Colourful Impressions Meeting and Swaps

My 16 Christmas Collage Swaps show casing the Island Indigo In Colour.

I'm very lucky to belong to a great group of scrapping and stamping demos in the Lower Mainland called Colourful Impressions.  One of the great things about being part of this group is attending the bi-monthly meetings where information, card samples and techniques are shared and demonstrated along with a good dose of laughter and fun.  It's always nice to get together and find out what's new, and meet up with old friends.  Yesterday's meeting was no exception. 

It was really exciting to hear first hand updates from those lucky gals who attended the recent Stampin' Up! convention.  Maureen Pollack started out this fun evening with a memory game.  Kristina Koch our leader, drew several door prizes from Memento Mall goodies she'd brought back.  Some of the other gals shared their awesome swap samples and provided great demonstrations from some of the classes they attended.   Jenn Picard and Sandra Farrell two of our "super talented members" gave an overview of how they were chosen as part of this year's Top Ten Artisan Award Winners.  Carrie Gaskin did a great computer presentation on colouring images in My Digital Studio as well as showing some of the fantastic "fascinator" hats she wore during convention and her reasons for doing so.

Another part of the evening that is always fun is sharing swaps with other demos.  We bring 16 swaps - one to be judged and 15 to be swapped.  Here are some samples of the swaps that I was so lucky to receive and a more detailed picture of my swaps.  Hope you enjoy.

My Christmas Collage Card features the background stamp Christmas Collage (#121279 pg. 150 Idea Book and Catalogue [IB&C] stamped in Island Indigo ink on Whisper White and layered on Island Indigo Cardstock. The florish from Baroque Motifs (#113490 pg. 146) stamp set was randomly stamped on the top and sides with versamark ink and embossed with sterling silver embossing powder.  Using a sponge dauber I distressed around the entire edge of the Whisper White layer with Island Indigo ink.  An embossed ornament from the Delightful Decorations (#116517 pg. 40 IB&C) stamp set and a band cut from Island Indigo using the new Lace Ribbon Border Punch (#122362 pg. 211) were added layers of detail.  To add a little bling I've mounted Basic Rhinestones on the ribbon border and ornament.    I so loved making this card that I'm planning on recreating it in Concorde Crush, Tempting Turquoise and other strong non-traditional colors for Christmas.  Stay tuned for other samples in upcoming posts. 

And here are the other swaps.  Hope you enjoy them.  Where possible I've provided links. 

Isn't this just the cutest?  This little piggy is really flying on his scalloped wings, and his snout is extra shiny with the Crystal Effects layer that was added.  The sentiment from the Word Play stamp set (#120308 w or #120651 c) " IMAGINE the Possibilities" is so perfect for this card, that was created by Carol Arbour of Surrey.  Here's a view of the whole card which features the Button Buddies stamp set (#122735w or #122737 c) from page 71 of the IB&C.

This swap submitted by Allison features the Flower Fest stamp set (#122278w or #122280 c) featured on page 124 of the IB&C.  The butterflies and lattice textured band are in the new Wisteria Wonder (#122922) In Color Cardstock and the wings have some dazzling diamond highlights. 

Adel Klassen's Peace on Earth card features Serene Snowflakes(#115438 pg 36 IB&C) stamped in Whisper White on Night of Navy cardstock.  The Peace on Earth sentiment is from the new "Four the Holidays" set (#116921 on page 168 of the IB&C).  The card front base is Soft Suede.  Basic Rhinestones glitter from the snowflakes.  

Maureen Pollock did an awesome job on this card which features the Zebra from the new "Zoo Review" stamp set on page 105 of the IB&C.  To highlight the Zebra's stripes she has created a unique background with the "Stripes" Textured Embossing  folder (#123128 pg 218 IB&C), by actually embossing the raised areas of the cardstock with versamark ink and black embossing powder.   

The zebra is also embossed in Black on Whisper White cardstock and mounted on a Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Circle.

Kellie Ohlmann's Lovely as A Tree Card features multiple layers of Old Olive and Not Quite Navy cardstock, and the image is stamped on Crumb Cake in Not Quite Navy Classic Ink. A great feature of this card is the strip of Not Quite Navy cardstock that was embossed with the new Houndstooth Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (123134 pg 218 IB&C)

This darling watercoloured swap created by Kim Knight features the Nursery Nest DSP (#122347 pg. 185 of the IB&C) and Marina Mist, Blushing Bride and Pear Pizazz Cardstocks.  The gorgeous Stitched Poly Ribbon is in Pear Pizazz (#119265 pg. 194 IB&C)

Kristina Koch's "Snow Much Fun" card (#122560w or #122562c pg 35 IB&C) is a fun homespun design featuring the large snowman from this great new set.  I love the use of the new Lace Ribbon Punch (#122362 pg. 211 IB&C) in Cherry Cobbler on Crumb Cake layer which has been distressed around the edges.  Kristina also layered the Snowman oval on First Edition Specialty DSP (#121878 pg 183 IB&C) which has been distressed around the edges and sponged with Crumb Cake ink.  The "merry" sentiment is punched out with the Jewelry Tag punch (#117190 pg. 210) and a bow from a scrap of Deck the Halls Designer Fabric (#121716 pg. 196) is tied to the edge of the oval.  A tiny vintage trinket button (#118764 pg197) finishes it off.  Wow Kristina this is an awesome card!

 This beautiful "Just Believe" card (#116948w or #120453c pg. 109) by Sheryl Tyson features the Framed Tulips Textured Embossing Folder (#121809 pg. 218 IB&C) on Soft Suede cardstock.  The image has been stamped in Soft Suede on  Naturals Ivory (#101849 pg. 181 IB&C) cardstock  and blue glitter has been added to the flowers to give it

some extra bling. 

 Sandy Stoyanowski created a beautiful card featuring Pretty in Pink blossoms and leaves from the  Build a Blossom set (#121923w or #121994c pg. 112 of the IB&C).  The Framed Tulips Textured Embossing Folder was used for the border and it's been coloured with markers.  The petals are stacked in double layers to add dimension.  The Birthday Wishes salutation is from the Sincere Salutations stamp set (#115068 pg 160).

The Fabulous Florets (#123025w or #123027c pg. 107) stamp set was used to create this beautiful card by Tara Ryland.  Versamark Ink and Whisper White Embossing powder (#109132 pg. 201) create a fabulous background and the single flower that is mounted on dimensionals is stamped in Wisteria Wonder and accented with a basic pearl.  The Wisteria Wonder cardstock base and layer provide a beautiful contrast to the Whisper White cardstock

.  

Spooky Bingo Bits (#123944w or #123946c pg. 25 IB&C) are stamped and layered on this totally fun card by Shannon Harding.  Rich Razzleberry and Basic Black and Basic Gray cardstocks are used for the base and layers of the card. The fabulous Spider Web (#120889 pg 218 IB&C) Textured Embossing folder creates some added spookiness to this card. The all new Petite Pennants Builder Punch (#122361 pg. 213 IB&C) was used to showcase the Delightful Daffodil images.  Shannon's card was voted #1 out of all the swaps tonight and you can really see why with all this added detail. 

The final swap card was created by one of our Artisan winners, Sandra Farrell.  It features a new stamp given out at the Stampin' Up Convention.  The image is stamped in Concorde Crush on Whisper White cardstock and layered on Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose and Concorde Crush cardstocks.  The face of the card features Pear Pizazz cardstock embossed with the

Vintage Wallpaper (#120175 pg. 219 IB&C) Textured Embossing Folder.  The twist with this is that Sharon chose to have the negative image showing on her card front.   Pear Pizzazz Seam Bindig has been  scrunched and layered onto Just Add Cake DSP (#124339 pg. 185). 

Christmas In July Workshops

Everyone loves to get a jump on making their Christmas Cards and because of this I decided to hold a "Christmas in July" stamp-a-stack workshop to help get things rolling. I actually offered this class on July 10th at my home and again on July 13th in Vernon, BC. What fun we had. Each participant made 4 of 4 different card designs in a 31/2 hour class. Whew!!! That was a lot to accomplish. Want to see what we made: 

Here are the 4 Christmas Card Designs.

Each of the cards has it's own unique feel and utilizes a number of punches and stamp sets from the new 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalogue.  Here are the individual cards and a brief description.

Christmas Ornament Card:  Sahara Sand cardstock stamped with Christmas Collage, Baroque Motifs and mounted on Cherry Cobbler.  The new Lace Ribbon Border Punch adds a decorative design.  The ornament is from the Delightful Decorations Stamp set and punched out with the Ornament Punch. 

The Vernon class used River Rock cardstock in place of the Sahara Sand and the edges were sponged in Cherry Cobbler.  The combo really worked.

The second card design was inspired by a design on page 21 of the IB&C which features the Snow Much Fun Stamp Set from page 35 of the catalogue.  I love this new set and so did everyone in the class.   I've also provided the details for this card in my earlier post entitled Inspiration in Action Case Contest.

Here's a closeup view of the Snowmall layering and the inside of the card.  The layering makes the snowman look so fat and jolly and brings some life to the card too!

The third card featuring two adorable penquins in the snow is based on punch art using the Owl Builder Punch (118074) page 213 IB&C.   What fun this was.   To position all the little parts of this punch art like the eye balls and nose, we used a tip I found on one of the blogs (sorry if it's your blog please let me know so I can give you credit here) whereby you use a toothpick dipped in melted bees wax to pick up all the little pieces.  This worked like a charm and made it both easy to glue and position these small little pieces.   The card is layered on Whisper White cardstock.  A piece of Baja Breeze is embossed with the Northern Flurries Embossing Folder and the sentiment is from the "Sincere Salutations" stamp set. 

And finally, the fourth card which also uses one of my all time favourite seasonal stamps "Holiday Lineup" is designed to look like these happy little snowmen are all huddled outside a window on a cold frosty day.  Lots of colouring with markers here but the design is super simple to recreate and is all about stamp placement.

I still have some class sets left so if you are interested in making the stamp a stack or a class just featuring one of each of the 4 designs then give me a call, I'd be happy to arrange a date and time.