit the two toucans on.  Stamp-a-ma-jig to the rescue!

Anyway, with some other minor difficulties solved, I finally got the card made!  Who would have thought that such a simple card could create so many problems.  Probably just not my day!

Never underestimate the power of toucans!

Stamps:  Zoo Babies (w130453; c130456); Yippee-Skippee (w131341; c131344); ABC-123 Sketched Alphabet & Numbers (c130565)
Paper:  Brights Collection Designer Series Paper Stacks (Old Olive) (130134); Pacific Point (111350) and Whisper White (100730) cardstock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Pacific Point (126951); Stampin' Write Markers in Pacific Point (as part of the Brights Collection) (131259) and Old Olive (100079)
Accessories:  Brights Collection Glimmer Brads (121006);  1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon in Pacific Point (126878)
Tools:  Label Card Thinlets (133479); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Big Shot (113439)

ABC-123 Sketched Alphabet & Numbers Stamp Set

Zoo Babies Stamp Set

Brights Designer Series Paper Stacks

Brights Glimmer Brads

Pacific Point 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Label Card Thinlits

Stamp-a-ma-jig

Here in Utah

We arrived in Salt Lake City around noon yesterday and took the hotel shuttle back to the hotel where we are staying.  Our rooms were not quite ready for us, so we left our baggage and decided to do what all normal women do  - SHOP!  Well, they shopped and I kept track of where everyone was so they wouldn't lose each other.  I also had the only phone we could use to contact our American friends and wait for them to contact us.

We finally found each other and, since we were all famished, went to find this amazing waffle place for lunch.  By the way, the temperature is around 37 degrees celcius here, so any midday walking you do is very tiring!

If you're ever in Salt Lake City, find this tiny little place and try their delicious but heavier Belgian waffles with creme fraiche and fresh fruit.  Yum!

Then it was time to head back to the hotel to check in and get unpacked and settled.  Holly and I are sharing a nice room with a couple of quirky features, but overall very comfortable.  We shared roomy gifts!  I'm dying to show you the ones I made:

These sweet boxes are made from one 12 x 12 sheet of Design Series Paper (Afternoon Picnic DSP shown here).  I put some little sewing kits for fabric and clothing emergencies inside. As I was thinking about how I could make a fancy box to store the sewing kits in one day last week, I opened up my email and YouTube sent me some video suggestions. One of them was a video tutorial by Stampin' T on how to make these little boxes.  The link to the video gives you great detailed instructions, so I won't try to duplicate, but it involves taking a full sheet of DSP and scoring and folding it to create the box.

The box lies flat for storing or packing and then you open up the box part when you are ready to put something inside it.  The Wisteria Wonder piece is a belly band to keep the box closed and I just decorated it with Wisteria Wonder Chevron Ribbon, a quarter of a doily and to make the label, the Label Love stamp set, the ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet and Numbers stamp set, and the Artisan Label Punch!

They were so much fun to create!  Make sure you watch the video and give this project a try!

By the way, I was given permission to post these photos of the shenanigans that went on in the hotel room in Seattle two nights ago. Can you guess who?  Leave a comment with your guesses!

Stamps:  Label Love (w130619; c130622); ABC-123 Sketched Alphabet and Numbers (w130565)

Paper:  Afternoon Picnic DSP (131390); Wisteria Wonder (122922) and Very Vanilla (101650) cardstock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Wisteria Wonder (126985) and Coastal Cabana (131175)

Accessories:  Wisteria Wonder 3/4" Chevron Ribbon; Tea Lace Paper Doilies (129399)

Tools:  Artisan Label Punch (130920), Simply Scored Scoring Tool (122334)