New Product Sneak Peek

Good Morning! I just finished making 21 card fronts for a demonstrator swap using the products in the Occasions Mini Catalogue which will be available on January 5th. There are some awesome things in there for sure. On this card, I used the Sending Love Specialty Paper. This paper is loaded with bling - one side has glitter and the other is plain. The patterns are beautiful and match the new stamp set called With All My Love. I also used the new I (Love) Love jumbo wheel on the punched out heart. This mini is loaded with awesome stamps and now you have a choice. You can get the traditional wood mounted stamps or you can try out the new clear mounted ones. These are a bit cheaper and store really neatly in DVD cases. Stampin' Up! is also changing their punch style to one that is easier to store. Make sure to sign up for a class or two this winter so you can try out all these great new products.

Treat Box

Well, last Tuesday was my Sparkle Daisy holiday meeting. I signed up to bring a treat but after attempting shortbread cookies which all fell apart, chocolate chai latte bread that stuck in the pans and ginger cookies whose bottoms burned, I gave up! Instead I made this cute little candy holder using my big shot. I used 4 of the scallop envelope die and glued them all side by side. I added some designer paper, ribbon and a punched out ornament with a rhinestone brad for some bling! Don't forget that a lot of the dies for the Big Shot are on sale until December 22nd. Don't miss out on getting some awesome deals on these items!

Retiring Stamp Sets

Stampin' Up! has announced that the following stamp sets will be retiring on January 4, 2010. These sets have been on the dormant list for a year and now will no longer be available. If any are on your "need to have" list, please email me to order before they are gone.

Item Number Stamp Set 113407 Back Woods 114492 Beautiful Baby 114486 Birthday Wish 113200 Branch Out 114496 Celebrations 113732 Central Park 113206 Classic Sketches 113226 Classy & Fabulous 114498 Flowers in Silhouette 113405 Font of You 113216 For the Bride 114494 Forever 109425 Friend by Definition 114488 Fun Flowers 113716 Garden Greetings 114490 Glad Friends 111580 Grand Soiree 113242 Hit the Road 113710 Lexicon of Leaves 113236 Man's Best Friend 114423 Ocean Commotion 113728 Playful Petals 109276 Polka Dot 111544 Putt Putt 113240 Quilt Quips 113754 Really Retro 113403 Sip by Sip 113726 Sweet Stems 113250 That's Funny 113688 Wonderful Watercolors 114028 Para la novia 114032 Acuarelas Maravillosas

Holiday Extravaganza Sale only until Monday!!

Don't miss out on some awesome deals with this sale!! Check out the specials at www.stampinup.com or email me and I will send them to you. I am placing an order on Friday (Nov 27th) and most probably on Monday (Nov 30th) as well. There are some great gift ideas for the stamper or scrapper on your Christmas list. Don't miss out!!

Thanks to Catherine Harwood for the inspiration for this beautiful card. I love Baroque Motifs and the use of the Delightful Decorations and ornament punch. The colours are Ruby Red and Old Olive. You could add a bit more bling with a silver brad or rhinestone brad on the ornament or some Dazzling Diamonds glitter. You only have 4 more weeks to get those cards finished for Christmas Day!!

Christmas in 5 weeks....are you ready?

Yes, that is right. Christmas is 5 weeks from today!! I thought I'd inspire you to get cracking on making those cards you keep talking about. Here's a quick one that I designed on Wednesday and just love. I used the Petals a Plenty embossing folder in my Big Shot with Whisper White paper. I then inked up my brayer in Ruby Red and lightly ran it over the paper so the flowers would have colour - just lovely! The saying is embossed in white and I love the Soft Suede ribbon with the Ruby Red. A quick punch with my 5 Petal Flower punch and a rhinestone brad to finish it off.

Much Overdue Post

I am back!! My huge apologies for not posting since November 1st. I have had sick kids and a sick husband since then and now finally everyone is doing much better and I have a cold. Sigh. Such is life I guess. In any case, I hope you will check back soon as I am going to post some cards and scrap pages later in the week. Enjoy the sunshine!

Sweet Treats!

Here's some pics of my Halloween Treats! Pete was a pretty cute waffle and Ben was very dapper as Mr Monopoly. Despite Pete being a bit under the weather, he refused to stay home. He had a great time collecting goodies at each door. Ben had fun which is good as now he's down with the fever. I even had to cancel my card class today which is the first time ever. I have rescheduled it for next Sunday, November 8th at 1pm. If you would like to attend, please let me know by Wednesday. I do have about 4 spaces. Have a great week!

Happy Halloween

BOO!! Do you like my ghosts? Thanks to Carrie Gaskin for the great idea to make these guys from the Leaves #2 Big Shot Die. They are so cute and so easy to make. You could use googly eyes too but I just drew mine in with a Stampin' Up! Marker. I love the combo of the Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant papers with the black background. It makes those little white ghosts just pop off the card. I hope you all have fun seeing the Trick or Treaters in their great costumes. I have Peter down with a fever so hopefully he'll be up to going out tomorrow. If not, will still take a pic of him in his adorable costume! Check back in a few days for pics of both the boys. Happy Halloween!

Bermuda Trip

Hello! I am home from Bermuda and trying to adjust to this chilly weather. At least the sun is shining which makes it all more bearable. We had a fabulous time and the boys are already planning their trip back. It was neat spending time with family and I even had a "girls night out" with some high school friends. There's really nothing quite the same as being with people who have known you for forever! As you can see the weather was mostly nice. We did have two wild storms (tornadoes included!) and some overcast days but that didn't stop us. The water was warm and it was lovely to swim. The boys loved every aspect of our trip except leaving. So now we are back to school and our everyday routine - sigh! Hope you enjoy the pics and I'll see you soon.

Deals of this week - Week #3

It's all about accessories for the deals this week. Call or email me with your order before Sunday so you don't miss out on these great savings.

Item Page Description Regular Price Special Price

114348 179 Basic Jumbo grommets $9.50 $6.49

109857 179 Mini Library clips $18.95 $12.99

112571 179 Circle Designer brads $8.50 $5.49

112581 179 1/2" Library clips $9.75 $5.49

Deals of the Week - week 2

Hello from sunny and warm Bermuda!! We've been flat out busy with seeing family, friends and all the beautiful sights on my Island. It's been wonderful! We've been swimming twice - can you imagine swimming in October? Delightful. I will be home on the weekend and will place an order Monday morning for anyone wanting any of this weeks deals. This week you can get the following:

Perfect Setting Bigz XL Die $34.99
Flower Burst Embosslit Die $7.49
Pop-up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL Die $34.99

Please email me if you would like to order any (or all) of the above!

See you soon.

Holiday Card Class

Here are two of the cards you will be making in this 5 card class. If you'd like a few special cards to send out this year, this is the class for you. There will also be a Hanukkah design this year. Classes will be held on November 1st and 25th. The cost is $20 for 5 unique cards. Please RSVP at least 10 days in advance. Space is limited so don't delay. Again, I am happy to set up this class to be exclusive to your friends and family. Please call or email me to book your date. 

Stamp A Stack of holiday cards

The ever popular Stamp A Stack has returned! Here are just three samples of the cards you can choose from and make this year. Classes will be held on October 24th and November 29th at my stamping studio. If neither of these days is convenient or if you'd like to have a class with just your friends/family, please call or email me to set up another date. To see the other card choices, please email and I will send you the other photos. Cards are $3 each (with envelopes) or if you make 6 of one design you will get a discounted $15 for the 6. Space is limited so reserve your spot soon. RSVP is 10 days in advance to make sure I have enough supplies. Hope to see you there!!

Happy Belated Birthday

Pete's 5th birthday has come and gone and we are finally getting around to have a party for him. He started out with just wanting three friends to come over to play (woo hoo) to having a list of 9 friends to take to mini-putt (oh my aching head)! He insisted on making all of his invitations with no help and so he did. He even stamped "you're invited" and the "for, time, place, RSVP" inside each of them and of course signed the back so everyone knew he had made them! I was really impressed with all of the invites and wanted to share them with you. I love seeing my kids creativity coming out and especially when they take such care to make each project unique. It was hard to give them all out as he wanted to keep all of them. I promised we'd always have the picture of them and of course we'll do a scrapbook page. I only wish I had taken a few pics of him actually making them. Oh well, next year! Have a good rest of the week.

Get Well Wishes

Using the penguin and saying from Cold and Cuddly in the holiday mini catalogue, my 5 year old made this card for our friend Diane who was under the weather last week. Pete designed it all by himself and only asked me to tie the bow! He also used the "get well wishes" from Teeny Tiny Wishes. This set which has 24 sentiments, covers pretty much every card occasion. If you love this penguin as much as I do, look for an upcoming posting of a preview of my holiday card making class coming on the weekend!

SALE SALE SALE!!!

I still have some retired stamp sets for sale and now am going to discount them an additional 30%. To view the sets, click on the right bar that says "calendar, sign up for classes, stamps for sale" and you will see the list. I haven't discounted them so the prices are still the original. If you are interested in any, please let me know so I can put it aside for you. Have a good Thursday!

New Build A Bear Partnership

Here's the cute "girl bear" from the Beary Best Friends stamp set which is now available in the Holiday Mini Catalogue. It's on page 34 and sells for $24.95. I love the versatility of this set and can't wait to use it in some Kids Classes. Again, I was using up some retired paper for this one! There are some great Build A Bear products available in the Mini and hopefully we will be seeing more in the future. Make sure you don't miss the Pawsitively Prints Designer Paper on page 36. It uses all sorts of colours and would work well on many projects. If you don't have the Holiday Mini, please email me so I can get you a copy. 

Boomerang Kids Cards

Everything old is new again! I needed to make up a bunch more cards for Boomerang Kids as they are selling like fire there lately. I have been trying to use up some retired patterned paper. I love this paper from Sale-A-Bration. The colours are perfect for baby cards and scrap pages. I used the train from Teddy & Train (pg 77, $23.95) and some retired gingham ribbon to finish it off. This would make a great shower card I think.

Scrap Pages

This weekend, Jason and I were honoured to become Godparents to a sweet little boy named Ethan. My gift to him was an 8x8 scrapbook that his Mom and Dad just need to add photos to. They were thrilled and I have to say it was a joy to create this keepsake for them. Here are a few pages from the book (please excuse the bad photography). If you are interested in making an album for someone expecting, let me know. 

Many thanks to everyone who participated in my All Day Crop on Saturday! It was really a fun day and I so enjoyed hanging out with good friends. I heard many positive comments thus will look at doing another one in the winter. Here's a picture of the remaining flowers that I made for everyone who attended. They are made with the Big Shot Daisies #2 Die and are a lot of fun to make. I'll have to make more to fill up my pot! The Crop raised $190 which will go directly to the Parkinson's Society Super Walk being held in September. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Ok, this is a very belated post as did these up a couple weeks ago. I am loving the new In Colours which I used on both of these cute kids cards. The polka dot ribbon is so awesome since you get two ribbons in one with the reverse being solid. The new Look Who's Turning set has that adorable hippo - love the party hat!! Have a great afternoon!

Busy Busy Busy

I apologize for the lack of a post this week. I do have things to share with you but haven't gotten around to taking photos. I promise I will post some pics tomorrow!! It's been a busy time with my foot still very sore and swollen plus planning for my Kids Class tomorrow and Crop on Saturday. What was I thinking?? Seriously, I am looking forward to both and all the stress will be well worth it! Watch for some kids cards to be posted tomorrow. 

Parkinson's Fundraiser Crop

Good Morning! I have spots still available for this event which is happening on Saturday, August 22nd from 9am-4pm. Your $15 fee will go directly to the Parkinson's Society as the hall rental has been donated by my Mom. If you'd like to come and make cards or do some scrapbooking for the day, please let me know. I will have my Big Shot available and if there are any stamps you'd like to use for the day, I can bring them along. Thanks and hope to see you there.

Man card #2

Ok ok...I like trees! This card is quick and simple yet works perfectly for a masculine birthday, a sympathy card or even just a thinking of you. I used Trendy Trees stamp set in Chocolate Chip and Old Olive. The paper is Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue and Whisper White. This will probably show up in the Stamp A Stack or some other class also. Have a great day and try to make your own "man cards" this week.

Man Cards!

I always seem to be challenged to come up with masculine cards. It's so easy to make pretty, flowery cards but "man cards" elude me at times. So this weekend I sat down and came up with a few that I am happy with and thought I'd share them with you today. Here is the first one I created. It uses the Lovely As A Tree stamp set in Chocolate Chip. I used the sponge daubers to add Ruby Red, Old Olive and More Mustard leaves and grass. The paper is Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red and Very Vanilla. If you need some "man cards", this will be part of my next Stamp A Stack coming in the Fall.

Ouch!

Well, I had planned to keep this blog strictly "work" but since I am sitting here with my leg elevated and grumpy because I can't stamp, I thought I'd get out my frustration by writing! I sprained my foot on Tuesday going down the basement stairs to do some stamping. Grrr.....I am more than a little ticked off with myself but trying to accept that it was an accident. I am realizing that I just don't sit very much so all this laying about doing nothing is driving me crazy. Hopefully it will feel better soon and I will be back to posting and stamping and planning workshops!! Thanks for listening - I feel better.

Personal Challenge, August Promotion and Baby Cards!

I have decided to challenge myself to create at least one new card each week and to share it here on my blog. This week I have some simple but cute baby cards. I stamped the bear from the Teddy & Train set on watercolour paper and used my blender pens with ink pads to colour in the image. For the month of August, purchase $45 in stamps from the Growing Up section of the catalogue and choose either Playground, Sherbet or Latte Designer Buttons for free (page 181 - value $10.95). 

Final Deal of the Week

The Heart to Heart punch (page 187) is on sale this week for the low price of $15.99 (regular $22.95). This punch is perfect for Valentine's or Anniversary cards and has many other fun uses. There is a co-ordinating stamp set called Love You Much on page 28. If you purchase the stamp set along with the punch this week, I will give you 10% off the stamp set!! Call or email me if you'd like to take advantage of this deal.

Stamp Sets for Sale

I have some retired stamp sets for sale. They are listed under "calendar and sign up: items for sale". If you are interested in any, please email or call me so I can reserve them for you. 

Snowman Card from Open House

Thanks to everyone who came out for my Open House last evening. It was so much fun! Here's the holiday card that guests made. It uses the Big Shot polka dot texture plate, the snowmen (love these guys!!) from the level 2 hostess set (The More the Merrier), the new In Colour Markers and Polka Dot Ribbon. This is a great card for a winter birthday, a Christmas greeting, a thank you note or just about anything. Stay tuned for details about upcoming holiday card making classes so you can make some cute cards like this one.

Ribbon Sampler

Stampin' Up! has some wonderful ribbons to use on your projects. I am offering a ribbon sampler for the In Colour Polka Dot ribbons. These are neat as they are polka dotted on one side and solid on the other. For $23, you will get three yards of each of the 6 new In Colours. Shown here are Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry and Bermuda Bay. Check out my next post to see the Bermuda Bay used on a holiday card. Email me or post a comment with your contact information if you'd like to sign up. 

Deal of the Week - Week #3

This week's Deal of the Week is Square Fire Rhinestone Brads for $10.99 (regular price $15.95). I will be placing an order on Sunday so call or email me if you'd like me to order these for you!! They definitely add "bling" to your cards and pages. 

Wrapping Paper

So it's my nephews birthday and I need to mail off his gift....but alas no wrapping paper in the house suitable for a 6 year old boy. No worries, Pete and I made some. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed stamping trains and fruit. This is a great project for all ages and what fun to receive personalized paper on your gifts!! Happy Birthday Ewan.

Deal of the Week

Good Morning! The deal of the week is the Doctor's Bag for the Big Shot which is on sale for $72.99. Since I'm not thrilled with this deal, I am offering my own deal. Stock up on classic ink pads at the sale price of $6.95 which is a $1 savings. Call or email me with your order by Friday at noon to take advantage of this great price. 

Want to comment??

I've heard from a few people that they can't post a comment on my posts. Just follow these steps and it should work:

1. Click on Comment under the post

2. Write you comment

3. Select Anonymous or Name/URL or if you have a google account you can log in and post

Hope that works as am really looking forward to hearing from you!!

New In Colours

Here are the cards I made using the new In Colours and Circle Circus stamp set. I gave a set to each of the boys' teachers who absolutely loved them. The colours are Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Rich Razzleberry and Soft Suede. These cards are quick to put together and I just love how all the circles fit into SU punches. If you come to my Open House, you will get to make one and see how simple and fun this card is to make. 

Pick a Petal Card

Here's another quick card using Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry and Crushed Curry. The stamp set is Pick A Petal which I haven't used in a while. I am trying to use some of those sets that I fell in love with and bought ages ago but tend to get pushed back when the new things arrive! The Heard From the Heart sayings are perfect to fill the space at the bottom of the card. I hope your day is wonderful. Happy 4th to those celebrating today!!

Parkinson's Fundraiser Crop

I am holding an all day crop on Saturday, August 22nd to benefit the Parkinson's Superwalk. This will be held at the Lion's Community Centre on Castlefrank Road. The cost is $15 which all be donated to the walk as the hall space is being donated by my awesome Mom!! Bring your own lunch as there is a full kitchen (or we can order some pizza) and I will provide water and munchies for during the day. The event will run from 9am-4pm. I will bring my Big Shot and if there are any stamps you'd like to use that day, please let me know. Please RSVP by August 10th. 

OPEN HOUSE

Pop over on July 17th between 7-9pm and see the new In Colours, make two cards and enjoy browsing through the new catalogue. This is a free event and you are welcome to bring a guest. There will be a retired stamp sale, door prizes and munchies. Please RSVP by July 6th if you plan to attend. 

Let's try this again!

Hello! 

Ok, so Stampin' Up! has a brand new catalogue and thus another year begins. Part of this new beginning is me, yet again, trying to get this blog up. I am still learning so bear with me. I do hope to post weekly so you can see what I am working on. Eventually there may even be some video demos but first I need to work on posting photos!!