Thanksgiving .... Count Your Blessings

The year slid by and it's hard to believe but here we are celebrating Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada.  We along with so many others have experienced many sorrows, disappointments and changes in our lives in 2020.   But we still have hope and many blessings to count.    

Every day when I wake up I'm thankful for another day with my wonderful husband and family.  I'm thankful that even though I can't get together with my whole family today that we're able to share it with them by phone and face time.  I'm grateful for the food that will grace out table tonight, and most grateful that I managed to stuff a turkey and get it in the oven before 11:00am.  Quite a feat!  

I'm playing along with Jen Timko's lovely sketch #456 at Freshly Made Sketches blog, and of course my theme has to be about blessings and thanks.  Here's the sketch.

Here's My Card:

If you've followed me in the past you know that I really like monochromatic cards after browsing through magazines and on-line at fall decor, I decided to incorporate some of the neutral colours into my card today.  

My card base is an 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 sheet of Sahara Sand (SS)  card stock and it's scored at 4 1/4".  I followed this with a 5 3/8 x 4 1/8" layer of Whisper White (WW).  

Before adhering the WW to the base, I stamped the huge sunflower from the Celebrate Sunflowers stamp set in Sahara Sand ink and then cut it out with the co-ordinating die.  

Next I adhered a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of SS designer series paper, that's featured in a new promo coming out November 3rd.  This gorgeous paper is called Classic Christmas.  I fell in love with the designs in this paper pack as soon as I saw it and I know you will too.  

The promo is called Curvy Celebrations and it's available to Stampin' Up! demos on a pre-order so we can make all kinds of samples before it goes on sale.  I'll be giving you an update on that in another post so stay tuned.  

I featured two of the designer papers in the layers.  One is SS with delicate white leaves and the other is SS with tiny WW speckles.  Love them both.  

Classic Christmas DSP available in November 2020 as part of the Curvy Celebrations Promo

 

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This promo begins on November 3rd through January 3, 2021

  

I'm not sure if you can see the texture in the 4" x 3" piece of WW but I embossed this piece with the Subtles Embossing Folder. The rough texture just brings this layer to life.

The stamped image was so clean and beautiful, I almost didn't add the flower layer, but in the end I did. I sponged the SS die cut and center seed pod with SS ink add some texture and additional colour to it. It gives it more of a vintage look.

Tip:  Before adding adhesive to the back of the die cut flower layer I spent some time twisting and turning it until I found the perfect match up of the flower and layer.  Wow that was time consuming and frustrating.  So, my tip to you is to be prepared as this is a tricky flower to match up.  Trust me, before I use this stamp and die again, I will mark them with a marker so they line up perfectly.

I also cut out some SS leaves from the same die set and tucked them behind the flower before mounting it with Dimensionals below the sentiment tag. 

The sentiment on the card front,  "I am thankful for you",  is from a retired Stampin' Up! set called "Painted Harvest".  I love the script and use the sentiments from that set a lot.  I stamped it in SS ink on a scrap of WW and accidentally flecked some SS across the base of it. It was too small a mistake to start over, so I just left things the way they were and mounted the layer. 

I finished the card front by adding basic pearls jewels.  I love, love, love these pearls by Stampin' Up!.  For one thing you get 140 pears in three different sizes in a package.  The value is good, and the look of these pearls is very high end.  They give a classic feminine finish to any card.  A bonus is they can be coloured with alcohol markers to match any project.  

For the inside of the card I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of WW card stock and 1" by 5 1/4" strip of the designer paper along the bottom of the panel.  I stamped the sentiment "Blessed" which is from the retired To a Wild Rose stamp set in Sahara Sand ink.  Beautiful!

I hope you enjoyed this simple design and card and that for those of you who live in Canada and celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, you are blessed and have a great one.  

Happy Thanksgiving and Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demo 

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Virtual Get Together and a New Technique - Bubble Blowing

Do you ever wonder how Stampin' Up! Demonstrators create and share ideas?  There are many ways, and last week I was invited to participate in a Virtual Gathering with other Canadian demonstrators who like me, report directly to Stampin' Up.

Dale Hampshire our Canadian DM hosted the hour long Zoom Meeting along with members of the Admin team. What a fun and engaging meeting.  Not only did we get to meet other demos from our home Provinces and across Canada, but we received great tips and business information from Anne Granger, participated in a virtual card making session, had a demonstration by Lisa Henderson called the Bubble Blowing Technique and a prize patrol, all from the comfort of our own homes.    

Here's the sketch we were given a few days before the meeting. There weren't a lot of instructions or any dimensions, but we were given free reign to create what we wanted to and to pre-cut all our pieces before the virtual meeting. 

During the meeting we were broken into small groups in different virtual break out rooms where we chatted and assembled our cards.  After about 20 minutes we did a show and tell and then went back to the main meeting.  What a great group of gals I was placed with.  Here's the card I made:

My card features the large Sunflower from the Celebrate Sunflowers Bundle in the Annual Catalogue.  I've used Cinnamon Cider card stock for the card base, a layer of  Whisper White followed by a dry embossed layer of Cinnamon Cider.  

The beautiful sunflower paper is from the Flowers for Every Season Memories and More pack.  The sunflower image and leaves were stamped with Bumble Bee ink on Whisper White card stock and cut out with the coordinating dies Sunflower dies. 

The overlay flower was cut from Cinnamon Cider and Bumble Bee card stocks. To finish the card I added a white cotton ribbon, some rhinestones and I stamped the sentiment "Thanks a Bunch" on Whisper White with Cinnamon Cider ink.  

Bubble Blowing Background Technique:  

After the meeting I simply couldn't wait to try out Lisa's technique for creating backgrounds.  I decided I wanted to do create a winter sky background and create a scene using my new Freezin' Fun Bundle.  

Here's my finished card.  I've incorporated the background layer behind the snow hills and trees.  I used Bermuda Bay and Pool Party inks to create the sky.  The sky looks so realistic, and the clouds actually look puffy. What fun!  This technique can be quite messy but gets results that are so creative in next to no time.

Supplies For Bubble Blowing Technique:

  

• Water colour paper cut in 4 x 5 1/4 inch pieces
• Styrofoam coffee or Dixie cup(s)
• Re-inkers in various colours
• Dish Soap or Bubble Blowing Liquid (I used Dawn because that's all I had on hand),
• Straw(s)
• Paper towels

Create Bubble Mix 

• 1/4 cup of water
• a tsp of liquid soap or bubble mix from dollar store
• 3-5 drops of re-inker (depending on how dark the re-inker is)
• quickly stir up the mixture making sure all the re-inker is pulled up from the bottom of the cup and colour is even

I used 5 drops Coastal Cabanna and 3 drops Bermuda Bay Re-inkers.  

Stir it up so the drops are mixed together.

Have fun, blow some bubbles.  Remember which end of the straw you had in your mouth and which was in the bubble mixture..... quite important.  

Here's what your watercolor paper looks like after the first swipe across the bubbles.  Keep blowing bubbles and swiping until you've got the coverage and look you're going for.

Okay this was just the right amount.  It's soaking wet so needs to dry.  I used the hair dryer and then covered the piece of water colour paper with my largest acryllic block to make it lay flat while it was drying.  

I love how my finished card turned out.  The card base is Pool Party card stock followed by a Real Red layer.  The bubble background piece was adhered to the Real Red layer.  I cut two rolling snow banks with the curved edge from the Freezin' Friends Die set.

I stamped and coloured three trees from the Freezin' Fun stamp set and popped them up with Dimensionals.  I coloured and cut out the little Penguin.  He's simply adorable.  The sentiment "Dashing Through the Snow" was cut from the sentiment line paper in the Trimming the Town Designer Series pack.  

Here's a peek at the inside of the card.

You can see that sky background a little better in this picture. The Bermuda Bay ink really shows up.

I really hope you enjoyed my post today both the meeting information and the instructions for the Bubble Technique and the Sketch.  Hope you'll give one or the other a try - maybe both.  I'd love to see what you create, so email me a copy and I'll post it on my blog.  

Breaking News:

Before I end this post I have to let you know that I received an email from Dale Hampshire letting me know  my card was drawn in a random draw today and I won $40.00 to put towards Stampin' Up! products.  How wonderful is that?  I was yelling "Wheeeeeeeee" just like the little penquin and doing a happy dance over that news.  

 Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator 

A Paper Hoarder No More - My New System

I don't know about you but one of the things that's happened to my stamping mojo this year is that I'm overwhelmed by stuff......….too much of everything. When that happens I can't focus and I procrastinate. This escalates and suddenly visiting my craft room just isn't as much fun.  

Take paper for example.  Right now there's a big DSP Sale with 15% off.  I have a love/hate relationship with this.

Every time Stampin' Up! comes out with a new catalogue or a sale like this, I tell myself "no more paper", and then I buy more because I just have to have them.  

One day while I was browsing YouTube I stumbled across a video by Kylie Bertusi called "#Love It/Chop It".  I'd heard this term before but I wasn't really sure what it meant so I was intrigued. 

I watched Kylie's video which specifically focusses on organizing DSP and card stocks and a funny thing happened.  That video and her fun and vivacious video style, grabbed me and re-fired my "want to stamp button".  The #loveitchopit system is a way to get organized by pre-cutting DSP and card stock so when you're ready to stamp and have fun you're not hung up on what to use.  Here's the link to Kylie's video: 

Here's My Old Paper Organization System: 

Clear plastic storage boxes for 12 x 12 paper.

I can count the number of times I've ordered Designer Series Paper and once I shuffled through the package, and finished "oohing and aahing" over all the beautiful designs and textures, I'll put the papers back in their wrapper and store them away for the "perfect time".  

When the "perfect time comes" I start by choosing card stock and searching through these boxes for DSP that works with it.  Most of the time, I get so tired trying to match everything up, that when I do find something “perfect” I generally cut the paper to the exact size I need for one card, and then file it away again.  The joy has gone out of the event.  Because I've failed to plan ahead, I've set myself up for failure and frustration.  But, not anymore, I've changed.

Here's My New “Love It” “Chop It” “USE IT” System:

• The "new me" opens the DSP package and separates the 12 sheets into two stacks of 6 sheets.  Each stack has one of each of the DSP designs. 
• I gather 2 of each of the coordinating colour card stocks and separate into two stacks. 
• I cut the first stack of DSP into three 4" wide strips and then cut each of these strips at 5 1/4".  You get two 5 1/4" x 4" mats from each strip and have left over strips that measure 2 1/2 x 4".  
• Once the paper is cut I sort it and then place it into a  4 1/2" x 6" plastic photo box and label it with the name of the paper.  

These are a sample of the 5 1/4" x 4" Mats I recently cut from the Trimming the Town DSP package. The great thing about this cutting system is that withing minutes of cutting my DSP I could be making at the very least 36 cards.  

This is the Photo Storage box that houses all my cut paper.  As you can see I've been busy.  There are 16 boxes per case and I now have two of these cases.  If I've cut a lot of embellishments to go with a particular DSP design, I'll sometimes have two photo boxes on the go and labelled for embellishments or additional mats. 

Cutting the Card Bases, DSP and Card Stock Mats: 

• Cut the 8 1/2" x 11" card stock on the short side at 4" and 8". Cut each 4” x 11” strip into two pieces at 5 1/4" and 10 1/4". You now have four 4” x 5 1/4” mats.
• Cut the second pile of card stock into standard A2 card bases. Cut the card stock to 4 ¼” x 11” and score at 5 ½” for a top fold card base or cut card stock to 5 ½ x 8 1/2” and score at 4 ¼” for a side fold.

Note: I don’t like to waste card stock so I cut out the mat centers with my punches and or dies (circles, ovals, squares, etc ). Make sure to leave enough of a margin around the mat center so that any cut away area is not visible.

DSP Mats:

Before I cut the DSP into mats, I decide whether my cuts will be portrait or landscape to ensure the design is going the way I need it to.  Once I've decided on the cut direction I cut each 12 x 12 piece of DSP into three 4” inch strips.  Each strip is then cut into 4” x 5 1/4" strips.  Each strip will give you two 4” x 5 1/4” layers and with three 2" by 4" strips that can be used on the card front or inside panel.  

Honestly "Love It" "Chop It" has changed how I make cards, my paper storage system and my productivity.  

So you can see all kinds of "Love It" "Chop It" examples on Youtube or Pinterest and Kylie Bertusi great ideas and videos and examples on both her blog and Facebook pages.  I know because I've been inspired with all the pictures and ideas from her site.  

If you join Kylie's Facebook site make sure you check out the files section as there are some very useful templates for cutting and storing.  Oh and before I forget, some people do "Love It" and "Chop It" using the old One Sheet Wonder (OSW) formulas for their cutting on either 12 x 12, 8 ½ x 11 or 6 x 6 paper packs.  Whatever works. 

Well this was a long post, but I've been wanting to share this information with you for some time now.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you organize and cut your paper supplies.  I'm always up for new ideas!

Here's an example of a card I made with my Love It Chop It system. The trees and labels were cut out of the mats before everything was glued together so there's absolutely no wasted paper and card stock.  Also, I pre-cut mats from Whisper White card stock for the inside of the cards, and have a tray of those ready so the cards can be assembled quickly.

So there you have it.  If you have questions just comment on this post and I'll get back to you.   Thanks for dropping by.  

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator 

October Hostest Code:  MM72ZKPM

Use this code on your On-Line orders ($50 - $195.00) during the month of October and I'll send you a gift and card as a token of my appreciation. 

October is a great time to purchase DSP at a 15% savings on selected designs. Now that you know how to store it, why not take advantage and get your favourites from the Annual Catalogue or Holiday Mini. Visit my online store at: 

Freshly Made Sketches #455

I like square cards but I don't make a lot of them, so when I saw this week's Freshly Made Sketches #455 square sketch designed by Jen Mitchell I was hooked.  I really like the clean lines of this sketch and it certainly is open for interpretation.  

Here is my card: 

How it's made:

• The card base is cut from Night of Navy card stock and measures 10 x 5 and is scored at the 5" mark.  I chose to have the fold at the top of the card. 
•  I've added a 4 7/8" x 4 7/8" mat in Cherry Cobbler followed by a Whisper White mat that measures 4 3/4" x 4 3/4". 
•  For the DSP layer I chose Stampin' Ups! Brightly Gleaming paper from last holiday season. I cut a piece 4 1/2" x 4 1/4" and then cut a 1 3/8" x 4 1/2" strip to form the two panels.  
• I stamped the sunflower from the retired Painted Harvest stamp set in Night of Navy ink on a piece of Whisper White card stock.  I cut this out with the Stitched Shapes 3" circle die.  I layer this on a 3 1/2" Night of Navy die cut circle.  
• I stamped the sentiment "A Joyful Christmas" from the Signs of Santa stamp set (retired) in Cherry Cobbler ink on a scrap of Whisper White and cut it out with a 3/4" circle punch.  I attached this circle to a scrap of Cherry Cobbler and fussy cut around the circle.  The sentiment circle was glued to the center of the wreath.  
• I added some Stampin' Up! red rhinestones and a small die cut copper foil bow to finish off the wreath and mounted it in the bottom left corner of the card front with dimensionals. 
• Stamp sets  used are the Painted Harvest, Snowflake Sentiments (inside), and Signs of Santa (retired) 
• The inside of the card  has a 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" Cherry Cobbler layer and a 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" layer of Whisper White.  The sentiment "Wishing you A Season of Joy, A Season of Cheer, But Most of All A Wonderful Year" and three snowflakes are from the Snowflake Sentiments stamp set which is retired. 

I hope you enjoyed this card.  I'd like to know what your favourite card shapes or types are, so I can design cards around those in future.  I'm quite partial to this square Christmas card and plan to make a few more in this style using this sketch.  What fun!  

Comments are .... always appreciated.  

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Penny Hanuszak, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator 

Don't miss out on this current promotion.  A savings of 15% on select DSP ordered during the month of October.  Click here for all the details. 

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