Beautiful butterflies

Such a simple but elegant card... I saw the idea of the cutting out the butterflies and using the paper pierce to draw a flying trail so I used that idea to design this card. It's striking in Pretty and Pink and Whisper White. Other than having a bit of cutting, this is a pretty simple card to put together. The butterflies come from the Priceless set. They are attached to the card using Dimensionals - I put one under each of their bigger wings. I also put a bit of SNAIL right down the centre at their bodies so that the would have some shape to them.

We have an exciting weekend planned... Tonight we go to see Cirque du Soleil - first time ever in Victoria. Can't wait! We've seen two of their shows before and they are just amazing. Tomorrow I get to look after our friends 4 girls... Guaranteed fun! And, on Sunday, I am going shopping... Somewhere in between, I'm going to have some stamping time as I have a long list of cards to make for family and friends. If only I could figure out how to schedule a pedicure in, I think it would nearly be a perfect weekend!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

A Touch of Nature

Here's another one of the fantastic swap cards that I received this week. This one is from Lucie. Isn't this a great layout? Lucie has used the stamp set called A Touch of Nature and she's incorporated five of the In Colour colours into the card - Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, River Rock, Groovy Guava and Wild Wasabi. Notice how she has cut the bird out so that its tail is extending off the Soft Sky card stock. Such a nice touch! Thanks for another wonderful card, Lucie!

Don't forget about the upcoming Stamp-A-Stack... lots of seats still available both on Friday, June 20th at 7:00 pm and Saturday, June 21st at 9:30 am. Contact me at bevennis@shaw.ca to reserve your seat!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

A new artist...

Last night I met a new demonstrator in my downline group named Bonnie. I didn't know much about Bonnie, but I did quickly learn that she is a talented stamper! Look at this gorgeous card that she made for our swap... Isn't the background stunning? Bonnie created this with ink and sponges. For the water, she told us that she started with the darkest colours first, leaving white space that could be filled in with lighter colours as she created. I think she said she did the same with the sky, but I was so much in awe at this point that I don't know if I was still hearing what she was saying! LOL! The stamp set used on this card is called Winds of Grace. Thanks for the wonderful card, Bonnie, and welcome to our group!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Life is good!

I had a great evening... I have to say that I think I have the best stamping friends! I love getting together with my stamping customers and with my Stampin' Up! downline. I spent this evening stamping with 14 of my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators for our group meeting. It was a ton of fun!

This card is from Tanya - she made it for our swap... There were 10 of us in the swap so I have lots of new cards to share with you in the next few days. This card combines two great colours - Groovy Guava and Chocolate Chip. Tanya has used the She's All That stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalogue on this card.

Have a great week everyone and be sure to check back tomorrow for another new card!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Cute!

I've used this layout a few times now and I really like it. It's a good way to work a smaller image into the front of a simple, but eye-catching card. This little bird makes me smile... He's so cute with the big flower in his beak! He comes from the Fun & Fast Notes stamp set. I like the greeting - something a little different for a birthday card. It's in the Full of Life stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalogue.

Speaking of the Occasions Mini Catalogue... Stampin' Up! has extended the order period for products from this mini - you can now order from it until the end of June. There are lots of great products in the Occasions Mini Catalogue - don't miss out on any of your favourites!

Hope you had a great weekend... it sure flew by! I was busy and had lots of fun at a stamping class this afternoon. Have a great week!!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Hummingbird...

I adore this card! It's the first time I've ventured into using the hummingbird stamp from the Spring Song stamp set. I was saving it for a special occasion and that was yesterday - my Mom's birthday! If you've been to a class here during the springtime, you probably know how much she enjoys hummingbirds so this is the perfect card for her and I was so pleased with how it turned out!

I stamped on watercolour paper with StazOn and then used an Aqua Painter to colour the hummingbird with Sahara Sand, Certainly Celery, Garden Green and a splash of Purely Pomegranate on his chin. The flowers are coloured with Summer Sun, Purely Pomegranate and Garden Green. After I was done colouring the flowers and the hummingbird, I let this dry completely and then outlined the whole image with Soft Sky. The greeting stamp is from another retired set - a favourite hostess set from a couple of catalogues back called Warmest Regards.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Fun & Fast Notes

Hello!! Sorry about the long delay between posts... I hope you had a great long weekend!! Seems like it was so long ago now... We were very busy but it was a great weekend of accomplishment! We spent most of Saturday and Sunday working in our yard - and there was lots of work to be done!! After doing lots of clean up, I managed to re-plant the front flower bed with help from my Mom. It's much improved! There's still lots to do, but it was a great start. Rainy Monday was an inside day and we managed to do a bunch of organizing and spring cleaning.

Of course, this didn't leave much time for stamping, but I thought that I would post this card that I designed last week. I think it's really cheery in Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Almost Amethyst and Certainly Celery. I used the Fun & Fast Notes stamp set which is one of my favourites. The scallop edge at the bottom of the card is made with the Slit punch - you start by punching it once right at the end of your strip of card stock, making sure that you have pushed the card stock all the way in so that it's flush against the back of the punch. Then move the punch over a bit so that you see just the edge of the last punch and punch again. Of course, you need to use the punch upside down for this - it's a great way to create a fancy edge. And, if you want to dress it up even more, use your 1/16" handheld punch to punch little holes in the centre of each of the scallops (I didn't do that on this card, but am going to try it sometime soon!).

Okay, I have a little bit of stamping time tonight so I'm going to get to it!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

Having fun with Hodgepodge Hardware

This week, I've been trying to create cards that use the Brushed Silver Hodgepodge Hardware... it's been lots of fun! Here are a couple of this week's creations.

This first one is so cute! It uses the Happy Heart Day stamp set - I think this little elephant is just adorable! I stamped him on watercolour paper with Jet Black StazOn then used an AquaPainter to colour him using Basic Grey, Rose Red and Certainly Celery inks. Notice how I used one of the big brads out of the Hodgepodge Hardware kit to gather some wide Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon. I added some Rose Red textured card stock and I roughed up the edge of the Pretty in Pink card stock to add some dimension to the card.

And, here's another card using the Live Your Dreams stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalogue. It's actually a pretty simple card thanks to the Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper. The Hodgepodge Hardware piece on this card is such a nice addition and it's great to have something so perfect to use with the Designer Label Punch. To ink the flower stamp, I carefully inked the flowers on the Groovy Guava stamp pad, then I coloured the centres of the flowers with a Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker and inked the stems with a Garden Green Stampin' Write Marker. I love this colour combination!

Thanks for all the comments lately - sure love to hear from you when you stop by and see something that catches your eye! You don't need to have a Blogger account to leave a comment, so don't be shy! : )

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

A great storage idea!

I've just made a fantastic addition to my craft room and I wanted to share this idea with you! I used to store my punches in a drawer unit, but as my collection grew, it became more difficult to easily find the punch I needed. Here's the perfect solution! These rails are from IKEA - they are meant for kitchen utensils, but they are just right for punches! These two rails are now hanging at the end of my craft table putting some of my favourite punches within easy reach. I love it! You can also buy little shelves and bins that hang from the rails (meant to hold spice jars or utensils in the kitchen) and use these to hold different craft supplies. My space doesn't allow for this and I had enough punches to fill the space that I did have...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Stamp-A-Stack rescheduled

First, my apologies again to everyone who had registered for the Stamp-A-Stack - I felt terrible for having to cancel, but unfortunately I was too ill to get everything ready last week. The good news is that I've rescheduled the Stamp-A-Stack for this Friday night, May 16th, at 7:00 pm. If you are able to come, we'd love to have you join us! Just contact me - bevennis@shaw.ca - to register.

I hope that all of the Moms had a great Mother's Day! I spent a nice day with my Mom... we started the day with a yummy waffle brunch thanks to my Dad. Then Mom and I stamped together while watching Mrs. Doubtfire in the afternoon before we went for dinner at Sampan. And, we finished the day by watching the season finale of Survivor.

I thought I'd share the cards that I made for Mom... The first one was from me. It was the first time that I used the All in the Family stamp set and I had so much fun with it! The greeting is from a retired set called When I Grow Up. Some of you might recognize this layout - I had used it with the butterfly from the Just Celebrate set at a Stamp-A-Stack a while ago (see it here).

My Dad had asked me to make a card for him as well - his only requests were that it have flowers and he suggested purple. So, I pulled out a set that I'm really enjoying using - Live Your Dreams. I stamped it on textured Whisper White card stock in Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard and Old Olive. I added Lavender Lace card stock to these colours. I stamped the Canvas background stamp using Whisper White Craft Ink on the piece of Old Olive card stock and then added two brads. This greeting stamp is also retired from the set called All Year Cheer II.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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

May Specials

Get On Board with Chipboard!
For the month of May, when you spend $40 on any Stampin’ Up! ® products, you’ll get 25% off all On Board chipboard products (shown on pages 178-179 of the Spring-Summer Collection 2008). Stampin’ Up!’s On Board chipboard collections offer a fun and easy way to embellish projects, create custom greetings, and decorate scrapbook pages.

Cutting Combo Pack Special Offer

During the month of May, buy a Cutting Mat and get a Hobby Blade for FREE! The Hobby Blade and Cutting Mat are perfect for cutting Designer Series paper and card stock to layer over Stampin’ Up!’s On Board products!

Expand Your Toolbox
Stampin’ Up!’s helping you expand your toolbox! For the entire month of May, join Stampin’ Up! as a demonstrator and get 20 percent off the Starter Kit, plus a FREE tin of Hodgepodge Hardware® (a $35.95 value!).

Loonies for Littles

Available to the end of May, the Loonies for Littles kit will help you preserve memories while you help support the Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada. Stampin' Up! will donate $2 for each kit sold.

To take advantage of any or all of these very special, limited-time offers, contact me today!

I'm back...

Where have I been? Well, we were away babysitting our nieces for 4 days... phew! It was so much fun!! Hannah is 2 and Brooklyn was 7 months on Sunday. We had a blast with the girls and now I'm missing them like crazy... Oh, and I can't get the Mickey Mouse songs out of my head!

I did get a chance to stamp while I was gone, of course!! My brother-in-law asked if I would mind making a Mother's Day card with Hannah... So, she's 2 and I was feeling a little challenged with what I might do. I thought about doing the handprint thing, but then I decided just to give Hannah some card stock and letting her "colour". She did... Then I punched out the card stock with the large and small oval punches and used these pieces to create the petals of this daisy. I finished off the card and was quite pleased with the final result. I would have liked to have Hannah stamp the greeting but she was napping and I needed to get if finished. The greeting comes from a set that was retired a couple of years ago, but I thought it was great for this card.

So, I thought you might also like to see photos of the girls who kept us so busy all weekend... In four days, I took more than 200 photos - thank goodness for digital! So, it was hard to pick just a couple but these two are favourites. Hannah was playing outside and I just love the expression on her face in this photo. And Brooklyn was busy playing her piano - her eyes really are this big and blue!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

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