Made with Love for Freshly Made Sketches

Okay, everyone! You have just come in eye contact with a little baby! Ready? On the count of three...
one....two...three..."Awwwwwwwww!" Isn't that everyone's first verbal instinct when they see a miniature human being? Haven't you every wondered why babies are so incredibly cute? I personally think that it's about the only way they can get away with all the stuff they do! I saw comedian Jim Gaffigan talk about babies like they were the worst roommates in the world. They stay up all night long drinking, then they pass out. They start screaming at you. You try to help them to a bed and they puke on you... Yes, it's a good thing babies are cute!

I thought it was time for a baby card, and since Freshly Made Sketches had a cute sketch going on for their latest challenge, and since I just got the Made With Love Stamp set, and since I had not yet opened my pack of Sweet Li'l Things Designer Series Paper, I came up with a cute, sketchy (in a good way) baby congrats card.

The Sweet Li'l Things Designer Series kind of surprised me. I thought it was going to be all sweet baby stuff, but instead, it was mostly outdoorsy and patterned designs. Here's how I used it in this card:

• I chose three colours from the DSP palette: Tip Top Taupe, Hello Honey and Watermelon Wonder. I think it works really well with this design, it makes me think of babies for some reason. Maybe the watermelon and honey together are primary looking enough, while the taupe and vanilla soften the effect for a baby card.
• I used a 2" Circle punch to make a circle of each of the main colours and then stamped the images from Made With Love on Very Vanilla cardstock and punched them out using the new 1 1/2" Circle Punch. I'm so glad we have that punch now. It kind of fills in a gap that existed in circle sizes before it came out. It was difficult to figure out a way to arrange them so the images or sentiments weren't covered up and I still maintained the line from the sketch.
• The sentiment on the sketch looks like it calls for a die cut sentiment, but the only ones I have were not appropriate, so I opened up a package of Expressions Natural Elements, which are precut wooden sentiments, and chose the Congrats. I considered colouring it with markers, but decided I would go with the natural look for it.
• The background paper is from Sweet Li'l Things Designer Series.

As you read this, I will be on my way to Salt Lake City for Inspire. Create. Share., our yearly convention! It's part road trip and part flight, but it will be fun for sure, as only travelling with a group of 4 like-minded people can be! As we settle in, and take some photos along the way, I will try to share with you each day some of the fun we are having, so stay tuned! By the way, I'd love to take you with me the next time we have a North American event, so it's as easy as joining my team and becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!  Intrigued? Just click on Join My Team in the top menu and follow the prompts, or email me and I'll guide you through the process!

Ta ta for now and talk to you next from Salt Lake City!

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

Made With Love Photopolymer Stamp Set [138662]	Sweet Li'l Things Designer Series Paper [138447]	Tip Top Taupe 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138336]	Watermelon Wonder 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138334]	Hello Honey 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133678]
Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101650]	Tip Top Taupe Classic Stampin' Pad [138325]	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad [138323]	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad [133643]	2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers [138333]
Expressions Natural Elements [138395]	2" Circle Punch [133782]	1-1/2" Circle Punch [138299]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

Good to Be Home!

Yesterday was a very long day as I travelled home from #InspireCreateShare2014, Stampin' Up!'s great annual Convention in Salt Lake City!  We flew from Salt Lake City to Seattle and got in about noon.  We picked up our vehicle, had some lunch and drove seven hours more to get home.  One hour of that was spent at the Sumas Border Crossing, waiting in line to be processed!  But it is so good to be home and now I have a whole new file of memories to go along with the event.

I thought I'd share a few photos of this wonderful time:
           

The Main Stage Decor!  WOW!

Our spacious hotel room !  So comfortable!

My roomies, Holly and Terry, and I on a day of  shopping and exploring!

Here are some of my favourite people: I miss them already!

Desiree, Tara and Amy

Amy again, and Becky, Melanie and Sarah! 

My fellow rising stars from 2013: Brian, Julie and Janet!

Holly and Terry again.


 

We got SO MUCH free stuff from Stampin' Up! this trip!  Just take a look at the loot:   

This photo has been altered to remove images of stamp sets that can't be shown until Sept.

There was a particular emphasis on the new Paper Pumpkin kits and we got a sneak peek of the July, August and September kits!  Let's just say that these are kits you will NOT want to miss!  You can sign up today at MyPaperPumpkin.

Here is the cute little shoulder bag we got.

We got our hot little hands on the new Holiday Catalogue which comes out on Sept. 2, but not only did we get the big reveal, as demonstrators, we got an early preorder at the Convention Store, which means we were able to purchase merchandise 2 weeks earlier than our fellow demonstrators who did not attend convention! Not only that, but we got to pay US prices! Yay!!

   

Some demonstrators went all out, total commitment to the company:

This year, I earned a Sales Award and here's my award photo:

Have you caught the flavour of Inspire, Create, Share 2014 yet?  Here's a final video from Stampin' Up! to sum up the week:

Want to go with me next year to join in all the fun?  Just become a member of my team, the Papercraft Cats, by clicking on Join My Team in the top menu and follow the prompts!  I can hardly wait to take you there!

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)

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)

Getting Ready for Convention

I am working on some ideas for my roomie gifts as well.  These are little trinkets and gifts we give to all our roommates!  This is also a Convention tradition that is so much fun.  I will share all these with you when I get to Convention!   You get to meet people from all over North America.  I can't wait!

The excitement is building!  In exactly one week, I will be heading, along with thousands of other stampers, to Salt Lake City to another Stampin' Up Convention!  But there are a lot of things I have to do before then!

I got all my swap cards designed this weekend and two sets of them almost completed, but I have another two sets of 12 to finish.  It is a tradition at Stampin' Up Conventions to take part in card swaps -  like a cookie exchange only with cards.  Some people prepare 200 or more cards for these exchanges.  This year, I was very conservative in my commitment to swaps so I could spend my energy reaching my goal of Rising Star, so I only have to make 56 cards.


In the meantime, I have a Q&C card to share with you.  Everyone needs a selection of quick and cute cards they can make swiftly and easily when an unexpected occasion comes up. (Or when, like me, they have forgotten about an occasion until the last minute!)

I was walking by my paper stacks yesterday, when I thought, "Aha!  I bet Pistachio Pudding and Early Espresso would look smashing together!  Like mint creme and dark chocolate!"  Then I thought, "I'm hungry!" and went off on a fruitless search for some dark chocolate - which I adore. (Hint, hint!)
After I got back, I went looking for a stamp set to use.  Something new.  And I found it - in Cycle Celebration, a really cute new set from the new catalogue.

• Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE the new Designer Series Paper Stacks!  They have up-dated the designs and you can get beautiful single colour DSP in EVERY colour in our catalogue!  So handy, especially when the other DSP's do not feature many of the colours that are current.
• I love the Chevron Embossing Folder for the modern texture it gives your card.
• The chevrons are mirrored by the new 3/4" Chevron Ribbon.  I used Pear Pizzazz as it was the closest I could get to the Pistachio colour.  A strip of 3/8" Stitched Grosgrain ribbon in Early Espresso gives a very decorative look.  
• The sentiment is also part of the Cycle Celebration set.  I really like the font!
• Again, I used the new Deco Labels Collection Framelits for the bicycle and it's matte, which are mounted on the card using Dimensionals to give some variety in height.

Card Designing 101

There you have it!  Easy peasy!  You know, you could create cards like this of your own design.  Yes, really you could.  I am planning a series of Card Designing classes to give you the skills and the confidence to start designing your own, as well as some ideas of where to look for inspiration.  Let me know if you would like to attend.  More details to come.

Okay, back to working on swaps!  Wish me luck getting them all finished!  Thanks for dropping by!

Stamps:  Cycle Celebration (w130270; c130273)

Paper:  2013/15 In Colour Designer Series Paper Stack (130136); Early Espresso (119686), Whisper White (100730) and Pistachio Pudding (131294) card stock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Early Espresso (126974)

Accessories:  3/4" Chevron Ribbon in Pear Pizzazz (130011); 3/8" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon in Early Espresso (126871)

Tools:  Deco Labels Collection Framelits (130102); Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127749); Big Shot (113439)

Cycle Celebration Stamp Set

Deco Labels Collection Framelits

1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon in Early Espresso

3/4" Chevron Ribbon in Pear Pizzazz

2013/15 In Colours Designer Series Paper Stack

Big Shot

Chevron Embossing Folder