You made my day!

Isn't this a fun card? It's from the last Stamp-A-Stack as well... Can you tell that I haven't managed to stamp for the last few days? No new cards to post... It's going to be a bit of dry spell actually until next week as I have all sorts of things going on this week before we head out of town to babysit our nieces for a few days.

The little bird on this card is from the Fun & Fast Notes set. She's stamped on a metal edge tag and then the flower is stamped again on a piece of Whisper White card stock, coloured, cut out and mounted on the card with a Dimensional. The greeting come from the Stem Sayings set and the little dots across the top are done with a stamp from the Polka Dots & Paisley set. Colours on this card are Rose Red, So Saffron, Basic Black and Whisper White.

Okay, I better get back to my paperwork that I need to take care of tonight!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

I love this card!

I designed this card for the last Stamp-A-Stack and I absolutely love it! It was the last card that I designed and I was so pleased with the outcome... it's such a bright and cheery card. The Basic Black card stock layers just make the whole card "pop". The stamp set is Just Celebrate and I've also used the Polka Dot background stamp. The card stock colours are Pink Passion, Gable Green and Pixie Pink. The black gingham ribbon and the Green Galore eyelets add just the right finishing touches... lots of layers to this one, but well worth it!

Speaking of Stamp-A-Stack, the next one is coming up in a couple of weeks... Friday night is full but there are still seats available for Saturday, May 10th at 9:30 am. Contact me at bevennis@shaw.ca. And, the next Stamp-A-Stack will be on Friday, June 20th at 7:00 pm and Saturday, June 21st at 9:30 am. Remember, seats are limited and Friday evening will fill quickly so register soon!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

More Sassy Suzie

This is a card that you would need to have just the right person to give it to... but if you did have the right person, it would be perfect! The sassy sayings in this stamp set make me smile. We had this one at the last Stamp-A-Stack. The flowered paper is from the Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper which is in the Occasions Mini Catalogue along with the stamp set, Sassy Suzie. The card is on Bashful Blue card stock with Real Red and Certainly Celery.

I've just finished the Punch Your Art Out class - it was so much fun! Watch for future classes as we create all kinds of critters and other fun things using punches.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Tulips for Spring

Well, I think spring weather might re-appear soon... I hope! I love the sights of pretty spring flowers - daffodils and tulips are two of my favourite flowers. And, I love the bouquet of tulips in the Never-Ending Joy set so I thought this was a great time to make a new card with them! On this card, I've used Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and So Saffron. I'm really enjoying using the Canvas background stamp on Whisper White card stock to create background papers... The greeting on this card is from the Stem Sayings set stamped in Basic Grey.

I've just finished getting things ready for tomorrow night's Punch Your Art Out class - it's going to be lots of fun! Now, I'm ready to put my feet up with a cup of tea and watch the end of the hockey game - go Flames go!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Cards from this weekend's classes

I had two fantastic stamping classes this weekend! Here are some of the cards that we stamped this weekend...

I'm really enjoying this stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalogue. It's called Live Your Dream and there's something about the flowers that I just adore. I've again stamped it onto textured card stock. For this card, the flowers are Groovy Guava and since we don't have a Stampin' Write Marker in this colour, I just inked the flower carefully off the edge of the stamp pad then used the Chocolate Chip marker to colour in the centre and the Garden Green marker to colour the stems and leaves. The Designer Series Paper is from the Afternoon Tea package. And, of course some ribbon... the Stitched Grosgrain was perfect for this card!

And since I made a great boy's birthday card using the Bugs & Kisses stamp set last weekend, I wanted to make a more girlish card with this set... I'm very pleased with the outcome! This one is on a Whisper White card which sometimes gets lost in the scan, but it's a nice bright card in person. It's such a simple card... just one stamp set and one colour of ink - Purely Pomegranate. I've added Pretty in Pink and Basic Black card stock and a little bit of Black Gingham Ribbon.

Well, I'm off to watch the finale of Oprah's Big Give now...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Your regularly scheduled stamping blog is interupted...

by snow! I know I'm supposed to post a couple of new cards tonight, but I don't have access to the scanner right now so they're going to have to wait until morning. I had a great stamping class this afternoon, but when I got up this morning to more snow, I was concerned that it might end up cancelled. This is what things looked like outside our front door at about 10:30 this morning! The biggest snowflakes I have ever seen were floating down... it was beautiful and shocking! I honestly sat on a chair staring out the window in disbelief for about half an hour... So, imagine my surprise when I drove into town and about five minutes into my trip there was barely any evidence of snow! We just live in a snow belt, I think.

As you can tell, it's a late night for me tonight... I went out for dinner and then came home to work on cards for my Punch Your Art Out class this week. Three done, three to go! They are pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself! So far, we have penguins, a train and a funny little bug. The class is full, but if you are interested in a repeat of this class, please let me know!

I'll leave you with one more snow picture... this is the little wagon that my Dad built. I'm glad we didn't get the flowers to go in it this week as we had planned! It snowed for about an hour and a half after I took this picture so the snow did get a little deeper.

I will be back in the morning with a couple of new cards!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Loonies for Littles

I am so proud to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and here's one of the reasons why. Stampin' Up! has teamed up with the Direct Sellers Association to offer a special promotion benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada - that's right - a promotion just for Canadians and for one of our most important charities!

When you purchase a Loonies for Littles Stampin' Kit for $32.50, Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada (BBBSCA). The Loonies for Littles campaign benefits the "Littles" (kids) and "Bigs" (adult volunteers) in the BBBSCA's In-School Mentoring program.

The Loonies for Littles Stampin' Kit includes the following:

~ Exclusive double-mounted die-cut Good Together stamp set
~ One 5" x 5" On Board Art Journal
~ Two sheets of double-sided Designer Series paper from Boho Blend Simply Scrappin'
~ Three sheets of self-adhesive die cuts from Boho Blend Simply Scrappin'
~ Four sheets of 12" x 12" textured card stock
~ Two Classic Stampin' Spots: 1 Old Olive, 1 Pumpkin Pie
~ Full-color insert with photos of projects, along with step-by-step instructions
~ One Craft Keeper

This kit, including the stamp set, was designed exclusively for this campaign and will not be offered again after May 31, 2008.

This offer is available only in Canada.

Learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada.

Be sure to contact me if you'd like to order this great kit!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

What's up with the weather?

I had to grab my camera this evening to capture a couple of crazy moments... First, the weather. Okay, it's April 18th and this is Victoria. What's with the snow? I know they were predicting it all week, but I don't think anyone seriously expected it to happen. Well, here's what things looked like in my back yard at about 11:00 tonight! Bizarre... It's supposed to snow more tomorrow and maybe Sunday.

It's particularly funny to see this weather today because one year ago, Mom and I were enjoying our Stampin' Up! Panama Canal cruise.... Funny, the sand on the beach was almost as white as the snow that was falling tonight! This was a picture from the Bahamas - we were at Holland America's private island, Half Moon Cay. Oh, what a great day that was!

Okay, back to reality...

Once I got over the shock of the snow, I came back to my craft room. I had to laugh at the state of my stamping table and since I already had my camera in hand, I thought I would capture it too! I'm sure this happens to every stamper... doesn't it? I was stamping cards tonight for a class tomorrow afternoon. I always seem to manage to get way more stuff onto my table than I should and that ends up in me having the smallest space to actually work in. It actually doesn't even look as bad in the picture as it really was! You can see what I need to get creative though - my Colour Coach (it's never far from reach) and a cup of tea! And you can see from my grid paper what stamps came off the shelves tonight... I'll share some of my creations with you tomorrow night when I'll have time to scan them. Oh, and only two of the five cards have ribbon... many bizarre things happening!!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Crimping! And, still no ribbon...

I was working on this card tonight and it just wasn't coming together so I took a break to watch Dancing with the Stars (love that show!). When I came back to it, I was trying to come up with something that would give the card some dimension... and the answer was in a tool that I haven't used in a very long time - my crimper! It made all the difference in the world and I finished the card off in no time. I like the layout - it's very unique.

The stamp set on this card is By Ones & By Twos. I stamped the little onesie on Certainly Celery Prints Designer Series Paper and cut it out. Then I stamped it a second time on Whisper White card stock. I layered the cut out on top using Dimensionals. I've also used Bashful Blue and Barely Banana card stock on this card - the little duck is stamped on Barely Banana card stock, cut out and stuck to the front of the onesie.

Oh, and did you notice... still no ribbon on this card! I'm starting to worry myself... ; )

Well, I'm off to try to find my camera's instruction manual - I'm starting a photography class tomorrow night and am supposed to bring it with me... why is it that I don't have one place to store these things??!!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

What, no ribbon?!!

As I mentioned in last night's post, I was busy designing cards for a stamping class that I have this afternoon and I was shocked by the end - five cards and no ribbon! If you've stamped with me or followed my blog for long, you'll know that I have a ribbon addiction - it goes nicely with my stamp collecting addiction! Of course, it helped that I was designing cards to suit the request for kids cards, mostly for boys.

I was determined to use the Bugs & Kisses stamp set which I had ordered a long time ago and had not yet used... I thought this was a pretty cute card in the end! Card stock colours are Very Vanilla, Garden Green, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa - all sponged with Chocolate Chip ink.

Next, I needed to use the Ahoy Matey set - another that had not met my stamp pads yet. I was able to use a jumbo wheel on this card also - Matey's Map. The greeting comes from the Family Phrases set. Card stock colours are Bordering Blue, Real Red, Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand, Basic Black and Whisper White.

And, guess what? I had another set that I had not yet used... This one is called Prehistoric Pals and I ordered it as soon as it was introduced in the new catalogue. I had tried to use it before, but just didn't seem to find a good layout - I'm very pleased with this one! It's very simple but I think a little dinosaur-loving boy (or girl!) would enjoy it. First, I stamped the dinosaur in Basic Grey on the card stock. Then I stamped the trees - the trunk in Chocolate Chip and the leaves in Garden Green. I sponged the ground with Close to Cocoa ink and used Soft Sky to add some blue for the sky. You can't see this too well in the scan, but it made a big difference and took away from the stark white of the card stock. I used the Canvas stamp to create a background layering piece. And, the greeting comes from the Happy Everything set - I punched the "birthday" out using the Word Window Punch and it worked well to fill in some empty space.

I wanted to include one card that would be suitable for a little (or bigger) girl so this is it. It's based on another card that I had designed a couple of years ago and I always liked the layout. It's very simple... The butterfly is from the Priceless set and the greeting comes from Hugs & Wishes. I've used a favourite colour combination on this one - Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery, Cameo Coral and Apricot Appeal. And, amazingly, no ribbon even on this card... but I must admit that I tried to add ribbon to it! : )

I finished things off with this rocket ship card which I think is pretty fun! I've been wanting to use this stamp from the Pun Fun stamp set... I stamped it onto Naturals White card stock using StazOn ink and then used blender pens and ink (Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Only Orange and Basic Grey) to colour in the rocket ship. The stars stamped on the top are from the Background Basics set. And, I also used some Bashful Blue card stock to layer behind the rocket ship and to punch out the two stars.

So, what do you think? Maybe not quite as amazing as the fact that I managed to create five cards without using any ribbon, but I have to tell you that I sat down at my stamp table to start on these cards at 7:30 last night! Other than having considered which stamp sets I was going to use, I had no idea what I was going to do. I must admit I was a little panicked since I had to have them all ready for a class today, but I was done before midnight... and that included cleaning up! I was on a creative streak!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Rhonda, this is for you!

The other evening at my stampin' class, Rhonda mentioned that her husband had commented that she had too many stamps... So, Rhonda, this is for you! Here's my stamp shelf in my craft room... hmmm... lots, but still not too many! : )

For those of you who wonder how I organize my stamps, I have to say that I've tried lots of different ways, but have had them on these shelves right next to my stamping table for a few years now and find this to be the best. They're organized alphabetically. I did actually reorganize them a bit for this picture because I couldn't fit them all in the way they normally are on the shelves... So, there's one more shelf below this where I keep all of my greeting stamps together and all of my Christmas stamps together. Then each of the four shelves above are alphabetical - the top one is A-C, the next is D-J, then K-P and finally Q-Z. It works well as long as I can remember the name of the set!

So one more photo... the stamps in my stamping room are just the current sets. But I have a few retired sets that I still haven't been able to part with and they are stored in a cabinet in our garage... I'm not sure that my hubby knows that the entire cabinet now contains stamps so I hope he doesn't read this post! LOL! This is what tips me over the scale into that "addicted" category I think. Okay, somebody please tell me that this is a "healthy" addiction and that I shouldn't be worried! ; )

Well, that's all from me tonight, but check back tomorrow because I am going to shock you with the cards I designed tonight! I have a stampin' class and I had a request from the hostess to do all kids cards, mostly for boys. It was so much fun!! Okay, I can't wait to tell you the shocking part... I designed five cards and NONE of them have ribbon!! Unbelievable! I'll post them all tomorrow so be sure to check back.

Happy stampin' & stamp collecting! : )

Bev.

Welcoming Logan

Two weeks ago, I became a "great aunt" when my nephew and his wife welcomed their baby boy Logan! My Dad (aka Great Grandpa) is on his way to Edmonton tomorrow to meet the new little addition so tonight was reserved for getting the gift and card ready. I'll show you my creation in a minute, but first...

This is the card that Mom made. Isn't it amazing? She saw it online and fell in love, but had to adapt a bit because we didn't have the Designer Series Paper. Didn't she do an amazing job? She used the By Ones & By Twos and the In the Stars sets from the Occasions Mini Catalogue. She also used the Polka Dot background stamp (on the big piece of background card stock). She also used a retired background stamp (can't remember the name of it - it's a nice striped pattern) in the layer with the eyelets - it's stamped in Whisper White Craft Ink and really looks like Designer Series Paper. It's kind of hard to see in the photo, but she dry embossed the piece directly behind Logan's name - it's all dry embossed in little circles. Oh, and she used a white gel pen to draw the dots onto the onesie since she didn't have the patterned paper. Mom did a great job on this card!

Now for my card... Last night, I had a Movin' & Shakin' class so I was reminded about this waterfall card that I had made a couple of years ago. All of the stamps on this card are actually now retired, but I thought some of you might still enjoy seeing the card. It's such a fun card - you pull on the ribbon and all the little pictures "waterfall" open. Here's a cute idea though... On the piece that pulls out, I added in a photograph of little Logan. I stamped on the photo using Craft Ink with the words

"welcome baby" from the Short & Sweet stamp set. You can't see this too well in the photo - it's in the bottom right corner.

Thanks for all the comments on my last post! I love receiving comments and it was great to have 4 on my last card. Glad that it was enjoyed by so many!

I'm looking forward to the weekend... Friday evening I'm going to see Paul Brandt in concert. On Saturday, I'll be doing some stamping for a class and going for lunch with a friend. And, on Sunday, I have a stamping class and we're doing all kids cards... I'll share some of them on the weekend!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Spinning Garden Whimsy

This is a card that I designed for tomorrow night's Movin' & Shakin' class. The spinner card is absolutely one of my favourites - so much fun, especially for kids! The little ladybug piece spins back and forth on the card... I even have a hard time putting spinner cards down!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Breaking news...

The Stampin' Up! cruise 2008 has just finished... I've been feeling a little sad that I wasn't there, but am so grateful that I had the chance to be onboard last year.

One of the exciting parts of the cruise, other than the vacation itself, is getting a sneak peek at new things. And, I've just had a little sneak peek thanks to a wonderful demonstrator who I was fortunate to meet last year on the cruise, Patty Bennett. So, I thought I would share this exciting sneak peek with you - it's the new In Colour colours...

I must admit that I'm just feeling "lukewarm" about them right now, but I think that's mostly because I am already dreading saying farewell to our current lineup of In Colour colours. I just adore them all, especially Purely Pomegranate and Groovy Guava. But, we still have them until August and I'm sure that I will come to love the new colours, especially once I see them in person. These new colours will come available in the new catalogue, which will be coming out in August. Patty is describing the new colours as "fun and peppy" so I'm looking forward to being able to get creative with them!

Be sure to scroll down to see the cards that I posted earlier today...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Stampin' Fun!

I had a wonderful weekend of stampin'! We had lots of fun during the two Stamp-A-Stacks... there were lots of busy stampers who managed to make 212 cards in total! Phew!! And, then today, I spent the afternoon with a few demonstrators from my downline group and we had a great time stamping together.

This first card was one that Alicia brought for us to stamp today... guess what? I'm ordering this stamp set now! I don't have any current wedding sets and after stamping this card, I really like the To Have and To Hold set! It's such a simple image but doesn't it look great on this card? Thanks for sharing this card with us today, Alicia!

These next two were probably the most popular at the Stamp-A-Stack and there are a couple of things that I wanted to share with those of you who weren't able to come this weekend. I stamped this card with the Live Your Dream stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalogue. The flowers are stamped on Very Vanilla textured card stock which gives a wonderful linen look. I also added a Build-A-Brad - I'm really loving these little embellishments! The colours on this card are Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and More Mustard. Almost everyone stamped this card at the Stamp-A-Stack!

Don't you love the colours on this card? They are Sage Shadow and Groovy Guava with Very Vanilla... such a great combination! The card is stamped with the ever-popular Baroque Motifs stamp set and the greeting comes from Wonderful Words. I was so pleased with how well this card turned out.

I'm off to get cards ready for the Movin' & Shakin' class that's coming up on Wednesday night... still 2 seats open if you are interested in joining us!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Heartfelt Thanks!

This is another "not stamping related" post... I just wanted to say a very big thank you to my wonderful stamping friends who have given us fabric squares for our Baby Girl's 100 Good Wishes Quilt. You have been so generous and have touched us with your good wishes. We have gathered 34 squares of fabric so far and are just so excited with each piece we receive. This is going to be a very special quilt!

I thought some of you would enjoy seeing the fabrics we've received so here are all of the fabrics that have come from my stamping friends so far...

from Carol Lynn

from Elinor

from Della









from Jamie

from Gail









from Suzanne & her family

from Melanie

from Jo

from Christine








Thank you again!

While I'm blogging about our adoption, I should answer the big "when" question for those who are wondering... We're expecting to wait at least 2-3 years still. There's a big backlog of applications and we're near the end so it's going to be a long but worthwhile wait! Our login date is October 12, 2007 and currently they are matching babies with families who were logged in early January 2006. So there are lots of files that need to be matched before they get to us...

I'll be back tomorrow with some card samples. Thanks for stopping by! : )

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Free Wheelin'

Stampin' Up!'s Free Wheelin' special is on now! Until April 30th, you receive a FREE Stampin' Around Wheel when you purchase any of the featured stamp sets. Here's a listing of the sets with matching FREE wheel you can get during this "wheely" great promotion:

112848 Wonderful You bundle — $39.94 (includes Wonderful You stamp set and free Stems & Silhouettes jumbo wheel)

112851 Life’s a Breeze bundle — $35.29 (includes Life’s a Breeze stamp set and free Something Fishy jumbo wheel)

112850 Pun Fun bundle — $37.15 (includes Pun Fun stamp set and free Sweet Stars jumbo wheel)

112847 Year After Year bundle — $37.15 (includes Year after Year stamp set and free See You Around jumbo wheel)

112849 Stitched Exotics bundle — $39.94 (includes Stitched Exotics stamp set and free It’s Beautiful jumbo wheel)

112853 Enjoy Every Moment bundle (French or English) — $35.29 (includes Enjoy Every Moment stamp set and free Daisy Dash jumbo wheel)

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Creativity from Lorraine & Anne

Thanks for all the get well wishes that I received by email today! I'm feeling quite a bit better but still sniffling and coughing a bit... should be back to normal very soon! I was feeling well enough to stamp some cards for the Stamp-A-Stack tonight so that's a great sign! Speaking of the Stamp-A-Stack, Friday night is now full but there are a few seats for Saturday morning if you are interested.

Okay, onto more important topics... This first card was stamped by Lorraine for our swap last month. I'm really liking this beautiful stamp and Lorraine's card is making it really hard for me to resist ordering this set. It's from the Occasions Mini Catalogue, called Bloomin' Beautiful. Lorraine stamped the poppy onto watercolour paper and did a wonderful job of colouring it. She's used Chocolate Chip, River Rock and Real Red card stock with the new Poly Twill Ribbon.

This next card is Anne's creative work. Isn't it a fun use of punches? I like how she used the paper piercer to create the stems as well. I rarely use the Kraft card stock so I'm happy to see it on this card and am going to challenge myself to use it soon! In addition to Kraft card stock, Anne used Purely Pomegranate, More Mustard, Old Olive, Taken with Teal and Certainly Celery.

Thanks for the great cards, Anne & Lorraine!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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