It's September 1st! That means Holiday Mini time!!!

Before you know it, Christmas will be upon us! Yes...I'm well aware that in Southern Ontario the kids are not even back to school yet, but time marches on and before you realize what's happened, it'll be December 1st and you'll be telling yourself (once again, I might add...) that NEXT year it's going to be different! NEXT year, you're going to prepare for the holidays well in advance and NEXT year, you'll enjoy the holidays because NEXT year everything will be done well in advance and you won't be stressed...

This is the exact same thing I hear from my clients EVERY year...so why not turn THIS year into NEXT year and get started right away!

The Holiday Mini is LIVE! You can shop from all it's glorious pages by clicking the Holiday Mini icon in my right hand sidebar. I'm out of town with my hubby celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary (time sure flies!), but you can bet that as soon as I get home, I'll be breaking into my box of new goodies from the Holiday Mini!

What's the BEST thing in there? THIS:

Stampin' UP! now has it's VERY own scoring tool called Simply Score...and let me tell you, you're going to LOVE IT!!! Scoring marks every 1/8" and MARKERS that can be moved around so that if you're making multiples, you don't have to keep counting lines. OH. MY. GOSH. Fabulous does not even BEGIN to describe it!

Now, to get YOU started on your way to a HAPPY, stress FREE Holiday, here's what I've got going on:

• September 17th is my 3-D through the holidays class. You can choose between a 10 a.m. start and 1 p.m. start. Early bird pricing (which I will extend until I return on Saturday) is just $25 and we'll be making AT LEAST 5 3-D projects. Five of the 16 spots are already filled for this, so don't wait too much longer!
• October 15th is a 10 card class. Same start times. Early bird pricing will be $30 up until October 1st.
• November 26th will be my 4 hour mini album course. You'll get the Simply Scrappin' Kit as well as the album plus four hours of instruction and a light lunch or dinner depending on the time slot you choose (10-2 or 3-7). Early bird pricing will be $75 and sign up will be available soon through Eventbrite and this will be much like Stamp-a-Rama which took place on August 20th.

I don't have a project to share with you today because I'm out of town.  I'll be returning tomorrow and have a VERY BUSY weekend as kids get ready to go back to school.  Look for regular posting to resume next Tuesday.

Happy Stampin'!

Flowers for Jack - Full Card and Stamping Queens Sketch Week 2

Yesterday I showed you the focal image for this card and today, you get the whole reveal! I was going to use today's post to tell you this amazing story about how my honey and I met, but I had to show you the rest of this card instead. This is the card I sent to Jack Layton's widow:

It seems so strange to say that, "Jack Layton's widow". I mean this man fought and BEAT prostate cancer! It was SO unfair that he was struck with a SECOND kind of cancer so soon after having beaten the first. Canada not only lost a great politician last week, we lost a wonderful man with great ideals. He was taken too soon.  But he knew...and he left us with this:

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."

If you'd like to read his letter to Canadians in it's entirety, you can do so here.

Wishing you a wonderful and blessed day!

Happy Stampin'!

Flowers for Jack - Sneak Peek

Some of my American friends may not have heard, but Canada lost a great politician and an amazing man last week.  Because he was a Toronto resident, I felt compelled to send his wife a card.  This is the focal image and sort of a sneak peek:

Tomorrow is Week 2 in the Stamping Queens Sketch Challenge and that's when I'll reveal the whole card.

I was going to toot my own horn when I posted the card, but because of the nature of post, I've decided against it.  I'll just tell you that the image is watercoloured using our watercolour crayons and aqua painters.

I'm in Montreal this week with my honey! He has meetings during the day so I get to explore the city in which I grew up - SO many fun memories!! His evenings are mine though, which is good because tomorrow we celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Yes...I KNOW I look WAY too young to have been married that long - LOL!

Happy Stampin'!

While the cat's away...

The mice will play!!!

Ok...so I'm the cat - LOL and while I will technically be away, I'll have my laptop, so I won't really be gone. Does that even make sense??

You, my readers, are the mice. Which means, you get to play!!!

Here's the deal:

• Place an order between $25 and $50 and receive a 5% discount off your order.
• Place an order between $50 and $100 and receive a 7% discount off your order.
• Place an order between $100 and $150 and receive a 10% discount off your order.
• Place an order OVER $200 and receive a 15% discount off your order as WELL as earn ALL the hostess dollars on your order.

Now, the fine print:

• You MUST contact me to place your order. The Stampin' UP! online ordering system will not recognize this discount because I am the ONLY one offering it. Once I have your order, I'll contact you for your payment information and place the order on your behalf.
• Shipping and taxes will be calculated on the PRE-DISCOUNT amount. Shipping will STILL be a minimum of $9.95 or 10% (whichever is greater). If you would like to PICK UP your order from me, your shipping cost will only be 10% as I will be combining orders together.
• This offer is only valid until 5 PM EST on August 31st. After that time, I'll be out celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary with my honey and will NOT be checking email.

A few IMPORTANT reminders!!!

• The Summer Mini expires on August 31st at 11:50 PM MST. August 31st is ALSO my 20th wedding anniversary, so PLEASE don't wait till 10 p.m. to email me with your order. It WON'T GO THROUGH!
• The Buy 3, get 1 FREE paper special ALSO expires at 11:50 PM MST on August 31st.

I'll be doing a little bit of blogging via ZAPD (a micro-blogging app) from Montreal. Hoping I can figure out how to get it to post here!

Happy Shopping!!

Stampin' UP! Triple Layer Punches

Shannon West shares her tips and tricks for getting perfect punches!!! And once you're hooked...you can click on "SHOP NOW" in my sidebar and order yours!

A Design Team? Me? REALLY?

A few weeks ago, my friend Cristena put out a design team call for her "Stampin' Queens". I've never been part of a design team before, so I wasn't sure if I should apply or not. I've always WANTED to be part of a design team (because I think it's pretty cool!), so I emailed Cristena and her response was, "HELLO! Of course!"

So...here is my first card for the Stampin' Queens Sketch Challenge:

The sketch we were given was square and while most of my design teammates opted for a larger square card (at least to me it looks like they did!), I decided to challenge myself even FURTHER and create a 3 x 3 card! I know...crazy, right?  LOL!

Here's the sketch itself:

Anyway, I had some 3 1/2" strips of Early Espresso left over from another project, so I cut it down to six inches and trimmed off the extra 1/2" creating my 3 x 3 card.  Then I cut some strips from the Early Espresso Designer Series Paper which can be found in the Neutrals Designer Paper Series Stack.

For my large circle, I punched out a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock with my 1 3/4" punch. Then I used my Circle Scissor Plus to cut a circle slightly smaller and used the negative to put over my 1 3/4" punched piece and sponged inside that circle leaving a thin border with no colour. To stamp the leaves inside the circle, I used Soft Suede Ink and stamped off before stamping into the circle (with the mask still in place).

I stamped the sentiment in Soft Suede on Very Vanilla Cardstock and punched it out with my 1" circle punch. It was matted on a piece of 1 1/4" Early Espresso.

The finishing touch was stamping the large leaf from French Foliage on Very Vanilla and cutting it out.  I then covered it in Crystal Effects and let it dry before adhering it to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

What do you think?

STAMPS: French Foliage, Teeny Tiny Wishes
INK: Soft Suede
PAPERS: Soft Suede and Very Vanilla Cardstock, Early Espresso DSP
ACCESSORIES: Very Vanilla Ribbon (retired), Punches, Sponges, Circle Scissor Plus, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

THANK YOU!!!

If you attended Stamp-a-Rama this past Saturday, you get this:

Well, you don't get JUST this (the picture), you get a REAL card sent to you with a real postage stamp and it will land in your REAL mailbox soon!

I want to thank everyone that attended my very first all day stamping event! If YOU missed it, here's some of what was said:

"Awesome Event!!! Well organized and lots of fun. I learned a lot and definitely would attend again. Way to go Christyne!!"

"I had a really great time! The cards looked wonderful and weren't too difficult to put together. The 3-D projects were cool and it was so helpful to have everything cut and scored before we started! I would love to come to another event!"


Mark your calendars NOW for my next BIG event!  We'll spend a 1/2 day together (choose between two start times - 10 a.m. or 3 p.m) creating an adorable Christmas/Holiday album using the Simply Scrappin' Kit and 6 X 6 Album from the Holiday Mini. You're going to LOVE IT!!!


Happy Stampin'!

Time to Say Goodbye!

In just TEN days the summer mini will be sailing away and now is your last chance to get some favourites you may not already have. This sentiment set, Happy Greetings, is a PERFECT example:

I've reached for it NUMEROUS times since I bought it back in April! It's easy to use and is sure to make someone's day when you add it to a card. My Stamp-a-Rama attendees enjoyed using it on Saturday!

You can order it from me directly from my online store. No need to leave the house!

Happy Stampin'!

Easy Elegance with Simply Sent

Elegant cards in an instant—thank-you cards or any-occasion cards. We’ve done all the work for you. Precut and color-coordinated—all you have to do is customize and send them off! Coordinating Everyday Wishes Set and ink sold separately.

Kit creates 8 total cards (4 each of 2 designs) and coordinates with Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, and Whisper White.

Kit Contents:
■ 8 printed, embossed, die-cut cards (5-1/2" x 4-1/4")
■ 16 self-adhesive tags (8 each of 2 designs)
■ 8 White envelopes (5-3/4" x 4-3/8")


These cards are perfect for the beginner stamper who wants to create a fabulous card with no fuss as well as the seasoned stamper who needs a quick card at a moments notice.


You can order these and everything else you need right from the comfort of your home by visiting my online store.


Happy Stampin'!

A new Blog Tour coming - don't miss out!!!

This post will remain at the top until the Blog Tour! Please scroll down to see what else I've been doing!

Did You Know?

With Definitely Decorative stamping, you can create custom interiors at a fraction of the cost. Customize your home décor by stamping walls, fabrics, and other furnishings to give them an entirely new look. You'll also love how easy it is to create hand-stamped, framed art. Use any stamp set and colour palette to create custom home accents for any season or occasion.

We have several stamp sets specifically designed to be used to create home décor; you'll find these sets designated with the Definitely Decorative logo.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

OK, really...you're NOT getting a chicken dinner - LOL!

But what you ARE getting is a prize!  Ten days ago, I posted this and asked you to tell me which technique you thought I used to colour the flowers. Clearly, I didn't use the correct language because what I REALLY wanted you to tell me was WHAT I used to colour the image.

Several of you guessed blender pens which is ONE of the tools I used, but I also used...ready? STAMPIN' PASTELS!!!

Since no one guessed EXACTLY what I used, I used random.org to select TWO winners who will each receive a little gift from me.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2	7	

Timestamp: 2011-08-09 20:10:11 UTC

So, Shirley (2nd comment) and Kehkshan (7th comment), please email me with your snail mail addresses and I'll have something in the mail for you!

Happy Stampin'!

A Baker's Dozen of Thank You!

Did you place your August order yet? Or am I hand delivering your July order this week? If so, LUCKY YOU!!!  You'll be getting one of these in your order or in your mailbox:

Thanks to inspiration from fellow demonstrator Ilina Crouse, I created these for my August Thank You cards.

I stamped all the leaves and flowers and HAND CUT (YES! That's how much I appreciate my clients!) each and every one of them. I used Lucky Limeade (one of the new in colours) and Melon Mambo (a perennial favourite). The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White.

Please excuse the quality of the photo. As you may have read on my blog earlier this week, I am without a camera. I had to use my iPhone. While the quality of the photo is ok, it certainly isn't up to my regular standards.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Array of Sunshine (hostess), Thank You Kindly
INK: Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade
PAPERS: Whisper White, Lucky Limeade and Melon Mambo Cardstock; Lucky Limeade DSP from the In Colours Paper Stack
ACCESSORIES: Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'

MDS Monday - ENJOY Every Moment

No, you haven't entered some kind of freaky time warp...it is indeed Wednesday. I was away on Monday, so didn't get a chance to post an MDS Monday and besides, this photo, which I swiped from my Dad, was only uploaded to Facebook yesterday!

However, since I (almost) always upload MDS projects on Mondays, I didn't want to mess with my post title - LOL!

At any rate, yesterday was a pretty crappy day and I wanted to work with something that would make me smile. The picture in this little 6 x 6 layout does just that.

I'm sure it'll make you smile too:

This is my GRAND Aunt Anne and her daughter Melodie. I know a lot of people say GREAT Aunt when referring to an Aunt of an older generation, the correct term is actually GRAND when referring to a sibling of your grand parent (in this case, Anne is my Grampy's sister). If I was talking about a sister of my GREAT grandparent, then she would be my Great Grand Aunt. Confusing enough for ya? LOL! Anyway, I still just call her Aunt Anne and I love her to pieces!

The photo was taken on Saturday evening during the 2011 Johnson Family Reunion dinner. The dinner was attended by at least 4 generations of Johnsons...there may have been five, but I haven't figured out the math - LOL!

You may have heard that our camera was left behind at the Ottawa airport yesterday, so I don't have any photos. It's beginning to look like our camera was NOT picked up by a good samaritan, so the only photos I'll have of the reunion are ones taken by others. This makes me VERY sad. Not that I took THAT many pictures, but it's the principle of the thing. What a horrible society in which we live. And it's not like it was a little point and shoot either...*sigh*

Anyway...for the layout I used the Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper. I just LOVE that nothing retires in MDS! All my embellishments, stamped images and text were done in Chocolate Chip with a few done Rose Red and Whisper White.

What do you think?

PAPERS: Springtime Vintage
ACCESSORIES: Buttons, Brads, Stitching
STAMPS: Enjoy Every Moment

Happy MDSin'!

P.S. I'm keeping the blog candy here open till Friday, so you still have a few more days to enter!

It's a sale! A PAPER SALE!!!

Have YOU checked it out yet???

It's all about the PAPER this month at Stampin' UP! Buy 3 packs of selected Designer Series Paper and get one FREE! Yep! FREE! No catches, no jumping through hoops, no gimmicks! Just buy three packs of selected DSP and get one free!

What will YOU create!

Team Canadian Blossoms!

Good morning! I have a special treat for you today! Ordinarily, I don't share my Team Cards on my general blog, because I like them to be exclusive to my team. But today, I'm sharing the AUGUST team card with you!

Why? Because when you're part of my Canadian Blossoms Team, you get a card, from me, in your MAILBOX every month! Not an email card...a REAL card on which I put an actual POSTAGE STAMP!! In this day of email and blogs and the web, I just LOVE putting a smile on my team members faces each month.

Why am I telling you this? Because it's July 29th and there's only TWO MORE DAYS to take advantage of the Mini Starter Kit and join my team! Just click here, watch the video and read all about the goodness you get when you join the Stampin' UP! team. When you're ready click the "JOIN NOW" button on the left. And you don't have to be "local" to join my team! I'll support you (and send a card!) no matter where in Canada you live!

Ready for the card? Take a look:

Simple, elegant and duplicatable. Every once in a while, my team gets an "Over The Top" card, but for the most part, I like to send them simple cards that will get them thinking about ideas for workshops.

Now, here's something for you:

At my last workshop, I was asked about colouring options. I told my new clients about different ways in which they could colour their images. I used one of them for this card. Can you guess what it is?

BLOG CANDY!!!!!!

If you can figure out WHICH colouring technique I used for this card, I'll have a prize for you! A second prize will be given (by draw) to ONE person who takes a guess at the technique. So...even if you get it wrong, you still have a chance to win a prize! How does that sound?

Hope you have a GREAT weekend!! If you're in Canada, enjoy your extra day off!

Happy Stampin'!

August Workshop Card Sneak Peek!

Hi friends! It feels like FOREVER since I created something - YIKES!!!

Today, I have a sneak peek share for just one of the cards we'll be creating at my August workshops. I have two workshops booked already and my weekends are already FULL (both with workshops and other activities)! However, if you'd like to book an evening workshop, I'll be happy to talk with you!

Take a look at this:

Isn't that the CUTEST thing you've EVER seen? One of my favourite sets in the new Idea Book and Catalogue is the Pennant Parade Set.  Stampin' UP! has paired it with the Petite Pennant Parade Punch and there's even a BIGZ XL die with a big pennant on it. Can you imagine the possibilities??

The long weekend is coming up here in Canada and I hope you have some fun things planned!! And I hope those fun things involve some STAMPING!!!

Happy Stampin'

Join Stampin' UP! for just $119!

This limited edition "mini" starter kit has everything you need to start your very own Stampin' Business!

You'll receive Easy Events in clear mount, Pennant Parade in wood mount and a whole host of other goodies to get you started!

Plus, you'll get this:

I don't know about you, but I'd LOVE to have a Christmas Keepsake box! If you join my team before July 31st, we'll BOTH get one! Of course, I haven't decided if I want to keep it for myself or give it away - LOL!

Also, don't forget that there is a SUPER SPECIAL PROMO coming up on August 1st! If you join my team now, you'll hear all about it before our customers do! I just LOVE that demonstrator perk - early notice!

Perks of joining my team:

• Handstamped card delivered to your MAILBOX every month - that's the real deal! This won't come to your email inbox, it'll come to your mailbox, with a postage stamp and everything!
• A private team blog - where I keep everyone in the Canadian Blossoms Team up to date on the team goings on and the goings on at Stampin' UP! It's also where I congratulate you on your achievements!
• Discounts on my classes! When I hold classes, you'll get a discounted price to attend!

I'm SO looking forward to working with you!

Happy Stampin'!

The Official Convention highlight video

Join my team and next year, we can go together!

To sleep or not to sleep...

...that is the question.

If we sleep we could miss out on lots of fun conversation and forget to share every last detail of our lives. If we don't sleep, Mary Anne and I will be SERIOUSLY cranky travellers tomorrow.

And besides, it seems like this corner of Massachusetts is in some kind of freaky time sucking vortex where time is irrelevant or something...we think 5 minutes has gone by and when we look at our watches it's been 2 hours. How does that happen??

Mary Anne and I spent a good bit of time in the Container Store (if you're in an area with NO Container Store, I promise you, that's what it's called - you can't make that up!) and bought some fun stuff - mine was all pink (bet you didn't guess that). Then the three of us went for lunch and pedicures - DIVINE!

We came home for a bit and worked on our product folders (pictures tomorrow!) and went back out again for dinner (Legal Seafood), ice cream (Cold Stone Creamery - 'nuff said) and Target. Brenda and Mary Anne are familiar with Target, but me, as a Canadian, only shop there on my few trips to the US. So, I wandered...and wandered...and bought a couple of "organizing" type things. Target is coming to Canada soon though, and I can't wait!

And now we're back home and it's time to start packing because tomorrow we have to say goodbye - not cool.

I'll be blogging from Logan Airport tomorrow as I wait for my flight...hopefully there will be no more frightening pictures like the one from Wednesday.

Happy Stampin'!