I shared a quick post on Facebook the other day and the response was pretty divided. Is It Too Early for Christmas Cards?
For Stampers Club I like to start sharing one holiday card a month starting with the July-December Mini Catalogue. We made our first card during our last session. I shared a prep photo on the YamStamps Facebook Page…which made some people wonder Is it too early for Christmas Cards?
the photo that sparked a debate…
So the caption was “It has begun….#ChristmasIsComing”. There were a number of comments in either direction – a few thought it was too early, and few loved it. What do you think?
Is It Too Early for Christmas Cards? Well, this is the card we created in Stampers Club. I love the Lights Aglow Specialty Designer Series Paper! It’s a 6″ x 6″ package with metallic elements as part of the design…which means I will be attracted to it because it’s shiny…
There are some patterns and frames that are just pretty and don’t scream “HOLIDAY PAPER” so I like to think that for those of you who answer the question “Is it too early for Christmas Cards” with “Yes”, there’s some options if you grab this paper now!
This is the card we created. Straightforward and simple.
Lights Aglow Happy Holidays Card
To highlight the gold in the Designer Series Paper, it’s mounted onto a strip of Gold Foil Sheet. I cut the label from the centre of the gold piece since nobody will see the hole once the card is assembled. The “Happy Holidays” sentiment from the Brightest Glow stamp set (also available in French – Moments Lumineux) fits onto a strip of cardstock that is the right size for that label. The dies for the label and the detailed punch out are from the glow dies, available in a discounted bundle with the stamp set (English discounted bundle and French discounted bundle available)
The “easy” button for these products is actually the Lights Aglow Suite Collection. Honestly, when I did my demonstrator preorder in June, I did not purchase the whole suite. Now I’m wondering why I didn’t! Well, if you (and I) decide to purchase it this month or next, we will all qualify for Sale-a-Bration benefits too – we get 3 SAB products at the free with $60CAD product level, or 1 SAB product at the $60 level and 1 at the $120 level. So maybe that was my unconscious strategy… Shortcut to shopping is yamstamps.com/shop or you can message me if you’d like to pay by etransfer or need assistance placing your order. Ships to your door in Canada!
Check out this simple and elegant rose card using a free stamp set!
If you’ve checked out the YamStamps site on a semi-regular basis, you may have spotted that some of my favourite designs are towards the clean & simple end of things – so this elegant rose card is definitely in that category.
Elegant Rose Card
This elegant rose card was super easy to make, which also makes me love it more! Just two tones – Merry Merlot and Gold. The Gold is the Distressed Gold Specialty Paper from the Annual Catalogue. I LOVE this paper – it’s got the metallic sheen, but it’s not super bright. I used Merry Merlot Cardstock, and then Merry Merlot ink for the rose image. Monochromatic colour schemes just make everything easy.
The rose is from the Wonderful World stamp set – and you can select it for FREE during July & August Sale-a-Bration with a $120 CAD product purchase – it’s part of the Wonderful World Bundle – which includes the Wonderful World stamp set and coordinating Designer Series Paper. The majority of Sale-a-Bration items are available to select with a $60 product purchase, but there are a few items that are only available at the $120 threshold (and Wonderful World is one of them).
The lattice is from the Organic Beauty Dies, and before die cutting, I put an Adhesive Sheet on the back of the Distressed Gold sheet. That way, once it was cut, I just had to peel the liner away and I could easily attach the lattice to the card. Bonus – I have lots of little distressed gold diamonds that I could use on another project. (Or to decorate the envelope and inside of the card if I want!). I don’t want to waste any of this paper if possible!
The image on this elegant rose card is on Crumb Cake Cardstock and mounted on a Merry Merlot circle. They’re die cut with the stitched circles from the Stylish Shapes Dies. I liked using Crumb Cake rather than Basic White or Very Vanilla because it felt a little softer and more in the colour scheme/distressed theme.
If you’re interested in getting your hands on this bundle, a reminder that Sale-a-Bration items are available during July & August – but only while supplies last. You can shop online 24/7 anywhere in Canada at https://yamstamps.com/shop or you can message me for assistance placing an order or if you’d like to pay by etransfer.
Make an easy and elegant decorative beaded element to dress up your next card or project!
Have you seen the Effervescent Elements in Stampin’ Up! Canada’s 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue? They’re one of my favourite new products! I used them to create a beautiful decorative beaded element for a recent card design.
Effervescent Elements
Word of warning, though. If you’re going to use these, you’ll want to work with them inside a box lid or something that will contain them – because they TRAVEL. I used the tray from the new Embossing Kit (available starting tomorrow in the Stampin’ Up! July-December 2022 Mini Catalogue).
I used them to create a beautiful decorative beaded element on a card that I designed featuring new product from the July-August Sale-a-Bration catalogue (starting tomorrow too!).
The card was for a recent Demonstrator-only card swap. I feature some of the cards I receive in these swaps on the Sunday Swap Feature on the YamStamps Facebook Page and on the Sunday Swap Page here on the YamStamps site. Here’s the card I made – featuring the Wonderful World Designer Series Paper that is part of the bundle that you can select for free with a $120 product purchase during July and August Sale-a-Bration.
I used an adhesive sheet to cover the Designer Series Paper, and then after cutting to the size I wanted, I removed the liner and added the beads onto the sticky surface. I liked using the patterned paper underneath because I think it adds extra dimension to the beaded piece – plus if I happen to lose any beads, it still looks pretty and the gap isn’t overly obvious because of the underlying pattern.
decorative beaded element close up
I tend to like shiny things but I also dislike any crafting that’s too messy (glitter being the prime suspect here) – so the Effervescent Elements beads are okay in my books – as long as I use them in my powder tray or a box lid. Even if they run away a bit, I can pick them up and put them back into the container without too much of a fight.
Die cuts and Designer Series Paper make for a serene summer beach card!
Summer Beach Card
Stampin’ Up! Canada has some great products that make for easy crafting – which is perfect for this time of year. I used items from the Texture Chic Suite (also available in French) to create this summer beach card!
Summer is definitely the time for some easy crafting. Paper crafting is great because you can travel with the supplies (OK, not all your supplies, but you can pick out a few key ones). If you wanted to make multiples of this summer beach card, you could do your prep ahead of time and then just assemble wherever you are. Another option – Stampin’ Up! Kits Collection is a great way to have some portable crafting supplies that you can take with you to the cottage, camping or just to the backyard! We are in the last few days of the Buy One, Get One at 50% off kits collection sale, so it’s a great time to stock up on kits – great for having on hand for rainy days, travel, or for gifts for crafty (or even the not so crafty) friends!
I hope that you are able to spend some time this long weekend enjoying the weather. As for me, this summer beach card may be as close as I’m getting to water in the next while….I would usually be enjoying some time poolside, but we have to replace our pool liner (discovered when the winter cover came off)…so we are waiting for our new liner (and the people who can install it). *sigh*
It’s that time of year – make sure you have a Congratulations Card in your stash!
As we approach the end of June, it’s the time for graduations – so we made this congratulations card in Stampers Club this month. Of course, there’s many reasons to send a congratulations card, but I guess I am thinking of grads, since my son just finished his university degree! We just attended his convocation at Western earlier this week, and so happy that we were able to be there in person. I was thinking that he got a little lucky with the timing (weird to say that, I know), but honestly – he was able to have a “normal” first year; the pandemic started in his second year so things changed part way through and into third year, and fourth year they were able to resume a lot of their in person classes and groups, including an in person convocation ceremony.
(one of the many photos taken the other day…)
So here’s the card (right, you’re here for the crafting LOL). Featuring some new catalogue product, including something that I need to reorder already…
Congratulations Card
I absolutely love the Distressed Gold Specialty Paper! (So much so that I have to put it on my next order going in because I’m down to scraps). Even though it’s in the background, it still stands out because of the design of the card. The foreground paper is from the Sun Prints Designer Series Paper, and it’s die cut with the Split Card Textures Dies. I die cut a Tailor Made Tag from the bottom right corner of the Distressed Gold Paper (because it’s hidden behind the DSP) before using Multipurpose Liquid Glue to tack the the Gold Paper and DSP together. I die cut the tag reinforcement from a scrap of the Sun Prints Paper. The sentiment is from the Art Gallery stamp set, and is stamped in Starry Sky ink.
I am drawn to the shiny objects LOL, so the Distressed Gold Paper was an easy pick for this card design, and I also love the Sun Prints Papers….plus the Sun Prints include a bit of a purple tone, and Western’s main school colour is purple!
one more photo of the grad for good measure…
Stampin’ Up! does have some other stamp sets that include the word Congratulations (including A Grand Kid, Peaceful Moments, Celebrate Sunflowers, the new Breaking News and more…) so there’s lots of options for your Congratulations Card – whether it be for a graduation, promotion, wedding, baby or whatever life event you’d like to celebrate! (For me, right now, I think it’s “You made it to today, yay you!). Shortcut to shopping is yamstamps.com/shop or you can send me a message if you’d like assistance placing an order or would like to pay by etransfer and have the order shipped directly to you.
I’m always Chasing Rainbows! Combining some retiring and some new product on a simple, sparkly card
I thought this was such a pretty card – I love the rainbow theme!
Chasing Rainbows Card
It’s a super simple design but I wanted the sparkly rainbow arcs to stand out on my Chasing Rainbows Card. The Brilliant Rainbow Dies are from the January-June 2022 Mini Catalogue, and they’re retiring at the end of this month (or if they sell out before then). (That’s the “old” on this card). They’re part of the Last Chance Sale – and they’re 50% off!! Such a deal! If you want to get the coordinating Rainbow of Happiness stamp set, which is also retiring, you’ll want to purchase these separately – it’s the best deal because of the sale. Bundles typically offer a 10% discount on regular catalogue prices and are usually the more cost effective way of buying coordinating products – but it’s actually more expense than the separate items right now!
The arcs themselves are the 2022-2024 In Color Glimmer 6″ x 6″ Papers (well, 4/5 of them – since this rainbow only has 4 arcs). That’s the “new” on this card! Since this was one of our Stampers Club cards, I was able to cut a bunch of arcs at the same time and then everyone got one arc of each colour. So, yes, not always in ROYGBV order. (Though my sample is…LOL). Sample shows Sweet Sorbet, Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide and Orchid Opulence.
I guess the something “blue” if we are going with that theme is the background – it’s the new In Colour Starry Sky. I positioned the rainbow die with the cutting edge off the side of the cardstock so that it left an open end at the edge. I liked that it looks like we are seeing this half of the rainbow, and not literally half a rainbow.
close up to show the glimmer of the Chasing Rainbows Card!
I love the ombre effect on this glimmer paper….and I love that the glitter doesn’t come off all over the place. I love shiny stuff, but I tend to be a bit of a messy crafter, and so I need all the help I can get to try to contain the chaos and mess. I have actually started to use Liquid Glue a little more often these days – often because it’s right there, and I do like the ability to move things around a bit before they’re totally adhered in place. I still end up with glue on my fingers though LOL.
Shortcut to shop is https://yamstamps.com/shop – be sure to check out the Last Chance Sale and grab these dies to make chasing rainbows even easier! Remember that retiring product is available until 30 June or until supply is exhausted. Don’t miss out!
