September Stamp Camp 2016

Happy Saturday, everyone!  Today I had my first stamp camp since my daughter was born, and it went really well.  She napped through most of it - yay!  And both the kids are napping now, so I have time to show you the cards we made! 

Here's the first card we made.  It features the retired Stampin' Up set That Thing You Did, and the retired Bohemian Designer Series Paper (DSP). The card stock colors are Blackberry Bliss and Lost Lagoon.  I love that you can turn this stamp that was intended to be cheeky (the other half reads "but not in a creepy way") into a thoughtful/sympathy card.

This card features one of the hostess stamp sets available this year.  You can earn it by hosting a qualifying party or making a purchase of over $200, I believe.  It's called Pun Intended.  I love these little lights and that fact that the wires read "love".  We used Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey for our colors today, with the coordinating washi tape.

Pineapples are super trendy right now so I made sure to include a couple of them in our card making session today!  This card features all new products: Pop of Paradise stamp set, and the coordinating washi tape, bakers twine, and DSP.  Just a bright fun pop of color!  Ink used was the retired Baked Brown Sugar and Melon Mambo.

This was our slightly more fallish/Christmas themed card.  Seriously, so much washi tape today!  It's so quick and easy, which I like with having two little ones around!  It features the Vintage Leaves stamp set, and some retired washi tape and acorn embellishment.  We embossed the leaves with Whisper White craft ink and gold embossing powder.

And, one more pineapple card for the day, this time making use of sponge daubers to paint our ink on for some more dimension.  We used Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, and Melon Mambo for color.  Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend - thanks for stopping by! <3 JEM

Cards for Gorgeous You!

Hey everyone, just wanted to share two cards I designed for a friend's business selling cosmetics.  These are thank you cards to be included with her customer orders.  They both feature the retired set Always Elegant from Stampin' Up.  I adorned some of them with rhinestones and some with pearls.  I stamped them with Craft Ink in Whisper White and embossed them with clear powder.  The card stock is Rich Razzleberry and on some cream paper I got from Michael's a few years back.  Enjoy! <3 JEM

A Two-Year-Old's Birthday Party!

Happy Monday, everyone!  Today is my official first day parenting alone again, as hubby has gone back to work to prep for all the students arriving next week.  I was definitely a bit anxious, but so far today has gone pretty well.  They are even napping at the same time so I can actually blog!

I thought I would share everything I made for our two-year-old's birthday a few weeks ago.  I can hardly believe two years have gone by!

First, here are the invitations I made.  They feature the super cute new set from Stampin' Up called Foxy Friends.  You can make so many different animals (as you will see in this post) and it has a coordinating punch to make things easier!  I used the retired Alphabet Rotary stamp for the lettering.

Next are the decorations I made for the cupcakes.  I made foxes and raccoons and punched them out and glued them to toothpicks with a hot glue gun.  The trees in this set also have a coordinating framelit to cut them out super quick, but I don't own it, so I cut them out by hand.

For the favors, I made these little treat bags.  They were easy to make using the coordinating Designer Series Paper (DSP).  I wasn't sure what to give out, so my hubby suggested Twix bars, as our son was turning two - great idea!

This banner has a bit of a story behind it.  I had purchased it a few years ago from Stampin' Up, and the idea is that you lay the stencils on top and spritz with colored water.  Do you think that worked for me?!  Nope.  It kept bleeding underneath and made me so frustrated.  Stampin' Up was lovely in that they let me pick something else out of the catalogue as an apology (and I signed up to be a demonstrator soon after that!).  About a year later my upline suggested using a brayer and so I tried that, but it wouldn't get right to the edge of the stencils, and then I had the brilliant idea to use the Sponge Daubers.  They worked perfectly!  And I am so happy with how this turned out and now have a birthday banner!

Here's a couple more close up.

And finally, here is the card I made for our boy's birthday.  Once again featuring the Foxy Friends stamp set and coordinating paper.

Hope you enjoyed this post!! <3 JEM

Watercolor Thank You Cards

Good evening, everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful day today.  Just wanted to share a couple of thank you cards I made back in May or June (yep, can't remember). I have two different versions of the same card.  This first card is actually the result I was going for.  I found a description of this technique on Instagram, I believe.  You're supposed to color on a clear stamping block with the markers of your choice, spritz it with water, and then press your watercolor paper to the block and see what result you get.  This was my second attempt.

This card was actually my first attempt - after I fixed it.  I accidentally overdid it with the water spritzing and so the ink was pretty much just running off the paper.  So I got out my Stampin' Up Aqua Painters and went to work.  It turned out great, but I was pretty worried that I'd wasted a whole sheet of watercolor paper - that stuff is precious!  The colors I used were Lost Lagoon and Blackberry Bliss (both retired).  The stamp set is also retired from the Holiday Catalogue a few years ago.. I can't remember the name of it for the life of me right now, sorry!  If you want me to go look it up, let me know and I will! 

Our son gave one of these cards to his music teacher at the end of this term - she was pretty happy!  Hope you have a great long weekend! <3 JEM

July Birthdays

Happy Saturday, everyone!  Hope you are having a beautiful day today like we are!  I'm so glad it's nice out, as we're celebrating my husband's 30th birthday today with an outdoor BBQ. 

Here's the card I made for his birthday.  It feature's Stampin' Up's Number of Years stamp set, as well as Balloon Celebration.  I love how the framelits and punches made this card so easy to put together - no tedious fussy cutting required!

My husband's father shares the same birthday, and yep, another milestone year!  I kept this one simple as well, with the Number of Years set and the framelits to cut the Designer Series Paper (quite retired!).

Anyway, the reason I actually came on the computer was to make sure my phone was backed up, as it keeps dying so I have to get a new one - so I should probably get back to party preparations!  Enjoy your weekend! <3 JEM

Babymoon Christmas Cards

Hello, everyone!  Today I'm sharing the cards I made on my babymoon in May.  I thought it would be a good time to get a head start on my Christmas cards for this year - I typically choose 8-10 different designs, and then make 8 of each so it really doesn't take that long.  Some of you are probably thinking that I'm crazy to want a babymoon where I was tucked away in my craft room, but for me, that was totally the thing I needed: some creative time all alone to recharge. 

So here we go!  This first card features the stamp set Wonderland from Stampin' Up.  It reminds me of cross country skiing with my family when I was young - just the starkness of the landscape and how beautiful it is.

This card is made quite simply with washi tape and layering - nice and fast when you're assembly lining it!  It features the stamp sets Festival of Trees and White Christmas for the sentiment.

This next card features a little deer that I've always loved - Dasher from Stampin' Up.  It's been retired for a few years but I've held onto it.  The snowflakes and sentiment are from the set Endless Wishes.

And finally, for a more traditionally-colored card!  This features some lovely Designer Series Paper from either last year or the year before (yeah, I kind of have a paper hoarding problem!) - I believe the series had something to do with Nordic Noel??  The sentiment is from last year's Among the Branches.  Anyway, I'm off to start making thank you cards for the baby gifts we're receiving now!  Have a nice day! <3 JEM

Wedding Cards

Hello everyone!  I was recently asked to make some wedding cards for a friend of mine, with the specifications that they be lacy and old-fashioned.  I had some fun making these and was finally able to deliver them this weekend, as the previous two were tied up with things like childbirth and sewer backups.  You know, normal kind of things. :)

Anyway, here they are!  This first card is a variation of one I've made before, just using different colors.  It features the Butterfly Basics stamp set and framelits, and I used the retired Blackberry Bliss for the rich purple.

This next card is one that I had seen on Pinterest and adored, but had never recreated.  It uses some lovely embellishments from the previous Stampin' Up Occasions catalogue and the stamp set For The New Two.  I used Pistachio Pudding for my contrasting color, as I don't own the newer Mint Macaron.

This final card features a bunch of retired sets, actually... everything on this card is retired haha!  The bicycle is from a Sale-a-Bration set a few years back - names are escaping me at the moment.  Anyway, hope you liked these cards! <3 JEM

Pineapples!

Hey everyone!  Hope you had a lovely day today!  I just wanted to share two cards I made with Stampin' Up's new Pineapple background stamp.

This first card I believe was CASEd (Copy And Share Everything) from the very talented Allison Okimatsu (www.nicepeoplestamp.com). To create this look, you ink up your entire stamp in the yellow, and then using your sponge daubers, ink the other colors over top.  It gives it a very neat effect!

I believe this card was CASEd from Kylie Bertucci (www.craftykylie.com).  It involves stamping the image on black card stock and white with the opposite color, and then cutting the page into strips and lining it up.  Fairly simple and looks awesome!

Anyway, that's all I have time for right now, as the baby is starting to fuss!  Hope you enjoy! <3 JEM

June Stamp Camp

Happy July, everyone!  We had an early surprise with our new little one being born two weeks early, just over a day after my last stamp camp!  She was patient with me, but not patient enough to let me get my hair cut before making her appearance.  Oh well!

These are the cards we made at my June stamp camps this year.  This first card features the ever so trendy fruit of the moment, pineapple.  You can purchase this stamp from the new 2016-2017 Stampin' Up annual catalogue.  To get this slightly worn look, I used a Stampin' Write marker for the leaves(?) and didn't totally saturate the rest with the ink pad.  The Designer Series Paper is from a retired stack that I just thought happened to look like watermelon seeds and just go with the theme.

This next card was a gate fold card I saw on Pinterest by one of the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team members.  I thought it would be something fun and different to try.  It features the Balloon Celebration stamp set that so cleverly helps you build a dandelion in seed!

This card also features the Balloon Celebration stamp set, using, obviously, the balloons.  A few of the girls at one of the parties loved antiquing the sentiment so much that they also antiqued around the outside of the card front - it looked lovely!

This is the baby card of the bunch.  It features stamps from the Made With Love stamp set.  The idea I saw on Pinterest actually made this a shaker card, but I kept it simple and just punched out the front panel to have the cute little cat on the inside of the card.

And finally, another slightly trendy thing right now is the use of mason jars on this card.  Stampin' Up has a new set that has many different sizes of mason jars and matching framelits to cut them all out for you - but I'm on a budget, so I pulled out my old set from a few years back and made do.  I also used some retired washi tape and Designer Series Paper to round things out.  Nothing like a stamp camp to bust out some of your stash!

Hope you enjoyed these cards and had a wonderful Canada Day!  We just laid low around the house - hopefully we can make it out next year... :) JEM

3 Posts in 1!

Happy Father's Day weekend, everyone!  Hope that you're going to spend some time with loved ones this weekend!  My parents returned from a 6 week trip to Europe yesterday, so today we all got together for a Father's Day lunch.  Obviously we were pretty focused on catching up, but we did have some hamburgers and cinnamon buns for dessert! 

So today is a 3 posts in 1 day... For two reasons - 1: my mom was away for Mother's Day this year so I still had a gift to give her; and 2: last year my sister asked for something specific for her birthday and I procrastinated for over a year to get it done (nothing like an impending birth of a new child to make you get all your projects completed!).

Here we go!  I actually don't have a picture of the card that I gave to my dad in this post, as I've already posted it - it was one of the cards I made with my freebie Paper Pumpkin kit I received when I joined Stampin' Up as a demonstrator.  For a gift, we gave him a gift certificate to his favorite cafe in town.  He was pretty happy!

Here is my mom's gift.  A few months back we had gone out to an awesome little quilt shop near Sylvan Lake called Nuts for Bolts (which I highly recommend checking out), and found the cutest pattern for owl pincushions.  I desperately needed a new one as the one I had made in grade 8 sewing class was pretty much flat - resulting in some deadly injuries if you picked it up the wrong way!  My mom asked if I would make her one for Mother's Day, and I happily obliged.  She picked out the fabric herself!  Isn't it adorable?!

Here's a picture with her owl and mine, already looking like a voodoo doll with all its pins. 

This is the card I made to go with her gift.  It features the Petite Petals stamp set from Stampin' Up, and some retired sets - Delightful Dozen, aaaand... I can't remember the name of the teacup one.

And here's the gift for my sister - a beautiful tulle skirt!  The reason I procrastinated so long is that I didn't actually have a pattern and so I was going off of online tutorials, which made me pretty nervous.  I'm very much a follow the directions person in most things in life, so I highly doubt I'll ever make something like this without a pattern again haha!  I did, however, learn a few things - that when using an elastic band for a waist, you must stretch it as you sew so that when the skirt is worn, threads won't be snapping and breaking all over the place, and also that tulle is a beast to sew with!  Does anyone actually like sewing that stuff??  So many pins to keep all the layers in place!

Anyway, she loves it, so I'm happy!  Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!! <3 JEM

Birthdays and Showers

Good morning, everyone!  I'm attempting a bit of a first for me - simultaneously playing with the toddler and posting on the blog.. so we shall see how this goes!  I have so many cards I want to share with you - but some I am still waiting to give out, so only two today.

This first card was made for my husband's cousin.  It features the Balloon Celebration stamp set from Stampin' Up, as well as the Number of Years Stamp Set and matching Framelits.  So handy for birthdays, as you can just make any number you need.  I personalized the card with the Alphabet Rotary Stamp - Stampin' Up now has a new set in their catalogue that is somewhat similar to the Rotary Stamp if you missed out on this one from the last catalogue.

This card was made for a young lady whose bridal shower I attended this past Sunday.  The invite I received had yellow and blue flowers and things featured on it, so I just played off of that using the Petite Petals stamp set and coordinating punch.  I used a stamp from Gorgeous Grunge in the background, and the sentiment is from the retired Rain or Shine set.  I also put some bling on in the form of rhinestone gems.

Hope you enjoy these cards, and your day as well.  I feel like hanging out in the basement all day - heat wave! <3 JEM

Birthdays

Good evening, everyone!  I'll be the first to admit that since our first child was born, I've been slipping a bit on getting birthday cards out to people.  I either forget until it's too late, or I'm just tired and busy and have no crafting time.  I'm trying to be better about that!  I guess we will see how long that lasts once baby number two arrives.  Good intentions, at least!

This first card features Stampin' Up's Birthday Celebration stamp set.  I CASEd (Copy And Share Everything) the idea from a similar card on Pinterest, only I didn't have enough gold glitter paper, so I used silver and silver embossing powder as well.  The balloons were stamped on watercolor paper, and then colored with Stampin' Write markers.  I quickly applied water with my Aqua Painters.  This was pretty tricky for me.  I felt without a doubt that I had ruined all of the balloons, as you could see marker lines and it just looked pretty awful.  But the watercolor paper came through and saved the day.  As they dried, the balloons became much more beautiful, and I was very happy that I didn't have to throw out all that precious paper.  Next time I think I will just try the ink pads/refills and paint in the watercolor style, I just really wanted to use Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight and I own neither of those ink pads.  The other colors used here are Pool Party and Rich Razzleberry.

This next card is another Pinterest CASE with a modified sentiment.  I'm ashamed to say that although I love the Lighthearted Leaves set from Stampin' Up, this was the first time I'd actually opened the package.  Something else I need to work on, I suppose!  Anyway, the leaves were stamped with Memento Black ink, and then colored in with Stampin' Write Markers.  I used Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, and the very retired Lucky Limeade.  I will always be sad every time I use that color, as I have the ink pad, but lost the reinker somewhere in the shuffle of moving a few years ago.  I'll probably cry when it dries up for good.  Anyway, the sentiment featured is from the That Thing You Did stamp set that I believe is retiring at the end of May.  

Hope you enjoyed these cards - I'm off to bed! <3 JEM

Cat Butts...

Happy Friday, all!  Tonight I have something totally different for you.  For my sister's birthday, I decided to make her some cat butt coasters.  She had shown me the picture on Pinterest a while back, and I thought they were pretty awesome!  I made 2 in each color, gray and black for the cats she does have, and one variegated for some contrast.  I found a great pattern on Ravelry that explained things perfectly and they turned out great.  Enjoy! <3 JEM

Something New...

Good afternoon, everyone!  I have four cards to share with you today.  This first card accompanied gifts that we gave to our parents for watching our child while we were away performing at a music festival.  It features the Petite Petals stamps and coordinating punch from Stampin' Up, and the sentiment is from the Letterpress Winter set from a few years back.  The paper used is Calypso Coral card stock, and some designer series paper in Crisp Cantaloupe. 

This card was for my sister's birthday.  I was a little bit apprehensive about making it at first, as I don't do a lot of watercoloring, and with stencils at that - but I love how it turned out!  I used the Alphabet Rotary stamp for the sentiment, and the inks Night of Navy and Lost Lagoon.

This next card is a special order from a friend.  It's actually pretty large - 5.5" by 8.5"!  I definitely learned my lesson making this card - always test out your stamps the moment you receive them. I discovered a flaw in one of the stamps in the set, so while I'm waiting for a replacement I had to use my own stamps for the sentiment, which took a lot longer since it's an alphabet set.  So just imagine that all of these stamps are from the Number of Years set and you'll get the idea.  The purple paper is from a booklet of papers my hubby gave me for our first anniversary - it pairs perfectly with Rich Razzleberry ink.  There is also a subtle shimmer on the numbers 75, using the Wink of Stella glitter brush in clear.

And this last card I made just yesterday for my hairdresser.  She's getting married, and since she's been cutting my hair for the past 16 years, I figured I should make her a card!  None of these papers or ribbon is from Stampin' Up, but it features the sets Off the Grid, For the New Two, and the Something Lacy background stamp on the hearts.  I also loved using my sewing machine for this card - especially the slightly rustic look it gives.  Hope she likes it!

Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone!  <3 JEM

Birthday Stamp Camp!

Hey, everybody!  Here are the cards we made at today's stamp camp - all birthdays today!  This first card is a good one for a kid.  It makes use of the stamp set Thankful Forest Friends, and the sentiment is from the Balloon Celebration set in the 2016 Stampin' Up Occasions catalogue.  Balloon Celebration is such a versatile set - I'm so happy I picked it up.

This next card makes use of the Balloon Celebration stamp set as well.  It coordinates with a matching punch for the balloons, which makes it so easy! 

The next card is another child's card - perhaps a little younger than the first one!  I did use some retired product for this card, but you can easily substitute the Designer Series Paper and embellishments for anything new!  The flower is from the Floral Framelits dies, and I used the Owl Punch, as well as the Top Note Bigz die in this card.

This next card was our masculine card for the day.  Everyone always seems to have trouble with ideas for the man-cards :) I made use of the retired Pinwheel Die, and used the Paper Piercing Pack for the circles behind the banners.  You can pierce as many or as few circles as you like!

This final card was something new for Stamp Camp - we did a shaker card!  This features the Party Pants stamp set that was part of Sale-A-Bration this year.  Super cute and flexible!

Oh, and here's a bonus card that we didn't make today.  It's one I made for my brother-in-law's birthday this year.  Also features the Balloon Celebration set, and the sentiment is from the Butterfly Basics stamp set.  Hope you enjoyed! <3 JEM