May 16, 2018 | cards, Stampin' Up!
No Layer Notecard for the win! When you need a quick card, go for the clean and simple style. This one features the Love What You Do photopolymer stamp set, coming in the 2018-2019 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue – and currently available in all three of the Share What You Love Bundle options, available exclusively during May.
This stamp set has a great combination of outline images, sentiments and watercolour wash effects. For this card, the smaller wash shape was used to fill in the colour for the outline flowers. This notecard also features one of the new In Colours, Grapefruit Grove. I think that the clean and simple no layer notecard is perfect for a thank you card – because it’s good to get those cards done and mailed! (I say this in part to coach myself….because I always feel a little behind in the thank you card department!!).
Stampin’ Up! notecards are available in Whisper White, and will be available in Very Vanilla in the new catalogue (orderable in June). During May, though, they are available exclusively as part of the Just Getting Started or Gotta Have it All Bundles. You have a couple more weeks to take advantage of these specials!
One last note about the notecards…they are slightly smaller than the usual half sheet card, but they ARE within Canada Post mailing standards, so you don’t have to worry that way. Plus, a no layer notecard will not have extra bulk or weight, so you know you won’t have to pay extra postage to get the card to its destination.
I’m busy travelling in and out of Toronto this week, cheering on my son as he plays for the last time in the Nelson High School bands at MusicFest Nationals. It’s always great to see how well everyone rises to the occasion at these adjudicated performances. Hard to believe, though, that these will be his last few performances since he will be graduating in a month’s time! Where does the time go? Guess I’d better start working on a grad card….
If you need to build up your stash of cards, (grad or otherwise…) consider attending one of the Monthly Card Classes, or join Stampers Club….or if you can’t make those set dates, get a group of friends together and have a private card class! Check the YamStamps Events Page or contact me for more information/to book a date! And yes, there’s Summer School for Stampers – we run 12 months a year!!
May 9, 2018 | cards, Stampin' Up!
Handmade Cards Made Easy! There is nothing better than getting a handmade card – this one is from Sara Douglass, the CEO of Stampin’ Up! She sent this card to me (and other Events Council Members) to thank us for our work. Honestly, it was hardly like work – it was so much fun being part of the Stampin’ Up! Events Council, giving input and feedback on Demonstrator Events, and being able to present to fellow demonstrators at those events. This card reminded me how nice it is to receive something handmade in the mail. I shared this card on social media last week (I think), but realized I didn’t post it here. What I also realized, as I was tidying up my Craft Room (a never ending task, it seems….), is that this is a previous Paper Pumpkin kit card!
Paper Pumpkin is the monthly subscription crafting kit from Stampin’ Up! Each month subscribers receive a box that contains a photopolymer stamp set, an ink spot (or something to make a mark – there’s also been kits with watercolour pencils or Stampin’ Write markers), and all the supplies required to create that month’s projects. They are great for taking with you – if you’re going on a getaway, heading to the cottage – you’ve got everything there, and there’s usually enough supplies that you can share the experience with a friend! You get the fun of creating something without having to work too hard…perfect for summertime, downtime or….anytime?!
If you’re interested in trying it out, it’s your last chance to get 50% off your first two months! Click on this link and enter the code SAVEFIFTY0418 – by May 10th. Offer is good for new subscribers who purchase a month-by-month subscription. Paper Pumpkin subscribers can also purchase previous kits/refills if they are available, so if you missed a previous kit, or really loved a past kit, you may have the opportunity to grab more supplies! If you’d like more information about Paper Pumpkin, I have an information/FAQ page here.
Another way to have handmade cards made easy is to attend a class with me! Each month, I have a Card Class where you make four different cards using a variety of stamps, tools and supplies. Your class fee covers ALL the needed supplies (including adhesive) and you will walk away with four completed cards plus envelopes to mail them in. It’s great to have a card on hand to send to a friend, or give on a special occasion.You can see upcoming dates on the YamStamps Events Page. If you can’t make a date, get a group of friends or family together, and contact me to organize a private card class! Hope to see you in a class very soon.
May 3, 2018 | birthday, cards, Retired List, Stampin' Up!
Isn’t this a fun card? This is one of the cards you can make with the Perennial Birthday Project Kit and the Perennial Birthday Stamp Set (available in wood mount or clear mount). The kit will be retiring at the end of the month (or when supplies are exhausted), but the stamp set will be around for another year. This kit makes 4 each of 4 different cards quickly and easily! The most time consuming thing on this card? Might be a tie – poking out the little die cut slats on the background piece….or tying the bow around the strings! haha
This is what the kit itself looks like – the box that holds all the project items then doubles as a card box with dividers so that you can be prepared for upcoming birthdays! If you’re interested in grabbing this kit, you’ll want to place your order sooner rather than later. If you want to complete the cards exactly as shown in the kit, you’ll also want the Dapper Denim, Flirty Flamingo and Old Olive ink pads and the stamp set, though you could easily substitute other ink colours or greeting sets.
Stampin’ Up! is going to do a Colour Revamp with the new catalogue – so we’ll say goodbye to some colours that have been in the catalogue, and make room for some new ones! Plus, there’s a new design to the ink pads – and they’re stackable!
As you can see – there’s some old favourites coming back as core colours – many demonstrators were excited to see Mint Macaron and Blackberry Bliss on the list! And Flirty Flamingo leaves as an In Colour, but comes right back as a Core Colour. There’s also a new “Basics” Group that consists of Basic Black, Very Vanilla and Whisper White.
Last but not least….the In Colours
So while we are sad to see some of our favourites leave, there’s lots to look forward to in the new catalogue! Demonstrators are able to order selected items from the upcoming catalogue this month so we can be prepared to share all sorts of new projects and ideas right away come June 1st! If you can’t wait for June 1st, you can join my demonstrator team NOW and select some of the new catalogue product in your starter kit! Details on being part of my demonstrator group here – or contact me for more information and the new catalogue preorder list! Otherwise – if yu’re local to Burlington ON, June 2nd is my New Catalogue Open House – rsvp to make sure there’s a copy of the catalogue waiting for you!
Apr 25, 2018 | cards, Retired List, Stampin' Up!
This is a quick ombré thank you card – and it’s easy to recreate! The graded shading (ombré) look is created by using a sponge brayer. For this card, the quick part is that the background patterned paper is the Stampin’ Up! Petal Passion Designer Series Paper (“DSP”) – which is a set of black and white patterned papers. I brayered two retiring colours onto this paper – Wisteria Wonder and Pink Pirouette. I started with just the Wisteria Wonder, inking up my brayer by rolling it on the ink pad repeatedly in one direction – roll across the ink pad, lift, then roll again across the ink pad, continuing in the same direction. Inking by rolling back & forth will give you a hard line of colour on your brayer, which will transfer to your project. Then I rolled the brayer on the paper. For this, you can roll back & forth, but you’ll want to change directions when you’re off the paper itself. So, working on scrap paper, start off the paper, roll across right off the other side, then come back across the paper off onto your scrap paper again before changing directions. Hmm. Maybe I’ll post a quick video on the YamStamps Facebook page later today LOL!! Anyway, I rolled the Wisteria Wonder starting at the top of my DSP, continuing down. The colour naturally fades out, and then I reinked my brayer and did the same thing again, starting at the top. When I finished, I wanted the difference in shading to stand out a bit more, so I added some Pirouette Pink, brayering from the bottom upwards. I used a new brayer roller for this to make the colour lighter and more pure (otherwise it would still look mostly purple).
The sentiment from Petal Palette (available in Clear Mount or Wood Mount) is stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, and I just used the Circle Punches – 1-3/4″, 2″ and 2-1/4″ – because sometimes I don’t feel like hauling out my Big Shot and dies. (Shocking, I know, but true). (OK well, slight exaggeration, since my Big Shot is always out anyway…haha!) Thought I’d add a bit more “wow” by adding some Rhinestone Basic Jewels. Might have gone a bit overboard….I blame the grey, wet day today – I needed some flash to compensate for the dull weather! So – tada – my quick ombré thank you card. Honestly, I think it took more time to write this blog post than it did to actually make this card! I’m still doing a bit of catch up on Thank You cards – so I think this might be my Thank You for March orders….if you ordered from me during March, you’ll have to find out if this is the design I end up using or not!!
If you want to recreate this quick ombré thank you card yourself, you’ll want to place your order for supplies sooner rather than later, since some of the items are on the retiring list. While retiring stamp sets have guaranteed availability until May 25th, individual ink pads and refills are only guaranteed until May 7th. Ink Pad Collections and everything else are “while supplies last” only. You can shop online 24/7 in the YamStamps Stampin’ Up! Canada store, which is the recommended way to go during the Retiring LIst season – you can enter it when you’re ready and you’ll know right away if everything you want is still available or not. If you live in Quebec or would like assistance placing your order, you can always email me directly. I’ll do my best to help you as quickly as I can – though extra steps always mean a bit of time, and a bigger risk that items will be sold out if you’re waiting until the last minute to grab retiring product.
Last reminders – if you’d like a copy of the upcoming Stampin’ Up! Canada Annual Catalogue, please complete this form and I’ll be in touch to organize getting you one. Tomorrow brings the last North American Events Council Member Blog Hop, sharing our class project ideas using the upcoming Share What You Love Product suite, so please come back to the YamStamps Blog to check it out!
Apr 22, 2018 | cards, Events, Retired List, Stampin' Up!
This is a fun butterfly card made easy by using Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper and die cuts – but if you want some of these products, you’ll have to move fast as they are on the Retiring List and fluttering away! Stampin’ Up! retiring stamp sets are available until May 25th – guaranteed, but after that, and all other retiring Stampin’ Up! products are only while supplies last.
It’s not a colour combination that I would have though of, but I took it from the Desginer Series Paper…. The Painted With Love Specialty Designer Series Paper has been one of my favourites, and it will be retiring at the end of the month. It’s used on the solid butterfly behind the detailed die cut black butterfly. One of the Stampers Club members used the side of the DSP that featured some metallic gold splashes and it was really striking. The solid butterfly die cut is from the Bold Butterfly Framelits, and the detailed butterfly die cut is from the Butterflies Thinlits dies. Both of these die sets are retiring, and (I just checked) only the Bold Butterfly framelits are still available. The Peekaboo Peach Cardstock featured in the foreground of the card is retiring, as it’s a 2016-2018 In Colour – making room for new in colours. It’s embossed with the (already sold out) retiring Fluttering Embossing Folder. The Rich Razzleberry cardstock is still available, since it’s not a retiring/revamped colour, and the sentiment is from the Bunch of Blossoms stamp set, which is NOT retiring so no worries about that availability! The slot on the front of the card (the butterfly pops through it) is created by punching the Classic Label Punch twice in a row to make a longer slot that will comfortably fit the butterfly. It’s also NOT retiring so will be available into next year. A fellow demonstrator, Ronda, shared the construction of this card – it’s fun and different. There are two Very Vanilla solid die cut butterflies underneath the solid butterfly of DSP. Each vanilla butterfly is folded in half, and one half is attached to the inside of the card, while the other half is attached to the back of the DSP butterfly which helps the DSP butterfly fold upwards as well as anchoring it to the inside of the card. See the detail of the butterfly card in the photo below:
For my butterfly card, the detailed die cut black butterfly is adhered on top of the DSP, but if you don’t have that detailed die cut, you could easily just leave the plain DSP butterfly exposed, or you could stamp the butterfly body from Watercolour Wings onto the die cut butterfly to give it more definition.
While I’m sad that the butterflies are fluttering away, I can’t wait to get my hands on more new product from the next Annual Catalogue! If you are in Canada and don’t already have a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, please complete this form before April 29th and I will see about getting you your own hard copy! If you are local to Burlington ON, please mark SATURDAY, JUNE 2nd 9am til noon on your calendar – that will be my New Catalogue Open House and Retired Product sale! Please RSVP to ensure I have a copy of the catalogue waiting for you!
Apr 19, 2018 | cards, Events, Stampin' Up!
Thanks for following along on the North American Events Council Blog Hop. Thanks for visiting the YamStamps Blog! I’m Linda, here in Burlington, Ontario Canada. This week, we’re sharing some more samples from the Share What You Love Product Suite! The Events Council members were the lucky ones who got to play with these products that will be available in special bundles only available for purchase next month, ahead of their individual item appearances in the new Annual Catalogue!
These are some of the cards I created as part of the display for Stampin’ Up!’s On Stage event in London Ontario. The first image shows four cards created on the same basic design premise – a half sheet card (5.5″ x 8.5″ folded in half), with a 5″ x 3.75″ piece of the Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper, matted onto a 5.25″ X 4″ piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock. Each card also used the Rich Razzleberry Velvet Ribbon and tags from the Share What You Love Embellishment Kit. The Artisan Pearls are on most of the cards, and I used the Silver Self Adhesive Flower (from the Embellishment kit) on a card too.
These next samples are clean and simple cards, using Stampin’ Up!’s Notecards. I used the Stampin’ Blends markers on the flowers on the left card, and featured the Make A Difference stamp set on the right card. It has an alphabet in both script and block capital styles. My hint that I shared at On Stage – to get the individual letter images close together, I used the Stamparatus, and placed every other letter on one plate, and the remaining letters on the other plate. Since the notecard is a personalized one, I figured I would make a bunch up in bulk, which means that the Stamparatus is perfect for that. For a “one off” card, I might be brave and just wing it – stamping one letter at a time tends to work best (rather than spelling out entire words on a block). I did that for the scrapbook page that I shared last week.
We have one more North American Blog Hop event scheduled for next week featuring this product suite – so hope you’ll be coming back to join us!
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