Holiday a la Carte

The eagerly awaited Holiday Mini Catalogue has so many gorgeous stamps, ribbon, Designer Series Paper and even fabric that it is hard to keep my wish list from growing! If you are a fan of vintage or love the Christmas cards you remember from childhood, you will love the stamp sets in this catalogue. I had to order a few and then it was tough decided what to try first.

I finally decided to show you what I did with one of the stamps from the a la Carte collection. This is an assortment of single stamps that are very affordably priced and ideal for stampers at all levels. This stamp is called Christmas Postcard and is perfect for my favourite technique of watercolouring.

Stamps: Christmas Postcard
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake and markers in Cherry Cobbler, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight, River Rock, Old Olive and Always Artichoke
Other: Victoria Crochet Trim, Newsprint DSP, ticket corner punch

Click on the Holiday Mini on the left to go to my Stampin' Up web site, then click on Shop Now to place an order on-line. Or contact me if you would like to know how you can get some of these gorgeous products free by hosting a work shop!

Check back for more Holiday Mini projects and have a Very Stamping Day!

The Higgledy Piggledy Parade

I got to see my very first Higgledy Piggledy Parade! The little town of Roberts Creek on the Sunshine Coast does things in a big way for its annual Creek Daze celebration. I had enquired earlier this month about putting a table in the craft fair but had been told that all the spaces were booked. Then I got an email the day before the event asking if I was still interested as there had been some cancellations.

Well, it was a scramble but I managed to pull some things together and my Mom donated a few items, such as the Flower Power Bags. My Mom and my sister Kathy also spent the day with me. It was a blast! My spot was right on the bridge of the road that leads down to the ocean and what a view we had. Check this out:

View of the Pacific Ocean from the bridge in Roberts Creek. That's Vancouver Island you can see in the distance.

Apparently over 200 people took part in the parade. Here are just a few of them:

There were decorated bicycles ...

... and people on stilts ...

... and a "float" from a local business featuring the signature emblem of Roberts Creek - the gumboot ...

... and dogs ...

... and hula hoops ...

... and what parade doesn't need a ghost??

After the parade, everyone headed down to the Mandala where the entertainment went on all day with local musicians and singers performing all day:

The Mandala is freshly painted every summer.

There were lots of booths selling a wide variety of products and food. Here are a couple of my favourites:

Street food, Asian style.

Wind chimes - Roberts Creek style.

I met a lot of interesting people, such as this young woman in her delightful hat:

All in all it was a tiring but very fun day. I sold enough to cover the fee as well as the table I bought to display my wares. I am on the list of vendors for the Christmas Craft Fair and I'm really looking forward to that! I'm planning for it already.

I have some projects to share with you next time, so be sure to check back. Have a Very Stamping Day!

My Mom!

Today's post is dedicated to my Mom. She is a master recycler! Give her almost any object and she can make something out of it. For a few years now she has been taking plastic shopping bags, cutting them into strips and then crocheting them into other useful objects. She has made a round, 4-ft. in diameter rug for a deck, numerous fishing hats and over 200 tote bags. Everyone in the family saves plastic bags for her as many businesses out here on the Sunshine Coast either don't use them anymore, charge for them, or use biodegradeable bags. This is a messenger bag she made and gave to me. Lucky me!

Since I am still unpacking, I have been going through clothes that I know will never fit me again in this life! So, I took a bunch of jeans and my Big Shot and the Scallop Square die and the Bigz Island Floral die and the Bigz Clear Flower die and the Beautiful Butterflies die to my Mom's one day and this is what happened! I call them Flower Power Bags.

Bag #1

Bag #2 Front

Bag #2 - Back

This is a great way to recycle old, worn out denim jeans and clothes that would otherwise be thrown away.

Have a Very Stamping Day!

Gone to the dogs!

Since I am living at a Dog Resort and also working on a casual part-time basis with the dogs, I just had to have this Level 2 Hostess Set in the new 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalogue - contact me to find out how you can earn this cute set FREE - and this is what I've done with it so far.

I also used the D is for Dog set for the paw prints and bone images. And the cardstock is all new colours! The base is Cajun Craze and I layered Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzaz then Whisper White. The ink is Cajun Craze and Early Espresso. A very easy card to make!

I'm off to play with the dogs again. Have a Very Stamping Day!

Cake anyone?

It's been exactly two weeks today since I arrived here on the Sunshine Coast. Every day has been a wonderful adventure, full of new sights and spending time with some of my sisters and my Mom. In fact, I've been so busy visiting and sight seeing that I have hardly done any unpacking. But, I think I'm avoiding the boxes because I moved out of a two-storey, 3-bedroom house with a LARGE storage shed which was full of boxes - into a 3-ROOM apartment with very limited closet and storage space. That means I'm going to have to make some brutal decisions as to what I really, really want to keep. Other than my stamping stuff, of course! It may be painful, but I will have to face it.


Needless to say, I haven't been doing a lot of stamping lately. However, I had an order waiting for me here at my new address and I finally had to play. I saw these Tealight Cakes on Splitcoast Stampers and had to break into my new package of Greenhouse Gala DSP to make them. They are really fun to make. This is what I came up with:

And here is a top view:

This is what I used to make these:

Paper: Greenhouse Gala DSP, Pumpkin Pie, Baja Blue, Pear Pizzazz

Punches: 2-step Bird Punch (for leaves), Boho Blossoms

Other: battery operated tea lights, Tombo Multi glue, white gel pen

I'm really enjoying being so close to the ocean! With views like this, who wouldn't like it?

I promise I will get back to doing more regular posts - in between unpacking, of course! In the mean time, check out the brand new 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalogue for some great new products and ideas and have a Very Stamping Day!

Tropical Invitation

What a long time has passed since my last post! In my defence, I have been a bit distracted by some events that happened very quickly. The most major event is that I sold my house, quit my job and I'm planning on moving to the west coast of British Columbia!! I'm very excited about it as I am moving to the Sunshine Coast where my Mom and my youngest sister have been living for almost 25 years.

So I have been busy packing, packing, packing!! My goodness I have a lot of stuff. And I haven't even started on my stamping stuff yet. It's getting down to crunch time, so I have to get going on that right away - like tomorrow!! I was debating whether or not I should pack it first - so I wouldn't be tempted - or leave it till last - for stress relief.

I also held off on placing my pre-order for the new catalogue that will be available on July 1. I finally got my order in yesterday and it's being shipped to my new address. Now I really can't wait to get there! There is some fabulous stuff in the new catty.

Once my friends and co-workers heard the news, I got a few "rushed" orders for cards before I leave town. Also was asked to make invitations for a 50th birthday party for the father of a co-worker who happens to be a Parrothead. I'm also a Parrothead and was excited to be able to use the Tropical Party stamp set from the Summer Mini. It was the first thing on my wish list, along with the Island Oasis Designer Series Paper. I CASED the design from Cherie Franklin. Take a look:

Stamp Sets: Tropical Party, Elements of Style
Paper: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Glossy White, Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP
Ink: Sahara Sand, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette and markers in Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun
Accessories: markers, circle punches, sponges

This will  probably be my last post until I'm settled in my new home. I'm hoping to be on the road by the end of this week. Thanks for stopping by and have a Very Stamping Day!

Summer Mini Madness!

There are so many things I love about the Summer Mini Catalogue. To see what's in it, click on the link to the left to go to my Stampin' Up web site or click here .

The first thing I want to share with you today is another project using the Elements of Style stamp set. Can you tell I really, really like it? Here is what I used to make this:

Stamps: Elements of Style, Sincere Salutations

Paper: Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand

Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, markers, Aqua Painter, sponge, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch

And here is how I did it:
First, I stamped the big flower image from Elements of Style using Close to Cocoa ink on Sahara Sand cardstock. I then coloured it using my favourite watercolour technique and Stampin' Up markers. Then I ran it through the Big Shot using the Top Note Die. I trimmed it following the line of perforations left by the die. I put it through the Big Shot again, this time using the Square Lattice Textured Impressions folder. Love the texture this creates! Using a sponge, I rubbed Sahara Sand ink all over it. This gives it even more texture and depth.


I mounted this image on Old Olive cardstock. Now, because I like to try to use every scrap, I took the cut-out left over from using the Top Note die, and placed it around the image. Because I had trimmed the image, this leaves a nice border of Old Olive showing through, and nothing gets wasted! This was then mounted on the card base of Rich Razzleberry.


The sentiment from Sincere Salutations was stamped on Sahara Sand using Rich Razzleberry ink and punched out with the Large Oval Punch. It was mounted on Rich Razzleberry punched out with the Wide Oval Punch. "Thinking of You" is a sentiment that could be used for many different occasions.


CASEing Shelli
I have been faithfully following the experiences of Shelli Gardner, co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up, as she criss-crosses the continent conducting a series of Workshops of a Lifetime. Several demonstrators in Canada and the US won the privilege of having Shelli visit their homes and actually conduct a workshop! I can just imagine what an awesome event it would be, to watch Shelli do a workshop.


On her blog, So Shelli, she writes about each workshop and posts the projects for each one. They are always inspiring and amazingly simple yet striking at the same time. Perfect to do for Make 'n Takes. I just had to CASE this next project.


Here are the supplies used:
Stamps: Favourite Thoughts, Tropical Party
Paper: Whisper White, Taken With Teal, Island Oasis DSP
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: 5-Petal Punch, Big Shot, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, mat pack, paper pierceing tool, brad (non-SU)

This card was very quick and easy to make. In fact, I did several of them and used all of the stamps in the Favourite Thoughts stamp set. I had to make a couple of substitutions. Shelli had used Tempting Turquoise for her flowers, a colour I don't have but will be ordering soon, as the Taken With Teal that I used will be discontinued soon. I also didn't have yellow SU brad to use for the centre of the flower.

For the flowers, I ran a piece of cardstock through the Big Shot, using the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and then punched out the flowers with the 5-Petal Punch.

The pattern from Island Oasis Designer Series Paper really lends itself to this design, as it is perfect for cutting in a strip.

I'm going to send one of these cards to each of my 5 sisters. If any of them are reading this, watch your mail closely!

If you like what you've seen here, there are many more great products in the Summer Mini Catalogue. Products can be ordered from this mini until August 31.

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Very Stamping Day!