I'm still here!

I'm still here--just not stamping much. Without going into too much detail, I had a health scare last summer which necessitated a bunch of tests. One day I was motoring along, just living my life and then before I knew it, I was signed up for a lot of appointments. Eventually my whole world revolved around researching tests, waiting for the tests and then, waiting and worrying for the test results. To make things more interesting, my doctor retired and I started over again with a new doctor. Despite all the testing, there were no obvious sources of my very common problem--anemia.

Usually crafting has always been the first thing I ran to during a crisis, but I became terribly stuck. My flow of daily doodles and ideas dried up. I tried different things and activities, but I could just get my crafty mojo back. Trying to boost my iron intake, getting enough sleep and conserving precious energy actuallly took a lot of effort.

The good news is I'm on a better path and starting to doodle again. The pause button is still a little jammed, but if I'm gentle with myself, I know and trust everything will pop back into place. That's the great thing about stamping--it's always ready when you are. A card doesn't have to be complicated to be heartfelt nor does every tool in the stash have to be used. I forgave myself for not sending out cards on time, or at all. I find myself doodling again and know my old self is still there, waiting to bloom again with all the wonderful things spring can bring :-)

New Year, New Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue :-D

Time for another mini cataologue PLUS Sale-A-Bration, where you can earn bonus rewards with qualifying orders. Contact me for a printed catalogue or shop with me online.

December's Sunday Sketch

It's been a while since I posted a Sunday sketch. It's been a puzzler to me how unproductive 2023 has been for me, but I recently had some clarity--life is much better when your body isn't fighting a dying tooth :-P

Stay tuned for the finished cards, which uses the Rocking Horse photopolymer stamp set.

Time for the Seasonal Sale!

Hey! I'm still here--just not in cardmaking mode, which has me somewhat confused. I'm focusing on a few other things at the moment, including my health. But I popped in to tell all y'all about Stampin' Up's seasonal sale.

It's a great time to replenish your paper, ink and stash of trims from the Annual Catalogue:

⭐ 10% off ribbons and trims
⭐ 15% off inks, including pads, refills, markers, and Blends
⭐ 20% off papers, including cardstock, specialty paper, and DSP


The sale only runs from November 14-16 and items will not be available for backorder if stock runs out. Shop with me online!

It's Here--The September to December Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue

Time for another mini cataologue! Contact me for a printed catalogue or shop with me online.

STAMP CAMP!

So, back in the Before Times, long, long ago in 2019, I set an idea in motion--STAMP CAMP! I would rent a hall, set up a tool table and invite friends and their friends for a fun day of crafting in June 2020.

I daydreamed about projects, collected loot bag items, booked the hall, bought tablecloths and envisioned happy stampers enjoying a day of togetherness, learning, and fun. These visions buoyed me as I planned everything down to the last detail.

Well, we all know how 2020 played out! STAMP CAMP still happened, although a little more hastily, online. I reassessed and readjusted plans and it went as well as it could have in light of learning Zoom and rigging up cellphones.

Three years later, I was ready to try again, but on a much smaller scale. I invited all my friends and customers and asked them to invite a +1. The plans were smaller and so was the group, but it was still an awesome time. Cards were made! Techniques were taught! And I was left with a heart so full. Sometimes my favourite thing is simply seeing others enjoy themselves.

And it was so much fun and busy I barely took any pictures, doh! Here are the techniques and projects explored:

• Sponging demo
• Tone on tone cards
• Watercolour pencil demo and cards
• You be the designer (always fun!)
• Tri-folder shutter card fun fold

Here are the pictures I did take--I'll try to get some close-ups of the projects I brought home. 

I literally packed up the craft room for the day! Let me say, those 31 Gifts tote bags are awesome. Note to self: book a mini-van cab a day in advance (hubs isn't an earlybird on weekends).

Participants were asked to bring their own scissors, favourite adhesive and anything else to make the day fun. As you can see though, I was prepared for any crafting emergency.

I'm already dreaming about next year!

March/April's Stamping Project--Hoppy Easter

As I often like to say, late for this year early for next!

I planned on making a dozen Easter cards as I hinted earlier in a blog post. Only four were delivered, oops.

Six were made with Fresh Freesia and six with Pale Papaya inks and cardstock. Remember Pale Papaya is a departing In-Colour while Fresh Freesia joins the Subtles line. These cards were tricky even though they were sketched out beforehand. I wasn't completely happy with how they looked. Also, silly me, I mismeasured the scalloped pieces. Instead of using the right-size die, I used a slightly smaller one. So not only did I run into design problems, there were technical challenges. It's an inevitable part of the creative process and not always a bad thing.

The sentiment, flowers, and rabbits are stamped with Early Espresso ink. I love the warmth Early Espresso brings to cards because it's not as cool or stark as black. I also used another departing die set for the branches and once I added the branches into my design I liked it a lot more.

Now, Full of Love is a retiring item, but I want to spotlight it, because as a thrifty crafter, I appreciate double duty sets. If you carefully ink the floral parts, you now have eight different edges for borders. The thin line style also coordinates with other thin line stamps in my collection. When looking through the catalogue, think beyond the literal image and you may surprise yourself with all the possibilities!

Supply List for 12 cards

• Three sheets of 8.5 x 12" Fresh Freesia cardstock
• Three sheets of 8.5 x 12" Pale Papaya cardstock
• 1 12x12" sheet of Basic White cardstock or large white scraps
• Fresh Freesia, Pale Papaya, and Early Espresso inks
• Full of Love stamp set
• Easter Bunny stamp set and Bunny Punch
• Scalloped Contours dies
• Hand-drawn Dots background stamp
• Any die set that contains branches
• Lightweight vellum or white office paper
• Stamparatus
• Sponges for inking
• Chalk pastels or other colour tools
• Dimensionals and other adhesives
• Scoring, cutting, and sponging tools

Instructions

1. Score each sheet of cardstock in half but don't cut the sheets in half just yet.
2. Stamp with matching ink all over the right side of each sheet using the Hand-drawn Dots background stamp. Stamp on and stamp off to create an overlapping pattern. I stamped more around the bottom edge of the card to create a gradient effect. Once you are happy with your stamping, cut the sheets in half to make 12 bases.
3. Die cut 12 scallop shapes from the Scalloped Contours set using the 3.25x4.5" die.
4. Cut 12 2.5x3.75" rectangles from basic white cardstock.
5. Cut 12 2x3.25" rectangles from basic white card stock.
6. Sponge the corresponding rectangles with either Fresh Freesia or Pale Papaya ink. Feel free to mix or match as you desire--after all, it's your card :-)
7. Stamp the edges of the white rectangles, both large and small, with a stamp from Full Of Love, using Early Espresso ink.
8. Stamp your Easter sentiment in Early Espresso ink, centering it on the smaller rectangle. A stamping platform like the Stamparatus is a great helper here.
9. Stamp 12 rabbits in Early Espresso ink and punch them out with the coordinating punch. I used chalk pastels to color the rabbits. You can use pencil crayons or watercolour pencils. The fun thing about pastels is that they leave a soft look and you can erase color away to make some interesting patterns and shapes.
10. Die cut 12 sets of three branches from your chosen set. You can use any die cut set you have on hand which will make a nice silhouette--leaves, branches, flowers, or whatever you like. I used light opaque vellum that I had some scraps of but office paper or scraps of white cardstock also work.
11. Sponge around the card bases with matching ink. You can even sponge the edges of the scalloped pieces to give them a little oomph!
12. Now all the pieces are cut and coloured, it's time to assemble them. I found it easy to assemble the scalloped card fronts before attaching them to the base.

I really liked the Easter Bunny stamp set. It's just the right amount of cute and fun for me--sometimes I'm a little picky when it comes to cute and fun :-) It would be super fun to get some tiny googly eyes and put them on the rabbits in the set!

Until next time...