Jul 30, 2012 | Christmas, Events
The first Christmas Stamp a Stack was yesterday – thank you to those who attended and got a jump on their holiday cards! Each attendee received a full roll of the Real Red Stitched Grosgrain ribbon which we used on our projects. This is one of the cards we made. Each Stamp a Stack will feature different projects and a different featured accessory as part of the class fee, and August's class will of course have some product from Stampin' Up!'s Holiday catalogue. I keep wanting to call it a mini catalogue, but have you seen the size of it? It's not "mini" at all!!! If you'd like more information about the Stamp a Stacks, please feel free to contact me or see my events page here.
August's Card Class is THIS Wednesday – cost is $20 or free with a minimum merchandise order. We'll be making 4 cards (probably with some Holiday product, hint hint LOL) and it will be fun! I promise to boost the air conditioning so it will be a break from the heat outside!! Contact me to register. Can't make it that night? Consider hosting a private class for your friends – my place or yours!
Jul 27, 2012 | rubber stamping
I did a previous post a couple of years ago in honour of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, and I thought I'd do another version in honour of the London Summer Olympics, which open today – woohoo! I can't decide which event I'm most excited to watch, but I know that since I've started running, I have a totally new appreciation and insight into the running events. This year, I'll be very busy watching the opening ceremonies as well, as a friend of mine will be participating as a performer! I will be trying to pick her out in the crowd on the field…thank goodness for DVRs! I made this card to send to her in honour of her performance, which I'm sure will be wonderful.
The rings are all current Stampin' Up! colours – Pacific Point, Basic Black and Real Red on the top row, Daffodil Delight and Garden Green on the bottom row. I used the 1-1/4" circle punch first, then centred the hole in the 1-3/4" circle punch to create the ring. I then cut slits in all the rings so I could interlock them like the official symbol. I realized afterwards that I could probably have gotten away with just slitting the yellow and green rings… but I need all the help I could get to get them positioned correctly!! I have a background of Melon Mambo as the London Olympics are using a similar colour on the logo.
I will most likely have the games on the TV while we do our Christmas Stamp a Stack on Sunday, playing in the background in case people want to keep track of how things are going. If you'd like to join us, please let me know ASAP!! We'll be starting at 1pm – cost includes all supplies and envelopes for 8 cards, 2 tags and will include a whole roll of stitched Real Red ribbon for you to use (and keep the remainder!). Don't forget these will be monthly events, so start building up your card stash now!
Jul 24, 2012 | 3D samples, Announcements, Business Opportunity, Events, specials
So, internet connection was a bit spotty at times and my posts were postponed LOL. Here’s a few shots from around & about Stampin’ Up!’s Convention.
This is the distribution area of Stampin’ Up! (they were finishing lunch break when we were in this area). Cool to see how automated this system is – boxes are tagged and move in & out of the picking area on a conveyor belt, waiting to be filled with items and then sent on to us!
The theme for convention this year was “I Am” – loved the theme and the song. I posted the video on my facebook page here. The end of the video is the live performance portion at the opening session of convention.
2012 marks 10 years of Stampin’ Up! Canada and this was celebrated by having all the Canadian demonstrators march across the stage. Nice to be recognized that way by the company and other demonstrators 🙂 There was a special march for those of us who were demonstrators in the first year as well.
Here’s the upcoming special which is so fun! If you sign up as a demonstrator in August, you and your upline will both get this cute printer’s tray project – just add ink! I think I might have a special team get together in September to assemble these! More information on being a demonstrator in my group can be found here. Our “Eh” Team group has demonstrators across Canada and we’d love to have you join us – I hope to have demonstrators from each province and territory as part of our group.
I am enjoying being home again, and busy preparing for my upcoming weekend of events – “Eh” Team get together on Saturday, first Christmas Stamp a Stack on Sunday! I hope to see you soon at one of my events. If the dates don’t work for you – let me know and we can get a private class together for you and your friends. Keep your eyes on www.yamstamps.com for more news and events.
Jul 18, 2012 | 3D samples, Events
and technically, it hasn't officially even started! My friend Sue & I arrived yesterday and went for dinner with other demonstrator friends that we haven't seen since January (at Stampin' Up!'s Leadership conference). Great fun catching up with them!!
Sue & I with the sign at the entrance to Stampin' Up!'s home office.
We took a bus ride to tour Stampin' Up! headquarters – viewed different areas of the home office including the large distribution centre. It was fascinating to see how automated the line is – boxes will roll along the conveyor belt and stop off at the correct spot for the items to be picked off the shelf and placed inside. Once the order is fully completed, the box is weighed to make sure everything is inside! Neat to see.
Here's a cute set of the purses from the Petite Purse Bigz die. Love how they made the little flowers out of circle punches – how cute and easy is that??!! Don't be surprised if you see them show up on a project at one of my future classes LOL!!
I'll be posting more ideas and inspiration from Convention over the next while. I will be sharing them in person with my demonstrator team members at our get together on July 28th – if you'd like to join us, please contact me for more information!
Jul 16, 2012 | cards, rubber stamping
I love to watercolour…even though I'm not that good at it! I have to confess that drawing, painting etc are definitely not strong skills of mine – which is why I love rubber stamping! Stampin' Up! has made it easy for me to look artistic without me having to do the "heavy lifting" as they say :) For this card, I stamped the bicycle image from the hostess only set "Summer Afternoon" (check the back of the Stampin' Up! Catalogue to see the stamp set). I used Stazon Jet Black ink on watercolour paper to be sure that my image would stay clear once I soaked the paper. I then used my aquapainter and my Watercolour Wonder crayons to colour in the image. This is my favourite way to add watercolour to my images – I can control the amount of water used and can direct the colour where I want it. Takes me back to my watercolour painting class days without the anxiety of hearing "Oh, just sketch out what you want to paint". (See back to initial comment about not being able to draw).
I created these cards to send to everyone who sponsored me (and my son) in our recent bike ride efforts. We participated in "The Healing Cycle" which is a varying distance bike ride to raise funds for hospice care. We had a lot of fun and were thrilled to raise over $18,000 with our teammates for the Carpenter Hospice here in Burlington. The Carpenter Hospice not only provides end of life care but also runs wellness programs for those living in the community with terminal illnesses. I know a number of people who have benefitted from the valuable services that the staff and volunteers provide, so spending some of my time to raise funds for them was not an issue at all, nor was spending a bit of time on creating special thank you cards for my friends and family who gave generous donations to sponsor our efforts.
The first Christmas Stamp a Stack was yesterday – thank you to those who attended and got a jump on their holiday cards! Each attendee received a full roll of the Real Red Stitched Grosgrain ribbon which we used on our projects. This is one of the cards we made. Each Stamp a Stack will feature different projects and a different featured accessory as part of the class fee, and August's class will of course have some product from Stampin' Up!'s Holiday catalogue. I keep wanting to call it a mini catalogue, but have you seen the size of it? It's not "mini" at all!!! If you'd like more information about the Stamp a Stacks, please feel free to contact me or see my events page here.
