Sep 9, 2018 | Business Opportunity, cards, Stampin' Up!
This week’s Sunday Swap share is a celebration of the fact that it’s technically still summer….even though by this point in the month it feels like we are into the next season. However, well will highlight this Tropical Thank You Card and remind ourselves that it is not yet September 23rd…
Kay Smith created this lovely, tropical thank you card! It was created with the Tropical Thinlits dies and coordinating stamp set – Tropical Chic. The set is available in red rubber clear mount or red rubber wood mount, and is also available as part of a discounted bundle (wood mount or clear mount) with the thinlits. On this card, you can see some of the Tropical Escape Designer Series Paper peeking out through the die cut window. Love the coordination of the images and colours. Stampin’ Up! really does a great job of presenting coordinating products in suites so that it’s easy for the crafter to pick up on the colour theme or image theme for their projects. Perfect for a lazy crafter like me. I don’t want to work too hard to come up with something that looks great!
As a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, I’m often asked where I get my card ideas. I often get inspiration from the products themselves, but I also get inspiration from other demonstrators! I love participating in card swaps with other demonstrators – we each design one card and make multiples of that card – and in return for participating in the swap, we get a variety of cards back (including our own). It’s great to see how others interpret sets and images, and a great way to expand my sample collection – especially when I don’t actually own that particular stamp set or framelit. Shocking, I know, but I don’t actually own everything in the catalogue!! If you enjoy card making or scrapbooking, consider joining my group of Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators – we’re known as the “Eh” Team! You can “support your own crafting habit”, and make a little money as well doing something you love. Please come to my Information Evening on Wednesday, September 12th at 7pm in north Burlington. All that’s required is an RSVP! No cost, no pressure. Come and hear about how being a demonstrator can add a little creativity and income to your life! Maybe you’ll get a tropical thank you card for attending! (or maybe a non-tropical one…since I don’t actually own this set….yet). Hope to see you soon!
Sep 5, 2018 | cards, Christmas, Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!
Happy New Catalogue Day! The Stampin’ Up! Canada Holiday Catalogue is now “live” and up for ordering. Demonstrators have had access to the catalogue since last month, including an opportunity to preorder merchandise, so it’s been fun playing with new products, but hard to wait to share! Today I’m sharing a wintery card with you to celebrate. Oh and I’m not going to say ANYTHING about the humidity level, because I jinxed it last time I talked about it. Thank goodness the air conditioning is working in here, that’s all I can say….
This card was created using the new Beautiful Blizzard bundle. The Beautiful Blizzard stamp set comes in either red rubber clear mount or red rubber wood mount stamps, and coordinates with the Blizzard Thinlits Die. Purchase the wood mount bundle or clear mount bundle and save 10% off the individula prices of the stamp set and die. The Blizzard thinlit die is a single die, so I used it on the background Night of Navy cardstock. I ran it through with Whisper White cardstock as well to get the snowflakes that accent the Layering Oval with the sentiment. This is one of my favourite items in the new holiday catalogue! Hint: with some of the dies that have more details or more cuts, I often like to run the die through in one direction, then turn it 90 degrees and run it through again. This way, if my plastic cutting sheets have any bowing or areas that might not contact as well, I figure it makes up for that. The other thing to get a good cut – use the Precision Base Plate.
There are so many fun holiday products – and it’s not just Christmas stuff – there’s also Hallowe’en and autumn choices, and seasonal vs “holiday” items too. If you still need a copy of the new catalogue and don’t have a demonstrator that you’re already working with, you can contact me about getting a copy. If you are looking to make holiday cards, September’s Christmas Card Class will be using the Santa’s Workshop Enamel Shapes as the featured product. Your class fee of $30 will include all the supplies required to create 4 different holiday cards, and each one will use the accents as decoration. You’ll use some of your package on the cards in class, and take the rest home for your own creative projects! Please contact me to reserve your spot – ASAP as I need to order the product ahead of time to ensure it will arrive in time for class. Class Dates: Wednesday, September 19 at 1pm or Thursday, September 20 at 7pm. See the YamStamps Events Page for other dates and classes! In the meantime – happy shopping!
Sep 2, 2018 | cards, Stampin' Up!
This week’s Sunday Swap share is a beautiful card of encouragement for a friend. It’s great to be able to send cards of celebration, but it’s also important to send words of support and encouragement, too. This lovely card was created by Cynthia Millan.
It uses one of my new favourite embossing folders – Tufted. I love the elegant background it creates! The Botanical Tags Thinlits die cut makes a lovely focal element – and I like the way she’s coloured in the birds to bring out the accent colour. The sentiment is from a set that I had overlooked previously – but now is on my wish list – Beautiful Promenade, which is actually available in a discounted bundle with the Beautiful Layers Thinlits as well. The set is full of great sayings that could be used on cards of encouragement for a friend or loved one. Perhaps I’ll use one of my Bonus Days Coupon Codes to purchase that bundle this month!
If you are looking to send a mesage of encouragement for a friend, or to commemorate an occasion, you’ll want to build up your stash of cards! There’s still space in the evening monthly card class for September – so contact me ASAP to grab a seat! This Wednesday at 7pm. The afternoon class filled quickly this month – looks like people are getting back into routine and back to school! I hope that you have a great last long weekend of summer…and that your back to school / routine preparation goes smoothly. Don’t forget those first day of school photos!! I’m going to have to get my son to take a selfie since he’ll be away at university….what do you think my chance of success will be?! Wish me luck!!
Aug 26, 2018 | cards, Stampin' Up!
It’s time for another Sunday Swap Card Share! This time – Baby Shower Wishes! Lisa Hardie created this pretty card featuring the Wonderful Moments photopolymer set from Stampin’ Up! The background papers are from the Twinkle Twinkle Designer Series Paper – I love the soft effect echoed in the coordinating images stamped onto the card as well. The Stitched Shaped Framelits are one of my favourite ways to cut out an image or sentiment, and the doily softens the edges a bit more.
Can’t find that particular doily in the catalogue? It’s one of the Colo(u)red Doilies from the Annual Catalogue! The reverse side is white – so if you have a project like this Baby Shower Wishes card and don’t have enough of a certain colour, or want to use a different colour scheme than dictated by the doilies themselves, you have options!
If you follow the YamStamps Instagram feed you’ll have seen the castoffs of my mass card production a few days ago – because I was completing my contribution to the latest demonstrator card swap – featuring products from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s great work, and to sharing the inspiration and ideas with you – either through the internet or in a class! I did have to work hard to focus on the projects, since we are right in the middle of the chaos that is getting ready to send my son to his first year of university. Lots of changes on the near horizon, and I’m so glad that I have my Stampin’ Up! friends to see me through the next while! Nothing like a little crafty distraction to get through the empty nest feeling….and nothing like a little “side hustle” career to help make ends meet while helping with post secondary education costs!! If you’re interested in finding out more about being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, please join me at my Information Evening – you can join in person or online – just RSVP and I’ll give you directions to connect. Wednesday, September 12th – 7pm – Burlington ON or online. You can also get some answers to FAQs on my info page here. Hope to chat with you soon!
Aug 23, 2018 | cards, Christmas, specials, Stampin' Up!
The Blended Seasons stamp set and Stitched Seasons framelits are only available in August from Stampin’ Up! – have you grabbed these special products yet? The specially priced bundle (with your choice of wood mount or clear mount stamps) will see you through a number of seasons! Paired with the Watercolour Pencils (assortment 2), another special item for August, you can create so many great cards! Here’s a recent class card featuring these products – plus a sneak peek at an upcoming special product (can you spot it?)
I love the stitched look on these Stitched Seasons framelits – and the fun thing is that there’s stitching on both sides of the cut edge. While this card only uses the positive portion of the die cut, the remainder of the cardstock also had a stitched look finished edge around the cut out negative portion, which could be used on another project, or could be a design feature in a project (I’ll share an example of this in the next YamStamps newsletter on Tuesday). The Blended Seasons set (which is available in red rubber wood mount or red rubber clear mount) was stamped in StazOn ink and coloured with the Watercolour Pencils Assortment 2. I added the colour directly to the image with the pencils, then blended the shading and colouring with a Blender Pen. This is a way to get a watercolour look while still maintaining a lot of control over the colour movement (which I know some crafters prefer…). This card is all on Shimmery White cardstock, which stands up to a bit of work with water or blender pens, and has a beautiful subtle shine (so subtle, I bet you can’t really see it in the photo….but trust me it’s there!)
As for the sneak peek on this Blended Seasons card….it’s the patterned paper! The Dashing Away Designer Series Paper is a set of 12 sheets of 12″ x 12″ double sided patterned paper, with 6 different designs in total. Some patterns are definitely screaming “Christmas!!” while others, like the one above, could be used for any time of year. This exclusive paper will be available for FREE with qualified orders in September. Hosts of classes or parties with sales of $350 or more will get a package of this paper for free. If you’re keen to get your hands on some of this Designer Series Paper, please contact me ASAP to book a date for a class. You can have an in person class with your friends, or do a catalogue or online party instead – again, contact me for details and to set it up.
Registration is also open for the September Monthly Card Class, happening September 5th at 1pm or 7pm. Contact me to register, or click on the link on the YamStamps Events Page. As per tradition around this time of year, we’ll be having at least one Christmas/Holiday card included in the four cards we create in each monthly card class. If you want all holiday cards, come to the September Christmas Card Class – this time the class will be featuring some fun accents from the Holiday Catalogue! We’re splitting the date this month – Wednesday, September 19th at 1pm or Thursday, September 20th at 7pm. Hope to see you in a class very soon.
Aug 19, 2018 | cards, Stampin' Up!
Time for another Sunday Swap share – this time, it’s a gorgeous Gatefold Card! This card was created by Chris Carmichael. It features the Botanical Tags Thinlits Dies and the Botanical Bliss stamp set – which is available in red rubber wood mount or red rubber clear mount. The stamp set and dies are also available together in either a wood mount bundle or clear mount bundle.
This card opens in the centre – the sides swing open like a gate…and is held closed by sliding the yellow tab underneath the circle held in place by a brad.
When you have a dark card, it’s great to put a lighter coloured insert inside so that you can write on the inside – in case you don’t have a White Stampin’ Chalk Marker on hand, or want more options! This card also uses the Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper, and the pieces are small enough that you could use scraps – or the cut outs from your Scrapbook in a Box?!
If you’re looking for more creative or “different” folds like this gatefold card consider the Clever Cards Online Class! It features 5 different fancier fold cards – Z fold, curved strip, rotating image, hidden message, and twisting pop up – and you’ll get lifetime access to the class materials. (HINT: if you sign up for the YamStamps mailing list, follow the process all the way through to see a special offer for this class only!). As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Hope you’ll join me in class!
