Hello stampers and happy Thursday to you. Today I want to share with you the Easter Promise with blends cards that I did for my coffee and a card class. Easter Promise is a gorgeous stamp set that has beautiful crocuses that are just so lovely to colour, especially with our blends. Anyone else a believer in colouring therapy?
Easter Promise with Blends
Blends are simply a wonderful colouring tool, whether you choose to use them individually or in combination. You see, they come in a light and a dark shade and you can blend them together to make even more beautiful and realistic colour. This can sound intimidating, but it really isn’t at all. Just take a look at my video and you will see how easy it is. The colour is just so smooth and vibrant that it will make you happy to colour the beautiful flowers in the Easter Promise stamp set.
Have you ever had it when you are making a card that you get ink on your fingers? No!! Hmmmmm. Well, believe it or not, this happened to a lady at class and she got a smudge on her circle with the crocuses, but she had a solution. Why not add a pretty bee from the Honey Bee bundle? What a difference this cute little bee makes, especially with a touch of Wink of Stella on its wings.
A Little Trick
I have found it to be quite effective to leave some of the flowers white. If you add Wink of Stella, a glitter brush, to the white flowers they look stunning. This effect is difficult to capture in a picture, but in real life it is quite captivating. Card makers are sometimes afraid of white space, but it is actually a good thing so embrace it and see what happens!
The other trick is to emboss your patterned paper. I used the Leaves embossing folder on Perennial Essence designer series paper and it is quite striking. I was hoping to share an older post with you with another card using this technique but I found this one instead. It features a totally different kind of embossing, but I think you will like it. If we ever do get quarantined because of this Corona virus I will not have a shortage of things to do in my house, that is for sure.
A Video With Three Easter Cards
This video is actually my Facebook live that I do every Tuesday at 7pm. This time might change to one with better light. I am thinking about 1pm but it might take a bit of time to make the switch.
A Personal Note
I am going to save the other two cards for later since I have limited time today. Fun and exciting things are happening. Child number four is getting married and his fiancé and her mother are at my house. Tomorrow we go wedding dress shopping and today I am going to show them a bit of Chatham and then we are going to stamp together! Laura wants to make her own wedding invitations and table “things”. You can tell that I am not into the particulars, but I am thrilled to have her join the family and also super excited to stamp with her mom who is a “newbie”! Yay!
Thanks!
Thanks so much for joining me today, I hope you consider giving out Easter cards randomly to people in your neighbourhood and spread true joy. Don’t forget to take advantage of saleabration either to order or to join my amazing team. You already know that I have a special place waiting just for you. Click here if you want to get the starter kit, and have fun filling it with whatever you want or need. Have a super day.
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. I have a fantastic Double Point Card for you which I think is perfect for the What’s New at SU blog hop. We are a group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrator from around the world who are Hoppin’ With Exciting Ideas to share with you. I am so happy you are joining us for this hop.
Today I am going to share a Pleased as Punch Double Point Card. When looking at my blog statistics I can see that many of you look up my double point card, so I thought it was time to do one using saleabration items. It’s hard to believe that saleabration is almost over! Be sure to get your freebies while they are still available. Pleased as Punch paper is also only available until March 31 as a saleabration coordination product.
Pleased As Punch Paper
Pleased as Punch paper is so pretty and cheerful but even better than that, it coordinates with FOUR punches and four stamp sets. I love it so much and I wish it would stay longer than just till the end of March. Honestly, I highly recommend that you get this paper so you can use it for your spring and Easter cards. Just creating with this paper will make it feel like spring in your home.
As you can see, this paper coordinates with the following punches and stamp sets:
Under My Umbrella bundle
Heartfelt bundle
Timeless Tulips bundle
Thoughtful Blooms stamp set and Small Bloom punch (both free saleabration items)
Double Point Card
I used the blushing bride gingham paper as the focal point for my double point card. At first my plan was to use the Under My Umbrella stamp set and punch but it turns out that the Timeless Tulips worked best. I chose to make a sympathy card with it even though the colours are bright and cheerful. Very fitting for a celebration of life don’t you think?
Here is the inside of the card. It’s not perfect because I was in a little bit of a rush (imagine that!). I could have lined up my folds a little better but no one really loves perfection, so I think it will be just fine. If you want all the specifics on how to make this type of fold, you can see one of my most popular blog posts here and you will have all the information you need.
Stitched Nested Labels
Many of you know that I recently spent seven weeks in Holland to be with my boyfriend Gerard. While there I still stamped and blogged every day and I became acutely aware of the things that I did not have in my stamp room there. One of the things I really missed were my stitched nested labels. They should be a staple in every stamp room and especially for this double point card. My favourite thing about them is that they can be easily removed from the die and the stitching is just so pretty.
Saleabration Coordination
Saleabration is a wonderful time of the stamping year; everyone loves getting free products to choose from. Stampin’Up! has made saleabration even more exciting by adding saleabration coordination items that make your free items even more versatile. We have both dies and paper to coordinate with so many saleabration products that make it super fun to create. Don’t miss out on the pretty Pleased as Punch paper and be sure to check out the birthday framelits, the Ladybug dies, Nature’s Thoughts dies, Sending Flowers dies and Special Day dies. To see these beauties, just click on this link.
Video Tutorial
I made this video on my old phone and I couldn’t get it to post in landscape mode, but it is better than nothing!
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today and be sure to check out the rest of the What’s New at SU bloggers participating in this fantastic blog hop. Click on the link below to check out the previous blog, I am sure that Brenda Copper has made something beautiful to inspire you.
If you want to hop on to the next blog to see what the talented Tricia Butts has made click on the button below. Thanks so much for hopping along with us, I hope you were inspired by the saleabration items everyone used.
Please contact your Stampin’ Up! demonstrator if you have any questions or to make a product purchase. I would be happy to answer any questions about products or the techniques shown here. If you do not have a demonstrator, you can use the links below to order products from me or you can click here to join my Beyond Pampered Team and get the very best deal in the catalog. Have a super day!
Hello stampers and happy Tuesday. Today I simply want to share a very meaningful journal which will be part of my Honour and Remember campaign. A journal is a perfect place to record memories and stories as well as photos. I think it will be perfect for the Honour and Remember event. Let me tell you more about it.
Meaningful Journal for Veterans
I am hoping that there are some people who have stories to share with our veterans and their families. This journal is the perfect size for holding some small but extremely meaningful stories and pictures. Our veterans and their families have given so much in World War 2 and a story of how their sacrifice affected someone’s life would be priceless. If you have not had a chance to share your story personally with a veteran or their families, now is your chance!
The Journal
Here is a picture of the journal. I have kept it very simple. A mossy meadow ink pad was swiped across the journal cover for this amazing emboss resist look. Peaceful Poppies paper was added to the front as well as some black ribbon and a sentiment from So Sentimental. A poppy element was added to the edge of the frame to make it complete.
Here is a closeup of the journal. The stitched label die is from the Stitched So Sweetly dies. The sentiment is from So Sentimental and you can save 10% when you buy those two products as a bundle. Until March 31 this bundle will also come with a free saleabration item of your choice. Yay!!
Thank You!
Thanks so much for joining me today, for sending cards for the happy mail for Gerard contest (three more cards came in today!!) and for participating in the Paper Pumpkin for cancer campaign. Together we can make a very meaningful difference in this world. Please help spread the word about the Honour and Remember campaign too. Stories are powerful and are meant to be shared. So often we don’t hear about how we impacted someone’s life, so this will be a great way to do so.
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Stamping with littles has been on my mind lately. Have you ever stamped with “littles”? It is my pet word for children and it is an inclusive and endearing term. I think it is super important to do meaningful activities in intergenerational groups. This used to happen in the distant past with quilting bees and baking events, but it is quite rare today.
Let Me Tell You About Stamping with Littles
This past Saturday I had a “Littles and Me” class and I really had no idea what to expect as I did not set any age specifications. It was the first of two classes and the second class was full with four adults and eight littles. This one was only one adult and two littles, but then one more adult and one more little came for a well rounded class. The youngest little was four and the oldest was twelve. One of the adults was a young mom, the other an oma. It was lovely to see everyone interact! Like all stamping events, it was about so much more than just making cards! It warmed my heart to see the quality time and the relationships that were strengthened through doing a meaningful and fun activity together.
Cheerful Chick
One of the cards that we made at my “Littles and Me” class was this cheerful chick card. It is perfect for all ages and everyone was delighted to see the chick take shape as we added eyes, beak and feet. Oh the joys of two step stamping!
Even the four year old was able to make this card with a bit of help. She stamped her background flowers all by herself and then chose to put the sentiment on her egg since she didn’t want to cover any of her flowers. Perfectly adorable!
Dino Days
The second card for my Littles and Me class featured the dinosaur set. The reason for that is because the die for the egg in the chick card comes from the Dino Days bundle! I also thought the littles could personalize their card by choosing which dinosaur to put on their card. This is a super fun set with adorable coordinating paper.
The littles were true to my expectations. They switched around the patterned paper, the placement of the hearts, their choice of dinosaurs, it was great! Children love to do their own thing much more than adults. They have confidence in what they like and are not at all worried about doing it “right”. We can learn from them. My next Littles and Me class is Saturday March 21 at 10am.
Memories and More cards with the Littles
If you want to create with the littles in your life, I highly recommend our Memories and More line of products. There are ready to go whisper white Memories & More cards and envelopes so that you do not need to cut and score them yourself. Match them up with the Memories & More card pack of your choice and you will have hours of easy fun with your littles. In the card pack there are also stickers and special cards. They are also perfectly suited for pocket card style scrapbooking, where you slip either photos or these cards into the various sized pockets. There are journaling cards included as well.
Tropical Oasis Memories & More tutorial
I have made a tutorial that includes 15 cards made using Memories & More cards. There are five “normal” cards included as well. If you love the Memories & More cards but need a help getting your creative juices flowing, then this tutorial is for you. Cheaper than a class and you can stay home in your pajamas to do it! Here is a photo of all the cards. You can examine them closely and probably figure it out on your own and that is fine too. The tutorial is there for instant gratification! Sometimes we need that. This will last longer than a bouquet of flowers, so indulge yourself.
If you want to purchase the tutorial, just click on the buy now below and when I get the PayPal notification I will send you the pdf.
Paper Pumpkin for Cancer Campaign
This blog post is all over the place today! There is just so much that I want to share with you. As you may know, Paper Pumpkin for March will have a bonus stamp set in it. What you might not know is that I was inspired by a fellow team member who is battling her second cancer right now. First she conquered breast cancer, now she is dealing with brain cancer. She is in the hospital right now and when I was chatting with her I found out that as she is pain free she has hours in the hospital spend sleeping and reading. What she needed was some paper crafting distraction! Paper Pumpkin to the rescue. It didn’t take much time to gather a few Paper Pumpkins, some extra ink spots from previous Paper Pumpkins, some scissors and some adhesive.
This made me think that it would be great to distribute more Paper Pumpkins to the cancer ward. Cancer patients and their families could benefit from having a fun and meaningful distraction. With March having a bonus stamp set I thought I would ask people to sponsor a Paper Pumpkin. The bonus stamp set would be mailed to them and that way people from all over the world could participate. You can too!! You have until tomorrow to do it! Time is of the essence. After the tenth there will be no more bonus stamp set. You could still sponsor a Paper Pumpkin but there would be no perk for you besides the joy of doing something special for someone.
I love it when I can use my business for the greater good and can mobilize other people to join me.
Thanks so Much!
Thanks so very much for joining me today and also for participating in fun ventures with me. I really hope that this impulsive, last minute idea to spread joy to cancer patients with Paper Pumpkin gets a lot of involvement, together we really can make a difference. On a personal note, keep those cards coming for Gerard and you will be in a draw for a masculine stamp set. Read more about it in this blog post. There is also the Honour and Remember event happening for our veteran community. You can read about that here.
Only three weeks left in saleabration so be sure to take advantage of the free products or the starter kit opportunity. More info on that in this post, OR if you are ready for the best deal in the catalog, simply click this link to get started.
Hello stampers and happy Friday to you. When writing a blog post you always have to decide what to call it and the blog people don’t like it when you use the same words too often. When I was in England 27 years ago, “Mind the Gap” amused me greatly. This is what was said in a lovely accent every time you were on the subway platform. “Mind the Gap” applies to my card today since it is a divided front card with a lovely gap that I really want you to notice.
Mind the Gap Card
If you look closely you will see that the “Rest & Relaxation” panel bridges that gap between the top and bottom of the card. People really notice this card when they are in my stamp room, it is really quite striking and piques ones interest. Let’s take a look at the inside.
Yes, I know this picture is slightly blurry. I am blaming it on my muscle relaxant pills. They apparently also affect my brain and ocular tissue. You get the idea though and that way I don’t have to take and edit another photo. I used the Tropical Oasis Memories and More cards to make this fun card.
Tropical Oasis Memories and More
Have you heard about our Memories and More cards? While they are meant for scrapbooking or memory keeping as some people like to call it, they are also fantastic for quick and easy card making. I have included lots of these great cards in my latest tutorial which I am happy to report is now available. Just click on the buy it now button below and you will get hours of easy crafting without any Google searches or frustrating mismeasurements that waste your cardstock and ruin your joy. There are twenty cards in this fun tutorial.
Here is a sneak peek of 16 cards in the tutorial.
If you want to see some other cards that are in this tutorial, check out this blog post.
I made a short video that shows 19 of the 20 cards (one was forgotten on my desk!!)
Did you know that if you buy the Tropical Oasis bundle you will get this tutorial for free? Definitely. I want to guarantee your stamping success. With any $50 purchase in March you will also get the Demo Design Dream Team tutorial, or you can get it for free if you join my team. Here is the link for joining and getting the amazing deal on the starter kit.
Here is the sneak peek for the March DDDT tutorial.
Thanks for Participating
I just want to thank you for participating in the happy mail for Gerard contest. The cards are flowing in and I am so very excited to see his face. This will be a surprise because he doesn’t read my blog. He does follow my Facebook page because he loves the interaction we all have there, but he thinks my blog is all technical about card details. Let’s keep it that way. If you send a masculine card to me for him by March 29 you will be in a contest to win a free masculine stamp set from the mini catalog. I will also blog about your card and do a video of Gerard opening them all. Please address your cards to Gerard van der Sar, c/o Jackie Bultje 81 Delaware Avenue, Chatham Ontario, N7L 2W3.
Thanks for stopping by today as well. I hope you have a super day, that you spread some joy with your cards and that you exercise some mindful gratitude for the blessings in your life.
