Great Gift Idea

If you haven't had a chance to see the new Simply Sent Card Kits in person, I have to tell you that they are fantastic! They come with everything that you need to create 10 cards - 5 each of 2 different designs. And, there are additional card ideas on Stampin' Up!'s website! The card stock is pre-cut and the stamps are die-cut... which means all you need to do is mount them on the wood blocks! I haven't had the chance to actually play with any of the kits yet, but I'll be posting some card samples in future posts when I get time to create!

These kits would make great gifts for beginner and experienced stampers... New stampers will love how easy it is to get started when they have everything they need and experienced stampers will love that they can make some quick cards with a new stamp set! To see all six of the kits available, click here. The kit pictured here is called "Good Things".

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Snow Day!

Today was a snow day for us! We couldn't get out of our driveway... it took almost 2 hours of shovelling to decide that though! So, I was able to stay home and STAMP today!! I don't have anything new to share with you though because I was making cards for the craft fair so I was just duplicating cards we've made before.

I thought I would end my day with a quick post to show you the card organizers that we did this weekend... It was the first time I had made these and the first time I taught the class. These are really nice tins to store hand-stamped greetings. I really enjoyed the class because everyone made their tin the way they liked - selecting their own paper, ribbon and embellishments.

These projects started with plain, white lunchbox style tins. We covered it with Designer Series Paper, painted the top and then decorated them. Here's a picture of the inside of mine - we also created little dividers to put inside. If you missed this class but are interested in making a card organizer, please email (bevennis@shaw.ca) to let me know and I can try to schedule another class before Christmas if there is enough interest.

I did have to take a break from stamping... my husband put on Christmas music this afternoon which was the sign that he was wanting to bring out the Christmas decorations... So we spent a few hours on that project - not done yet, but well on our way. It was neat to be decorating with the snow falling! I love getting all the decorations out... we've been invaded by snowmen! Here's a photo of how things looked in our neighbourhood this afternoon - this is taken from our driveway. The sun made a very brief appearance which made for a beautiful picture!

Hope you had a safe, warm day!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

It started snowing at about 3:00 this afternoon... the ground is now a blanket of snow. It's beautiful!

So, it was the perfect time to stamp packages of snowman soup! This was an idea that came from a demonstrator in my downline, Suzanne. She made the package that's at the top of this post.

I wanted to play with some different colours, so I stamped mine in Brocade Blue. Here's what you need to make your own snowman soup:

1 package of hot chocolate
1 dozen (or more!) miniature marshmallows
1 small candy cane
1 piece of card stock cut to 4 1/4" x 11"
1 medium flat cellophane bag
1 10" piece of ribbon
stamps, ink, adhesive, scissors and a punch

Stamp the piece of card stock. Then score it at 1", 5 1/4" and 6 3/4". Fold to make package. Put the hot chocolate, marshmallows and candy cane into the cellophane bag - I folded the top of the hot chocolate package down a bit so it fit better. Then fold the top of the cellophane bag down so that it fits inside the card stock package. I ran some SNAIL adhesive inside the package to hold the cellophane bag.

Next, you'll need to punch holes in the top to thread the ribbon through. I used the rectangle hand held punch for this. You are going through 3 layers of card stock plus the cellophane bag so it takes some strength - if you aren't able to go through all of this at once, punch through the front flap first, then lay it down and punch in the same place through the other layers. Thread your ribbon through and tie a bow on the front. Attach your stamped image to the front. I printed "Snowman Soup" onto the Whisper White card stock first then stamped the snowman family from Flaky Friends.

This would make a great little gift, maybe a stocking stuffer or a little decoration on a table... Or, use it in place of a card - you could tie a little tag onto the front to add a greeting and sign it. I think everyone would love having a mug of snowman soup!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

Class Schedule Updated

I've just updated my Class Schedule... Have a look here.

There's a new class in January called One Sheet Wonder. Here's a photo of the cards that you'll create in this class. I plan to have an alternate set of cards if you'd prefer a different stamp set. All of the pieces stamped with the flowers, other than the pieces with greetings, are from one 8 1/2" x 11" piece of card stock! It's amazing...

Email me (bevennis@shaw.ca) if you would like to register for any classes... the Stamp-A-Stacks fill quickly!

If there's a class that you would like to see scheduled, please let me know.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

Trees...

Today was a really exciting day because I registered for the Panama Canal cruise that I earned through Stampin' Up! I can't wait to go - can you imagine a whole cruise ship filled with Stampin' Up! demonstrators? I can't believe that I am going to be on an all-expense paid trip with Shelli Gardner (Stampin' Up!'s CEO) and the top demonstrators from Canada and the US. I'm taking my Mom with me - I would never have been able to achieve this without her help! We'll be leaving in April for 8 days of adventure!

So, I thought that it would be appropriate to post this palm tree card tonight... The background of the piece that is stamped with the palm tree is done with a technique called Faux Mother of Pearl. This is one of five techniques that I teach in the Techniques I class. I'll be offering this class again in the new year... watch for my class schedule to be posted soon!

I stamped this second card last night and I love it! The tree is stamped on Kraft card stock. I actually stamped it in two colours - I inked the top with Garden Green and then flipped the stamp around to ink the bottom of the trunk and the ground with Chocolate Chip. Then I coloured the trunk with a Blender Pen and Chocolate Chip ink. My favourite part is the snow that I added with the White Gel Pen. Notice how I used the Ticket Corner punch on this card again - this time it created the perfect space for me to put brads (Antique Brass from a Hodgepodge Hardware Kit). I also sponged the edge of the Kraft card stock with Chocolate Chip ink. You don't notice it much in this picture, but I stamped a new stamp - the Flannel Plaid background stamp - on the Bravo Burgundy card stock with the same colour of ink. And I used Itty Bitty Backgrounds on the Certainly Celery piece. The word "Peace" is from the All-Year Cheer I stamp set.

Well, I'm off to get ready for a stamping class.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

Only a few more days...

With only a few days to wait for the new Winter Mini Catalogue to arrive, there are also only a few days left to order from the Holiday Mini Catalogue. There are lots of great products that I am going to miss demonstrating... the Holiday Thyme Designer Series Paper, which is used on all of these card samples, tops my list! The Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon has also been a favourite and I love a lot of the stamp sets, especially Wishing You. Orders from the Holiday Mini Catalogue must be placed by November 30th so don't miss out on any of your favourites!

This first card is nearly an exact copy from Debbie Olson, a US demonstrator who is an amazing artist. I saw this card and had to stamp it myself! The card is a different size than usual - it's 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" - designed to fit our medium square envelopes. It's kind of exciting to play with a different format! In addition to the Holiday Thyme Designer Series Paper, this card features the Wishing You stamp set. I've added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to the star on the front using the 2-Way Glue Pen and it just finishes the card off with such a nice sparkle.

This next card was inspired by a card that my upline, Alison, posted. One of her customers created the card and I knew immediately that I had to make one! I changed it just a bit and I have to tell you that it looks even better in person! Such a simple card, too, which is always nice. Both of the stamp sets on this card are in the Holiday Mini Catalogue - Snow Flurries and Perfect Ending. I've added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to this one too - on the dove and in the centre of each of the stamped snowflakes along the bottom.

The last card will be familiar to everyone who attended one of my Santa's Workshops... This is one of the simplest cards that I have ever done, but it is so classic. Only one stamp - the greeting is from Sincere Salutations. It's set against a strip of Holiday Thyme Designer Series Paper. This card would be so easy to change the colours using different patterns from this package of Designer Series Paper. The little greeting tag on the front uses my favourite new punch - the Ticket Corner punch. Then it's set on Dimensionals and the Celery Narrow Organdy finishes it off nicely.

If you are needing any supplies from the Holiday Mini Catalogue, be sure to contact me (bevennis@shaw.ca) before November 30th!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

Love Matters

Here's another little sneak peak into the Winter Mini Catalogue... it comes available on December 1st so not too far away now. My last post showed you a card that I made with the stamp set called "Love Matters". Here are three more cards with this cute set - and I'm proud to say that these are all my own creations!

I spent some time stamping last night and this morning... actually I was on a creative roll last night so ended up stamping until 3:00 am! Even then, I didn't feel like sleeping, but knew I had to...

While I was stamping, I was watching a TV special celebrating the career of Reba McEntire. As a girl who grew up in Alberta, I'm a big country music fan and I've long been a fan of Reba's. I was stamping the first card with the word "Love" on the front when someone was talking about the philosophy that's reinforced in Reba's TV sitcom and it really struck a chord with me... One of Reba's co-stars said that the basic message that underlies each episode is that "whatever life throws your way, love wins." Wow! I had to stop stamping and write that down...

Okay, back to the cards. My colour selections coordinate with the Sweet Shop Ribbon Originals - Almost Amethyst, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose and Rose Red. I often gravitate towards these colours so it's nice to have these ribbons that go with them. I just switched the colours around for each card and added a piece of ribbon to dress them up. It made it so easy to design four cards this way. By the way, you can click on the photo to see it bigger.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

So Sparkly...

If you love sparkly cards, this is a technique for you! It's called Faux Diamond Dust. It's a great technique to keep in mind when you are stamping your winter cards - imagine using this on a snowman...

It might be a bit hard to see on the scan, but the main image on this card - the "friends" piece - is all sparkly. You might see it a bit better if you click on the picture to get a larger image.

This is a really simple technique with our Iridescent Ice Emboss Powder. This powder has glitter right in it so once you heat it, the glitter is sealed right into your card.

Start by stamping and colouring your image. Then apply VersaMark ink direct to paper (see the photo) to cover the whole front of the image. Next, sprinkle the Iridescent Ice Emboss Powder over the card stock. The emboss powder will stick to the VersaMark ink.

Use your Heat Tool to "melt" the emboss powder. You will see this powder turn clear. I always emboss on a piece of tin foil because it helps to reflect the heat back up from underneath which speeds up the embossing and also minimizes the card stock curl that often happens from the heat.

Let it cool for a minute and that's it! Your piece is all sparkly now and ready to be added to your card or scrapbook page.

So, are you wondering where this stamp is from? It's a great new set called "Love Matters" which is in the upcoming Winter Mini Catalogue. It will be available from December 1st - February 28th.

I'm making this card for a swap that I'm in. I really like the colours together - Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal and Almost Amethyst. I got the combination from my Colour Coach - I love this tool and use it nearly everytime I'm trying to create a card. It takes the guess work out of colour combinations, something that I'm not so great with!

Hope you'll give this technique a try... By the way, you can do this on a piece of plain card stock and then use it as a background. Here's a sample doing just that using the "Pretty Princess" stamp set. The piece of Regal Rose card stock is nice and sparkly!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

Santa's Workshop

A couple of seats have come open in this Friday evening's Santa's Workshop... If you are interested in attending, please contact me soon (bevennis@shaw.ca). You'll have 14 different Christmas cards to choose from, including the one shown here which uses a dryer sheet to create a nice snow effect! Come learn how...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Simply Sent Card Kits are here!

I'm so thrilled with a new product that Stampin' Up! is introducing tomorrow... In fact, I'm waiting up tonight just so I can order my new Simply Sent Kits as soon as they come available! These kits are going to make stamping so easy - with great new die-cut stamp sets and all of the supplies you need to create 10 cards (5 each of 2 designs), you'll be stamping in no time! Check out the six new Simply Sent Card Kits here. Contact me (bevennis@shaw.ca) if you need more information and watch for future posts that will show you some different ideas to use with these stamp sets!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

First Craft Fair Finished...

We had a great time over the last couple of days at the Calico Christmas Craft Fair. Here's a picture of Mom just after we finished setting up. It was so nice to see so many familiar faces - thanks to everyone who came by to say hi! Sorry that I missed seeing some of you this morning - I was at the Remembrance Day Ceremony.

It was a great weekend and we are most pleased with the results. Lots of cards, hot chocolate packages and tags were scooped up. It's always interesting to see what people are looking for and we're often surprised by how few Christmas/holiday cards are purchased. A couple of years ago, it seemed that thank you and baby cards were the most popular - this year, I think that the thank you cards were still popular along with birthday cards. Of course, Mom's little gift tags are always a hit - you can see them on the table in the picture to the right!

Our next craft fair is A Touch of Salt Spring on December 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Lots of stamping will happen getting ready for that one!

Well, I'm off to put my feet up and watch some hockey!

Bev.

It's Craft Fair Time

I managed to stamp and colour 15 more coasters this morning to finish off our stock for the craft fair. The van is loaded and we are just headed out the door in a few minutes so I thought I'd type a quick post.

This is the card that I made for my Dad's birthday this year. He's a Halloween birthday boy so he often received ghost and goblin cards and cakes when I was younger. This one is made with the Artifacts set with my favourite greeting out the It's Your Birthday set. He loved the colours and I loved the simplicity of the card. Masculine cards are often a little more challenging so I was really pleased with this one!

Hope to see you at the craft fair!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

Remembrance

I'm taking a little departure from my usual stamping posts to reflect on a really special trip that I was on this time last year. My Dad and I took a two week Battlefields of Europe tour last November and as Remembrance Day approaches, I've been thinking back on our trip a lot. I know that standing at our Remembrance Day Ceremony in Langford tomorrow morning will remind me of the ceremony we attended in Ieper, Belgium last November 11th. I'll think back on the battlefields and beaches that we walked on, the cemeteries and memorials where we paid our respects, the museums where we learned of the tragedies of the First and Second World Wars... and I will have a whole different understanding of the meaning of "Lest We Forget".

I thought that some of you might like to see some of the photos from our tour. The first one is my Dad and I standing on Juno Beach. This is the beach where our Canadian soldiers landed on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

The next is from our visit to Vimy Ridge, where on April 9, 1917 more than 15,000 Canadians embarked on a successful attack that gained them much respect for their bravery.

I wanted to share this photo of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. This memorial was one of the most amazing things I saw. If you look closely, you'll see people standing on the memorial and this gives you an idea of the size of this structure. On the walls, there are over 72,000 names of missing French and Commonwealth soldiers who were never found.

As you can probably tell, this was an amazing trip and gave me a whole new appreciation for all that we have, especially the freedoms we enjoy every day.

Lest we forget.

Stamp, stamp, stampin'!

I have been stamping a lot in the last few days... yay!! : )

We are busy getting ready for the craft fair this weekend. Hope you'll come visit us at the Calico Christmas Arts & Crafts Show at Pacific Christian School (654 Agnes Street) on Friday from 6:00 - 10:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

I've had several stamping classes these past few days and I did a little figuring... In the last week, during five different stamping classes, I spent time with 59 stampers! Oh, and here's the really impressive part... all together, 312 cards were created!! That's just amazing! Boy, am I ever lucky to have my Mom's help to get ready - she truly is an expert card stock cutter!

Here are a couple of cards that were featured in some of these stamping classes. They are both so simple and so beautiful - each made with just one stamp set and just a few supplies! The first one is made with "The Snowflake Spot". The snowflakes are stamped in Buckaroo Blue (love that name!). I stamped the smaller ones off once to get them lighter on the card. The word "Joy" is stamped in Night of Navy ink. The greeting is put on the card with Dimensionals. Notice the little piece of Navy organdy ribbon that just adds a nice finishing touch!

The second card uses the "Wishing You" stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalogue and just one stamp pad - Cranberry Crisp. I love the Holiday Thyme Designer Series Paper, also from the Holiday Mini. Again, a little bit of ribbon adds to this card, this time I used the Cranberry Crisp Stitched Grosgrain. Oh, and there's Dimensionals again. I think that ribbon and Dimensionals are two of my favourite products!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

2-4-6-8 Box

I know that some of my stamping friends have made these neat little boxes before and many of my hostesses have received little thank you gifts in them... I'm often asked how to make them so I wanted to share the instructions with you! They are so simple and can be made in different sizes just by adjusting the height of your card stock. The key is to keep the width at 8 1/2 inches (unless you also adjust all of the scoring measurements).

For this box, I started with a piece of card stock 8 1/2" wide and 9" tall that I stamped with The Snowflake Spot. Score the card stock across the width at 2", 4", 6" and 8" - now you know where the name came from for this box! These are the vertical score lines. You will have a 1/2" flap left on one side... you'll see what this if for soon. Now, turn your card stock 90 degrees and score one side at 2" - this is the horizontal score line. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them and see more detail.

Next, cut along the vertical score lines from the bottom to the 2" vertical score line. You'll be making 2" cuts on your 4 vertical score lines. Now, fold along all of the score lines and use the bone folder to get a crisp fold. Run adhesive all along the 1/2" flap on the stamped side and stick it to the inside of the other end of the card stock. You should see your box starting to take shape now.

Use adhesive to stick the bottom flaps of the box down. I like to put adhesive on two of the bottom flaps, then fold one with adhesive in, stick the next one with adhesive to it, then stick the next flap onto it (this one doesn't have adhesive on it) then you just have to put adhesive on the inside of the last flap to stick it down. Then stand your box up and press the bottom with your bone folder to make sure it is stuck well.

Next, you need to fold the top - I use my pointer fingers to push two of the sides in as I bring the top of the box together... I know that sounds confusing but hopefully the photo helps!

Using a handheld rectangle (or other shape) punch, punch two holes for the ribbon to be thread through - you'll be punching through 4 layers of card stock so you'll need to squeeze hard on the punch! You can make a tag and tie it on to the ribbon. I find that 11" of ribbon works well to tie a nice bow on the front.

Okay, it's not as difficult as it sounds... if you're not sure, try making one with a piece of photocopy paper first then move on to card stock when you have it figured out. Try making these in all different sizes for different gifts. They are great little boxes for small gifts and are really quick to make once you know how.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(Images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)

More Christmas inspiration...

It's been a while since I've been blogging because I've been so busy getting ready for tonight's Santa's Workshop... We have 14 new Christmas cards ready for everyone and I just thought I'd give you a sneak peak at a few.

I was trying to pick a favourite out of all the cards this afternoon and I couldn't... I am pretty fond of the Santa card though - I love the little buckle from the Hodgepodge Hardware that reminds me of Santa's belt. This is a pretty quick and simple card using the Holiday Woodcuts set with the "be merry" greeting from the new Warm Words set.


I wanted to play with some different colours so I tried Green Galore, Gable Green and Real Red on the card made with the Crazy for Christmas stamp set. This one is pretty quick also - just coloured with Stampin' Write Markers. I love the ribbon on this card. I did notice that I'm using lots of ribbon right now - it just gives that nice finishing touch on my cards so I can't resist!


My Mom was inspired by a card sample she saw for the Festive Favourites card, but she really made it her own by changing things a bit. I love this card - the colours are great... Cranberry Crisp and True Thyme. So cute! Aren't the reindeer adorable? And the little tag just adds another eyecatching detail to the card.

This last card uses my favourite - snowmen! I could have had 14 cards made with snowmen tonight, but I managed to branch out to other festive images...!! For those of you who don't already know, I'm a bit of a snowman fanatic... I have quite a nice collection and can't wait for them to make their appearance when we decorate for Christmas! This card is a simple layout - I used Sage Shadow card stock with Real Red and Brocade Blue for a different look.

Well, I must run and finish getting everything ready for tonight!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(Images copyright 1990-2006 Stampin' Up!)