Busy, Busy!

I haven't posted to my blog in a while and it's because I have been so busy making different projects! Our third child is due in just a couple of weeks and I've been working to get different projects finished before the big day.

I'll post photos soon - I promise - but I thought I would at least let you know what I have been up to:

• Hallowe'en goody bag created for both of my boys' classes
• Hallowe'en treat containers for boys' teachers
• Hallowe'en bingo cards
• Fall ornaments
• Christmas bingo cards
• Christmas ornament from the cover of the holiday catalogue

Tomorrow,  I will be hosting the 100 in 1 Challenge and I will be sure to post lots of photos of the above crafts and the handiwork of the volunteers once we are done.

Happy stamping,

Beth

It's Beginning... (Part 2)

I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday card making session at my home at the end of August and am looking forward to another class near the end of September. With the 100 in 1 Challenge happening the same week it will be a busy but happy time.

On my Stampin' Up demonstrator site, I promised that I would post a photo of one of the two paper crafts that will be made that night. The first is a three-dimensional Christmas tree in either 8" x 8" or 12" x 12". The tree can be mounted on card stock-wrapped cardboard and displayed on a stand or mounted inside a shadowbox. Either way, this creation looks beautiful and I can't wait to share it!

The second creation has already been posted to my blog. It's a holiday bingo card you can make as greeting cards for friends and family or as a set for you to play with. One of the wonderful ladies at my holiday card-making class, Sylvie, had the great idea to make these bingo cards and then send them to relatives so they could play bingo long-distance during the holidays. Isn't that clever?

This is a sample of what the bingo card looks like. Using the Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set, you can customize the colours of all of the stamps. I chose 7 different colours and managed to strike a good balance, I think.

If you are interested in participating in this class, visit my demonstrator website and click on 'events' to register. 

Happy stamping,

Beth

100 in 1 Challenge is on!

I mentioned this idea of a "100 in 1" challenge a short while ago and am happy to say that the plans are underway! People are already generously volunteering their time to attend the event and I have begun working on unique card designs for each volunteer.

I am so excited to be able to work with a group of people to create something beautiful from paper and then to be able to share it with others to make their days a bit brighter! Once the samples have been finished, I'll be sure to post them here for you to see.

Happy stamping,
Beth

Holiday Card Class - So Much Fun!

Wednesday night, I hosted a Christmas card making event. The ladies who attended chose from over a dozen designs and were able to create five cards to start their holiday stash of greeting cards for the winter season.

Here are some of the cards from that night:

This card uses the Be of Good Cheer DSP, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, and Gumball Green card stock, and the Petals-a-Plenty EF. Circles are punched in three different sizes and some are popped with dimensionals for interest.

I love this cute little card! I used Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, and Lucky Limeade for the paper along with Festival of Prints DSP. 

This card also uses this season's colour combination of Gumball Green, Cherry Cobbler, and Very Vanilla. The ornaments come from the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set and were cut using the coordinating Framelits (purchased as a bundle for a great discount - wonderful idea, Stampin' Up!). The ornaments are raised with dimensionals and "hung" with Very Vanilla ribbon. The sentiment is cut with a scallop punch and raised with dimensionals as well. A gift card can easily be added to the interior using Glue Dots. 

I invited my friends to bring a friend along to share in the fun and, to show my appreciation, I gave each friend and their guest a little gift. Two ladies received 4 handmade cards with envelopes and two ladies received this gift box in which 5 matching note cards were nestled. 

I had so much fun at this gathering and am looking forward to the next one!

M is for Merry

Experimenting with some of my new Stampin' Up products tonight and I created a great card using Whisper White and Baja Breeze as colour inspiration. Here is a list of the materials I used:

• 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 Whisper White card stock, folded
• 5 1/4 x 4 Baja Breeze card stock
• 5 x 3 3/4 Whisper White card stock
• 1 1/2 x 2 scrap of Baja Breeze for sentiment
• Not Quite Navy ink
• Occasions Alphabet stamp set (used the M)
• More Merry Messages stamp set
• Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder (use with Big Shot)
• Bigz Snow Flurry Die (shapes cut using Baja Breeze and Whisper White) (use with Big Shot)
• Opaque embellishment at centre of smallest snowflake
• Dimensional to pop up sentiment

I really like the clean look of this card and I think it would look really nice with Night of Navy or Midnight Muse as the second colour. Baja Breeze does create a softer feel though.

Bingo!

Today, I thought I would break out my Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set and make a bingo card. I love the holidays and my plan is to make enough of these cards so that my family can play on Christmas Eve. This is my first attempt:

I found that the StazOn ink worked really well for the Bingo stamp. For the Jolly Bingo Bits, I used a variety of holiday colours (Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Silver, More Mustard for a gold look) and enjoyed customizing the images with other cheery colours. I'm really happy with how this one turned out!

Be of Good Cheer Christmas Card

Today I decided to make another Christmas card. I used the Be of Good Cheer DSP and More Merry Messages stamp set. As a treat, I am sharing the detailed instructions on how to make this card yourself.

To make this card, you will need:

• 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 Gumball Green card stock, folded in half
• 4 x 5 1/4 Cherry Cobbler card stock
• 1 1/8 x 3 3/4 Be of Good Cheer DSP (4 different strips)
• Gumball Green ribbon
• Very Vanilla card stock scrap for sentiment
• Oval Framelit (and Big Shot)
• Gumball Green ink
• dimensionals, Tombo, tape

1. Paste each strip of DSP to Cherry Cobbler card stock, beginning approximately 1/8" from one side and leaving approximately 1/8" between strips. Tip: You can begin by centring the two middle strips on the card and working outward to help you.
2. Use Snail Adhesive on length of ribbon and adhere it to the Cherry Cobbler card stock about 2/3 way down. Alternatively, you can place the ribbon along the front of the card stock and then tape the edges behind it.
3. Stamp your sentiment onto your Very Vanilla scrap using Gumball Green ink.
4. Centre the stamped image inside the oval Framelit and hold it in place on the scrap using a Post-It note. Run the Framelit through the Big Shot.
5. Adhere the oval, aligning it to the right and centring it on the ribbon. Apply using dimensionals.
6. Optional: use Very Vanilla card stock inside the card to write your message.

Enjoy!

100 in 1 Challenge

I am so excited to share with you an idea that I have for using my joy of paper crafting to bring some happiness into the lives of others. As you may know, I volunteer my time once a week to teach art at a local retirement home. We have explored the basics of drawing and will begin painting in the fall. Over the summer, I introduced my group to card making and scrapbooking, which has been a real success. Making cards seems to have been the biggest hit, and I am glad to be able to share my interest with such a great group of ladies. More on my experiences volunteering in another post. I'm mentioning it in this post because it made me think of ways in which I could further share and make a difference in our community. Soooo...

I came up with an idea to make and donate cards to different centres throughout the city. This is not an original idea, I am sure, but something that I can do that can make someone else's life a bit easier or brighter. I am often eager when I come up with a new idea and I really wanted to get started, so I have been asking friends of mine to participate in what I am calling the 100 in 1 Challenge.

My challenge is to find 9 friends who will work with me one evening or afternoon to create 10 cards each for donation. The cards made by these friends, plus my contribution of 10 cards, will make it possible for us to have created 100 cards in 1 day. These cards will be donated to places in our home town where people may benefit from having cards handy to use - Ronald McDonald House, Wellspring, the NICU at LHSC. or other places where people are hospitalized or caring for loved ones and may want to send thank you notes or have a card on hand for the birthday or anniversary that they would like to recognize, even during hard times or illness.

I am looking forward to seeing my friends meet this challenge and sharing with you the designs I choose for the 100 in 1 card making day. I'll be sure to post some photos!