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Once again this year, my friends are holding Sam's Day. This fun family event raises funds for Toronto Sick Kids Hospital, specifically the James Fund, for neuroblastoma research. This year, Sam's Day is an extra special celebration as Sam has just reached 5 years cancer free!! I'm donating another Silent Auction basket full of Stampin' Up! goodies to help raise the total amount going to this worthy cause. If you're attending Sam's Day - this Saturday, June 5th, please be sure to bid!! There's a 12 x 12 scrapbook, cardstock, designer series paper, stamp sets, ink pads and a punch included, plus gift certificates for merchandise and a free class for 6 people. If you're unable to attend, please consider sponsoring me and my team of bowlers.
In the meantime, I'm prepping for my "For the Boys" card class this Wednesday evening, and on Tuesday morning, I'm slated to appear on CH Morning Live, around 8:20, so please tune in!
I love this Textured Impressions Embossing Folder! It's called Stampin Up Elegant Bouquet. I embossed Whisper White cardstock with the folder in my Big Shot, and then used my Two Way Glue and Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add glitz to the centres of the flowers (unfortunately I don't think it shows up really well in this photo...) The "Friends" stamp is from the set Vintage Vogue which appeared in the Occasions mini catalogue and is still available for order. The "F" was cut out of a second image and mounted on top of an original image using Stampin' Dimensionals.
While the Vintage Vogue set is still available for order (117690 wood mount, 118598 clear mount), there are some retiring colour products that are already GONE FOREVER. Only Orange and Close to Cocoa 8.5" x 11" cardstocks are out of stock, and supplies of Sage Shadow 8.5" x 11" AND 12" x 12" cardstocks are exhausted as well. Many of the retiring colour products are on backorder, being shipped out as available, but you'd best place your order NOW if there's a retiring colour item you need.
I was recently interviewed by Rosie Grover of the Hamilton Spectator newspaper for a column she does featuring local small businesses. It was a fun interview (you can see it HERE) but I have to confess that the hours leading up to the interview weren't all fun....because...(further confessions)...I am a messy crafter. Rosie's innocent "Let's meet in your studio" set off a wave of a cleaning frenzy my craft room has not seen in quite a while... Since my in home classes are either held in other people's homes or in my dining room area (I really should call it the stamping room, since we don't always "dine" there...), my studio is for my personal use. I create for the classes I conduct, but I also do my own scrapbooking, cardmaking and 3D projects. (Thankfully Rosie wasn't interviewing me for the "What's on Your Desk" column she also writes. That would have taken forever).
So...since I went to all that work, I had to take a photograph of the results. And NO, I am not going to show the "before" shots. Just pretend that my room always looks like this, okay?!
The decor element that is above my bookshelf that houses my stamp sets, my 12 x 12 cardstocks and various other "stuff" that I use for crafting.
The other side of the room with another shelving unit of "stuff" and an additional desk surface (Ikea, in case you were wondering). Until I got it last year this side had a table with boxes underneath it... My Big Shot and dies, markers and samples are housed here. The surface that my ink pads are on is a laminate countertop set on two filing cabinets that house my 8.5 x 11 cardstock and business papers.
There you go, a little sneak peek into my crafting studio. It still looks like this... really, it does...
I'm offering the scrapbook in a box class once again at the end of this month - Monday, May 31st. This is a fun way to share and display photos and journalling. Class starts at 7pm and cost includes all supplies. The pictured box is a Valentine's themed box, but we'll do a more generic type box on May 31st.
If you've been thinking about trying your hand at scrapbooking, or if you're an experienced scrapbooker looking for a different way to share your memories, try this class! Cost is $20. Please contact me to reserve your spot.
This card uses the same set as the card I posted a few days ago...Circle Circus (get free designer brads this month when you order this set!). I liked the colour combination of Bermuda Bay and Soft Suede, so why rethink things too much? This time, I used just the two colours, and repeated the colours in the backing cardstocks. The card base is Barely Banana (another retiring colour) which coordinates with the Very Vanilla cardstock that the images and sentiment are stamped on. The sentiment is from the Sincere Salutations set - one of my "Go To" sets as it has phrases to cover most of my card making needs.
If you're in Canada, I wish you a happy Victoria Day weekend. The "24th of May" holiday is actually falling on the 24th this year! We are off to watch Shrek 4 this evening (and of course we will sit to the very end of the credits so that we can see my brother's name go by on the big screen!!).
I love this card - simple, quick but effective (my favourite kind to make). The tree is heat embossed with silver embossing powder, and when you do this on a dark cardstock, it really "pops". The card base is Bordering Blue (one of the retiring colours) and Night of Navy completes the monochromatic look.
This was one of the cards we made for the Tansley Crop Circle / Tansley Cares Network event last Saturday. It was a lot of fun & fellowship as almost twenty people particpated. I was honoured to have been a part of this event. Participants got to keep two cards and donated the other two to the Tansley Cares Network, who in turn send cards and notes to Tansley United Church members who are celebrating significant events or are needing some support.
Just a reminder NOT to wait if you were needing supplies in the retiring colours (like Bordering Blue!) - there's already backorders occuring and it looks like demand could outstrip supply! The best bet is to place your online order HERE - you can complete it immediately and breathe a sigh of relief LOL.
Stampin' Up!'s Scrapbooking Month special is not just for scrapbooks! This card features the Circle Circus stamp set and the filigree designer brads that you can select for free if you order this stamp set. The images in this stamp set coordinate with the various circle punches that Stampin' Up! carries - and two of the images here were punched out with the scallop circle and 1-3/4" circle punches, then mounted on the card with stampin' dimensionals. This long card can fit in a business size envelope.
The colours featured on this card are Rose Red, Bermuda Bay and Soft Suede. The card is Sahara Sand cardstock. All of these colours will be around after July first...but there are a number of colours that are retiring. If you were thinking of stocking up NOW is the time to place your order - there's already backorders on a number of items and after May, there is no guarantee of ongoing supply.... Contact me to place your retiring colour order or place your order online HERE.
I took a watercolour painting class a number of years ago and still love to play with the paints when I get the chance...unfortunately that's not all that often these days. This rose card, however, gave me the chance to watercolour without hauling out the paints, palette and large board to work on.
I used the rose image from Fifth Avenue Floral and embossed it in gold. This created a tiny "ledge" to keep the water from running all over the place. Working in small sections, I flooded an area of the image with water from my aquapainter brush. I picked up some Regal Rose reinker with the tip of my aquapainter, then touched the watery area of the image to fill the area with colour. As the colour spreads, there will be gradations in intensity which adds to the artistic nature of the card. If you add more reinker to the area, it gets darker. You can also go over areas again later once it's more dry to add more colour with a bit more control...but as my watercolour teacher used to say "Let it go, let it flow". Using Stampin' Up!'s watercolour paper makes this technique pain free and adds to the artistic nature of the card. The "tooth" of the watercolour paper means that it also stands up to the amount of water used with this technique. I used Rose Red designer series paper on the Rose Red card to add another dimension but not detract from the image too much. Brushed gold metallic cardstock backs the flower image, and I used 1/4" circle punch outs of gold metallic cardstock to add interest but not bulk, so it's easily mailed and not crushed.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Not sure that this card will actually get given to my mother...since she was at the class where we did this one...think I should come up with a different design for her!!
Have you received your Summer Mini Catalogue in the mail yet? If you're not on my mailing list or want to receive your own catalogue, contact me and we can make arrangements to get you one.
Here is a video from Stampin' Up! to showcase just a few of the great new products available in the new Summer Mini Catalogue that was released on May 1st. When you're done watching, don't forget that you can order online HERE or contact me to place your product order!
(If you are reading this post by email click HERE to go to my website to see the video)
It's Scrapbooking Month! If you're digital scrapper, hybrid scrapper, paper scrapper or a wannabe scrapper, it's time to celebrate. Another reason to celebrate - the new Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalogue is here! Lots of new stamp sets, papers and tools (Smooch Spritz!!!) to keep the paper crafter happy. New special as well - free brads with qualifying purchase - see here for details.
In honour of Scrapbooking Month, I'm sharing this "scrapmap" or template for a scrapbook page. This was actually featured in one of last year's Stampin' Success, the Stampin' Up! demonstrator only monthly magazine. I chose this map to share as it's a clean, simple layout, not too intimidating for a newer scrapper, and one that an experienced scrapper can use as is or jazz up. The concept is simple - the white blocks would be where you would place your pictures, journaling or momentos, the thin stripe to the left could be ribbon, cardstock or designer paper and the circles can be either punch outs, brads, or other accessories. It's just the base, and you can build on it.
I'm off for an in home class with Helen and her friends today. I recently donated a Silent Auction package to the local Retired Women Teachers' Organization, and whe was the winner! If you're looking for another opportunity to win, I'll be donating another gift basket full of goodies to the Sam's Day event, happening in Burlington on June 5th. For five years now, Sam and his family have been organizing this massive event to raise funds for Neuroblastoma research at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto - and this is one small way I can support this fantastic effort. (The other way is by participating - if you'd like to pledge, I'd appreciate it - I'm participating in the Rock n' Bowl with my son!)
