by Jackie Bultje | Oct 27, 2018 | Christmas, memory keeping, Uncategorized |
Hello stampers. We have now had our first frost in southern Ontario and we are approaching the last week of October. That means Halloween is almost here and after that we go straight into serious Christmas preparations. If you are a card maker there is a pretty good chance that you make your own Christmas cards. Santa’s workshop will make you smile and get less serious about this. I am usually not so keen on “cute” Christmas cards, but this one stole my heart. Santa’s Workshop has so many wonderful features. As per usual, the catalog does not do it justice. I participated in a Holiday Catalog swap at the end of August and two of the cards I received were made using this suite of products. When I saw them I knew right away I had to have the Santa’s Workshop suite. Why? A perfect storm of reasons:
1. the designer series paper is unbelievably cute with white velvet texture on the snowflakes, the snowmen, the Santa hat and cuffs as well as glitter!!!
2. The stamp set has the most adorable Mrs. Claus, a Santa Claus holding his list, several elves, a North Pole sign and lots and lots of sayings.
3. Framelits that cut out not only the stamped images but also images in the paper. Wow, wow, wow.
4. Tons of accessories including thick baker’s twine, enamel shapes and red rhinestones.
5. Santa’s Workshop Memories and More cards that coordinate with everything else in the suite. Perfect not only for memory keeping (scrapbooking or pocket pages) but also for easy card making with the kids.
6. Red cards and envelopes to match the Memories and More cards. There is no more “cutting to size”. The M&M cards fit perfectly on the two different sizes included in the pack of cards and envelopes.
All those cute images that you see above are cut with framelits from the adorable Santa’s Workshop designer series paper. The next picture shows all the stamped images available.
The card below is one of the swap cards that I received that sold me on the Santa’s Workshop suite. It just made me smile. Thanks Christine Dionne for this fun card.
The next card is a swap that I received from Emilie Poncelet, also super cute and also with that adorable white velvet so you just need to touch it!
This next card combines the sassy snowman from the Santa’s Workshop paper (yes, he was fussy cut) but the rest of the card is super easy since it uses the Memories and More cards and the cards and envelopes. I love it so much!!
What a quick and easy card and it just brings out all the warm and fuzzies, and isn’t that what Christmas cards are all about? The words are from Merry Christmas to All, the background is from the Santa’s Workshop Memories and More pack and the card base is from the package of red cards and envelopes in the Memories and More set. Here is another quick and easy card:
I just had to use more of the cute snowman from the designer series paper together with the cards from the Santa’s Workshop Memories and More pack. Too cute for words!! The next picture isn’t super exciting, but it is the inside of this card and it also uses the M&M cards. This takes all the stress out of Christmas card making. Great therapy indeed. Also a wonderful activity to do with the kids. A meaningful craft!!! Those are the only kind I like.
Well people, it is now 10pm and this squirrel needs to call it a night. I have more cards to show with this great suite of products, but that will have to keep until next week. Stay tuned for more, and as always, if you live in Canada and don’t already have a demonstrator, I would love to have you shop with me. Please use the current host code (always located on the sidebar to the right of the blog post) when you order as it helps me to keep my class costs down and my mailing costs. Thanks for blessing me!!
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by Jackie Bultje | Feb 23, 2018 | memory keeping, Petal Passion Memories & More card pack |
Hello stampers! Have you ever overlooked something in the catalog or not realized its full potential? I sure have! There is a gem on page 24 of the Occasions catalog that is truly beautiful and very versatile. It is called Petal Passion Memories & More card pack and it is part of the Petal Passion Suite. There are 72 cards in this pack as well as two accents sheets, two dies cut sticker sheets and two acetate overlays One of the cards is an intricate floral cutout that could also be used as a mask.
While I used to be an avid scrapbooker I don’t seem to have the time or inclination to do it lately. These cards were primarily designed to be used in pocket pages for quick and easy scrapbooking or “memory keeping”. You may remember that we used to carry the Becky Higgins Project Life line. This new line of products is so much better! The reason is that they now coordinate with our other products and that makes them super versatile. I used them to make 19 cards and since there are two of each design, that is already 38 cards!! I still have a lot of beautiful cards left over to make more.
I used my Blends on a lot of these cards, pink pirouette, old olive and rich razzleberry were my colours of choice. Don’t you just love the swipe of pink over the words “love” and “sun” on the last card? I love that saying, it is one of the cards in the collection, so don’t spend hours looking for it in one of our stamp sets!!
My very favourite card in the collection is this one with the two little birds! Adorable!! Just makes my heart happy looking at them.
The “happiest of birthdays to you” comes from Picture Perfect Birthday. My assistant Yvonne made some of these cards for me while I was gone on my Masters Retreat in Tucson and one of them is the card on the right. The little embellishments on this card are what I affectionately refer to as “contraband” so don’t go looking everywhere in the catalog for them.
Here you can see that the colour Pool Party is introduced. It also looks great with this suite. It’s so easy to dress up these cards with a little bling or some embossing.
Don’t you just love these pretty die cut stickers? So easy to make a beautiful card with them in no time at all! I highly recommend this collection if you want to add a lot of pretty cards to your stash. Just leave the insides blank so that you can use them for various occasions.
You can see by now how many beautiful and varied cards you can make with this pack of Memories & More cards. It is also very clear how well they coordinate with the other products in this suite. The art work is just stunning.
It is amazing what a difference the ribbon makes. The powder pink shimmer ribbon is the perfect match. It is so subtle in its colour but rich and luxurious in its effect. Wow!!
There will be a Petal Passion Extravaganza class on Thursday April 12 at 10am and 7pm. We will complete 6 cards in class and stamp and prep the elements for 14 more card fronts that you can finish at home. Included in the class will be a full set of Petal Passion Memories & More card pack, two yards of powder pink shimmer ribbon, and a sheet of rhinestones. Cost will be $35.
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by Jackie Bultje | May 18, 2017 | memory keeping, Paper Trimmer, squash book, Vintage |
Hello stampers! If you know me at all, you may know that I can be quite a forgetful person. I made this squash book many months ago and had every intention of doing a blog post on it, but I searched through this entire blog, and there is no post on this beautiful book. So now there will be one! I have also made a video on how to do it, but sometimes a few pictures can be helpful as well. The video is most helpful in teaching you how to “squash” it together the first time. After you do it a few times it just opens and closes naturally the way it should. I used the wedding pictures from my son and daughter-in-law, but you could make this book for any occasion. It is such a nice little book and very portable. I used the Falling in Love designer series paper and gold satin ribbon as well as the new doilies which are unfortunately sold out.
The cover of the book uses the chipboard that you get for free when you order specialty designer series paper, so be sure to save it for this purpose!
You can lightly sand the edges of the chipboard if you like. If you prefer a cleaner look you can also choose to “wrap” them in designer series paper. I just put a 4″ square piece of paper on and then sponged the edges with soft suede ink to finish it. Here are the other pieces you will need to make the book.
I outlined the score lines with pencil so that you could see it more clearly, you don’t need to do this when you are making the book! You will need three of these pieces.
Use fast fuse or tear and tape to adhere the pages together. You can see by the photo how it is done. Put one square in the middle and then the other two are adhered on the bottom left and top right “unscored square”. You will then fold along all the score lines, do it both ways to “limber” it up and then if you are not a logical person (I am not) watch the video to see how I folded it up into a book shape. Once you have conquered that step you can adhere the covers. Don’t forget to put the ribbon on first!
Here is another close-up of the inside of the book:
A great trick for cropping your pictures is to use a vellum triangle. Just take a four inch square piece of vellum and cut it in half diagonally. Then you can place it over your picture to see how it will work to cut the picture. Some work better than others. Your pictures will either be a four inch square or a triangle just the same size as the vellum one.
You also use this technique and this measurement to cut your patterned paper triangles. I find it pleasing to the eye to keep all your pictures going in the same direction and also to not add too many embellishments to the inside of the book, or to the outside for that matter. They distract from the beauty of the pictures and on the outside they are just things that could get caught on people’s clothes, on the inside of your purse, you name it. An accident waiting to happen!
I think that gives you enough details to be able to make this book on your own. Here is the video that I think will also be very helpful. I would love for you to share your success stories when you get your book made. What event are you wanting to document and share? This would make such a lovely gift for just about anyone. Father’s Day is around the corner, bring a tear to his eye with some special photos just for him in this little book.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qmy30lcHEY&t=3s
by Jackie Bultje | Apr 12, 2017 | Birthday, color theory suite, Framelits, masculine cards, memory keeping, Project Life |
Hello stampers. I’m still super excited about all the new products we got to see and play with this past weekend at OnStage Toronto. One of my favourite suites was the Color Theory Suite that Alison Solven presented. I am sharing her samples here for you to enjoy. My product should be arriving today. That is definitely one of the big benefits of being a demonstrator, whether you do it to build a business, to earn a few extra dollars or just to get your own discount. You get to see and buy product before anyone else. So much fun. Here is the display board that shows you everything that is included in this fabulous suite.
I love that we also now will be offering Memories and More cards that can be used for memory keeping (aka Project Life or scrapbooking) AND for card making since it all coordinates so beautifully. There is a stamp for a sling-back lawn chair, but there is a framelit for a Muskoka (Canadian eh?) or Adirondack (for our American friends) chair. I love those chairs, in fact I will have two red ones arriving at my house soon.
Please do remember that the card samples featured here are to the best of my knowledge all the work of Alison Solven. Click here is a link to her blog. She has posted more of her samples there of course. We were so blessed to have her at OnStage Toronto all the way from New Westminster BC.
The sayings in this set are great and useful for both card making and memory keeping as well as home decor. Can’t wait to play with them. If you are a Stampin’Up! customer and need a little nudge to get your own discount all the time, this is it! You can get all this product as well as the Birthday Memories suite in your starter kit and on pre-orders beginning May 1, so take a moment and think about that awesome opportunity. I love sharing it since it so wonderfully changed my life is so many, many ways.
This emboss-resist technique works great with the snowflake images on this card. Did you know that glossy white cardstock is coming back to the annual catalog?
The following sample I am sharing uses the “paint chip” inspired paper included in the suite. Now we don’t have to go to the paint store any more to liberate paint chips.
One last sample…I guess I really do love snow flakes as most of the photos I took were from Alison’s snowflake cards!!
The last photo is not a very good one as it was taken in a dark room of the screen from the live feed from Amsterdam, but it does show a great scrapbook page. When purchasing product, you will save money and time by focusing on suites. Just like buying clothes, it makes sense to buy coordinating products because they work together so well. This makes it easy to make beautiful things and takes the work out of it. Just spread it all out on your work surface and the creativity will flow. Try it. You will be amazed.
Don’t forget to check out the retiring list, there are lots of great deals on there- anywhere from 15% to 50% off including items from the Occasions catalog. Click here to see your options, remember there are three categories to go through, there is a LOT of stuff. If you order online, please remember to use the current host code: S4M6VSZZ
Alison kindly sent me her pictures of her samples which are much nicer and also have her watermark on them. A lot of work goes into making the samples for OnStage because you have to come up with every idea totally on your own! If you pinned any of my pictures earlier that had my watermark on them, please delete them and repin these ones instead. Thanks for understanding. I am learning as I go!!
Thanks for checking out my blog. Happy stamping!!
Jackie
