This past weekend I was able to take part in an event for Canadian Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators. The Canadian Business Conference was organized by Stampin’ Up! Canada staff and a group of high level demonstrators. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn from the speakers (mostly other demonstrators), be inspired both creatively and business-wise, and meet up with new and old friends from across the country, in an intimate and supportive setting. It was fantastic and a good “shot in the arm” for me, both personally and professionally.
I participated in two organized swaps, featuring a designated stamp set. One was for the Occasions Catalogue set, Dragonfly Dreams. This was my contribution above. Slightly hard to see, but there’s shimmer on the wings thanks to the Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush – one of my favourite tools these days! I brayered on colour from the Bermuda Bay Ombre Ink Pad in the background. For the dragonfly, I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, then inked the solid wing image with my own “ink pad” made from a baby wipe with drops of reinkers before stamping in place. The coordinating framelit means no fussy cutting – yay! After I completed eleven of these cards, I realized that I missed something…..I was supposed to have some sort of embellishment on the card….so I added some rhinestones to the upper left and lower right corners of the Bermuda Bay strip. Note to self: check the swap card requirements BEFORE designing your card in future. (you can see the adjusted final swap card in the collage below). Collage features scenes from the weekend: tablemates, friends, swap cards and a fog enshrouded CN Tower!
I actually didn’t take as many photos as I thought I would – I was too busy being inspired by all the great information and great people in the room! We had assigned seating at round tables, which was a great way to mix and mingle, and on the final night, we were able to go up the CN Tower for dinner if we wanted. Even though it was foggy (boo) it was okay because I think we spent more time laughing and talking than looking out the windows! I am looking forward to the next time I will see many of these great ladies – at Stampin’ Up!’s On Stage event in April. I am grateful to all the organizers of the event, and (I know it sounds twee but it’s true) grateful that I have my Stampin’ Up! business because it’s brought so much to my life. [OK. Enough of that! Back to being my usual sarcastic self haha].
A reminder that the end of the month is drawing near (how does that happen so quickly??!!) as is the next Monthly Card Class. February’s class will be Wednesday, February 1 – either at 1pm or 7pm. Registration deadline is January 30, $20 class fee includes all supplies and envelopes to make 4 different cards, one of which will be suitable to use for Valentine’s Day or some other “love”ly occasion that you might have coming up. Please contact me to register. Remember that if you can’t make it to class at that time, get a group of friends together and we can have a private class! Hope to see you soon.
It’s always nice to receive “real” mail these days, and this is a quick note card that you can create to send to someone special! This is a previous month’s “Thank You” card for customers. I send out thank you cards if you’ve placed an order with me in the previous month (or two…because sometimes despite my best intentions I get a little behind…like now…LOL). I always make them “reusable” so they can be forwarded on or “re-carded”?! Simple designs are sometimes just the ticket to get the job done and out the door. In this case, the This Christmas Designer Series Paper has some designs that can be used year round. I especially like that this paper, while accurate, is not actual sheet music, because it would pain me to cut that up for decorative use. To jazz up this straightforward design a bit, I added a black triangle at the top corner of the card, and trimmed the exposed cardfront back. A metallic enamel shape adds an extra touch.
It’s great to have a bit of a “card stash” – cards to have on hand, ready to send when you need them! If you need to build up your supply, register for one of my Monthly Card Classes! They are always the first Wednesday of the month, at 1pm or 7pm in Burlington ON, and your $20 class fee includes all supplies and envelopes to create 4 cards. Don’t forget, if you place an order at that class, at some point in time you’ll get an additional card from me in the mail that you can add to that stash! See the YamStamps Events page for upcoming classes, or contact me if you have any questions or would like to book a private class with friends.
Apparently the third Monday in January is “Blue Monday” because it’s the day that is deemed the most depressing day of the year in the northern hemisphere. I actually didn’t know this fact until recently…until now, Blue Monday was the name of a song I liked by New Order (see the video here, takes me back to the 80s!). I actually think the third Monday is a good day, because it’s typically the day that my Stampers Clubs meet! This is one of the cards we will be making – featuring the new set Beautiful You (available in wood mount or clear mount) from the Occasions catalogue, and my favourite product of the new catalogue, Watercolour Pencils! I thought that the Seaside Embossing Folder with a Soft Sky base (and a punch of Pacific Point) made a perfect backdrop for this image as well. So I choose to colour and dance on the third Monday of January, which should chase the blues away!
If you’re interested in learning more about watercolouring, and want to get your hands on some of the Watercolour Pencils, please register for the Watercolour Pencil class! Registration deadline is Friday, January 20th, and the class will be held Monday, February 6 here in Burlington ON at 1pm or 7pm. Cost of the class is $40 and includes a set of the pencils. While in class, you’ll create 4 different cards and learn a variety of ways to use Watercolour Pencils to add an artistic flair to your papercrafting projects! Please contact me to register. If space permits, late registrations may be available (registration after January 20th) but will be subject to a $25 expedited shipping charge, so that your pencils can be ordered and arrive in time for the class. If you aren’t able to make this date, get a group of friends together and we can come up with a date to do a private class instead. Don’t forget that until the end of March, for each $60 product order (before shipping & taxes) you get one free Sale-a-Bration item too (see the details online here, or download the catalogue here)! What are you waiting for?!
OK Remember when I mentioned having some technical difficulties at Christmas? Well….they’ve been resolved, so THIS is what you were supposed to see on Christmas Day….better late than never??!!! Belated holiday greetings from me, with help from the musical group Pentatonix!
and a holiday throwback musical interlude to enjoy when you are crafting….I LOVE their version of this song!
You may know that I sing in a choir, and we do a lot of a cappella singing (unaccompanied), so I love this group, and what better gift than to share greetings with all of you?! Better late than never? (much like some of the Christmas cards I’m still sending LOL).
Here’s a holiday card to complete the belated greeting…a shaker card featuring the Detailed Santa Thinlits that are still available, even though the Holiday Catalogue is finished. Ho Ho Ho!
OK back to crafting – more samples to come later this week!
Sharing a card from a month or two ago as I think it suits a new year! I always like fresh starts – January is definitely one of those times.
If you’ve been to a class with me, you know I tend to avoid fussy cutting. Not that I don’t like it, I actually don’t mind it at times, but if there’s a faster, easier way of getting there, I’ll take it!! Die cutting is right up my alley! This card features the Stampin’ Up! Outdoor Adventures framelits, that I cut with my Big Shot. The framelits also come in a discounted bundle with the set Always an Adventure, available in clear mount or wood mount, which I used to stamp the clouds in the sky (which you can just barely see….) The tag with the sentiment is from the Project Life Cards & Labels framelits dies, and the sentiment itself (because I couldn’t resist it) is from the Places You’ll Go stamp set. I love the fonts in that set, and I do love this sentiment.
If you’re looking for adventure or new challenges in 2017 (see what I did there), why not look at building a hobby? Come to one of my classes and make some cards to send to friends and keep in touch with them in ways other than online! Or purchase the Stampin’ Up! starter kit – on Wednesday (when Sale-a-Bration starts), you’ll be able to get an additional 2 stamp sets of your choice, in addition to the $165 worth of product you can select! The YamStamps newsletter is going out tomorrow and will have some more information, and I’ll also post here as well. If you can’t wait, you can always contact me to get the scoop! I’ve also updated the YamStamps Events Page for the next few months.
Now that I’ve recovered from watching the first episode of season four of Sherlock (!!!! no spoilers here, though!!) I am looking forward to a relaxing day of watching the Tournament of Roses Parade on TV (can’t wait for the Burlington Teen Tour Band to appear in it next year!) and doing some Christmas clean up. OK so maybe not looking forward to the clean up bit….LOL. I’m also spending some time planning out my year ahead. I have a few goals that I will work to achieve in 2017, and a few that will be longer term. I have travel goals, business goals, and personal goals – including my eternal goal of organization and decluttering….(please tell me I am not the only one?!). Close on the horizon is the launch of my latest online class “Clever Cards”, and even closer is the start of Sale-a-Bration! So definitely, after I finish watching the parade, I’ll get back to work…. Happy New Year everyone!
The Irresistible Designer Series Papers make it easy to create emboss resist backgrounds quickly! The paper is already embossed, so all you do is add colour! The card featured here uses the Irresistibly Floral Designer Series Paper from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue. If you are shopping before the end of the year, the Fancy Frost Designer Series Paper from the Holiday Catalogue is part of the Year End Closeout sale, as is the Colour Me Irresistible Paper. For the featured card, colour was added using the Sponge Brayers with Night of Navy and Perfect Plum inks – which are also the colours of cardstock used for the card. Why make things difficult? Stick to a couple of colours that work together well and don’t complicate it too much!! The Perfect Plum was concentrated in the centre of the paper, and the Night of Navy was concentrated more on the edges. Add a tag with a sentiment (in this case, a sympathy saying from the set Better Together, in clear or wood mount) and you have a card ready to send.
As the year draws to a close, you’re probably spending a bit of time (when you can find it….) reflecting on the year that has passed, and looking forward to the year to come. Thank you for being a YamStamps reader in the past year, and I look forward to bringing you more ideas and information in the coming year. I hope that you have a happy, healthy and creative new year, and selfishly hope that YamStamps will be part of that!! Please join me in a class – either online or in person – in 2017!!
