Watercolor Wings....Stampin' On the Road!

Hi Stampers!  I mentioned in my last post that I recently attended Stampin' Up!'s convention and participated in a huge organized swap.  As if 80 cards wasn't enough, at the last minute I decided that I wanted to make some cards for my special friends and general swapping. So, I cut all the supplies I needed and got them ready to stamp on the drive to convention!  Stamping is a great way to pass a 12 hour car ride...well, stamping and a lot of laughing and good times with a great friend!

I stamped, sponged and assembled away as we traveled south to Salt Lake City.  It was quite the adventure making swaps cards while driving through the winding mountain highway and through a nasty storm (we seem to get caught in a storm every year)!

Stampin on the road somewhere between Montana and Idaho!

I'm happy to say I completed all the cards I wanted to on the drive and they were ready for swapping when convention started!

I think Watercolor Wings is one of my favorite sets in the catalog and is the only set I used for this card.  You have so many options to give the butterflies details with this stamp set...two step stamp it, or three step stamp it for even more detail! Because it's a photopolymer set, you can easily see through the stamps to line them up perfectly (even if you're stamping on the road!).  I chose to three step stamp it and used Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise and Island Indigo to stamp the butterfly.  The body and antenna were done with Soft Sky as well as the sentiment.

TIP:  Best adhesive for sticking the Burlap to your projects....Tear & Tape Adhesive! It's super easy to use and super sticky for the burlap.

If you are in Canada and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would love to help you out!  You can find everything you need to create this card in my online store.  Place your order there or contact me to place the order for you!

Have an inspired day!

Using Clear Blocks to make a Watercolor Background

Hi Stampers!  It's been a while, hasn't it? To say things have been challenging around my house would be an understatement!  We've experienced a health scare with our youngest son, a busy end of the school year and big changes with my husband and his back injury.  Family is number one for me and while I still continued my clubs and some classes, the good 'ole blog took a seat on the back burner for a while. 

I'm happy to say that our youngest son is fine and after a lot of testing and doctor visits we found out we are dealing with something not as serious as we first thought.  Phew!  And, while my husband's back is not better and he is still not back at work, there is hope!  He's participating in an intense back to work program where they are helping him learn how to manage his pain without the help of narcotics and strengthen his muscles so that he will be able to go back to work....although it will be much different that it was before he was injured.  The down side is that he is away from us for the summer, but there is a silver lining!  He's in the beautiful rocky mountains and we get to go visit him often! And, so we begin adjusting to our new normal yet again.

Another wonderful thing that happened was that I was able to attend Stampin' Up!'s annual convention.  I saw my friends from all over North America, learned some new techniques, played with new products and had my bucket filled by my buddies.  I came home feeling inspired and ready to hit the ground running!  One of the things I did while at Convention was participate in an organized swap!  I had to make 80 cards for this swap and I'm thrilled with the 80 cards I got in return...so many beautiful cards and so much inspiration from a group of uber talented ladies!  So, this is the journey of a swap card with a video on the technique at the end!

So what does it take to make 80 swap cards?  80 sheets of cardstock (Blushing Bride, Basic Black & Whisper White), a roll of Everyday Chic washi tape, a package of Old Olive Baker's Twine, 240 gold sequins, 160 inches of Blushing Bride ribbon, and a roll and a half of the new Tear & Tape adhesive!

All the parts and pieces ready to assemble!

Adding Washi Tape!  I had just enough of the design I chose from the Everyday Chic washi tape!

That's a lot of Tear & Tape backing!  After making 80 cards, I can say I LOVE this new adhesive!

Phew....80 cards done and ready to swap!

I was surprised that after 80+ cards I wasn't sick of this card.  I love the way it turned out and I love that each one was a little different because of the technique I did.

As promised, I have a video for you showing how to do the technique.

Here's another close up of the technique as well as another card I did with my stamp clubs using the same technique.

Well, that's all for today!  Thanks for hanging in there with me for this looooong post. I hope that I've inspired you to do this fun technique on a card of your own.  If you do try it, I would love it if you linked to your card in the comments so I can see your creation.

As always, if you are in Canada and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would be happy to help you out!  Contact me for more info or just head on over to my online store to order the supplies you need to recreate the cards I've shown today!

Have an inspired day!

Freaky Friends

Hi Stampers!  Now that Thanksgiving is over it's time to start thinking Halloween!  Have you made up some cute little Halloween treats for the trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood yet?  Or maybe for your kid's classmates at school? 

At the Fall Conference I attended we did Halloween themed make & takes.

The upper left project is a fun box made with the new Gift Box Punch Board!  It's a great new tool that everyone needs in their craft rooms...quick and easy boxes!  This box is finished off with a belly band made with the Motley Monsters DSP, some ribbon and a tag.

The upper right project is an altered Tag-a-Bag.  It's quick and easy to alter these little bags for any occasion!  This one uses a doily, some Motley Monsters DSP and check out that fabulous ghost!  It's cut out of Glimmer Paper with the new Fun Fall Framelits!  The eyes are pearls colored with Blendabilities.  So fun!

The card is super quick and easy.  My favorite part is the embossed eyes!!!  They are also from the Freaky Friends stamp set and were embossed with the Crushed Curry embossing powder.  Spooky and fun!

Everything you need to create these projects and more can be found in my online store.  Head on over there and place an order today so you can get started on some super fun projects!  Or, if you would prefer, you can contact me to place your order.

If you like what you see and are Canadian I would love to be your Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  Contact me today and I can get a catalog in the mail to you ASAP!

Have an inspired day!

Work of Art Plaid Half Sheet Box

Hi Stampers!  It's officially fall and I LOVE IT!!!!  This past weekend I attended a Stampin' Up! conference in Calgary.  My day started waaaay early, but it was a beautiful, clear drive up to Calgary.  It was so clear we could see the mountains the whole way!  And, my chauffeur got me there just in time for breakfast with some of my fellow demonstrators, Dale (the manager of Stampin' Up! Canada) and two other staff members from Stampin' Up! (who made the trek from Salt Lake City!).  I had a wonderful time chatting with friends and making new ones over a delicious breakfast!  After breakfast we headed to the conference room for a business session which was very informative and I even got to speak!  More on that in an upcoming post!

Whenever there's a Stampin' Up! event that my downline is attending, I like to make a little something for each of them.  Five of my downline attended the conference with me this weekend and this is what I made them!

I can't even remember where I learned how to make this fun little box, but I do know it was a loooong time ago!!!  It's a super easy box made with a half sheet of cardstock.

• Cardstock:  5 1/2 x 8 1/2
• Score at 1 3/4, 3 1/2, 5 & 6 3/4
• Turn and score at 1 1/2 & 4
• Cut out the four corner pieces and make some cuts along the 3 1/2 & 5 score lines to make the box flaps
• Fold up, glue the flaps and you have a super cute little box!

I also made up a video for you to see how it all came together!

 Don't you just love that plaid look made with the Work of Art set?

During the afternoon session it was a demonstrator party with make & takes, games, loads of prizes and lots of fun!  For one of the sessions I was a volunteer and was in charge of the embossing station for one of the make & takes.

It was so much fun to meet new friends and chat with demonstrators I've known for a long time!  We also got a pic of me and my downline (except for one...I'm not sure where she was when we took this pic!).

And, here's one final look at that cute little box I made for them!

You can find everything you need to make these little boxes in my online store (except for the chocolate I put inside them!).  Head on over there with the shopping list and place your order today!  And, finally, if you like what you see and don't already have a demonstrator, I would love to send you a catalog!  If you are in Canada, please contact me to get a catalog or place an order!

Shopping List

Stamps:  Work of Art, For All Things

Ink:  Crumb Cake, ,Cajun Craze

Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Old Olive

DSP:  Color Me Autumn

Accessories:  Hello Honey Ribbon, Autumn Wooden Accents, Linen Thread, Color Me Autumn Washi Tape, Regals Buttons

Tools:  Banner Punch, Small Oval Punch, Paper Trimmer (with scoring blade), Stampin' Sponges, Scallop Tag Topper Punch

Have an inspired day!

Designer Series Paper Mini Pouches

Happy Thursday everyone!  Today  I have another of my convention swaps to share.  I always have cards to swap, but I really love swapping little 3D projects the most, so I make sure to have some at every event! 

This year I travelled to convention with 3 of my friends and we drove!  It's about a 12 hour drive for us and it's always so fun to road trip with them...so fun that it doesn't really feel like it takes 12 hours!!!!  This year I didn't drive so I prepped my swaps to make in the car on the way!

My traveling swap making shop!!!!

The only downside is the curvy, mountain roads that we drive on part of the way...beautiful scenery, not so conducive for swap assembly!!!

My inspiration for this project came from my good friend Becky Roberts.  She had posted these darling little pouches on her blog a while back and I fell in love!

The pouch on the left was made with the All Abloom DSP stack, which is what I used for my swaps.  The one on the right was made with the Moonlight DSP stack and is the version my stamp club members did this month.

The pouch is pretty basic and uses 1 full sheet of DSP from the little stacks (so, a 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 piece).  After doing the scoring, folding and sticking, I ran them through the Big Shot with the Finishing Touches Edgelit. I will admit that I bought those Edgelits a loooong time ago and had never used them until this project....rest assured they will be used more now!!!!

Here's a little template I drew up so you can make these super cute pouches at home!

Basically you score at 1, 1 1/2 and 2, 4, 4 1/2 and 5.  Then turn your DSP and score at 1/2". I've marked the parts you need to cut off on the template!  Easy peasy!

Shopping List

Stamps:  Num-Num

Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey (or other colors that coordinate with your DSP)

Cardstock:  colors that coordinate with the DSP that you choose

DSP:  All Abloom and/or Moonlight 

Accessories:  Rhinestones or Pearls

Tools:  Big Shot, Finishing Touches Edgelits, Decorative Label punch, Extra Large Oval punch, Banner punch & Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (flower), Stampin' Sponges, Simply Scored or Trimmer with Scoring Blade

Head on over to my online store with the shopping list to get everything you need to create these fun little pouches at home!  Don't forget that DSP is on sale this month....Buy 3, Get 1 FREE (sadly, this doesn't include the awesome little DSP stacks).  And, when you place your order online remember to use the hostess code CZKJ2ZAD to be entered to win a pack of washi tape!

Have an inspired day!

Flashback Gusseted Pouch

Today I want to share some special swaps that I made for convention.  I always do up some swaps for general swapping and then a few special ones for my good friends!

While surfing Pinterest one evening, I came across the cutest little gusseted pouches made by Diane Barnes over at Color Me Happy!  She's a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in Australia!  I followed her basic instructions pretty closely and only made one change.  Here's what I came up with.

I love how they turned out!  I used the Flashback DSP again for these (I'm loving this DSP....the colors, the designs...I just love it!). 

Here's some basic measurements and instructions:

• start with a 6x6 piece of DSP
• line it up at 2 1/4", punch and score (on the envelope punch board)
• line it up at 3 1/4", punch and score
• turn the DSP 90 degrees, line up the first score line with the guide, punch and score
• line up the second score line with the guide, punch (don't score)
• turn the DSP 90 degrees, line up at 2 1/4", punch and score
• line it up at 3 1/2", punch and score
• turn the DSP 90 degrees, line up the first score line with the guide, punch and score
• line up the second score line with the guide, punch (don't score)

You then fold it up and embellish.  I have a video for you to follow too with all the little extras I did.  Before I show you that, let me show you what I put in them!

Each pouch has 2 mint patties which I prettied up with some punched cardstock and DSP.  So cute!

Here's the video tutorial.

For the month of July, Designer Paper is on sale.  Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!  I used the Flashback DSP for this project, but there are so many fun options with DSP this year that I'm sure you will have no problem choosing 4...or 8, or 12!!!!!  Head on over to my online store and order some DSP today.  Don't forget to use the hostess code CZKJ2ZAD so you can be entered to win some washi tape!

Have an inspired day!

Inspire. Create. Share. 2014

As you are reading this I am on my way to sunny Salt Lake City for Stampin' Up!'s annual convention.  I am so excited to be on a road trip with some good friends and so excited to see my friends from across North America that I don't get to see very often!

One of the things I do every convention is make a little gift for my downline that are attending.  This year I spoiled them!

They each got a little package with a notebook and pen, altered first aid kit, bag tag and a little jar of goodies to snack on!

The notebook is covered with Flashback DSP and some Hello Honey ribbon.  I stamped "creative" along the ribbon...that creative is from a special convention set I got a couple years ago!  You can see how I altered the notebook here.  The pen is an RSVP pen that I rolled some DSP (again, the Flashback DSP) up into the barrel.  I love doing this with my pens...it's an easy way to make cute pens and then I know when people steal my pens because they are unique!!!!

The tags were cut from DSP (Flashback) covered chipboard.  I used the new Bigz die Party Pennants.  I love that the pennants come in 2 sizes on this die!  It's embellished with some punched pieces (colors from the Flashback DSP....Pool Party, Real Red, Hello Honey) and then each one has their initial on it.  I used the Perfect Print Alphabet Bigz die for that.  It's finished off with a piece of Hello Honey ribbon so they can tie it to their bags.  And, they now have a cute way to distinguish their bags in the sea of 3000 bags that are all the same!

I found these super cute little travel first aid kits when I was getting groceries at Superstore one day!  They come in a white plastic container and have all the essentials for minor first aid stuff like paper cuts and blisters (the most common convention injuries!).  The container was easy to alter with some more Flashback DSP and then a belly band made from cardstock.  The belly band was made with the Angled Tag Topper punch and tied shut with some of the new cotton ribbon in Real Red.  We're gonna have the cutest first aid kits around!

And, of course they needed some treats!  I got these cute little jars from someone selling leftover wedding favor stuff and they are perfect for this sort of thing.  I filled them with some gummies and then added a DSP (Flashback) circle to the lid.  It's finished off with a piece of cotton ribbon, this time in Pool Party.

And, here it is all packaged up cute and ready for them to get....

Don't you just love it?!?!?!  Everything but the notebook fit in these cute little plastic berry containers I also found on my Superstore grocery shopping trip!  Because the notebook didn't fit, I placed the berry container on top of the notebook and tied the two together with some of the awesome new Crushed Curry Striped Grosgrain.

Now that you've seen a lot of the patterns from the Flashback DSP pack, make it one of the ones you get this month with the sale!  DSP is buy 3 get 1 free for the month of July and with so many gorgeous DSP's to choose from you may even want to get them all...you know, buy 6 get 2 free or buy 9 and get 3 free!!!!

Head on over to my online store and order your DSP today!  Don't forget to use the hostess code CZKJ2ZAD when placing your order so you can be entered to win a pack of washi tape!

Have an inspired day!

Birthday Basics Candles

I can't believe that in less than a month my kiddos will be back in school!   Shhhh...don't tell anyone, but I'm a little excited!  The days when all 5 of my day home kids are here combined with my own 3 kids it gets a little crazy and exhausting around here!!!!  I also thrive on routine and although I love the first few weeks of lazy summer days when we just do whatever, I start longing for the routine of school days by August.

Anyhoo...I'm sure you stopped in today to see some stampin, so lets get on with it, right!  I'm sharing my second swap card from convention with you today.  I always do 2 different swap cards at SU events for a couple reasons.  First, I get bored doing lots of the same card and second, lots of times it's nice to be able to swap 2 for 2 with someone if they have 2 fabulous cards!

My card was super simple, but super fun!  And, I actually had 2 versions of it...but I totally forgot to take a picture of the other version.  It had the birthday hat paper on it and was done with Island Indigo rather than Raspberry Ripple.

You can see I did a layer of the DSP matted with cardstock and then embellished with some fun little banners.  The stamped banner is popped up with some Stampin' Dimensionals.  To get two colors on one image, I used my Stampin' Write Markers rather than an ink pad.

This card is super simple and doesn't require a whole lot of supplies.  Head on over to my online store with the shopping list to order the supplies you need to create this card today!  If you use the hostess code 9S2F9VJ2 and place your order before August 30, you will be entered in a draw for an embossing folder of your choice!

Have an inspired day!

Shopping List

 

Cardstock:  Smoky Slate, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White

DSP:  Birthday Basics

Stamps:  Sketched Birthday

Ink:  Stampin' Write Markers (Raspberry Ripple, Smoky Slate)

Tools:  Big Shot, Bitty Banners Framelits

Other:  Stampin' Dimensionals

Downline Gifts

At Convention each year I like to have a little something to give to my downline, and this year was no different!  In fact, I think this year was my favorite downline gifts!

I found some really pretty fabric at one of my local fabric stores.  It had Costal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar and Early Espresso colors in it and I fell in love!!!!  So, I designed and stamped a note book around the fabric and also made everyone a lanyard for their name tags.

And, I had a cup made for each member of my downline attending convention.  It had an ink splatter with our team name and then their names on the back.  Everyone's ink splatter was in a different color.  It was so fun to give them out!

You can't tell in the picture, but the black that the names were done in had some sparkle to it!

And, I will leave you with some photos of convention this year.  It was almost 6000 demonstrators around the world under one roof celebrating Stampin' Up!'s 25th anniversary, making friends, catching up with old friends and learning about stamping.  It was a blast...and exhausting...but super fun!

Some of the highlights were:

• being part of an official world record
• participating in the service project...making birthday kits for sick kids who spend their birthday in the hospital
• the thought bubbles in the recognition room (I could have played with those all day!)
• talking with Shelli (and she commented on my cute shoes that day!)
• sliding down the railing after my team's group picture...cause that's how we roll!
• dropping off dozens of cards in the RMHC basket to donate to families staying at Ronald McDonald Houses in Canada and the US...and meeting Ronald!
• seeing my stamping friends
• my travel buddies (we had a blast on our road trip and laughed so hard I cried waaay too many times).
• walking across the stage for being a demonstrator for 10 years
• seeing not 1, but 2 of my cards on the display boards

It was an inspiring, rewarding and fun week.  Join my team and you can come with us to Convention next year!  I can't wait to go to Leadership conference in Houston in January!

That's all for today.  I will be back tomorrow with some stamping to share.  Have an inspired day!

Soda Pop Tops....Squished

At first I wasn't sure about the Soda Pop Tops in the Spring catalog.  But, now that I have played around with them, I can say with confidence that I LOVE them!!!!  I do find them a little bulky, so I like to squish 'em for my projects!  This is a project I made for all my downline who attended the Calgary Regional last weekend.

I started with MDS and made the part that was going to go in the squished soda pop top.  I sized a circle punch to 1", filled it with some DSP and then added some hearts and a name.  Then I copied and pasted a bunch of times to get enough for all my downline that was attending the Calgary Regional last weekend.  After printing on whisper white cardstock, I punched them all out with my 1" punch and stuck them into the squished soda pop tops.  The next step is to fill the soda pop top with crystal effects and let it sit for a looooooooong time to dry...like 24 hours!  After they were dry, I punched a hole in them with my retired crop-a-dile and fed a chain through (I found the chain at my local craft store).  The final little touch was to tie a strip of the More Amore Designer Fabric on it.

These make perfect scissor charms......

They also are cute on a bag (in a room of hundreds or thousands of demonstrators with the same bag it's important to make yours a little different than the others!).  Some of my downline even put them on their lanyards along with their name tags for the day.

And, here's a little video showing you how to squish your Soda Pop Tops...it's easier than you think!

Go forth and squish your soda pop tops people...it's loads of fun!

Have an inspired day!

Calgary Regional Seminar

Buckle up, grab a hot beverage and get comfy...this is a long post with a ride through my stamping adventure in Calgary, some card samples and a video!  An adventure from start to finish!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a super fun Stampin' Up! event...the Calgary Regional Seminar!  Stampin' Up! takes their "show on the road" and does day long regional seminars in select locations across Canada and the US.  We were lucky to have one so close to home, so I had to attend!  And, I was thrilled when the lovely Donna Griffiths from SU phoned and asked me if I would do a 10 minute "WOW Demo"!  Of course, I said yes (I may have yelled it!!!).  I was SUPER excited!

Since I had a 2 hour drive to Calgary and wasn't planing to spend the night, Donna said she would put me in the afternoon so I wouldn't have to get there super early to set up...I could do it during the morning stamping break and lunch.

I got everything ready on my table and chatted with Tom (the best video guy ever!) about what I was going to be showing.  He gave me some tips...how to show my projects to the camera, what area on the table to be stamping on so it shows up on the camera well, etc.  And, after lunch I got all miked up and ready to go!

I couldn't wait to get up there and show my stuff!

There's my name up on the big screen when they announced me!  And, here I am on stage doing my thing!  That's Tom to the right.

All the demonstrators in the audience that day were wonderful...I had a cheering section (actually a couple!).  It was a pretty cool feeling to have my name announced and hear cheers as I walked across the stage to get to my chair!  I wish my kids would cheer like that when I say things like, "we're having beans for supper", or "time to get up, it's a school day", or "time to do chores"!!!!!

I was surprised that I wasn't really nervous at all!  I actually felt super comfortable up there on that stage in front of 500 other demonstrators...I think that's because I love what I do and I love sharing about it...or maybe it's just my crazy need to be the center of attention sometimes!!!!!  I will say this wasn't my first time at the rodeo!  I have demoed at an SU event a couple times before and a LOT at the Millet Meetings I attend...I guess I'm just comfortable stamping in front of hundreds of people!  Everyone seemed to enjoy what I was talking about and the samples I showed.

I talked about classes based on products.  One of the products I chose to talk about was the Pennant Punch.  Do you have the Pennant Punch?  If not, you NEED it!  It's an amazingly versatile punch.  And, if you already have it, dust it off and show it some love with cards like I made to share in Calgary!  Here are my samples.....

You can't really tell in this picture, but the sun was shimmered so it sparkled and shone!

I love a stamp set where you can do everything from baby to Christmas cards and everything in between!

This one was inspired by a card the very talented Kimberley Van Diepen did!

I think that last card was my favorite!

And, I put together a fun little video with one of the tips I shared during my demo.  Enjoy!

Finally, I want to share 2 more pictures.



Me and Donna Griffiths

Shannon West, Me & Bonnie Thurber

The Stampin' Up! staff are so AMAZING!  They are friendly, creative, helpful and always willing to chat.  I truly feel blessed to be part of such a great company!

Have an inspired day!