Where is Bev?

Wondering where I've been? Well, unfortunately, the tissue box has become my closest friend for the past few days... coughing, sniffling and sneezing have become my most common past times! Yes, I've joined the masses with the latest bout of cold and flu symptoms. But I think I'm on the road to recovery now... I even managed to stamp a little today so that must be a good sign!

I'll be back tomorrow night to share a card or two with you so please check back!

In the meantime, just a reminder that there are a few seats still open for my Stamp-A-Stack this weekend - 2 seats on Friday night and 5 on Saturday morning. Email to reserve your seat - bevennis@shaw.ca.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Tuesday's Tip...

I had this all ready to go last night, but my internet decided to take the night off so I couldn't get online... so frustrating!

Okay onto the good stuff. Here is something so cool... I had so much fun with this. Check out the ribbon slide on this card. It's from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware kit, but look closely... I've added some colour to it!

Here's how:

On a disposable surface (I used the lid from a sour cream container), squeeze out a small puddle of Crystal Effects. Then add a drop of ink refill. Mix with a toothpick. Next, use the toothpick to "paint" the inside ring of the ribbon slide. If you go outside the area you are adding colour to, use a clean toothpick to lift the extra colour off. Let it dry... I left mine for a couple of hours just to be sure that they were really dry before I used them.

You can go from this:









To this:

I played with a few colours... The one I used on the first card was Purely Pomegranate and I also played with Pretty in Pink and Lavender Lace. They all look great! I did notice that they seem to dry a bit darker so keep that in mind.

I made one more card with the Pretty in Pink ribbon slide. This card uses the stamp set called Simply Said.

I had to order another Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware kit so that I will have some more ribbon slides to play with!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Sassy Suzie

This is a card that was stamped by Stacey for our card swap... It uses the fun new set, Sassy Suzie, from the Occasions Mini Catalogue. This set makes me giggle - such cute sayings! The colours that Stacey has used on this card are Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Purely Pomegranate, and Very Vanilla with a strip of Designer Series Paper from the Berry Bliss package. She made the fancy scalloped edge using the Slit Punch. Thanks for this fun card, Stacey!

I hope you've enjoyed a great Easter weekend. We had a quiet weekend... mostly! Yesterday afternoon, our friends came over with their four little girls (aged 6, almost 4 and 18-month old twins) for an Easter egg hunt. It was so much fun to watch them. Even the little ones had it figured out!

I have one more day off today and after running some errands and doing some deliveries this morning, I plan to stamp! It's the perfect end to a long weekend... Oh, except for the laundry and the bathroom cleaning that I also have to do...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Happy Easter!

I hope you are having a wonderful Easter weekend... We don't have many big plans for the weekend, but did enjoy our "traditional" Good Friday dinner tonight - homemade cheese pizza! I'm not sure how that became our Good Friday meal, but we've been having it for several years now and we really look forward to it. It was yummy! I tried adding dessert to the tradition this year... I picked up a DQ ice cream cake but I think we have to include it on the menu for a couple of years before it becomes a tradition!

Here's a very simple Easter card that I had designed for the last Stamp-A-Stack. It uses the Never-Ending Joy stamp set. I just love tulips and daffodils - I love seeing them blooming at this time of year.

I'm hoping to have some stamping time this weekend and will share my creations if I do manage to get some time in!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Technique Junkies

Last weekend, I had my Technique Junkies class... This is for my customers who have finished all four of the Techniques Book class. This is one of the cards that I designed for this class and I was just so pleased with it! I hadn't managed to use any of the pins from the Pretties Kit yet so I was determined to incorporate them into a card and this was it!

We did the polished stone technique on this card using Soft Sky, Blue Bayou and Metallic Silver re-inkers. The stamp is from the Spring Song stamp set.

Polished Stone is one of my favourite techniques... if you are interested in the Techniques Book classes, please let me know. I haven't held any for a while but am happy to schedule them again if there is interest!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

By Ones and By Twos

Here is an adorable baby card that was stamped by Sonia. She has used the cute stamp set called "By Ones and By Twos" that's featured in the Occasions Mini Catalogue. Notice how Sonia stamped the little onesie on Designer Series Paper and cut it out... so cute! She stamped the onesie stamp on Whisper White card stock first and then mounted the one cut out of Designer Series Paper on top so that you see the hanger in behind. The Designer Series Paper is called East Coast Prep... I might just have to order this paper now! These colours are so fun - very unique but work well! Thanks for another great card, Sonia!!

We're off to watch the BC Cadet Honour Band perform tonight... always a treat to hear the music that these cadets manage to pull together and perform after only 3 days of rehearsal together!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

One last Sale-A-Bration sample

Since today is that last day of Sale-A-Bration, I thought I would share this card that I received from Lucie in our group swap... Along with the Lots of Thoughts Sale-A-Bration stamp set, Lucie used one of my favourites, the Embrace Life stamp set. Lucie stamped the flowers on vellum card stock and embossed them in black. I imagine she likely coloured them in using a Blender Pen and Ink - in Purely Pomegranate and Wild Wasabi. She also stamped some of the leaves on a piece of white card stock using Wild Wasabi ink that you can see behind the vellum. The background piece of Purely Pomegranate card stock is actually textured which is hard to see on the scan. This is a nice, bright, eye-catching card.

So, here's an amazing number... Stampin' Up! announced that they sent out 625,000 Sale-A-Bration rewards (stamp sets and rub-ons) during the six weeks of this amazing special! Isn't that incredible?!! Thanks to all of my customers for your business during Sale-A-Bration and throughout the rest of the year!

Hope you've had a great St. Patrick's Day. I had a day off today so my husband and I went to the Irish Times Pub for lunch - busy, busy place today! It was fun and festive...

I'll be back tomorrow with a couple more samples from our card swap.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Last day of Sale-A-Bration

This is it... the last day of Sale-A-Bration 2008! I'll be sending in my last order shortly after 5:00 this evening so be sure that if you'd like to order anything during this fantastic promotion that you get your order to me before then! Don't miss out on any of your favourite Sale-A-Bration stamp sets or the special rub-ons ~ they will not be available again!

If you are waiting to receive a Scallop Circle Punch that was on back-order, they've all been shipped now so should be arriving before the weekend. Thanks for your patience - these have been very popular items over the past few weeks!

And, I will be back later this evening with new cards... tonight is my meeting with my downline group and we have a swap so I will have some great new samples to share with you!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

PS. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just Celebrate!

Here's a fun birthday card that combines a Sale-A-Bration set (Lots of Thoughts) with a new stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalogue (Just Celebrate). I also used a background stamp - Polka Dot - on the piece of Close to Cocoa card stock. You could easily substitute a piece of Designer Series Paper here instead on this card. Notice how the greeting stamp has been inked in two different colours... I used a short cut to do this by inking the whole stamp in Regal Rose ink and then using a Rose Red Stampin' Write Marker to colour over the words that I wanted darker. Because the colours are so similar, I wasn't concerned about damaging my marker since I was colouring over a lighter ink colour.

Sale-A-Bration countdown: only 6 days remain!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Only one more week!

Sale-A-Bration is nearly done for this year... There's only one week left to take advantage of this great special and receive free stamps or rub ons! Sale-A-Bration ends on March 17th. Please make sure that any orders reach me by 5:00 pm on March 17th in order to get in on my last order before the end of this special.

This is a fun card that I copied almost exactly from a card I saw somewhere in my internet journeys. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I saw it so can't give credit to its creator! I don't often use the Bold Brights colours like this but they are perfect for this card - Glorious Green, Real Red and Brilliant Blue. The yellow is Barely Banana. The balloons come from the Birthday Whimsy Sale-A-Bration stamp set and the greeting is from the Phrases for a Friend stamp set that is available in the Occasions Mini Catalogue.

My upcoming classes are filling quickly - only 5 seats remain in the April 4th Stamp-A-Stack. Be sure to register early!

Well, I'm off to work on my cousin's wedding invitations. Mom's been busy with them and it's time for me to get my part started...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Spring Special!

I'm really enjoying the new Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware and the Flower Fusion felt flowers... Here's a card that I just put together that uses both. This card took about 10 minutes... it was so quick and easy! The greeting comes from the Love and Happiness rub ons package - this set of rub ons is one of the Sale-A-Bration rewards. The Taken With Teal card stock in the background is textured and I was surprised by how easily the rub ons attached to it.

If you receive my newsletter, you'll already know that I'm offering a special price on these two products through to the end of March, 2008:

Flower Fusion

Regular Price: $17.62

Spring Special: $14.50

Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware

Regular Price: $35.29

Spring Special: $29.50

These are great kits to add some fun to your spring cards and scrapbook pages! These special prices are available only through me...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Merci...

This was the last Sale-A-Bration set that I received and I must admit that I wasn't overly excited about it at first. In fact, it sat for a while before I even put it together... but now, it's well loved! I created these two cards for the last Stamp-A-Stack. I stamped the one with Lavender Lace, Pixie Pink and Elegant Eggplant first and then stamped the one with Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery and Rose Red... the second one is the one I offered at the Stamp-A-Stack because I loved the colours.

I adore the ribbon slides that are included in the new Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware kit from the Occasions Mini Catalogue. I'll show you a trick that you can use with these in the next few days...

Now, speaking about Stamp-A-Stacks, it's time to announce my upcoming dates... Remember to register early; space is limited and these fill quickly!

Friday, April 4th at 7:00 pm / Saturday, April 5th at 9:30 am

Friday, May 9th at 7:00 pm / Saturday, May 10th at 9:30 am

Contact me at bevennis@shaw.ca to register...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

My new favourite colours

Rose Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Taken with Teal... it's an unlikely combination but one that I'm really enjoying! This is a card from the Stamp-A-Stack which I was particularly proud of... I just like the different layout and the little felt flowers from the Flower Fusion package. The greeting stamp is from a new set called Full of Life that's offered in the new Occasions Mini Catalogue. I used markers to ink the stamp in different colours.


I wanted to keep this card a little more masculine so I skipped the Rose Red... It uses Rub-Ons - we had lots of fun with these on the weekend! They are so easy to use... I think everyone who had a chance to make this card was surprised by how simple they were! The big star is actually from the On-Board Accents collection and is covered with a piece of Designer Series Paper from the Ginger Blossom package.

I'm planning to put out my new class dates tomorrow night...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

What a weekend of stamping!

This weekend, I had 4 stamping events... and they were so much FUN!! Can you believe that over the last 3 days, 46 stampers created a total of 270 cards??!! Holy smokes!

This daffodil card was the most popular at the Stamp-A-Stacks. The daffodil is from the Beautiful Life stamp set and the background is stamped with the Paisley background stamp. It's simple but elegant card - perfect for Easter or most any occasion that might call for a card at this time of year. My Mom stamped this card and made it in two different colours. It's amazing how much a little change of colour can change the card. Both cards are on Barely Banana and one is made with Certainly Celery while the other is made with Brocade Blue... do you have a favourite? We had a hard time deciding which to use for the Stamp-A-Stack but in the end, Certainly Celery was the one.

I'll be back tomorrow evening to share a few more cards with you. For now, I'm going to go and put my feet up and watch one of my favourite shows, Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)