Apr 12, 2018 | scrapbooking, Stampin' Up!
Hi! Welcome to the YamStamps blog – if you’re following the North American Events Council Blog Hop, you’ll have arrived from Sherry’s blog. Thanks for visiting! I’m Linda Yamamoto, and I’m sharing my Events Council Scrapbook Page today, using the Share What You Love Product Suite, which we each presented at an On Stage Local last weekend. I was in London, Ontario, where we awoke on Friday to snow….much like a lot of southern Ontario, actually. A bit of a rude awakening! However, we kept warm inside the Convention Centre as we worked to get the room ready for the event, and further warmed by seeing friends during the event!!
My scrapbook page is very simple – much like most of my paper crafting actually! (I’m not a huge scrapbooker, but I have my moments…) I featured some of the gorgeous Share What You Love Designer Series Paper – you can see a bit of that pearlized finish on the flower strip. The pearlized finish is also on the doily behind the sentiment “Love What You Do” from the stamp set of the same name, and it’s stamped in Mint Macaron, which is making a triumphant return to the Stampin’ Up! Colour Family as part of the Colour Revamp. I also used Crumb Cake cardstock, and embossed it with the Lovely Floral Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder – you can see some of the embossed features peeking out from behind the top picture. The bottom Crumb Cake is stamped with flowers from the Love What You Do set, and the banner is stamped with the Make a Difference Stamp set, which is an alphabet set with both script and printed letters. I added a few of the Silver Paper Clips that will be part of the Share What You Love Embellishment kit, and I figured I’d better quit while I was ahead before I messed everything up…LOL!! These items are available for demonstrator preorder now, and will be available to everyone in May, ahead of their appearance in the new Annual catalogue in June. There will be some specially priced bundles available during the preorder time, so be sure to check those out!
I have had such a great time being part of Stampin’ Up!’s North American Events Council, and am truly sad that our time as official council members is over….but even though we are not officially a council anymore, we are still a group of friends, and that’s worth everything! Amazing to think that most of us met in person for the first time at November’s On Stage event in Salt Lake City!
Go Back to see Sherry…. You’ll be visiting Bonnie next…
Sep 8, 2017 | scrapbooking
Back to Class! This is a first first day and last first day photo that I shared on Facebook and Instagram earlier in the week. I printed a photo from my son’s first day of school (well, first day of Senior Kindergarten in the school system…) and then had him pose with it this week as he went to high school for his last first day of school (well, for the public school system….and for the “official” count….and there’s always potential there could be a ‘victory lap’). I didn’t think this one up myself – I have seen other versions of it, but loved it – so remembered it for this year. My son & I talk about trying to go back to the school where the photo was taken so he can stand in the same spot – which we may still do. It’s amazing to think of all the growth that has happened over the years.
I may turn this into a scrapbook page that I will frame….or I may just let it be a stand alone picture. Or maybe both. It makes me a little sentimental looking at it! Anyway, I hope that when you have a senior high school student, you may do something like this just to have a comparison at back to school/back to class time.
While I don’t have pictures, a lot of students also came back to class this past week after taking a few months off in the summer. It was nice to have some familiar faces rejoin us in the Monthly Card Class for September. We always have a fun time. The class has two time options – 1pm and 7pm, so if you’re able to make it to Burlington, please register to join in! The fee is $20 and includes all supplies required to complete the cards. You’ll leave class with four different handmade cards, complete with envelopes – ready to send to someone special. We have a range of ages and experience in the class – from moms grabbing a little “me” time, to retirees getting a creative social time together, from those who are trying stamping for the first time to experienced paper crafters.
One other option if you’re looking to learn some techniques and get some “me” / crafting time into your day is to join the Stampers Club. Much like the Card Class, we make 4 different cards and all the supplies are prepped and ready for you to make your masterpieces. Instead of paying a class fee, though, members place a $33 order each monthly club session during their 6 month club membership. At one of the sessions, they’ll also get to spend the Stampin’ Rewards earned from that month’s orders (minimum $20 free product). The club runs monthly, year round, and new members can start their 6 month cycle at any club session. Some of the club members use this as a way to metre out their spending and some other members use it primarily as a social/crafting outlet. Whatever the reason, the result is the same – a great stash of handmade cards, free crafting product, and lifelong learning! Please contact me to join, or ask about the online option!
In addition to these regular classes, there are “special” classes – for example, right now, the Christmas Card Classes (see more about the upcoming September class here – and register by Monday if you’d like to join us!). There’s also the custom, private class option – get a group of friends together, and we’ll have a class just for you!
If you’d like to come back to class, or come to class for the first time – please check out the YamStamps Events Page for upcoming dates, and then contact me to register or to book a date for a private class!
May 22, 2015 | scrapbooking, Uncategorized
I did go away for the beginning of May – but worked hard to get some blog posts scheduled ahead of time so hopefully you didn’t notice (well, maybe you noticed how consistent I was in posting for a change?! LOL). One of the joys of having a business like a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator-ship is that you can step back at times but often the business can keep going with a little maintenance.
Anyway – I am privileged to be one of the photographers for the Burlington Teen Tour Band. I get to travel with these talented teenagers and take photos of them doing their thing – socializing, having fun, entertaining people and making parents and citizens of the city (and country!) proud. The band recently completed a tour of the Netherlands, after being invited to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of the country – in which Canadian forces played a major role. It was such a fantastic experience! The BTTB played in front of mayors of Burlington & Apeldoorn (Burlington’s twin city in the Netherlands), the Canadian Prime Minister, and Dutch royalty (Princess Margriet of the Netherlands), as well as thousands of appreciative Canadians and Dutch citizens along the parade routes. Most significant of all, they played for Canadian and Dutch veterans, and had an opportunity to speak with vets who shared stories of their service. It was such an honour to be there with them. This is one of my favourite photos, taken from the Silent March in Apeldoorn – band members lined the route where dignitaries and citizens walked from the church to the park.
This is a photo from the parade in Apeldoorn that was televised on CBC – big crowds (this is actually one of the less crowded sections!) and people rushing into the street in front of the band to take photos and get a better look.
Now that we’re home again, getting over the jet lag and caught up on laundry (though I realize it’s a never-ending process), I’m looking forward to getting some of my favourite shots printed and into a scrapbook. I think I’ll likely end up doing mostly pocket scrapbook pages (Project Life by Stampin’ Up!) because it’s less “thinking” than traditional layouts – though I may throw a few of those in as well for good measure! For me, it’s the importance of getting the photos printed and stories shared that motivates my scrapbooking attempts, and so pocket pages are a good fit. Come to my next Memory Keeping free intro night (Weds July 15th) to see how I’m progressing!!
Apr 9, 2015 | organizing, scrapbooking
I was recently asked to prepare and submit some projects, for which I was inspired to do a scrapbook page featuring mothers. I went through my hard drive and photos, and found a photo of my mother and I (oh my goodness, look at my cheeks?!), and also a photo of my son and I (also the cute cheeks. and the diverted gaze because he’s watching something on TV, I’m pretty sure). I loved the symmetry in these shots and decided to use them on a page, which you’ll get to see in May (sorry, conditions of the project!!). It did strike me, though, that if I am surprised by the photos I find on my computer (and how hard I have to look to find what I want), that means there are many of my loved ones who have no idea that these images even exist. I read that due to digital photos, the current generation is the most photographed generation but likely to have no actual photographs in 10 years. This is fairly true for my son. I used to shoot on film, so had photos to share and frame, but these days, not so much… SO. This needs to change! GOAL: Photos printed, stories and names written down, and memories shared! I am going to be using the Project Life by Stampin’ Up! pocket pages and dedicating one hour a week to getting the photos out and the stories down. I figure that one hour is a do-able thing, and it is important. Will you join in my crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me…? (first one in gets to wave the big red flag…sorry, too many Les Mis references?)
If you want to give it a go, I can use the support!! LOL. I’m having a Photo Organizing and Memory Keeping Class one week today, on Thursday, April 16th. There’s no charge for this brief event, but you do need to register via RSVP. I’ll share my results to date at that class, and you can see how easy this system can be.
May 3, 2014 | scrapbooking, Stampin' Up!
I’m in the process of playing with my new Project Life by Stampin’ Up! products! This is my first almost completed page…and as you can see by some of the smaller, slightly askew photos, I haven’t stuck anything down yet…but I think that’s part of what I like about this system so far. If you are following me on Instagram you will have seen the “before” version of this page, where I basically was just putting all the different components into the pockets to get a combination that I liked or found inspiring. In this version of the page, I’ve included some photos that I printed myself (so obviously need to work on the sizing of the photos when I print them if I want them to fill the whole pocket). I still have a spot for journalling, I have a spot that is just fun, and I have lots of shots. The die cut “life is an adventure” is backed with another small card to make the words colourful. All the Stampin’ Up! Project Life pieces are double sided (except for the die cuts…) so when you flip your page over, there’s something else to look at.
So to finish this page off, I’ll add some journalling, and may or may not stick those smaller photos permanently onto their mats. For future, I might just get regular sized photos and use my Project Life Framelits to die cut them to exactly the right size. Stampin’ Up!’s Project Life products are also available as digital downloads, so I’ll be able to create a totally digital layout or print extras of my favourite cards.
Jan 24, 2014 | MDS, scrapbooking, Stampin' Up!
Over the Christmas holidays I had the chance to travel to London, England with my family, and visit some longtime friends. It was a WONDERFUL trip and we had a lot of fun. Something my son & I started doing on this trip was to take “selfies” of the two of us in front of various landmarks. The photos, while definitely not the most technically perfect shots, were still so perfect to capture fun moments and memories. Now that we’ve been home a bit I threw some of these selfies into a scrapbook page layout. I used Stampin’ Up!’s World Traveler Photobook Template and MDS (My Digital Software) software to whip up this layout. Love the drag and drop ease; added a bit of text, got fancy and changed out some embellishments and added some drop shadows, but was done in an instant.
How fun is this? Shots are: in front of the iconic red phone booth; in front of the model of Hogwarts at the Harry Potter Studio tour; with the Paddington Bear statue in Paddington Station; in front of Big Ben; under the dome of a cathedral which will remain unnamed because I don’t think we were actually supposed to do that….;at the Globe Theatre; at the Tower of London; with the Christmas tree in the Georgian Tea Room at Harrods. These pages are a great way to recall the fun moments of our trip! Digital scrapbooking is a great way to use those digital photos. I am working on doing an entire book with this template and will get it printed to have as a share-able memento of our trip. Want to try something like this? The MDS software is available to try for FREE for 30 days – once you try it, I’m sure you’ll love it! Don’t forget to contact me if you have any questions about it!
