Piece of Cake Handmade Card! It refers to the stamp set as well as the process to make the card! The Piece of Cake stamp set (and coordinating Cake Builder punch) are NOT retiring – BUT the discounted bundle will not be available beyond June 3 – so why not get them together for a deal while you can?!
This was a recent class card – and we used the Stamparatus to make sure the images lined up perfectly – so this Piece of Cake Handmade Card really was a piece of cake to create! The images were stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, and then simply coloured with Stampin’ Blends. We only used one shade of each of the inks but you can still get a bit of shading and depth by colouring over a section again to enhance and deepen the tone. (main colours: (dark) Balmy Blue, (dark) Highland Heather and (light) Smoky Slate for the cake stand). I love the way that these alcohol based markers don’t leave “streaks” where you’ve coloured and gives a very solid look to the image.
Cardstock is Gorgeous Grape, combined with a few little strips of the How Sweet It Is Designer Series Paper. That paper was part of the Designer Series Paper share that I did for the Occasions Catalogue – and I will be offering a share for the Annual Catalogue as well – so stay tuned for details! Paper shares are a great way to get a sampling of everything – you have enough to use on a few projects, and you can also decide if you want to get full packages of your favourites. Sometimes you need to see the paper and designs in person to get the full effect!
In the meantime, please remember that retiring products are available while supplies last / until June 3 – so please don’t hesitate if you really want to get something that’s marked as retiring – especially if it’s anything but a stamp set!! Stampin’ Up! has a bit more immediate ability to react to demand with stamp sets since they make them in house so those rarely will sell out before the end of the catalogue period (but again, no guarantees!). Any questions, concerns, or assistance needed placing an order – as always – please contact me!
Final note – Wednesday is May 1st – yay, May! It’s also MONTHLY CARD CLASS DAY – the first Wednesday of the month – a bit of a shock when the first day of the month and the first Wednesday are the same day! Please contact me ASAP if you want to attend at 1pm or 7pm!! Space is limited. Check the YamStamps Events page to see all upcoming dates – including the special date for the June Monthly Card Class! Hope to see you in a class soon!
Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Spring! I hope that you are able to enjoy this long weekend however you are celebrating. Today I’m sharing this cherry blossom card, created with the Colo(u)rful Seasons stamp set. If you stopped by my booth at the Kitchener Scrapfest, you may have made this tag as your make and take – and I’ve turned it into a card!
First of all, I did offset the tag on the Pool Party Cardstock background, so it’s a little different than the sample we shared at the YamStamps Scrapfest Booth. Other than that, I still used the Stamparatus to stamp the branch, blossoms and sentiment in place on the tag. I stamped the other flowers randomly across the cardfront, and then wanted to step it up a bit, so I added Rhinestone Basic Jewels to most of the visible full flowers. I think that the white space helps give that “breathe” type feeling to the design.
Happily, this stamp set is NOT retiring – so it will still be available when the new catalogue is in effect on June 4th. You’ll be able to create another version of a cherry blossom card, or a falling leaves card, snowflake card, or a beach card…because this set has all the seasons covered!
Do you want a copy of the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue? If you’ve placed an order with me in the past year, I will automatically put you on my list to receive a new catalogue. Otherwise, if you don’t already have a Stampin’ Up! Canada demonstrator, please fill out this questionnaire or go to yamstamps.com/2019catalogue and I’ll get in touch with you!
OK I am off to make a lemon meringue pie for Easter Dinner dessert – wish me luck, it’s been a while since I did meringue pie, and I don’t have one of those fancy, cheffy-type mini blow torch thingies. In the tradition of the Great British Bake Off, though, I will definitely aim for “no soggy bottom” on my pie.
Thought I’d share thiseasy springtime card or Easter card – depending on whether or not you use the Easter sentiment!
If you stopped by the YamStamps booth at Kitchener Scrapfest this past weekend, you may have seen a version of this card on my display board! It’s one of April’s class cards.
One of the things I love about making cards is that I have the fun of making the card, and the recipient has the fun of receiving a handmade card. Anne, of the demonstrators in my group, told a story about how a family member still has a handmade Christmas card displayed on her fridge because it reminds her how much Anne loves her! I think that’s a fantastic sentiment.
This card was particularly fun because the flower is coloured with Stampin’ Blends – I do enjoy a bit of colouring, and this was fast and easy because the image is not too big! Just remember to use Memento Ink if you’re reproducing this card – so that your image won’t smear when you use the Blends. The daffodil and the combination of Lemon Lime Twist Cardstock (grab it before it’s all gone…) and Daffodil Delight Cardstock help make this a truespringtime card!
I also wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by my booth at the Kitchener Scrapfest! Huge thanks to Anne and Mary who helped me out at my booth….and to my mother who did a quick round trip to drop off some items I accidentally left at home – true story!! I hope all the croppers, shoppers and vendors had a relaxing day today recovering!
If you filled out one of the door prize draw entries, I’ll be making the draw for the winner of the shopping spree tomorrow – I’ll do a Facebook Live on the YamStamps Page if all goes according to plan (and there’s not some weird outage like there was early today!). Maybe I’ll get someone at Stampers Club to help me out… I’ll also post links to the official Stampin’ Up! retiring list as soon as I’m able – so stay tuned!
In my Monthly Card Classes and Stampers Club, I always try to include a variety of cards in the class. Usually there will be one appropriate for the month – for example in February there was a “love” card that could be used as a Valentine, and this month there’s an Easter card. I also try to do one that is more “gender neutral”. Often when I do a hosted event the host will ask for a certain type of card, and I do my best to accomodate! It’s a way for me to stretch my creative muscle a bit, otherwise I tend to fall into a bit of a creative rut. These demonstrator card swaps are another great way to stretch my creativity – usually there are guidelines for materials, number of layers, accessories etc, and I actually find it can be easier for me to come up with something when I’m given these “rules”.
The Stampers Club meets on the third Monday of each month (in general, depending on stat holidays!) and each member signs up for six consecutive months. Once the six months are up, the member can either continue on for another six, or take a break. We have some members that join for certain seasons, based on work or travel, and some that enjoy a more consistent creative outlet. Check the YamStamps Events page for upcoming dates and information, or you can always contact me. Can’t make those dates? Get a group together and contact me to set up a private class date! No excuses – set aside some me time and get crafty!!
This sparkly sunset card wasn’t intended to look like a sunset…but it ended up that way and I’m okay with it!
The beautiful sunset effect was created using Brusho Crystal Colour and water. I admit I’ve been a bit hesitant to play a lot with these because I thought they were a bit on the messy side and required a bit of commitment! However – now that I’ve played with them, I think I’ll pull them out a bit more!
The image is from Petal Palette – one of my favourite stamps in that set – I think I’ve used that more than any of the others. It’s currently available in red rubber wood mount and red rubber clear mount. Don’t forget if you really want some of these wood mount stamp sets, you’ll want to order them in the next month or two – because as of June 2019 all Stampin’ Up! stamps will either be red rubber clear mount or photopolymer.
You can “kind of” see the sparkle here I think? It’s subtle, but it’s there. Shimmery White Cardstock is great and will stand up to getting a soaker.
I was a little enthusiastic with soaking my cardstock so I actually was able to tip it and get the wet colour to run towards the side, which resulted in the streak effect. Definitely a bit of a happy accident.
A couple of things to know with Brusho – a little goes a LONG way, and some of the darker colours are quite strong and can overwhelm your piece. I worked on a few layers of older grid paper (“reuse recycle!”), and used my heat tool to speed up the process because I’m a little impatient. You don’t need to open up the Brusho containers – just pierce the lid with a pushpin, and then you can leave the pushpin in place to seal the hole when not in use.
I’ll try to do a Facebook Live over on the YamStamps Facebook Page showing this sparkly sunset card construction in the next few days so you can see the Brushos in action. Please like and follow the page, you should get notification when I’m going live! If you miss it live, there’s always the replay which will remain available indefinitely.
In the meantime, I’m trying to get ready to go to the Kitchener Scrapfest! I’m happy to have a vendor booth there once again this year. Friday April 12 and Saturday April 13 – please stop by to say hi, do a bit of shopping and do a free make and take…and fill out a door prize draw form! Hope to see you there!
OK I had to save this post because the card recipient wasn’t at band practice last week….and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise! So here it is now – my EASY handmade Harry Potter Greeting Card. So easy, muggles can make it!
I have to admit, I squealed a bit when this card came together like it did! And true confession….not sure if I would do the scar next time…but I know it’s integral to Harry Potter…maybe I’ll just learn to draw it a bit better. (There’s a REASON, well, many, that I am a stamper and not a painter/illustrator etc).
This handmade Harry Potter greeting card is actually VERY easy to recreate, just a swish and a flick and you’re done…
The glasses are created using circle punches – in this case, the 2″ Circle Punch and the 1-1/4″ Circle Punch. Punch the smaller inner circle FIRST, then centre and punch the outer circle. If you wanted, you could also easily do this with coordinating sizes of Layering Circles Framelits and the Big Shot. I just used two scraps of Basic Black cardstock for the arms of the glasses.
For the hair, I had a strip of Early Espresso cardstock that I snipped in jagged points with my Paper Snips. For the scarf, I had a strip of Merry Merlot and I added pieces of Crushed Curry to recreate the Griffyndor colours.
Or…you could give this information to another card maker and then say “Accio, handmade Harry Potter Greeting Card“?!
If you are looking to get into cardmaking, or know someone that is starting out, I’m finalizing details for my Beginners Card Making Class – it’s a 101 class on creating your own greeting cards – from choosing cardstock to cutting and layering, and all the “basic” information you need to build a foundation upon for more intricate cards. I’ll be opening preregistration soon and looking to launch in April. Like my most recent card classes, class registrants will receive an invitation to a private group which will house class information and host the live videos. Stay tuned for more information!
In the meantime, I leave you with this thought….even wizards like to stamp…
Questions? Send me an owl…or just email me. (or leave a comment below!). Don’t forget that my birthday week celebrations are ongoing until Saturday at midnight!
