Merry Extravaganza!

Hello fabulous crafters,

Tomorrow is the big day. You can save 10% are nearly everything Stampin' Up! has to offer from the Annual Catalogue. Edit: Due to some technical issues, this sale has been extended until 10:50 PST Wed, Nov 25th. Message me with any questions.

If your order is around the 100 mark, consider JOINING and get the Starter Kit. You could choose up to 181.50 of sale product for only 135. And there is NO SHIPPING and NO TAX on the Starter Kit

Please note I won't be posting anything during the month of December. I'll still be around and you can absolutely call or message me. 

We'll see you next year when my blog will return every Saturday.

Cheers,

Adrienne

Thinking of Christmas - Embossing Technique

Hello all,

This is a card I'll be featuring at my upcoming Christmas Card SPA-Buffets. SPA is an acronym for Stamp, Punch & Assemble at home. This style of class is being offered to reduce the time you spend here. Like a restaurant buffet, you pick what you want and how much. Except instead of any over abundance of salads, it's all Christmas cards. The buffets are private classes (one family bubble at a time) held outside under our heated pop-up gazebo. There is a minimum of an hour between each class to allow for proper cleaning. 

No matter where you are, this is certainly a challenging time. I'm blessed to be in a position to still offer some classes, helping people find joy in creating. If you're unable to attend a class in person, kits are available for some projects and the completed cards are for sale. Both can be mailed anywhere in the world. :) 

This project is about the technique. It features the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set, Snow Globe Scenes Dies (for the deer) and Home Together Dies (for the snowdrift).

PHOTO is coming shortly

Trim a piece of Early Espresso Cardstock to 4 ¼” x11”, score at 5 ½”. You'll also need some Whisper White Cardstock 4 ¼” x 5 ½”; Just Jade Cardstock ⅞” x 5 ⅛”; and scraps of Early Espresso (for the deer) and white (for the greeting). 

Using the Just Jade Classic Stampin' Pad, stamp your greeting on the scrap of white. With your 1 ½” Circle Punch, punch out the greeting and set aside. 

Cut out your deer and snowdrift with the dies and set aside. 

Open your Evergreen Forest 3D Embossing Folder and your Just Jade ink pad and apply it directly to the inside of the folder that doesn’t have the Stampin’ Up! logo. A sponge will give you a much lighter look and a brayer will give you something in between. Carefully lay your white paper on top of the ink and close the folder. Run it through your Cut & Emboss Machine. Remove the paper and set it aside while you rinse the embossing folder with water.

Trim the embossed piece to 3 ¾” x 5”. Do it strategically if there are any bits you don’t like. Use liquid glue to attach it to the Just Jade. Attach this to the cardbase. Use liquid glue for the snow drift and the deer. Dimensionals were used under the greeting. And last but not least, attach a wee white dot from All The Trimmings Embellishments. 

Until Next Time,                                                                                                                               Adrienne

How Many of Us Were Dressed for 2020

Hello Fabulous Creators!

Last weekend we had On Stage at home. For those of you not in the know, On Stage is when Stampin' Up! reveals some of the new delights in the upcoming catalogues to its demonstrators. Normally we travel all over the globe for this incredibly fun event. This year, like so much else, things were different. But we still got our wicked swag boxes, a stamp set, notebooks, a funky pen and of course, door prizes!

One of the benefits of attending On Stage, even virtually, is the Product Purchase Premiere. We get to order select items right away. This is how I now have a bunch of amazing new stuff from the January Mini and Sale-A-Bration Catalogues. In this blog post, I'm going to feature the Well Suited Suite, a set I didn't plan on buying. But when I saw the presentation, which was fabulous, this idea popped into my head and I was sold. Meet, Business on Top, Party on the Bottom!

Start with a standard Whisper White Cardstock base, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4". To create your suit front, trim a piece of the Designer Series Paper (DSP) to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". Used the deep V die in the centre top. From the same paper, using the lapel die, cut out the lapels. Tip: I worked in men's wear for years and put the DSP at an angle for the lapels to make them look more legit. With the little collar die, cut out a collar from a scrap of Whisper White. Use the Hammered Metal 3D Embossing Folder on a scrap of Real Red Cardstock. Use the tie die to cut it out. 

For the card assembly, use Multipurpose Liquid Glue. I first attached the suit to the card face. Tip: Be careful not to glue in the centre where the tie needs to fit. Next I lined up the tie under the collar to figure out where it was going to go. Use the liquid glue again. Mini Glue Dots were used (2 layers) on the collar. Once the collar is on, tweak the tie's alignment if you need. Mini Dimensionals are under the lapel. The greeting was created on the computer and was attached with our regular Stampin' Dimensionals.

And now for the fun! From a piece of less suit-like DSP, cut out two 2 1/4" x 3 1/2" pieces for the front and back of the shorts. At the 1 3/4" mark across and about 3/4" up, make a mark with an erasable pen or pencil. Use your Paper Snips to cut up to the point, creating a triangle. It's about 1/2" from the centre bottom, on each side, to create a 1" gap on the bottom. To ensure they matched, I cut through both at the same time. The legs were created from Petal Pink Cardstock measuring 3/4" x 2 3/4". We have lots of other colours that would work too. I trimmed off a piece at an angle, on one side at about 1/4" starting at the ankle up to nothing at the very top. The feet were made with the 1 1/2" Circle Punch - you'll need four. Use your paper trimmer to cut off the top and bottom 1/2" of your circle. 

With your Multipurpose Liquid Glue, attach the legs to the shorts, on the side that you're not using. Once you have them positioned, glue the 2nd short piece, onto the first. The chosen, matching sides, should be facing out on both the front and back. Score and burnish at about 1/2" from the waist (or the top of the shorts.) Attach the front and bottom of the feet to the end of the legs. I used Tear & Tape to attach the shorts to the card. Before you do this, make sure it lines up okay to fold inside the card. You can have the legs fold up around the back of the card instead. Once your good with the alignment, remove the backing from the Tear and Tape and attach the short's waist band at the centre bottom of the inside front of your card base. IMPORTANT: Move your legs in a little more than mine or make smaller feet to ensure they'll fold up into the card. Mine still fits, but barely.

I hope you have as much fun recreating this card as I did designing it. Feel free to message me with any questions.  

Cheers,                                                                                                                                              Adrienne

Seashore Stampers Monthly Blog Hop - October

 

Hello all,

Welcome back to my blog and the Seashore Stampers Monthly Blog Hop. I survived my crazy cross country move - the things we do for our kids. With winter coming fast, they are sure happy to be away from Eastern Canada and back on the West Coast with us. Whew.

This month our blog hop is all about Christmas Cards. With Christmas only 8 weeks away, now is the time to start creating.

Recently I had the privilege of presenting the Trimming the Town Suite to a large group of demonstrators, via Zoom. I created more than a dozen different cards and projects. This was one of my favourites. Everything I used on this card, other than the greeting (Itty Bitty Christmas) and embossing folder (Winter Snow Embossing Folder) come from this suite, specifically the Coming Home Bundle.

To create this card, start with a Thick Whisper White card base, measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at the 4 1/4" mark. Your second layer is Pool Party Cardstock, trimmed to 4 1/8" x 5 3/8". The 3rd layer, in Real Red Cardstock, measures 3 3/8" x 4 5/8". You'll also need a scrap of Real Red. The final layer is Whisper White Cardstock (regular thickness). You'll need a 3 1/4" x 4 1/2" piece, a 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" piece and some scraps for stamping. 

On your Whisper White scraps, using Black Memento Ink, stamp your trees (2 large & 1 small), your house pieces and your punch buggy. Stamp snowflakes onto the Whisper White with your Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad. 

Using the dies, cut out the houses, tress, punch buggy and the snow drift (from the 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" piece of Whisper White). The wreath on the house was cut from the coordinating DSP. If you don't have the DSP, you can stamp it and colour it instead. An office hole punch was used to punch out the centre. Optional: I used my Paper Snips to make the smaller tree a bit smaller. With the Layering Circle Dies, cut out your greeting and the Real Red background circle.  

Stampin' Blends were used to colour the house, trees and punch buggy. I used Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Real Red and Soft Suede. Wink of Stella was used on the hubcaps and bumpers of the car.

Using the Winter Snow Embossing Folder, emboss the piece of Pool Party and your snow drift.

Attach the Pool Party to the White Card Base and then the Real Red to the Pool Party. Glue the big house and one of the large trees onto the stamped Whisper White. With Mini Stampin Dimensionals attach the second part of the house. Glue this completed Whisper White piece to the Real Red.

Score the embossed Whisper White piece at 1/2" and 1" on each short side. Burnish them like a step. Glue the second large tree to the snow drift and use the Mini Dimensionals under the punch buggy. Next, attach the greeting to the Real Red background and then use the Mini Dimensionals to attach it to the snow drift.  Using the Multipurpose Liquid Glue, glue the outside 1/2" to the card. Line up the bottom of the snow drift with the bottom of the card. Finally, attach some Clear Rhinestone Jewels.

For all your paper crafting needs, my store is here. The current Host Code can be found to the right, under the image of the catalogue. Be sure to use it on all orders under 200. If your order is around to 100 mark, please join! You'll get to choose 165 worth of product for only 135 and have a discount on future purchases. There are SO many benefits.* Feel free to message me if you would like more info.  

Remember our fabulous Designer Series Paper sale is over on October 31st. The sale features select DSPs from the current and mini catalogues (so yes, there is some Christmas paper in there too!) With only days left, this is the time to stock up

Be sure to visit the other blogs and come back on Saturday the 14th, when I resume my regular posts.

Cheers,                                                                                                                                                   Adrienne

Classic Christmas Card

Hello all and welcome back,

Here is another card I created for a swap (x20) which required a certain number of layers and features. I love the finished product. It's clean and crisp but with a little sparkle. I'm excited to say you can now buy the Christmas Gleaming Variety Bundle for a savings. For the purpose of  this blog, I will list the items I used separately.

Start with a 4 1/4" x 11" Night of Navy Cardstock base, scored at the 5 1/2" mark. Add a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock measuring 4" x 5 1/4" and then a Night of Navy layer 3 7/8" x 5 1/8". You'll also need a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of Very Vanilla but don't attach this piece, set it aside. Cut a 1 1/4" x 3 3/4" piece of Brightly Gleaming Specialty DSP and set it aside as well.

Using the greeting from the Christmas Gleaming Stamp Set, stamp it in the bottom right corner of the vanilla rectangle you set aside ( 3 3/4 x 5). On a couple vanilla scraps, stamp your ornaments in Night of Navy and Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pads. With your Gleaming Ornaments Punch Pack, punch out the ornaments. Cut two pieces of Old Olive ribbon from the All the Trimmings Ribbon Combo Pack measuring 2" and 3".

With your Multipurpose Liquid Glue, attach the strip of DSP to the left side of your stamped paper. Figure out where you want the ornaments to be. Tape the ribbon on the back of the vanilla piece and use a Glue Dot on the end that comes over onto the front of the card. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to attach the ornaments. Use your liquid glue to attach this completed layer to the card base,

For all your paper crafting needs, my store is here. My current Host Code can be found to the right, under the image of the catalogue. Please be sure to use it on all orders under 200. If your order is around to 100 mark, join! You'll get to choose 165 worth of product for only 135 and have a discount on future purchases.* Feel free to message me if you would like more info.  

I'm going to be away, on the road again, for 2-3 weeks (it's a long story) so I won't be posting. If you need anything, feel free to message me. 

Cheers,                                                   

Adrienne

Seashore Stampers Monthly Blog Hop - September

 

 

 

Hello all,

 

This month the Seashore Stampers Blog Hop is dedicated to all things Thanksgiving and Halloween. Personally, I don't normally do a lot of creating for either of these occasions. But in this strange new world I am finding little things, like sending a card, go a really long way. 

This card was created with the Have a Hoot stamp set. It is an adorable and Halloween/Christmas set with some very cute sayings.

 

 

I started with a Mango Melody Cardstock base. On a 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" piece of Whisper White Cardstock, I sponged and sponged and then I sponged some more. I sponged and sponged until my back got sore. I have to admit, this wasn't my plan. I was going to do a simple background but then I started thinking about a moon and well, one thing led to another. 

For the sponging, I used Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Sahara Sand Classic Stampin Pads and Black Memento Ink. With your 1 1/2" Circle Punch, punch out a circle from a Post It Note - this will be your moon. Carefully sponge around it with the Daffodil Delight and then the Mango Melody. Do the rest in black, putting more at the outside edges and overlapping. This sponging wasn't so much about rubbing but more about dabbing. Once your done, remove the Post It. Using the 1 1/2" punch again, punch a circle in a scrap of cardstock. Place this stencil over the moon. Lightly dab some Sahara Sand where the moon will be.

Stamp your owls and greeting on Whisper White cardstock. Since I decided to create a tree from the two branches the owls are on, I using a larger piece. I stamped the spider one at the top right and then lined up the vampire owl underneath and to the left of it. I drew the rest of the tree lightly in pencil and  went over it with my Black Stampin' Write Marker. 

To colour the owls and trees I used the fabulous Stampin' Blends in Daffodil Delight; Pumpkin Pie; Old Olive: Crumb Cake; Soft Suede; Bronze; Smoky Slate; and Black. And yes, some might call me crazy but I fussy cut everything. (Edit: So I am crazy. This set has dies, which I forgot I had.)

Once the inks were dry on the moon-lit background, I attached it to the Mango Melody card base with Multipurpose Liquid Glue. I also used this to apply the owls. 

With your Layering Oval and Stitched Shapes Dies cut out the greeting and a background. Attach them to each other and then use Stampin' Dimensionals to attach them to the card. For the finishing touches, I used some Wink of Stella on the spider and added a coloured Pearl Basic Jewel. (Since I don't yet have the Mango Melody Blends, I used a combination of Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie Blends to create a similar colour.)

 

For all your paper crafting needs, my store is here. The current Host Code can be found to the right, under the image of the catalogue. Be sure to use it on all orders under 200. If your order is around to 100 mark, join! You'll get to choose 165 worth of product for only 135 and have a discount on future purchases.* Feel free to message me if you would like more info.

 

Be sure to visit the other blogs and come back on Wednesday. 

 

Cheers,

Adrienne 

Black and White

 Hello wonderful creators,

This card was created for a Masculine Swap. Now something I struggle with (other than working with certain colours...lol) is creating masculine cards, for a variety of reasons. My Dad, and consequently my brothers, weren't/aren't typical guys. They weren't/aren't into sports, fishing and hunting. Instead they prefer music, books and culture. My sister-in-law has no use for typically feminine floral cards. She would prefer something geometric. So we like what we like regardless.

We are blessed to live in an era of change. Who defines what we should or shouldn't like based on gender? So rather than this being creating an overtly masculine card, I decided to create an anyone card. 

I used the Rooted in Nature stamp set to create this card. Start with a Basic Black Cardstock base, measured 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4. You'll also need a 3 1/4" x 4 1/2" piece of black as well. Trim your Whisper White Cardstock to 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" and 3 1/8" x 4 3/8". You'll also need some scraps for the tree and greeting. 

Using the leaves, stamp the large piece of Whisper White with the Black Memento Ink. Tip: It will look more natural if you go over the edges so be sure to use a piece of scrap paper underneath.  On your scraps of white, stamp the tree and the greeting with the black ink. 

Run your small piece of white through your Cut & Emboss Machine, using the Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder. With the die from the Nature's Root set, cut our the tree. Use your Paper Snips to cut out the greeting. Colour 3 Pearl Basic Jewels with your Black Blends. 

For assembly, I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to attach all the layers and the tree. The greetings were attached with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals. And last but not least, attach the black pearls. Now you have a fabulous card for anyone. 

For all your paper crafting needs, my store is here. Our current Host Code can be found to the right, under the image of the catalogue. Be sure to use it on all orders under 200. If your order is around to 100 mark, join! You'll get to choose 165 worth of product for only 135 and have a discount on future purchases.* Message me if you would like more info.

 

Be sure to come back on Saturday for the Seashore Stampers Monthly Blog Hop!

Cheers,

Adrienne

 

*As long as you remain "active" as defined by Stampin' Up!