Keep Calm for the Stampin' Queens/PaperCraft Crew

I saw a vintage card the other day that used Comfort Cafe and thought it was ADORABLE! So, I decided to use the paper for this week's Stampin' Queen sketch. And, speaking of Stampin' Queens, we've been renamed the PaperCraft Crew!

Look for some changes coming in the next few weeks!

Take a look:

I'm SO happy that the "Keep Calm" stamp set is available again! We're not certain when/if it may be pulled again, so if you like it, better place your qualifying order ASAP so as NOT to miss out! You can either shop in my online store or by contacting me (just click on the "email me" button at the top left) and I'll place your order for you!

Here's a close up of the button:

These bitty buttons make me SO happy! They're so darn cute and they add just the right touch!

And, in this one, I finished the LEFT side of the card instead of the right:

The flowers are from the Floral Fusion Die.

Here's the sketch on which my card was based:

What do you think?

STAMPS: Keep Calm
INK: Midnight Muse
PAPERS: Very Vanilla and Midnight Muse Cardstock; Comfort Cafe DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Bitty Buttons, Big Shot, Floral Fusion Die, Linen Thread, Seam Binding, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Inspired by Lyssa

Today's card was inspired by my dear friend, the lovely and talented Lyssa Zwolanek. Lyssa had a piece published in Stampin' Success (yes, it's THAT magazine again!) that she submitted for the Art Contest and this card is a result of my interpretation.

Check it out!

I started off with a little note card - SUCH a FUN size! - and then decided on a layer of Crumb Cake Cardstock around which to wrap my buttons.

I started off stringing the buttons on a L-O-N-G piece of Whisper White Bakers Twine and then wrapped the buttoned twine around the Crumb Cake layer. When I had all the buttons where I wanted them, I tied a knot in the back and attached the buttons with glue dots so they wouldn't move around.

Before attaching the layer to the card, I added the sentiment from Petite Pairs stamped in Night of Navy.

Here's a close up of the NEW (from the 2012-2013 Catalogue) wood look buttons:

Is that not the CUTEST? They come in three sizes/styles and are just $6.95 (#127554).

What do you think?

STAMPS: Petite Pairs
INK: Night of Navy
PAPERS: Whisper White Notecards; Crumb Cake Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Buttons, Bakers Twine

Happy Stampin'!

Stampin' Queens Aviary gets a CCMC Colour Challenge

Another one where I wasn't too sure about the darker red (in this case Riding Hood Red) going well with the lighter colours of So Saffron and Pool Party. And again, I chose it as an accent colour and it worked out perfectly! (if I do say so myself - LOL!).

Here's my card for this week's Stampin' Queens' Sketch:

Since I FOUND the So Saffron piece that I lost from this post, I decided I would use it (that and the fact that it was part of the required colours - LOL!) as the base. Then I added a layer of Pool Party and one of So Saffron DSP.

I stamped the image of the cage using Basic Grey (another required colour) on Whisper White and punched it out using the 1 3/4" circle punch. My nod to Riding Hood Red is the 2 3/8" scalloped circle on which I layered the image.

Yes, I fussy cut the bird again. I couldn't help it! It looks so darn CUTE!!!

When all fails, cut it out!

I stamped that darn cage image FOUR times and I couldn't get it straight! I probably COULD have taken out my stamp-a-majig, but I guess I was feeling particularly stubborn! So...I just cut it out and popped it up on a few dimensionals. It works, right? Then I doodled around the edges using my Pool Party Marker. At least I got THAT right! SHEESH!!!!

Here's the sketch on which the card was based:

What do you think?

STAMPS: Aviary

INK: Basic Grey, Riding Hood Red

PAPERS: Whisper White, So Saffron, Pool Party and Riding Hood Red Cardstock; So Saffron DSP

ACCESSORIES: Punches, Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Stampin' Queens meets Dynamic Duos!

Happy Wednesday! It's Stampin' Queens Sketch Day! I still had out my colours from yesterday's card, so I just kept on using them. :)

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I moved the circles around a bit and chose the Eiffel Tower for the bottom instead of a third circle.

Don't you just LOVE that little "hello" tag?? I just love, love, LOVE adding tiny details to my card. I think of them as little surprises. :)

What do you think?

STAMPS: Artistic Etchings, Tiny Tags
INK: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry
PAPERS: Whisper White Cardstock; Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punch, Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Red and White for the Stampin' Queens!

This week Cristena asked us if we would use red/white/blue in our cards since were celebrating Canada Day and Independence Day. I hadn't yet made my card when she asked (yes, I'm a bit behind!), so I was happy to accommodate!

As I mentioned in this blog post, my *superfantasticawesome* downline Teresa accidentally left her "Reason to Smile" set behind at Extravaganza. Since I still have it (thanks Teresa!) I decided to use it. :)

Here's my card for this week:

Based on this sketch:

As so often happens, I had supplies already out (what? It's not like you put all your supplies away - LOL!) and decided on Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White and Crumb Cake, which, BTW, qualifies for this week's Dynamic Duos colour combo of Crumb Cake and a colour of your choice - WOOT! LOVE two-in-one challenges.

Yes, I stamped and hand cut the flowers...yes, I'm just a little nuts!

Come back tomorrow and you can see what this is all about:

What do you think?

STAMPS: Reason to Smile
INK: Cherry Cobbler
PAPERS: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake Cardstock; Cherry Cobbler DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Glue Dots

Happy Stampin'!

Christmas in June for the Stampin' Queens

What? Christmas? Well...it's hot enough out there, so thinking of Christmas might help you cool down a little bit!

Where I live, it's 42C with the humidity factored in. For my American friends, that about 108F. So yeah. It's hot! Youngest DS can't even go outside in these temps due to his cardiac condition - it's THAT bad. (the temps, his heart is repaired)

So today, you get CHRISTMAS!

I'm putting the finishing touches on a my all day stamping event which is coming up this coming Saturday (YIKES!) and this is one of the cards we'll be making:

I started off with a Very Vanilla base and then added the strip of Red Cardstock. I stamped the images from Merry and Type onto Very Vanilla using Gumball Green and Real Red Inks. These colours look GREAT together!

The images were punched out using the Postage Stamp Punch and adhered to the Real Red Strip using Stampin' Dimensionals.

The sentiment was stamped just below the image panel, using Gumball Green Ink.

Here's the sketch for you if you'd like to try it out:

And this week? There's BLOG CANDY!!!! One lucky person who plays along will get a 10-second bow maker. Check it out here.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Sassy Salutations, Merry and Type
INK: Real Red, Gumball Green
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Real Red
ACCESSORIES: Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

The Open Sea for the Stampin' Queens

Father's Day will be here before you know it and this set is just the ticket to make the perfect card!

Here's the Stampin' Queens Sketch for this week:

As usual, I took a few liberties - LOL! In fact, I think I was influenced by the MOJO Monday Sketch and the card I created here...which really, is a little weird since I created the Stampin' Queens Card first! The colours I chose were from the Dynamic Duo Challenge:

Here's the card I created, which will be going to my FIL for Fathers Day. It's been "hubby approved" so I'm good to go - LOL!

My FIL LOVES boats and builds model sailboats from pictures in his head! Yeah...he's pretty awesome. I know he'll like this card.

I used the tiny tags set and punch in order to add the sentiment. Here's a close up:

I'm still loving that Island Indigo Baker's Twine!

What do you think?

STAMPS: The Open Sea, Tiny Tags

INK: Island Indigo, Read Red

PAPERS: Whisper White and Island Indigo Cardstock; Island Indigo DSP

ACCESSORIES: Punches, Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Betsy's Blossoms for the Stampin' Queens...

...and Dynamic Duos for REAL this time - LOL!

If you saw this post from Saturday, you'll know I completely messed up the colours for this week's Dynamic Duos challenge. Sometimes, I just TOTALLY get ahead of myself, go in with guns blazing and the result is...well...less than stellar - HA!!!

Of course, I really liked the card I made on Saturday, but since it didn't meet the challenge colours, I did a do-over (colour wise, not design wise) and came up with the Stampin' Queens card for today.

Here's our Stampin' Queens sketch for this week:

Here's the Dynamic Duo colours as a reminder:

And here's my card:

I had a Daffodil Delight card base sitting out, so I decided to use that as my jumping off point. Then I added the black layer. I added the ribbon and then stamped my image on Whisper White using Daffodil Delight. I masked off the little bird and added the leaf/stem in Basic Black. I then added a Daffodil Delight mat and adhered the image panel to the card front using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Betsy's Blossoms is coming out in the new catalogue on June 1st and you're going to LOVE it! It's SUCH a cute set!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Betsy's Blossoms
INK: Daffodil Delight, Basic Black
PAPERS: Whisper White, Basic Black and Daffodil Delight
ACCESSORIES: Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

World Treasures for the Stampin' Queens

Last week, I got to have lunch with my upline and BFF. She had just returned from Disney and had the NEW catalogue in her hot little hands!! Of course, I scoured every page, we talked about what we liked and what made us scratch our heads and wonder what SU! was thinking (mostly for stuff that retired, but I digress).

As Stampin' UP! always does, there was a prize wheel which could be spun everyday for prizes. One of the prizes Caroline won was a stamp set called World Treasures. It's no secret that mounting stamps is NOT one of her favourite things to so, she handed me the set with instructions to mount it and play. OK!

So, when I saw the Stampin' Queens sketch for this week, I knew JUST what I wanted to do!

Here's our sketch for this week:

And here's my card:

Of course, I RARELY keep a sketch EXACTLY the way it's supposed to be, but that's OK! I've always thought of sketches as a creative jumping off point.

My hubby was unsure about the Cajun Craze and Midnight Muse combination. He said the DSP was too busy for the peacock. I *think* I agree with him and might have to try again. We'll see!

I added some bling and I REALLY like the way it turned out!

Here's a little close up:

I just LOVE the new Apothecary Accents Framelits! For the sentiment, I stamped it and then hand cut it so I could use the label as a matte.

What do you think?

STAMPS: World Treasures

INK: Midnight Muse

PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze and Soft Suede Cardstock, Comfort Cafe DSP

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic Rhinestones

Happy Stampin'!

Bordering on Romance for the Stampin' Queens

Good news Stampin' Peeps!! Bordering on Romance is OFFICIALLY in the new 2012-2013 Catalogue and I, for one, couldn't be happier! I loved this set when I first saw it in the Occasions Mini and am thrilled to bits that I can continue to show it some love!

Demonstrators saw the catalogue online yesterday and YOU can see it IN PERSON at my Open House and Retired Stamp Set Sale on June 2nd! This is a FREE event and all sale items are first come/first serve and while supplies last.

This week marks the premier of the Dynamic Duo Challenge Blog and I couldn't be more excited! When I saw the Stampin' Queens Sketch and the Dynamic Duo colours together, I knew JUST what I wanted to do!

Here's the sketch:

Here's the colour combo:

And here's my card:

I started off with the Bordering on Romance Set and stamped it on watercolour paper. I then punched out a portion of it with my 1 1/4" circle punch and coloured just that portion with my aqua painters and ink squished into the lid.

I cut out the rest of the floral image (yes, I'm nuts) and then matted the coloured portion on a piece of Pool Party punched with the 1 3/8" circle punch.

A notched ribbon and the sentiment are the finishing touches.

Here's a little close up of the coloured flowers:

Now...after I took the above pictures, I decided to add some bling and got this:

Which do you prefer?

Leave me a comment below and tomorrow, I'll draw the name of a lucky winner who will receive this card! It could be YOU!

What do you think?

Stamps: Bordering on Romance and Bring on the Cake
INK: Staz-On Ink; Pool Party and Lucky Limeade for colouring
PAPERS: Pool Party and Lucky Limeade Cardstock; Watercolour Paper
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Rhinestones

The Open Sea for the Stampin' Queens!

Good morning everyone! Are you done reeling from the retired list that posted on Sunday? Hang on to your pants, because the accessories list posts a week from today - EEK!!!

In last year's summer mini, one of my favourite sets made it's first appearance. I was SO sad when it didn't make it into the Idea Book and Catalogue but THRILLED when we found out it was still available as write-in. YAY!

Today's Stampin' Queen card uses the Open Sea:

And here's the sketch on which it was based:

I just love how quickly it came together! Which, let's be honest, is a GOOD thing considering that when I created it last night, I had already spent the day on an outdoor field trip with 38 grade three students. To say I was EXHAUSTED would be an understatement!

Since this card will be one of those featured in my "Manly Man" card class on May 5th, I wanted it to be fairly simple. I stamped the images in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla and then matted them both on Chocolate Chip cardstock. I added two strips of cardstock (one punched) at the bottom of the card, adhered the images and called it DONE! It has the "DH seal of approval", so I think I'm good! LOL!

What do you think?

STAMPS: The Open Sea
INK: Chocolate Chip
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Uncharted Territory for the Stampin' Queens

Happy Wednesday!!! It's time for the Stampin' Queens sketch of the week. Won't you play along?

Here's our sketch for the week:

And here's my take on it:

I left out the sentiment in an effort to make this a REALLY manly card - no embellishments on this one!

I stamped the image on watercolour paper using Staz-ON ink and coloured it in using my watercolour crayons and aqua painters. I LOVE the way it turned out!

This is just ONE of the cards we'll be creating at my "manly man" class on May 5th. There's only SIX spots available, so don't miss out!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Uncharted Territory
INK: Staz-ON
PAPERS: Early Espresso, Marina Mist and Bashful Blue Cardstock; Watercolour Paper
ACCESSORIES: Watercolour Crayons, Aqua Painters

Happy Stampin'!

Bright Blossoms for the Stampin' Queens!

I'm probably one of the LAST demonstrators to have received her Bright Blossoms Stamp Set - SHEESH!!!

In my defence, I'm trying to be VERY good and only spend what I have earned. It's hard work, but so far so good! Then, when I finally DID order it, it was on backorder - UGH!!!

It arrived on Monday and I made this:

based on this sketch:

And here's a close up:

I used snail to adhere all the little 1 1/4" circles except for the last one in the bottom right, which was popped up using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Since I ordered the clear mount set, I was able to put the leaves and the flower cluster on the block at the same time. Then I just used my Stampin' Write Markers to colour the two parts. Easy Peasy! In less than 10 minutes, I had a seriously cute card!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Bright Blossoms
INK: None
PAPERS: Whisper White and Island Indigo Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Markers, Punch, Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Wish Big for the Stampin' Queens!

This week's Stampin' Queens sketch was a fun one with stripes!

My version has fewer stripes, but I love how it turned out!

I found the colour combination on Pinterest and loved the idea of all that bright happiness on a Crumb Cake base!

My strips are Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Tempting Turquoise. They're all just one inch wide, leaving a little 1/4" border of Crumb Cake at the bottom.

I stamped the sentiment from Short and Sweet in Melon Mambo on Whisper White and then matted it on Crumb Cake.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Short and Sweet
INK: Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Crumb Cake and Whisper White Cardstock; Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Tempting Turquoise DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Lots of Love for the Stampin' Queens!

Last week, my honey and I celebrated our 26th date-o-versary.

Your what? Date-o-versary.

You're nuts. Maybe...but it means I'm guaranteed a fancy dinner out every six months - LOL! You see, our wedding anniversary is on August 31st. And we still celebrate the day we started dating 26 years ago, on February 28th, 1986. See? Fancy dinner every six months! This year, we saw the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and had dinner at Big Daddy's Crab Shack - YUM!!!

I used today's sketch as a jumping off point and then added - LOTS! Here's the sketch:

And here's my take on it:

As you can see, I went a little nuts with the hearts. I kind of had to since it's our 26th date-o-versary and all. When we celebrated our 15th date-o-versary, I was working part time at that big craft store and brought home 15 helium filled heart shaped balloons. He was floored.

I started off stamping with stamping the sentiment from Loving Thoughts (a FREE set I received when I attended Leadership in January) and added heart #26 to the left of it. Then I had to draw lines because I'm not QUITE that awesome to line up the rest of the 25 hearts. I remembered to erase the lines before I gave it to him - LOL!

You'll want to join us this week! We have a SPONSOR for this week's sketch and winners will receive:

What do you think?

STAMPS: Loving Thoughts
INK: Cherry Cobbler
PAPERS: Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Punch, Tweezers, Glue Dots

Happy Stampin'!

Herb Expressions for the Stampin' Queens!

Happy Wednesday friends! Did you wake up this morning totally confused and think it was March 1st? Leap Year always throws me for a loop!

It's Wednesday, so that means it's time for another Stampin' Queens sketch. This time, Cristena really HAS had her coffee and this sketch was MUCH easier than this one and this one from the past two weeks.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my take on it:

I started off with a base of Blushing Bride (it's retiring at the end of May and while I like it, I don't want to have too many leftovers, because I won't be able to sell it after May 31st) and added a piece of Twitterpated Designer Series Paper. My next layers were Pear Pizzazz (also retiring) and another piece of Twitterpated DSP. I had fun distressing all the layers and sponging on some Pear Pizzazz ink.

I adhered some Blushing Bride Pleated Ribbon to the front panel before adding my stamped images which were stamped using the direct to rubber technique (marker right on the stamp to achieve two different colours) on Whisper White Cardstock.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Herb Expressions
INK: Pear Pizzazz
PAPERS: Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz Cardstock; Twitterpated DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Ribbon, Distressing Tool, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Tea Shoppe for the Stampin' Queens!

Hmmm...ok. So, you know how I said LAST WEEK that my dear friend Cristena probably hadn't had enough caffeine when designing the sketches? And how after last week's sketch, they shouldn't be TOO difficult? Yeah...I think I lied - LOL!

This week's sketch gave me a bit of trouble too:

See what I mean? Or maybe not? Maybe it's just me?

Anyway...in order to NOT make myself totally crazy, I went with a monochromatic look, using Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush. I'm going to be sad to see Concord Crush go...though if you'd asked me that when it first came out, I would have told you a different story! It goes so well with Wisteria Wonder!

So...here's my take on the sketch:

I started off with a base of Wisteria Wonder and added a layer of Flirtatious Designer Series Paper. My panels were created in the same manner.

I stamped my image from Tea Shoppe in Wisteria Wonder on Whisper White and then matted it on another piece of Wisteria Wonder. The Concord Crush ribbon underneath just adds the right touch of "punch". My sentiment, stamped in Concord Crush, is adhered to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Tea Shoppe
INK: Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush
PAPERS: Whisper White and Wisteria Wonder Cardstock; Flirtatious DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!