Have you seen Stampin’ Up!’s Falling In Love Designer Series Paper? This is a gorgeous set of papers, double sided, with lots of bokeh effects and images. It’s hard to pick which side to use! (Good thing there’s duplicates!). They make a great background for a simple card.
This is a version of the card that I showed on Cogeco’s Halton Insider the other day. I realize that you have to be within the Cogeco Halton viewing area to catch the show (6pm, repeated the next day at 630). I am working on a way to get the recordings into a format I can share! The other night I actually did a facebook live video on the YamStamps page where I showed my TV screen!! (The recording is posted if you wanted to check it out). Much like at Christmas time, we recorded 5 segments in a row, featuring different projects, that will be aired during the shows this week.
Essentially, you heat emboss the graphic and word of your choice from the Love Sparkles set (available in clear or wood mount) with Gold Embossing Powder. I did an extra thin border for the matting piece in Soft Sky (rather than using a traditional 1/4″ larger piece of cardstock, I did 1/8″ larger), and then wrapped it with some of the gorgeous Metallic Woven Ribbon in Gold. You can get the ribbon for free with a $60 product order until the end of March for Sale-a-Bration! (Download the Sale-a-Bration catalogue here and the upcoming new releases here!). This makes a clean, simple and elegant card – perfect for Valentine’s Day, wedding, anniversary or “just because” kind of card!
I am putting the finishing touches on the Clever Cards Online Class and it will be open for registration in the next couple of days. It’s a great class (if I say so myself LOL) that will break down the construction of a few “fancy folds” type cards that you will be able to decorate for the occasions when you want to give a card that will really WOW the recipient! I’ll post the official release here on the YamStamps Blog so please be sure to come back to the site!
Manic Mondays feature projects that can be done quickly – and Paper Pumpkin kits are a great way to get crafting! During Sale-a-Bration (until March 31st), you can also get a DEAL. The three month prepaid subscription is on sale for $74 CAD and you also qualify for a free Sale-a-Bration item! Each month, you’ll receive a box delivered to your door, full of everything that you need to create that month’s project! Past Paper Pumpkins have been kits to create cards, packaging, memory keeping projects, 3D items such as framed artwork….each month it’s a surprise! The great thing – everything you need is there. It comes with a small ink spot (great for travelling to crops, taking on trips or taking with you while you wait for others to finish practice/work/lesson/you name it), a stamp set, and the consumable product (paper, vellum, whatever!).
Here’s a peek at what the January kit was – just in time to create some fun Valentine’s Day packaging, but you can use the items in the kit to create other variations of the packaging or cards!
Paper Pumpkin subscribers can also purchase past kits and refills to replenish their supplies as available, so if you really like a certain project, you can create even more. Kits usually contain supplies to make multiple cards or smaller items; the larger projects are often limited to single items, but again, refill kits can be purchased to create more.
These kits are great if you want to craft, but don’t always have the “mental mojo” to come up with projects, or, like me, never know what’s going to happen, or what supplies you will need. In the past, I’ve had customers order them for their children or grandchildren – they can get together and make the project together! I did have one set of family members who each had their own subscription, and even though they were long distance from one another, could still craft “together” in their own homes.
The local newspaper, the Hamilton Spectator, recently highlighted a story that caught my eye. There was a study that was recently published in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) Neurology that showed that crafting may help reduce the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment in later life! (Read the summary here if you like). Mentally stimulating activities tend to ward off dementia – and they found that crafting, playing games, computer use and social activities all made a difference. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for one of my card making classes now! It’s good for you! The in-person classes will provide you with crafting and social activities, and an online class will get you using your computer and crafting as well. (My latest online class, Clever Cards launches next week!)
This is a recent class and club card – using one of the most popular sets from the Occasions Catalogue, Dragonfly Dreams. I do really like this set, and I used it for one of my swaps at the recent Canadian Business Conference (see this recent post). I used the same technique – reinkers on a baby wipe to create a custom multicoloured “ink pad” for the wings, and coated the finished image’s wings with some Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush. This is an example of a great card to have in your stash! You can pull it out, write whatever appropriate message on the inside, and send it off!
If you need a regular crafting “fix” and are within driving distance of Burlington ON, consider joining my Stampers Club. We meet for a monthly card class, and instead of paying a class fee, members place a $33 merchandise order. Members sign up for a 6 month session, and during that time will have a chance to build up their stash of cards (and crafting necessities), plus receive free product as the “host” one during that 6 month period. All that and keeping your brain sharp too! See the YamStamps events page for upcoming dates, or contact me to book a private cardmaking class with your friends!
Happy Lunar New Year! Here’s a quick card to celebrate the Year of the Rooster – I used the Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-Bration set, Hey Chick, which you can get free with a $60 product order, and I added on the calligraphy from the Artistically Asian set (wood or clear mount) that apparently means “friend”. I also used the Stitched Shapes Framelits which are back in stock and available to order! Some basic colouring with the Stampin’ Write markers and it’s ready to mail!
I had great plans that have gone seriously awry the last couple of days 🙁 – I was set to do a big final push on the Online Class but instead have been trying to nurse myself back to some semblance of health. You know you’ve been pushing it a bit too much when your body pushes back. Nothing like a little enforced rest. Anyway. Starting to feel human again, so hopefully back at it shortly, with the launch not too delayed as a result. Fingers crossed!
Lovely as a Tree (clear mount or wood mount) is the oldest stamp set in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue…I think it’s been in there almost as long as I’ve been a demonstrator?! This was my contribution (oh – add some “bling” in the corners because it’s ANOTHER design that I had to add to in order to meet the Canadian Business Conference swap rules LOL – the swap version is on the YamStamps Instagram Account). We did a version of this in Stamp Club, and when I redid it for the swap, I left the ground white, so it looks kind of like snow. Hard to see, but the image is on Shimmery White cardstock so it gives a subtle sheen to everything, and stands up quite well to the watercolouring that I did for the sky.
In the meantime, if you registered for the Watercolour Pencil class, you will be glad to know that the order for supplies was put in well ahead of time – so the fact that the pencils are currently unorderable is not a factor. (phew). If you didn’t (why not?!), the pencils will be available to order again in a couple of weeks – contact me and I can place an order for you as soon as they’re available again. Good news, though, that the Stitched Shape Framelits are in stock and available for order once again. Contact me if you have any questions or concerns, or need to still register for the Monthly Card Class on Wednesday. Other than that, I’m working on the videos for my new Online Class, Clever Cards. If I wasn’t so much of a procrastinator, I’d have finished up the videos in advance of getting a touch of laryngitis….*sigh* Wish me luck.
