November/December Scrapbook Club Layout

I love the traditional green and red in the Season of Style designer series paper, so my club ladies will be making a scrapbook layout using that this month.

I wanted to show lots of ways to use different ornaments with this layout! The"tree" is made from the Christmas Collectibles stamp set and coordinating Ornament punch, along with ornaments punched from Old Olive cardstock and Season of Style designer series paper.  The top ornament in the "tree" is tied with some linen thread and has a rhinestone jewel in the center.

For the title piece, I stamped "Christmas" in Cherry Cobbler ink on Crumb Cake cardstock using the Notable Alphabet stamp set.  The ornaments there are from Christmas Keepsakes, stamped in Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive, and punched out with the matching framelits dies.  There are rhinestone jewels in those ones as well.

The ornaments on the right-hand page are circles of designer series paper punched with the 2 1/2" Circle punch.  I added an Old Olive Bow Clip to the top of each one to look like an ornament hanger.

Blessings to you,

November Stamp Club Cards

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  I'm always so excited to start making Christmas stuff!  Here are the cards we'll be making this month.

Our first card will be a made using the Starburst Technique that's been showing up on blogs all over the place!  I used the Winter Frost designer series paper, along with silver 1/8" ribbon and a Frosted Finishes embellishment.  The snowflakes are from Festive Flurry and are stamped in Pool Party, Smoky Slate and Island Indigo and punched out with the matching framelits.

We will also be making a matching envelope for this card using the new Envelope Board Punch.

Our next card is made using the Circle Framelits Card die.  This one uses the Season of Style designer series paper and coordinating products.  I added a strip of Champagne Glimmer paper to put some sparkle in it.  The greeting, from Christmas Messages, is stamped in Gold ink.  I tied some Cherry Cobbler baker's twine around the edge and added a glass button.

I made the cardstock 8 1/4" long and extended it through the Big Shot over top of one end of the framelit to make a longer card with sections that fold over.  I added some strips of Whisper White and Season of Style designer series paper to the sections of the card.

Our final card uses washi tape as an accent piece.  I CASEd this card by Maria Estella Cuevas.  The ornament is stamped from Christmas Collectibles in Old Olive and punched with the matching Ornament punch.  The greeting is from Sassy Salutations, stamped in Cherry Cobbler.

Blessings to you,

October Club Cards

Here are the Fall-themed cards my club ladies will be making this month.

This first card uses the quilting technique.  I glued nine 1-1/4" squares of Sweater Weather designer series paper to the Chocolate Chip background piece before running hte whole thing through the Big Shot with the Argyle embossing folder (I accidentally ran mine through upside down so the impression is reversed!  My club ladies won't be doing that!)  I then wrapped some Burlap ribbon around it, tied some linen thread around that and added a Naturals button.  Finally, it's adhered to the Soft Sky card base and stamped with a greeting from Sassy Salutations.  I had originally made the card Crushed Curry, but I think I like the Soft Sky better.  I'll let my club ladies choose which colour they want to use!

For the second card, I used the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created kit.  I received it for free from Stampin' Up!, but it wasn't something I would use for decorating for Thanksgiving.  So I wanted to see how I could use the pieces from the kit to make cards.  There are actually a lot of great supplies in the kit, and it would be great for scrapbooking or making a whole bunch of cards!  I started with a Chocolate Chip card base, and I cut the name banner pieces to 4 x 5-1/4" and layered them on the card.  I cut the birch bark centre piece wraps into smaller strips and ripped the edges.  I wrapped the linen thread around that and glued it to the card.  Then I added the die cut leaves to that piece.  To finish it off, I stamped a greeting from Banner Greetings in Chocolate Chip ink and adhered that to the bottom with dimensionals.

For the final card, I wanted to make a Halloween card.  I found this cute card by Jackie Topa, and I used that for inspiration.  In Canada, we're not really big on sending Halloween cards, so I'm always surprised by how much Halloween stuff there is in the Holiday catalogue!  It must be a big thing in the States!  My club ladies can turn it into a birthday or thank you card by changing the greeting and leaving the jack-o-lantern as a plain pumpkin.  Anyway, I thought this owl punch art was super-cute.  I've seen it on a number of blogs, so I'm not sure who originally came up with the idea.  I started with a Garden Green card base and added some strips of paper from the Thankful Tablescapes Simply Created Kit on an Early Espresso background.  I wrapped some Early Espresso stitched grosgrain around that and glued it down.  The tag is punched from the Chalk Talk framelits dies out of Whisper White, and I used a Basic Black marker to draw some dotted lines around the outside before hooking it through the ribbon. 

The owl piece is made with the owl punch and the 1" circle punch for the pumpkin.  For the pumpkin "hat", I used the Boho Blossoms punch and the little heart from the owl punch.

Thanks for reading,

October Scrapbook Layout

This is the layout my Club ladies will be making this month. 

 I used the Sweater Weather designer series paper and used the colours from that to coordinate the leaves (Soft Sky, Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango).  The background is Chocolate Chip, and the photo mats are Very Vanilla.  The leaves are cut using the Autumn Accents Bigz die, then I embossed them with the Woodgrain embossing folder to give them some texture.

For the frame on the first page, I cut a one-inch border from the center of a 5 x 7 piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock using my paper trimmer.  I then cut the corners diagonally to have four separate pieces.  I stamped the pieces with Woodgrain around the outside and sponged some Chocolate Chip ink around it as well before glueing the pieces back onto a 5 x 7 sheet of Very Vanilla cardstock.

Blessings to you,

Holiday Catalogue Embellishment Share

I don't know about you, but I was overwhelmed with all the embellishments offered in the Holiday Catalogue.  I wanted everything!  I think many people will too, so I'm having two Holiday Catalogue Embellishment Shares so you can get a sampling of everything.  Sign up for one or both!

I have room for four people in each share (or groups of four if more people want in).  Here's what you'll get with each share:

Winter Frost Suite Share - $15 (CAD)
- Silver 1/8" ribbon - 2 yards
- Frosted Finishes Embellishments - 3
- Silver Foil - 6 x 12" sheet
- Winter Frost designer series paper - six 6 x 12" sheets (one each of 6 different double-sided designs)
- Winter Frost designer series paper stack - 12 sheets of 4 1/2 x 6 1/2" double-sided papers (6 each of 2 designs)

Season of Style Suite Share - $16 (CAD)
- Cherry Cobbler 1" stitched edge grosgrain ribbon - 2 yards
- Old Olive Simply Styled Embellishments - metal clips topped with ribbon bows - 3
- Season of Style designer series paper - six 6 x 12" sheets (one each of 6 different double-sided designs)
- Gold Foil - 6 x 12" sheet
- Season of Style designer series paper stack - 12 sheets of 4 1/2 x 6 1/2" double-sided papers (6 each of 2 designs)
- Pretty Presents designer tags - 4 (2 each of 2 different sizes)

Please contact me to take part in either or both of these shares.

*This offer is only available to Canadians.  If you live in the Edmonton area, the price includes shipping.  If you live elsewhere in Canada, a shipping charge will be added.

Papillon Potpourri

This is a card that my Stamp Club ladies get to make this month at our first club meeting.  I CASEd this card by Marie-Josee Prevoneau.  I loved the colour combination she used with Cajun Craze, Midnight Muse and More Mustard (I used Summer Starfruit since More Mustard has now retired). 

This month, Stampin' Up! is featuring a special 15%-discounted Butterfly Bundle that includes the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and the Bitty Butterfly punch, so I wanted to showcase those.  The large butterfly images are stamped on Very Vanilla and punched with the Elegant Butterfly punch.  I stamped the small butterflies on vellum cardstock, punched them with the Bitty Butterfly punch and adhered them to the large butterflies with mini glue dots. 

For the background piece that the butterflies are on, I used some watercolour paper and dipped my AquaPainter in the Cajun Craze, Summer Starfruit and Midnight Muse inks (separately), and swiped them across the paper.  The beauty is you could do this card in any colour combination you want!

The card base is Soft Suede, as is the greeting from Sassy Salutations.

Blessings,

All Occasions Stamp-A-Stack

I'm having a Stamp-A-Stack on Tuesday, August 13, and I wanted to feature all new catalogue products, so I went online and searched for some ideas.  I'm not super creative, but I love that there are extremely talented, creative ladies out there who share their ideas with the rest of us.  So for this Stamp-A-Stack, I've borrowed some ideas from fellow demonstrators (giving them full credit, of course!).  Here's what we'll be making:

 

This first card is a CASE of this card by Peggy Noe.  I used her layout and the stamps, but changed out the colours and some of the details.   I used Sahara Sand with Coastal Cabana (I LOVE the new In Colors!).

This card I CASEd from Mary Fish.  Here's her version.  It's got more details than mine, but I wanted to simplify it to work for a Stamp-A-Stack.  This card uses Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake and Crisp Canteloupe as the colours, with an Early Espresso butterfly.

I CASEd this one as well!  Here's Pasty Waggoner's original.  I didn't even change the colours because I love the Island Indigo with the Mosaic Madness designer series paper and stamp set.

And this For the Birds card, I CASEd this card from Katherine Fiander.  Again, I changed the colours to suit the supplies I had available.  I used Primrose Petals with Whisper White.

I still have room for a couple more people, so let me know if you'd like to attend.

Blessings,

Gingham Garden Swap Card

This is a card I  made for a new catalogue swap I participated in. I am loving the new Gingham Garden product suite!

This card features the Chalk Talk stamp set (stamped in Island Indigo ink) and coordinating framelits dies.  I also used the Gingham Garden designer series paper and washi tape.  The coordinating cardstock is Old Olive and Strawberry Slush (my favourite new In Color!).  I embossed the Whisper White piece with the Chevron embossing folder.

I added a clay flower that I made with our new Simply Pressed Clay and Buttons & Blossoms Clay Molds as an embellishment. I love that we can now create our own embellishments and make them any colour we want!  I spritzed it with Rose Red reinker mixed with rubbing alcohol in a Spritzer tool.  (I don't have the Strawberry Slush reinker yet, so I used Rose Red, and it coordinates nicely.)  The Chalk Talk tag is placed on the card using dimensionals.  The clay flower

I  made 25 of these babies and received 25 amazingly gorgeous cards in return.  I'll post some of my favourites from this swap in the coming weeks.

Blessings to you,

New Catalogue Open House & Retired Product Blowout!

I'm hosting my annual New Catalogue Open House and Retired Product Blowout Sale this Thursday, July 11 from 3:00 - 8:00 pm!  If you're in my area, please feel free to stop by and check out the great deals.  For whatever you spend on retired merchandise, you get half that amount FREE towards your new catalogue product purchase!

Huge Door Prize Draw:
Enter for a chance to win a basket of free products worth over $75, including the new In Colors! Receive an entry for each of the following:
- Come to the Open House
- Bring a friend
- Sign up for a Club
- Book a workshop
- Purchase the Starter Kit from me
- Every $25 in new catalogue merchandise ordered

Retired Products:
I have tons of retired stamp sets, ink pads, paper, embellishments, ribbon and more that I will be selling at discounted prices. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED - arrive early to have the best selection of retired products. Door will open at 3:00.

New Catalogue Product:
- Free make & takes - come and try out some new products!
- Receive a free catalogue
- Book a workshop and choose a free stamp set from my bin of new, unmounted sets
- Receive a free handmade card for every $10 in new products ordered
- Sign up for a monthly club and receive a free designer paper sampler
- Purchase the Starter Kit and choose a free stamp set from my bin of new, unmounted sets

 I have 73 retired stamp sets to sell!

 There are hundreds of sheets of 12 x 12 designer series paper!

 I have tons of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock - both individual sheets and full packages.

   There are 39 Classic Ink Pads for sale - almost all of the colours!  (Theses are the old style of ink pad.)

 I have tons of buttons, brads, rub-ons and other embellishments.

There is lots of ribbon - both by the metre and in full rolls.

I hope you'll be able to stop by if you're in the Edmonton area!

Blessings,

Thank You Teacher!

This is the card I made for my boys' teachers this year.  I CASEd this card by Connie Babbert.

I used the chalkboard technique - sponging white craft ink over Basic Black cardstock to look like a chalkboard.  The books are made with the Word Window punch with the end punched out with the same punch.

I made one with handwriting for my older son's teacher and one with printing for my younger son's teacher. I wrote the words by hand with a white watercolour crayon.

Blessings to you,

"He is Mighty to Save" Frame

I've been meaning to post this photo for awhile.  This is a project I created for our church's Ladies Retreat weekend.  They wanted a quick, easy craft that costs less than $5, so here's what I came up with!

I made the Bible verse, which was the theme verse for the weekend, on My Digital Studio.  I then printed it out on Very Vanilla cardstock and cut it out to fit a 5 x 7 frame (which I found at the dollar store).  For the quilted piece, I cut a large square of Soft Suede cardstock and one of Summer Starfruit to fit inside it.  Then I punched out a bunch of 1 1/4" squares of the now-retired Comfort Cafe designer series paper and glued them onto the large squares.  I then ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder.  To finish it off, I tied some lace ribbon around it and glued it to the Vanilla Bible verse piece before popping the whole thing into the frame.  Quick and simple, yet a gorgeous reminder of their retreat weekend.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings to you,

June Stamp Club Cards

Here are the cards my Stamp Club ladies made this month.  The focus was on new catalogue products.

This first card features the Mosaic Madness product suite, including the stamp set, designer series paper and embossing folder.  The greeting is from the Petite Pairs stamp set, which is on sale this month for 25% off!

  

We also added a flower using our new clay molds and Simply Pressed clay.  It's sprayed with Pool Party ink mixed with rubbing alcohol using our spritzers.

The next card features our Wildflower Meadow stamp and embossing folder.  We coloured the stamp using Old Olive, Rose Red and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write markers before stamping, then embossing it.  The card is finished with some Gingham Garden Washi Tape.

Our final card doesn't actually feature new products, but it includes a greeting from the Sassy Salutations stamp set, which is on sale this month for 25% off!  My mother-in-law, Margo, made a similar card for my son for his birthday, and it was so cute, I had to CASE it (I know she also CASEd it from someone else, but I'm not sure who, so I'm sorry I can't give credit to its creator!).  The cute little monsters are made using the Owl punch.  The arms are the same punch, just the feet of the owl cut straight down to give long arms (if that makes sense!). 

Blessings to you,

June Scrapbook Club Layout

This is the layout my Scrapbook Club ladies made this month.  I CASEd this layout by Sandra Wingate, but I changed out the designer series paper and colours and changed a few of the details to feature lots of our new catalogue products.

We used the new Gingham Garden suite for this layout, including the designer series paper, washi tape and the Wildflower Meadow stamp and embossing folder.  We used small strips of designer paper for the "flags", snipping the ends to make the tails.  The title is stamped with the Notable Alphabet stamp set.  I added some washi tape under the title to add an accent. 

The oval piece is the Wildflower Meadow stamp, inked with Melon Mambo, Old Olive and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write markers and embossed with the matching embossing folder.  I then cut it out with the ovals framelits using my Big Shot.

The little flower embellishment is made with our new Simply Pressed Clay with the Buttons & Blossoms Clay Mold.  We made the flower our of clay first, then used a spritzer filled with Melon Mambo reinker and rubbing alcohol to spray it and dye it.  (I have found it works better to spritz it to dye it instead of kneading reinker into the clay because the clay's consistency changes when you add liquid to it.)

I love the bright colours in this product suite, and I know I'll be using it lots this summer!

Blessings,

Candy & Coffee Teacher Gift

I can't believe I haven't posted since May!  Subbing is keeping me way busier than I had anticipated!  I guess it's a good problem to have.

Here is the teacher gift that I made for my boys' teachers this year.  The poem is all over the internet in lots of places; I just tweaked it a little bit to fit with Smarties instead of M & Ms.

I found the little jars at the dollar store, and they are the perfect size for a large bag of Smarties. 

I wrapped some washi tape around the lid (how perfectly easy is that?)  and punched an Island Indigo flower with the Fun Flowers Bigz die for the top of the lid.  The circle is punched with the 1-3/4" circle punch - it's the Sale-A-Bration designer series paper from this year.  I know it's no longer current, but I love the bright colours, and they go so well with the Smarties!  To finish it, I tied some white baker's twine through a Daffodil Delight button and adhered it with mini glue dots.

The finishing touch is the poem, which is on a card this large because I glued it to a gift card for Starbucks (the gift card came on a 4 x 5 1/4" piece of cardboard).  This would be the "coffee" portion of the gift!  I attached it to the jar by tying it with some Island Indigo baker's twine.

Hopefully the teachers will love their candy and coffee gifts!

Blessings,