It’s that time of year when I see all the Facebook updates from my friends with kids of similar ages – we’re empty nesting (again)! Last minute shopping and prepping to send our offspring (back) to university has been happening this week. I laughed because last year I did so much research and preparing ahead of time for my son’s first year, and this year it was more like – oh my gosh, you’re leaving this weekend – maybe we should go grab stuff for your apartment….?!!
Anyway – here’s a wonderful sentiment for everyone heading off to school this week – or to new adventures. This is the Sunday Swap Share – created by Ellie Blake.
She’s featured the Sailing Home stamp set and the Come Sail Away Designer Series Paper, along with the nautical looking Night of Navy/Sahara Sand Baker’s Twine. I love this fancy cut/fold card. Frugal Crafter Alert! I’m pretty sure that Ellie’s cardstock is 4.25″ x 11″ and then she’s cut a portion from half the card – which is then used as the background for her image on the the front panel!
I love this sentiment, and it’s so appropriate for this month. September is a great time to set new goals and directions! My personal goal is to up my water intake (well okay, it’s been a goal for a little while now – but I’m buckling down about it this month!!).
You’ll want to check back on the YamStamps blog and get on my mailing list to be sure that you get to hear about all the upcoming specials and events happening in the YamStamps / Stampin’ Up! world – there’s some starting in the next few days!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….OK maybe not – but I thought I’d share some DIY Christmas Card Ideas on the blog, especially since we’ve already had our first Christmas Card Class! Starting today and over the next few months leading up to the holidays, I will occasionally throw in a Christmas Card idea here on the YamStamps blog, to give you some inspiration for your own holiday cards (or to encourage you to sign up for one of my Christmas Card Classes!)
Here’s the DIY Christmas Card Idea number one. This was one of the cards we did in the August Christmas Card Class. Since the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalogue doesn’t come into effect until September 4th, I set myself the challenge of only using products that are available NOW in the Annual Catalogue. This one was fun.
All the August Christmas Card Class cards used the Designer Elements as accents, since that was the product included in the class fee. For this fun Christmas tree card, we used three squares from the Stitched Shapes Dies, and then used the stitching line from the Stitched Nested Labels Dies to create a diagonal line across them. We then just cut beside the stitched line to make a triangle. The Stitched Rectangle dies cut out the background and the trunk. I love the homespun, quilted look of this one! It does take a little time to do all the die cutting, but I love the effect in the end and I kind of also love the fact that there’s no “real” Christmas elements used to create it!
This is a card that you could easily mass produce with help from your family! Making the tree “whimsical” by angling the triangles takes away the stress of trying to have everything perfectly straight and lined up.
The next Christmas Card Class will take place September 18th at 1pm or 7pm, and the $30 class fee will include a package of Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements that will add a bit of shine to our projects (and to your other projects since there will be left overs to take home!). Register before September 4th to get the guaranteed $30 class fee – registrations after this date may be subject to an additional rush fee for product delivery. Contact me to register or for more information.
I’ll be sharing lots of DIY Christmas Card Ideas over the next few months here on the YamStamps Blog, plus the YamStamps Facebook Page and Instagram! PLUS YamStamps Newsletter Subscribers will be receiving 12 weeks of Holiday project tutorials that won’t be seen elsewhere! Ho Ho Hope you’ll join me….(sorry, couldn’t resist).
If you watched my recent Facebook Live, you’ll have seen me using the Silicone Craft Sheet. I thought I would highlight it today, and because I also like alliteration, I thought I would title this post “Tool Tip Tuesday“. Also because I’m lazy and I can’t think too hard LOL.
OK it looks fancy because there’s something on it, but it’s fairly unassuming in real life… It’s 6″ x 6″ so it’s easy enough to travel with in your crop bag, and at $8.25 CAD (plus shipping/tax) it’s cheap enough to have a few.
Why do I love this craft mat?
Non Stick
You can use messy adhesives on it and peel up whatever you’re working on – like the image above, where it’s being used to construct a 3D flower – leave the flower in place until the adhesive is dried, then peel up your flower!
You can use messy media on it and lift off – like the Frost White Shimmer Paint from the Facebook Live, or when you want to add ink splatters, watercolours when you want to do a wash right to the edge of your cardstock or watercolour paper
Once you’re done you can rinse it off in your sink and pat dry and it’s good as new and ready to get messy again!
Heat Resistant
You can heat emboss on top of this Craft Sheet
No fear if you want to use your Heat Tool to speed up drying for shimmer paints, watercolours etc
My Tricks and Tips for the Silicone Craft Sheet
Applying messy adhesive – you can squeeze a blob of Liquid Adhesive onto the mat (in a corner), pick it up with a sponge and dab it on the back of a die cut shape before applying it to your project, and THEN
Use a second sheet (or the clean underside of your sheet) and lay it over the die cut on the project to be able to apply pressure without getting stuck to the project yourself, or getting inky/sticky finger marks all over the project
You can create accents for your projects with liquid glue/hot glue etc – draw out the design on the sheet, let it dry, then peel it up and apply in place on your project!
Rinse your sheet under the tap with warm water. You can scrub it a bit with your finger tips for stubborn residue that may have dried in place from the project you did last week with it….(ask me how I know this…)
If you need a little padding under your cardstock when you’re stamping to ensure a good image (or to keep you from pushing down too hard on the stamp!)
I’ve also used it in my Stamparatus keep ink from getting all over the base if I’m not using the small Grid Paper in it, or if I need a teeny bit of extra padding to ensure the image is perfect the first time.
We will be using it in a future Christmas Card Class to do one of my favourite retro techniques as well (I’ll share after the class).
Do you have any tips or tricks with the Silicone Craft Sheet that I didn’t cover? Please share if you do! (Not that I need more reasons to love it…). Happy Tool Tip Tuesday!
This week’s Sunday Swap Share is a fancy fold bird card from Sophie Ouellet. She took a “Z” fold card and oriented it so it’s a tall card rather than a wide card. Check out the work she put into this one!
This card uses the Free as a Bird bundle – which includes the Free as a Bird stamp set and the Stitched Nested Labels Dies. (and seriously? I just realized that the dies are called “nested” labels and they’re bundled with the Free as a Bird stamp set. Suddenly this pairing makes a bit more sense to me).
The Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper peeking through the window (which is cut out by one of the Nested Label Dies) obviously served as Sophie’s point of reference when she coloured in her images in the foreground of the card. She’s also added an accent of the Very Vanilla Scalloped Lace Trim.
Here’s another angle of this fancy fold bird card.
She’s even included an image on the very inside of the card! Can you imagine – she made TWENTY of these for our demonstrator swap. I love seeing the creativity of other demonstrators and use their cards as inspiration for my own projects for class and for personal use!
That being said….I am also going to try to share the wealth a little more going forward – so if you leave a comment on my blog posts, or on the YamStamps Facebook Page, or on the YamStamps Instagram….you may find yourself getting a message from me asking for your mailing address so that I can send you a card from my stash!
I’m off to finish off last minute prep for the first of the Christmas Card Classes! I’m accepting registrations for the September Christmas Card Class, so message me to get started on those holiday cards and check out the YamStamps Events Page for upcoming dates!
Thanks again to Sophie for this lovely fancy fold bird card.
For this card for a friend, I stamped 6 daisies in Rococo Rose ink before punching them out (usually easiest to stamp first and align the punch rather than the other way around). The “Friend” was stamped on a scrap piece of Whisper White and then die cut with one of the Stitched Rectangle dies, and the backing for the word was die cut from the centre of the Rococo Rose cardstock that backs the Whisper White cardstock that was embossed with the Basket Weave 3D Embossing Folder (since the hole will be hidden anyway!).
I love using Embossing Folders to add a little more interest to the layers on a card. It’s a great way to give texture without drawing too much attention away from the main images or sentiments. I just have to remember that when using the 3D Folders, I only need the top Plastic Cutting Plate with my Universal Platform, not a top and bottom Cutting Plate – usually as soon as I try to roll it through my Die Cutting Machine I remember LOL. The new Stampin’ Up! 3D Embossing Folders are slightly thinner than the “old” ones, so you may actually find that you need to add a little “shim” either of cardstock, or the 3D Embossing Folder Plate to make sure that the images are really well embossed.
If you’re not in need of a card for a friend, you can always easily change out the sentiment or greeting on the cardfront – or not include any sentiment! Often in card classes I’ll leave the cards blank or use more “general” type of sentiments or greetings so that attendees can use the card for whatever occasion they might need. Or you can be like my mother who tends to finish a card only up until the sentiment part and then add on whatever sentiment suits just before you give the card to the recipient! (heehee sorry Mom).
Need a card for a friend or family member (or a few cards)? Come to one of the Monthly Card Classes, Christmas Card Classes (yes, they are starting), or join the Stampers Club! They are a great way to meet new people, learn some new techniques and try out different Stampin’ Up! products while you build up your card stash. Check the YamStamps Events Page for upcoming dates or contact me for more information/to register. Hope to see you in class soon!
One type of card that is always good to have on hand is a Thinking of You Card – because it covers a lot, and besides, who wouldn’t like to know that you are thinking of them? This is one that we made this month in class and club this month. I’ll be doing a Facebook Live at noon on Wednesday so you can see the technique we used!
The Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper is the featured image on this clean and simple Thinking of You card. The sentiment is from the Rooted in Nature stamp set – I love the size of the words and the font. When you have such a simple card, sometimes it’s the smaller details that make it a little more impressive – can you tell what we did to the Designer Series Paper to make this Thinking of You card even more special?
So fingers crossed that the scheduled Facebook Live works…and you’ll see me on Wednesday at noon on the YamStamps Facebook Page to share how to make your own version of this Thinking of You card! This easy technique will have you wanting to transform your paper stash! Don’t worry, if you can’t make it “live”, the video will live on on the YamStamps Facebook Page, so you can check out the replay later on.
In the meantime, I’m prepping for the upcoming Christmas Card Class – there are a couple of spots open still if you’d like to attend (Monday August 26 1pm or 7pm) – but you’ll have to message me ASAP to grab one of them!
