Sep 18, 2013 | Events, specials, Stampin' Up!
So in all the craziness of the past little while, including the largest club gathering to date, I forgot to shut down registration to the Thankful Mini Scrapbook and Hallowe’en Banners classes!! SOOOOOOO….I will take registrations until the end of tomorrow (THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH) and then close down the registrations for these events. You will still be able to register for the October Card Class, October Christmas Card Class and Christmas Banner offerings for a while, but you can bet I will be paying a bit better attention to my calendar!! LOL.
Visit the YamStamps Events page to register and use your credit card to pay, or contact me if you have questions or would like to pay by cheque or cash.
Sep 15, 2013 | 3D samples, cards, rubber stamping, Stampin' Up!
There are times when you need an extra special card. One of the great things about making cards is that you can customize it for the recipient – this comes in handy especially on special occasions! In this case, my grandmother turned 95…so instead of having to run around to 4-5 different stores to find a card that had “95” on it, I was able to make one myself and save myself some time!
Guess what my grandmother’s favourite colour is….LOL. Anyway, I had fun creating this 3D card and it wasn’t too difficult at all. I used Stampin’ Up!’s Label Pop ‘n Cuts and Card Base Dies in my Big Shot to create the 3D card and just had to choose how to embellish it! I used the Flower Shop set with coordinating Pansy Punch and Apothecary Art to decorate the outside of the card.
I used the Morning Post Numbers set and the Deco Labels framelits to customize the inside of the card.
And it seems only appropriate to finish this post with a picture of my grandmother herself…
We were blessed to be able to celebrate with four generations on her special day and are looking forward to another gathering with extended family in the near future. Happy 95th Birthday, Nan!!
Sep 9, 2013 | cards, Christmas, Stampin' Up!
The first of my monthly Christmas Card classes was held this past week, and the attendees got a good jump on their card needs for the holidays! Then over the weekend, while some people were watching football….others were not….LOL. I spent some much needed time sorting out things in my craft room. It seems I create chaos at the same time I create cards…and then tend to wander off and be distracted by some other shiny object…I decided it was time to have more than a few square inches of that larger desk surface to work within. So between prepping, holding classes and cleaning up I fell behind on keeping up here – apologies!
Anyway – we used the Chalk Talk set for the background image and the Warmth and Wonder hostess set from the Holiday Catalogue in the foreground. The strip on the bottom is embossed with one of the Delicate Designs border embossing folders.
I’m working with some new lights for photography & video and am still playing with positioning etc but I am also working with the motto “Done is better than perfect”. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that I’m just going to throw things together for www.yamstamps.com or for my classes (online or in person), but it’s me pushing myself to complete things rather than having projects get stalled part waybecause I keep fussing with something until it’s “perfect”. I’m finding once I get things “done” sometimes I do have the time and ability then to turn around and work on it a bit more to make myself even happier with the end results. Are you like that? (Please say I’m not the only one!! LOL).
In the meantime, I’m getting ready for my Stampers Club get together next week. Stampers club is always open to new members, and the current length of commitment is 6 consecutive months. It’s a great way to do some regular crafting, have fun, budget your craft dollars and earn Stampin’ Up! hostess benefits without thinking! Contact me if you’re able to join us in Burlington or want more information!
Sep 2, 2013 | Announcements, Events, scrapbooking
Stampin’ Up!’s latest “best of” set is Best of Autumn
– featuring some seasonal images (and one saying) that will evoke that fall feeling….like the back to school rush isn’t enough to do that?! Anyway – a variety of styles is sure to suit your autumnal crafting needs! See the flyer here. Remember that each “Best of” set comes with a sticker, and once you’ve got six of them, you get to pick a free stamp set worth up to $17.95!
I personally always loved back to school time. I always loved (still do) shopping for back to school supplies! I think that’s part of my fascination with crafting – all those blank pieces of paper and tools waiting to be used….*sigh* If you’re also ready to get back to classes, come to one of my upcoming card making classes! This Wednesday is the monthly card class featuring 4 designs, and this Friday is the first of my Christmas Card Classes – featuring four different holiday cards each time. This way, you’ll have a number of unique cards to give to those special people, or discover a design that you like and get supplies to create a number of them, for your bulk card needs! Please contact me to register or use the paypal links on the events page for ease. Don’t forget if you register and pay for your Christmas classes before the first class, you’ll be able to make an extra card at each of the upcoming monthly classes!!
Also – I’m adding a few different classes to my slate of offerings – Wednesday, October 2nd I’m offering a Thankful mini-scrapbook using the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit. Class fee will be $35 and you MUST register and pay by September 16th as I need to pre-order all the supplies. This class runs the same time as the monthly card class, and you CAN register for both classes (and you WILL NOT be here all evening! LOL) Friday, October 4th, I’m offering a Hallowe’en banner class. We’ll create a fun banner to decorate your door or mantel for Hallowe’en. Cost for the banner class will be $40, again, registration and payment required by September 16th. So – LOTS of different opportunities for you to get crafty in the upcoming while! As always – if you aren’t able to make it on the class date, get a group of friends together and I can bring the class to you! Visit the events page or contact me if you have questions or prefer to register via email!
Aug 31, 2013 | Announcements, cards, rubber stamping
A little eye candy for your weekend….sometimes I take the photos on my back deck, and this was taken on a lovely, sunny day. One of the things I love about Stampin’ Up! product is the coordination – the stamp set that coordinates with the punch that coordinates with the embossing folder. Love not having to think too hard when I craft!!
Hope that you are enjoying the long weekend! A reminder that my September email newsletter will be coming out soon – so if you haven’t yet signed up, there’s still time – use the sign up box on the site or click here to register.
As well, the yamstamps app has been updated, so please be sure to download the update – you can admire the new graphics and the twitter feed will work again 🙂
Hope you are able to catch your breath for a bit before we get back into the swing of things – maybe relaxing on your back deck?!
Aug 30, 2013 | cards, Christmas, Events
This is a card from my friend Sue – she sent it to me as part of the Guinness Record efforts by Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators that I wrote about here. It’s inspiring me as I’m in the midst of planning out the projects for the first of my Christmas Card Classes on September 6th. After the frenzy of the first week of school, I’ll be looking forward to relaxing and crafting – so I hope that you can join me?!!
Check out my schedule of classes here – you can register via the paypal button or by emailing me. If you register by September 4th for all four classes, you’ll get to make an extra, exclusive card at each of the classes – so it’s like getting an extra class for FREE (without attending an additional evening!). If you can’t make it to class, the next month will feature different cards…or you can schedule a private Christmas Card Class with your friends – contact me to see about available dates. Back to classes, everyone!!! LOL.
Aug 29, 2013 | Announcements
Stampin’ Up! has a new special that you’ll want to catch while you can! The clear mount set of papillon Potpourri bundled with the Bitty Butterfly punch. You know I love coordinating products and this is one of them! See the details here. You’ll save 15% from now until September 30. What are you waiting for? shop online 24/7 anywhere in Canada!
Aug 28, 2013 | Business Opportunity, cards, rubber stamping, specials, TV/Video/Web/Tech
So I thought since it’s still Wednesday here…I would share one of the projects I created for my 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 the Summer 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 into Adam 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!
Aug 27, 2013 | MDS, specials
It’s that time again! Stampin’ Up! has released the next free digital desktop calendar – this one features the Old School September Digital kit. The kit itself has 33 digital brushes, 12 Designer Series Papers and 14 embellishments in a retro styling for Back to School!
Every Tuesday is digital release day, and here are all the releases for August 27th. The other bonus with digital items – no shipping costs and instant gratification – download it right away and get started on projects, in MDS or in other photo editing software (like Photoshop). Don’t forget that you can do a free trial of MDS as well (though the $24.95 sticker price makes it fairly accessible!).
Aug 26, 2013 | Announcements
A reminder that if you purchased retired rubber from me during my June Open House, you have a gift certificate to use! Please contact me by August 31st with your order so you don’t miss out!
As well – I have some new classes on my schedule! CHRISTMAS CARD CLASSES! Yes, it’s getting to that time of year….so – the first Friday evening of each month from September to December inclusive is a Christmas Card Class. Each class will feature four different cards for you to make, and the class fee of $20 includes all the supplies you’ll need plus the envelopes. BONUS: if you register for all four classes by September 4th, you will make an extra, exclusive card at each class – so that’s 5 cards instead of 4 – at EACH class – it’s like getting an extra class for free! See my schedule for more information and the paypal link to register and ensure your spot, as spaces are limited.
One last option for you (because I like choices) – get a group of friends together and I will bring the Christmas Card Class to you! Contact me for my available dates….first come, first served.
