Hello stampers and happy Monday. I really felt that I needed to blog about my first Birds & Blooms cards. I call them Birds & Blooms in a Nest because these cards feature the super cute nest from this bundle. These cards were made spontaneously during one of my Facebook live videos before I went to Holland.
Birds & Blooms in a Nest
Since these cards were made during a Facebook live video, they are simply a jumping off point. I am not crazy about the monochromatic branches but I AM happy with how the card turned out in general. Let’s take a look.
The card above is just simple stamping with a little masking of the bird to make it look like it is sitting in the nest. I used a whisper white note card and envelope. They come 20 in a pack for less than ten dollars. Every stamper should have a package of these on hand for when they need a quick card.
Here is the inside of the card where you can see how adorable the nest is. When I did the video some of the comments said that this could be the outside of a card too! If you missed my first post about this beautiful Birds & Branches bundle, you can see it here.
Funny Story from Holland
I have been wanting to share this story for a while. When you experience a different culture there are things that you fall in love with and there are some things that sort of stick in your craw. One of the things that is a source of constant irritation is their sleeping arrangements. This happens in homes and hotels. There is no such thing as a king sized mattress. Instead they shove two single mattresses together and there is a very annoying crack in the middle. Some people and/or establishments take this a step further and even have two single duvets on the bed!
In my humble opinion this does not lead to marital bliss. There is a constant reminder of the “great divide”. It is like sisters sharing a bed with an imaginary line down the middle which you are not allowed to cross. I tried that with my sister when we were younger. It wasn’t very successful! An arrangement like this would have helped. Here is a picture so you can better visualize this situation.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me, I hope you have a super day. If you want to take advantage of the Bonus Days and get a $6 coupon with every $60 you spend, then click here to shop with me if you live in Canada. Don’t live in Canada but still want to support me? That’s awesome! You can buy my pdf tutorials, they are perfect for helping you get creative with supplies you already have. You can find them here.
Hello stampers and happy Friday to you. Today’s blog post features a Birds and Branches Happy Mail Card. This stunning card is by Shelly Millett. Shelley is a fellow Canadian demonstrator from Moncton, New Brunswick. Do you know anything about Moncton?
Moncton, New Brunswick
Moncton is the second largest city in the Maritime provinces and has a thriving economy. The people there are resilient and have learned to overcome obstacles. It was first settled in 1733 so there is some significant Canadian history here. Hub city is its nickname since it is integral in the transportation network of the eastern provinces.
Shelley’s Birds and Branches Card
Here is a picture of Shelley’s card. I love all the details from the frayed gold cord to the carefully coloured leaves and branches. It looks like Shelley also sponged on some extra colour on the wings of her pretty bird. The green leaves on the background of this card come from Very Versailles and the “Hello” comes from Forever Fern.
Here you can see a closeup of this beautiful card. Is this bundle on your wish list? It was one of the prizes from my online Bingo last month and I hope to do another one in August or September.
This bundle reminds me of one of my very favourite Paper Pumpkins, it was the one inspired by Shelli Gardner. If you want to see the cards I made with it, check out this blog post. I was looking for another post featuring Birds and Branches but it turns out that I made the cards for a Facebook live but I haven’t blogged about them yet! Good thing I checked!
A Funny Story
When I saw what Gerard made himself for lunch the other day I just knew I had to share this story with you. Part of what I miss is all the stories I share at my coffee and a card classes. This is for you my friends!! Pour yourself a cup of coffee, grab a treat and pretend we are at coffee and a card and your crazy squirrel demonstrator is sharing a funny story with you.
People in Holland eat a LOT of bread. There is a plethora of bread toppings available and in their defense they do have pretty awesome bread here. Freshness is so important that you can even buy bread by the half loaf at the bakery. Bread is eaten for two meals of the day and toast is almost unheard of. Toasters are not a staple in the Dutch kitchen. Butter is also avoided by a lot of people. Note the state of this bread.
Now in Gerard’s defense I did not realize that he was planning to fold each slice in half and then eat it, sort of like a bun or a burrito. In his bachelor state of mind this is efficient. No need to cover the whole slice of bread with the topping, his stomach is not going to know the difference. To me this was austerity at a whole new level!! I am of the other extreme. The bread is only a vehicle for the toppings. I have been known to cut my slice of bread into four pieces and put something different on each quarter. And trust me, the toppings go to the edge and they are not paltry.
Iconic Holland
I just wanted to share two pictures from my day in Leiden yesterday. One is the view from one of the many bridges over the old Rhine river and the other is of a famous windmill.
This windmill is the last one that still has an active miller living inside! You can read more about it and other wonderful things to do in Holland here.
Thanks so much for joining me here on my blog today, I hope you have a super day. If you live in Canada you are most welcome to shop with me by clicking on the links below. If you do, you will get a free pdf tutorial from the Demo Design Dream Team with 16 3D projects. There is only one more week for Bonus Days as well. Get a $6 bonus bucks coupon with every $60 you spend that you can redeem in August.
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Today I am going to share some Happy Mail in Holland contest cards with you. I had a bit of an internal debate because these two cards do not use current product. They are beautiful cards though and I am guessing that you might still have some of these great products lying around from saleabration too. I am not going to do the homework of finding out the names of everything as it doesn’t help. You either have it or you don’t and you can’t buy it any more!
Elfie Kron’s Card
Elfie’s card was actually the first card I received and it made me very, very happy. I met Elfie at a Stampin’Up! event. I believe it was a half day business building seminar in Mississauga and we all went out for supper afterwards. Elfie has a big smile and a hearty laugh and I love her spirit. Her home town of Guelph is where I went to middle school for four years (grade 7 though 10) Emmanuel Christian High School on Sussex Street. That was an exciting time of my life, especially since it wasn’t common for grade seven and eight to be combined with high school. The first two years the school went up to grade 12 but then the community could no longer afford it.
The flowers were cut from what I believe was called Flowering Foils paper and they are coloured with Calypso Coral and Petal Pink Blends. Elfie used a decorative mask to make the background and the butterfly was cut with a die and vellum that was also sponged or coloured with Blends and the blinged up with Wink of Stella. Thanks so much Elfie!!
Sandy Allman’s Happy Mail in Holland Card
Sandy’s card is made from the beautiful butterfly paper that was also either a free saleabration item or a saleabration coordination product. I love the colour combination of blushing bride and basic black. So many pretty details on this card including the pearls that were coloured with Blends. Sandy is from the beautiful city of Prince George British Columbia and is also a regular contributor to my card contests. I love it!!! If you want to read more about Prince George and see Sandy’s other creations, check out this blog post. There is actually a link in that blog post that will take you to another blog post that has the actual pictures of Prince George.
I love the layout of your card Sandy! You definitely pay attention to all the little details. Here is a shot of the inside of the card.
The final finishing touch (other than the patterned paper on the envelope flap) is this cute signature on the back of the card. The recipient definitely knows that they are receiving a work of art. Doesn’t she just have the most beautiful handwriting?
#itallaboutthetreats video
I thought it would be fitting to share a video of my favourite Dutch bakery here. It would be so wonderful to be able to share these amazing treats with all of you. Not only are their gebakjes (pastries) divine, their bread is also great and of course they make simply the best krentenbollen (raisin buns).
Thanks!
Thanks so much to everyone who is participating in my Happy Mail in Holland contest, it warms my heart. So nice to read all of your messages inside your beautiful cards. It seems that now it is only taking a week for a card to get here so that is great news. Don’t forget about the Bonus Days! Until July 31 you will get a $6 bonus coupon to spend in August when the Holiday catalog goes live. If you want a Paper Pumpkin for July, let me know, I have a few extra and I also have someone who can put one out on the porch for you. Have a super day!!
Hello stampers and happy Tuesday. I liked this Playful Pets Flip and Fold card so much that I decided to write a Tuesday blog post. I also wanted to say thank you to the three people who purchased pdf tutorials from me yesterday. Honestly it is a bit of relief to actually feel like you are earning a little bit of money. Stamping is fun but it is also my business and COVID has been a real kick in the teeth for a lot of demonstrators. I’ll talk more about tutorials later.
Playful Pets Flip and Fold Card
This card was inspired by Faye Molsberry’s card that she sent in for my Happy Mail in Holland contest. I love this fold! It is so easy. Now I am not sure I did completely right. Let me tell you why. If you watched my live video yesterday you will remember that I thought I had made a mistake. I had said to make the diagonal cut starting at the 2 3/4″ mark, but when I measured Faye’s card again it was 3″. Later I noticed that on one side it was cut from the 2 3/4″ mark and on the other side at the 3″ mark. I’m not sure if it is meant to be that way, but my card today is cut at the 3″ mark on either side, just so you know!
The Playful Pets designer series paper actually has Real Red in it, but I had only tiny scraps of Real Red left in my stamp room in Holland so I had to use Cherry Cobbler. I actually think it looks quite sharp. Here is another look at the card when it is open. Please remember that I also don’t have the Pampered Pets stamp set here or I would have decorated the inside of my card. The complete instructions for this card will be in the August Demo Design Dream Team tutorial which you can get for free by placing an online order using the host code or by being a member of my training team. My own team members automatically get added to the training team group for free.
Video Tutorial
Here is the video tutorial that I did yesterday for my Facebook Live and it also shows you Faye Molsberry’s great card that inspired me.
Tutorials
I thought I would tell you a little bit more about tutorials and why I make them. Also why I think you should buy them!! Tutorials are made to help you get the most out of your Stampin’Up! purchase. They are step by step instructions with photographs for each card and sometimes also with video links. It takes all the guess work out of making great cards and you can also use these to make different cards using different stamp sets and paper. Writing out all the instructions for making a card is time consuming work and that is why there is a charge. It is also a way for me to earn money when I cannot hold classes or sell products.
Many of you have asked how you can support me and this is a great way! We both win. You get to make great cards with products you already have and I get to stay in business! There is a section at the top of my blog on the home page that says “tutorials”. Just click on there and you will see what is available. I hope to make more of them in the future as I think they are a fantastic resource. If you purchase a tutorial from me I will give you a FREE Demo Design Dream Team Tutorial as a bonus. Isn’t that just wonderful?
Thanks for joining me today. I hope you have a super day and I look forward to sharing another Happy Mail in Holland contest card tomorrow.
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Faye’s Forever Fern Fancy Fold Card. Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it? I have no idea what the official name of this fold is but I really like it. What a great way to use your 12 by 12 paper to make a fun card and showcase the beautiful patterns! Thanks Faye for sending me this great card.
Central Butte, Saskatchewan
I am pretty sure that this is the third time that Faye has participated in one of my happy mail contests and that makes me happy. It also helps me to remember the name of her unique town which I hope to visit some day! If you want to read more about this town and see some pictures, check out this blog post where you will also see another one of Faye’s fabulous creations. To see Faye’s other card, check out this blog post too.
Faye’s Forever Fern Fancy Fold Card
Here are two shots of Faye’s beautiful card. She used the Forever Greenery paper, So Sentimental dies and Just Jade cardstock as well as the Butterfly Gala stamp set and Butterfly Duet punch.
This Forever Fern Fancy Fold card is really quite impressive when you open it up. Do you see how Faye used the triangles that were cut off from the top of the card to decorate the bottom of the card?
Facebook Live video
I will be doing a Facebook live video today at 9am EST which is 3pm in Holland to show you how to make this card. Many of you have asked how you can support me if you do not live in Canada and cannot order from me. If you are a demonstrator you could choose to join my training group which is only $5 a month or you can purchase my pdf tutorials which you can find in my blog header. The other option is simply to etransfer me whatever you would like to [email protected]. I appreciate each and every one of you very much and I hope that I can keep my business going with my very unique living situation and with COVID restrictions.
If you want to create with me this afternoon you can be prepared by having a paper trimmer handy and your choice of 12 x 12 paper. Cut the paper to 5 1/2″ by 12″ and score at 2″, 4″, 8″ and 10″. You can either wait for me to show you the next step or see if you understand these instructions. Cut from the 2 3/4″ mark on the side to the 4″ score line at the top to make the angled cuts.
Holland this Weekend
One thing that takes some getting used to no matter how many times I have been here is how often the weather changes and also that summer here is generally much cooler than in Canada. On Sunday for example we woke up to beautiful sunshine so I thought that we would go to the beach after church. The clouds started rolling in so it was barely warm enough at the beach, around 22C. Then the wind picked up, more clouds came and the temperature dipped a little to 20C which actually feels a LOT cooler. Perfect weather for a drive and a walk. After our picnic on the dock the wind picked up again and it started to rain. The temperature dropped to 16C and instantly it was sweater weather and time for a hot bath!
Wouldn’t this just be the perfect place for a stamping retreat? I’m not sure how much stamping we would get done but it sure would be nice to simply be together. On second thought, it would be ideal for a training/business retreat. Perfect environment for recharging your batteries and jump-starting your business!
Do you see Bailey sneaking in? He has no respect for privacy!
The three pictures above are from an idyllic bed and breakfast that I also photographed back in January. On one side they have a view of expansive pastures and on the other side is the water front where you can boat and swim and watch birds.
Bonus Days
Did you know that if you place a $60 order in July you get a bonus bucks coupon for $6 that you can redeem in August. The best part is that you can start ordering out of the Holiday catalog in August. I will make sure to order some of these catalogs so that you can pick them up from my front porch. As soon as I know whether or not I have to quarantine when I get back I will set a date for a Christmas Bingo. In the meantime I might start planning for an online event.
If you need anything and you live in Canada, just click on the links below to go to my online store and please do use the current host code 3TUB7Q2V.
