Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Creating with Waves of the Ocean gives a feeling of peace. That is definitely something we need more of these days. Blue and yellow are the colours for the Ukraine and both of these colours are found in my card today. I made this card on Tuesday for my weekly Parcels in the Post tutorial.
This card was NOT my original idea. I totally cased it from the talented Australian demonstrator Linda Dalke who is also a fellow design team member for the International Create With Us Team. You can find Linda’s blog post here to see her gorgeous work.
Waves of the Ocean
What is your favourite part of creating? I love what happens when you play with colours and I really get into the feeling that a card evokes. Each card is different. Some are cheerful and bubbly. Other times it is really serene. This one takes me to beautiful beaches that I have been too as well as the deck of a cruise ship. The beautiful blues of the Caribbean, or the azure of the Aegean Sea by Greece. Sometimes my cards take me back to my childhood.
‘Nuff said. Let’s take a look at this great card. I was going to take a picture of all three of the cards that I made, but I gave one away spontaneously to my postwoman. She was heavily laden with mail and I thought, I’ll bet she feels unappreciated!
After looking at these cards I realize that I did indeed give my favourite card away. It is the one that I made in my video, so that is good news. That means you can check it out and see it for yourself. In that card I perfected the blending brushes for the sky and I remembered to sponge the so saffron on the water BEFORE adding the blue, so there is no hint of green. It’s the little details!!
Video Tutorial
Here is my video tutorial. I am on a relentless pursuit of growing my YouTube following and I truly hope that you will also help me out. Click the red subscribe button on the bottom right corner of my video and if you feel like I deserve it you can also give me a thumbs up. For the video below, click on the box on the left side that says “watch on YouTube”. Yay!! Thank you so much.
Never A Dull Moment
I am writing this blog post at 8pm because I got an SOS call from my son late this afternoon. He, his wife and their daughter all have a nasty flu bug. They say they haven’t been this sick to their stomachs since childhood! So I am on “oma duty” for the littlest one. We had lots of snuggles since he was not happy to be alone at oma’s house. So happy that I am here to be able to help since that is not always the case!
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, so I did go outside for a walk in a nearby conservation area. I met a lovely old gentleman who personally showed me where the male great horned owl was roosting in the upper branches keeping an eye on his mate who was sitting on their eggs. Apparently great horned owls mate for life. Be still my heart!
Deal on the Mini Die Cutting Machine
Did you know that there is 20% off our adorable mini die cutting machine? This little gem is great for taking along when you are crafting away from home. There is also a great selection of stamp and die bundles on sale. See the images below. I really do hope that if you are Canadian and you follow my work that you will shop with me! I appreciate you very much.
Please note that the above images are just screenshots, so you cannot click on them and be taken to my online store. Those links are below for your convenience. Just click on the images in the product list and you will end up in my online store, it really is so wonderfully simple.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today. I am grateful to be a part of such a wonderful, creative community. Have a super day!
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you! Today I am featuring Happy Mail in Holland: Whimsical Trees. It’s a perfect day for happy mail because your squirrel is under the weather. As Gerard likes to stay “my tail is hanging low” but of course he says in adorably in Dutch. “Je staartje hang laag vandaag!”. Thanks to Karen Silvester for this beautiful card.
Karen’s Card
The blessing of this card is manifold. First of all it made me happy to open happy mail. Second it gave me a bit of a break for my blog post. No need to create a card, a beautiful one was given! Third, this card can now inspire you. What a wonderful hobby.
I purposely included the envelope so you can see my address here in the Netherlands. If you want to participate in the Happy Mail in Holland contest, then please send me a card before January 15. I am here until January 29 so that will give enough time to get in here. If you send me a card, I will blog about it AND your name will go into a draw for the Friendly Hello stamp set and paper sampler. This stamp set is free with a $120 purchase during saleabration, but you can get it for FREE with happy mail if you are the lucky winner.
Non-Traditional Colours
Wouldn’t you agree that Karen really rocked the non-traditional Christmas colours by choosing Fresh Freesia? It wouldn’t have occurred to me, but I love it! Karen Silvester is a fellow Stampin’Up! demonstrator from Chaplin, Saskatchewan. I hope to someday go and visit her together with Gerard. Our dream is to travel from coast to coast in a camper some day and when that happens I hope to visit some great stamping friends along the way!
I have one more picture showing all the great detail in this monochromatic card.
To see all the wonderful products used to make this stunning card, check out the product list below. If you want to add any of them to your own personal collection, just click on the photos and you will be in my online store. Happy shopping! Remember, Whimsical Trees will no longer be available after January 4, 2022.
Chaplin, Saskatchewan
Just where is Chaplin, Saskatchewan? Well, first of all, it is in Canada, but Canada is a very large country. I have never been to Saskatchewan which is one of the prairie provinces west of Ontario. You can read more about Chaplin in this blog post but I also want to share some details here today.
Chaplin is famous for its salt flats. It looks like there is snow in summer except it isn’t snow, it’s salt! I have seen this when flying into Salt Lake City, Utah but I imagine it is similar in Chaplin. Did you know that they also mine for salt?
From what I have read it sounds like Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals is doing an excellent job with sustainability and the environment. You can read all about it here.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today! I am placing an order today, there are still some great deals on the clearance rack and on the Last Chance List. You can check them out here yourself and place your own order online. Any orders placed in December will be in a draw for the Amaryllis Blooms host set. I will be doing a video with that set today for my Cheer Corner card. Please use the current host code when you order. Your business is much appreciated! Have a super day.
Hello stampers and happy Friday to you. I love you to the moon and back! Have you ever said that? If so, this card might really resonate with you. I just love the big moon in this stamp set, or is it the earth? Doesn’t matter, it is open to creative interpretation! Either way this is a fantastic card and I am so glad that I came across it online. Thanks so much to Julie Petrie for the fabulous inspiration! I made some minor adjustments but the idea certainly wasn’t mine. Does it remind you of E.T. Comes Home?
A Funny Story
If you look carefully you might notice that my bear looks a little different than the bear in the stamp set. Do you know why? I cut off his back leg!! For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what this was until I did a video showing this stamp set and asked people to help me out. I thought it was something in his pocket, or a big seat, I had no idea! Now of course it looks obvious! Here is the original card and link to Julie’s blog.
A Few Instructions
I first stamped the dots from Time of Giving (I forgot to add that one to the supply list at the end of the blog post!) The dots were stamped in versamark and clear-embossed. After that I sponged on Misty Moonlight with blending brushes over the entire white panel which measures 4 1/8″ by 5 3/8″. The trees are from Mountain Air and I used the Stamparatus to stamp them in Memento black to make sure they were nice and dark.
The moon was stamped in Smoky Slate and cut using the layering circles dies.
The bear was stamped on shimmery white cardstock and coloured with a waterpainter. See the colours in the supply list below. Don’t forget to cut off his leg!!
The sentiment was die cut using a die from the Seasonal Labels dies in the holiday catalog. Remember, if you want to purchase any of these things, just click on the images in my supply list! I’ve made it so easy for you.
Love You To The Moon
This is not the only wonderful saying in this set. I also love “Always reach for the stars” and “more thanks than stars in the sky”. There is a row of images of the moon in its different phases with the saying underneath “enjoy this new phase of life”. Lastly there is a beautiful “congraulations” in a gorgeous handwritten font.
I absolutely love books and have been addicted to reading ever since I could put two letters together. When I see this stamp set I am reminded of these two classic children’s books. Do you love to read?
Time to Evaluate
Be sure to have a good look through the holiday catalog. Many sets, accessories and paper are retiring. It’s so much easier to order them before they disappear rather than search for them on Facebook sites later. With a $60 purchase you will also get a free pdf tutorial from me. If you have a preference as to whether it be a Demo Design Dream Team tutorial or an International Create With Us tutorial, just let me know!
I hope that you have a super day and a good weekend. Christmas is almost here! It looks like it will be a subdued celebration again this year with COVID numbers and the variant alive and well and governments raising the alarm bells. I know that I am thankful for this hobby, this business and all of YOU!!
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Hybrid Embossing Folder. Do you know what this is? Have you tried them? At first I was a little mystified myself, but these beauties cut and emboss at the same time. The die fits inside the embossing folder and with one run through the die cutting machine you accomplish two things. Yesterday I tried it with a brand new one from the 2022 mini catalog.
Hybrid Embossing Folder: Almost Ruined!
Well, I wanted to take this hybrid embossing folder to a new level. I had a baroque theme in mind for my heart card. Originally I was trying to combine the Strong of Heart fundraiser stamp set, but then I went off on a tangent. You see, I love castles and brocade and rich colours. The colours I was using were Real Red and Basic Black. Why not go bold? Guess what I did?
Yes, I inked up the folder in black ink, laid the heart die inside, added my red cardstock and put it through my die cutting machine. Wow! It turned out even better than I thought. Such rich depth of colour and texture, it was beautiful. But there was a definite problem. I could smell the distinct smell of almond extract. I knew right away that I had used Stazon instead of Memento black.
If any of you know about Stazon ink, it stays on!! It is meant to be a permanent ink on fabric, plastic, metal, you name it. I tried rinsing it off. Nope. Tried Stazon cleaner. That worked minimally. Then I got out the big guns: GooGone. That stuff stinks like the dickens, but it worked. I had to use a dish brush and some elbow grease, but my embossing folder is clean again!
Embossing With White Velvet
While we are on a regal, baroque theme, why not add velvet paper into the mix. Now be forewarned, you will never quite get the look that I got on this card. Why? Because no matter how hard I scrubbed and cleaned my embossing folder, there was still some GooGone residue and this transferred to the white velvet paper giving it an authentic vintage look!
Here you can see the lovely detail up close. I am really, really impressed with this hybrid embossing folder.
Strong of Heart Fundraiser Stamp Set
Did you know that Stampin’Up! is donating $4 to heart health for each Strong of Heart stamp set sold? In Canada these funds are going to our very own London Health Sciences Centre. The reason behind this is the tragic story of Anne Granger who lost her husband at the age of 40 to a rare heart condition. You can read about it here.
One More Peek
Can you believe that this was once plain red cardstock? I am just so very impressed with how beautifully this turned out. Ink up your embossing folder with black ink and wowsers!!
The sayings on all of these cards come from the Strong of Heart stamp set. I really hope that you are inspired to purchase this set and help raise money for heart health. It is so wonderful that Stampin’Up! keeps the money that is raised in each country in the same country. Support local!! Thanks for joining me today, as always the links to shop with me are at the end of the blog post. Have a super day.
Well hello stampers and happy Monday to you! Today I am going to share the first projects that I hope to share with you in conjunction with my Parcels in the Post. Parcels in the Post is a kit program that I am offering to make it easier and more affordable to create along with me. I remember when I first started papercrafting that I was often missing something when I wanted to recreate a card. There is only so much you can buy and I was sad to miss out.
How Does Parcels in the Post Work?
With the Parcels in the Post I will be putting together a package of basic supplies including patterned paper, cardstock, ribbon and perhaps other accessories. I will then use this package as a source for my projects. Every Tuesday I will share some projects that I have made using these Parcels in the Post. The other thing that I will offer you is a supply list of the main stamp sets or bundles that are featured in my kit. To save you money, I will suggest that you put these items in a starter kit so you can get your own discount.
How Will This Save You Even More Money?
Stay with me here. It gets better. When you get your starter kit you will also get 8 catalogs. If you share my YouTube videos with Parcels in the Post with your friends, chances are they will want to join you in this fun journey. You can then give them a catalog, show them the list of supplies needed to play along and then you will have orders from them so that you can keep your discount. If they love it, then you can have them get the starter kit with you! You won’t have to do anything except share what I do.
That also means that you will be a part of my Beyond Pampered Team and you will be able to join me on fantastic retreats like the one happening from June 3 to June 5 2021. There are still 8 spots available. Check out the link to this gorgeous retreat cabin here.
Parcels in the Post Inspiration Projects
Here is the first card that I made for my Parcels in the Post projects. Many of my projects use the Encircled in Beauty dies. They are actually part of an Encircled in Friendship bundle and there is also an Encircled in Warmth set to go with it as well. That is the stamp set that I used for these cards. Check it out!
The next Peaceful Deer Parcels in the Post inspiration card uses a neutral Sahara Sand palette. I love how the buffalo plaid deer just pops with his Be Dazzling antlers.
The next card was inspired by Heather Forgan. It uses the beautiful snowflakes that are included in your Parcel in the Post. This is my “Where’s Waldo” card. That crumb is not on your computer screen, it is on my card!! It really is all about the treats!
The last project that I am sharing today is a gift bag and it continues the garden green theme as well as the Encircled in Beauty dies. On Wednesday we will switch to the real red and cherry cobbler palette for the remainder of the projects.
How to Get Your Parcel in the Post
If you want to get your Parcel in the Post, don’t delay. There are three options. $25 for porch pickup, $32 for mailing anywhere in Canada and $40 mailed to the US. Here is the PayPal link. I did tweak my prices a wee bit. Not the base price, but the shipping included prices. It was time to be realistic and stop eating the extra shipping costs myself. Thanks for understanding!
A PDF Option
There will also be a pdf only option, but it is not available just yet. You will get notified once it is my tutorial store. You can check out the ones that are available now, there are lots to choose from!
Get Your Own Discount
I know that I am in danger of sounding like a broken record, but I am truly passionate about this. If you love stamping and card making or scrapbooking, you deserve your own discount. It is honestly so easy to introduce this fun hobby to your friends without ever having to do a class. Simply invite them over to help you make the cards in your Paper Pumpkin kit that is included in your starter kit.
For the month of November this kit is only $100 and you get to fill it with $165 worth of products of your choice. Click here to get started or message me if you have questions.
Thank You!
Thanks for joining me today, I hope you have a super day. Take a good look at the supply list below, that is what I used to create the projects from my Parcels in the Post for my December videos. Just so you know (I did a little math for you) if you get the Peaceful Deer bundle, the Encircled in Beauty Dies, the Encircled in Warmth stamp set, the Snowflake Wishes stamp set and a spool of either gold shimmer or black gingham ribbon that totals exactly $165. If you would put these on a normal order it would be $202.95. Until the end of November you pay only $100. Tell me that doesn’t just blow your mind?! That’s all for now….
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Today I am sharing with you a gold embossed vintage tree card that was inspired by Joanne French, a fellow demonstrator from Ontario. She did a Facebook live video showing different things she had done with the Tag Buffet kit and this card was one of them. I think you will agree that it is beautiful even though I forgot to add the gold pearl embellishments.
Gold Embossed Vintage Tree Card
Joanne shared that the Tag Buffet kit comes with five extra tree die cuts, so that is perfect for making cards like this while still being able to make all thirty tags in the kit. I started by inking up my Tin Tile embossing folder with versamark. After running it through the die cutting machine with soft sea foam cardstock I embossed with gold embossing powder. Take a look!
Gilt Edging
Do you see the edges of my stitched rectangles? It looks like gild edging doesn’t it? Do you know how I did that? Simply run your versamark pad along the edges of your cardstock and then pour on some gold embossing powder. Heat set with your embossing tool. The sentiment was also embossed in gold and it comes from the stamp set Positive Thoughts. Isn’t it a great idea to use a Christmas product for a thinking of you card? Joanne had embellished her card with some gold pearls but I forgot and it still looks nice.
Double Embossed Gold Tree Card
For this card I used two embossing folders and the same technique of inking up the folder with versamark before embossing the cardstock. I used Tin Tile for the inside piece and the Subtle embossing folder for the frame. The little star on top of the tree is from the Most Wonderful Time Product Medley refill kit. Both the gold twine and the sentiment are from the Tag Buffet Project Kit and stamp set.
A New Event
If you have been following my blog and my Facebook page for a while, you may already know that I love to bake. I am finally going to share my love of baking with you in an official stamping event. It is aptly named as #itsallaboutthetreats and it will take place on Tuesday December 15 at 9:30am. You may also realize that this is not a coincidence; it is at coffee and a card time!
It is going to be a Zoom event and we will be making some great gift packaging using the Heartwarming Hugs suite. If you purchase the suite from me online, this event is free for you. Otherwise it will be $20. Besides crafting we will be baking some of my favourite Christmas treats: cranberry bliss bars, shortbread cookies and nanaimo bars. I have created an event on Facebook which you can see here and I will soon be creating a page on my blog as well so you can sign up!
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me on my blog today, I really appreciate it. If your order from me online you will receive a free pdf tutorial with 16 projects made by the Demo Design Dream Team. Do you love the Snow Wonder bundle? Order it online from me and you will get my tutorial with 10 cards and a home decor project for free as well. Tutorials make stamping quick, easy and effortless. Your success is guaranteed.
