Oct 11, 2015 | cards, Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!
Here in Canada it’s Thanksgiving, so I’m sharing this appropriate autumn card with you! It uses the Stampin’ Up! bundle Among the Branches, which includes the Among the Branches stamp set and the Woodland Embossing Folder. You may have noticed this card on the table during my appearance on Morning Live – I made it really quickly the evening before! After embossing the cardstock, I used a sponge dauber to run Early Espresso ink over the tree trunks, and stamped on just a few leaves. Stamping negative impression sentiments onto coloured cardstock can add an extra layer of colour to your projects, rather than just stamping on Very Vanilla or Whisper White – not that there’s anything wrong with that, but sometimes it’s nice to do something a little different. A little gold thread and it’s done!
I hope that you are able to spend some time with friends and family over the long weekend. I plan on enjoying dinner with family and taking some time to reflect on my many blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!
Sep 1, 2015 | Announcements, Christmas, Seasonal Catalogue, specials, Stampin' Up!
Yes! The Stampin’ Up! Canada Holiday Catalogue is now live! This is one of my favourite items from the new catalogue – aren’t the ornaments so gorgeous? When you cut from the foil papers it’s so impressive. (We are using this thinlit set in tomorrow’s Monthly Card Class…still seats available if you want to register!) So many exciting things in the Stampin’ Up / YamStamps world this week, and especially today! Holiday Catalogue is live, registration deadline for the Tin of Cards Class and impending deadline for September’s Christmas Card Class, Weekly Deals PLUS the September newsletter goes out today.
Click on the catalogue image to download a digital copy. If you still need a hard copy of the catalogue and live in Canada, please fill out this form and I will see about getting one to you ASAP.
Here are the Weekly Deals – remember that the number of specially priced items is limited, and once that number is gone, the product reverts to regular pricing. 
I think my faves this week are the washi tape (you can never go wrong with basic black & white!) and the stamp set. It can be hard to find good “boy” themed images!
Last but not least, the YamStamps September newsletter goes out today around 1pm Eastern. Please subscribe by using the sign up box at the top of the blog, or go here to find out more about the newsletter. *phew*
Aug 20, 2015 | Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!
They’re starting to arrive in mailboxes…if you don’t receive one soon or get a call from me (I’ll be calling to be sure they arrived) – fill out this form to get a free copy of Stampin’ Up!’s Holiday Catalogue from me! (sorry, due to Stampin’ Up! regulations, Canadian residents only). As one of the Stamp Club members emailed me this morning -“Got a look at the Holiday Catalogue…I’m in trouble!” Lots of things to love in there!!
Feb 22, 2015 | cards, Occasions, Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!
This is a super quick and easy card to make! The stand up card is made the same way as the Valentine’s Card I did on Morning Live, and is based on the basics of card cutting and folding in the video I shared here. Using Stampin’ Up!’s Sheltering Tree set from the Occasions catalogue, it’s easy to create this card that reminds us that spring is on its way….sometime… This is 2 step stamping at it’s best – stamp the trunk in a brown tone of your choice, stamp the leaves in the colour of your choice, add a bit of ground and you’re done. The gradation of colour in the leaves is done by the stamp itself so it’s easy to look totally artistic!
If you’d like other ways to look totally artistic, don’t forget that TODAY is the last day to register for the upcoming Blendabilities class on March 12th. Space is limited, and payment due at time of registration. Don’t miss out! These are fun tools to use in your paper crafting and I’ll show you some tips and tricks to make your colouring look totally professional. And you know me – it’s going to be easy, because I’m a bit of a lazy crafter that way!!
Feb 19, 2015 | cards, Occasions, Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!
I just love the Butterfly Thinlits Dies in the Stampin’ Up! Canada Occasions Catalogue. They have been so popular that they went on backorder for a while! So easy to create a beautiful accent for your card or scrapbook page.
For this simple card, the Lullaby Designer Series Paper (have I mentioned how much I love this DSP that could be used for babies but is definitely all purpose?!) forms a backdrop and colour point. The butterfly is cut from Blushing Bride cardstock, with some additional Blushing Bride sponged at the edges to give a bit more contrast. The greeting from Butterfly Basics is stamped in Baked Brown Sugar and Hello Honey cardstock adds the matting.
To make it easier to remove your die cuts from the framelit there are a few things we’ve tried. (I will post a quick video comparing the two techniques to the YamStamps YouTube channel in the next day or so.) In the meantime… You can add a layer of wax paper between your cardstock and the framelit and your die cut is easily removed. The technique we tried at club was to cut the cardstock with the framelit, then to run the framelit (with the die cut image still stuck inside) through the Big Shot again, on top of a layer of folded dryer sheets. When you pull the folded dryer sheets away, the die cut image sticks to the dryer sheet, so you just peel it off and then you can re-use the dryer sheets (once you’ve picked off all the little bits left behind). The one thing about this technique, though, is that all the little guide holes that are in the framelit (designed so you can poke your paper piercer through to help remove the die cut) will get embossed into the die cut piece. On this card, I used the wax paper technique so you don’t see any guide holes.
Send a butterfly to a friend through the mail….since if you’re living in Southern Ontario these days, that’s the only way you’ll see one for the next few months!
Feb 8, 2015 | cards, Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!
I thought this Stampin’ Up! set was so fun when I saw it! It’s Cheerful Critters from the Occasions catalogue. There’s a number of different critters and sentiments that you can mix and match, so I thought this one was good for Valentine’s Day. I coloured the image quickly with Blendabilities (OK bad shadowing job on the sign, I know, sorry) and then popped it onto some Lullaby Designer Series Paper. I added a strip of the Pool Party cardstock (easy way to add an accent if you can’t find your ribbon…) and then added a little wooden heart from the Essentials Wooden Elements.
It’s fun to spend a bit of time adding colour with Blendabilities. Don’t forget that you should use the Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad for good results. If you’d like other tips using your Blendabilities, I will be holding another Blendabilities class Thursday, March 12th at 7pm – featuring the colours Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, and Wisteria Wonder. Cost will be $80 and includes all three sets of Blendabilities markers PLUS a Colour Lifter and the stamp set “A Happy Thing” from the Sale-a-Bration catalogue. If you already have those colours, you may order other colours instead, but please bring those colours with you to class. Registration will open tomorrow and will close Sunday, February 22nd. Check back to the blog and subscribe to my mailing list to get notification of all my events!
