Nov 1, 2018 | cards, Christmas, Limited Time, specials, Stampin' Up!
Happy November! Hope you don’t have too much of a sugar hangover today. We may have the aftereffects of too much sugar around our household for the next while….too much candy bought, not enough trick or treaters….the dreary weather didn’t help that either, I’m sure. I think that when my son was young enough to go out trick or treating, it rained every single Halloween. At least that’s what it felt like!!
ANYWAY. If you were at the Joyous Noel Christmas Card Class, you got a sneak peek at this suite – and for everyone – here it is! Stampin’ Up! is offering the Snowflake Showcase Suite for November – ONLY! So grab it while you can. While it features snowflakes, there are definitely some other elements in there, including some more floral-looking shapes that mean you can use it for more than just the winter season.
Isn’t it beautiful? This suite offers two stamp sets (one winter, one not), coordinating framelits, snowflake embellishments and white flocked/velvet paper. So much fun. You can see the products in the YamStamps Stampin’ Up! Canada online store here, or download the flyer here. Please let me know if you need assistance placing your order. (note that online ordering is not available in Quebec at this time, but you can contact me with your order and I will have it shipped directly to you).
Also – the Joyous Noel Online Christmas Card Class is now available for purchase! You’ll get lifetime access to the materials through access to the exclusive group. All four cards feature the Joyous Noel Designer Series paper – but as with many of my classes, you could easily substitute a different decorative paper or stamps to get a whole new look with the same card designs. You can get access to the class here. I’ll be doing live videos for the projects this weekend, so you can watch live (or watch later when the time suits you). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
In the meantime, I’m counting down to Stampin’ Up!’s Demonstrator Only Event, On Stage – celebrating 30 years of Stampin’ Up! Can’t wait – and I’ll be posting on the YamStamps Facebook Page and YamStamps Instagram too. If all goes well, I hope to be able to do a Facebook Live from Epcot on Wednesday – so stay tuned!
Oct 29, 2018 | Big Shot, cards, Manic Monday, Stampin' Up!
Sharing a simple handmade sympathy card idea with you. Sympathy cards are often ones we need to have on hand but not ones that we are often inspired to create. This card could be used for any number of purposes by just changing the featured sentiment and/or colour scheme, perfect for a “Manic Monday” project – a project you can create even if you don’t have a lot of time.
I always think that a single colour scheme is very elegant (and very easy). This card features Tranquil Tide (a 2017-2019 In Colour) and Very Vanilla. The splatters are from the Swirly Bird Set, and the die cut is from the coordinating Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies. The splatters are stamped in first, second and third generation images to give a variation and depth. A first generation image is where the stamp is inked and then stamped onto the cardstock. Second generation = the next image stamped by the stamp WITHOUT reinking in between. It’s often best to ink the stamp and then stamp onto scrap paper and THEN onto your project if you want a second generation image. I’ve often found that when I am stamping images off the edge of the cardstock and re-stamp right away that my second generation image can be uneven because the ink didn’t get used up evenly on the rubber surface. For this simple sympathy card, the swirl was die cut from Tranquil Tide cardstock and then fed over the sentiment strip. Bonus points if you can figure out what motivated this design choice….
If you guessed (or inspected closely) that it was because I got an ink smudge on my sentiment strip, you are correct!! Somehow, I managed to smudge a spot on the sentiment, and I found that the die cut swirl could be positioned to distract/cover up that little error. In the end, I think it’s much more interesting than if I had used it behind the sentiment strip (which is where I originally thought I would place it…). Simple Fix for a Mistake on a Simple Handmade Sympathy Card! The sentiment is from the Better Together set, which is available in wood mount or red rubber clear mount. That set has a number of different sentiments so you could change out the sentiment and colours on this card design for an easy variation.
Are you a YamStamps Mailing List subscriber? A special exclusive for subscribers is the Annual Twelve Weeks of Christmas. This week brings Week FIVE (can you believe it?!), and the last week of card ideas. We move on next week to gift ideas. Like the “regular” YamStamps emails, each project has a picture, supply list (with links for easy reference), and complete instructions. You can jump in and get the remainder of the project ideas by subscribing now! You can subscribe in the sign up box on the YamStamps site itself, or click here to be on the list. You’ll also get access to a subscribers only free video tutorial. See you in your inbox soon!
Oct 19, 2018 | cards, Stampin' Up!, TV/Video/Web/Tech
Why, hello there! I’m happy to report that I survived Scrapfest and have more or less recovered…LOL. All that lugging stuff around and standing on a hard concrete floor…and I’m not as young as I used to be… Sharing this hello card that you may recognize if you were at Scrapfest and stopped by the YamStamps booth! The make and take we did using the Stamparatus created the main feature of this fun card.
The main element on this hello card uses the Ready to Layer stamp set. I absolutely love this four stamp set that combines to create the above image. For the colour palette, I copied the one in the Stampin’ Up! Catalogue! (why work too hard, I say…). So – Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Granny Apple Green and Lemon Lime Twist. The Detailed Trio punch adds some interest to the corners. To turn this make and take tag from scrapfest into a card, I simply mounted it onto a piece of Bermuda Bay cardstock, and then onto a piece of Lemon Lime Twist Cardstock that had been embossed with the Seaside Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. I thought the wavy lines in the embossing folder went well with the line art of the image.
I’ll share a Facebook Live this weekend on the YamStamps Facebook page showing how the tag portion was created with the Stamparatus. It’s a fantastic tool for this set! I love this hello card so much you may see it show up in a few upcoming classes…
On a completely different note….
…if you’re in Canada, please tune in to the CBC tonight (Friday, October 19th) at 9pm to watch “Band Geeks”. You can also stream it online at the CBC website. This documentary film follows the Burlington Teen Tour Band in preparation for their Rose Parade appearance. I was a member of this band, and my son just finished his time with the band as well. I’m lucky enough to volunteer as a photographer and chaperone with the band, so was with them during the filming of this show. I think that Suddenly SeeMore Productions did a great job of capturing the incredible work ethic of these teens (and staff) but also the fun and camaraderie that is had when you’re a “band geek”. So take a bit of time out of your crafting (or colour a few images while you watch?!). It’s nice to see a positive story about youth! (End of plug…hahaha). In the meantime, I’m looking forward to getting back into routine around here and sharing some more crafting inspiration. See you online!
Oct 11, 2018 | cards, Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!
If you are following the YamStamps Instagram or Facebook Page feeds, you’ll know that I have a booth at Scrapfest/CreativFestival right now! I survived day one….and realized I hadn’t shared a post on here in a little while – so I am apologizing with this fun penguin card. I will also amaze you with some fun penguin facts, courtesy of web searches. *ahem* While you may know that a group of penguins is commonly called a colony, it can also be called a rookery, huddle, or a waddle. (Guess which one is my favourite?!). These terms, however, only apply if the group of penguins is on land. If they’re in the water, they’re called a raft of penguins. Who says you can only learn some paper crafting tricks here. Look at me, helping you to increase your vocabulary and trivia. (Let’s see if that shows up as a question on HQ, maybe I’ll win more than $0.30?!)
So with that knowledge in your hands now, I present to you a card featuring a waddle of penguins!!
How cute is this penguin card?! And of course, how easy! The penguins are from the Making Every Day Bright photopolymer stamp set. This set features a number of images that can be punched out with the Christmas Bulb Builder Punch, and i love that there’s some non-winter/non-Christmas images that you can use with the punch! The punch itself can also be bought in a discounted bundle with the Making Christmas Bright photopolymer set (which is definitely all about the holidays). For this card, the penguins were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and then punched out. The snow slopes were cut by hand (that’s about as close as I try to get to “fussy cutting”). The penguins were tucked in behind the slopes and then some snowflakes from the Santa’s Workshop Enamel Shapes were added for a little extra interest.
I’m not sure what a group of Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators is called, though. A gaggle? A hoard? hmmm. Well, I know that _my_ group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators is called the “Eh” Team! I invite you to join us, in any case! On Thursday, October 25, I’m hosting my next Information Evening here in Burlington, where you can find out more about having your own home based business, and how you can work on your own terms and schedule. The only commitment I ask that you make for that evening is that you RSVP to attend! If you can’t attend that evening, or don’t live close enough to Burlington, please contact me anyway, and you can either join us “virtually” online or at a different time, either online or in person. The more the merrier!
Oct 7, 2018 | cards, Stampin' Up!
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I add the “Canadian” in there because I know some of my American friends are thinking I’m a little early….and in all honesty, I feel like our Thanksgiving is a little earlier in the month than usual! However, I’m happy for a long weekend, happy to see friends and family and thankful for all the blessings that surround me. This year will be different too, since my son will be home for a week – the longest stretch (and first time home) since he left to go to university back in September.
In the theme of the day, I thought I’d share a Thank You card that I received as a swap. You may recognize the Country Home stamp set – since it was the main set used in the Sunday Swap post that I shared last week! However, you can see that the sentiment is different, and the flowers in the pitcher are different too! I love that you can swap out bits and pieces and come up with a brand new image. I love one of the sentiments in this set – Simply thankful for all the good things. Words to live by, especially today!
This card was created by Christine Dionne. Another great example of colouring with Stampin’ Blends on this image as well! She’s used the coordinating Country Lane Designer Series Paper in the background, and then pulled colours from the paper for the cardstock choices as well. The fun galvanized clip and I think that’s the Fresh Fig Ribbon are the accents.
I love participating in these Demonstrator only swaps – it’s a great way to get inspiration and ideas! If you’re interested in turning your hobby into a Side Hustle to earn a little extra income, consider joining my team of demonstrators – we are known as the “Eh” Team! I invite you to come to my Information Evening on Thursday, October 25th at 7pm. Find out more about the business opportunity and the flexibility and fun it can provide at the same time! RSVP for directions. I hope to see you there! In the meantime, THANK YOU for reading my blog and social media, THANK YOU for supporting my business, and from me and my family to you and yours – HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Oct 5, 2018 | Big Shot, birthday, cards, Stampin' Up!
Stampin’ Up! has so many great Designer Series Paper packages. These coordinating patterned papers make paper crafting a snap – and here’s an easy birthday card to share! The main feature is the die cut sentiment, and then you can change up the background paper to suit your need.
The sentiment on this card is created with the Happy Birthday Thinlits Die and Gold Foil Sheets. There’s a couple of tips to share with you with this thinlit and the gold foil to be sure this easy birthday card is…easy. First – when you die cut the Gold Foil sheet and remove it from the die, you may notice some “bumps” on the foil from the thinlit die. You can remove these or smooth them out by running the die cut shape through your Big Shot a second time on its own – just be sure that the Plastic Cutting Plate next to the Foil side/good side is fairly blemish free. I tend to try to use one Plate as the bottom one all the time, and the other Plate as the top one all the time, so that only one gets really scuffed up. A non-scarred Plate will not transfer any marks to the foil sheet. To adhere the die cut shape to your card, there’s two methods I prefer. One is to use the Multipurpose LIquid Glue – use the pointy tip end and just apply dots to the thicker areas on the back of the die cut. The other way I like is to use a Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet. If you want to use an adhesive sheet, adhere the non-cut cardstock or foil sheet to the adhesive sheet BEFORE die cutting. Then after it’s cut, you just peel off the remaining liner paper and adhere it in place.
I like the abstract pattern of this Designer Series Paper – it’s from the Garden Impressions package. If you want a more floral look, you could simply change out the paper – or in this case, flip the paper over! The flipside of this pattern is a random floral design. See? It really is an easy birthday card! You could make a whole bunch of these in advance using different papers and then have them on hand when you need a birthday card. If you are looking to build your stash of cards and want a regular outing, consider joining the Stampers Club! Each month, on the third Monday, the Stampers Club members get together for their class – at 1pm or 7pm (you can see dates on the YamStamps Events Page). Each member commits to 6 months of membership, during which time they place a minimum order at each class. Then, once during their 6 month membership, they’ll also receive a minimum of $20 free product of their choice (or $20 towards a Demonstrator Starter Kit, their choice). It’s a great way to get to know other people who are interested in crafting, and a fun afternoon or evening out! Contact me for more information or to sign up. New members are welcome to start at any time. See you in club soon?!
