So Long, Farwell

Sorry guys! I have been meaning to share since Easter ;) My poor little guy got the chicken pox and then I came down with a cold. THANKFULLY no one else got the pox (mom can't remember if I had them as a child or not). So blogging and crafting has been put on hold.

As you will notice on my side bar, I have a link that brings you to Stampin' Up!s retired list. I haven't gotten savvy enough to figure out how to attach a pdf file, so you'll have to forgive me that. I haven't gotten any sneak peeks at the new items yet- so it's hard to tell how I feel about saying good bye to so many favourites. Most of them I put in my Starter Kit when I signed up a year ago. Flight of the Butterfly is my favourite set to enhance a card. For All You Do is my continueous go-to set, full of floral images that I adore. I guess they will be easy to replace and I don't doubt Stampin' Up! will have some amazing products to take their places, but until I see what they have in store, the retired list is very bittersweet. I am excited to see what Stampin' Up has coming out though. As sad as I have been in the past as a customer to see certain 'must have' beloved faves gone before I had a chance to grab 'em, I was always enthralled with what new and amazing things SU brought out in their current catalogue.

So enough about retiring :) Make sure if you have any MUST HAVES you grab them now. AND remember- the 2010-2012 In Colours will be gone as well (Concord Crush, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait and Poppy Parade). I can't wait to see what sort of colour combination SU will come up with to replace these fun colours!

To reminisce I have an older project I made when I first became a demo: Here's all the little trinkets I made with my Starter Kit. I chose 4/5 in colours and bought the last one as an add on. They were hostess treats. And, as you can see, my beloved Flight of the Butterfly gave them dimennsion.

Here's a Mini Magazine note card holder with coordinating note cards.

It's a great way to put those scraps to good use and a quick and simple gift for a teacher, mother or friend (or yourself - don't forget to treat yourself!)

That's it for me for now, make sure you go over your wishlists and get those retiring items before it's too late! And join me in the coming weeks to see what's retiring on the accessories side, as well as sneak peeks as soon as I am able with fresh new items coming your way!

~Brandie~

Tap Dancing Technique

Good morning and happy Wednesday all! I hope today finds you cheerful and inspired. I look outside here from my Northern Alberta home and see the snow and ice melt away and the sun blazing through my window and I know that spring is here. Time to relish in new life, not to mention get rid of the extra pounds from Christmas (and, yanno, the years before then too). It's inspiring to see the sun out side and motivating me to get out, enjoy the fresh air and walk! The cheapest way to lose weight and be healthy. Not to mention, pretty effective to those who keep it up!

Now on to crafting ;)

I was on the demonstrator website for Stampin' Up! and I stumbled across this gem of a technique. I am eager to show my Stampers 10 group this tonight and see what they come up with. I just 'had' to use the technique once I saw the video and this is what I came up with.

I also bought my first pack of Basic Grey cardstock and ink. When I opened it up and set it down, I immediatly began looking for colours that would work beautifully with it and came across this colour combo which I fell in love with. Basic Grey, Rich Razzleberry and Pretty in Pink. I was just playing with the technique with my Dot Dot Dot background stamp 115332. I inked it with Pretty in Pink, then took my Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Write marker and, using the brush end, just lightly tapped randomly all over the stamp. Then I took a scrap of 3x3 Whisper White and stamped it. It was so pretty, and used the colours I wanted that I used it as the base of these cards. I then used that stamp and created a background. I inked my background stamp with the Basic Grey, and being as it was very dark, I stamped on a scrap and then stamped again on my piece that would be going on my card, to make it a lighter shade. Then I added mini flower blooms from a couple of random stamp sets in Rich Razzleberry and Pretty in Pink to create the background. I think they came together beautifully and used my A Word for You stamp set (117032 w 120528 c) and Basic Grey Stampin' Write marker to ink one part of the stamp for the sentiment on the outside, then the bottom part of the sentiment for the inside. It came together pretty quickly when I finally figured out what I was doing. That can be the hardest part sometimes, looking at your beautiful Stampin' Up! supplies, sitting at your desk, knowing you want to create SOMETHING, but not knowing where to start!

So I hope I inspired you today, thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

Summer Smooches

Hey everyone!

That was my very first Sale-A-Bration. It was a lot of fun and I got to network with some amazing people and give away some great products, but it's over now and that's a bit sad. I didn't hit the goals I had hoped to achieve, like finding my very first downline, but alas, it is what it is and I had a lot of fun doing it! There is always next year ;)

So to keep the fun going, Stampin' Up! has introduced their Summer Smooches line. This is a suite that will be available in the new 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalogue, but for the first time I can ever remember being a demonstrator AND customer- SU is letting their customers have a sneak peek and even purchase some select items from the new catty. The Summer Smooch Suite is fun and colourful and flirty- here's the link for you to take a look yourself:

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/itemlist.aspx?categoryID=909 Here's a little peek at some of the products available for pre-sale. They are so vibrant and fun! I don't have any samples to show you as *I* didn't take advantage of pre-ordering (shame!) So don't be like me and get these fun items early! You only have until April 30th- then you will have to wait until the new Idea Book and Catalogue comes out.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

Thursday Ramblings and Cards

Hey all! Eloquent with the naming of a blog entry I am not. So bear with me there ;)

A few things- 1. Sale a Bration is almost over THE HORROR! One pic that I saw recently was awesome:

LOL! Don't let this be you- you can click on the image at the side bar and it'll take you to my website and you can order that way. Remember- all orders of $60 get a FREE item from the SAB catalogue AND it's still only $150 to sign up- but only until Saturday folks!

2. I am hosting my first crop! EEKS! I am really excited and anxious at the same time. To be honest, I don't know what I am doing, but I got a lot of positive feed back and ideas. The school is sending out info in their newsletter so I'll be able to network with my community. It was hard to cut back, I originally had it for $140 for the day- but was told that was too much, even IF they were getting a bunch of stuff. So learning that it doesn't have to be all or nothing is helping too.

3. CARDS! I haven't actually been crafting for a bit, but I have some oldies but goodies stock piled up here to share with you:

Here are some tent fold cards. I was so inspired by the colours and the back ground stamping from the Crimped Envelope Card, I carried it over to some greeting cards. It's Pear Pizzazz, Bravo Burgundy and Blushing Bride. Other than A Word For You (117032 w, 120528 c) stamp set, the sets are retired. I just made this for the Tradeshow I was at last month. Everyone commented on how cute they were- no one bought any (sigh). At least I can hoard and use them myself ;) lol

Here's a few monochromatic gatefold cards. I had made using the flower techniques I showed a few weeks ago. I LOVE placing the buttons in the middle and I thought they were so sweet that they deserved all the emphasis instead of a sentiment. I made wide panels from Whisper White and then dry embossed them and highlighted them with ink, then used some Vanilla Shimmer Smooch to make them all sparkley. I used a Scalloped Square to mount the flowers on and these sweet, simple cards were complete!

That's about it for me- thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

Easter Workshop

Evening all! Off topic really quick, I just saw the ad for the Hunger Games and I can NOT tell you how stoked I am. I desperately wanting to not only see the movie, but also read the trilogy. Anyways, lol, back on topic.

I am hosting an Easter workshop tomorrow and for the past 2 weeks I have had other things going on and then creative block hit like a brick. I started making a few Easter things, but I fell in hate with what I created. I didn't like them at ALL. Then I ran out of glue :/ Go figure. So after racking my brain, google, splitcoast and pintrest, I got these things all set up :) The belly band was something I came up with just today. It's not what I wanted to do, but it's cute and it works.

This one here is the mega Matchbook that I made large enough to hold 6 mini hershey chocolate bars. I used my Subtle paper collection to wrap each of the bars, cut 1.5x3 inches (wraps them perfectly). I used Pretty In Pink, and cut it to 4.25 x 11 and scored at 1, 1.5, 5.5, 6, 6.5. I trimmed the bottom edge (that folds over, under the bow) with Scalloped Edge punch, and then added layers of scallopes in different colours. I also used the 3rd sized Label from the Labels Collection in the Occassions Mini 125598. I used the 2nd label to create the image, which was stamped using the Everybunny Stamp Set (122707 c, 122705 w). I finished it off with Whisper White Satin Ribbon, 114616. I then tucked the scalloped border up and over the top, after adhereing the ribbon to the underside of the top of the Matchbook (right under the die cut image) so I can wrap it around and tie it up :)

This here uses the 1x8 Cellophane bags, 124134 and I filled it with Cadbury mini eggs. I folded one Label (the 3rd one) in half to seal the top, then added layers using the 2nd and 1st layer, finishing it off with a stamped image. I also used the Boho Blossom Punch 119858 to create some cute, tiny blooms with the Subtle Designer Series paper collection, topping those off with some Dazzling Detail (124117). Here's the last little packaging I am showcasing tomorrow. I used Stampin' Up's Medium Flat Cello Bags (4x6), 102757 and cut a bit off, folding it in half. I wasn't sure what I was going to do so I just started playing a bit. I knew I wanted to do a belly band, but I didn't want to make a box as the workshop is only 3 hours and we were doing a couple of things already. So I made the Belly Band and highlighted the So Saffron with the Every Egg standard wheel 124089 and So Saffron ink. Then I used a piece of scrap that was cut from creating labels for the other 2 projects. I put it sideways, the stamped the image and finished it off with more Boho Blossoms. Finishing off all projects I just inked the edges to add dimension, and viola! Done :) Was pretty happy with how everything turned out, especially after having creative block for the past little while.

That's it for me for today- have a great evening!

~Brandie~

Note Card Boxes

Morning and Happy Wednesday all!

Sorry it's been a bit, I have been so busy with other things that I haven't been able to craft or blog much. I do have a second Stampers 10 group going, so that's pretty awesome. The cool thing was in my first Stampers 10 group- it was 3 ladies I already knew, and they each brought a new person in that I did NOT know, and one person from an internet ad. Then the 2nd Stampers 10 group I got underway was only ONE person I already knew, 4 from internet ads and 2 of those people brought in other new people. It's neat to see my business networking and reaching out to people I didn't know already. I can see why relationships are so important to the Stampin' Up! family as it's given me the opportunity to meet some really amazing people and overcome a wee bit of anxiety :)

Now on to the goodies!

I have been addicted to making crimped envelope cards for a while now. I love how you can make a cute insert and the decorating possibilies. It's more of a mini gift than a card, I think. They'd be perfect for holding gift cards or certificates (in fact, I make these for my own personal Stampin' Up! gift certificates), photos or recipes. OH RECIPE CARDS! Okay- I think I know what my next project is going to be ;) lol

So here is what I came up with over the past few days:

Here are a set of 12 Crimped Envelope note cards all boxed up. I tied a ribbon to keep them together as it was a bit too many cards for the box and they kept falling forward. I brought the design of my cards out into the box. I think that if you only had maybe 10 cards, or not so much bulk in the front of your cards, they wouldn't fall forward like mine did. I will have a quick tutorial on how to make these boxes soon- I was going to do it now, but I am not great at explaining so I'll wait til I have photos to show what I mean :)

This card is a remake of the same card I made with different colours. I just used Sahara Sand instead of Very Vanilla and Wild Wasabi cardstock instead of Certainly Celery. I created the same overlaping animals with my Fox and Friends Stamp set. I created the same background with the retired Circle jumbo wheel and Hostess stamp set. I really adore this design so I really wanted a chance to use it again. And being as the note cards are blank, they can be used as birthday invitations, or birthday cards, or thank you notes. The possibilities could be endless :)

Here's a set using Rich Razzleberry, Bravo Burgundy, and Pretty in Pink/Blushing Bride (I used BB to roll out my background). The current set is Flight of the Butterfly, and I loved making the 3D butterflies pop off the page with my XL butterfly punch. Again, I have to gush about how much I LOVED the thin Lucky Limeade ribbon from the Sale-A-Bration flyer. I will be sad to see it go, and hoping SU brings it back, with more colours, in the new Idea Book and Catalogue!

So with this card I just created my own background and brought the design into the notecard itself and the box as well. Again, very versatile. You could even make a stationary set using these cards and some other goodies if you were so inclined.

Anyways, that is it for me- have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

On Your Birthday

These cards have so many of my favourite things I love doing.

Thing 1. finding unique ways to fold cards to veer away from the traditional. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I find unique foldings really help to make a card pop!

Thing 2: embossing with glitter!

Thing 3: using a template that works and making a variety of cards that are just a bit different, but easy enough to assemble.

I used the On Your Birthday 111664 stamp set for each of these. The cool thing with this stamp set, is that it has a variety of birthday sentiments that can mix and match for the outside and inside of the cards. I also used For All You Do 115360, to create the side panel. I cut a 2x5.5 inch panel and dry embossed them with embossing folders. You can't see the embossing on the pink panel- but I used the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder 115964 and inked the raised edge.

So this card features Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink and Baja Breeze. Instead of using a coloured embossing powder, I mixed some of the Aqua in the Fine Supernova Stampin' Glitter pack 114287, with clear embossing powder.

This card features Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla and Pink Pirouette. I used a different sentiment from the stamp set.

This one is exactly like the one above, only I mixed it up at a customer's request and used Whisper White and Basic Black with the Rich Razzleberry.

So once you get your bases done, it's really easy to get into the swing of making a bunch of cards, even if you're using different colour palettes, especially if you're using the same techniques and stamp sets.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~