Shoes & Stamps!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been a blogging stranger over the past little while!  I got rolling with a new business venture that I am absolutely loving - J9 Design shoes!  It really took off in my hometown and surrounding area so the past month and a half or so has been CrAzY bUsY!!!  If you would like to see what all the hype is about, check out Manitoba's own "J9 Design" on Facebook or on the web.  We are the very first shoe party company in the province!

So now that you know all about my affair with shoes and that I've been cheating on my stamps with  my shoes for months now.... it's time to refocus on crafting!

I got the inspirational kick-in-the-pants when I got my demonstrator-only sneak preview of the Occasions Mini catalogue and Sale-a-Bration brochure!  When I placed my preorder online, I was treated to 2 free gifts for recruiting in November!  With my preorder, I was eligible for Sale-a-Bration items - a total of 5 FREE ones!  I also got $55 of hostess dollars to spend!  A total FREE haul of 3 stamp sets, 2 digital ensemble CD's (for My Digital Studio), pack of patterned paper, ribbon & brad bundle, decorative journalling spots, glass glitter, Sweet Pressed cookie stamps AND a punch!  Woo hoo I love my job!

If you want to get on the list for an Occasions Mini catalogue and a Sale-a-Bration brochure, be sure to contact me.  If you haven't heard of Sale-a-Bration, PLEASE do contact me!  It's the most exciting time of the Stampin' Up! year!

Here are a couple cards I made out of my favorite paper, Pocketful of Posies.  I love the large, bold patterns and how easy it is to add just a few embellishments and have a card done!



Don't hate me, but....

Hi everyone!

Just a spoiler alert... I will be posting a couple Christmas cards today!  I know, I know, it's still early, but don't hate me just yet!  Despite the fact the weather has been absurdly beautiful this October, the month is almost over.  Then comes November, then comes December!  I know that if you're like me, you'll have an insanely busy November and early December, so why not get those cards done now??  It will save you time in the long run and you'll be so proud you got them done early; saving time for more important things like visiting friends and family this coming season.

Here are a couple cards I made which will be featured in my November Christmas Card class (please contact me for more details). 

 This one features the Gifts of Christmas stamp set.  It was stamped in Versamark ink then sprinkled with silver embossing powder and heat set.  It was mounted on old Xmas patterned paper, but you can use any old stuff you have handy.  Then a sparkly knotted bow was added diagonally and anchored behind the patterned paper panel.  I also added 3 cute mini brads in the lower right corner.  Then the whole thing was mounted on a Not Quite Navy standard sized card panel.

This card uses an old hostess set called Patterned Pines - which is still one of my favorites! The trees are inked up with individual markers in Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Island Indigo (a new In Colour!).  I used 3 assorted silver brads to top the trees, then double matted the trees on Baja and Indigo paper leaving 1/8" border.  This fits perfectly into the frame created by the Tulip Border embossing folder which was used on the Chocolate Chip card base.



Hope you enjoyed a little sneak  peek at next class!  Best wishes on your Christmas crafting!

The Flu's of Fall!

Hi everyone!


Sorry for the delay in not posting! I was really busy in the last half of September. I had a great time at my first card class with 8 wonderful gals. We made 6 awesome cards and had lots of fun. The rest of September was spent prepping for a tradeshow in a neighbouring town. It was my first time to this town for Stampin’ Up!, so it was great to meet new people and find new customers. A little boy was so excited to find a truck card for his grandpa, it was adorable.

Anyhow, I wanted to share a card today that is very current to what’s happening in my life! First of all, I absolutely LOVE fall; the colours, the crispy leaves, the chilled breeze, the excitement of oncoming holidays! But….while I’ve been lucky enough to avoid the seasonal coughs/colds/flus, many of my friends have gotten bugs and have been under the weather (even though the weather is unseasonally warm here! It’s like June!). This inspired me to make a get well card with a fall theme.

I used Soft Suede cardstock as a base for my card. I used the Leaves #2 die and my Big Shot to cut out different leaves in the colours of Pool Party, More Mustard and Soft Suede. These colours coordinate with the Spice Cake designer series paper that I used. To make the texture, you glue the leaves to the patterned paper panel then run the whole thing through the Big Shot with the Lattice embossing folder. It creates an inlaid embossing look. I anchored the panel to the base with 4 Mustard brads then added the “get well wishes” sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

I hope you and your families are not suffering any of these fall flus. It’s far too beautiful outside to be sick!

Take care!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding Card

Hi everyone!


I wanted to show you a custom card I made at the request of a lady I work with. She wanted a Greek style wedding card. I don’t know a whole lot about Greece, despite having visited there on a school trip. I do remember the beautiful blue of the ocean against the white of the shoreline houses though… So I jumped off from that for the inspiration on this card.  I ran into problems when I saw the vision of the card in my head, but realized I don’t even have the Lattice die that I would need! Luckily, my sweet friend Linda came through for me and saved the day by lending me hers {{thank you Linda!!}}.

I used her Lattice die with Whisper White cardstock through the Big Shot machine then adhered it to a Pacific Point card backing. The base of the card is also Pacific Point, but matted to 1/8” with White as well. I rolled Old Olive cardstock through the Big Shot twice with our Little Leaves Sizzlit diecut. I cut the leaves a bit to space them out more on the bottom of the card. Then I punched a bunch of tiny Always Artichoke dots using the Cupcake builder punch. These are my olives on the olive branches!! I have no idea if they realistically resemble an olive or not, but I think the Greek newlyweds will get it!

The card is finished off with the “congrats” sentiment from the Tagtastic hostess set.


I also wanted to show something else I’ve been working on….My new kick is BOOKMARKS! You can get one done super fast and feel really good that you’ve accomplished something. That feeling is few and far between for me lately. I just feel so busy and guilty that I’m neglecting my stamping stuff. But you can bust one of these out in less than 15 minutes, so it makes you feel great!!!

This one was made by cutting our DSP cardboard packaging insert down to 8” by 2.5”. Then I covered it with Baja Breeze cardstock. I stamped a few different images from the Artistic Etchings set all over both sides. Then I adhered some retired black jewels that I’ve been hoarding since last Halloween. I sponged the edges with grey and a bit of black. I punched a hole near the top, set a jumbo eyelet in it for strength then tied some Pool Party ruffled ribbon and other thin black ribbon through.

Hope you liked these things and hope you can find a spare 15 minutes to try your hand at a bookmark!

(P.S.  Yes, Clive Barker is one of my favorite authors!  I will read anything by him, as well as by Lee Child!)

August Promo & "Let's Party" Pants!

Hi everyone!

I wanted to show you a couple cards today (for different reasons). The first one I made for my Grandma’s birthday.

It uses Perfect Plum for a base and then a layer of the retired Botanical Gazette DSP. I stamped my new favorite (yep, I have a new fave every time you talk to me!) image from the set Field Flowers. It’s a 2-step stamper but really easy to use and forgiving – you don’t even need the Stamp-a-ma-jig positioner. I stamped the flower heads in Perfect Plum and Concord Crush for a darker accent. The middle of the flowers is More Mustard with Soft Suede accents. I finished it off the image panel with some distressing, tearing and sponging. Then I adhered 3 gorgeous little pearls at the top and a knot of Chantilly lace across the bottom. My Grandma loved it and called it a masterpiece (she may be biased though!).




The next thing I wanted to talk about (and show you what you can do with) is our August promo! It’s great – I was ecstatic when SU announced it… For the month of August, when you buy 3 packs of Designer Series Paper (DSP) you will get a 4th for free! That’s a $13.50 value! And it means you can stock up on your favorites. Or get one of everything. Or like me, get 2 of everything – then you can reserve one pack for scrapbooking and one pack for cards.

Don’t be afraid to cut up that 12x12 paper – it’s not just for scrapbooking. Here’s a cute card I made using the new Domestic Goddess DSP.

I selected a chunk that would show the clothes on the line. After cutting out the appropriate piece of DSP, I carefully covered the pants image with Tombow liquid glue then sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I got the “Let’s party” by colouring just the 2 required words on the birthday stamp from Occasional Quotes. I did the “party” with the old Jumble Alphabet set and used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to ensure perfect placement. I anchored one of the new In Colour Designer Print Brads in Calypso Coral in the bottom corner.


It’s an eye-catching and humourous birthday card for that special friend that always seems to have their Party Pants on!

Hope you like!

P.S. Contact me today to take advantage of the Buy 3 Get 1 Free DSP sale!