Whoa! The Snow!

Well, it finally stopped! The snow that is! It has snowed almost 2 feet since Sunday, breaking a 40 year old record for the amount of snow in a two day period! We even made the National News! In all the time I taught in this school district, we NEVER had a snow day, but there was one today. For most people, the day's agenda called for shovelling snow. PERIOD. Well, that and watching the Canadian Junior Hockey Team win a Gold Medal in the World Junior Hockey Tournament!  Yay, Canada!  Here's what our yard looked like when the snow finally stopped late this afternoon.

But, I digress, and there is so much to tell you today!  First, the big news is that the Occasions 2015 Catalogue goes live today!!

How exciting is that?!!  Click on the photo above to link to the catalogue. Also Sale-A-Bration starts today!  For every $60 you spend (before shipping and tax), you can earn one Sale-A-Bration item for free.  Here's a link to the Sale-A-Bration Brochure:

 I promise you will be thrilled with these two catalogues! There is so much awesomeness packed into both! I will be putting in an order on Thursday, so let me know if there is something you want to order.

We heard yesterday that a good friend was taken to hospital with undiagnosed symptoms and I wanted to make a get well card for him. I also wanted to enter the Pals Paper Arts Challenge #234 :

It's a colour challenge as you can see, and here's what I came up with:

• This is a fairly simple card. The only remarkable thing about it is that I used my ecutter for the ship and the anchor. I'm getting the hang of it, but there is a bit of a learning curve as I figure out what it will cut and what it won't. But I had some good results here with the ship and the anchor from The Open Sea stamp set, an old favourite.
• The layout is simple with layers of Wisteria Wonder and Brushed Silver Cardstock on a Night of Navy Base. I used the Labels Collection Framelits to cut the Night of Navy plaque and the Ovals Collection Framelits to cut the oval of Silver Glimmer Paper for the middle.
• The anchor is embossed with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder and then cut with the ecutter! I think I'm going to love that tool!
• The sentiment is from the Four You stamp set.

Finally, there is a new set of Weekly Deals for this next week:

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

The Open Sea Wood Stamp Set [128454]	The Open Sea Clear Stamp Set [123032]	Four You Wood Stamp Set [130535]	Four You Clear Stamp Set [130538]	Silver Glimmer Paper [135314]
Brushed Silver 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100712]	Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100867]	Wisteria Wonder 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122922]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Versamark Pad [102283]
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [126970]	Silver 1/8" Ribbon [132137]	Silver Baker's Twine [132976]	Regals Candy Dots [130932]
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder [109131]	Embossing Buddy [103083]	Heat Tool [129053]	Labels Collection Framelits Die [125598]	Ovals Collection Framelits Die [129381]
Big Shot [113439]	Fuse Fast Adhesive [129026]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

Live with an Open Heart

Well, I had one of those difficult stamping weekends.  It was a nice weekend in all other respects.  I saw two great movies, had a nice drive with my hubby and got my house back to normal after the holidays. But I was experimenting with some new toys and that doesn't always go well.

I was inspired by this Pinterest Pin:

I thought this piece of jewelry was so striking! I wanted to create something of the sort for a steampunk style valentine. I also wanted to use my new ecutter, as I haven't had a chance to play with it until now.  Believe it or not, I probably chose the hardest ever image to try cutting out - the flourish from Everything Eleanor!! Talk about trial by fire for my Brother ScanNCut! I wanted to use the swirly flourish as a "nest" so to speak for the heart!  I embossed the flourish in Black Stampin' Emboss Powder on Whisper White Cardstock and ran it through!  It was amazing to see what an awesomely intricate job the ecutter did! But the problem was the white cardstock was just too...white to work for this design.

I set to work trying to cover it up in a way that suited my inspiration piece above.  I sponged but still too white. Then I thought to emboss it again with a mixture of Gold and Silver Stampin' Emboss powders, but that simply completely covered up the black embossing and took away from the intricacies of the design. Finally, I gave up and embossed the flourish in black again over a piece of Soft Suede which I'd previously embossed using the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and the same mixture of Silver and Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder. That did the trick! The moral of the story? Never toss things away because they just might come in handy down the road.

• Is anyone else loving the textures and colours from the Adventures Abound Designer Series Paper Stack from the new Occasions Catalogue. You will be able to order it starting tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6. I think this might be my favourite design from it. That mortar between the bricks looks so 3D! It was the perfect background for this card!
• As I mentioned, I had a piece of Soft Suede cardstock that I'd previously embossed with a mixture of Silver and Gold Stampin' Emboss powders and I stamped over it with Versamark Ink (make sure to use the Embossing Buddy first) and embossed it again using Black Stampin' Emboss Powder. I love how this turned out.

• To make the heart, I used the Sweetheart Punch to punch out 6 hearts from Cherry Cobbler cardstock and glued 5 of them together. The sixth one I stamped with the I Love Lace background stamp with Versamark ink and covered it with the same mixture of silver and gold embossing powder as above. I brushed away some of the powder here and there to give it a more vintage appearance and then heat set it with my Heat Tool. I sponged the whole thing with Soft Suede.
• The sentiment is from An Open Heart stamp set and I stamped it on Crumb Cake cardstock with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and die cut it using the Apothecary Accents framelits. The Crumb Cake cardstock is the same as the layers on the card base and on the flourish panel.

Today is the last day to order from the Holiday Catalogue!

Today is your last opportunity to get products from the 2014 Holiday Catalogue. I will be putting in an order around 5 pm today so please contact me before that time if there is anything you don't want to pass up!  There are a few products that will be carried over until June, but only while supplies last. To check those out, go to page 49 in the new Occasions Catalogue to see them listed. Also there are some dies and punches and tools from the Holiday Catalogue in the regular pages of the Occasions Catalogue, such as the Gift Box Punch Board, the Confetti Stars Border Punch and the Lucky Stars Embossing folder, the Handheld Stapler and the Note Tag Punch.  These can be ordered until June as well but supplies will be guaranteed.

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! *List does not include Stampin' Up! sneak peek items.  They will be available Jan. 6, 2015.

Product List

Everything Eleanor Clear Stamp Set [124164]	Everything Eleanor Wood Stamp Set [131987]	Gorgeous Grunge Wood Stamp Set [130514]	Gorgeous Grunge Clear Stamp Set [130517]	I Love Lace Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134036]
I Love Lace Wood-Mount Stamp Set [134033]	An Open Heart Clear-Mount Stamp Set [135002]	An Open Heart Wood-Mount Stamp Set [134999]	Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119685]	Soft Suede 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115318]
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953]	Versamark Pad [102283]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [126978]	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad [126966]
Stamping Sponges [101610]	Embossing Buddy [103083]	Black Stampin' Emboss Powder [109133]	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder [109131]	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder [109129]
Heat Tool [129053]	Sweetheart Punch [133786]	Apothecary Accents Framelits Die [127003]	Big Shot [113439]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]
Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

*Adventure Abounds Designer Series Paper Stack

Twitterpated for As You See It Challenges

Have you ever been Twitterpated? Some sources say that this word was first used in Disney's Bambi:

I am using this sentiment  from the Me Plus You Stamp set in my card design for As You See It Challenges #068.  Here's the sketch:

Greeting card wise, Valentine's Day is second only to Christmas for the number of cards bought and sent, so it's only natural that my efforts turn to Cupid and his special day.

• This is a fairly simple design, but what sets it apart is the strings of hearts on the right. These were made simply by punching out pairs of hearts with the little heart punch from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack and gluing them together with the Whisper White Baker's Twine through the middle. 
• The background DSP and the scraps of paper out of which the hearts were punched is from the Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack, a good value product from the new Occasions 2015 Catalogue. It will be available to order January 6.  You get 48 sheets 4.5" x 6.5" for just $8.50.  You get 4 each of 12 double sided designs! These are just the right size for card making.
• The sentiment is from a great Valentine's stamp set that could also be used for birthdays and anniversaries.  It's called You Plus Me and it will be the Stamp Set of the Month for January. Each month you can get the Stamp Set of the Month in clear mount format, three hand made cards using that stamp set and step-by-step photo tutorials for each of the cards, all for just $35. When the other two cards are designed you can see them and sign up for January's set here.

I'm getting really excited for the launch of the Occasions Catalogue on January 6 AND the start of Sale-A-Bration!  5 more sleeps, people!

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! *List does not include Stampin' Up! sneak peek items.  They will be available Jan. 6, 2015.

Product List

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack [133787]	Twine Baker's Whisper White [124262]	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246]
Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Fuse Fast Adhesive [129026]

*You Plus Me Stamp Set Clear

*Stacked with Love Designer Series Paper Stack

Wishes for 2015

I wish all my readers and customers a 2015 filled with glittering possibilities!  I hope I can continue to serve your papercrafting needs in the coming year!  Happy New Year!

I'll be back tomorrow with another As You See It Challenge!