It’s that time of year – make sure you have a Congratulations Card in your stash!
As we approach the end of June, it’s the time for graduations – so we made this congratulations card in Stampers Club this month. Of course, there’s many reasons to send a congratulations card, but I guess I am thinking of grads, since my son just finished his university degree! We just attended his convocation at Western earlier this week, and so happy that we were able to be there in person. I was thinking that he got a little lucky with the timing (weird to say that, I know), but honestly – he was able to have a “normal” first year; the pandemic started in his second year so things changed part way through and into third year, and fourth year they were able to resume a lot of their in person classes and groups, including an in person convocation ceremony.
(one of the many photos taken the other day…)
So here’s the card (right, you’re here for the crafting LOL). Featuring some new catalogue product, including something that I need to reorder already…
Congratulations Card
I absolutely love the Distressed Gold Specialty Paper! (So much so that I have to put it on my next order going in because I’m down to scraps). Even though it’s in the background, it still stands out because of the design of the card. The foreground paper is from the Sun Prints Designer Series Paper, and it’s die cut with the Split Card Textures Dies. I die cut a Tailor Made Tag from the bottom right corner of the Distressed Gold Paper (because it’s hidden behind the DSP) before using Multipurpose Liquid Glue to tack the the Gold Paper and DSP together. I die cut the tag reinforcement from a scrap of the Sun Prints Paper. The sentiment is from the Art Gallery stamp set, and is stamped in Starry Sky ink.
I am drawn to the shiny objects LOL, so the Distressed Gold Paper was an easy pick for this card design, and I also love the Sun Prints Papers….plus the Sun Prints include a bit of a purple tone, and Western’s main school colour is purple!
one more photo of the grad for good measure…
Stampin’ Up! does have some other stamp sets that include the word Congratulations (including A Grand Kid, Peaceful Moments, Celebrate Sunflowers, the new Breaking News and more…) so there’s lots of options for your Congratulations Card – whether it be for a graduation, promotion, wedding, baby or whatever life event you’d like to celebrate! (For me, right now, I think it’s “You made it to today, yay you!). Shortcut to shopping is yamstamps.com/shop or you can send me a message if you’d like assistance placing an order or would like to pay by etransfer and have the order shipped directly to you.
I love monochromatic themes, and used the one colour approach on this wedding wishes card.
wedding wishes card
I am partial to one colour cards – I always think they are so elegant. I like to add something to keep it interesting – and I think texture is a great way to do so.
For this card, I used the Forever Fern stamp set. I stamped the wider strip with the images of the leaves, varying first and second generation images in Soft Succulent ink so that I added some variation in the intensity of the image and colour. (First generation = inked the stamp and then stamped the cardstock; Second generation = inked the stamp, stamped off onto scrap paper once, then stamped onto the cardstock without re-inking the stamp). I then ran it through my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine with the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder to add some texture. I stamped the sentiment on another strip of Very Vanilla and left it unembossed so it stood out more on the embossed background. I added a few green toned Genial Gems to tie in to my one colour theme, and to give it some bling, since it is a wedding wishes card!
close up detail wedding wishes card
I am so sad that the Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder is retiring! It’s such a useful one to have to add just some subtle texture to my projects. If you don’t have this one in your crafting collection, it’s 20% off as part of the Last Chance Sale. Grab it before it’s gone – all retiring product is while supplies last or 2 May 2022, whichever comes first… The Genial Gems are 40% off so you can add lots of bling at a good price, too! You can download the Annual catalogue retiring lists from this post here. I’d recommend the spreadsheet version if you can – it’s sortable and the print is bigger!
I’m sad to see some favourites retire, but this only means there’s room for new items in the next Annual Catalogue, right? I am automatically sending catalogues to those who have placed orders with me during the last year, but if you’d like to get one (or be sure you’re on my list), you can complete this form. If you don’t already have a Stampin’ Up! Canadian demonstrator with whom you do business, I’d be happy to help you.
This soft pink cherry blossoms card will hopefully distract you from the weather outside – because it’s been pretty dreary and grey lately in my neighbourhood! It could be used for a wedding, anniversary, engagement or Valentine’s Day, or swap out the sentiment and make it a birthday card or “just because” card.
Forever Blossoms Card
This card features the Forever Blossoms stamp set from the Jan-June Mini Catalogue (click on the link to see all the catalogue items in the online Stampin’ Up! Canada YamStamps store). The embossing folder used on the Petal Pink Cardstock layer is the Parisian Flourish 3D Embossing Folder. I stamped the cherry blossoms image onto a piece of Vellum Cardstock, and then adhered it onto a layer of Very Vanilla Cardstock so the image showed up a bit more. I added some Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels to the flowers for some “bling” but also to hide the glue dots that I used to hold the vellum in place! There’s also some SNAIL adhesive on the vellum, hiding behind the sentiment.
I have to admit – this is the first time that I purchased an entire suite bundle from a catalogue. When I saw the Parisian Blossoms Suite I knew I had to have everything in it….
Parisian Blossoms Suite Bundle
I mean, seriously. What is NOT to love about this suite?! The cherry blossoms card only uses a tiny portion of the product in it. I am talking myself into cutting up the Designer Series Paper rather than just hoarding it too! This is one of the suite of products that has me looking to get into scrapbooking a bit more. I am keeping my goals really low and low key, like a layout a month. Seriously. Since I haven’t done much personal memory keeping at all of late, I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself! If you’re a YamStamps Newsletter subscriber, you’ll have seen my layout in last week’s big monthly projects newsletter. I can only go up from there….LOL.
If you are looking to get some “me” time or “friends” time into your schedule, why not join a cardmaking class? The Monthly Card Classes are (generally) the first Wednesday of each month here in Burlington ON. Grab a friend and come to class, or come on your own and meet some new friends who like to try something crafty too! Afternoon session is 1pm, evening session is 7pm. You can see upcoming dates on the YamStamps Events Page. If that day or those times don’t work for you – contact me about a private card class! My place or yours!
So I thought since it’s still Wednesday here…I would share one of the projects I created formy appearance on the Morning Live TV show. This was a gatefold wedding invitation, with the invitation information printed on Whisper White cardstock and adhered inside the Marina Mist card. On air, we finished the creation of the belly band. This ensemble features theSummer Silhouettes set, one of my new favourites. It takes me back to two step stamping, where two stamps are used to create a single image. The flower stem is one stamp, and the flowers are another. This was what drew me to Stampin’ Up!’s products over 11 years ago – before Stampin’ Up! even came to Canada! (The joys of having American friends, or friends with American addresses!). When the opportunity came to Canada shortly afterwards, you can bet it was a no-brainer for me to become a demonstrator – and I was one of the first ones to do so, and still going strong!
So a couple of reminders, along that line – if you’re interested in becoming a demonstrator, the Pick a Kit promotion is on until August 31st. You only have a few days left! You can get a project kit for free along with the $155 worth of merchandise that you select. See the details here or contact me for more information…or go here to start the online sign up process! My group of demonstrators includes people from all over Ontario and out to British Columbia and we’d love to have you join us.
So…I’ve posted about this almost everywhere else –twitter, facebook…so sharing the joy here as well…after my spot on Morning Live, I ran intoAdam van Koeverden, who was on his way in! I am pretty sure I babbled, but managed to get a photo taken with him. It was such a thrill to meet him – after having watched him compete in the Olympics and win medals in kayaking…hoping some of that athletic greatness rubs off on me during my half marathon this weekend!!!
And as I said on my facebook page….kind of glad this happened AFTER my appearance, because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been all too coherent otherwise LOL!
I was invited to be part of Morning Live’s Wedding Wednesdays this past week, and I had so much fun preparing for the spot! Too many ideas for the time slot, so I will have to share some here on the blog as well. In case you missed it, here’sthe video from my YamStamps youtube channel.
Thank you once again to Annette Hamm, the crafty co-host of Morning Live, to Carla, and to all the cast and crew at the show – and I promise to work on my timing – so I fit everything in!!
