If you follow YamStamps on Facebook, you’ll know that I love sharing “Days” on the page – like today, which is Mario Day! MAR-1-0 – get it? Someone very clever (presuming someone at Nintendo) came up with that one! It inspired me to create a quick and easy Mario themed card!
I cut the Azure Afternoon Cardstock to resemble overalls, added a Poppy Parade inner card and used the cut outs from a number 8 from the Alphabet A La Mode Dies for the overall buttons. I found a free font on the web that resembled the Mario lettering and used that to create a sentiment that I stuck on the inside of the card – and it’s a SUPER card for a Nintendo lover!
I thought the overalls theme would be the easiest to use for a card – and going with this, you could also easily make a matching Luigi card by using a green inner card rather than a red one!
Did you play a lot of Mario games in the past – or are you still playing them? I played more when my son was younger since we would play together….and I do remember playing Super Mario Universe on my own after he’d gone to bed because I really wanted to beat certain levels. (I can be a little goal oriented that way I guess!!). We also played Mario Kart and Mario Party with a group, which was fun (though our family can get a little competitive at times!!). Must be a genetic thing.
Check out the quick Mario Day card video I did of the card making process – I shared it pretty much everywhere….YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook….and now here on YamStamps.com as well! I like being able to create quick videos and then find some appropriate and fun music to use with them….though a bunch of my TikToks are now quiet (they even removed MY voice in some of the voice overs) because they’ve stopped allowing Universal Music for Tik Toks (and apparently I used a bunch of their songs). I might get around to picking new music for them at some point (or maybe the music will be allowed again at some point in the future??). Anyway, for now, at least, the Mario Day video has sound!!
Save this so you can remember to make a Mario themed card for the game lover in your life!
Check out this Super Simple Fancy Fold Card! (Does it still count as a fancy fold when it’s this easy?)
You may know that I love quick and easy crafting. This super simple fancy fold card is definitely in that category – to the point where I almost wondered if I could call it a fancy fold?! I decided that I could, since anything other than a standard “cut the cardstock and fold it in half” seems fancy to me.
It’s a simple extra fold with a “closure” card.
I love that we can still order the Winter Meadow Designer Series Paper – because it’s definitely still winter here. (Now we even have snow and sub-zero temperatures to boot, not like that freaky warm weather last week!!). This was one of my favourite papers from the September-December Mini Catalogue, so I’m happy that it’s still available! I featured it on this card, using two sides of the same piece which makes it even easier to create!!
It’s a standard sized card to start – so cut to 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″, but there’s an extra score line at 1″ – so scored at 1″, then 5-1/4″. The 1″ score line is folded, and then stuck in place, leaving a shorter front portion of the card that meets up. Add a die cut shape and sentiment to the flap (making sure to ONLY stick it to the flap) and then you have a closure piece! Tada! A super simple fancy fold card! The sentiment is from Timeless Arrangements, and my go to dies for sentiments for card fronts are the Stylish Shapes Dies – so I used the squares for this card. I used Blueberry Bushel ink, Blueberry Bushel cardstock for the backing square, and Very Vanilla Cardstock for the base.
We made this super simple fancy fold card during Monthly Card Club, and my prototype was actually in Basic White Cardstock, which worked, but the more I looked at it, I felt like the Vanilla cardstock was a better match – a little “softer” look. What do you think?? Here’s the Basic White version:
The white version is definitely brighter, and I do think either one works…but went with the Vanilla version for club. I tend to use white a lot for my cards, so it’s good to force myself to remember that there’s other options for cardbases!!
If you’re interested in joining Monthly Card Club, it’s open to anyone in Canada! We meet virtually by Zoom the third Monday of each month. Participants place a minimum order, and once during their 6 month membership will receive the Stampin’ Rewards generated by club members’ orders. New members can start their 6 month membership at any time! Please contact me if you’re interested in joining us starting in March.
Let’s Sale-a-Brate Valentine’s Day with this clean and simple card!
I love easy crafting, and I also love clean and simple cards, so I am ready to Sale-a-Brate Valentine’s Day with this card that ticks all of those boxes!
The Sale-a-Brating part comes from the background – Most Adored Designer Series Paper – which is one of the Level 1 choices. You can select it as your free product with a $60CAD product order. IT’S SHINY!! I love shiny things 🙂 I also love the gradient on it – more hearts at one end than the other.
I used the Bee Builder punch to quickly punch out some hearts – the large one is Cherry Cobbler Cardstock, and the smaller one is from a different sheet of the Most Adored DSP.
A sweet and simple way to sale-a-brate Valentine’s Day!
In any case, you have a couple of weeks left to Sale-a-Brate! The Bee Builder punch is from the January-April Mini Catalogue, so is available until the end of April/while supplies last, but the Most Adored Designer Series Paper is only around until the end of February (when Sale-a-Bration ends) or while supplies last!! Shortcut to shopping in Canada is YamStamps.com/shop or you can message me if you’d like to pay by etransfer or would like assistance placing your order.
Pre-Launch sale for Dynamic Designs Online Class happening NOW!
My next online class is Dynamic Designs and I think I say this about every class, but I love these cards! They spin, slide, arch and wobble – and because it’s MY class, you know that they won’t be over the top in difficulty!! Pre-launch sale is on until 15 February at 7pm Eastern (when the class launches) – you can save $10 off the regular price if you register before then!
Fun, right? I walk you through the construction (trust me, I made MANY prototypes while working some of them out) and once you know how to make them (and how easy they actually are), you’ll be able to use whatever you have in your craft room to create your own versions! The videos are pre-recorded, and edited for clarity and brevity. Since it is an online class and there’s no physical product involved, this class is available internationally! You’ll pay in Canadian dollars (your bank or credit card company will convert to your local currency). If you live in Canada and would like to pay by etransfer, you can contact me for more details on how to do so.
Use the Perennial Lavender Suite to create a lovely Thinking of You Card.
I always try to have a stash of “thinking of you” cards because they cover so many reasons you might send someone a card. I created this one for a recent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator only card swap featuring products from the January-April Mini Catalogue. I chose to use elements from the Perennial Lavender Suite as well as the Thoughtful Moments Hybrid Embossing Folder.
Since the background of the floral print is beige, I chose to use Crumb Cake Cardstock for the cardbase to tie things together, plus I chose to use Very Vanilla Cardstock as I felt like Basic White Cardstock might be too stark a contrast. I stamped the leaves along the side in Shaded Spruce Ink (I think….I can’t quite remember and I didn’t write it down….oops)
I die cut circles with the Stylish Shapes dies from the Perennial Lavender Designer Series Paper. The horizontal strip is also from the same DSP package – since the designs are two sided, there’s twice as many options to choose from! When you use a card design like this one, your DSP stretches a long way.
The “thinking of you” sentiment is from the Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder – when you purchase it, you receive both a 3D embossing folder plus a coordinating die set. I inked up the portion that included the “Thinking of You” sentiment, “locked” the die in place (it fits around all the embossed/debossed areas) and then closed it on some Very Vanilla Cardstock before running it through the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine.
I like how adding just a bit of ink to the embossing folder makes the words stand out a little bit more – plus using Highland Heather Ink ties it into the colour scheme of the card. I finished off the card with a bit of bling with the Purple Fine Shimmer Gems.
Stampin’ Glass Mat Studio – includes glass mat, grey cleaning cloth and white silicone mat
Being a Stampin’ Up! Canada Demonstrator means I get to dedicate time to paper crafting and learning new skills….and call it “work”! Or as some of the Demonstrators in my group call it – a “jobby” (job / hobby)! If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a Stampin’ Up! Canada Demonstrator with my group, known as the “Eh” Team, you can click here to read more, or contact me if you have questions. We’d love to have you join us – and during Sale-a-Bration, you can get more in your Demonstrator Starter kit – your choice of the Stampin’ Glass Mat studio, or an additional $41CAD worth of product of your choice. Sale-a-Bration runs until 29 February this year, and there’s ALWAYS a rush at the last minute – so don’t wait until the system gets bogged down with all the Last Minute Lucys – the sooner the better!
