Jun 1, 2016 | Announcements, Stampin' Up!

Click here to check out the new 2016-2017 Stampin’ Up! Canada Catalogue! Ready to go? Click here to start shopping!
If you’re close to Burlington ON, RSVP for my New Catalogue Open House and Retired Product Sale this Saturday, June 4th 9am-noon. I’ll get you directions to my place and be sure to have a catalogue set aside for you! Not local but still in Canada? Answer a few (non-skill testing!) questions and I’ll be happy to send you a free copy if you qualify. Host a cardmaking party with your friends and you could qualify for extra free product, or purchase the Starter Kit in June and get free product for sure (two extra stamp sets!) – check out the June Specials HERE.
Questions? Contact me. Otherwise? Happy Shopping!
May 31, 2016 | Business Opportunity, Retired List, Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!

Today is the last day that you can purchase items from the Occasions and 2015-2016 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogues – you can shop online here.
As of tomorrow, June 1, you can start shopping from the 2016-2017 Annual Catalogue! I’ll post a link to the new catalogue tomorrow, and you can get a hardcopy of the catalogue by coming to my New Catalogue Open House and Garage Sale this Saturday, June 4th – RSVP to reserve your copy (and get directions!). If you’re not able to make it that day, you can complete this form and I’ll get a copy to you.
More excitement in June – purchase the starter kit and you’ll get an additional TWO stamp sets of your choice for FREE! Get some more information here and be ready to grab that opportunity tomorrow. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
May 23, 2016 | cards, Stampin' Up!

If you send a card, why not make it a thank you card. It’s such a welcome treat to get a formal thank you, and any mail other than bills is always a bonus! This card was featured in the recent masculine cards class. We used the Go Wild Designer Series Paper Stack and the set BYOP for the sentiment. The chevron punch adds detail along the bottom edge of the card and a strip of the DSP on the inside edge of the card lets the design peek through. Arrows/chevrons feature everywhere on this one! Just a note: The punch and Paper are both retiring at the end of May, so if you’d like to get them, the sooner the better for placing your order! The links take you directly to that item in the YamStamps Online Stampin’ Up! Canada store. The stamp set is NOT retiring, but it’s currently available in a discounted bundle with the Gift Card Envelope & Trims Dies – while the individual items will be available, the bundle will NOT – so grab these great items at a good discount while you can!
A class is a great way to try out some different tools and get card ideas – plus build up your stash of cards to send! I’ve added a fun class to the June calendar – Christmas!! June 24th at 7pm come and make some Christmas cards! After all, it will be 6 months until Christmas, and no time like the present to build up your stash?! Space is limited. Cost is $20 and will include all supplies required for your four cards. Please contact me to register – payment due at time of registration. Alternatively you can click on the PayPal link below to pay by credit card or with your PayPal account.
May 15, 2016 | cards, Events, Stampin' Up!

I recently celebrated fourteen years with Stampin’ Up! Hard to believe that time has flown so quickly and that my business has grown as much as it has. I bought the starter kit simply to get easy access to my own paper crafting supplies (at the time I lived a ferry ride and a good car drive away from any sort of craft store whatsoever!). These days I enjoy having classes, clubs and working online as well. Of late though, my online work has been suffering a bit because my computer has been ailing….and as we speak it is in the shop getting an overhaul. Fingers crossed it happens quickly. Thankfully, I do have other options to get online access, though it’s making me think a bit harder, adapting to different devices….though apparently that’s good for fighting off aging. Must look on the bright side.
In any case, this is the lovely card that was sent to me by the Stampin’ Up! Canada home office. Dale and Carrie do their best for the Canadian demonstrators, and I know they have a group of crafty helpers who create anniversary cards for Dale to sign and send out!
In the meantime, a reminder that my New Catalogue Open House will be held Saturday, June 4 from 9am til noon in Burlington. Please RSVP to have a copy of the catalogue set aside for you, and so that I can give you directions. You’ll be able to pick up the catalogue and have a shop at the Retired Product sale! I look forward to seeing you.
Apr 26, 2016 | cards, Stampin' Up!

You may have heard about the #Imbringingbirthdaysback movement. Celebrating birthdays by sending real cards in the mail, not just a cyber greeting! There’s even a stamp that’s been based on the hand carved original by Shannon West (who started this!) it’s item 143573 and costs $15 CAD. The card above is inspired by a card I received from Shannon. It’s a fun, easy card that you can whip up to get in the mail quickly! The sentiment is from Big News – available in clear mount or wood mount and at a discounted price while it’s still available – the set has been retired so will not be available after the end of May (or when supplies are exhausted). The swooshes are from Work of Art (clear mount or wood mount) and the splatters, because I couldn’t resist are from the set Gorgeous Grunge (clear mount or wood mount). The colours used are Calypso Coral, Pool Party and Island Indigo.
The theme of this post is timely as I just spent a “Girls Weekend” away in Montreal to celebrate a friend’s “significant number” birthday.
What I realized on this trip:
1) It’s good to have a bit of a break every now and then – makes me appreciate home once I’m back!
2) I do tourist eating – planning my day around what specialty foods I want to eat – and thankfully my friends are the same. We hit all the biggies – croissants, crepes, Montreal Smoked Meat sandwiches, poutine, macarons and bagels. (I need to be sure I go for a few runs this week now….)
3) I don’t remember as much of my high school French as I thought I did. (Thankfully everyone spoke better English than I spoke French).
If you’d like to get some cards made that you can share with friends, the Monthly Card Class is coming up on Wednesday, May 4th. I’ve added a 1pm afternoon option for the Monthly Classes – and the May one is almost at capacity! There’s still space in the 7pm evening class as well. Contact me to register. Check out the YamStamps Events page for other upcoming classes, and don’t forget the Online Classes via YamStampsMore!
Apr 21, 2016 | Big Shot, cards, Occasions, Retired List, Seasonal Catalogue, Stampin' Up!

I love Stampin’ Up!’s English Garden Designer Series Paper, and will miss it when it’s gone at the end of the month! I know that Stampin’ Up! has some AMAZING new things for us in the upcoming Annual Catalogue, but still…parting is such sweet sorrow. It’s featured on this card, and makes a beautiful backdrop for the gorgeous butterfly (from the Butterflies Thinlits Dies) cut from the Gold Foil sheet. I experimented with this die cut, and tried cutting with the gold surface away from the die – so the edges of the die cut curl towards you slightly. I just wanted to see how it looked, and how the foil sheets tolerated going through the Big Shot this way. I think it almost looks more like thin metal than when the edge is rolled away from you – what do you think? The Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder used on the Blushing Bride cardstock in the background is also retiring at the end of the month (and is one of the items being offered at a discounted price!). Don’t forget that retired product is available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST – so again, don’t hesitate if there’s something on that retired list that you’ve been coveting.
Here’s the links to see all the Retired Stamps and Retired Accessories and Tools in the YamStamps Online Stampin’ Up! Canada store. Please contact me if you have any questions or need assistance placing your order. Happy Shopping!