Happy World Cardmaking Day! Yes, who knew there was such a thing? Sharing this sunflower card to celebrate and thank you for visiting the blog. My personal mission is to follow World Cardmaking Day with a “Mail It Monday” – meaning I get card(s) in the mail to people!
You’ll know that I’m all about the quick and easy card – and this is one of them for sure. Let the images take the centre stage and get the card done and mailed! The sunflowers are created with the Painted Harvest stamp set – I love how the two petal images layer to add shadow and dimension. They were stamped in Crushed Curry. The centre is done in Early Espresso (stamped off onto scrap paper once to lighten up the image a bit) so the “seeds” show up a bit more.
This is one of those stamp sets that is so versatile – just by switching out the colours used! I shared a Christmas Wreath card using this set on the YamStamps Instagram Channel.Click here to see it.
So Happy World Cardmaking Day! Are you following the YamStamps Facebook Page? I did a Live video showing a different card today. If you follow the page, click all notifications so that next time I go live, you’ll know about it!
In the meantime, I’m off to address an envelope to get this sunflower card mailed!
This glittery star card was one of my personal favourites from last month’s Christmas Card Class! While we set it up as a holiday card, I’m sure you could use this accent on a celebratory card for any occasion. (Oh, and surprise, it’s navy and silver….but there’s copper accents and the card is grey….so I’m kind of getting away from that recurring theme? Maybe? I’m trying, really I am!). Though now that I write that, I realize what the colour scheme was for the first of the YamStamps Twelve Weeks of Christmas project emails yesterday…. (Get on my newsletter list so you don’t miss any more of the subscriber exclusive projects!).
This is a square card, because I really wanted the large star to take up a lot of space on the cardfront. The background is the Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper so I took my colour scheme from that. The large copper foil star is from the Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements – you get 10 of them in the package (if I counted correctly). While I was playing around with the elements, I discovered that the star is the same size as one of the Stitched Stars Dies! So the Silver Glimmer Paper was cut with the star and then the Copper Foil Star was stuck onto it. Once it was secure, we just had to trim the ends of the silver star – because the die has pointy star ends and the foil element is rounded.
I try not to stray too much outside a bundle if possible, but I couldn’t resist using the Shine Bright stamp set sentiment – because I thought it was perfect! If you’re keeping track – the Stitched Stars Dies come in a discounted bundle with the So Many Stars stamp set, while the Shine Bright stamp set comes in a discounted bundle with the Stitched Brightly Dies. It’s heat embossed with Copper Embossing Powder and cut out with a Stitched Rectangle Die. Even though it’s an extra step to die cut a sentiment, it often means I don’t have to re-do a card because at the last moment I stamped the sentiment crookedly! Just stamp the sentiment on a scrap piece of cardstock, then die cut (and of course, position the die so the sentiment is squared and centred within the cut out portion!).
And it was pointed out to me that I missed an embellishment opportunity – a little rhinestone bling in the centre of the star?! Ah well – for the next time I make this card – or YOU could make it!
Are you a member of the Paper Crafting with YamStamps Facebook Group? I did a last minute Facebook Live on Wednesday, showing how you can heat emboss with Stampin’ Up! inks. Click on join and follow so that you can be notified of future Lives – because I’m on a mission to do a few more live videos on a regular basis! If you make a version of a glittery star card, please post it in the group – I have a participation challenge going on right now! Thanks for stopping by.
Are you on the list? The 12 Weeks of Christmas List, that is… If you receive the weekly YamStamps Paper Crafting Newsletter, then the answer is YES! If not – well, I think you can figure that one out…
You’ll want to be on the list by Wednesday, October 2nd at 1pm so that you can receive the first of the Twelve Weeks of Christmas Projects! This is an exclusive subscriber THANK YOU. In appreciation of being on my list, I send subscribers an additional email over the 12 weeks leading up to Christmas. Each week has a different holiday project, complete with photo, supply list and instructions – like you’re used to with the regular YamStamps Newsletters. The Twelve Weeks Projects will be cards for the first few emails, then we’ll move on to gifts and wrapping ideas. Lots of inspiration for your holiday crafting!
This week’s Sunday Swap Share has an autumn feel to it – though it’s using product from the Holiday Catalogue, which often seems like the Christmas and Halloween Catalogue…LOL. Created by Sophie Ouellet, this wildlife card features Stampin’ Up!’s Nature’s Beauty Stamp Set and seems appropriate for the first official Sunday of fall!
One other thing to note – a portion of each sale of this stamp set goes towards supporting mental health in the country in which it is sold. Stampin’ Up! has designated the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health as the Canadian beneficiary. I know that crafting is a great stress reliever for me, and helps my mental health – and it’s great to know that this stamp set goes towards helping support mental health in Canada!
The Petal Pink Vellum is from the Perennial Essence Vellum Cardstock package and coordinates with the Petal Pink Organdy Striped Ribbon. I would never have thought to use Petal Pink and Blackberry Bliss on an autumn card – part of the reason I love participating in swaps! I don’t have to think up every single design on my own, and can borrow from ideas and inspiration from others. While I do enjoy coming up with my own designs, there are times when I need a little creative boost.
Did you know that if you purchase a starter kit through me, you become part of my group of demonstrators known as the “Eh” Team? You aren’t out there on your own – you have my support and training, plus Stampin’ Up!’s trainings, plus our team in total – when you want it or need it. I’m having an Information Night on Thursday, October 9th at 7pm. It’s a short, free event for you to have your questions answered. If you’re not local to Burlington, ON, or can’t make it that evening, you can contact me for other options. Check out my Demonstrator Information Page by clicking the link, or typing in the shortcut yamstamps.com/join. As always, you can contact me if you have any questions or need any information – about becoming a demonstrator with my team, crafting supplies, or paper crafting techniques! Thanks to Sophie for this great wildlife card, thanks to Stampin’ Up! for a great fundraiser, and thanks to you for stopping by the YamStamps blog.
If you’ve been visiting the YamStamps site for a while, or checking out the YamStamps Facebook Page or Instagram Account, you’ll know that I like projects that look impressive but don’t take too much work. Sometimes I like to colour – but it’s got to be something that will be effective while also being easy!! Here’s the latest in that line of Lazy Crafting…in which I colour ON the lines.
This easy colouring card uses the Animal Outing stamp set and coordinating Animal Friends Dies. How is this an easy card? Well, I only used 3 colours of Watercolour Pencils and a Blender Pen. I took advantage of all the artist drawn shading and contouring lines to give the image a bit more dimension. The image is stamped in Staz On Jet Black ink onto Shimmery White cardstock – which deals well with wet media and techniques. I coloured along the outlines and shading lines with the Watercolour Pencils, then went over it with the Blender Pen to move the colour out to the rest of the image. I used Bermuda Bay Cardstock to tie in the colour of the card with the pencil that was used to colour the bird.
The leaves were cut along the side of the Smoky Slate Cardstock and had to be cut twice to span the entire length of the card. What you can’t see behind the rhino image is that there is a bit of an overlap of the cut images which isn’t so pretty….but it’s hidden so it’s all good!
So remember – colour ON the lines to make your colouring quick, easy and effective! If you’re interested in learning more paper crafting tips and techniques, be sure to be subscribed to my Paper Crafting E-Newsletters. Starting NEXT WEEK all subscribers will receive a bonus newsletter installment – the Twelve Weeks of Christmas! Each week, for the next twelve weeks, in addition to the regular YamStamps Email, you’ll get an exclusive Christmas Project email – complete with picture, supply list and step by step instructions. Don’t delay – the first of the Twelve Weeks emails goes out October 2nd!!
Sometimes you want to send a card for “no reason” or to let a friend know you’re thinking about them. Here’s a card to say hello that will serve those purposes!
I might have a bit of an issue with this Basket Weave 3D Embossing Folder – in that I LOVE using it for my cards. It’s one of those things that I will have to force myself away from when designing class cards (because class attendees might like to try out different products – go figure). However, you will notice that it’s another blue card….LOL. I can only do so much outside my typical comfort zone, people!!
This card features the To a Wild Rose Bundle which includes the To a Wild Rose stamp set and Wild Rose Dies, at a discount vs buying the products individually. LAZY CRAFTER ALERT / #craftinghack I lifted the colour palette for this card from the ribbon. The Seaside Spray Scalloped Linen Ribbon is so pretty that I wanted to highlight it. I used Crumb Cake as the brown tone for the card. I placed the plain linen side out on the front of the card and then used the other side when tying the knot. Some class attendees opted to use the blue edged side showing for both portions though! My lazy crafter way of doing the knot – one length of ribbon goes on the card (tape the ends in behind with SNAIL or adhesive tape), and then use another slightly shorter piece of ribbon and tie it around the first. By doing it this way, you can move the knot around to where you’d like it on the card front without undoing the entire ribbon piece!
If you are in need of a card to say hello to a friend, or just want to get out and try some techniques and products, come to a class! The Monthly Card Class is held the first Wednesday of each month (generally…) in north Burlington ON, and there’s an afternoon and an evening session. Your class fee includes all the supplies required for the 4 cards we create during class – including adhesive and envelopes. You can check out the upcoming dates on the YamStamps Events Page or message me to register or get more information. Hope to see you in class soon!
Please come back to visit the YamStamps site for future Sunday Swap Shares – and all the other regular postings during the week! If there’s something you’d like to see here – leave a comment below or message me. Thanks for stopping by!
I used my favourite colour combination for this blue and silver holiday card! Plus it has some teeny stars on it – so an all around favourite for me I think. This is from the August Christmas Card Class – and I liked it so much, I included a variation of it for my regular September class too!
My Christmas Card Classes include product – and it’s typically a package of embellishments that we use on our cards and then class members take the remainder of their packages home to use for other projects. In August, I was only working out of the Annual Catalogue, since the Holiday Catalogue wasn’t available for customer orders yet! We used the Designer Elements in that class, and then used Clear Faceted Gems this month.
By the way – If you like bling, you’ll want to register for the October Christmas Card Class – we’ll be using the Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels!
This blue and silver holiday card could be used for Christmas, Hanukkah or New Years, don’t you think? The sentiment and dangling stars are from the Making Christmas Bright stamp set (the one with the Christmas bulbs!). The variety of stamps in the set means you can come up with a variety of “looks” from one stamp set. To extend the dangling stars, we used the Stamparatus to make sure the images were perfectly in line, and then stamped them twice – the sentiment hides the gap. I didn’t mind the lines running off the top of the card, but I wanted the finished effect at the bottom. (which I now realize you can’t really see well for the watermaking on the photo. Sorry!).
he image and sentiment were stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed with the Silver Embossing Powder. Heat embossing is always a winner for holiday cards in my opinion! The card is Smoky Slate, which I find really compliments any silver accents, without drawing attention away from them.
Hard to believe, but I’ve only got two more scheduled Christmas Card Classes this year! You have two more chances to make some beautiful handmade cards to give to the special people on your card list. Plus there’s an Advent Calendar Class too! Wednesday, November 13th – 1pm or 7pm – you can come to class, pick up your Christmas Countdown kit and use my stamps and ink to complete the project!
The class fee of $55 covers the kit (plus shipping/taxes) and the use of my adhesives/ink/stamps to complete the kit as per the instructions. You can contact me to register, or use the PayPal link on the YamStamps Events page. Registration & payment required by October 30th, or additional fees may apply in order to ensure that your kit will arrive in time for class.
Check out an alternative use for the kit that I shared here on the YamStamps Facebook Page! BONUS – you don’t have to use the kit for one or the other! The boxes have notches on two sides, so I’m thinking that after the Christmas season is over, I’ll flip the boxes around and use them for something else! What would you use them for?
Oh – and for my next Christmas Card share, I promise to try to show something OTHER than a blue and silver holiday card. No promises about the card AFTER that one though. hahaha!
Stampin’ Up!’s Holiday Catalogue has a lot of great products for the holiday season – and I love being able to use them for something other than holidays! This starry birthday card is an example of using a holiday catalogue product for another occasion. (OK, maybe not too much of a stretch there, but still an alternative).
Like many of Stampin’ Up!’s “stitched” dies, there is a stitching mark on the outside and the inside of the cutting line for the Stitched Stars dies – so both the positive and negative die cuts have that detail. For this card, the stars were cut from the Whisper White cardstock and then set aside (to be used on another project at some point in time!). The cardstock was then adhered to some Designer Series Paper – in this case, Bird Ballad, and then onto the cardfront. We just used a single piece of paper, but if you wanted to be really tricky, you could either die cut the stars from the Designer Series Paper and then place them in the negative spaces of the cardstock, or cut squares/circles from the DSP and place them behind the negative spaces. In either case, you could vary up the pattern direction if you desired. However, you may know that I sometimes refer to myself as “The Lazy Crafter” (trademark pending LOL), so the single sheet of Designer Series Paper was the way to go for my starry birthday card design. This card design could be used for so many different occasions by changing out the sentiment and switching the backing papers. Easy peasy!
The sentiment is from the Perennial Birthday stamp set, and a little rhinestone bling goes a long way to make a card more special. The backing cardstock (and ink) are Calypso Coral, which is one of the colours in the paper’s design. (Lazy crafter – why think too much?).
This starry birthday card was one of the featured projects during September card classes. Tomorrow is the September Christmas Card Class – using some of the elegant Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements. At the time of writing this post, there were a couple of openings left – so if you are free at either 1pm or 7pm, contact me ASAP if you’d like to join us! Class fee of $30 covers all supplies, including a full package of the elements. Next month we’ll be using the Holiday Rhinestones for our projects – and class is filling quickly. Check the YamStamps Events page for all the upcoming events, and contact me if you have any questions or for registration! Thanks for stopping by the blog today.
So we had a complete cable/internet outage in our household the last couple of days and it was painful! I know, first world problems and all…but it did emphasize to me how much I rely on technology to make my life easier – both my work life and my home life. Breathing a bit easier now that we have internet and wifi back – and I’m not going to look at data usage over the past couple of days. Thankfully my son is away at school, because I can imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth if this had happened when he was home!!
In the meantime, now that I’m not hovering by the door waiting for the service call, I’ll go back to prepping for this week’s Stampers Club and Christmas Card Classes! There are a couple of last minute openings in the Christmas Card Class on Wednesday if you’d like to join us – message me! Otherwise check the YamStamps Events Page to see upcoming dates (I’ve written them down until the end of the year!). Thanks for stopping by and thanks again to Chris for this lovely floral paper card.
