Strength and Hope - Campaign Starts TODAY!

With the launch of the summer mini, the Strength and Hope Campaign has officially begun!

With the purchase of each and every set of stamps (as well as the digital download), Stampin' UP! will donate $2 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. How awesome is THAT? You get a great stamp set and the BCRF gets a donation!

If you've seen this post, you've already seen the set in action.  And on this post, you get a REALLY nice close up of the butterfly.

If you want to see more projects that you can make with this set, just click here. Do note however, that the card listed as 6 X 6 is actually 3 X 6.

In other news, this is National Scrapbooking Month!

My love of paper crafts started just over 11 years ago in early spring 2000. A friend of mind dragged me to one of those parties (you know the one!) and we made a scrapbooking page.  I'm pretty sure I signed up that night! I became disenchanted with the company and their incessant need for the consultant to carry this huge inventory, not to mention the fact that they wanted us to say that if wasn't their product it was NO GOOD.

I never gave up my love of scrapbooking though...not until I discovered Stampin' UP! in 2004 (or somewhere around there!).  Then, I was all about the CARDS!  My scrapbooks lay untouched, pages unfinished - I think some of them still need journalling!

In an effort to get back into scrapbooking, I've challenged myself to complete a Page a Day in May!

To whit:

There's NO WAY that I could do a 12 X 12 page, which is kind of funny because when I first started scrapbooking, I simply could NOT understand how people created all these mini albums - LOL!

My poppies (from the BRAND NEW set Fabulous Florets released today) are stamped in Staz-On ink on our Watercolour Paper and coloured using our watercolour crayons and aqua painters.  *Really Christyne? You used watercolour crayons and aqua painters? How novel! We've never seen you use THOSE before!* Yeah...right - LOL!

Anyway...after they were coloured (and dry), I cut them all out (seven of them!) and adhered them to my page using either glue dots or Stampin' Dimensionals.

My white photo mat (still need to find a pic!) is sponged in Poppy Parade and my whole page was sponged with So Saffron Ink.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Fabulous Florets
INK:Staz-On, So Saffron, Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi
PAPERS: Whisper White and So Saffron Cardstock; Watercolour Paper
ACCESSORIES: Watercolour Crayons, Aqua Painters, Sponges, Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Scrappin!

Strength and Hope for a friend in need

The Strength and Hope Stamp set will be available in the Summer Mini beginning May 1st, 2011.  It's sale will see $2 per set donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. In my travels through cyber space, I have seen a LOT of cards made with this set and, in my opinion, you just CAN'T make a bad card with this set. It's just not possible!

When I found a GORGEOUS card by Lianne Carper, I just KNEW I would have to CASE (Copy and Share Everything) it. It will be going to a friend's sister who is battling cancer.

Here are some of the bits and pieces:

I love the butterfly that comes with this set. I especially love cutting it out and layering several of them. I learned this trick from a fellow demonstrator named Tana. I've seen her do it with the butterfly punch, but it works with this one too.

In this next photo, you can see that I used Stampin' Dimensionals on the wings. By adding Glue Dots to the centre of the butterfly and squishing all three butterflies together, you can achieve the illusion of  a flying butterfly. LOVE THIS!

Here's the bow detail. If I'd had some of the new Whisper White Baker's Twine that will be available in the new Summer Mini, I would have used that.  I haven't finalized my Summer Mini order as of yet, but when I do, you can be sure the Baker's Twine (in all three colours!) will be on it!



The sentiment in this set is the letter "H" and the word "hope".  There's also three rows of words. I stamped these behind the "H" in River Rock Ink on Whisper White Cardstock. I had to stamp it twice - this was easy to do since I have the clear mount version of this set. I used more Stampin' Dimensionals for the sentiment.

Here's the completed card:

What do you think?

STAMPS: Strength and Hope
INKS: River Rock, Not Quite Navy
PAPERS: Whisper White and Not Quite Navy Cardstock; Paisley Prints DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Punches, Linen Thread, Button, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Summer Mini Sneak Peek - Strength & Hope

Can you believe it?  The Summer Mini is right around the corner!  How exciting!

Of course, with the Summer Mini starting up in just over a month, that means that Sale-A-Bration is just about finished - just three more days (if you count today)! So, if there's anything you've been meaning to get to earn free product, NOW is the time!  Just click here to get started!

Here's my Summer Mini sneak peek for today:

Want to see the whole thing?  I'm doing a count down to the mini special edition newsletter for which you can sign up.  You'll need to click on the "sign up" box in the top left corner and select the "summer mini" option in my newsletter list.

I'll also be revealing how I made the butterfly look like it's flying off the page in my newsletter.

Happy Stampin'!