Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Today I am sharing my new Arctic Bears card series with you. I will be making one of these cards each Tuesday in November at 10am on YouTube and Facebook. You can purchase the card kit including shipping for only $25. If you order the bundle from me then you get the card kit for only $10 plus shipping. Let’s take a look.
Arctic Bears Card Series
What I love about these cards is that they are “all occasion”. They can be used as Christmas cards but they don’t have to be. Polar bears evoke a sense of calm and peace and of caring which is sort of ironic because you certainly wouldn’t want to cross their path in the wild!
Arctic Bears Watercolour
We made the watercolour card that I cased from the catalog at my in person coffee and a card class today. With the shimmery white cardstock base and a water painter, the results were so lovely! I hope you can join me as I make this card in my Virtual Coffee and a Card series next Tuesday at 10am on YouTube. You can check out my playlist here.
Creating a scene with the stamp set is so gratifying. The watercolour technique on shimmery white cardstock is quite simple with a few tips and tricks that I will share on Tuesday. I hope to see you there too!
Have You Chosen Your Christmas Card Design Yet?
I am curious. When you make your Christmas cards, do you choose a single design or a single stamp set or suite? Do you send cards only to very special people or do you have a long mailing list? I do not like making multiples of cards so I have a broad assortment of Christmas cards. This can get me into a bit of a sticky wicket. Sometimes I am plagued by indecision. Who should get which card? So many choices. The most important thing is that you enjoy the process, so be sure to start on time. I hope that I have been inspiring you. As always, the product list is at the bottom of the blog. Simply click on the photos and you will be in my online store. Wonderful, isn’t it?
Thank you for joining me today and have a super day.
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Do you love rain boots as much as I do? Colourful rain boots make me smile, and I finally got a pair of bright red Hunter boots three years ago. They were an unheard of, irresistible deal at The Bay for only $49.99. I wear them all year long and whenever I do, I get comments. People love them! That is why I was thrilled that the bonus set from Paper Pumpkin had rain boot outline stamps AND rainboot filler stamps with a cute floral pattern.
Singing in the Rain
We all need a little joy and whimsy these days with this low cloud of menace hanging over our heads. The unknown is scary and we are no longer sure of what the near future holds. Let’s have a little creative escape with these super cute rain boots. I started by stamping a sheet full of them in all different colours. Then I stamped a few more on shimmery white cardstock and watercoloured them with my aqua painter in a few more colours. Love!! Truthfully, these boots remind me of one of my favourite kids books that I used to read to my kids. It was called Big Sarah’s Little Boots.
Watercolouring Rain Boots
I was inspired by a fellow Canadian demonstrator, Laura Seki, who used boots and a saying. My saying comes from the saleabration stamp set Tags in Bloom. Here are Laura’s cards:
I wasn’t sure where her saying came from and I was too lazy to emboss so that is how I came up with my idea. Watercolouring with an aqua painter on shimmery white cardstock is fantastic. When you see the card in person you can really see how the shimmer comes through in the background and in the boots. If you cut your pieces 3 5/8″ by 4 7/8″ then you will get five pieces per sheet.
Which Boots are Your Favourite?
I also stamped a whack load of boots on a sheet of cardstock and stamped the patterns in different colours. Check it out! I even like the grey ones! Do you have fun rubber boots?
Trust me, it is so much fun to cut out these boots and decide which ones to put together on a card. Creativity is great for mental health, it takes your mind off the dark thoughts that can creep in during times like this. I challenge you to get out your stamping supplies and just play! If you want to get in on the Paper Pumpkin fun, here is the link to do that, your family will thank you.
Uplifting and Cheerful
I hope that this blog post made you smile today. In turn, you can bring a smile to my face and leave a comment. Tell me what you are doing to stay sane these days. What brings you the most joy? Yesterday I made apple pie and I have enough pie crust rolled out for two more pies and two dozen butter tarts. Tomorrow I will share my butter tart recipe. I think they are the best butter tarts in the world, but it is the pastry that takes them over the top in my estimation.
Paper Pumpkin and Videos
Please join me in my daily Facebook live videos. They are at 1pm every day except Tuesday it is at 9:30am in honour of my coffee and a card class and on Saturdays it is at 10am for the littles. This Saturday I will be featuring the Paper Pumpkin rain boots set. If you want more reasons why I am such a fan of Paper Pumpkin, check out this blog post. Have a super day and don’t forget to place your saleabration order before March 31! It’s also not too late to get the great deal on the starter kit, here is the link in case you have been procrastinating!
Hello stampers and happy Friday. Today I want to talk to you about making the most of your investment. If you are reading my blog, chances are quite good that your hobby is stamping and cardmaking. Like most hobbies, this is not a cheap venture. There is no need to apologize for that. Stamping brings you joy and what you create brings others joy and that is more than you can say for some hobbies.
Making the Most of Your Investment
You may be asking, how DO I make the most of my investment in stamps? First of all, use them! Second, send them. Yes, don’t hoard all your cards, send them to people and spread the love and the joy. I used to make two cards every time I stamped, that way I would be able to send away one of my creations. Use your paper, don’t hoard it. When it’s all gone you can buy more! I have found that when you attend classes and learn new ways of using your stamps you are far more likely to ink up your stamps at home.
Take time to play. Lay out all your coordinating products, the stamps, the dies, the ink, the paper and the cardstock. Just enjoy them for a minute and absorb the colours, the textures and the shapes. Ink up all the stamps and stamp them on scrap paper just to get a feel for what they look like in real life.
It’s ok to find inspiration online. Just type the name of the stamp set along with Stampin’Up in the Google search box and then click on Images at the top of the screen. You will get SO many ideas. Then make at least three cards using your stamp set. You will feel much better about your purchases if you take the time to get to know them and to use them.
Find a Stamping Buddy
Don’t assume that you already know who will like to stamp and who won’t. I never thought I would!! Invite some of your friends for a girls’ night out. People go to paint nights, or sign painting nights or pottery nights. Why not a card making night? The best part is that if you have friends who stamp, then you will have another reason to get together and have fun. You can also pool supplies. The possibilities are endless. I would love to host you and your friends for a fun time of stamping.
Hate to Host?
I can understand that hosting an event can be stressful. Many people are not very good at committing and when you host an event and not many people come, then you might feel unpopular or unreliable. No worries. Just come to one of my classes and invite a friend or two to come along. Once people know how much fun it is they won’t want to miss out the next time you invite them.
More Inspiring Iris
Just to prove my point, here are some more great cards using Inspiring Iris. I showed you my simple creation a few days ago. If you missed it, you can find it here.
If you make at least three different things with your stamp set, you will find that it really gets your creative flow going. It sure is a good feeling to have a good card stash on hand for many occasions. Do you see how everything changes when you use the thistle instead of the iris? When you change the colour scheme? Look at the addition of the washi tape and the linen thread. You get a country feel to your card.
This card uses the watercolour technique with our lovely watercolour paper. Do you see the vellum accents underneath? The sentiment has been embossed in gold. Be sure to use your stamparatus for that because watercolour paper is “bumpy” and you need to stamp several times to get good coverage.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today, I hope I have inspired you to get the most out of your investment. Enjoy your hobby and spread joy. Remember, the best deal is the starter kit and there is room for you on my team wherever you live in Canada! Here is the link to get you started on this amazing journey. Don’t forget, our very own Dale Hampshire is joining us at the next team meeting on February 6!
Hello stampers! If you grew up in the eighties like me, chances are that you know Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh. I really do love this song and I also love the colour red. No surprise then that I chose to highlight the colour red in my creations using the Parisian Blossoms suite. Cherry cobbler to be specific, but Lady in Cherry Cobbler doesn’t sound quite as catchy, more like a gluttonous mini person caught in a dessert pan!
Some More Cards
I do love this card so much with it’s luscious red flowers. Combining different patterns of paper also really appeals to me. The trick to remember with this is to always combine a bigger, bolder pattern with a smaller, more subtle pattern. This card is a special fold as well and I will share all the details in the pdf.
You can see the same colour scheme with this card- cherry cobbler, petal pink and old olive. The metallic edge petal pink ribbon just sets it off perfects as does the “scripty” patterned paper from Parisian Blossoms specialty designer series paper. The sentiment was embossed with silver. Do you see the champagne rhinestones scattered here and there? It really is in the details. It is such fun making your own patterned paper.
All the Details
Tonight I am going to get to work making a detailed pdf with all the measurements, tips and tricks for making these cards. I hope to have it on my blog tomorrow! I am also toying with the idea of having a mega online party for everyone who orders this suite with me online in January. The plan would be to make ALL the cards during an exclusive live video. Wouldn’t that be fun? For those of you who couldn’t purchase through me because they live in the wrong country I might offer another option. Stay tuned for details while I work it all out. Tomorrow’s blog post will feature the scrapbook page and the framed piece featuring my parents.
Extravaganza Sale
If you scroll to the end of the product list you will see the eight bundles that are on sale until tomorrow. They are an additional 5% off the regular 10% off in the catalog. To sweeten the deal I am offering free shared host benefits to everyone who orders online using the host code or in person with me. All ink pads and cardstock in the neutrals and regals families are also 15% off, so be sure to stock up on these great basics. To be included in the free shared host benefits you can order anything you like, not just sale stuff! Happy shopping and thanks so much for your ongoing support, I appreciate it very much.
An Exclusive Facebook Group
I have a special exclusive Facebook group that is only for my customers and training group members. It is called The Pampered Stamper Elite Group and you can find it here. Please only request to join if you are a customer, team member or training group member, there are no exceptions. This is just another small way to make those who support me feel more special.
Tutorial now available
My pdf on how to make all the projects is now available! What a lovely gift to yourself to be able to recreate all these cards and pages without too much thinking. I hope you love it.
Hello stampers! I had a little more fun with pigment sprinkles today and there is a very important tip that you need to know about them. There are too many holes in the lid!! That’s right. While it is wonderful that we no longer have to poke our own holes in the lid to allow for sprinkling, the problem is that the holes are too big and there are three of them. Thankfully there is an easy solution. Cover two and a half holes with washi tape. The pigment is so intense that if you use too much the colour is too dark and the effect is not what you want at all.
Less writing and more showing
My health issues continue with an inflamed tendon in my thumb, so I was told to ease off on blogging. I have made a video for you to show you the cards and the technique. Enjoy!
Here are the videos, and yes, there are two. My phone ran out of storage space and so life happened. Happy Friday everyone.
Hello stampers. I squeezed in a little time yesterday to play with the new pigment sprinkles. I would really like to meet someone who doesn’t get dirty when playing with this product! Time was of the essence since I had a class in an hour, so I didn’t get to play as much as I would have liked. Freshly Made Sketches is a website that offers a weekly sketch that you can play along with. I have been wanting to do this for months but simply never got around to it. This might be the card that finally makes it into the challenge! Here is the sketch.
You don’t actually have to use a butterfly for your card but I had a butterfly card in my mind that I have been wanting to make for a while now. I made one similar to this years ago for an event. For this card I used the new pigment sprinkles and I knew I was going to get dirty! I don’t mind getting dirty hands although it is a different story when you ruin your cards by getting ink in unwanted places. I really don’t like wearing gloves, but it is handy to have wipes and paper towels handy to clean up the mess as you go.
This was the first card I made. I was hoping to structure my stripes a bit by using an aqua painter to make a guide for the pigment sprinkles one colour at a time. It sort of worked but I wanted to try it again with less structure. Take a look at the next card and tell me which one is your favourite.
I think I prefer the second card but it is a very loose interpretation of the sketch challenge since my stripes are more fluid. I do love the smoothness of our new watercolour paper. If you cut it in half you get two pieces of 3 1/2′ by 5″. That leaves a nice space at the bottom of the card for your words. These words came from the July Paper Pumpkin On My Mind.
As you can see in the picture, the pigment sprinkles come in six colours. They have a flip top cover under the lid with three little holes already made for you to sprinkle on your wet watercolour paper. I will definitely be doing more with this product, I also think you can use it together with our old Brusho paint crystals. I think I could make it the theme of one of my regular Tuesday night Facebook live videos.
There are only six days left to get Bonus Bucks for August. With every $60 you spend you will get a $6 bonus days coupon to use in August. If you order online, please use the host code XBTQ47UR if your order is less than $200. If your order is $200 or more you will receive host benefits that you can use for exclusive host sets like the one below or for any product you like. Host sets are your best value since the price on them is roughly half of what they are worth.
If you place an online order and you reach $200 then you will be prompted to redeem host rewards. You can choose these sets as one of your options. I hope this is helpful. You cannot add these to a regular order. You can find more information on these exclusive sets at the back of the annual catalog on page 205-207.
Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I am going to be having some beach time with Rachel and then some Oma time tonight and tomorrow. That means no time for pdfs just yet. Thanks for your patience!
