Open House

Today I'm backtracking a bit so I can get caught up on some posts that should have been out following my Open House launch of the new "Share the Fun" Annual Stampin' Up Catalogue.  I did so much to prepare for that event and I wanted to share it with those of you who were unable to attend.

Getting Ready:
One of the advantages of being a Stampin' Up! Demo is being able to pre-order new never before seen products from the upcoming catalogues.  So I began my preparations for my June 6 Open House with my pre-order.  I was totally stoked by the time the UPS guy came along and what fun I had unpacking this box of goodies!  Simply the best feeling!

Checking My Lists:
Whenever I get ready for an event I want to make sure I've covered all my bases.  Once I've set the date it's time to get my invitations out, organize my displays, design some Make N' Take projects and the list goes on.  Here are some pictures of the prep and finished layout.  

Upcoming Class Samples including:  Father's Day and Masculine Card Class, Christmas in July, Wedding Ensemble and Stampin' 101 information.  

This was the In Colour and Colour Collection station and showcased ink pads, re-inkers, markers and card stock.

This part of my display included new stamp sets, punches and samples including:  Sprinkles of Life, Floral Wings, Good Guy Greetings, You've Got This, Happy Birthday Everyone, Berry Basket Bigz L steel die, Tree Builder Punch, Banner Triple Punch and the Fringe Scissors.  Guests were encouraged to try out the punches and scissors.

This was a fun station, featuring the new Gift Bag Punch Board.  I made several different examples of how you can use this versatile punch to not only make gift bags but an assortment of boxes too.

 

My Make N' Take Table was well used during the day.

Make N' Take Samples featuring "You've Got It" and "Happy Birthday Everyone" stamp sets and new In Colours. 

Summer Banner:
I love making banners for my events.  As soon as I saw the new In Colours and the Sprinkles of Life stamp set I knew they would be a perfect combination for my Summer Time Banner. Here's a look at what I created. 

I like to use Lollies to show case stamps.  These lollies were made with an old DSP from 2008 called Bella Rose. This paper reminds me of summertime and country fares.  It worked perfectly with the Watermelon Wonder and Cucumber Crush card stocks and inks I used for the stamping and backgrounds.  

Bella Rose DSP from 2008......I loved this paper and bought several packs so I simply couldn't let it go to waste.

When I'm making banners I like to set up an assembly line so I can see the progress of the banner as each step is completed. First I stencil the banners, then I assemble the lollies and I lay it all out in the order I want it to go in, then I add all the other stuff.  What fun!

Loving this Sprinkles of Life ice cream cone! 

Here's another one.  These were so much fun to make.  The paper doilies and glimmer paper added some pizzazz!

I've added all the bling and everything is still laid out on my long table, just waiting for the string and the final tweaks!

 

And here it is, ta da!  I had to show this in two separate photos because I couldn't get the picture large enough, but you get the idea. As soon as guests enter my craft room area they see the banner.

Colour Collections:
I had an awesome picture frame I'd bought at Costco last year and I had my husband mount it on a wall in my craft room that I'd designated as a display area.  The frame hung on the wall empty just waiting for inspiration. When I saw how beautiful the new In Colours were that inspiration hit like a lightening bolt. I quickly got to work creating a colour collection collage.

I simply love this wall display. Each piece is a little work of art and would make nice wall decor.  Having all the colours together makes it real easy to check out what's available, and knowing that this colour collection encompasses not only ink but cardstock, ribbon, markers, and accessories makes it even better for planning out a project.

I used the Bitty Butterfly punch to create this gathering of all the standard colour collections (Neutrals are featured on a separate frame).  It starts with the Brights Collection, followed by Regals and finally Subtles.  The larger butterflies were cut out with the Butterflies Thinlet Dies. 

Subtles Collection includes: Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride, Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Marina Mist, Wisteria Wonder and Crushed Curry. 

The Regals Collection includes:  Rose Red, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, Garden Green, Island Indigo,  Night of Navy, Perfect Plum, and Crushed Curry.

The Brights Collection includes:  Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango, and Tempting Turquoise.

The Neutrals Collection includes:  Basic Black, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso, Sahara Sand, Smoky Slate, Soft Suede, Whisper White and Very Vanilla.

2015-2017 In Colours include:  Cucumber Crush, Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe and Watermelon Wonder.

2014-2016 In Colour Collection includes:  Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow and Tangelo Twist.  These In Colours will retire in 2016.

Don't these In Colours look fabulous together?  I used the Spiral Flower Originals Big Shot die to cut out all the roses.  This is a fantastic tool to have in your tool kit.  You can create beautiful bouquets, floral cards and home decor in minutes and have fun doing it, because it's so easy to use.  I rolled all the flowers while I was watching tv, that's how simple they are to make. Check out this link if you want to see how this steel cut die works.

Oh before I go I want to show you the Stampin' Up! Colour Collection 2013*-2017 Booklets I made for my customers who placed orders over $50.00 this year.  I got great reviews on this booklet. The cover design and ring were my idea but I'd like to give credit for the template for this project to Lee Convey.  The template was designed on the now retired MDS Studios program.  Thanks so much Lee. 

Each page shows a swatch of all the colours in that collection and it's name.  This little booklet is such a handy reference tool. If you place an on-line order  or workshop order with me for $50 or more you will receive one of these booklets too.

*I included the 2013-2015 In Colours for reference, even though they were retired a lot of my customers still want to use these colours in their projects.

Well that pretty much covers my open house. It was a lot of work getting ready for it but it was so worth it.  My customers got to see all the new stamp sets, co-ordinated colour products and tools, browse through the catalogues and ask lots of questions.  We had a lots of laughs and fun doing the make n' takes.  I hope you enjoyed seeing what I was up to.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens 

You've Got This

Every once in a while a stamp set comes along that is so awesome, you just can't wait to ink it up and play with it.

"You've Got This" is one of those sets.  This 5 piece set is available in clear mount of wood mount styles and is available in both English and French versions.

Both of my Make N' Take cards at my Catalogue launch party in early June, used this set, and it was a big hit. 

Here's our first Make N' Take:

Assembly:

1. The card base is Baked Brown Sugar, one of last year's In Colours.  It measured 4 1/4 x 11" and was scored at 5 1/2".  
2. The card front was embossed with the Large Polka Dot TIEF 
3. The first layer is in Watermelon Wonder that measures 3 3/8" x 4 1/8" 
4. The next layer is a piece of Pink Pirouette that measures 3 1/4 x 4".  Before adhering this to the previous layer it was stamped with the background image in Watermelon Wonder and then the floral image was stamped in the center in Momento Tuxedo Black Ink.
5. To complete the floral image the flower head was stamped in Tuxedo Black Ink on Watermelon Wonder card stock.  The center of the flower was embossed with Black Embossing Powder.  The image was cut out and adhered to the original stamped image with dimensionals.   
6. The stem of the flower was stamped in Tuxedo Black Ink on Mint Macaron card stock, cut out and glued to the original flower image with Tom Bow Glue. 
7. The sentiment "I'm here for you" was stamped in Bake Brown Sugar ink on a piece of  1" x 3 1/2" Whisper White card stock.  The end was cut into a banner with the new Triple Banner punch.
8. The last layer of the sentiment was cut from a 1 1/4" x 4" piece of Watermelon Wonder cardstock, then the sentiment layer was glued on with Tom Bow Glue and 3 basic rhinestones were added for some dazzle.  This piece was attached on an angle to the card front with dimensionals. 
9. A 5 x 4" piece of Whisper White card stock was cut for the inside of the card and it was stamped with a single floral image in Baked Brown Sugar ink. 

I used a versamark pen to dab some ink in the center of the flower and then applied black embossing powder and heat set it.  It really makes the flower center pop.   

Our second Make N' Take used both the You've Got This stamp set and the new hostess set "Happy Birthday Everyone".   What a great duo! 

The Happy Birthday Everyone stamp set is one of this year's exclusive Hostess stamp sets and I know it's going to be really popular.  Just look at these sentiments, there's something for everyone on your list.

 I used the new In Colours for these fun cards and they looked great in every single colour:  Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Dijon Delight, Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe.

My Open House attendees made the Mint Macaron version of this card.  Everyone was amazed and happy with how quickly this card came together.  

Mint Macaron

Assembly:

1. Cut an 8 1/2 x 11  piece of Mint Macaron card stock and score at 4 1/4" for the card base.
2. Cut a 4" x 5" piece of basic black card stock and adhere to the card base.
3. Cut a piece of 3 3/4" x 5" of Whisper White card stock for the next layer.  
4. Stamp the background stamp from the "You've Got This" stamp set in the center of the card with Mint Macaron ink.
5. Ink up with Versa Mark Ink and stamp the sentiments towards the middle top part of the background stamped image.  Apply Black Embossing Powder and heat set.  Tip:  If you're using a clear mount stamp set mount the sentiments together on a large clear block. Test stamp the image on a scrap of paper to make sure the stamps are lined up properly and you're pleased with the image before stamping on the card face.  Make sure you clean the block before stamping with Versa Mark ink.
6. Next, stamp the butterfly image from Papillon Potpourri in Mint Macaron ink towards the bottom left of the Whisper White layer.  Punch out the image with the Elegant Butterfly Punch.  Set the butterfly aside.
7. Adhere the Whisper White layer to the basic black layer.  
8. Place a small line of Tom Bow glue down the center of the butterfly's back (on unstamped side) and adhere in the space left when it was punched out.  Let it dry for a few minutes and then  lift the wings so it looks like it's in flight.  Place a strip of 4 small rhinestones down the butterfy's back.  
9. For the inside cut a 5 x 3 3/4" layer of Whisper White card stock.  Stamp a Mint Macaron butterfly image in the lower right corner.  Stamp the "Good Things Are Going To Happen" sentiment in Versa Mark Ink.  Cover with Black Embossing Powder and heat set.  

 

Watermelon Wonder

Inside of the card

Delightful Dijon

Tip Top Taupe

Cucumber Crush

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed seeing these cards and how they were assembled.   My favourites from this group of cards was the Tip Top Taupe followed closely by Mint Macaron.  How about you which colour did you prefer?  My lease favourite was the Crushed Cucumber.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens    

Happy 148th Canada

Today is our 148th birthday and Canadians everywhere will be celebrating.  I am so fortunate and proud to be a Canadian.  Congrats to the many new citizens that will be sworn in today.  Welcome and help us continue to be a strong nation!  Don't forget our song!

  

Online Store: Project Ideas

With the arrival of the "Share the Fun" 2015-2016 Annual Catalogue, Stampin' Up has made changes to it's On-line store index. When I first looked at the index, I found it had been reduced significantly from previous ones and that can make finding things a bit difficult. A lot of the categories I was used to looking for weren't there.  

It occurred to me that if I'm having difficulty as a demonstrator that you might be facing the same challenges so I thought it would be fun to review the index over the next couple of weeks, and show you how to look for your favourite products and navigate the index more easily.  Sound like something you're interested in?  If so leave me a comment and let me know what you're having difficulty with and I'll cover it in an upcoming post. 

But first, the change I'd like to highlight today is a new addition that I know you're going to like, it's called Project Ideas.  

When you click on this category, it offers you a variety of project ideas to choose from.  If these project ideas look a bit familiar, that's because these ideas are the same as the  "You Can Make It" projects in the annual catalogue. When you click on a project, you will see all the products needed to create the project--including any necessary tools. As an added bonus, the recommended adhesives have also been included (so cool, right?).
 
I've also added a Project Ideas link on my right side panel on this blog so you can go directly to the project ideas category if you're wanting to look for ideas without going to the on-line store. Just look for this icon:

Here's a sample of what you can expect to find with this new link:

Here's the product list for making these sweet little cards.  It takes the guess work out of it!

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

Bonus Deals - 30-60% Off

Yeah it's June 30th and that's the start of something big.  Summer bonus deals are back.  Now's your opportunity to save 30-60% off. 

From June 30 through August 3, there are MORE items in the Clearance Rack and Weekly Deals.  Shop here first and you can save up to 30% on even more Weekly Deals, or up to 60% on extra items in the Clearance Rack. You’ll want to hurry though, because Weekly Deals discounts are available in limited quantities before the items return to retail prices.

• Click here for Weekly Deals
• Click here for Clearance Rack

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens 

Artisan's Anonymous Get Together

One of the best things for me about stamping, is being able to get together  with other like minded women who enjoy stamping and paper crafting.  I come home from these events feeling inspired and invigorated.  There's so much talent out there!

Earlier this month I had just such an evening. I went on a road trip with two of my other stamping pals Maureen and Debbie to Chilliwack where we joined a group hosted by Jennilee Pauls called the Artisan's Anonymous group.

The whole evening was about the "Share the Fun" Annual catalogue and getting an up close and personal look at "what's new". Jennilee had really stocked up so there were lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" going on as we looked at Designer Series papers, new card stocks, ribbons, embossing folders, punches and more.  My head was simply swimming with all the ideas and possibilities, and my "Wish List" kept expanding as the night rolled on.   

I didn't take a lot of pictures as my battery was running low, but what I did take I decided to share with you, as these projects were so inspiring.  To begin with here are some shots of the Make N' Take projects demonstrated by Bev Gasjek and Jennilee Pauls.  

The first was a super sweet little card that features the Sprinkles of Life Stamp set.  Bev did a super job of showing us how to assemble this multi-dimensional card. What a great demonstrator!  I'm not sure if there is a name for this type of fancy fold, but it was sure easy to make and packed a big "wow" when it was completed.

Oh did I mentioned that this card featured all five of the new In Colours and the brand new Elegant Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (TIEF).  Loved it!

Jennilee wowed us with this next Make N' Take.  Isn't it a stunner?  The base card was in Blackberry Bliss followed by a layer of Whisper White that was embossed with the brand new Boho Chic TIEF.  Just look at the detail on this impression.  Exquisite!

Would you take a look at that fabulous paper, it's from the Bohemian Designer Series Paper pack.  There are not enough words for this DSP, it's simply delicious!  Jennilee cut the width of the ribbon down for this beautiful bow and the banners were punched out with the new Banner Triple Punch.  Another must have!

This butterfly was cut out using the Butterflies Thinlits from Gold Foil Sheets.  Stunning!  Speaking of stunning, that is the only way I can describe the stamp set used to create the butterfly that this gold one is mounted on.  

The newest addition to Stampin' Ups! butterfly collection is a 15 piece two-step Photopolymer stamp set called Watercolour Wings.  Oh my!  It's a show stopper and we had so much fun creating this butterfly which was stamped with Blackberry Bliss and Rich Razzleberry inks.  This set also has a coordinating framelit called Bold Butterfly.   

Here's the inside of the card.  Isn't this a great sentiment?  It's from the Watercolor Wings stamp set too.  We coloured the words with Bermuda Bay, Blackberry Bliss and Hello Honey markers. 

See this ribbon, well I won it.  Yippee Skippee!!!!  If I didn't mention it already, here's another great thing about these get-togethers, there are always awesome door prizes.  This is the new 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in Bermuda Bay.  It also comes in  Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake.  Thanks Jennilee!

Jennilee also gave us a hands on demonstration of the new Gift Bag Punch Board.  I took some samples of gift bags I've made and I'll show you more in an upcoming post, but for now, here's a teaser: 

Here are some of the pictures of the displays provided by Jennilee and the other demonstrators.  See what I mean by inspiration.  

How's this for a great way to show off the new In Colours:  Cucumber Crush, Watermelon Wonder, Delightful Dijon, Tip Top Taupe and Mint Macaron. 

I really liked this card class display board which features a Sprinkle of Life card class.  Looks awesome!

Another beautiful butterfly made with the Watercolor Wings stamp set.  The smaller white butterfly is cut with the smallest of the two new dies in the Bold Butterfly Framelits set, and the larger butterfly is cut with the other. 

 

 

Well that's it for this post, but I just want to finish by saying it was simply a great evening, with a great hostess, wonderful prizes, and awesome  company.  What more could you ask for?

Thanks for dropping by.  Hope you found something inspiring too.  Come back again......


Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens