Off for the weekend!

Hello!

I haven't posted this week because I have been busy getting ready for this weekend. I am headed off for another stampin' weekend with my best girls!! The best part about this weekend is that I'll get to spend time with a dear friend of mine, Jenn! She is coming in from Vancouver, and I am sooooo excited to see her! It has been a year since we've seen her last, and we have all missed her terribly. It's guaranteed to be a bit tearful this weekend, first with the hellos and then, of course, the dreaded goodbyes at the end of the weekend. But, I am not thinking about that yet--I am way too excited to see her and my other stampin' girls! I will definitely have pictures for you next week!

Have a great weekend!

My Tin Challenge

Well, I haven't had a chance to work on the tutorial for the pop-up card yet, so I am showing you this box in the meantime. I will work on the tutorial, though, honest!

This was an empty tin given to a group of us as a challenge during my stampin' spree in Kingston. I can't remember who gave this to us (Diana Gibbs? Kim Pargeter? darn my bad memory! LOL), but I tried to figure out how I was going to tackle this challenge. You see, I'm a tin-hoarder. LOL I have so many tins in my stampin' area, just a-waitin' for me to put them to good use, and I shudder to think that I may not do them justice. So they sit there in my tin basket (and my stampin' closet, and...) looking naked and sad. I didn't want this one to join the group and set out to do something fun with it.

Kim gave me some gorgeous paper so I had to use it, and this was a perfect project for it! Then I realized I had rub-ons in a colour that would match. Ok, my bad memory strikes again, but this rub-on set was the one with owl on it from the last catalogue. I figured out that these words would fit beautifully in the window-how lucky was that? Then I tried to emboss in orange around the edges. Tried to emboss. It wasn't easy, and some of the powder jumped into areas I didn't want and decided to melt and stay there, so there is a bit of a speckled look. Don't look too closely! LOL If I were to try this again, I would definitely use the embossing buddy, and probably the Versamarker for the tin edges where I wanted embossing.

Despite the speckles, I thought this turned out pretty cute. Hey, I may even have to pull out one of my other tins and try again! Maybe not.....LOL

Have a great day!

Donna

Pop! Pop! Pop-up card!

As you may remember from an earlier post, I attended SU Regionals here in London in February. I love Regional meetings-a day filled with stamping, surrounded by ladies who love it just as much as I do! And it was my friend Kim's birthday that day too! Which made it even more special for me! But I digress...

During the course of the day we had presentations given by a few of our fellow demonstrators. There were many fabulous ideas-Stampin' Up! has quite a talented group of women working for them. One of these women, Ally Fereday, demonstrated how to make these fun pop-up cards. Instead of using paper to pop out your image, you use strips of window sheets! Isn't this neat?!?

This particular card was for my nephew's birthday, which is why it was made in primary colours. With an easy change of colours and stamp sets, the possibilities for this kind of card are endless! You could suspend hearts for Valentine's Day, flowers for Mother's Day, birthday candles, butterflies, Christmas ornaments, or, as I made for my youngest, letters, spelling out Happy Birthday, and then the recipient's name. (I'll have to find a picture of that one to show you!)

I will try to post a tutorial for this card for you soon so you can try your hand at making one too!

Have a great day!

Donna

A Crinkle in Time

This was the Father's Day card for my Dad. My dad is an avid golfer and big fan of the game. I grew up knowing all the great players of the 70s and early 80s; Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino, Bruce Leitzke, and on and on...In 1979 I went with my dad and uncle to the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey. I have a bad memory, but I remember vividly a lot of parts of that day, and how much fun I had seeing the pros in real life. I had brought an autograph book with me so I could collect autographs from all the players. One by one, I collected the autographs of all these men I had watched on tv since birth! I stood at the eighteenth hole patiently waiting, along with 15 or so other kids, for the players to finish for the day, walk to where we were, and sign our autograph books.

Of course, the one autograph I really, really wanted was Jack Nicklaus' ! I could hardly wait as he finished his putt on the 18th. Neither could another 100 other people who suddenly showed up out of nowhere! Unfortunately for me, there were too many of us, so he didn't grab my book to sign. A group of us kept walking with him as he headed toward the golf cart. One man was walking in front of him, backwards, talking to him about something, like he was trying to sell him on some kind of idea. I don't remember what he said, but I know I thought he was a pain in the butt, and besides, if he didn't want an autograph, he should leave poor Jack Nicklaus alone, so the rest of us could get one! Well, as if turns out, because he was walking backwards and couldn't see where he was headed, he knocked down a little girl, who immediately began crying. He hastily picked her up and asked her if she was ok, leaving the rest of us to our business of trying to get an autograph. Well, now Mr. Nicklaus was at his golf cart, and I still didn't have an autograph! I wanted one very badly-getting it would be like having the goose that lays the golden eggs! And I was so close! So as the golf cart pulled away, I did the only thing any kid would do-I ran after the cart!! Now imagine for a moment, I had a backpack on my back with cans of pop that my mom had packed for us to have. There were still a few left, and there they were, bouncing around, clanging behind me as I chased after one of the greatest golfers of all time! Fortunately for me, golf carts don't go very fast, and I was able to keep up. Once he and his driver got to the clubhouse, the cart stopped, he hopped out, and the 10 or so of us who had chased him down, were there waiting, panting like dogs, and my pop probably fizzing like crazy and being just mere moments from exploding right out of the cans. We stuck out our autograph books and papers, and one by one he grabbed them and signed them. He finally got to mine, I gave him my pen, and guess what?? It was so cold my pen wouldn't work!! Augh!! All that hard work, and running with clanging bells on my back and for what?? Stinkin' pen! Fortunately, Jack grabbed a marker someone else had, and used that to sign my book!! I was so excited!! I walked back triumphantly to my dad and uncle, and showed them my prize! What a great day that was! But I digress!

The only reason I bought the stamp set "The Back Nine" was so I would have something to use whenever I made a card for my dad. I like this set because the style of it is different from most that I have, in that it has an antique feel to it, and the images aren't necessarily ones that you absolutely have to colour. I have used this set a couple of times already, and wanted to try something different with it, so I tried what I call the Crinkle Technique. The paper that I stamped the image on, if you look closely, is antique-y looking. What I did was run that piece through the crimper three times (horizontally, vertically, diagonally). I crumpled it into a tiny ball, then straightened it out. When you look at your cardstock on the side, you can see that the sheet is layered. If you pull the layers apart very gently, you will then have two pieces of paper, and the inside has a softened, suede-y look to it. This is the part I stamped on. This stamp set is perfect for antique-ing, don't you think?

I don't have a Happy Father's Day stamp, and I purposely left off any sentiment, so my parents could use this card for another golfer for a birthday. From what my dad said when he saw this card, I don't think they give too many of them away-my dad mentioned something about having a nice collection of cards! LOL It's nice to know people appreciate my cards-almost as much as I appreciate my Jack Nicklaus autograph!

Have a great day!

Thank you, thank you...

Last month, my DH organized a surprise birthday party for my "29th" (I won't tell you how many times I've celebrated my 29th birthday! LOL). It was a very well-kept secret, and I was very surprised! We started by going to the beach with the girls for a walk along the water's edge. The water seemed very cold to me and my toes, but it wasn't too cold for some-there were people swimming in it! Yikes! Fortunately we were there just for a walk and to soak up the beautiful sunshine. As we were leaving the beach, my hubby pulled a blindfold out of his pocket and I got into the car without knowing/seeing where we were going.

Little did I know that he was driving in a crazy pattern, trying to throw me off course so I wouldn't realize we were headed back toward my mother-in-law's around the corner from our house. What he didn't realize was that after the second turn, we were driving out of my mental directional grid, and I was already lost! He kept driving for about 25 minutes, up a hill, down a hill, turning left, turning right, doing a three-point turn, and on and on...I was actually starting to feel carsick! LOL Fortunately we reached our destination before I was too ill, and I got out of the car, still blindfolded, and was guided into the backyard. I was told to remove my blindfold, and discovered where we were, and that there were a lot of witnesses to my getting older! LOL It was a great day, catching up with friends and family and just being surrounded by so many people I loved!

Of course, being a stamper, I just had to come up with a gorgeous, yet quick, card to thank all of my guests for their generosity, and for helping to make my birthday so special! I wanted to personalize it with my initial, since I have this graceful alphabet set that I've yet to use. This card is what I came up with. Normally, I am a fan of blue, or softer colours for a card, but I had used the Raspberry Tart dsp, and the Rose Red was the only colour that would make this card work. I liked the idea of using a shorter piece of ribbon instead of trying to tie (and mail!) some 20-odd bows. It would have been too much stress trying to tie my bows perfectly for each card! LOL I know, I have issues...

All in all, for a card that isn't normally my colour choice, I liked the way it turned out to look flowy and graceful, and feminine! Just like what I want to be, when I grow up!

Have a great day!

Kusudama

When I was in Kingston in April, I visited my cousin one afternoon. She took me to a tea store there called Cha Cha tea, that was run by the nicest Japanese lady. I love origami, so I was looking around at her decorations as well as the tea. I think I surprised and impressed the woman when I asked her about the kusudama in her store! Her face lit up and we started talking not only about the kusudama, but also the 1,000 cranes decoration she had hanging in the front window, and of course, we talked about tea. Her kusudama was different from the one I made here, but I have yet to see a kusudama that I don't want to try!

This one in particular is made from 60 pieces of 2" x 2" paper. Each piece makes one petal, then you attach them in groups of 5, and then you make a half of the kusudama by attaching 6 flowers together, and then you glue the halves together. Sounds simple, right? It is! The only thing is that making a kusudama requires patience. It takes a while to complete one. My friend Sandra made one all at once, and it took her four hours! That is a long haul, so I break mine up, allowing the glue to dry overnight, and then tackling a little bit the next day. Not to mention, folding 60 pieces of paper makes your fingertips raw, so having a bone folder handy is essential.

The tutorial I followed is found on a site called "Folding Trees", and it has excellent step by step instructions and pictures. I loved making this one, and am trying to find instructions for a different fold, but have not found one yet. You'll know when I do!

Have a great day!

Yikes! What happened?

Well, I tried to schedule this post to appear while I was away, but it seems it didn't work...and here I thought I was so smart! LOL That'll teach me! Anyway, we're back from Disney, and phew! What a week! And it was toasty!! My poor girls wilted like flowers in the heat, and I turned into a sprinkler! I swear I was the only one sweating, everyone else looked like it was just a lovely spring day! Of course, we come home and it's 13 Celsius (brrr) and the shuttle driver tells us it was 27 yesterday! Wha?? Is that right? Maybe he was in Orlando, too! LOL
So here is the post that was supposed to magically appear while I was away. It was a tribute to the beautiful simplicity that is rub-ons! Doncha just love 'em?

They can make quick work of a project! This was a little mint tin I just emptied (they were good-now I need to go out and buy some more!). All I had to do was peel the label and add the rub-on! Now to figure out what to put into it!

I will slowly get back into the stampin groove this week and I'll be posting more. Maybe I won't try to schedule anything to magically appear until I get it figured out! LOL

Have a great Monday!

M-i-c-k-e-y ....

Well, we're on our way to Disney on Monday, but I did manage to set up one post to show up magically while I'm away. I don't have time to do another one, and I won't have access to my computer while I'm there (gulp!), so even though I have a lot of stuff to show you it will have to wait until my return...I hope everyone has a great week!

Twinkle, Twinkle...

This is the gift I gave my sister for her shower on Friday night. I have had this idea brewing in my mind for quite some time, and had actually started with a yellow star and pastel coloured letters, but then my sister had her baby girl, and I saw how pink her room was, and I knew my yellow star wouldn't look as nice as one done with the Raspberry tart dsp. My friend Kim let me borrow her star die and I have the die for the letters (I can't remember the name, but it is the long thin die with the alphabet). I had bought that die thinking I could use it to personalize cards since the letters were so small, and they worked perfectly for this project too!

It was a great night and I was able to catch up with some of my sister's friends whom I haven't seen in quite a while. I was a good girl and didn't try to hog my niece during the entire shower, although I really wanted to! LOL She's just so sweet, I can't help it!

Have a great day!

Purses, purses, I love purses!

Don't you? It's funny, I see a lot of women carrying purses that I love, but when I go shopping for one, I can never find one that I like as much...maybe I should just walk up to those women and offer to buy their purse on the spot. That would definitely save me some time! LOL

Here is a purse you don't have to shop for! And you can make it just the way you want it! I loved this project from the moment I saw it, and knew I had to try one. It turned out so well, that I even made extras for those times that I needed a quick hand-made gift. I love the idea of a cute purse holding cards! There are tons of variations, of course, and I think this is only the second purse style I've tried, but I have to say, I'm hooked! I love these cute little purses!(did I say that already? LOL) They are perfect for girlfriends, moms (ie on Mother's Day, although I didn't give my extras away on Mother's Day...I'm such a hoarder! LOL), sisters, etc. The Fifth Avenue Floral is perfect to decorate the outside, but there are a few other sets that come to mind (ie Baroque motifs) that would work just as well. And you could create this in the recipient's favourite colour...the possibilities are endless! I also thought that as the button for the purse, using the largest flower from the Pretties kit would be an elegant touch. You could colour it to match and use either a pearl or a jewelled brad...see? Endless!

If you decide to try one, send me a link in the comments section so I can see your version!

For all of the Canadians, Happy Victoria Day weekend! Hope you get out to enjoy the sunshine, friends and family!

Happy stamping!