Artisans Anonymous Quarterly Meeting

I first joined Stampin' Up! in 2006 and was introduced through my Up Line to a large group of stampers in the Fraser Valley area called "Colourful Impressions". 
This group of about 170 stampers led by Kristina Koch, met quarterly.  Everyone shared their love of stamping through displays, card swapping, demonstrations, and projects.  Through this wonderful group we learned a lot about Stampin' Up!, about being a hobby demonstrator or running a successful business.  Many of our group won honours such as the Rising Star award or top Canadian sales, had mention in the Stampin' Success demonstrator magazine, and so there was always something to share and be excited about.  Oh and did I mention we had a ton of fun going to these meetings.  

Unfortunately circumstances do change, and when Kristina left Stampin' Up! a year or so ago the group began to drift away and a big gap was left in my life and I'm sure in the lives of many of my fellow stampers.  We missed getting together and sharing our love of stamping. But, it looks like a new group is forming and things are about to change again.

Artisans Anonymous Quarterly Meeting

Last night, I got together with Diane Ison, Maureen Pollock, Debby Evoy and my sister to go on a road trip to Chilliwack where we  joined a group of ladies for a meeting of Jennilee Paul's Artisans Anonymous group.

We had lots of laughs on our road trip and a truly great evening of stamping, socializing and sharing.  It felt like old times being with my friends from Colourful Impressions and meeting all these new gals from the Artisans group, who welcomed us in.  All of us want to join this group for quarterly events.


How about you?  Are you a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in the Fraser Valley area or elsewhere in the lower mainland looking for a group to join.  Well if so, you're welcome to attend these quarterly meetings too.  Jennilee has opened up her group to "all" current Stampin' Up Demonstrators in the area. The next meeting is on October 9th, and you can check out the details on Jennilee's events page.  Carpool like we did, we had fun! 

So What Did We Do and Talk About?

Our hostess, Jennilee attended the recent Inspire, Create and Share Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City along with Betty Gajsek, Tammie Thiessen and Diane Ison.  They were all excited to share "the news", regarding the upcoming Holiday catalogue, new products and promos, classes they attended and what impressed them most about the Convention.  It sounds like they learned a lot and came back with goals for the coming year and lots to show their customers.  Thanks ladies! 

Contact me by July 30th, to find out how you can get your free copy of this upcoming Holiday catalogue.

Make N' Takes:

What would be a gathering of stampers without Make N' Takes?  As it turns out we made two fantastic projects.  Our first project came from the July " Make a Wish" Paper Pumpkin Kit, which is just filled with exciting product:

July's Paper Pumpkin kit called Make a Wish contains 6 boxes, 6 card bases and 12 tags, along with a 10 piece stamp set, ribbon, stickers, an ink spot etc. to decorate with. Quite a lot in that little box!  You can check out a lot of great samples made with this Paper Pumpkin kit on Pinterest. 

I loved these stars!  They really look like chrome. 

Here is the card and gift box we made together - how nice this would be as a hostess or special occasion gift, and yes you can change the wording to suit the occasion.

The box assembles in about 3 seconds and there were these great round tags that could be decorated and tied to the boxes with the deluxe satin ribbon that's included. I really liked the combination of Blackberry Bliss (ink and stripes on the box) and the Soft Sky (stars and lettering). Very elegant and festive.

Paper Pumpkin currently has a 50% off sale on now until September 10th, for brand new subscribers, so if you're interested in received a monthly kit with all kinds of goodies in it for making quick and simple projects you'll want to sign up now.  Click here for more details on Paper Pumpkin.

My Paper Pumpkin

Make sure you use the PROMO CODE: HALFOFF2 when you place your order and pick me as your demonstrator so I can show you how to make the most of your kits.   

What's really great about Paper Pumpkin is that you can buy a monthly subscription or prepaid subscriptions for 3, 6 or 12 months. If at any time after subscribing to Paper Pumpkin you'd like to stop it can be cancelled without any hassle.  Watch this video to see what a kit looks like and how fast and easy it is to make something.

For Our Second Make N' Take:
We also made two cards using the Kinda Eclectic Stamp Set and some of the new In Colour products, that were demonstrated at Convention.  

Start your subscription now at My Paper Pumpkin.

Here are the two cards, a plain one on the left and then a stepped up version on the right.  

Both cards both were stamped with the Kinda Eclectic Stamp set  which is featured on page 164 of the 2014-2015 IB&C (Idea Book and Catalogue).  This six-piece stamp set co-ordinates with the Elegant and Bitty Butterfly punches and comes in clear and wood mount versions. 

This is the plain version of the card.  The base is a standard A2 Whisper White card stock measuring 81/2 x 5 1/2" and scored at the center. The sun was stamped in Hello Honey and the leaves were stamped in Mossey Meadow ink.  Some of the leaves were stamped off to give them a softer image.

A small piece of Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper (DSP) was glued in the center on an angle and layered with a 4 x 1" piece of Crumb Cake card stock.  The dotted image from the Kinda Eclectic stamp set was stamped in Crumb Cake ink on this layer and followed by the sentiment "A little kindness goes a long way", in Mossey Meadow ink. The ends of this strip were cut into banner points using the Hexagon Punch.   

    

Kinda Eclectic 6 piece stamp set.  Wood Mount #135347 $33.95 or Clear Mount #135350 $24.95.

This is the stepped-up version of the card.  The little flowers which I've added with glue dots and decorated with basic pearls, were punched out with the new Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack.  The large butterfly was stamped in Tangelo Twist and then punched out with the Elegant Butterfly Punch.  

The small butterfly was punched from Vellum with the Small Butterfly Punch and attached with a glue dot to the center of the larger one. The smallest of the Basic Pears were added to the center crease of the butterfly. The brown loopy stuff is linen thread.  To get the loose loops, simply wrap a couple of loops of ribbon around your fingers and then adhere it to the design with glue dots or sticky strip, then cover with the banners.  

In this stepped up version, you can see the added background.  To achieve this look we inked up the back of the Honeycomb Embossing Folder with Crumb Cake ink and then transferred the ink to the front of the Whisper White card stock base. 

These were both fun cards to make and I can see the "Kinda Eclectic" Stamp set gaining a lot of popularity this summer because of the variety of stamps in the set.

Demonstration:

Zentangle Card by Lydia Fielder

Diane Ison was very impressed as were the others with the workshop she attended by Lydia Fielder on Zentangle techniques.  Zentangle is a relaxing form of doodle art that fast taking the country by storm.  

Diane shared some really great samples of Zentangle Designs that can be done simply with a black or coloured marking pen.  Diane used the pens from the Project Life set for her samples.  

Although I don't have a copy of the simple designs Diane showed us, I am posting a video by Lydia Fielder on Split Coast Stamping creating a Zentangle design with Stampin' Ups! Blended Bloom stamp. 

Here's another of Lydia's amazing designs with the Blended Bloom stamp that really impressed the gals.  This one is simply done with the Aqua Painter, Daffodil Delight ink and watercolour paper.  

Created by Lydia Fielder.  Posted on Split Coast Stampers.

Well I'm happy I could share this update on the Artisan's Anonymous group and this week's outing.  We had a lot of fun, learned a few things and are very excited about the upcoming catalogue and new products that will be coming out.  

Until next time, Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

GET 50% OFF PAPER PUMPKIN FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS

Check out my Paper Pumpkin Update today and you could be started on a fun new adventure and get 50% off for the next two months.  

Monochromatic Wedding Card

There's another fun challenge going on over at The Paper Players blog site.  Right now there's still time to enter if you're interested.   

This week's challenge has to do with colour, and very specifically it's a #205 Sandy's Clean and Simple Monochromatic theme challenge.  

Here's My Card:

The card base is a piece of 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" Whisper White card stock.  I've added a layer of Crumb Cake card stock that was embossed with the Beautiful Baroque Embossing Folder. 
 

A small piece of DSP from the Moonlight Designer Series paper pack that has a Whisper White and Crumb Cake flower petal pattern was added to the top of the card for interest. This piece measured 3 7/8" x 1 1/4". A piece of Whisper White card stock was added next. On this piece I stamped a full and a partial floral image from the Blended Bloom stamp in Crumb Cake ink.

Blended Bloom single wood block stamp Item #135906.

For the center of my flowers I chose to use the circle image from the Serene Silhouettes stamp set, stamped in Crumb Cake and decorated with Basic Pearls.  The butterfly and floral images are very delicate  and I hoped that by combining this image with the floral image it would bring a sense of romance and whimsy to my wedding card. 

For the sentiment I stamped "For the Newlyweds" from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set in Soft Suede ink. I really love the flowering script in this sentiment.  I punched out the sentiment with the large oval punch and mounted it on a Crumb Cake label that was die cut using the Apothecary Framelits set.  This piece was also embossed with the Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder. 

 

Apothecary Art Framelits

I hope you enjoyed my latest card.  Please leave me a comment if you think it's worthy.  And don't forget to pop on over to The Paper Players blog to check out all the other cards made for this challenge.  Appreciated.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

Happy Hour Friendship Card - PCCCS #102

I don't know where the time goes.  Honestly.  How can it be Sunday?  I still have things to do this week, like get this entry for the The Paper Craft Crew's card challenge posted.

Have you ever thought about doing a card challenge or do you get stuck thinking about how you want your card to look?  Well if you do now's the time to start checking out this site for ideas.  There are so many great ones.  

Here's This Week's Sketch:

It's easy.  Don't be shy.  To start, just check out their sketch for the week, then   follow the rules for posting and creating your card. Finally post your finished card with a link to your blog post about the card.  If you don't have a blog you can send them an email with your card and they'll post it for you.  So what are you waiting for try this sketch out. 

 Here's My Card:

I recently got my new Designer Series Pack DSP called "Moonlight" and was anxious to try out some of the awesome papers.  So once I had chosen the paper featured in this card it became the focus for my colours, stamp set choice and composition.

Supplies:

Stamps:  Work of Art, Perfect Pennants, Happy Hour
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, and Memento Tuxedo Black
Designer Series Paper:  Moonlight 
Cardstock:  Basic Gray, Whisper White, Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey
Accessories:  Large Oval punches, Banner Framelits, Circle Framelits, Basic and Large Rhinestones, Adhesive and Dimensionals. 

The Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack is featured on page 185 of the new Stampin' Up! catalogue.  It contains 48 sheets in the stack.  There are four each of 12 double-sided designs. Each piece measures 4-1/2" x 6-1/2".  These beautiful papers are archival quality being acid free and lignin free so very safe for scrap booking. The colour match-ups for Moonlight are:  Basic Gray, Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Sahara Sand, Whisper White.  At only $8.50a package, this is an awesome deal.    Note:  Unfortunately the Designer Series Paper Packs are not eligible for the Buy Three Get One Free promotion that is currently running.

The banner sentiment is from Perfect Pennants and is cut out with the second smallest banner framelit.  I added a few basic rhinestones to the base of the banner in the grouping suggested in the sketch.  The "cheers" sentiment is from the Happy Hour stamp set.  Doesn't it just make you want to smile!  I clumped three large Rhinestones together to go with the bubble background. 

The Perfect Pennants Stamp Set comes in Wood and Clear Mount as well as Brush Script version on MDS.  This 10 piece set coordinates with the Banners Framelits, to make a very versatile stamp set.  Lots of basic shapes, pennants, sentiments and even some washi-tape designs.  Can you say awesome?

The Happy Hour stamp which comes in Wood and Clear Mount styles, has been around for a while now.  If you haven't seen it or don't have it, take a look now.  This is one of those great sets to have in your collection for not only the Holiday Season, but other happy occasions too.  Lots of images to create festive drink-themed cards and projects for whatever the occasion.  There are 17 stamps in this set. 

I used the circle image from the Work of Art stamp set and recreated the design from the Moonlight DSP.  Because this DSP is so clean I could have just cut a 3 3/4 x 5  piece of it and used it on the inside of the card.  The Stampin' Up! Lost Lagoon Ink would have easily stamped over the DSP and been readable. 

I stamped the drink glass once in Tuxedo black on the 2 1/2" Whisper White circle and then created a mask by stamping the image again on a piece of post it note.  I just needed the bowl part.  Once I put the mask in place I was able to stamp the drink umbrella without the stem cutting through the edge of the glass.  I stamped the glass again in Hello Honey on a scrap of Whisper White, fussy cut it out and glued it to the glass.  Same with the drink umbrella, I stamped a second image in Lost Lagoon and then cut it out and pasted it in place using a 2-way glue pen.  There was too much white space on the circle so I inked up the spot from Work of Art in all three colours and stamped it randomly on the circle........ much better.  

Hope you like my rendition of this week's sketch.  Leave me a comment if you do, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

Stippled Blossoms Thank You Card

Today's card is a thank you card that I'm sure you'll like.   I got my inspiration for this card from  a blog challenge site called "Just Add Ink".  There is a link button on my left side panel so you can go and check out this site anytime.   

Just Add Ink has been around since January 2010 and during that time they have hosted over 200 challenges.  They are an Australian/New Zealand Stampin’ Up! challenge blog run by Australian and New Zealand Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators.   Along with their challenge blog they also have Pinterest and Facebook pages you can follow.  It's worthwhile, because they have sketch and colour challenges that are awesome not to mention all the wonderful samples from the talented design team and fans.

 Just Add Ink #223 Sketch Challenge

This really challenging sketch was created by Tina Gillespie.  She used this sketch to create a birthday card for her daughter.  Check it out on her blog Scissors Paper Card.

Here's My First Attempt at this Card: 

Oooops!  I don't know if you're like me but if you are take heart, sometimes we just don't get it right.  I began this challenge with one card in mind and ended up with a bit different card, I'll call it my "stepped up" card.  That's the one I submitted to the challenge.  

For my first card I wanted to use my new InColour card stocks and inks but when I assembled the card it just didn't do it for me, it was too dark.  Here's the first card and I won't go into a lot of discussion about it's assembly just some basics.

Assembly:
I really liked the full circle in the card sketch but chose to mount it on a square card base.  I didn't want anything too big, so chose to do a 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square.  The Whisper White card base for this card measures 4 1/2 x 9" and it's folded at 4 1/2".

For this first attempt I used Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Perfect Plum and Whisper White card stocks and inks.  I used a sponge dauber to edge the card and stamped the sentiment directly to the Whisper White card stock.  Basic Rhinestones were added to the flower centers. 

I embossed the flower layer with the Decorative Dots EF but the layer of Blackberry Bliss in the background is plain.  Instead of pearls I used Basic Rhinestones for the flower highlights.  

The inside of my card was plain with only the floral image stamped in the corner.

Here's my "Stepped Up" version:

I did some tweaking with the layers adding an additional one to give it more connectivity.  See my note below.

I stamped the roses from Stippled Blossom in Perfect Plum and Blackberry Bliss and added leaves in Pear Pizzazz.  The Thank You sentiment is from the Blooming With Kindness Stamp set. The sentiment was stamped on Whisper White in Blackberry Bliss and then punched out with the 1" circle punch and mounted on a 11/4" circle of Perfect Plum.  This piece was then adhered to the card front with dimensionals. 

 

For the inside I cut a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4" piece of Blackberry Bliss and then layered it with a 4 x 4 piece of Whisper White.  I don't really like verses inside my cards but I do like some kind of adornment so I chose to stamp  just the detailed stamp of the large rose from the Stippled Blossoms set. I probably should have stamped off the ink to give this image a softer look, but I'm glad I decided to go with full ink.  The image came out clear, detailed, bold and, is a striking contrast to the Whisper White card stock.

Layers, Layers, Layers:  
Remember I mentioned there were lots of layers on this card, well I cannot tell a lie.  There are a lots and lots of layers!  Why?  Because I like the way it pulls everything together and adds depth to the design. 

The first layer on this card is cut from Pear Pizzazz and measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4".  The next layer of Blackberry Bliss measures 4 x 4" and was embossed with the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (EF).  I just can't get enough of those large dots.  

After that, I added a layer of Pear Pizzazz cut out with the Floral Frames Framelits die and then embossed it with the now retired Vine Street embossing folder.  It made the floral image look like veined leaves, which was just the look I was trying to capture.

Finally I added a 3 1/4" circle of Blackberry Bliss topped by a 3" Whisper White circle cut with the Circle Framelits.  The Whisper White circle was cutout, stamped and then cut into puzzle pieces before being mounted on the Blackberry Bliss circle.  Tip:  When mounting the circle pieces I used Tombow Multipurpose Glue so I would have some flexibility in getting the pieces to line up properly along the circle rim and in between.  Once the floral layers were put together, I added dimensionals and adhered it to the Pear Pizzazz flower shape. 

I added the Basic Pearls to the flower centers after the card was assembled.  The Thank You sentiment was the last piece added and was popped up with dimensionals.  I love the script used for this stamp.  So romantic!

Here are the two cards I made together. 

 

Card No. 1

 

Card No. 2

 Supplies Used: 
Stamp Set:  Stippled Blossoms and Blooming With Kindness
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Perfect Plum, Mossey Meadow, Pear Pizzazz
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Blackberry Blizz, Mossy Meadow
and Perfect Plum
Accessories:  Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (EF), Vine Street EF, Big Shot, Trimmer, Circle Framelits, Flower Framelits, Basic Pearls, Sponge Dauber, 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Tom Bow Multipurpose Adhesive and Dimensionals. 

Hope you enjoyed this card.  Leave me a comment if you did.  Let me know which version is your favourite.  It will make my day.

Happy Stampin!
Penny Tokens