Hi! Apparently I haven’t posted on the blog in a little while….oops! Here I am, asking for forgiveness by sharing this Ornate Garden Thank You Card. It’s made using the Early AccessOrnate Garden Suite of products that will be coming in the 2020-2021 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue.
It probably would would have been more appropriate to use the Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper…but in my defense, I really like the Parisian Blossoms paper. It is okay to mix and match suites of products to come up with something you like! In all reality, though, I think it’s because I had pulled out a few sheets to look at, and then moved everything to one side to clear a spot so I could work on a card design, and just grabbed a sheet that caught my eye. This is what happens when you tend to create in chaos, and are living through a pandemic that tends to sap your energy and mojo. Is it just me??!! Well, that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking with it.
Stampers Club is moving online this month. We usually get to meet in person and craft, but this month we’ll be meeting virtually, but still crafting together! If all goes well, I’m hoping to offer this format for future Monthly Card Classes as well. Club members (and some of my demonstrator group “Eh” Team members) are going to be the test run. Wish us luck! New club members can start their six month membership at any club meeting, so if you’re interested in joining us, you can message me for information, or see the description on the YamStamps Events Page.
The YamStamps Newsletter is out tomorrow, so if you’re subscribed, watch for it around 1pm Eastern! Just like the Ornate Garden Thank You Card says – thank you for making my day by stopping by!
No fooling! There are new products available today! The Ornate Garden Suite is here a few months early. It will be featured in the next Annual Catalogue from Stampin’ Up!, but you can order items starting today. Here’s a project made using some of the items…
This suite features two stamp sets, two die sets, ribbon, embossing folder, bling and specialty Designer Series Paper. I did an informal unboxing video in the Paper Crafting with YamStamps Facebook Group the other day, and I’m working on getting some projects made so I can share them here and in real life.
I hope that you are able to find some time to do some fun, crafty things! For me, crafting can be a great outlet, though in these days, often I find my creative “mojo” can be fleeting at times. I craft when inspiration and energy strike, and I take time to stare out the window when I need to. In between, I also try to remember to do some housework, and then there’s that day job as well….hahaha! Stay well, everyone!
Well, in some ways, March has seemed like a VERY long month, hasn’t it?! Just popping this reminder here that today is the last chance to grab Sale-a-Bration rewards! If it’s not already sold out, you can earn a free Level 1 product with a $60 CAD product order, or with a $120 CAD product order you can get a Level 2 item OR two Level 1 items. It’s also the last day to purchase the Coordination Products.
I love Stampin’ Up!’s Parisian Dies! I used them to make this Eiffel Tower Thank You Card.
I had the great good fortune to be able to travel to France last June, so had the opportunity to see the tower in person. We only had a few hours, so I ended up choosing to wander around (okay, actually walk purposefully since our time was limited LOL) Paris and see as much as possible, rather than climb the stairs of the Tower. Maybe my next trip to Paris?!!
cheesy tourist shot at the Eiffel Tower!
There’s actually NO stamping involved in this card! It’s just ink and die cuts. I chose Gold Foil Sheets for the die cut tower and word (don’t lose the dot for the “i” when you’re doing this one), and then just sponged inked onto a strip of cardstock. You can choose whatever colours you like -so you could mass produce this card but have a number of different “looks”! If you are subscribed to the YamStamps Newsletter, you should have received a tutorial video showing a similar card and technique when you signed up.
We can’t travel right now, but we can still at least make cards and scrapbook pages that celebrate it – like this Eiffel Tower Thank You Card. My staycation is over so I don’t have quite as much time to spend in my craft room, but I’ll be trying to make a point of doing so because it’s a great break from the craziness of everyday life right now. I hope to get onto another Facebook Live in the next while, so be sure to like and follow the YamStamps Page to be notified when it happens! In the meantime, I hope that you are staying healthy and finding the chance to be creative.
Check out these additional rewards available for redemption with qualifying purchase! Please note that these item codes are DIFFERENT than the ones in the catalogue – to designate them as the SAB rewards.
Go to www.yamstamps.com/shop to start shopping – or contact me if you live in Quebec (due to online ordering availability) or need assistance placing your order!
Happy Spring! The weather is definitely getting more mild, and today was filled with wind and rain, but also a bit of sun. Here’s a tulip card to celebrate spring – though I do know that tulips are one of the later blooming flowers, from my limited gardening experience. I gardened more when I was living in British Columbia because, well, it’s milder weather, so more enjoyable to be outside lots, and I had more time on my hands then….LOL.
This card features the Timeless Tulips Bundle which contains the Tulip Builder Punch and the Timeless Tulips stamp set. To make the positioning of the stems and flowers easy, I stamped & punched the tulip heads first, and then laid them out on the cardstock to figure out the placement. Once I was happy with it, I stamped the stems (working fairly quickly so I wouldn’t forget where I wanted them haha!!) and then added the leaves before adhering the punched tulips in place. It was a happy accident that the stems ended up converging in one area – that was not what I was going for, actually, but I’ll take it.
A design element I’ve been embracing a bit more is letting elements hang off the edge of the cardstock (but not the card, because then it won’t fit in an envelope if I ever get around to mailing it). It makes fitting everything on the cardfront a little easier. I left this card without a sentiment on the front because I liked the white space effect. Is it called vanilla space for this one since it’s Very Vanilla Cardstock? (oh dear – Can you tell I’ve been social distancing effectively?!!!)
I have done a couple of Facebook Lives this week on the YamStamps Facebook Page, because I have appreciated and been inspired by watching live videos from creative people that I follow on various platforms – it truly is a stress reliever! I will see how many I can continue to do – I had the luxury of being at home this week, since my travel plans were cancelled. I’m due to return to work next week so I imagine I won’t have quite as much time to myself as I’ve had this week! I did treat it like a vacation, and I am amazed at how little I can productively do in a 24 hour period…..LOL. Future me is not impressed with how little present me got done on those nagging jobs around the house….apparently my powers of procrastination are strong!!
I hope that you are keeping well, and doing things to keep your stress levels down. I need to work on a few new card designs so here’s hoping I find some creative inspiration and motivation somewhere….in the meantime, enjoy this tulip card until we get to see the real deal? Happy Spring and Hang In There!!
Love these meerkats – because we all need a reason to smile these days! I thought it was appropriate to make a stand alone pop up card for this card/sentiment…
Get it….stand up friend….stand up card? (The social distancing is obviously getting to me a bit more than I thought). Anyway….this card features the Sale-a-Bration Level 1 reward stamp set The Gang’s All Meer and the suuuper cute Birthday Bonanza Designer Series Paper from the Jan-June Mini Catalogue. This is one of those papers that it’s hard to pick a favourite side – since these papers are double sided. While the patterns are really functional for all sorts of cards, you are inevitably hiding a cute design on the other side (in this case I think we hid some koalas….).
I am planning on doing a facebook live for this card tomorrow (Thursday), I’ll do it on the YamStamps Facebook Page, so please “like” and “follow” the page to get notified when I go live. (Please note how close I am to a nice round number of “likes”, not that numbers are all I care about and all that it’s about, but come on). At this point I’m thinking late morning, depends on how my day is going. You know, jobs to avoid doing, dust bunnies to step around…I am actually amazed at how little I can truly get accomplished in one day, even when I’m not leaving the house – though I justify it by saying that I am on vacation (which I am)….but still. I’ll probably get a huge burst of initiative and inspiration on Sunday! LOL.
Anyway, I’ll show the construction of this card, and then I will post an instruction file in the Paper Crafting with YamStamps Facebook Group, (if you’re not a member, click on the link and request to join). Just a heads up if you want to craft along with me – You’ll need 4.5″ x 11″ piece of cardstock, plus a 3″ x 4.5″ and 2.75″ x 4.25″ (those last two measurements are off the top of my head right now, hoping I got it correct…I guess we’ll find out tomorrow). I hope that you can join me for a break in your day and make this stand alone pop up card with me live! See you then!
How are you holding up? Since my travel plans were cancelled, I’m hanging out at home. I did manage to get out for a run with some friends on the weekend, and because I don’t run as fast as they do, I maintained social distancing for most of it LOL.
I am thankful for the number of artists who are sharing their talents online – today alone I watched Live streams from the Arkells and Jann Arden. I loved this break from the constant news feed. I managed to do a Facebook Live on the YamStamps Facebook Page as my contribution to a short distraction from the stressors of the day, and I’ve got in my plan to do some more crafting too. I also have income tax prep on my agenda, but that is a stressor in my world so I can only do so much of it before I need to take a break!!
Two Tone Background Card Take 2 – from the YamStamps Facebook Live March 16th
I am cancelling in person classes for the time being – with apologies to those who were planning on attending the Last Chance Sale-a-Bration class. We’ll make arrangements for in person classes once everything has settled down again. ALSO – if you were planning on visiting me at Scrapfest in Kitchener, please note that the event has been POSTPONED and we will let you know when we hear about a new date for the event.
If you have ideas for some videos I could do for you in the next while, please send me an email or leave a comment on any of the YamStamps social media sites! In the meantime, stay healthy!
Here’s a great card design for those large background images – this two tone floral background card was inspired by a card I received in a swap from Betsy Rouw-Rundle. (Check the YamStamps Facebook Page on Sunday to see her card in my Swap Share Sunday Post!)
If you’re doing this and want a “cushion” when creating the two tone background, you could use cardstock larger than the stamped image, and then trim it down to size and proceed from there. This will also work if you use a wood mount background stamp, to ensure you can align the pattern easily.
Frugal Friday Tip Reminder – cut the scallop circle die cut from the middle of the Night of Navy backing cardstock. I just thought of this now – you could also cut the Whisper White circle from the stamped cardstock and then align it on the cardfront with the existing pattern! Maybe I will go back and re-do this – or do me a favour, if you do this, post it on the YamStamps Facebook Page!
Be sure to “like” and “follow” the YamStamps Facebook Page so that you can be notified when I do live videos. You’ll be able to watch from the comfort of your own home. I’ll also be releasing my next online class ASAP so watch for notifications. With so many events and travel plans being cancelled, I should have a bit more time on my hands to get some videos done… In the meantime, you can admire this two tone floral background card while you wash your hands for 20 seconds. Stay healthy, everyone!
Why is it that “springing forward” means I often will not have a spring in my step for the first few days?! Anyway – here’s a die cut poppy card to brighten your day, and here’s hoping you’re not as discombobulated as me today.
This card was less fussy to produce than you might think….really. The poppy background flower and detail die from the Poppy Moments Dies were both cut from Poppy Parade cardstock (because why think so hard when it’s given to you like that?!). To make the detail die cut stand out just a little bit, I sponged Poppy Parade ink onto it – it’s amazing how it just gives a little bit more depth to the cardstock colour and makes it distinctive but not distracting. I did the same for the leaves in Old Olive. To keep everything cohesive, I stamped the sentiment from So Sentimental onto one of the die cut leaves in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. The Tufted 3D Embossing Folder adds a bit more interest to the background, again without being too distracting.
To add the detail die cut on top of the background, I typically either use dots of the Multipurpose Liquid Glue in strategic spots (usually where the die cut is larger, because I’m messy…) or pick up some of the glue with a bit of a Stamping Sponge and dab it on the back of the die cut. I also work on top of one of the silicone craft sheets so 1) my die cut doesn’t get stuck down before I even get it onto the piece and 2) I don’t have a super sticky work surface afterward so everything else gets stuck down too.
Time is running out on Sale-a-Bration – it will end on March 31st, but remember that the freebies are also “while supplies last”. Three rewards are already gone forever – Golden Honey Designer Series Paper, Metallic Baker’s Twine & Sequins Combo, and the Kerchief Card Kit (see photos on the YamStamps Facebook Page in this post). Be sure to grab the rewards you want before they’re gone! Contact me if you have any questions or need assistance placing an order. Otherwise, you can shop online in the YamStamps Online Stampin’ Up! Canada store – shortcut yamstamps.com/shop.
I’m off to do work on an online class that I’m hoping to launch in the next few weeks, so stay tuned! I might also need to take a nap as well. What time is it? Enjoy the die cut poppy card in the meantime while I figure out which way is up.
