Roll with the Punches

Das' right

2009-12-19T19:19:00.004-05:00

TWO posts in ONE day - whatchoo got to say about THAT?!? This one is for the Clean and Simple challenge at SCS - the challenge was to use curves in a clean 'n simple card. After almost 10 years of stamping, I have discovered that clean and simple is my style. No fuss, no muss. I've played around with a lot of styles, especially since I discovered SCS, and this is where I usually am most comfortable :o)

Not sure who the recipient of this card will be. Likely one of my boys' friends (there's always birthday parties, isn't there?) The surfboard and the greeting were inked in Not Quite Navy craft ink, and heat embossed. The kraft paper is from the specialty collection from last year (still proudly sticking by my commitment to use up most of the DP I own before I buy any more!!). And no word of a lie, I had this post just about ready to go when I looked at my card and thought, "it needs something more". That's when I added the Not Quite Navy button :o)

Happy Stampin'!

It's almost Christmas!

2009-12-19T14:44:00.002-05:00

And where the heck have *I* been? LOL Well if it makes up for anything at all, I have been stamping. Just been too busy to post any of my stuff, is all! Mostly Christmas cards since late September, but now that is D-O-N-E and I can stamp FUN stuff again! So to get my mojo back in working order, I decided to start with a SCS Colour Challenge, which this week was Melon Mambo (my current fave colour, I would have to say!), So Saffron and (sadly neglected) Mellow Moss. I have been thumbing through my latest copy of Stampin' Success today, and decided to CASE one of the cards in there (p.24).

Their version is a 3x3 note card, I made mine 4x4. And I used the Medallion stamp as my main image. I don't have the curly label punch, but I do have the movers & shapers die for the Big Shot, so decided to use that instead to punch out the So Saffron curly label piece. I realized when I took the photo that it's mounted a little crooked on there, but oh well - it's handmade! LOL

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! I hope to be able to post more over the next couple of weeks, but won't make any promises... that way I will a) minimize the guilt when I fail to post as much as I had hoped, and b) surprise you all when I post! :o)

Happy Stampin'!

Sweet Scent

2009-09-12T08:45:00.003-04:00

OK so there's a story to this one.

Last month I bought a car. It's a blue 2004 VW Golf and I LOVE it!! We still have the van (you have to, really, with three kids!) but this is MY car. I commute to work every day (almost an hour each way) and I do a lot of driving for my job, and the van is not very good on gas. So I got a sweet lil' VW to zoom around in. However, it's a used car. It's in fantastic shape and has very low mileage, but I have discovered that when it rains, it smells like wet dog... I am guessing that the previous owner was also a dog owner.

So I decided to put my creative fingers and mind to work and made an air freshener. I pulled out my Beautiful Butterflies Big Shot die, some cardboard and some Parisian Breeze designer paper (retired). I die-cut two layers of cardboard and stuck them together with two-way glue (to make it stiffer - it's a technique also known as faux chipboard) and then cut a third layer out of the DP to make it pretty. I intend to put some essential oil on the back (so as to not ruin the DP) and hang it in my car.

When I was finished, I thought the butterfly was so pretty, I needed to make another one and make a card out of it, and this is it:

Isn't that butterfly adorable? One of my kids at work is turning 18 on the 21st, so I think I will send it to her.

Oh, and BIG BIG day today!! I am auditioning again, this time for Sweeney Todd! I had such a fantastic time last year, I couldn't not do it again. I have no idea whether I stand a chance in heck, but I can tell you that I nailed my song as I practiced in my basement last night ;o) (I am doing Send in the Clowns, which is also a Sondheim song - Sweeney Todd is a Sondheim musical).

So wish me luck!

And Happy Stampin'!

A-M

And thus I CASE again

2009-09-03T21:35:00.005-04:00

Can't get enough of this lady. This card isn't so much a CASE of this card by Cindy Beach, as it is just inspired from it. I loved the simple Eiffel tower (I embossed mine with black embossing powder), and the red and black together. This is also a card for the Diva Coffee Break Designs' weekly challenge, which this week is a sketch challenge. I used some of last year's Halloween-theme DP (it was called Ghostly Greetings), and a Riding Hood Red button (also retired). Oh and because I know some of you will wonder (LOL) I did not use the "merci" stamp that comes with this set because I did not find it bold enough to hold its own with the rest of the card (it also did not stand out well at all on the textured c/s, especially when trying to read it sideways like that). So I went with a greeting from Trendy Trees instead :o)

And here is my tale of woe for today: as fate would have it, I came home today to my SU! order, including six (yes SIX!!) new stamp sets, the fun treat cups (CHECK THEM OUT!!!), two punches (including the new ornament punch!) and some platinum shimmer paint - all from the new Holiday Mini-catalog. Let it be said that I have NEVER received an order so quickly!!! (I placed the order on Saturday!) However this weekend we are going camping at a local folk festival, so tonight I need to finish packing and making snacks and stuff - NO TIME TO STAMP!! Nor will I be able to do so until Sunday night at the earliest!! WAAAH!! All those great new goodies waiting for me at home... *sigh* Ah well, I can design in my head all weekend (am I the only one who does that?...)

Happy Stampin'! And don't forget to contact me if you want to order any of the fabulous goodies from the new Holiday Mini Catalog!

A-M

I'm in love!

2009-09-01T22:00:00.004-04:00

I discovered the blog of a fellow stamper tonight and I L-O-V-E her style!! Her splitcoast nickname is Cindybstamping and her RL name is Cindy Beach. Her cards are fresh and bold and clean and TOTALLY up my alley! I had already decided I would CASE this little number and then lo and behold, today's SCS Colour Challenge is EXACTLY the colours that she used in her card, so I'm sure that was a sign! LOL!

My card is pretty much identical to hers, except for a couple of minor adjustments... I did not have the lovely DP that she used for her patterned Curry layer, so I broke out the cuttlebug and the textiles folder, inked the folder with Crushed Curry ink, and embossed some WW paper. I also do not own the "Lots of Tags" sizzlet die, so I used my wide oval punch for the butterfly. I love how bold yet simple this card is! And I love these colours together. Dangit, now I think I will have to buy the Crushed Curry inkpad and some c/s...

Here is a close-up of the butterfly panel:

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Unbelievable but true...

2009-08-30T21:04:00.003-04:00

...two posts in one day. Wow.

LOL!

I decided to also play this week's colour challenge as I L-O-V-E these colours together!! Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Kraft. Wow, wow. Chic Boutique was already on my table from my last project (I used the cursive "hello" stamp from that set) so that's what I used. I love how it turned out! My watercolouring is a little sloppy, but oh well. I actually used the "No Copics No Problem" technique, using SU! markers on watercolour paper and then blending with an aquapainter. Pretty, huh?

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Sunshine Hello

2009-08-30T16:27:00.003-04:00

I just placed my Holiday mini-catalogue pre-order earlier this week and I'm getting antsy for my NEW RUBBER and goodies!! So I am warming up with some challenge stampin'. This is for Beate's Weekly Sketch Challenge.

I pulled some DP and some In Colors out of retirement for this one cuz, well, I was really sad to see those colours go (especially my Kiwi Kiss!!) I also used my circle cutter - I gotta say, I'm still getting used to using this contraption, and while I LOVE the idea of it, I am afraid my execution leaves a lot to be desired (don't ask me how many circles I had to cut before I got my two perfect ones for that larger circle element!) The trick is that the c/s ABSOLUTELY CANNOT MOVE as you spin the blade. I'm afraid therefore scotch tape is the only thing that seems to work for me. I also need to review a blog entry that I was forwarded oh-so-many-moons-ago when this tool was first released: it showed how to properly set it up so that the no-slip pads are truly no-slip (I seem to recall that she used leftover rubber from a stamp set instead of the black pads that come with). BUT I WILL CONQUER!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-07-30T20:34:00.003-04:00

It's my mom's 65th birthday next week and we will be celebrating this weekend. I think my sister and I will be taking her to see Stratford's production of West Side Story in the fall as a gift - my good friend Heather tells me it's probably the best musical production she has ever seen! (And she would know as she is a talented actor herself! LOL)

So I needed a birthday card, right? I decided to use this week's colour challenge on SCS, which was to use Pixie Pink, Apricot Appeal and Certainly Celery. While CCelery is a colour that I use often, I have not used Apricot Appeal regularly in quite a while, and to be honest, I can't recall ever using my Pixie Pink pad *blush*. So this was DEFINITELY a challenge for me! LOL! I like the freshness of it, though, and it went quite well with the stamps I chose, Flight of the Butterfly, which is a new set to me.

I also got to break in my new butterfly punch - LOVE IT!!! - as well as my new "Sherbet" designer buttons. I like that the new designer buttons do not have any of the In Colors. I find that I tend to hoard my buttons (I prefer to think of it as, saving them for very special occasions LOL) and now I am stuck with a bunch of gorgeous ones from last year's collection, which I am going to have difficulty using now that the colours are not current anymore... Oh well.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

OK so I know I've said this before...

2009-07-26T21:27:00.005-04:00

...but this time I mean it. I NEED TO get back in the game!! Why? Because I am in L-O-V-E with everything in the new Stampin' Up! cattie, and ESPECIALLY with everything in the (upcoming) Holiday Mini catalogue and will therefore need to get my butt into high gear if I am to ever inspire enough people to support my habit ;o)

So I am stamping. And stamping, and stamping, and stamping. And sharing what I am stamping with people again so they can see how FUN and EASY it is to stamp and awe your friends and family with your paper creations LOL

Getting the mojo going again is the biggest hurdle, but I think I am getting there. Of course, getting my first load of new goodies was a HUGE inspiration this week, and I completed 16 swap cards tonight that look like this:

Isn't it pretty? I finally caved and bought the Beautiful Butterflies die for the Big Shot, and knew before I even received my order and had a chance to play with it that this is what I would be using for my swap card. I also knew I would be using this new embossing folder - isn't it sweet? I love how it only embosses part of the card front! As for the colour scheme, that came later. I have to admit, I was not immediately inspired by the new In Colors this year. The only one I could see myself using a lot was Bermuda Bay. So I resisted buying the whole lot, and only got the assorted cardstock and the markers (yay - MARKERS!!) to give myself a chance to try them out for size... and I realized that I like them a lot more than I first gave them credit for! This is Melon Mambo - I thought it would be really bright and Positively Pink-ish (or perhaps even - gasp! - the old Magenta we used to carry LOL), but it's actually got quite nice depth to it. Like a brighter Purely Pomegranate. And I decided to just keep things simple and clean, and use just the one colour with the white. Quite effective, I think? And then I got the idea of softening the card by layering one of the butterflies with vellum, and stamped that layer with white StazOn, using one of the images from the new Extreme Elements set. Totally NOT what the set was intended to complement (it goes with silhouettes of skateboarders and surfers and rockers), which is why I really like how it's used here LOL. Here is a close-up of the butterfly:

And the ribbon, well, I'm in love with the ribbon. Polka dots are da bomb. Oh and the sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and embossed with black embossing powder to give it glossy texture.

SO 16 of these babies will be going out in the mail tomorrow, and hopefully will soon find an appreciative audience. And I can't wait to see what I receive in exchange!

As for me, I will commit to posting at least once per week AND to reviving my short-lived weekly colour challenge... In fact, I will make this my colour challenge post and challenge you to create a card using only ONE of the new In Color colours (your choice!) with white. Remember to use the keyword AMCC4 if you post to Splitcoaststampers so that I can find your creation.

Happy Stampin!

A-M

Missing my Stampin' Buddies...

2009-04-24T21:35:00.003-04:00

My friend Vicki is having her annual stampin' retreat this weekend and I was not able to be there this time... *sigh* I know the girls will be having a FABULOUS time by now (I hear martinis are on the menu this evening LOL) and I'm feeling a little sorry for myself for not being able to partake in the fun.

SO I am stamping LOL! I noticed that there is a mini-VSN tonight at SCS so that's what I am doing! This card was difficult for me... we had to use a minimum of three different embellishments - the more the better!! I'm usually pretty conservative with my use of embellishments so this was somewhat challenging. Really, though, I still managed to use four different ones (ribbon, button, clip and brads), with a total of 6 pieces!! And really, I don't think it looks cluttered, do you?

I decided to also go with a fairly neutral colour scheme (Kraft, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip and So Saffron) so as to not overwhelm the senses LOL. The stamp set is Trendy Trees, which is one of my favourite new sets!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Weekly Colour Challenge #3

2009-04-19T16:58:00.005-04:00

Okay, okay, so I skipped a week... *blush* BUT in my defense, we were in Montreal for Easter for the whole weekend. And I was back there this weekend to meet my brand new little niece, Julia Leia, who was born last Thursday, April 16!! Isn't she gorgeous? *sigh* New babies are so scrumptious :o)

OK, onto business. This week I took inspiration from the Parisian Breeze DP and chose Kraft, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy and Chocolate Chip.

This DP is so nice - it is actually cardstock weight and is textured. Quite lovely. I blew the dust off my Baroque Motifs stamp set - I thought it went well with the tapestry print on the DP. Please use the keyword AMCC3 if you are uploading to SCS and/or post a comment below with a link to your creation!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Second Weekly Colour Challenge!

2009-04-05T20:37:00.003-04:00

This week's colour challenge was inspired by the new "Walk in the Park" Designer Paper in the Occasions Mini Catalogue. I picked Baja Breeze, Cameo Coral and Basic Gray. And I also used the sketch featured in this week's Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge, so it's a two-for-one!

The image is from the Pocket Silhouettes set, and was inked with markers. The ribbon tabs are Basic Gray taffeta and the brads are the small rhinestone circles. Remember to use the keyword "AMCC2" if you upload your cards to SCS. Or post a comment below with a link to your card.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Springy Frogs!

2009-04-04T17:42:00.002-04:00

Spring has sprung, and with the amount of rain we have gotten in the last 48 hours, I'm sure the frogs are stirring from their winter slumber! I love this little guy from the Very Punny set! I decided to make him my main image for this card which will go to my 6yo's friend for his birthday tomorrow. This card also fulfils this week's Limited Supplies Challenge, which was a 1-2-3 challenge - one colour of cardstock, two patterned papers and three embellishments. I used a blender pen to colour in my frog with Kiwi Kiss reinker (the frog was stamped in Basic Gray ink). The image is mounted to the back of the strip of Kiwi Kiss textured c/s, which was punched with a 1 3/8" square. The designer paper is from the Good Morning Sunshine collection (which I had to get for obvious, Hair-related reasons LOL) - I love the fresh colours in this paper!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Spring is in the air!

2009-03-31T21:30:00.002-04:00

And today's Colour Challenge on SCS was the perfect occasion to use this lovely cherry blossom image, from the Eastern Blooms set. The challenge was to use Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip and Riding Hood Red. I tried making the blossoms pink at first, but they were too faint (especially when contrasted with the brown stems) so I went with red instead. The image at the centre of my build-a-brad is the centre of the large flower in the same stamp set, which I punched out with the 1/2" circle punch.

Happy Stampin'! And if you're a fan of colour challenges, don't forget to check out my new weekly Colour Challenge, below!

A-M

Who likes to play with colours?

2009-03-29T10:02:00.004-04:00

Introducing, A-M's Weekly Colour Challenge! Colour challenges are always my favourite kind of design challenge, so I decided to start my own to share with all of you! You can play as many times as you'd like - just comment with a link to your creation, or if you post to Splitcoaststampers, use the keyword noted below and I will check it out there!

The first colour combination for you to play with, is Rose Red, Tangerine Tango (or Pumpkin Pie if you don't have it) and Old Olive. As with colour challenges on SCS, neutrals can be added (such as Whisper White, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Sahara Sand and Going Gray), but the colour in your cardstock, images, embellishments, designer papers should ONLY include the featured colours.

My card features a sweet little image from A Flower for All Seasons which I watercoloured using the "No Copics No Problem" technique (which uses SU! markers and aquapainters). This was an experiment, as I obviously don't own a Tangerine Tango marker, so I used a blender pen and reinker for this colour. As you can see, the technique does not seem to work that well with this combination LOL but it still turned out okay. The Going Gray marker I used for the watering can was not ideal either. But the Old Olive and Rose Red markers worked great! My image is actually mounted inside the card, inside a 1 3/8" square opening that I made with my punch. I used the same punch to cut the opening on my little frame. Here is a close-up of the coloured image:

And the flourish at the top of the card (from Priceless) was stamped in VersaMark and clear embossed. OK so now it's YOUR turn to play! I look forward to seeing all of your creations! If you upload to SCS, please use this keyword: AMCC1 so I can find your project easily.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge!

2009-03-28T15:18:00.003-04:00

Blog challenge alert! The Diva Coffee Break Designs team offers weekly design challenges. This week's challenge was a colour challenge, to use Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Going Gray and Whisper White. I keep forgetting about Going Gray, so I welcomed the opportunity to use it - and I really like the combination they came up with!

The stamp set I used is called Simple Friendship and it's featured in the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalogue. I am making an effort to use up some of my retired goodies also, so I incorporated some retired Bali Breeze DP.

And stay tuned for an announcement this weekend about a new feature on MY blog! Sometime later today or tomorrow at the latest...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Black and white...

2009-03-27T20:59:00.004-04:00

...like a lamb? The theme for this week's Limited Supplies Challenge was "Out like a lamb", and the challenge was to make an entirely black & white card (lamb image not required LOL).

I got this new Walk in the Park DP this week, so decided to use it as a starting point for this card. Which right away led me to Wonderful You, a lovely silhouette stamp set that has been on my fave list for quite some time now. And I had this wonderful retired SU! black-and-white striped ribbon in my stash, which doesn't get much use, so I used it as well. Black and white cards are so classy, aren't they?

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

MISSED YOU!!

2009-03-26T20:40:00.006-04:00

And I've been thinking of all of my stamping friends a lot lately... so this card is for all of you! :o)

The main panel is composed from stamps in a new stamp set featured in the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalogue, called Scene in a Garden. There's the bench, and then various images from which you can create a scene (the boots, the vase, a birdhouse, clay pots, etc.) It's very sweet. The Kiwi Kiss DP is also from the Occasions mini, it's called Walk in the Park. I used Watercolour Wonder Crayons and aquapainters to colour my image, which was stamped onto watercolour paper. The sentiment is from Trendy Trees.

The post-show blues are slowly fading away... as much as the play consumed and exhausted me - my time, my emotions, my voice! LOL - I still miss it terribly! I never realized how difficult it would be to let it go so suddenly after so many months of rehearsals and then seven crazy, beautiful, emancipating shows! But the good news is, I have a brand new family of friends - my 'tribe' - that I keep in contact with regularly, and that I fully intend to audition with again for NEXT year's production! (which rumour has it will be Les Mis!) Yes, this whole experience was surreal and exhausting and exhilirating, and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Here are a couple of my favourite photos from the dress rehearsal:

My beloved 'tribe'

A photo of me from my favourite number, 'Walking in Space'

(the tall fella behind me is named Dwight)

I suppose I will slowly begin easing back into stamping... it has been a long time, but I'm slowly getting re-acquainted with all my 'stuff' :o)

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Betcha didn't know I was WICKED!

2009-02-01T19:07:00.004-05:00

Heh heh heh... I was thrilled and honoured to be chosen as February's hostess for SCS' demo-only WICKED challenges! These monthly challenges are meant to expand demos' creative potential and get their gears going, with a set of three challenges that are entirely up to the hostess to decide.

The three challenges I chose were,

1) A Colour challenge - Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip;

2) A Techniques challenge - polished stone; and

3) A not-sure-what-to-call-it challenge - LOL to make a set of four cards that, while different, all are obviously part of the same 'collection'. For instance, using the same stamp set, same colour scheme, same DP (as with my samples), but each with an individual design.

I am also awarding bonus (virtual) points for making all submitted projects Valentines! :)

Unfortunately, the challenge and gallery are only accessible to demos - but hey, this is your lucky month!! As part of Sale-a-Bration, you can purchase the starter kit at a 15% discount PLUS receive an extra stamp set of your choice (worth up to $56.95), FREE!! (Yeah, okay, couldn't resist inserting that lil' promotional plug... ;o) )

So without further ado, here are the samples I made for the WICKED challenge:

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Boxing Day = NO MORE CHRISTMAS CARDS!!

2008-12-26T19:32:00.005-05:00

At least not until September or so ;o)

This is for today's Limited Supplies challenge, which was basically to make a non-holiday card LOL! I used the Upsy Daisy stamp set, and the Urban Garden DP, with a colour scheme of Basic Gray and Baja Breeze. I really really really like this DP. I find it very inspiring.

I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas/Hanukah! It was just us 5 this year, with my parents driving out for dinner yesterday. They are going back tomorrow, and hopefully taking most of our children back with them :o) We will join them for New Year's Eve (I have to work Monday and Tuesday - boohoo!!) I have been playing Rock Band with my boys for pretty much the last two days LOL! We're having a great time. When we're not fighting over who gets to play the drums, that is ;o)

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Girlie, girlie, girlie

2008-12-24T15:49:00.003-05:00

OK guess I'm in a girlie mood these days LOL! I blame it on all that yummy pink DP from the soon-to-be-released Candy Lane collection from SU! This card is for today's Sketch Challenge. I used a Stampotique image that I stamped at my friend Vicki Garrett's retreat last spring. She's a designer for this company and had just gotten some new stamps to play with. I loved these little goth girls, so I stamped a whole bunch :o) I used a blender pen and some Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette and Close to Cocoa ink to colour her in, to coordinate with the DP. And I finally ripped open that package of Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon I just received a couple of weeks ago. Isn't she cute?

Oh and I should tell you, I managed to STAY AWAY FROM WORK for an ENTIRE DAY today!!! Well, almost... I returned from seeing The Tale of Despereaux with the kids, and DH informed me that someone I left a message for yesterday had returned my call. So okay, I'll 'fess up - I called him back. But it was only a two minute call so it's like it barely happened... ;o)

And just ONE MORE SLEEP kids!! I know my kids are bouncing off the walls. Which is why I decided to take them to the movies - always a sure way to get them to sit still for a couple of hours (plus another hour if you count getting to the theatre and back ;o) )

Merry Christmas, everyone!

A-M

Repeat after me...

2008-12-23T20:45:00.004-05:00

VACATION means NO WORK!! GAH! The good news is, I'm almost completely caught up on my paperwork for work. The bad news is, I'm spending my holidays doing WORK!! :o( Ah well, I just keep reminding myself that the more I get done now, the less overwhelmed I will feel when I return in the New Year... BUT I have decided that I will NOT do ANY work tomorrow! NONE!! Well, except for housework, I guess... LOL!

So as a reward, I stamp a little each night. :o) This is the first of two cards I made tonight:

OK, so I use the term 'card' lightly, as it's just a sliver of one, really, but it's SO DARN CUTE!! They call these 'scraplings', because, well, they're made from scraps. Specifically, they're intended to be made from the scrap of a standard size card (4.25" x 5.5") which has been shaved down to a 4.25" x 4.25" square card, therefore leaving a narrow 1.25" x 4.25" mini card. They make a cute gift tag, or a bookmark, or a quick 'thinking of you' kind of note you can leave on someone's desk at work or tuck into their mail box. I learned about these thanks to yesterday's Holiday Extravaganza challenge on SCS. I used a scrap of textured Kiwi Kiss c/s for the base of my scrapling, and a scrap of DP that I had left over from preparing make & takes for October/November. The stamp set is Bitty Basics (a hostess set that will be retiring with this cattie, and which saw ink for the first time tonight). I will definitely be making more of these!!

My next card is for today's Holiday Extravaganza challenge, which was basically a limited supplies challenge. The goal was to make a Birthday card using only one sheet of designer paper, two colours of cardstock (plus a neutral), three punches, and only one ribbon as an embellishment. I used the "Candy Lane" DP which will be featured in the upcoming Spring-Summer Idea Book and Catalogue, and paired it with Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red c/s. I also used Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain for my ribbon. The stamp sets are True Friend (flower image) and Lots of Thoughts (sentiment). The flower image was overstamped with Versamark and embossed with clear ep to give the card some texture. A very girly card, but it will definitely find a recipient :o)

Happy stampin'!

A-M

Another (holi)day, another card... or two!

2008-12-22T20:29:00.004-05:00

or three, actually - I just saw the Holiday Challenge Extravaganza challenge for today and I'm feeling inspired! :) So stay tuned for another post, either later tonight or tomorrow morning...

Otherwise, after a busy day doing paperwork for my day job (Yes, I'm supposed to be on holidays, but I am planning on going back to a clean slate in January LOL), I finally sat down to STAMP!!

The first card, above, is for yesterday's Holiday Challenge, which was to create a square card, with a scalloped element, and a sentiment as the focus. I used a stamp from the Full of Life set for the sentiment, and the grasses from Inspired by Nature for the background. I love how simple and clean this card is! The colours are Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point and Riding Hood Red.

The second card is for today's Technique Lovers Challenge, which involved the faux silk techique, but with a twist.

The pear image from Infinite Goodness was stamped three times onto tissue paper using a masking technique. Then I wrinkled the tissue paper by wadding it into a ball and then opening it back up again. Then I stamped the pear image again, this time on white cardstock, and cut it out (I tried doing it on a lighter green but didn't get enough contrast with the Old Olive). Then, using a regular glue stick, I glued the white pear to the back of the tissue paper,to correspond with the pear on the tissue paper, finally mounting the whole thing onto a piece of Old Olive cardstock (once again using the glue stick).

Here is a close-up of the faux silk panel:

Doesn't that look neat?

OK, time for a nice cup of tea, then onto that next challenge...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Taking a break from Christmas cards

2008-12-21T15:28:00.003-05:00

Even though it's white-out conditions out there (perfect for stamping, btw LOL), I decided to stamp a non-Christmas card for today's Featured Stamper challenge. The stamper in question is Paula Tracy and I just fell in love with her soft sympathy card.

Mine is Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss instead of the soft powder blue she used. And I really liked the look of the panel in the bg, so tried to recreate it with my brayer (I used a reverse masking technique so that only the strip in the centre of the textured white cardstock got inked). And I used a different stamp set, which is not a negative-space kind of image, so stamped it in white craft ink and embossed it with white ep, on Baja Breeze c/s. And I used a faux-stitching technique on the three panels.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Fruity Inspiration

2008-12-20T13:29:00.003-05:00

Told ya I'd be stampin' lots today :o)

This card is for today's Inspiration Challenge. I chose this fun pillow as an inspiration piece:

Isn't it great? I used Season of Friendship for the tree trunk and sentiment, and used the small solid circle from Enjoy Every Moment for the dots. The colours are More Mustard, Summer Sun, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss (the trunk is Chocolate Chip). I love how fun and citrus-y this card turned out!

I think this one will be going into my reserve stash.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Back in the groove

2008-12-20T12:09:00.003-05:00

OK get ready for a slew of new posts in the next couple of weeks - I'M BACK! :o) And I'm discovering a whole bunch of new talent over at SCS - some amazing handiwork, there! SCS is featuring extra daily challenges over the holidays, and this is for the first one, an inspiration challenge. I chose the brown onesie as inspiration and made this Christmas card. This time last year I was SICK of stamping Christmas cards LOL but this year, I haven't really designed that many at all so I'm still happy with the theme.

The card features the Snowfall stamp set, which retired last year. I LOVED the big bold snowflakes in this set, and was rather sad to see it go... and I am quite fond of non-traditional Christmas card, so I have no problem with a brown holiday card :o) In fact, I think this one will be going to a neighbour of mine who has a wonderful, contemporary taste in design, and who I think will appreciate this card as well. The card will likely be accompanied by a nice bottle of wine, as a thank you for plowing our sidewalks, which I REALLY appreciate, especially during blizzards like we had yesterday - THANK YOU ZACH AND SHELLENE!

Oh and DH made it home last night. Well, this morning, actually, stepping through the door shortly before 5am. His shuttle van was long gone by then, so he had to take a taxi from Toronto, which cost $150 *gulp*. Needless to say, he really appreciated the plowed sidewalks as well as it's one less thing he has to worry about today! :o)

OK, stay tuned for more stampin'...

A-M

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-19T16:40:00.006-05:00

YAY the holidays are finally here! And for the first time in a long time, I actually have the ENTIRE week of Christmas OFF!! :o) Rehearsals are also off for a couple of weeks so you know what that means - STAMPING!!!!!!!!!!!!

To start things off, I decided to warm up by doing today's Limited Supplies challenge on SCS. It has been MONTHS since I have done a challenge! Feels good to be back :o)
I used a stamp set that I just bought in November, but had not yet mounted, let alone used. It's one that was featured in last year's Holiday Mini, called Big on Christmas. I love the fun holiday images. I was going to use it to make my Christmas cards this year but alas, I have not stamped my usual series of 60+ cards this year as I have simply not had the time. Rather, I culled Christmas cards from my stash of samples and challenge cards from the past couple of years and used that. Felt good to put all of these cards in the mail to share with my loved ones! I also stamped and assembled 20 cards that I had prepared for a guest at my annual Christmas stamp-a-stack who was not able to attend. Thankfully, Big on Christmas was not retired with this catalogue, so I will be able to use it for next year's cards instead :o)

Today's challenge was to make a holiday card with as much blue as possible, and only use one non-paper embellishment. Glitter, it was noted, was not considered an embellishment for this challenge, so I decided to incorporate some silver glitter on the little ornament (which is hard to see in this photo, but is really glittery IRL). The colours I used are Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy, as well as a splash of Kiwi Kiss.

ETA - OK, card #2. DH's plane is being held up in Vancouver due to a severe snowstorm here in Southern Ontario. AND I had to pick up the kids early from school today because it was a snow day. So I need to stamp to a) pass the time and b) keep my sanity intact ;o)

This one is for this week's Colour Challenge, which was to use Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Grey and Not Quite Navy. OK, so I skimped on the Baja Breeze. But the design just took on a life of its own and it wasn't until I was done that I noticed that the only Baja Breeze on there was the few stripes on the DP LOL! I love this DP - as well as this colour combo - so this was relatively easy to put together :o) And it's hard to see in the pic, but the scalloped mat for my flowers (which is actually two scallop circles stuck together) is Not Quite Navy (it looks a lot darker in the photo). And no, you're not seeing double - I used my stampamajig to offset the flower image, which I stamped in Kiwi Kiss, and then in Not Quite Navy.

This card will be going out to my aunt, who celebrates her birthday in a few weeks.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Stamping? What is this 'stamping'?

2008-11-26T21:21:00.004-05:00

Apologies, folks - I have been delinquent in posting anything lately because, well, I haven't stamped! Yes, that's right, I HAVE NOT STAMPED!! Life has been crazy busy, and between rehearsals for me and my daughter (her play was done on Saturday - WHEW!), road trips for work, nursing a sinus infection, and entertaining my mother (who was kind enough to come help out last week when DH was out of town and SOMEone had to ferry my daughter to/from rehearsals and performances every day that week!!), stamping has taken a back seat. Tragic, I know.
BUT I have a camp this weekend, and that usually inspires me to do some stamping, so you may see another post - with an actual CARD - in the next few days. Heck, I may even FINALLY have some time to design and produce my Christmas card for this year (nope, I've not even had time to do THAT yet!!)
So again, I apologize for being so neglectful and not sharing any projects with you. It's not because I'm not bothering to upload anything, it's basically because there is nothing TO upload.
And don't forget to check out Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Bundle sale!! There are about a dozen bundles at INCREDIBLE savings being offered, but only until December 1st!! So HURRY!! Click on the link in the right margin (the little shopping cart - see it?) to go to my business website and check out these awesome deals!
Happy Stampin'!
A-M

I got life!

2008-11-11T18:44:00.003-05:00

And a little too much of it these days, actually... Been busy as all get-up with work, and then to make matters even more interesting, DD and I were taken by helicopter to a large hospital in a neighbouring community last Monday night (as in, a week ago), where she was treated for pneumonia and severe asthma. We were not released until Friday afternoon (as in, four days later...) THAT was fun. And because it was a respiratory condition, she was basically placed in isolation and could not leave her room. Thank goodness it was her and not one of the boys - there is NO WAY they would have been able to contain one of them in an 8 x 8 room for four days! LOL! She is much better now, and went back to school yesterday. But man, I wish I had had my STAMPS!! LOL! All that time on my hands and not a single solitary stamp within my reach... *sigh*

So today when I got back from my work road trip a little early, I decided to stop in and stamp a card before I went to pick up the kids. It is for today's Colour Challenge on SCS, to use Certainly Celery, Pacific Point and Basic Gray. I still haven't figured out what to do with Xmas cards this week (yes, I hear that clock a' tick-tick-tickin' too!!!) so thought I would play around with that as a theme. No, I don't think I'll be making 60 of these (too much cutting - ACK!), but the colour combo is interesting...
The card features the Season of Joy stamp set, as well as the challenge colours. The ribbon is Basic Gray taffeta, and I used one of the star designer brads on my sentiment tag.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Back in the groove...

2008-11-02T10:22:00.004-05:00

OK, getting back into the swing of things... Have I mentioned that I have done SQUAT about my Xmas cards yet?!? I've usually at least got the design figured out by this time of year - ACK! Guess that'll be my project for this week. Oh yeah, and preparing for a workshop on Nov. 15 (going to Great Wolf Lodge this coming weekend - YAY! - so won't have any time to do any prepping). Not enough hours in the day, I tell ya!

So, about this card - it's for this week's Featured Stamper challenge, which features SCS'er Becca Stamps. I chose this card of hers to CASE. I loved how classy it looked, and was very curious about the technique she did on her main panel. Basically, it's an emboss resist technique, but instead of a brayer she used reinkers and water on a non-porous surface, and turned her paper face down into it to pick up the ink (see more info about her technique on her blog here). She used regular c/s, but I used watercolour paper instead. I used the same colour reinkers that she did (Bordering Blue and Old Olive), but I used a sheet of acetate (aka transparency or window sheet) instead of teflon on which to blend the ink and water (washed off easily afterwards with just a paper towel). I used the Baroque Motifs stamp set for the embossing and for the blue background, and the French Script background stamp on the main panel. The sentiment is from Upsy Daisy.

This card will be going to my dear old friend Julie, whose birthday was last Friday (yeah, I forgot to send her a card LOL! At least now I can start blaming my age ;o) ).

AND I want to share that I have FINALLY memorized all the words to a wicked song from the musical (Ain't Got No Grass, for those of you who are familiar with Hair). It's basically a string of words that have no connection with each other (ie. absolutely NO logical way of learning the sequence LOL) and sung at an unbelievably FAST speed. Don't ask me how I will be able to dance AND sing to this number - I shudder at the mere thought. But I'm at least ready for singing the durn thing at this afternoon's rehearsal, hopefully WITHOUT the aid of my score :o)

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Must...stamp...again!!

2008-11-01T19:21:00.003-04:00

OMGoodness, has it really been this long since I last posted?!? You realize this means it has also been this long since I last STAMPED, too!! ACK!! Well that's not entirely true... I did have my first workshop in several months last weekend. But stampin' for fun? Hasn't happened in WEEKS!

This card is for this week's Inspiration Challenge at SCS; it's based on artwork by Don Li-Leger that Stef had showcased for the challenge. I loved the colour blocking and Asian inspired imagery. I pretty much re-created one of the wall-hangings for my card. Lots of sponging, not too much stamping. The main image is from Embrace Life, and the sentiment and the image on the small Old Olive panel at the bottom are from Pocket Silhouettes. The other two colours are Ruby Red and So Saffron.

And how was everyone's Halloween? It was somewhat of a bust at our house... DH was out of town, so it was just me and the kiddos. My neighbours and I had decided to partner up and have one parent hand out candy for both our houses (from their house), while the other two took the kids around. Well, my 10yo daughter woke up in the middle of the night with great breathing difficulties and coughing; she was up for a couple of hours so she was a write-off yesterday morning. I suggested that she stay home for the morning (luckily I was working from home!) and rest up; by lunchtime her breathing was extremely shallow and her fever hadn't gone down, so I decided to take her to the clinic. The dr prescribed some prednisone, as the puffers she'd been using were obviously not working, and her oxygen levels were decreasing. SO she missed her class party, and she didn't get to go trick-or-treating. I didn't want her to bring her germs to the neighbours' house and I didn't want her to stay home alone too long, so I went out with the boys and my neighbour, but we only went around a couple of blocks before we came back home. I had a bag for my daughter, and most of the people were kind enough to give me some candy for her as well :o) She was a trooper though. And enjoyed seeing the kids who rang the doorbell after we came home.

AND in case anyone is interested, rehearsals for the play are going AWESOME!!! It's a lot of work (four hours on Sundays and three hours on Wednesdays, plus learning all of the lyrics for the songs in between), and so far has involved vocal work as well as choreography. The singing has been somewhat of a challenge these last couple of weeks as I have had the head cold from he&& - my sinuses are COMPLETELY stuffed, so my voice has been pretty nasal LOL I've also been short of breath a lot - which makes dancing and singing at the same time even more challenging than it already is!! We're supposed to start blocking out scenes next weekend, so hopefully I can give my (singing) voice a bit of a break. Oh, and my hair is growing nicely :o)

That's it for now, I think - happy stampin'!

A-M

Catching up...

2008-10-18T15:50:00.003-04:00

OK, time to catch up on recent challenges... LOL! This one is for yesterday's Limited Supplies challenge - we had to limit ourselves to one design of DP, one ribbon and one eyelet, and feature the colour blue (any shade). I went with the same DP as my earlier card, basically because it was still on my table LOL! Plus, I have a schwackload of it to use up. And yes, the Christmas theme continues! :o) This time I used my only current non-hostess Christmas set, Season of Joy.

What do you think?

OH! And the puter troubles we were having the last few weeks? Turns out our router was dead. Thankfully, we had another one, and after spending almost 2 hours (and $39.99) with Linksys tech support, we finally got our connection working again!! So it wasn't our ISP after all...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Yikes!

2008-10-18T14:02:00.004-04:00

Has it really been that long since I last posted?!? Wow. Yes, I suppose life has been a little crazy around here the last couple of weeks. Training the week before and flying solo at home, Thanksgiving last weekend (in Montreal), work road trip for two days this week, kids' activities, cast party last night (YAY!)... NO TIME TO STAMP - EEK! So I'm warming myself back up again with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. Not sure I am 100% pleased with this card, but I did get a box of new goodies this week (yes, another one! ;o) ) so I had to break some of them out.

The DP is from the Holiday Mini, it's called Frosty Day. And the stamp is from the Deer Friends hostess set. I am doing a workshop next Saturday and need to design some projects. I may tweak this one a bit and use it, I don't know yet... The hostess wants a Christmas theme and would like snowmen. This is the only current snowman stamp I own, however, so I may need to improvise (punches?) or borrow LOL! The lil snowman's face was coloured in with blender pens and Bashful Blue reinker. I had intended to use more Tangerine Tango than I did - maybe that's the splash of bold colour this card needs? Hmm... will have to play with it some more.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

ARGH!!

2008-10-08T19:20:00.006-04:00

It's official. Cogeco (our ISP) sucks arse. I have been working since last night to try and get the stoopid connection to work, only to be told today that they are fully aware of the fact that the network in our area has reached its capacity, but the work to rectify this is not scheduled to be done until THE END OF THE YEAR OR EARLY NEXT YEAR!! And we pay HOW MUCH money for this 'service'?!? Ugh. Time to find another ISP methinks.

I spent over an hour last night trying to upload my Colour Challenge card, only to keep getting timed out. And then this morning and most of this afternoon, I couldn't even get on the internet at all!! Talk about feeling cut off from civilization!! LOL! Anyway. Here is my card:

The challenge colours were Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss. Not a colour combo that I would have come up with myself, but I do like it - very fall-like at any rate. I got a schwackload of new goodies yesterday, so I broke out my new Pocket Silhouettes stamp set, as well as my new Kiwi Kiss designer prints paper and striped grosgrain ribbon. And see the scalloped oval mat for my main panel? It's actually two scallop circles that I offset and stuck together. Please, please - save your applause for my aria ;o)

OK, hopefully this time I am able to upload the $#**$&#* card... (but I'm not bitter...)

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

ETA: Since it seems to be working tonight, here is my Sketch Challenge card, too.

The main panel was done on watercolour paper, and coloured using Watercolour Watercolour Crayons (coloured onto the paper and blended out with aquapainters). The striped background was done by colouring the Classic Stripes background stamp with markers and stamping it (onto Very Vanilla c/s).

Thanks for looking! :o)

WHOA! Triple challenge!

2008-10-05T11:15:00.003-04:00

Making up for lost time here today ;o) Decided to start with Beate's weekend sketch challenge, and then when I saw that her sample was a double-challenge, decided HEY! that's a good idea. Then when I was trying to figure out what embellies to use, I remembered Friday's Limited Supplies challenge (no embellies of any kind) and decided to leave it with no embellishments, and make it a triple-threat card. Oh yeah.I love this quote! LOL! Kind of sums me up, which is probably why :o) And crustacean acrobatics are always goofy... The crab is paper-pieced (which means, I stamped it on designer paper and cut him out) and his eyeballs were coloured in with my white gel pen, whereas the shrimp is coloured with a blender pen and Pumpkin Pie ink.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend! The boys are bugging me to go to the skateboard park this afternoon. Guess that means I need to shower...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

I like this gig

2008-10-01T08:33:00.003-04:00

This working-in-town thing definitely has its advantages - TWO MORNINGS IN A ROW that I've been able to put in some stampin' before I have to go to work! WOOHOO! LOL! Ah but not having to live in the same town as one's social work clients has its advantages too... *sigh*

Anyway. This is for today's Sketch Challenge on SCS. I decided to go somewhat monochromatic for this one, with Kiwi Kiss (of course!) and a splash of Basic Gray. The stamp is from Text & Texture - these are double-mounted stamps, with the background on one side of the block, and the bold sentiment on the other side. I really like this set but rarely break it out. The DP is from the Urban Garden collection. And I saw this kind of button/ribbon treatment on a card by the very talented Jenn Balcer - I just loved how she used ribbon to thread her buttons!! I didn't know if I would be able to squeeze the taffeta ribbon through this button but I did it! Doesn't it look cool? And I like how it brings together the two colours of this card :o)

Not sure who the recipient of this card will be yet. And actually, I'm amassing quite the stash of cards - maybe I'll gift them to teachers for the holidays LOL!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Breezy Thanks

2008-09-30T08:37:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone had a good weekend! Mine was busy, but it was fun :o)
Okay, quick post this morning - I have to leave in a few minutes for work-related training... Just had enough time to make this card to unwind before my day starts!
This card is a double-challenge card. It is for today's SCS Colour Challenge (Really Rust, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip), and also fulfils the Thanksgiving-theme challenge swap that I entered (organized by a friend who moderates a Yahoo SU! demo group). Can you tell I just love this set?? I realized today what it's missing tho - an APPLE!! Wouldn't that just complete the set? Ah well. I guess my little blue jay will just have to do :o) (Besides, a blue apple wouldn't be too appetizing now, would it? LOL)
I hope everyone has a fantastic Tuesday! And Happy Stampin'!
A-M

Luv that Kiwi...

2008-09-28T11:14:00.003-04:00

I think Kiwi Kiss has got to be my favourite In Colour to date. Even better than Purely Pomegranate :o) I love its fresh and tangy green hue. And it goes with so many other colours! Today is Sunday, which means it is Featured Stamper Challenge day at SCS. This week the Featured Stamper is Terrore3, a wonderfully talented stamper! The challenge is to pick a card from the featured stamper's gallery, and to CASE it (Copy And Share Everything) - basically, recreate it, but change one or two elements. I picked this card of Terry's - I love that it featured Kiwi Kiss :o) but I also appreciated the crisp simplicity of it. I LOVED the combination of the kiwi with the burgundy, but I didn't want to duplicate her card LOL so I subbed Basic Gray instead of the Bravo Burgundy.

I also chose a different stamp from the Oh So Lovely set, and used a different sentiment (from Upsy Daisy). And seeing as I don't have the large shape stamps, I used a reverse masking technique (with my brayer) to make the green highlight square at the centre of the card. Do you like it? You can never have too many birthday cards on hand, so this one will go into my stash.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

This is the dawning...

2008-09-27T20:45:00.006-04:00

...of the Age of Aquarius!! I'M IN, BABY!! :o) Got the call on Wednesday that I was cast as a member of the 'tribe', by the name of Linda - WHOOP! WHOOP!! OMGosh, I could hardly believe it - you shoulda heard me SCREAM when I hung up the phone! LMAO! Rehearsals start in a few weeks and I am PSYCHED!

In the meantime...

I've been prepping for a class I am doing tomorrow. We will be making these ADORABLE 'family' frames (sorry the photo is so small!!).

My good friend Vicki inspired us all to CASE the frame she had designed for an upcoming class when we spent the weekend at her place in the spring (for "Victopia" LOL) - I think each and every one of us made one! Mine is hanging in my foyer, and it didn't take long for some of my customers to notice it when they came for classes. Next thing I knew they were asking me to offer a class so they could make one too! The project uses the All in the Family stamp set (and Family Accessories), as well as the Neighbourhood wheel (the houses in the background) and the Define Your Life stamp set; the paper is Summer Picnic Designer Paper. The frames are 5" x 12".

And after all that cutting and prepping, I figured I deserved some stamping myself, so I combined Beate's weekend sketch challenge and the SCS Inspiration Challenge, and came up with this card:

We had to find inspiration from one of the rooms on an interior design website; I chose this one. I loved how the pale blue contrasted with the deep red couch. I also drew inspiration from the black accents (the bookshelf, the photo frame). I used the Eastern Blooms stamp set, as well as the Happy Birthday greeting from Amazing to Zany (retired). The blue is Bashful Blue and the red is the new Riding Hood Red.

OK, time to get back to work... now I need to set up my tables and supplies for tomorrow's class...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Breezy Vanilla Kisses

2008-09-23T20:28:00.006-04:00

That was the name of today's colour challenge on SCS - if that title doesn't inspire you, then I don't know what will! :o) The colours, in case you hadn't guessed, were Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla and Kiwi Kiss - which happen to be my favourite colour palette these days! (If you don't believe me, scroll down and look at the cards I've been making this past few weeks LOL) I didn't do a fantastic job of my stamping on this card (one of the leaves is not fully stamped at the top, and I had to fill in the top portion of the sentiment with my black journalling pen LOL) but oh well.

The rock 'n roll inking technique was CASE'd from a fellow SU! demo named Suzy - I've used this technique a bajillion times before, but I never would have thought to do it with these two colours together! I love it!

And I recently saw a medallion element that used this silver hodgepodge hardware piece as its base and thought it was a fantastic idea! So I CASE'd that as well (and I apologize, I can't recall where I saw it, nor did I bookmark it!!) Here it is close up:

The felt flower is one of the new Flower Fusion Too pieces, in Baja Breeze. And the brad is one of the new SU! flower brads. The card will be going out as a thank you to my aunt, who subscribes all three of my kids to fantastic French kids' magazines (their renewals just recently came in).

OK, I think that's it for tonight. I still have some paperwork to do (yuck), so I should skedaddle.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

In a Festive Mood

2008-09-23T19:14:00.005-04:00

I don't know why, but I'm in a Xmas card kinda mood :o) I made these on the weekend and had planned on making a third one before I posted the set, but one of my fellow Canadian demos emailed one of my Yahoo groups asking for ideas using the new "Felt Flurries" felt snowflakes, so I decided to post these for her.

I really like the Deer Friends hostess set - it's so cute! And I'm a sucker for circle punchables :o) I decided to inset these images by punching out a 1 3/8" circle out of the DP panel, and to affix this panel to the card front using dimensionals, and then adhering the stamped circle (stamped once in one colour and then again in a contrasting colour and punched out) to the card base for a 3D effect. Here is a close-up of this element:

When I make the third card, it will be using the tree image from the same set, and DP from the same collection with more of the Old Olive. I'm thinking this might be my Xmas card this year, what do you think?...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Inspiring dishes

2008-09-20T10:45:00.003-04:00

Today's Inspiration Challenge on SCS involved some very funky dishware. I was immediately stuck by the mustard coloured batik-style print on the one plate, so that's where I started for this card:

The effect on the embossed panel was achieved by inking my brayer in More Mustard, and rolling it on the de-bossed side of my "Textile" cuttlebug folder. I then carefully placed a white piece of c/s on the opposite side and folded the folder shut (you have to be careful not to let your c/s move around, or you will get smudges of ink everywhere). When you run the folder and c/s through the cuttlebug, the embossed part stays white, while the rest of the surface picks up some of the ink on the folder. Doesn't that look neat? It was a technique featured a few months ago on SCS (I believe it was a Technique Lovers Challenge?) and I loved the effect it gave!

The rest of the card is pretty straightforward: I used the large image from Friendly Flowers (retired) and inked it in Baja Breeze, and the sentiment (inked in Ruby Red) is from Best Yet (current Hostess set). If I had a do-over, I would probably dye the twill tape in More Mustard but oh well LOL! And the large silver brad is, well, because you can't have dishes without silverware ;o) Oh and I had started using True Friend for the Baja Breeze piece, but found the largest flower image was too small. But I had already stamped the triple lower image in Ruby Red on the base of the card. I decided to leave it.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

My house is haunted

2008-09-19T20:53:00.004-04:00

Because that is the only explanation for this story.

Seeing as I had already done today's challenge (see post below), and was still in a stampin' mood, I decided to do Beate's weekend sketch challenge early. I've been seeing some very nice Xmas cards on SCS so I decided to also use this as an opportunity to start playing around and designing some cards for a stamp camp (or perhaps even for my own use! :o) ) Anyway, I don't own a lot of current Xmas sets - suppose I haven't gotten in the mood yet? - so I decided to use my tried and true Season of Joy.

I searched high, I searched low. I read and re-read the labels on the stacks of stamps on my shelves, I went through my box of Xmas sets AT LEAST a dozen times (I don't usually leave Xmas sets out until it's time to use them - besides, most of my faves are retired anyway...) I panicked and thought OMG! Did I SELL it (illegally) to someone?!? Went through my 'for sale' list as well as all the recent emails from people who have bought my retired sets - not there. Not in my boxes of retired stamps. Not in my hidden stash of retired sets in that old dresser in the basement. I recruited my daughter to have a look through all the sets on my shelves, thinking that maybe my eyes were deceiving me and I was looking at it all along - no luck for her either. I phoned and emailed some of my stamping buddies, asking if I had perhaps lent it to them and forgot to get it back from them? Nope.

We're talking, FULL FLEDGED PANIC ATTACK!!

Then I took a few deep breaths, looked forlornly at my shelves, and decided to put it behind me and pulled out Season of Friendship instead. I made this card:

In a way, the missing stamp set story was serendipidous, as I really like this card. It was partly inspired by this beauty from my friend Debi on SCS - I loved her tree in the snow! :o) But I gave mine a splash of Riding Hood Red for that Xmas feel. The paper is the new Ski Slope DP that will be available beginning Oct. 1 (in the Holiday Mini). And I thought that filigree brad kind of looked like a snowflake, so I used it also (I think we definitely need snowflake filigree brads though, don't you??) The sentiment is from the Best Yet hostess set and was punched out using the new large oval punch.

But here's where the story REALLY gets weird... As I am tidying up my table after I finish this card, guess what I find underneath my pack of DP? *insert Twilight Zone theme here*

THE SEASON OF JOY STAMP SET!!

There is no way on God's green earth that that stamp set was there all along - NO WAY!! I tell ya, I turned my stamping room UPSIDE DOWN looking for that durn set! There is a ghost in this house and it is playing a sick joke on me. NOBODY messes with my stamps.

Nobody.

Simple Wishes

2008-09-19T11:09:00.002-04:00

OK, I love this card. I will send it to its intended recipient (sorry, not gonna tell you who it is cuz I don't want to spoil the surprise :o) ) but I will be sad to drop it in that mailbox later this morning... which is why I love being able to immortalize my cards here and on SCS - this way I can always look back at some of my faves and recreate them easily when inspiration fails me... LOL!

I made this as a double-challenge card, for this week's Ways to Use It challenge (using silhouette stamps), and today's Limited Supplies challenge (using white as a predominant colour and only one stamped image). This is the first time I have inked this Upsy Daisy flower image (I have only used the sentiments until now) - it's stamped in Basic Gray. The accent colour is Kiwi Kiss - don't these two colours look great together? So elegant and fresh. And yeah, I'm in love with that Kiwi Kiss double-sided satin ribbon LOL! The card is 5 1/4" x 5 1/4".

I'm working from home today - I have a ton of reading and recording to do, plus I have a meeting with an agency just down the road from my house, so I decided to stay here. And instead of a coffee break, I took a stamping break ;o) And on that note, I guess I better get back to the grind...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Good friends

2008-09-16T20:57:00.003-04:00

*sigh* This one will be going out to my good friend Catherine. Catherine is just one of those friends who, even if don't talk for months, and even if we live clear across the country from each other now, it's always such a comfortable place when we do get to talk to each other or see each other. Catherine always knows the right thing to say, she always finds the positive in every person and in every situation, yet she is always very direct and unafraid to tell it like it is (while always being so amazingly diplomatic about it! LOL) I trust her and respect her completely and miss her terribly. So I am going to send her this card to remind her of what a great friend she is :o)

This card is also for this week's SCS Colour Challenge: Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray and Always Artichoke. Even though it is a near repeat of last week's colours, it's all good because I didn't get to play last week anyway (and to be honest, Green Galore is NOT on my list of faves... LOL) I got some new rubber today (YAY!!) and had to break it in. This is a set from the upcoming Holiday Mini-Catalogue - I LOVE IT!!! It's called Season of Friendship. I love how bold and yet simple it is. Totally my style. And FULL of possibilities!! (There are also a small snowflake and a small flower, as well as a sentiment: "The season of friendship lasts forever" - Awwwww... ;o) ) I also broke out my new Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon for the first time. And the two shades of leaves were done by stamping the image twice in Always Artichoke without reinking.

I also got two Sizzix Big Shot dies in my order (the Baskets and Blooms one, and the pillow box). I'm still playing around with those trying to use them in my cuttlebug. That part works fine (WOOHOO!!), I'm just having a wee bit of difficulty getting the lil baskets to look right. My second one looks way better than my first one, though - so it's not that hard LOL! Diana Gibbs makes it look way easy - I just need to work on making the ends line up properly, and on trying to get a rounder shape (rather than a squished shape). I'm getting there...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

I got a callback!!

2008-09-15T21:16:00.014-04:00

I know! I can hardly believe it myself! Didn't think I was actually going to survive the audition, let alone get a CALLBACK?!?!!! OMG I am so excited! :o) Although this means I will have another week of being nervous and of psyching myself up to sing in front of a bunch of near-strangers... LOL! (Did I mention that they made us sing our vocal piece IN FRONT OF EVERYONE WHO AUDITIONED?!? Talk about nerve-wracking!! But at least no one else did my song LOL).

So to relax and get my mind off of it, I decided to stamp a card tonight. This is for a weekly swap I sometimes do with a bunch of fellow SU! demos that I keep in touch with. The challenge was to make an unusually shaped card. I decided to make a triangle trifold card.

They're a lot easier to make than they look, honestly! I once again used the Green Tea DP (mounted on Old Olive c/s as a base), and stamped images from the new Eastern Blooms stamp set, in Baja Breeze and Certainly Celery. And I hadn't used the new filigree flower brads yet, so decided to integrate one into the design as well. Aren't they pretty? They're quite heavy, too.

I won't find out who I am sending this card to until later this week. So for now it will decorate my work table :o)

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Let the Sunshine in...

2008-09-14T11:23:00.003-04:00

So, umm, I'm doing something a little crazy today... I'm auditioning for a local production of Hair. Have I ever done anything like this? No. Am I nervous as heck? Yep. But if I don't do it, I will regret it forever. This is my favourite musical and I can't pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. So aside from the 11 swaps I had to make (done!), and the banner for our dragon boat team (done!), I have also been preparing for my audition all week. Hence my lack of stamping/posting.

But I did take the time to make a card this morning. I used Beate's sketch challenge to make a card for my lovely neighbour, a very talented piano instructor who was kind enough to help me prepare.

The card uses the Eastern Blooms (new!) and All Holidays stamp sets, as well as some new goodies from the Fall-Winter cattie: Green Tea DP, Flower Fusion Too felt flower, flower button and Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon. I will drop it off in her mailbox when I head over to the theatre in about ONE HOUR!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

Wish me luck! And Happy Stampin'!

A-M

WICKED stuff!

2008-09-06T21:26:00.005-04:00

OK, taking a break from swaps and workshop prep and laundry and packing for my work trip tomorrow... and STAMPIN'! :o) This card is for the WICKED challenge on SCS, a monthly challenge for SU! demos. There are always three categories - colour, layout and technique - and you can either do three different cards or combine challenges (any two or all three) into one card. For this one I combined the colour combo (Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and Sahara Sand) with the layout suggested by the challenge hostess.

I used the tree image from the Deer Friends hostess set for the medallion. I stamped it twice (in Not Quite Navy and in Kiwi Kiss), and punched out the navy one with the 1 1/4" circle punch, and just the kiwi tree with the 1" circle punch. I then punched out the scallop circle in Kiwi Kiss and a 1 3/8" circle in Not Quite Navy, and put together the medallion, layering the tree with a dimensional. The DP is from the Urban Garden collection, and the ribbon is the YUMMILICIOUS new Kiwi Kiss double-sided satin ribbon - MMMMMMM!!

Kind of unconventional for a Christmas card, but that's the way I like my Christmas cards. Do you like it?

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Shh!!

2008-09-04T20:41:00.003-04:00

I think this will be the card I make for a demo swap I'm in this month:

But don't tell anyone as it's supposed to be a surprise! ;o) We were to make a card from newly-offered stamps in the Fall-Winter catalog. I chose Inspired by Nature. The main panel was partly inked (Baja Breeze for the petals), partly markered (Not Quite Navy for the flower centres and Old Olive for the stems), and then misted before the image was stamped (only part of the image was used here, too - there is a third flower off to the left that I did not use). Then I inked the other stamp from that set (long grasses) with Versamark and stamped it onto the Basic Gray background, then embossed with clear embossing powder. The designer paper is from the new Urban Garden paper - I think when I make the rest of my cards though, I will make the strip narrower, so you can see more of the grasses in the background. The sentiment is from Upsy Daisy (another new set, which incidentally is currently on sale with 15% off!), and the ribbon is the new Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon (it's tied with hemp twine). I really like how this card turned out! :o)

And I really need to get in gear to get those cards done PRONTO (I have to do 11 for the swap and they need to arrive in Vancouver - at the other end of the country - by September 19), as I have also agreed to make a banner for our Dragon Boating team at work - the race is September 13!!! ACK!! I've bought the fabric, that's a start, right? LOL! Now I need to design what I am going to draw, and execute it (in fabric paints).

So if you don't see much stamping from me in the next week or so, you'll know why. That, and I am transporting one of my clients to a placement in Quebec on Sunday, leaving first thing in them morning and not returning home until Monday after work... Maybe I'll bring my fabric paints and work on the banner at the hotel?... Hmm...

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

More retired rubbah for sale!

2008-09-01T16:46:00.004-04:00

OK, I went through my storage and found some new sets that I am willing to part with... again, if the name of the stamp set appears 'clickable', click on it to see its SCS gallery.

As always, price does not include shipping - please contact me to make arrangements.

$5
Simple Somethings
Sweet on You - SOLD (Payment and delivery pending)
Say it Simply

$10
The Fine Print - SOLD (Payment and delivery pending)
Gently Falling
Send a Celebration
Little Layers II
Reason to Smile (NUM)

$15
Fresh Flowers
In Full Bloom
Simply the Best
All the Best

$20
Sketch It

And don't forget, I still have some sets available that are more "freshly" retired :o) - check it out here!
Thanks for looking! And Happy Stampin'!
A-M

Summer's over! Or is it?...

2008-09-01T07:35:00.003-04:00

Kind of strange how this weekend feels more like summer than any other the past two months? LOL! Took the family to the Shelter Valley Folk Festival on Saturday (had a blast! the kids were WIPED OUT - and me, too! LOL), spent some time in my garden yesterday "putting it to bed" and yanking cartloads of weeds (ugh). I wanted to take the kids to the beach or to the local splash pad (which is by the beach) but do you think I could convince them to go outside?!? I just don't get it. So I stamped a card instead :o) It's for this week's Featured Stamper challenge. Very simple, one layer card, but it's its simplicity that I loved!

It features the Garden Whimsy stamp set, and it's inked in Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss, but since I don't have my first order yet from the new catalogue, and therefore no new In Colour ribbon, I had to make do with red gingham. Niki's original card uses a nice red satin ribbon and a wonderful Papertrey Ink stamp set that I am seriously coveting at the moment (I am a sucker for florals :o) ) But since I have a huge order of new stamps coming TOMORROW, I will be a good girl and wait...
Happy Stampin'!
A-M

Checkin' in!

2008-08-27T20:11:00.005-04:00

Well, hubby's out of town again this week, so things are always a little crazy getting everyone organized. And I feel guilty stamping and leaving the kids with no parent to give them quality time... but I did manage to do yesterday's colour challenge tonight. It was Kraft, Black and Rose Red. I have a teen girl on my caseload whose birthday is in a couple of weeks; this one will be going out to her:

I love this girl. She is turning 17 but she is quite intellectually delayed. She LOVES the Backstreet Boys and actually got to go to their concert in Toronto a couple of weeks ago! OMG she was in seventh heaven! :o) She is IN LOVE with Nick Carter and has been wearing the same, threadbare BSB tshirt for FOUR YEARS, every Tuesday, religiously. I told her to buy herself a few new ones at the concert from me, and to retire the old one. I didn't want her to have to part with it though, so I suggested she make a pillow out of it and keep it on her bed. She liked that idea :o)

I also love my own children. I do. Even when they challenge my parenting and my patience. Take, for example, my 7yo (deep breaths). He's been very oppositional lately. Not sure what's gotten into him. Even the teachers at day camp have told me he's had issues there with not listening, getting physical with his brother... *sigh* I don't know what's wrong with him? Maybe the stress of going back to school? This morning he was mad at me because I made him wear a fleece hoodie over his sleeveless tshirt (it was 10C!!!); he called me a "mean mom". Tonight I was a "mean mom" because I "made" him lie to his friends because he told them he was getting a skateboarding magazine tonight, but I didn't want to take him to the store so he could buy it. And then I "made" him punch my craft table and kick stuff around because he was mad that he couldn't go and mad that I "made" him lie. Ah the logic of a 7yo. I tried to correct him and point out that he chose to hit/kick when he was mad, and that he could have made a better choice by, say, going to his room to cool off, but I might as well have been speaking Swahili. Instead he just kept sassing me. So he was sent to bed an hour early. Ugh.

Now you know why I stamp. It's therapy. LOL!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

WOW! Faux embossing

2008-08-25T20:56:00.007-04:00

This week's featured technique on SCS' Technique Lover's Challenge was a new one for me: faux dry embossing. Lynn, our new hostess for this weekly challenge, gave some very good directions for this simple WOW technique (click on the link above for details), and the card above is what I came up with. Isn't it cool?

The effect of this technique is kind of difficult to see from this photo, but you can see it better in this close up:

doesn't it look like it's embossed? It's really just a trick of the eye, achieved by layering a white image with a coloured one, one slightly offset from the other. Definitely WOWed me, in any case :o)

Happy stampin'!

A-M

It's VSN WEEKEND!

2008-08-23T22:55:00.004-04:00

What is VSN, you ask? Why, it's Virtual Stamp Night - an online stamping event on Splitcoaststampers that occurs every few months, where a new challenge is posted every hour and stampers have 45 minutes to complete their card. Sound like crazy fun? ABSOLUTELY! :o) It's been a busy weekend, though, and I haven't been able to do all of the challenges yet, but I have until tomorrow night at 11pm to complete and upload them, so I should be able to finish. I have only done it from start to finish, in real time, twice - WHAT A RUSH!! My craft room was a disaster, but at the end of it I had something like 18 new cards, and tried lots of new techniques. I won't post all of my cards here (I've done 9 so far, and should have 15 by the time I'm done tomorrow), but I will post my favourite to date:

Isn't it adorable? The challenge involved using a color scheme that was inspired from the title of one of Joanne Fluke's novels, which all refer to a baked good of some kind (the theme for this VSN is BOOKS). I chose Key Lime Pie (YUM!). You can view the rest of my VSN album here, or better yet, COME PLAY!

Happy Stampin,

A-M

Tote THIS!

2008-08-21T15:34:00.004-04:00

Isn't this the CUTEST tote?? It was designed by fellow SU! demo Andrea Walford, and as soon as I saw it this morning, I knew I had to try it! I altered her dimensions slightly to make a smaller tote. So the piece for my base is actually 4" x 6.5", and the pieces of DP are 6" x 8.5" and 6" x 7". My tote features the retired Berry Bliss Designer Paper (DP), as well as the Wonderful You stamp set (told ya it was one of my current faves LOL). I think I will put 4 or 5 cards in there and save it for a hostess gift.

Why don't you try one? They are a lot easier to make than they look.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

You know summer's over when...

2008-08-20T21:34:00.005-04:00

...soccer winds up! Tomorrow is the last soccer game for my 5yo, and it's also my turn to bring treats. I went to the grocery store to buy fruit tonight, but they were all out - guess I'll have to run there after work tomorrow after all... But I also wanted to give them a special treat since this is their last game, so I decided to make up little bags of candy and decorate them with little tags. All in the Family was the perfect choice for a stamp image!

This little one is for a girl, but I made some little boys too (there are three girls and five boys on the team). This is their team colours, too. Aren't they cute?

*sigh* It's really beginning to feel like fall, too. Mornings are soooo chilly! And I can't believe there are less than two weeks left before school starts! EEK! For once I have all of my shopping done. Although you know the kids are going to come home with another list on their first day!!

By the way, don't forget to check out my list of retired stamp sets that I am selling! There are still many nice ones left!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Fall Flowers

2008-08-19T21:21:00.004-04:00

I recently joined another SU!-related Yahoo group, moderated by Jacqui Lines, a wonderful lady I met in April at a retreat in Kingston. This group does weekly challenges, and I joined just in time to participate in this week's challenge, which is a colour challenge. The palette - Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, More Mustard and So Saffron - is very fall-inspired, hence the name of this post.

The card I made features a Two-Step Stampin' set called Wonderful You, which is currently in my Top Five list - it's very versatile, and I've used the other main image (a leaf print) for many masculine cards, too! The colour palette immediately inspired me to use the two-step technique, as the orangey-yellows Jacqui picked all coordinate so well with each other. And to be different, I used a rub-on for the sentiment (from the A Perfect Day set).

What do you think?

Getting organized!

2008-08-17T16:13:00.008-04:00

I love the beginning of the school year - always have! And I always start the year so organized. Sometimes, this organized state even lasts until December! ;o) This year I read a great school organization tip in Northumberland Kids magazine - it's by the "15-Minute Mom", who always has awesome tips! She suggests getting clipboards for each child and hanging them somewhere central (the kitchen is always the hot spot in our house, as it is in most homes, I think!), and using them to organize your kids' important papers (school trips, school schedules, sport/activity schedules, etc.) Having three kids, I can tell you that keeping up with everything they need to do for school, Girl Guides, Beavers, blah blah blah, is a nightmare! Plus, my youngest is in Senior Kindergarten, which is an every-other-day kind of thing, which means that he also attends daycare every other day, which means he (ie. ME) has TWO school schedules to contend with! And he's only FIVE!! LOL!

So I went to Dollarama on Friday and picked up three clipboards (yes, for just a dollar each!) and altered them to make them purdy:

I used some of my leftover Jersey Shore Designer Paper, which was retired last week - again, gotta make room for the NEW stuff! :oD The paper was adhered to the clipboards using Mod Podge (remember that stuff? If you did collages in the late 70s, you used Mod Podge LOL) - I like the "Paper Mod Podge" as it doesn't cause the paper to ripple. You can also put a coat of Mod Podge on top of the paper to seal it and make it more durable, but I didn't bother with this project. I girl-ified my daughter's clipboard (with ribbon, scallops and a more flowery paper), and identified each with the kids' initials, stamped with the Big Deal Alphabet set. Aren't they fun? I think I will hang these near the dry-erase board that I also installed in my kitchen this week. And I still need to buy my More Time Moms Family Organizer - it's the best family calendar I have found. I have used it for the last 5 or 6 years. I love it! It's got nice big squares for each day, and stickers for quickly labeling important days. And here's MY tip for making it even more useful for a busy family: I colour code things like appointments, activites, etc. by assigning each family member his or her own colour (I bought gel pens at Micheal's in five different colours). Yeah, I know, I'm a dork LOL! But it does work!

OK, enough 'work' for one day. I think I'll try the Featured Stamper challenge for this week - the featured stamper's gallery is super yummy!

ETA: Here's my card for the Featured Stamper challenge:

I loved the clean look of Jessica's card! I sold my Garden Silhouettes stamp set to another demo so had to sub; I picked the bamboo image from Embrace Life. I also changed the colour scheme - love this combo! It's Old Olive and Chocolate Chip. the Chocolate Chip layer under the layered stamped panel was run through the Cuttlebug with the stylized flower embossing folder.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Snow in August?

2008-08-15T18:26:00.008-04:00

Well it DID hail this morning... LOL! As strange as it may seem, though, today's Limited Supplies challenge was to make a card featuring a SNOWMAN!! I was so sad when this set retired ("It's Snow Time") - those snowmen were so cute! This card is actually another double-challenge, as it also fulfils yesterday's Ways to Use It challenge, which revolved around Copics. I talked about these alcohol-based markers in an earlier post - once again, as I do not own Copic markers myself, I used the "No Copics, No Problem" technique, which uses regular dye-based markers and an aquapainter (there is a wonderful tutorial here - check it out!).

Now I have to confess, this card is not purely SU!... see the glittery snowflakes on there?

They were made using the small snowflake stamp from the same It's Snow Time set, and a wonderful new-ish product made by Tsukineko called the Essential Glue Pad. It's used like an ink pad, but instead of ink it is an adhesive! So all you need to do is stamp your image and then sprinkle with glitter (I used SU! Dazzling Diamonds for these snowflakes). SO easy! I really hope SU! considers adding this product to their catalogue - it's so much easier than heat & stick powder! Just one step and no heating required! I picked up my glue pad at a LSS (Local Scrapbook Store) for about $15 - it comes with the pad (which is foam and uninked) and a refill bottle. Totally worth it, as far as I'm concerned!

I hope everyone has a nice weekend! In sharp contrast to this 'cool' card, we are planning a day at the beach tomorrow - my sister and her family are heading to Sandbanks Provincial Park for the next few days and we are going to meet them there for the day. Pray for nice weather! :o)

Happy Stampin!

A-M

Watercolour Resist?

2008-08-13T21:40:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure what to call this technique - I can't find anything similar on SCS, so I am going to christen it, Watercolour Resist. As I mentioned yesterday, it's a technique I saw at a wonderful stamp store in London called Stamp Art. The card looked stunning even from a distance, and immediately got me curious as to how the effect was achieved. So I picked it up and studied it LOL!

To do this technique, you will need:

- watercolour paper (SU! makes a wonderful version, nice and thick so it can absorb a lot of water without getting warped)

- VersaMark ink

- white embossing powder

- embossing gun

- aquapainter

- classic (dye-based) inkpads and/or reinkers

- line image stamp

For this card I used the Wonderful You stamp set - LOVE the images in this set! First, stamp your image using VersaMark ink onto the watercolour paper. Then emboss using white embossing powder. It will be difficult to see what you are doing when you are stamping your image(s), and you need to work relatively fast or your ink is going to dry and your embossing powder is not going to stick very well. Once the image is embossed, watercolour using your aquapainter and dye-based ink. This card was for this week's Colour Challenge, and uses Elegant Eggplant and Taken with Teal (Old Olive was the third colour, but I did not use it to colour my image). I find that, to get a nice watercolour look to your project, it helps if you slightly wet the area you are going to 'paint' before you apply colour to it. What you'll find with this technique (which also strongly reminds me of silk-painting - which I did quite a bit of years ago), is that the embossed outline will retain much of your colour within the space inside your outline. So what you'll find is that the white outline stands out and blocks out the various 'zones' of your images. Doesn't that look cool? Here is a close-up of one of the flowers:

This card also fulfils this week's Sketch Challenge - which I was THRILLED to see, because it suited this technique perfectly, leaving me with a big panel to stamp and paint (this is really the only suitable stamp I had for this technique and it is quite a large image LOL).

As always, thanks for looking, and Happy Stampin'!

A-M

NEW CATTIE IS HERE!!

2008-08-12T20:31:00.010-04:00

YAY!! 'Bout time, too...
Which means it's time to make room for all the NEW GOODIES on my list! :o) Here is what I have so far. If the stamp set name is highlighted, you can click on it to see its SCS gallery, which all feature samples of all the images as well as (in most case) hundreds of samples! All sets (retired) are assembled and in most cases, have seen ink on at least one occasion ;o) I am fairly good at keeping my blocks clean - if there is excessive staining I will note it below. Please note, price is in Canadian dollars and does not include shipping - I have access to Purolator (courier) at work for domestic shipping at very reasonable rates (as in, WAY cheaper than Canada Post in most cases!), but will ship whatever way you prefer (actual shipping costs will be added to price of items). Please contact me by email for arrangements. I accept Paypal and Canadian cheques (order will not be shipped until payment is received and cleared by my bank).
Here is my list:

$5
Background Basics
Riveting - SOLD! (Payment and delivery pending)
Merci - SOLD! (Payment and delivery pending)
Petals Jumbo Wheel - SOLD! (Payment and delivery pending)

$10
In the Spotlight - SOLD! (Payment and delivery pending)
Fun Filled
Event Full
Be Happy
A to Z Accents
Polka Dots and Petals - SOLD! (Payment and delivery pending)
For a Friend - SOLD!
Delight in Life

$15
Basket Full of Fun - SOLD!
Sweet Shapes - SOLD!
Friendly Flowers
Office Accoutrements
Time Well Spent
Dotted (background)

I have some more, older stamp sets also, but have not dug them back out of my secret hideaway yet. If there is enough interest, I may go searching through... And I have to tell you, some of these I am very sad to part from... Most notably, Office Accoutrements, Sweet Shapes and Delight in Life. But I know from experience that with all of the new sets that I will be getting, these will be sadly neglected, and if they can find a new friend to get inky with, then so much the better :o)
And I know I promised I would do the SCS colour challenge tonight, but to be honest I am POOPED from my looooong day of driving to and from London, AND I have a new cattie calling my name from my table... I will do it though, I promise! I also saw a FAB technique at an awesome stamp store in London (Stamp Art - check it out if you are ever in the area!), and I made a mental note to share it with you soon also.
Happy Stampin'!

A-M

It's time...

2008-08-11T20:44:00.005-04:00

...for the big reveal! LOL! My blog is now officially named! What do you think? Surprisingly, the name was suggested by my husband (I know, SHUT UP!!!) Who knew he had a creative bone in his body?... I tried to resist but, damn, it was too good to pass up... Thanks to those of you who took the time to make suggestions also - I really appreciated that you did! :o)

Now for cattie news: no, I have not received my supply order yet (or my complimentary demo copy). So like the rest of you, I have had to wait patiently at the SU! website to try to load the online version. Be patient, people - it appears there are several (thousands) of us (demos and customers) who have yet to get our hot little hands on a hard copy, and we are apparently overloading the server... but that being said, DON'T GIVE UP!! It is totally worth waiting for, from what I have seen so far!! And hopefully, I will have my order by week's end, and you can all fight each other for your very own copy :o)

Well, that's all I have tonight. It's been a busy work day for me, and I have an early morning tomorrow (driving to London and back - about a 4 1/2-hour drive from here, each way). I will definitely get the SCS colour challenge done tomorrow (if nothing else, it's the one challenge that I try to do each week), and should have something to post at that time.

OH!! And I have another winner to announce!! I had posted an online survey for my customers, and it was also closing last night. I drew randomly from the names of the customers who answered my survey, and the winner is HAPPY MIREAULT!! (Yes, her name really is Happy - and she TOTALLY suits it! :o) ) CONGRATULATIONS HAPPY!! As soon as I get my catalogue and can place that first order, you will be the lucky recipient of a brand-spankin', never-before-seen-new stamp set, as well as other assorted goodies. Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who participated in the survey, also - this blog is actually partially in response to the feedback you provided on that survey.

Oh, and I guess it wouldn't be a stamping blog if I didn't upload at least ONE photo, so here's one of a card I made a few weeks ago featuring some of our new In Colors (LOVE THEM!! This project features Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango and Pink Pirouette):

Isn't it cute? It is a super easy design - and the scallop layer is made that much easier with the use of the new scallop border punch!! Oh and the pink ribbon is actually white taffeta ribbon that I dyed using Pink Pirouette reinker - just squirt some reinker on the inside of your stamp pad lid, and use your aquapainter to pick up the ink. Then simply 'paint' your ribbon - TA-DA! Make sure you use paper towel to avoid getting ink all over the place. You might also need to use your embossing gun to dry your ribbon. This technique can also be used to dye the silk flowers from the Pretties Kit, so they perfectly match whatever project you are working on. Easy-peasy!
OK, I'm really off now.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Feelin' inspired

2008-08-10T13:55:00.008-04:00

In more ways than one. First, I have made a card for this week's Inspiration Challenge. The inspiration piece - place settings - reminded me of two of the new SU! In Colors (Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red), so that's what I started with. Then the round shape of the plate inspired me to make a 'tent card' with a circular cut-out (using my Coluzzle). And the designs on the china reminded me of the Embrace Life stamp set, so that is what I used.

The card also features one of the new In Colour buttons that will be available TOMORROW (still no cattie, btw). One side of the button is shiny and kind of rounded (the side I chose to show on this card), while the other is kind of sanded looking, with a circular groove (which you can see the underside of on this close-up as well). I don't know if you're supposed to be able to use both sides like that? I think the matte side is supposed to be the 'right' side, but I kind of like the shiny side better...

My second 'inspiration' involves the NAME OF MY BLOG!! I think I have a winner, but said I would wait until the end of today for anyone to post their inspired names. The name was actually suggested by my DH (I know!! Who knew?), but I don't want to have to give him my blog candy (he wouldn't appreciate it anyway - he thinks all my cards "look the same" - the nerve, eh??), so PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR IDEAS!! I'm sure someone out there can come up with a name to top the one he came up with! :o) I will REVEAL the winning name tomorrow night.

Happy stampin'!

A-M

Jewels for a Friend

2008-08-07T20:48:00.005-04:00

HEY did you know tomorrow's my birthday? Yep. Today is officially the LAST DAY I will have been 40 years old. That deserves some bling, right? Which is why I was thrilled that today's Ways to Use It challenge involved using JEWELS in your card!

I am trying to build up my collection of samples for the new catalogue season, so decided to use items that will all still be available come next week. The stamps I used were from two different sets: Fresh Cuts and All Holidays. I also used three of the NEW '08 In Colors: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss. I think KK is going to be my favourite :o) And the bling is all from the Pretties Kit, which was not retired! The punched out five-petal flower (in Pink Pirouette) was sponged with Riding Hood Red, as I felt it did not stand out enough when I first put it there as I was designing the card.

And NEWSFLASH: I still have not received my catalogues. My toes are twitchin'. I have not even received my complimentary demo copy!! AAAAARGH! Canada Post sucks. *sigh* Here's hopin' that I get a surprise bday cattie in the mail tomorrow...

And HEY, don't forget to give me ideas for naming this blog!! Only THREE DAYS LEFT!! :o)

Happy stampin'!

A-M

Neglected garden

2008-08-06T19:32:00.005-04:00

Yeah, well, weeds are technically perennials, right?... It's a losing battle, so I may as well give up LOL! Actually, I was really referring to this stamp set, called Garden Whimsy, which was a "must have" as soon as I got the new catalogue this time last year, but which has alas not seen nearly enough ink. So I'm showing it a little love with this week's Sketch Challenge over at SCS.

This card is actually very simple, no fancy techniques here. The only 'technique' to speak of is what I did to the larger butterfly, which is called the "rock and roll" technique. Basically, I inked the butterfly in Pumpkin Pie, and then rolled the edges of the stamp in Real Red before stamping onto my cardstock. This simple technique yields lovely depth and colouring to solid images. I use it often in my classes and workshops and stampers are always amazed at the results they get :o) I have also used the Summer Picnic Designer Paper on this project - SO HAPPY to hear that it will be offered in the new catalogue next week!! YAY!! I'm onto my third package of it and was hoping I would get to keep demonstrating its versatility this coming season! Plus I love the colour combination it uses: very fresh and fun. In case you are wondering, the two triangles of designer paper are actually a 2 3/4" square that I cut diagonally - easy, huh? And the 'grass' is just a strip of designer paper that I snipped randomly with my scissors - that's it!

Why don't you try the sketch challenge? Post your card to SCS and leave me a comment with the link!

Happy stampin'!

A-M

Ta-ta, In Colors!

2008-08-05T20:46:00.009-04:00

This week's Colour Challenge on Splitcoaststampers challenged us to use one or more of the retiring '07 In Colors in the design of our card/project. This card features three of my fave from the six - Soft Sky, Blue Bayou and River Rock. Purely Pomegranate was definitely in my faves also, but somehow didn't really go with the scheme I picked? Perhaps I will design another card this week to honor this other fallen hero... To be honest, the other two colours - Groovy Guava and Wild Wasabi - didn't really do it for me. But to each her own, right?

This card also features a technique called, "emboss resist" for the main panel. This technique involves stamping an image using Versamark ink and then embossing it with clear embossing powder (in this case, I stamped Versamark onto Soft Sky cardstock). Then, using a brayer, you ink over the entire surface using a darker ink (in this case, Blue Bayou) - the ink will colour the plain cardstock, but will not stick to the embossed image, thus revealing the light-coloured image you have stamped! This technique is also perfectly suited to our Glossy White paper - this gives your project an entirely different, glossy finish (as opposed to the matte effect you get by using regular cardstock like I did here). Here is a close-up of the emboss resist panel:

Along with the 'old' I have also used one of our NEW products that is coming out next week - can you guess what it is?? Our new SCALLOP BORDER PUNCH!! Yep - no more lining up the corner rounder punch a gazillion times to get that scallop border! I know, it's gonna make your life SO much simpler, isn't it? You won't be able to live without it, am I right?... Perfect scallops without the headache. You know you waaaaant it. ;o)

Only SIX MORE SLEEPS until the new catalogue comes into effect! Can you tell I'm excited? I have to say, I was way envious of all my demo colleagues who got to go to the SU! convention in Salt Lake City over the weekend, and who not only got their copy of the catalogue when they arrived, but got to PLAY with some of the new stamps and toys. I had promised myself I would go this year, but unfortunately because of our family vacation plans, I had to let go the dream... But NEXT YEAR, baby!! It's also rumoured to be happening around my bday next year, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! :oD

Alright, that's it for me tonight. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't forget to participate in my blog-naming contest (see post below) - yummy blog candy to the one who comes up with the best name!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Arrrrrr...

2008-08-04T13:34:00.003-04:00

My boys LOVE this pirate! So it's a favourite go-to set when I have to make cards for their friends' birthday parties (three in the next week - ACK!) I therefore used today's Technique Lover's Challenge on SCS as a starting point for my card. This week's featured technique is called a Square Spring Card - isn't it fun? It folds down flat and fits perfectly into a standard card envelope, too!

I am making a commitment to use some of my retired designer papers to make room for all the NEW DPs coming out next week (I've spied some of the designs on the blogs of demos who were at the SU! convention on the weekend - YUM!), so this card uses a DP that was retired a year ago (I can't for my life remember what it was called tho...). Also, the main image panel uses a technique developed by a fellow Canadian SCSer named Julie Buhler, which she calls "No Copics, No Problem!" (check out her fabulous tutorial here). Copic markers are outrageously expensive professional-grade, alcohol-based markers that were originally used by Japanese comic-book illustrators. They are now very popular amongst stampers and other paper-crafters, as they provide flawless colouring with infinite blending possibilities. Alas, as I've already mentioned, they are also outrageously expensive LOL! So Julie developed a technique that allows you to use our own SU! markers to achieve very similar results, with the help of aquapainters and watercolour paper. Yes, it is a painstaking technique, but it yields awesome results! I finished off the card with a photocorner adorned with some hemp twine, and a SU! button threaded with linen thread. It's now ready to go!! Not sure which of the three little birthday boys this one will go to - I will let the boys decide.

Happy Stampin'!

Name this blog!

2008-08-04T10:46:00.000-04:00

OK, twist my rubber arm... I'm jumping on the blogging bandwagon. I resisted, I did, but have now realized that resistance is futile. Actually, all truth be told, this is my second attempt at blogging. I started this blog about two years ago (the name has been changed to protect the innocent) and I *think* the last time I posted to it waaaaaaas... a year-and-a-half ago? And I can count the number of visitors on three fingers, so... Hopefully this is a more interesting venture.

Introductions: my name is Anne-Marie, and I live in a small town in southcentral Ontario (Canada), on the shores of beautiful Lake Ontario. By day, I am a social worker. The rest of the time, I'm a mom to three busy kids, a wife, a terrible housekeeper, and a STAMPER! Capitals and exclamation mark and all, as this is the primary purpose for this blog - to share my love of stamping with the rest of the cyberworld (did I mention that I am also a Stampin' Up! demonstrator?)

And in an attempt to start things off with a bang, I am proposing a wee contest - NAME THIS BLOG and WIN SOME BLOG CANDY! Obviously, "The Bandwagon" is not a very creative title, and for some reason I can't come up with anything clever this morning (although "Hold No Punches" was a brief and promising contender as I was pondering this issue in the shower). So please post your suggestions here - I will pick a winner next Sunday, August 10 and officially name my blog. The winner will receive the darling set of four notecards that I made for the Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge this weekend:

It features three of Stampin' Up!'s newest In Colors, which will be available for purchase beginning August 12. Here's a close-up of one of the cards, featuring textured Baja Breeze cardstock:

The green is called Kiwi Kiss - aren't the colours gorgeous? Kind of retro and contemporary, all at the same time.

So, let your creative juices flow and post your ideas! Can't wait to see what you come up with! Remember, the theme of this blog is STAMPING and PAPER CRAFTS.

Happy stampin'!

A-M