Coffee and a card revisited is the name of my weekly Facebook live that I do every Tuesday at 7pm EST. I have another great idea: to share the extra cards that we make at that Facebook live on my blog the following day. This is only the third Facebook live that I have done for the Coffee and a card revisited series and it seems to get better each time. I especially love the interaction between the viewers and myself, and that is often how the other cards come to be. The purpose is to show the cards that we made at coffee and a card as well as any tips and tricks that may have resulted from the class.
The extra cards
After showing the three cards that we also made in the morning at coffee and a card I also like to show something different that may have come to mind after teaching these cards. Creativity truly blossoms when you play, and I like to think of the weekly Facebook live also as play time with my viewers. I took pictures of these cards at night because one of them was given to Rachel’s host mom from France. She has a quirky sense of humour and this card was perfect for her.
When you sprinkle on the pigment sprinkles and then spritz you get a totally different look from when you simply add a drop of water to the pigment sprinkles. It is a lot of fun to show in real life and I think it was quite captivating in the Facebook live video as well. The fairies from the New Wonders set work perfectly with the playful colours in the Pigment Sprinkles.
The technique
For these cards the technique is very simple but it is crucial to remember that less is more! I used washi tape to cover up two and a half of the three holes in the pigment sprinkles container. You simply sprinkle a very small amount of three different colours on to your Fluid 100 watercolour paper. I used an old stampin’ mist spray bottle to mist some water on to the sprinkles. Then the magic happens and the pigment sprinkles burst into colour. If you use too much sprinkles then the colours will bleed together and they will also be too dark and concentrated. Ask me how I know that!!! If you missed the Facebook live video, here is the link.
The extra supplies
You might want to know where these amazing words came from and I will be happy to oblige. It was just one of those happy accidents. I knew that I wanted a bold word to really stand out with the colourful background and I immediately thought of a great new bundle called A Wish For Everything. It is a set of 38 cling stamps and 12 word dies.
I really hate that you have to try and read the framelits backwards, so I took a picture of the framelits in the catalog so you can see how versatile this bundle is and how many different combinations you can make. For my cards I used the “happy” framelit and the bold “wishes” stamp.
A Discount Shopper
You may have noticed that this bundle is a pricey one! The very best deal is of course the “starter kit”. Yesterday I heard it described by another demonstrator. She said “become a discount shopper”. How clever is that? If you think of it that way instead of becoming a “demonstrator” it makes a lot more sense and it is also a lot more appealing. Who wouldn’t want to be a discount shopper? You can start by getting this bundle which is $91.75 and putting it in the starter kit. Immediately you save $21 by not paying shipping and tax. In fact you can add another $113.25 in product and you will only pay $135. So exciting!!! I really do hope that you take advantage of this amazing deal before the end of August. The other perk of getting this deal and becoming a discount shopper is that you get to attend Stampin’Up! events. There is a local OnStage in Toronto on November 16 and a big group from my team is planning to go. We have so much fun together and you could be a part of it too. Just click on this link to start this fun journey into savings. The only catch is that you have to live in Canada in order to join my team.
Hello stampers I am finally using voice dictation and it sure is a different way to write a blog post. I definitely have to get used to it; it’s hard to think what you want to write and I’m sure I have to go back and fix some mistakes. Hopefully this break will make my thumb feel better. It really is amazing what technology can do! Yesterday I made a card using some retired products and today I’m going to show you what I did with brand new holiday catalogue products: the Christmas Gleaming stamp set and some of the other products in the Brightly Gleaming Suite. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.
Brightly Gleaming Suite
Before you design the card it’s a good idea to lay out all your supplies on the table. This gives you a great visual and helps to get your creative juices flowing and I also stamped a few of the ornaments in different colours and in different embossing combinations to see what might work best. I absolutely love the beautiful vibrant colours in this suite of products you can see copper, pretty peacock, night of navy and old olive. It was hard to cut into this beautiful paper but then I remembered the #loveitchopit philosophy. I cut strips of 4″ by 12″ and that was safe for transforming into any cards. Once you decide to cut into your pretty paper it really gets easy to design cards.
My Card
I used the same sketch from Freshly Made Sketches as I did yesterday. This is a totally different colour scheme with all blues and coppers rather than red and green. What do you think? Do you like this non-traditional look?
The Measurements
Card base: pretty peacock 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 scored at 4 1/4″
very vanilla – 4″ by 5 1/4″
copper: 7/8″ by 4″
Brightly Gleaming specialty paper: 3/4″ by 4″
Small square: pretty peacock 2 1/8″ by 2 1/8″, Brightly Gleaming patterned paper 2″ by 2″
Larger rectangle: pretty peacock 2 1/8″ by 3 1/8″, Brightly Gleaming patterned paper 2″ by 3″
I coloured three pearls with the pretty peacock dark Blends and embossed the two ornaments with copper embossing powder on very vanilla cardstock. I used a small piece of copper trim tied in a knot and frayed on each ornament, these are secured with a glue dot.
The Swaps
I always love a picture of the whole group of cards together; there’s something striking about the pile of swap cards laying there prettily. I hope I’m not breaking any rules by posting a picture of my swap card. I just sent them in the mail today and this is all I had for a blog post so I hope I’m forgiven and I haven’t ruined any surprises.
The Opportunity
If you live in Canada you can get these products now already if you choose to get the amazing deal on the starter kit. Yes, you can put items from the brand new Holiday catalog into your starter kit. In fact, you can put $205 worth of products in there and pay only $135. You will also get a $14 coupon code to use on your order in September. I hate to break it to you, but you will probably want more than just $205 worth!! Thankfully you have until the end of December to use your own discount without having to fulfill any minimum purchase requirements. Have I told you that I would love to have you on my team? That there is no pressure from me, only encouragement to help you meet YOUR goals. To get the starter kit, you can simply click here. Remember to click “no” when asked if you have a host code for the kit and then click “apply”.
Shopping Online
Have a super day and thanks for dropping by. If you do choose to order online, please help me out by also using the current host code: XBTQ47UR. Just click on the links below and that will take you straight to my online store. Online shopping is great if you live far away from me and are not regularly coming to classes. Even if you do live in town you may want to consider ordering online. If your order is close to $100 you are not paying any extra to order online and have it shipped straight to your door. How wonderful to get exactly what you want and not have to leave your house!!
Hello stampers! I have learned from some very savvy demonstrators that using a sketch challenge can really spark your creativity. So that is exactly what I turned to today when I realized that I had committed to participating in a Canadian Greek Cruise trip achievers swap. The cards have to be in Winnipeg by Friday and I hadn’t even started. What did I do? I headed straight to Freshly Made Sketches and their sketch challenge closes at 3pm EST so I am down to the wire!
I think I will publish this post with my sketch challenge contribution and then edit it later so that I will make the deadline. For the swap I am required to use products that we received as pillow gifts on the cruise as well as other new products from the Holiday catalog. Of course I want my card to be beautiful but I also don’t want to waste precious limited resources on a possible dud! My solution? Make a trial card using retired paper just so I get a good idea of whether this sketch will work for me. Here is the card I came up with. I used the new set called Christmas Gleaming as well as the old retired set from saleabration called Painted Seasons. I am really happy with how it turned out and I look forward to hearing what you think about it.
Thanks so much for joining me today. My thumb is still killing me, so this is going to be a short post. Tomorrow I will share the swap card that I am making using this sketch. Don’t forget about the amazing deal on the starter kit!! Click here to get $205 worth of your choice of Stampin’Up! products including products from the new catalog. This will only cost you $135 with no shipping or tax!
Hello stampers! I had a little more fun with pigment sprinkles today and there is a very important tip that you need to know about them. There are too many holes in the lid!! That’s right. While it is wonderful that we no longer have to poke our own holes in the lid to allow for sprinkling, the problem is that the holes are too big and there are three of them. Thankfully there is an easy solution. Cover two and a half holes with washi tape. The pigment is so intense that if you use too much the colour is too dark and the effect is not what you want at all.
Less writing and more showing
My health issues continue with an inflamed tendon in my thumb, so I was told to ease off on blogging. I have made a video for you to show you the cards and the technique. Enjoy!
Here are the videos, and yes, there are two. My phone ran out of storage space and so life happened. Happy Friday everyone.
Hello stampers! Have you ever heard of the word “maven”? I hadn’t either until I read a fantastic book by Malcolm Gladwell called The Tipping Point. Here is the definition so that you know what I am talking about: A maven is a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass timely and relevant knowledge on to others in the respective field. In my own words a maven is someone who is super excited about stamping, stays on top of all the news products, techniques and trends AND who is eager to share that information with other people. Mavens are also the ones who are excited to share what they know at classes; they tell their friends all about their hobby. Mavens are crucial to home business because the best way to advertise is word of mouth, and this is exactly what mavens do, either in person or on social media.
Mavens should be rewarded
I firmly believe that if you help me grow my business by telling your friends about my classes and clubs, you should be rewarded. Not everyone automatically thinks to share what they love with other people. They are happy to just enjoy the experience themselves and they don’t think, “Oh, Susie would love to do this, I should invite her”. Most people are more likely to think, “Alice would never want to do this, she isn’t crafty at all.” My challenge to you is to let them decide. In fact, I think it would be a lot of fun to have you invite the person you would think is least likely to enjoy stamping and see if I can change their minds. Right now I give five cards to everyone who brings someone new to my beginner class, and if the new person places an order, they also get five free cards. If you get someone new to sign up for a club you will get a free stamp set! Mavens really are the lifeblood of a business.
This is what Maxwell says in his book The Tipping Point: mavens may act most effectively when in loose collaboration with ‘social influencers’ – i.e., people who have a wide network of casual acquaintances who trust them, often a network that crosses many social boundaries and groups. I think The Tipping Point is one of my favourite non-fiction books. I love the idea that you can use social media to change other people’s lives for the better. Card making is so much more than a hobby, it can change lives and relationships, but that is a whole other blog post.
The Cards
I think it is time to share the card for today, and yes, it is only one today because I need to clean the house. I am using the host set New Wonders which you can get for free when you host a workshop. I kept the card relatively simple.
Stamp image in sahara sand.
Colour with Blends: highland heather, daffodil delight, granny apple green, smoky slate and ivory.
Cut out image with second largest circle framelit.
Stamp Cracked Paint background in Sahara sand after stamping off on scrap paper. You want the background to be subtle.
Use Stamparatus to stamp sentiment in highland heather.
Adhere 4 1/8″ by 5 2/8″ background piece to highland heather card.
Pop up the image on the circle with dimensionals.
Afterwards I thought it needed a little extra so I stamped three leaves over top of the crackled paint background.
Colour wings with Wink of Stella.
Hosting a workshop
When I first started selling Stampin’Up! products the primary way to do so was with workshops. Someone would agree to host a workshop and he or she would invite friends to their house and I would come and teach two cards for free. Most people would then place orders and based on the amount of sales the host could earn a LOT of free products. That is what I did when I first found out about stamping. I would host two workshops a year, one in the spring with sale-a-bration and one in the fall so I could get all my Christmas sets.
I have changed how I do workshops. I now do them all at my place so that the host doesn’t have to worry about cleaning her house or about finding something else for the rest of the family to do so she could have fun with her friends. For me it was great because I don’t have to pack up all my supplies inevitably forgetting some crucial component. You would think that lots of people would want to host workshops so that they could get great host sets or other products for free, but that is not the case. It is even easier now to host a workshop because you can use a host code and tell all your friends and relatives about it across the country. They can use the host code and order online and it counts towards your workshop. You could even do a “virtual” workshop and everyone could order online. I could send them all a sample card using some of the products that they have ordered. Let me know if this would interest you.
I forgot to mention that I also sponged the edges of the card front and the circle with sahara sand to give it more depth. Stamping the image in sahara sand rather than memento black also softens up the look of this card and it seems to not interfere at all with the Blends. I also did some simple stamping in the inside of the card to finish it off. You could step it up a notch by colouring the inside as well.
Thanks so much for joining me today, and don’t forget, if you a maven, I have some rewards for you! The more people you bring my way, the more products and cards you will get for free. Have a super day!
