Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. When I first saw See The Good in the new catalog I knew I had to have it. For some reason I love pear images even though I am not that fond of pears. They have such an artistic appeal to me. More than that however, was this sentiment. “When I see the good in the world, I see you.” How beautiful is that?
See the Good
We get to choose what we see in the world. It all depends on where you shine the spotlight. I choose to see the good and I really think that life is so much brighter with that viewpoint. It doesn’t always work, but when it comes to people it really is crucial. I think that is why this stamp set was on my “must have” list.
As humans, we are all flawed. We all have our shortcomings but we also all have our unique qualities that makes us pretty awesome. Someone once told me that when I encounter a difficult person, or someone that I am having difficulties with, I should “bring them into the light”. Choose to see the good in them and focus on that and you will see a different purpose. Give them the benefit of the doubt that perhaps there is some deep hurt or insecurity inside of them that makes them act the way they do. Love them as Christ has loved you and something beautiful could happen. People respond to love the way flowers respond to the sun.
My Card
The card I chose to make with this stamp set, See The Good, was totally copied from the annual catalog. Our catalog is a great source of inspiration. I am really making sure I use it as such this year and am having a lot of fun “casing” cards from it. Did you know that case is really an acronym, C.A.S.E. which means Copy And Share Everything?
Do you see the unique technique with the vellum? The words were stamped completely on the vellum in old olive. I also stamped the words on the pear (well, actually on half of the pear). You then carefully position the pear on the vellum so that word match up. It really looks beautiful doesn’t it. The pear is a DistINKtive stamp so it looks shaded and very artistic without you having to do anything special. I did ink up the pear in daffodil delight for the top one and in bumblebee for the bottom one and I sponged on some old olive and granny apple green with a sponge dauber.
Just a Few More Days
There are only a few more days to get the amazing deal on the starter kit and gives you a FREE bonus bundle. As always you pay only $135 for the kit which you can fill with any products of your choice except for host sets. You can choose $165 worth of stuff! You will also get a free past Paper Pumpkin kit and 8 catalogs to hand out as well as your bonus bundle. If I were able to get the starter kit again I would choose the Prized Peony Bundle because it is a whopping $78 before shipping and tax. If you live in Canada, you can just click here to get this deal. Offer ends June 30.
Thanks!
Thanks for visiting with me today, I truly appreciate you. Your comments and sharing on Pinterest and on Facebook really make a difference and I don’t take it for granted. I hope you have a beautiful day and that you also see the good in others and in the world. Hugs!
Before I sign off I thought it would be appropriate to share this post about nature and finding the good and also taking time to see life’s little gifts.
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Today is going to be a philosophical post called “Never Assume”. What am I talking about? Let’s find out.
Never Assume
Of course on a stamping blog my topic of “never assume” is going to be card related. I was inspired by a picture I had saved on my desktop. The picture is of my very active grandson Leo making a card. We had assumed that Leo would not be the slightest interested in sitting down to stamp. Boy were we wrong. Here he is eagerly making a birthday card for his cousin Ana.
The Magic of Stamps, Ink and Paper
Deep down we all yearn to be creative. We want to express ourselves in art but there is fear. Fear of failure. Fear of not being able to accomplish what we can do in our heads. Then came stamps! The art is already done. All we have to do is ink up that stamp and put it to paper and we already have beauty. Everything that happens after that is just icing on the cake. I challenge you to introduce someone new to stamping. Invite a friend over and bring out the paper, ink and stamps. Start with plain white computer paper so that there is no stress about ruining your “good stuff”. See where that takes you.
Stamping With Children
When stamping with children stick to using just one colour of ink. Put out some grid paper or butcher paper or even newspaper to protect your table. Show them you to put the stamp on the ink pad and then on the paper and let them have at it. Suppress the urge to control the outcome. Marvel at their joy! Here is another blog post using note cards and envelopes. Coincidentally it is also a blog post about children!!
Stamping Yourself
When you get a new stamp set take the time to stamp each image on whisper white cardstock. Stamp them in different colours; do “generational” stamping where you stamp off several times so that you get different shades. In other words, just play a bit. This will give you the feel of the stamp set and will remove any pressure to create something amazing right away. A pack of notecards and envelopes is a very economical investment to allow you to play with the simple stamping technique. You can get twenty note cards and envelopes for only $9.50. That’s cheaper than a movie ticket and will keep you occupied just as long.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today for this little ramble. Just think what could happen when you stop deciding for others whether they will enjoy stamping or not. You might find yourself a whole new group of stamping buddies. I can’t wait to hear your stories! Be sure to tell your new people about the great deal on the starter kit that ends at the end of June. What a great way to get started on a fantastic hobby.
Hello stampers and happy Friday to you. Today I will be sharing with you a lovely Post It Note Holder. This was my contribution to the Demo Design Dream Team as our theme was 3D items. I wanted mine to be something practical, and I love sticky notes. Wait till you see the inside of mine! It has a very special kind of Post It Note or sticky notes. You need to be a Stampin’Up! demonstrator in order to have access to them. Let’s take a look.
Prized Peony Post It Note Holder
We may as well cut to the chase and see this beauty. If you agree with me that it is super cute, you may want to make it yourself. The step by step instructions are in the tutorial which you can get for free if you are on my team, if you are a part of my very affordable international training group OR if you place a $50 order in July.
Post It Note Holder AND Matching Pen
Did you know that you can get special RSVP pens that allow you to roll up a piece of pretty paper to get your pen to coordinate with your project? I got mine at Staples, an office supply store in Canada.
The Measurements
Here are a few quick photos to get you started. One key thing, you put your sticky notes on the 3 2/4″ side.
The Inside of the Post It Note Holder
Here comes the exclusive part. Stampin’Up! has this amazing collection of post it notes; two are regular sized, two are little banner ones for marking your pages in the catalogue and one is this beautiful long one with the 30th anniversary graphic. It is only available for demonstrators. Just another little reason to get that starter kit while there is such an amazing deal!
Thanks!
Thanks so much for joining me today. Maybe you can join me for my daily 3pm Facebook Live video. Today I will be unveiling the new Paper Pumpkin. If you liked this project please comment and/or pin it to Pinterest so that more people can enjoy it. Those little things make such a big difference for my business and I am so happy that you are willing to help me out in this way. If you live in Canada and want to purchase any of the products that I used, just click on the links below in the product list. I hope you have a super day and a lovely weekend. It’s Father’s Day!
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Today I am participating in the New at SU Blog Hop featuring new flowers from the annual catalog. I decided to share another card made with the stunning Prized Peony bundle. Peonies are in bloom right now in southern Ontario and I love them!
Prized Peony
I love the embossing folder that is part of the Peony Garden Suite, so I thought I would run the full front panel of the card through this Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder including the square vellum doily.
Square Vellum Doily Window
This card was born with the idea of using the square vellum doily as a window in the card. I cut out the square frame using the stitched shapes square dies. I just put a glue dot on each corner to secure the doily to the front of the card. After that I cut another scalloped square with petal pink and then used the stitched square die to cut out the centre of it. The resulting scalloped square frame was placed over the edge of the vellum doily to set it off nicely. When this was done I put the entire thing through the die cutting machine in the Dainty Diamonds embossing folder. The vellum looks so pretty embossed!
It’s All in the Details
Did you notice the saying? I used only part of the “love & thanks to a dear friend”. The flowers and the leaves were stamped in memento on shimmery white cardstock and coloured with Petal Pink Blends. The leaves were done in Old Olive and the centre in dark Daffodil Delight. I even finished the inside of the card!
If you want to see more cards made with this suite, check out this blog post.
One More Card
I just had to make one more card. You can see that it uses the same raw materials but instead of creating a window with the square vellum doily, I just created a focal point that I popped up with dimensionals on the pretty paper. Which one do you like better?
I used Stampin’ Write Markers to colour directly on the stamp using petal pink and old olive. I then used a Blender Pen to blend the colour on the leaves to give it a more vibrant look. The same technique was used on the flower but the petal pink did not blend as well as the old olive. Maybe it dries faster. Either way, I am pleased with the end result.
Hop On Through
I am excited to see what everyone else in this blog hop made and I hope you have fun hopping with us. Be sure to leave us comments because that makes it extra special. Just click on the button below to hop on over to the next blog. Here is a list of everyone on the blog hop so you have a quick overview.
If you click on the button above you will go to the talented Joyce Whitman for another Peony Garden card. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us.
Thank You
Thanks for stopping by today, I’m so glad you did! I hope you have a super day and I’m looking forward to hearing which card you liked best in today’s blog post. Remember, this beautiful bundle can be yours as a free BONUS if you get the starter kit. Can you pass up such a great deal? If not, here is the link to get started but it will only work if you live in Canada. If you are from the States, you can sign up with Julie. Just click on the button on the right of this post.
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. I almost forgot to share these beautiful Forever Fern sympathy cards with you! Forever Fern is a stunning DistINKtive style stamp that is perfect for making sympathy cards. Take a look at what I have made and I think you will agree with me.
Forever Fern Sympathy Cards
The dies used on this card are from Tasteful Touches bundle which is one of the choices you have as your free bundle if you get the starter kit. I used Pretty Peacock as the accent colour and the stamp set is Here’s A Card. The gold foil embellishments from the last two cards are from the vastly improved Laser Cut Gold Foil Paper.
Embossing on Wood with Forever Fern
Yes, you can emboss on wooden elements. Just press the wood into the versamark firmly several times and sprinkle with white embossing powder. Hold it firmly with tweezers and heat emboss. If you only use one coat of embossing powder then the intricate design will still show through. Here is a close up.
Stamp Sets Used
Here are the stamp sets I used for these cards. If you watched my daily live videos you have seen how quickly and easily these cards came together. Stampin’Up! makes it so easy to make beautiful things with their coordinated suites. Don’t forget that if you live in Canada you can get the amazing deal on the starter kit through me and get a free bonus bundle. There is no need to “do parties” or to do what I do. If you love to stamp, you deserve your own discount, it is as simple as that.
One More Card!
Wow, this is turning into a long blog post, you are definitely getting a good read today and lots of ideas to jump start your own creativity. This last card uses more of that beautiful Forever Gold Laser-Cut Specialty paper. I also used the dies from the Tasteful Touches bundle.
To save you from searching everywhere, the ribbon is from the Flowers for Every Season suite collection, it comes in a ribbon pack with lovely twine and also gingham ribbon. Love, love, love.
The Video
Here is the video I made showing you how to make these cards. It’s a Facebook live video so there is a fair bit of chitchat, but you can fast forward at any time and I will never know! I hope you have a super day. As an aside, I must share that I find it very therapeutic to make sympathy cards. I know that in a small way I am making a difference, I am showing that I care enough to make a personalized card for the person who is grieving. Somehow, I think you feel the same way.
