Hello stampers! My, it has been way, way too long since I have written a blog post. My brand new Umbrella Days card kit has given me the inspiration to get back in the blogging saddle! Let me tell you how this kit has come about, it really is a bit of an epic journey.
Inspiration for a Card Kit
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When I first moved to the Netherlands and had to transform my business to an online model, I decided to focus all my energy on my YouTube channel. While this was successful in that I got lots of subscribers and am even getting paid by YouTube for ads, it was not successful for getting online orders. My hope was that people would watch my video, be inspired and then click on the links in my description to order the products that they wanted.
When chatting with fellow demonstrators who were mainly from the States, they told me that I needed to offer card kits. I dragged my heels for a while because I didn’t want to stand there for hours die cutting and making packages, but now I feel that I really must give it a try. Here is my first kit!!
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Tips and Tricks for working with Umbrella Days
Clear emboss the rain on a dark background, Basic Black, Night of Navy or Misty Moonlight.
White emboss the sayings on Basic Black Cardstock for a dramatic effect.
Paper piece the umbrella, either on its own or on the stamped image. You can do this with the dog coat, or the boots as well. To take it up a notch you can dry emboss these pieces as well, use two-tone white core cardstock or patterned paper.
Colour your stamped images with Blends, Watercolour Pencils and a Water Painter or Blender Pen, Water Painter and ink or Stampin’ Write Markers for the smaller parts like the hands, the hair and the boots.
For an interesting variation, leave your image black and white and just add colour to the umbrella!
Use Adhesive Sheets with several different colours of cardstock to create sticker diecuts with the small dies. This is so easy and useful!!
Lastly, did you know that if you choose option 2 for the starter kit you can choose $206 worth of products for only $135? This will allow you to get the Umbrella Days bundle, the Spring Corners Bundle AND the Everyday Arches bundle plus either a set of Blends in your choice of colour OR your choice of 12×12 two tone cardstock??
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When you watch my video you will see how all the parts of the Umbrella Days bundle work and I will also make the bottom right hand card with you. I also share some details on the square card that I gratefully cased from the talented Jacque Williams from New Zealand. If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. Trust me, I am way more active there than on my blog, but hopefully that will change in the future.
Shop with me
If you live in Canada, you can simply click on the easy links below to shop with me. As a thank you, you will get at least one pdf tutorial bundle AND you will get the six card kit shown above as long as your order is at least $75. Thanks so very much for stopping by my blog after I have been silent for so long. It’s good to be back!!
Hello stampers. If you follow me on social media, you may have read that I am starting a new newsletter. You see, I had almost 2800 subscribers and my newsletter was costing me over $70US per month. That’s a LOT of money for a small business. Rather than comb through the list and remove subscribers, I thought I would make the bold move and start all over again.
I am starting with the FREE version of Mailchimp which is for less than 500 subscribers. Gradually you work your way up and move to a paid version. My hope is that the new subscriber list will be fresh and engaged as well as informed as to what it means to the demonstrators to have people on their mailing list.
If you wish to subscribe
If you wish to subscribe, please be aware of what my newsletter IS and what it ISN’T. It IS:
updates on sales and specials from Stampin’Up! so that you are aware of all the ways to save money or to get great new products
information on my classes and retreats
information on my latest pdf tutorial releases
links to recent videos
information on joining my team, especially when there are good promotions
It ISN’T:
free written tutorials ( you wouldn’t believe how much time and energy it takes to make these. I know other demos DO do this. I choose not to. I DO freely share my video tutorials and those links WILL be included in my newsletters.
If you are still interested, I would love to have you subscribe to my newsletter. Please use the link in the sidebar on the homepage of my blog. The link that I had originally included in this post did not work.
If the link to sign up for my newsletter doesn’t work in this post, I will try to edit the button on the side to subscribe OR I will contact my blog manager, Brian. In any case I WILL keep you updated as to how it is all going. As a small business owner I find that I am continually being stretched in my technical abilities that have nothing to do with stamping and card making!! I hope you all have a wonderful day and thanks so much for supporting me.
Hello stampers. I am packing to fly back to Canada today but I just had to share with you this gorgeous card using the new Sophisticated Sled bundle. Oh how I love this bundle. It reminds me of my childhood on the farm where we had a sled just like this and where I sometimes went skating on the frozen creek in the valley on our farm. Do you have favourite childhood Christmas memories? Do they perhaps involve a sled and a pair of skates?
Sophisticated Sled Bundle
Not only are there great stamps in this set, but there are also dies that are independent of the stamps giving you even more creative versatility. Here is a photo of all the pieces that I made before doing a Stamping Through My Stash video as well as various shots of the completed card. I think this one is scheduled for sometime in September while I am traipsing across Nova Scotia with Gerard and visiting with my son Oliver and his wife Laura.
Inspiration
I have made this type of fun fold before, but I was inspired this time by the beautiful work of JilliBling
Be sure to check out her beautiful blog for more inspiration. I love this style of card because it really showcases your patterned paper and provides a stunning focal point for your intricate die creations. We will be making a version of this card at my St Jacobs Fall Retreat and there will be a complete pdf tutorial available in September! Stay tuned!!
Video Guide
Here is a short YouTube video to give you an even greater appreciation of this Sophisticated Sled bundle. I love ingenious way that the skates are but together with three separate dies!! Find my channel here so you stay up to date with my creations.
Thanks!!
Thanks so much for checking out my blog today, I hope you were inspired by my Sophisticated Sled creations. If you are looking for more inspiration, you can find it in my tutorials section of my blog. These are free with an online purchase of $60 or more but you can also purchase them anywhere in the world. I appreciate you!! If you live in Canada, you can also click on the links below to shop with me and make this gorgeous card at home.
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Today I have a Sketched butterflies card for you using an emboss resist technique. One of the main reasons that I fell in love with Stampin’Up! is that their products made me feel artistic. I don’t draw well, but the stamp designers sure do, so I can use their stamps to make things of beauty. These sketched butterflies are truly beautiful.
Emboss Resist Video Tutorial
Rather than describing how you utilize this emboss resist technique, hop on over to YouTube to watch this video, it is so much fun to see this technique in action! Please let me know if you end up trying it yourself. I will also be demonstrating this technique at my St Jacobs Fall Retreat. You have until August 25th to sign up for a wonderful time. Come with a group of your friends and you will be making lasting memories and perhaps starting a new tradition!!
Thanks!!
Thanks for joining me today on my blog. If you live in Canada, you can click on the images below and you will be in my online store. Remember, our patterned paper is on sale for the month of August, 15% off!
If you placed an order in July, then you will have received an email with coupon codes for “bonus bucks”. Each coupon code is worth $6, so be sure to redeem them with an August order. I hope that you have enjoyed this emboss resist technique, have a super day!!
Well good morning stampers. I just couldn’t wait. I had to share these gorgeous sympathy cards with you. Go figure. I don’t blog for three months, and then I blog three times in one week. Perhaps you will love these cards as much as I do. The best part is that they make clever use of an amazing die!
Gorgeous Sympathy cards with just two dies!
It does feel a bit odd to use the word “die” in the same sentence as sympathy cards, but this time the word has a different meaning. A die is a shape made out of metal that is used to cut something out of paper using a die-cutting machine. Stampin’Up! has an awesome one called the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss machine. To see how I made the focal point with the dies, check out this one minute video (that is much quicker for me than taking step by step photos and then editing them all!)
After looking at these cards you might be wondering, where are the sentiments. Sometimes I prefer my cards without sentiments, but the day after making them I still wanted to see what they would look like with sentiments. Are you curious too? First I am going to share the closeups so you can see the lovely details in the patterned paper as well as the dies.
Closeups of the Sympathy Card focal points
My first one
This was the first card that I made in this series. I think I am partial to blue now even though I always thought my favourite colour was red!!
Sympathy Cards with sentiments from Comforting Thoughts
Have you discovered Comforting Thoughts? It really is an essential stamp set in anyone’s collection. It truly is perfect for sympathy cards and in other difficult situations. At the end of this blog post you will find a supply list. These are also links to my Canadian webshop if you would care to shop with me. As a thank you, you will receive a pdf tutorial bundle from me!
Thanks so much for joining me today! Have a super day.
