What Do Cirque de Soleil and Sun Dresses have in Common???

This past Sunday was a real scorcher with temperatures soaring into the 34 Celcius range (94.3 F.) and higher.  Now usually I don't venture out in the heat, preferring to stay in my air conditioned digs, but I'd been invited by one of my very bestest girlfriends to join her and her sister on a trip into Vancouver to see KOOZA, one of Cirque de Soliel's fantastic new circus shows.  What fun we had!  We parked our cars in Surrey and hopped on our rapid transit line and before we knew it we were in Vancouver, where we quickly joined the rest of the crowd strolling along the sidewalks.  The show was held "Under the Grand Chapiteau" at Concord Place.  Here's a view of the city skyline and the Grand Chapiteau.  The 2 1/2 hour show had us rolling in our seats with the antics of the clowns and oooohing and awwwing at the magnificent feats of the high wire acrobatics acts.  

During the intermission we went outside and one of the things that caught my eye, were the number of girls and women who were wearing sundresses.  Wow it was amazing!  It was so retro I thought I'd taken a trip back into the 60's.  And, they all looked stunning!  So after seeing this amazing array of fashion finery, the wheels started turning and all the way home I kept thinking about those sun dresses.  You guessed it!  I pulled out the sun dress template  and made some more birthday cards.  Hope you enjoy them.. 

I can't seem to get enough of these cards.  They are so fast and easy to make. The best way to do it is to cut out a template using the Big Shot Scallop Circle on a piece of scrap cardstock.  Mark off 4 scallops for the top of the dress and 9 scallops for the bottom of the dress, then just taper off the sides to give you shape on either side of the dress.  If you want a fuller skirt just adjust the number of scallops on the bottom to 11.  To add the petticoats on the bottom of the dress just cut additional scallops out of contrasting cardstock or DSP and glue in degrees below the original dress scallop.  Add a matching bag, some ribbon, and you're done!  For more information and samples see Gretchen Barron's site where she has a great write up and some nice samples on her blog.

Cherry Cobbler, Peach Parfait, Regal Rose cardstock.

Inside view of cards  

Bashful Blue, Real Red and Old Olive Cardstock.  Retired DSP. 

And The Winners of A Free Pass To UStamp With Dawn and Friends Early Fall Event 2010 Are????

Well it's 8:00pm Sunday night and as promised, I have drawn the names of the lucky winners of a free pass to the next UStamp with Dawn and Friends Event which starts on August 20th.  Before I announce I'd just like to thank each and everyone of you for entering such fabulous comments on my blog.  I wish I could give all of you a free pass, maybe as time goes on.  So I numbered the comments from the oldest to the newest and ran them through the random number generator and the winners are:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random integers, generated with replacement:

12  and  4

Timestamp: 2010-08-16 03:16:44 UTC

So Tara MacFarlane (4) and Janis Meyn are our lucky winners tonight!  Congratulations ladies.  I need to submit your personal information to UStamp by tomorrow noon, so please contact me with an email acknowledging your win.  I need your mailing address and email address. 

2 Free Passes to be Drawn - August 15th, 2010 to UStamp With Dawn and Friends Early Fall Event 2010

You have an opportunity to win a free pass to the Ustamp with Dawn and Friends Early Fall 2010 Edition which will run from August 20th to September 10th, 2010.   All you have to do is leave me a comment by 7:30pm on August 15th and your name will be entered into a random draw for a free pass.  That's a $25.00 US prize........whoo hoo!!!  So don't be shy check out my blog while you're here and leave me a comment.  I'd love to have you join me on this next event.  I'm hosting a live chat on August 22nd at 10pm EST (7:00pm Pacific) and I'm once again a Guest Designer.  To give you a little enticement here's a bit of a sneak peak at my design.  Hope to see you there as this is going to be one of the best events yet!!!! 160 cards in all different designs and colours................ you heard that right, cards only and 160 of them!!! Great value for your money.  If you've already signed up and paid your money for this event you can still enter my draw and if you're the lucky winner your money will be refunded.  How's that for a deal!  Here's the sneak peak.............. hope I catch your interest.

For more information on this event check out:  http://ustampwithdawnandfriends.com/

160 Cards..............Every Kind of Card You Can Imagine!!!!

Another UStamp with Dawn and Friends is starting on August 20th, and it sounds so exciting!  The theme is A Fall Festival of Cards. Has that title got you salivating yet............. it means cards, cards and more cards!! Lots of cards!! All kinds of cards!! There'll be fancy cards, simple cards, pop-up cards, cards that move, technique cards, cards, cards and more cards!! How many you ask?? How about a whopping 160 cards!! That's alotta cards, right??!! Each Guest Designer will be creating 4 cards and the Dream Team and Creative Crew Girls will each be creating 8 cards.

The really fun twist is that the Designers will each pick a stamp set and colors and will create 4 cards using that same stamp set, and same colors. Although a few Designers may choose the same stamp set, the color schemes and layouts will be completely different!! Just think how cool it will be to have 160 layouts, 40 different color combo's and at least 4 new card ideas for each stamp set the Design Team uses. Whew!! It's going to be AWESOME!! Oh and here is another really cool thing about the cards...all PDF instructions will be in 8 steps or less!! Easy Peasy!!

Here is what you can expect when you join up...


* 160 Cards with 8 Steps or less PDF Tutorials with photo's for you to download!! Each PDF is translated in French, German and Spanish.

* Designer hosted chats with prizes

* Open Chat Room 24x7

* Gallery to share your re-creations

* A cool blinkie for your website/blog COMING SOON

* Prizes, Prizes and MORE Prizes!!

Want to be part of all the excitement?  Well you can be, just sign up now for just $25 US.  Click here  for Pay Pal or check Dawn's website for all the details.

Extra, Extra Hostess Promotion

Extra, Extra Hostess Promotion


From July 27 to August 31, Stampin' Up! hostesses can earn an EXTRA $35 to use toward Stampin' Up! products of their choice when they host a workshop totaling $450 or more!
This extra benefit is included along with the standard hostess benefits they receive when they host a workshop. The standard hostess benefits include
•A free 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue worth $11.95!
•Free stamp sets only available to hostesses (with qualifying orders; select from the products on pages 10-16 of the Idea Book & Catalogue)!
•Free Stampin' Up! products of your choice!

Check out the link for all the details on how you can earn extra hostess $$$$.  Remember, this extra hostess benefit is only being offered for a limited time, so contact me TODAY to schedule a workshop!

Color Challenge # 3 - UStamp with Dawn and Friends - Early Summer Edition 2010

Today I decided to work on the 3rd UStamp Color Challenge for the Early Summer Event by making another vintage card using two of my favourite new Stampin' Up! products.  The first product which I love is the Square Lattice Embossing Folder #119976 on page 214 of the 2010/11 Idea Book and Catalogue.  I can't seem to get enough of using this folder.  I'm enjoying the strong textured image and I find it perfect for layering.  My second product choice is the Elements of Style Stamp Set # 118611[W] or 120045 [C] featured on page 133 of the catalogue.  I am so happy with my clear mount version of this set.  I plan to use it a lot over the coming months and have lots of ideas swirling around in my head, so be prepared to see it a lot in my sample cards. 

This color challenge featured Bravo Burgundy, Night of Navy and Always Artichoke.  Even though I love all of these colours I thought they were too dark to work on their own, so after looking at the challenge card again I was inspired to add Crumb Cake as a neutral.  I've stamped the large flower image on the front of the card in Night of Navy and added a 1/4" gross grain ribbon in Bravo Burgundy for some contrast. 

Hope you enjoy this sample.  If you'd like more information about this session of UStamp With Dawn and Friends click here.  It's never too late to join in any of the sessions and there are so many lovely things you can make and great challenges you can enter.  Hope to see you on the boards!

Although a terrible picture, this is the inside of the card.  It looks much better in real life. 

My Stampin Place

I can't believe how lucky I am to have such a really great place for holding my card and scrapbooking sessions. 

I actually have two adjoining rooms one that I use just for crafting which seats six comfortably and a smaller adjoining room which is fully shelved that I use for storage of my supplies and class prep.

My classroom is in need of some paint and shelving, but apart from that it's comfortable and a great place to be creative.   In the winter it's a great place to be because it has it's own cute little fireplace to keep everyone warm and cozy, and in the summer it stays cool and comfortable while the outside temperatures sore.  My hubby's promised me some better lighting, a must for us night owl crafters, and after our other projects are completed, I know he'll come through - he always does!  

Before we moved to this house I tried to sell my old pine china cabinet and table and chairs, but there were no takers. Same with my old Sears Kenmore sewing machine table.   At first I was really disappointed and was on the brink of giving them away but lucky for me when we found this place all that furniture could be put to good use in my craft room.  The hutch has become a display cabinet and storage area, the table and chairs take care of seating and work space and my old sewing cabinet has become my Big Shot Work Station.  Here are some views of the large space. 

This view shows the seating for six.

Here's my cozy little fireplace which also is used for display boards.

One of my many projects planned for this year

is to paint this room and I've got my Color

Caddy out trying to choose the perfect match.  Hmmm, will it be Old Olive with Very Vanilla trim?  Cajun Craze?  I know one thing is for sure I will be using a couple of the Definitely Decorative Wall applications, as I absolutely love them.  If u haven't had a chance to take a look at the new cattie check it out here, it's really inspiring.

The smaller room which I call my prep room, holds all my supplies and has a small table that acts as my prep station.  I can cut my cardstock, use my scorepal, emboss and clean my stamps in this area, which keeps my classroom area neat and tidy.  I love all the shelving as I can find everything at a glance.  On my Wish List for this room are a large bulletin board above the prep table so I can put all my bits and pieces that inspire me; a new paint job; and a better filing cabinet.  What do you think, isn't this a great little room?

Here's a peek through the doorway from the main room.  Three of the walls have shelving units on them and you can just catch a glimpse of my prep table (see the handle on my cutter) when you walk into the room.  The floor is lino so no worries about spilling my dazzling diamonds or my ink pads (which I've been known to do on occasion). 

I still have lots of organizing to do in this room to get the best fit and at some point will put in a nice two drawer lateral file cabinet to hold my card stock, but for now it works for me.