Hello stampers and happy Friday to you! Did you know that Stampin’Up! is making a huge difference with the Trimming the Town suite? Well, actually it is the Coming Home stamp set in this suite that is the fundraiser. This makes me so very happy! If you purchase the Coming Home stamp set Stampin’Up! will donate $4 to charities devoted to adoption, foster care and infertility. Together we can make a difference today.
Trimming the Town Suite
Let’s Raise Money for Families!
Here is a look at the stamp set that is the actual “vehicle” for the fundraiser. If you purchase this adorable stamp set you will help raise money for adoption, foster care and fertility. This is the most Stampin’Up! has ever donated to a charity, $4 per set! I would love to encourage people to ALL buy this great set. I think it is the perfect set for this cause. Do you know why?
What is one of the first things that you ever drew as a child? I think the top three are 1. a sun, 2. a tree and 3. a house! These images are perfect for colouring for all ages. Are you going to buy this set?
Some Cute Cards with Trimming the Town Suite
This cute card comes straight out of the catalog and uses both our new festive felt sheets and the adhesive backed snowflakes. I accidentally bought the snowflake sequins instead of these beauties. I love the convenience of having them be adhesive backed already. No need to struggle with glue dots!
My Card!
Finally you get to see my card. It is an amazing surprise gatefold card that I showed in my Facebook live video which I will also share here. I hope you subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you don’t miss any of my videos. When I am finished my quarantine I will be getting a new phone so that I can do my live videos in landscape mode. Won’t that just be fantastic!!
Here is the inside of the card, but the best thing will be watching the video to see all the surprises inside!
Trimming the Town Video Tutorial
If you want to see how to make this surprise gatefold card, just watch this video. We will also be making this style of card in my Online Christmas Bingo which is going to be so much fun!! I hope you consider joining in too, you have until September 15 to register for this event on October 8 at 7pm. You can read all the details here.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for joining me today, I had a lot of fun playing with this fun Trimming the Town suite, but more than that, I really, really hope you get on board with the fundraiser. I love it when I can use my business to help with an important cause. Families are everything! I hope you have a super day!!
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Gnome for the Holidays is a super cute stamp set that will bring a smile to your face. So will winning some fabulous prizes with my online Bingo that is scheduled for October 8. Today I am sharing with you the three Gnome for the Holidays cards that we will make during the online bingo event.
Gnome for the Holidays Cards
This second card was inspired by Cindy Brumbaugh, and she also has a great video tutorial on how to make the surprise gatefold card. I’m so grateful for her inspiration, it really helped me to get my mojo back. You can see her blog post here.
I’m not sure if it is me, but I do think this picture is a little blurry. Sorry, normally I would fix that, but I really want to get this post finished and I think you can see how adorable this card is.
This last card was totally cased from fellow Canadian demonstrator Josée Smuck from Ottawa, Ontario. Here is her blog post so you can check it out for yourself. Thanks so much for the inspiration Josée, I needed that this morning.
How Does the Online Bingo Work?
This event will take place in a private live Facebook video. The cost is $50 and you will get Gnome for the Holidays sent to you along with all the supplies to make these three cards. You will also get a pdf tutorial so that you can have it printed off in case your internet connection is less than ideal. The tutorial will also be great for future reference. If you don’t want to participate in the Bingo but would like the tutorial, no problem, it’s yours for $10. There will also be an opportunity to win one of six great prizes. Here is the list of prizes:
Don’t Stop Believin’
Christmas Means More
Warm Hugs
Poinsettia Petals
Cherish the Season Bundle
Dove of Hope bundle
To keep it more fair and fun for everyone, you can only win one prize. If you are not a big fan of Gnome for the Holidays or if you already have it, then you can choose Don’t Stop Believin’ as your included stamp set. If this is your choice and you happen to win that prize, you can choose another stamp set of similar value. The deadline for signing up for this fun event is September 15. This will give me time to have the sets ordered and sent to you.
Get & Go Deal on the Starter Kit
Do you love a great deal? How does getting all your stamping supplies at a 20% discount sound to you? You can get this by getting the starter kit which is an amazing deal right now. No need to worry about selling anything, this kit includes 8 card kits for each stamp set that is included as a free bonus in your kit. While Stampin’Up! would love for you to become a great salesperson for them, there is no obligation to do so. In fact, most of our demonstrators are their own best customers and have purchased the kit to get their own discount.
For the month of September you will get Queen Anne’s Lace stamp set and So Much Love stamp set, 16 card kits and a package of rhinestones added as a free bonus as well as a coupon to redeem for a free Paper Pumpkin. Then you get to choose $165 worth of product from any of our catalogs or from the clearance rack. You pay only $135, no tax, no shipping. Almost too good to be true!
If you want to keep your discount, or you want to build a business then you need to sell $400 every three months.
Beyond Pampered Team Ready for YOU!
I would love to have you join my Beyond Pampered team. If you live in Canada, there is a spot waiting just for you. Why join with me? Because I would love to share with you all the knowledge I have gained in my fourteen years as a demonstrator. I have an international training group that is FREE for my team. You will get a free pdf tutorial with 16 projects once a month. I do a live training video each week. When COVID is over, we gather once a month for stamping and treats. Here is the link if you want to take advantage of this amazing deal.
Thanks for joining me today, I hope you have a super day.
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday. The title of my blog post is a beautiful quote from the inside of one of my happy mail cards. This is just more proof that happy mail is amazing, not only for the beautiful cards that are made, sent and received, but also for the handwritten message within. Are you curious?
Tricia’s Card
Tricia Minturn from Durand, Wisconsin sent me this beautiful Christmas card. Inside she wrote: “Through your posts I know you are a Christian and would not mind receiving a late Christmas card because Christ is never too late or out of season.” Wow!!! How true is that? The stamped saying inside is also so true and heartwarming: “Wishing you a season of joy as we remember the night when Love came down to earth and became our song of celebration.” Thanks so much Tricia for your wise words and your beautiful card!
Tricia used the Merry Christmas dies, the beautiful Feels Like Frost paper and the Woodland embossing folder. I am trying to guess how she did the unique background. It looks like she sponged seaside spray over whisper white cardstock and then added some sponging with either silver metallica ink or a shimmer paste. Clever girl, you will have to reveal your secrets in the comments. I absolutely love how you used just a small strip of this gorgeous paper for the focal point of your card. It really makes the white Christmas pop! The silver metallic thread in behind that centre panel is also a nice subtle touch.
Durand, Wisconsin is a small rural town. The Durand area was first settled in 1856 when 21-year-old Miles Durand Prindle came up the river in a keel boat named the “Dutch Lady”. This little trivia fact made me smile because of the Dutch connection which was a total surprise to me. Durand is located on the Chippewa River and is close to the border of Iowa and Minnesota.
Sally’s Card
The next card comes all the way from New Zealand and it is a breath of spring with its lovely cheerful tulips. Quite fitting since it is actually summer in New Zealand right now. Thank you Sally Wheoki for this beautiful card. There are so many things I love about Sally’s card. She made the tulips pop by colouring the background with balmy blue Blends. One of the tulips is popped up and extends slightly past the edge of the card but not so much that it won’t fit into the envelope. The sentiment is popped up over the calypso coral twine and it was cut using the stitched rectangle dies.
Sally also used the rule of odd numbers to keep her card artistically pleasing. There are five tulips and she incorporated three different colours for the flowers. So clever. All the tulips have a lovely shimmer to them because of the Wink of Stella clear glitter brush that Sally used to accent her blooms. #itsinthedetails
I just realized that this card also perfectly fits the theme for today. It is also never too late because it uses Timeless Tulips!! I do love words. The happy mail envelope was also worthy of a picture as it reminds me of the global nature of our stamping tribe. Sally was also very clever because she used the mini catalog as a source of inspiration. Check out the gorgeous card on page 43! I know that I sometimes forget to do this, but our catalogs are great idea books too.
Thank you so much Sally for your lovely card. I love that you have been such a loyal FB follower and training team member too. We are definitely stamping family. It was heartwarming to read about the personal changes you have seen in me over the last year and that my happiness is so evident. I am blessed!
I am hoping that there will be more happy mail tomorrow for me to blog about, if not, there are still some cards that I have not shared from my ten card collection using Botanical Prints product medley.
Thanks
Thanks for joining me today! Tomorrow I will share some pictures of my afternoon. I had the distinct pleasure of having high tea with my Tante Nel. There is of course a story to share about this and why it happened. In the meantime, happy stamping. I hope the happy mail cards inspired you today. It’s never to late to send happy mail to those you love, and it’s never to late to start a new hobby or a new career. Don’t forget about the amazing deal on the starter kit or the beautiful stamp set you can get for free if you host a qualifying workshop.
Hello stampers and happy Saturday, Today I want to talk a little bit about what happens when stampers get together. It really doesn’t matter where you are in the world, when stampers get together, fun happens. We usually gather around a table with food and drink and first we talk and share our passion about creativity and paper crafting. Whether you make cards as a hobby or teach card making as a business, it makes no difference. We all get excited when we see other people’s work.
Dutch Demo Open House
What I noticed yesterday at the Dutch Demo Day open house is that everyone has different things to bring to the table. It can be small things like a very different approach to colour combinations to interesting ways to make boxes or folders for cards. It could be a talent for layering details to create a gorgeous focal point. Someone felt badly that they brought only two cards to show but I learned so much from both of them. One was a fold I have seen but never made, and the other one was a very simple but interesting layout for a card. I know that they will both give me great inspiration. The best part however is the shared enthusiasm and I love how we all go home with a lighter step. I made a couple of videos showing the cards that some of the demos brought with to show and share. Here is one showing Caroline van der Straaten’s work. She is on the artisan design team and you can find her blog here. Caro is also my new upline in Holland! This second video shows Diana van Otterloo’s work. You can find her blog here.
Happy Mail in Holland
Another way we as stampers are getting together is through this happy mail in Holland contest. We are virtually gathering around to see what the latest card is that came to my mailbox and I love that. Today I will be sharing a card from New York State and one from my home town in Chatham, Ontario. The first one is from Debby Kainu who I first met many years ago at a Stampin’Up! Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was a friend of a friend, Michelle Deslandes from Vermont. (At least this is how I remember it, I could be totally wrong, and if that is the case, I am looking forward to hearing the real story!) The second card is from my team member Yvonne Macfadyen.
Debby’s card
Here is another view of Debby’s beautiful card. I love this fold, I featured in in my blog back in October, you can see it here. Debbie used the gorgeous Feels Like Frost paper that was so popular it sold out. Debbie is from Middletown, New York. This city is in the Hudson River Valley area in the foothills. I am quite sure I drove through this area when leaving New York City and heading to upper state New York on my way home to Ontario. So very lovely with all the hills and trees.
Yvonne’s Card
Yvonne was the first person to come to my coffee and a card classes. She is originally from England and has the most delightful accent. Yvonne loved card making so much that she was placing such regular orders that I encouraged her to get the starter kit. What a dilemma it was for her! She agonized over it for weeks. Finally I asked her, what do you have to lose? Well, the answer was clear. Nothing. She also knew she had everything to gain! Little did she know then that she would gain so much more than just some free bonus stamp sets, a great discount and some more goodies. She gained a whole tribe of friends and so many great experiences. Yvonne is not only my longest running team member, she is also my right hand for prepping for classes and for running my classes while I am gone and a true friend. What a blessing she has been in my life!!
Yvonne used the brand new set Positive Thoughts to make this gorgeous card. I love the colour combination, the use of white space and the clean and simple look of it. Fantastic card!! She made me order the set, so that is a good thing. Here is a look at the happy treatment of the envelope as well. When you stamp your envelope there is no doubt to the recipient that they are getting happy mail! It even makes the postman smile I think. The next time I blog about happy mail from Chatham I will tell you some interesting facts about my city.
Paying Attention to Detail
How many of you caught the fact that at the beginning of my blog I said “happy Saturday”? Well, I had every intention of publishing this blog post on Saturday but then we ended up picking up a rental car that is automatic so I could drive myself. Our loaner vehicle needed a car wash and the lineup was long. To make a long story short, it was time to leave for Deventer, a beautiful city near where Gerard’s youngest sister lives before my blog post was finished. I will tell you more about that lovely city tomorrow. I am going to publish this blog post today, even though it is a Sunday because most of the work was done yesterday and I don’t want to post twice tomorrow.
Thanks so much for joining me, happy mail keeps streaming in. I so appreciate all the love. This is what happens when stampers get together in spirit! Have a blessed Sunday.
Hello stampers and happy Thursday to you. Today I am featuring cardinal happy mail from New Brunswick and the artist is Sue MacDonald. Sue is from the city of Moncton which is famous for it’s tidal bore in the Petitcodiac river which makes the water flow backwards during the tide! You can read more about this fascinating city here. I love that it was first settled by Pennsylvania Dutch people in the 1700’s. Moncton is a resilient city that has bounced back from two serious economic downturns. How inspiring!
Sue MacDonald’s card
Here is Sue’s beautiful card featuring one of my favourite birds, the northern cardinal. She used the Toile Christmas stamp set and Toile Tidings paper with a very vanilla cardstock base.
I love all the details in this card. The sentiment is stamped in memento black on a very vanilla oval. There is a vellum overlay to soften the colours of the patterned paper which allows the cardinal to really pop. If Sue had not used that clever trick the card may have looked too “busy”. It is truly a lovely effect. The branch and the cardinal were both coloured with Blends which give a very rich effect. Have I mentioned that I am totally addicted to Blends? Colouring is very therapeutic and Blends make it easy, even for people who are a bit afraid of colouring. More than one person at my classes has been converted to the joy of colouring after using Blends!
Happy Mail
Once again, I had to take a picture of the envelope. I love how the envelope also tells a story and has it’s own beauty. Of course, the fact that Sue stamped some prancing deer on the front definitely takes it up a notch! I think I have just been inspired to do something very special with all these envelopes!! This “happy mail in Holland” contest is really bringing me a lot of joy and I thank each and every one of you for participating. Are you enjoying “traveling” to the different places these cards are coming from?
I think the deer may be contraband, which is my pet word for any products that are not Stampin’Up! No worries, I have my own little contraband stash at home. I love wooden vintage stamps so I have a small collection of those. If you want to participate in the contest you can send me your card at Bloemenlaan 6, 2691 JC ‘s-Gravenzande, the Netherlands.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for stopping by today and for taking the time to comment, to pin my cards or to share my posts. I am grateful that you are a part of my tribe. Happy stamping and have a super day. Remember, if you are feeling down, the best way to cheer up is to do something nice for someone else. Happy mail is always great to make and to give. Hugs from Holland! Say hello to any cardinals you might see in Canada, I am missing this iconic red bird and the snow. If you want to see another card made with this beautiful cardinal, check out this blog post .I gave this card to my Oom Stoffel this weekend. Here is another post where the cardinal is converted to a blue jay.
Happy Saturday stampers. As a scrapbooker and cardmaker I love patterned paper, just the way I loved fabric when I was a seamstress, Seamstress sounds better than sewer because that looks just like a much yuckier word! Pretty patterned paper is great used as a focal point, and one of the cards today will show that is true.
Happy Mail Continues
The happy mail continues so I am also continuing to blog on Saturdays to keep up. What a fantastic “problem” that is. I have to say I am overwhelmed with the response to my request for happy mail in Holland. It is such a nice role reversal for me to be inspired by my readers and I am loving it. Have you seen your card featured on my blog yet? It’s not too late to participate, I am here until January 29. The address is Bloemenlaan 6, 2691 JC s-‘Gravenzande, the Netherlands
Ann-Marie’s card
Ann Marie Paré is from the small town os Lachine just outside of Montreal, Quebec. She is such a sweet and thoughtful person. Even though she is battling cancer she still finds the time to leave encouraging comments on blog posts, videos and Instagram and Facebook posts. I met her at OnStage in Quebec City and she joined my team a few months later. We look quite funny standing beside each other. She is under 5 feet tall and I am 5’9″ so I look like a giantess!!
I love the combination of the hammered embossing folder with the copper foil paper and how you can see the copper through the little diamond openings in the label. Who can help me and tell me where that is from? The lovely sentiment is stamped in copper ink which is sadly out of stock. Ann-Marie did such a lovely job colouring the holly too. It really is a gorgeous stamp and I just happen to know that it will be returning next Christmas so we can put it to good use again. (thanks to Linda’s comment we now know that the die is from the Peaceful Boughs set in the holiday catalog)
Patterned Paper as the Focal Point
Now I am not going to tell you just yet who made the next card. I can give you a hint. The handwriting on the envelope was definitely Dutch but the card came from Canada! I love how she used both Toile Tidings paper and Brightlly Gleaming paper as focal points on her card. Simple and stunning.
Hannie’s card
Hannie Van der Zanden lives on a farm near Highgate, Ontario which is about a half an hour from Chatham where I live. Hannie and her family immigrated to Canada when her kids were teenagers, more than ten years ago. How courageous! She travels and back and forth to Holland even more than I do. Here is her beautiful card.
By punching out the paper strategically Hannie used her paper as a focal point and I love it so much. Thanks so much for your pretty card and for reminding me of this simple way of using different papers together as a focal point.
Botanical Prints Product Medley tutorial
I am so happy to be able to present to you this great tutorial. These are also the cards we will be making at my February retreat in Muskoka. Check your calendar and see if February 20-23 will work for you!
This is a picture of a skating trail in Arrowhead Provincial park which is about twenty minutes from the cottage near Huntsville. Some evenings it is lit up like this. I love the idea of skating through the snowy woods. I think the trees would block the wind, don’t you? I am not a great skater at all, but I am definitely going to give this a try. There are so many nice things to do in this area and it is also beautiful to completely relax in a cozy cabin. I really hope that you consider joining me. If you want to make a deposit to hold your spot, just click on the button below.
