June 1st What an Exciting Day!

June 1st, has finally arrived and it's going to be such an exciting day for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators and customers alike. 


It's a day we've all been waiting for with great anticipation, and now it's here!  I can't wait to share some of that excitement with you.  So, let's begin with what's changed and what's new:


To begin with, check out my right hand side-bar.  It's been updated with new links for easy access to the Stampin' Up! Annual Idea Book and Catalogue, exciting new June Promotions and my Shopping Cart.  

So, if you are looking for:

• Preferred catalogue prices, then click on my new Shopping Cart and you'll be taken directly to my on-line shopping site.  What could be easier?
• Don't have your own copy of the new Annual Idea Book and Catalogue for 2012-2013 yet?  Don't worry just click on the Catalogue icon to download a PDF version, for your shopping convenience.   Want your own copy?  Want it for free?  Then contact me for more information.

Latest Promotions?

• We {Heart} Hostesses Promotion- During the months of June and July you can earn extra hostess rewards for a qualifying party.     As if the new catalogue wasn't reason enough to host a party, now you can get $150 in FREE products for hosting a $575 party. Unbelieveable! Wow! Book your new-catalogue parties today, then visit the We {Heart} Hostesses page for the details.

• 
• "Take The Cake Recruiting Promotion":  During June, new demonstrators not only get to choose the products for their fully customizable Starter Kit, they'll also get products from the brand-new Patio Party Suite for FREE, including the Make a Cake Set, Patio Party Designer Series Paper, and the Patio Party Digital Collection DVD! that's up to $60 in additional FREE products

Papaya Collage Birthday Cards

On Sunday I had the pleasure of getting together with two of my favourite stampers, Ethel and Sheri. 

What a great afternoon we had! We looked at sneak peaks and chatted about the new catalogue and all the great stamps and products that will be coming out on June 1st with the release of the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalogue (IBC).

We made one project during our get-together based on a happy birthday card I designed using the new Papaya Collage Stamp set.  I took my inspiration for this card from a wedding invitation and "Save the Date card I'd recently received.

My original card was made with Daffodil Delight cardstock and ink to mimick the colours used in the Save the Date card.  It looks dull in this picture, however in real life it was beautifully bright and cheerful.

For our group card we chose Wisteria Wonder for the card base, markers and ruffled ribbon.  The front of the card base is embossed with the Framed Tulips embossing folder. 

To create the beautiful floral image we used a Wisteria Wonder marker to colour in the flowers and a Basic Black marker for the stems.  Before stamping we huffed on the stamp image to make sure it was moist enough to transfer the ink to the card stock. 

The butterfly was first wetted in Versa Mark then in Basic Black ink before stamping the image on Whisper White cardstock.  Once stamped, Clear embossing powder was applied and then heat set.  The image was then coloured with Wisteria Wonder and Basic Gray markers. 

Three basic rhinestones were used for the butterfly's body and the finished butterfly was mounted with dimensionals to the card front. 

The sentiment "Just for You" from the Tea Shoppe stamp set was also stamped in Basic Black ink and heat embossed to add some dimension.

Three butterflies were stamped on the Whisper White card insert on the inside of the card and coloured as above. 

Here are the three cards we made together. 

 Here are the two cards together.  Pretty don't you think?

What a Hoot!

Katie and Serena

Sometimes there are things that just make you smile and want to shout!. Like this morning I was checking through my blog updates and saw Shirley's recent post on her Stampin' Up Fabric Owls and Staging for the Stamp Show in Pullap Washington.  The booth she helped stage is being manned by Terry B. and Kim C. this weekend.

These are truly talented and amazing women. Shirley's full of energy and imagination and she hangs out with the very talented Terry Blais another awesome demonstrator from Washington State.  Together these two are a real "hoot".  I haven't met or followed Kim, but I know she'll be terrific too!  Since I met Shirley and Terry a year ago on their blog A La Card Monkey I've really enjoyed visiting their blog sites and playing along with their challenges. 

So if you've got time it's really worth taking a wander over to their blog sites "Look at All My Cute Stuff" and Going Over the Edge to check out their Stamp Show and these cuties. 

Happy Victoria Day

Happy Victoria Day!



Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from June 20, 1837 to until her death.  She was the longest reigning monarch in history, serving 63 years and 7 months. 

To all my Canadian family and friends have a wonderful Victoria Day holiday. Victoria Day for those who may not follow our Canadian history and holidays is the celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday (May 24th). Canada is still a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, of which the Queen is head.

Victoria Day always falls on a Monday and is celebrated as a long weekend, which is commonly referred to as the Victoria Day Weekend, the May Long Weekend, the May Long, or the May Two-Four (a case of beer there is called a "two-four" and many of these are consumed over the holiday). The weekend is also called the May 24th weekend, although it does not necessarily fall on May 24th.

Our special holiday always falls on the weekend before Memorial Day in the U.S.  Most Canadians see the May 24th weekend as the kick off for Spring and Summer in Canada.  It's one of the most popular weekends of the year and people begin their summer travel, open up their cottages, plant gardens, or just get away. Festivities including fireworks, parades and fairs held all over Canada to celebrate this happy occasion. 

My wish to you this weekend is for a safe and happy time no matter where you celebrate!

Birthday and Thank You Cards

While on my recent vacation I had very limited stamping supplies and stamps on hand but I tried to rise to the occasion using what I had.  I needed to make a masculine card for my friend John's 86th birthday and thank you cards for two very dear female friends. Looking through my sets I decided to do double-duty and use a retired set called Nature's Wonders to create both cards. 

This wonderful 4-piece wood block stamp set from 2006 features stippled reverse images of a flower, sand dollar, dragonfly and a leaf or twig. 

To make the most of these images you need to have a very juicy stamp pad and a firm hand.  I chose to use the flower and leaf stamps for my cards.   I'm thinking that the new foam pad stamp pads that Stampin' Up will be releasing in June would be perfect for this type of stamp image.

My card base is Whisper White layered with a piece of 4  x 5 1/4" Poppy Parade cardstock.  The next layer is a piece of Whisper White that's been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  The image is stamped in Poppy Parade and layered up with dimensionals on more Poppy Parade and Whisper White layers. 

Here's a closer look at the image which I absolutely love. 

I kept the inside of the card simple just adding the flower image to the upper right hand corner and adding a Thank You sentiment.  Both were stamped in Poppy Parade. 

For the masculine birthday card I chose Really Rust (retired cardstock) for my card backer. I layered this with Basic Black, Really Rust and a piece of Whisper White cardstock that was stamped in Really Rust with the French Script background stamp. 

To make the leaf image pop off the page, I first stamped it into Versa Mark Ink and then inked it up again in Basic Black Ink.  I stamped the image four times (reinking each time) on my piece of Whisper White Card stock and then covered the four images with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set them. 

I then cut the images into 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" squares which were mounted with dimensionals onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock, leaving a 1/4" gap in-between the four images to give a window pane effect.

In this closeup you can see the fine detail of the images and sentiment and how embossing and heat setting really brought the images forward.  You also get a small glimpse at the French Script on the 4th layer. 

For the inside of the card I chose to layer again with Basic Black and Whisper White and added a simple stamped leaf in Really Rust to the bottom right corner.  The Happy Birthday sentiment was heat set using Basic Black Ink, Versa Mark and Clear Embossing Powder.

I hope you enjoyed these cards and the steps used to make them.  Although the Natural Wonders set has long been retired it is one of those sets that I've brought out time and time again and I've always been pleased with the results.  

Embossing Powder and Glitter Storage

I love organization and when I found a Pinterest link to Janet Morrow Wakeland's fabulous blog Remarkably Creative, I knew I'd struck it rich and wanted to share one of her remarkable ideas with you.

Janet was celebrating her Sweet 16th year with Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator and wanted to show her appreciation by having a free draw. She was looking for a special give-away prize and decided to make her's based on a K-cup storage idea she'd seen on Pinterst.  Here's what she came up with.  Isn't this just too cute?

When I read Janet's post and looked at this picture I became super excited about getting one of these holders for all my embossing powders and glitter that currently are in a drawer.  With all good intentions I repinned her picture and link to my Pinterest Organization Board, and then just as quickly forgot all about it.  Tell me it isn't just me that does this??

While shopping at Costco this week I stumbled upon one of these K-cup holders, going for $15.95 and it all came rushing back to me. I just couldn't resist and purchased one.  I could barely contain my excitement all the way home. 

This unit has a very strong swivel base which makes it very easy to turn.  The large Stampin' Up! bottles of Embossing Powder and Glitter fit in the slots extremley well.  The smaller bottles are looser  and have a tendency to slip through the holders if you spin the rack too quickly. I'm not likely to do that, so this is just something to be aware of. 

All in all I'm so pleased to have this unit.  Here's what I did with mine. It's not as fancy as Janet's but it works like a dream.  Love that swivel base and the fact that it fits securely on my shelf within an arm's reach.  

Hope you enjoyed this post!

LNS Treasure Hunt Winner!!!!

Hi folks.  I'm just back from vacation and trying to catch up on all that's been happening blog wise and stamping wise in the past three weeks. 

So many changes and events coming down the line that it's mind boggling.  But, before I get into changes the biggest thing I have to announce is the lucky winner of the Treasurer Hunt Blog Hop for Late Night Stampers. 

And the winner is, Lisa Eisner from Hawthorne New York. Congratulations Lisa. Lisa sent me all 20 clues and a comment on my blog.  So, glad you participated and enjoyed the blog hop Lisa!  You'll be receiving your prize shortly.