Sneak Peak from the 2014 Occasions Catalogue

Sunday 29 December 2013

Hi everyone,
Christmas is over (phew!) - I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends.  My husband and I just returned from a wonderful Christmas with my sister in Alberta.  I had a white, wintery Christmas.  It was a little cold for me (-20 degrees Celcius on some days).
It's time to start thinking about spring and what better way that to look forward to the 2014 Occasions Catalogue from Stampin' Up!  You'll be able to check it out on line on January 3rd from my website.  Contact me and I'll mail you a copy!

Here's a sneak peak of some of the new products.  This card was made by my friend Liane Binder and I just love this combination of colours - not something I would have thought of using together!
This card uses the Vivid Vases stampset as well as the Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack from the new catalogue.
I've posted my upcoming Birthday and All Occasion Card Stamp-a-Stacks on my website.  Click here to check out January and here to check out February.
Happy Stamping!

I've been Missing in Action....

Thursday 19 December 2013

It has been awhile since I've sat down to post - Sorry!  It's such a busy time of year.  I have been busy stamping though and I thought I'd share some of my projects. 

I finished all of my Christmas cards including this file folder card made for a swap I was in with some of my fellow demonstrators.  We get together each Christmas for a party - socializing, eating and of course stamping.  This year we even held our own version of the TV show "Chopped" but instead of cooking, of course we were stamping!  Here's a link to Alison Solven's blog posting and the pictures of the amazing cards that were made.  Unfortunately my partner and I were the team "chopped" in the first round, but our partners won the event.  We had such fun.
This card is made using the Envelop Punch Board to create the tabs on the edge and the Snow Day Stamp set (I love this stamp set!)
Next a collage I cased from Eileen Lefevre.  I just loved her Collage as soon as I saw it.  I changed up the banner as I didn't have the stamp set she used.  I'm not sure I will be giving this away!

This is 8 1/2" by 11" and used the Seasons of Style DSP. 
 I've been working on some non-Christmas projects as well.  I've mentioned the monthly swap I participate in.  Here is my November card - the theme was "Celebration".  I used the Flower Shop stamp set and the Pretty Print embossing folder.  I really like how the black and white turned out.

Of course it's that time of year when Stampin' Up! releases their Occasions Catalogue - you can start ordering from it on January 3rd.  Demonstrators get to pre-order (one of the many perks of being a demonstrator).  Here is a sneak peak of a card I made using three of the new products - Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper, Blessed Easter stamp set (I separated the words from the tulips) and the Banner Framelit Dies.

If you want to receive a catalogue as soon as they are available, email me and I'll make sure you get one.  There are so many amazing new products!

Happy Stamping!
Melva

Huge Savings Start today!

Tuesday 10 December 2013



Stampin' Up!s clearance rack has been loaded with new items!  Don't miss out!  The sale starts today and ends when the items are sold.  I know there are some things on there that won't last!
Click here to check out the amazing deals.
I'm putting in an order tonight so if you want to place an order, email me.
Happy Stamping
Melva

What a wonderful way to spend a weekend!

Monday 2 December 2013

I had a great weekend at a scrapbooking retreat put on by Sue Farrant and Alison Solven.  We started about 1pm on Friday and went through to Sunday afternoon.  Such fun and so luxurious to stamp and create for over 48 hours.  I did get some sleep to, but I can tell you that there were some crafters there that didn't sleep much!

My goal for the weekend was to get my Christmas Cards made (check!), make a sample for a Christmas present (check), make a hostess gift (check) and to design my swap for an upcoming Demo meeting (check - and I even got some of them cut out!). 

I thought I'd share with you some of my creations.

This is the 8x8 sampler that will be for my sister.  I love how this turned out with the black and gold.  Sorry for the picture, it's hard to get rid of the reflection on the glass.
 The next project was a Mixed Media project.  Again black and gold - seems to be a theme in my sisters house!  I plan to find some ribbon to hang these on, but at the moment they are single blocks that spell out "MERRY".  Have I mentioned that I'm addicted to Mixed Media!

It was a great weekend - now back to reality and work!
Happy stamping!
Melva

Holiday Sale and Doorcrasher Specials!

Tuesday 19 November 2013

The Stampin' Up! Holiday sale starts tomorrow and runs through December 2nd and you don't want to miss out on the great specials.  For 1 day only on November 20th there are 3 great products reduced by 30% for 25 hours only!
  • Stampin' Trimmer (Item #126889) - only $29.37 (regular price $41.95) - I love my trimmer - a definite "must have"!
  • Simply Scored Diagonal Plate (Item #126685) - only $11.17 (regular price $15.95)
  • Many Marvellous Markers (Item #131264) - Only $95.17 (regular price $135.95)
Don't miss out on the rest of the items on sale.  Check them out and don't miss out on the door crasher specials!
Happy Stamping!
Melva

It was a fun weekend!

Monday 18 November 2013

I had a fun weekend with two classes.

On Friday night I had a Starbook Class with a friend - there was supposed to be two ladies, but the flu bug got one of them.  We had a fun time making a Starbook.  This is a great gift idea just in time for Christmas. There are pages to put pictures and also places for family and friends to write memories and messages. The great part about these albums is that they don't just have to be for Christmas.  I have a special one that I will share over the next week (can't share it now until after I've given it away).


If you're interested in making one of the these beautiful albums, I have a class scheduled on November 23rd from 1-4pm.  Cost is $35 and includes all of the materials  You can register by emailing me or clicking here.

On Saturday, 4 ladies got together to learn about Mixed Media.  I have such fun teaching this class - everyone can be as creative as the want to be, I just show them the technique.  In this class, 2 ladies made a Snowman and 2 made a Christmas tree.  I was so impressed with how creative they were.  I wanted to share their final creations.  Here's a picture of the ladies with their creations.  It's hard to see in the picture, but the pictures are all so different!  The creativity was amazing.
I wanted to share Patti's Christmas tree.  She was so creative and she said she'd never done this before.  Her tree was amazing!
I'd be happy to show you how you can create some amazing masterpieces using Mixed Media.  Email me to set up a date and time!

Thanks for stopping by!
Melva


Missing in Action - Down Under

Tuesday 12 November 2013

It's been a few weeks since I posted - so much has happened.  My husband and I spent a short vacation in Sydney, Australia.  We had a wonderful time and soaked up some of the lovely late Spring weather as Canada starts its' winter. As I've mentioned in early blog posts, I like to continue my creativity while traveling by capturing some pictures using My Digital Studio (MDS). 


If you haven't seen MDS before, it's a great program from Stampin' Up! that allows you to create digital projects - scrapbook pages, photo albums, calendars, cards, tags...and the list goes on and on.  MDS is available as a free trial for 30 days or is available for $24.95 (either as a download or as discs). Right now, for the month of November there are some great downloads available at 30% off and all print products are 30% off. 

On the long plane ride to and from Australia, I started a photo album for one of my sorority sisters - each year the President of our chapter gets a digital scrapbook of the memories of her year.  I have to get it finished to take advantage of the 30% off print products.

I also created 2 scrapbook pages of some of our memories of Sydney.  As you can see, we have a wonderful time!



 If you're interested in learning more about MDS, please email me.  I can help you get started!

Happy stamping
Melva






Faux Canvas Technique

Saturday 26 October 2013

I thought I'd share a technique I used on a card for a swap that I'm in.  It's so easy and I love how the card turns out.  The technique is called Faux Canvas and is done using Stampin' Up!'s Crystal Effects.  First a sample so that you can see the end look.

 It's so easy.  Using a stamp that looks like it's drawn give the best effect, but any stamp will work (as you'll see from the other shares below).  For this one I added a background by touching my clear block to the Crumb Cake Ink pad and then stamped.  It's so easy to get a lovely background!  I used blender pens to colour the image.  If you are using markers you'll probably want to let it dry for an hour or so so that the ink doesn't smear when you add the Crystal Effects.

To create the Faux Canvas technique, drizzle Crystal Effects over your image - you don't need a lot, then smooth it out using a toothbrush.  Got back and forth in the same direction until it covers your image.  You need to work fairly quickly as it does dry quite fast and you don't want globs!  You don't have to wait for it to dry before moving on to step 2 - turn your image 90 degrees and drizzle on more Crystal Effects and smooth it with the toothbrush.  You'll start to see the "canvas" look at this point.  So easy and so effective!

One more tip - cut your paper a little bigger than you want for the final card and then trim it so that you can cut off any finger prints.

I can't share the final product using the image above (this is the sample I made when I demo'd this at Demo meeting) as the card I made as a friend bought it before I had taken a picture, but here's a couple of more cards that I made. 

Close up of the Canvas look
Card using Calm Christmas image and Gorgeous Grunge as a background.
For this one, I use the technique to make it look like a Polaroid picture and did 2 layers of Crystal Effects spread in the same direction.
I hope you enjoy this technique.
Happy Stamping!
Melva



Don't miss out on the 25% off of 25 stamp sets

Thursday 24 October 2013

I promised to post some shares using some of the stamp sets that are part of the 25% off sale until October 28th.  Don't miss out - there are some great stamp sets included in the sale!

 Christmas Star - perfect for Christmas - now only $8.96
Oh Hello - now only $17.21 for the Clear Mount





















 Happy Stamping
Melva

Let the Party Begin...Gifts of 25% off on 25 Stamp Sets

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Stampin' Up! continues to celebrate their 25th anniversary, this time with 25% off of 25 stamp sets from October 22-28th.  What a great offer and there are some great stamp sets!  I'll share some cards over the next few days that use some of these stamp sets to get your creative juices flowing!
To place your order, go to my Online Store or email me.
 
Happy Stamping!
Melva

Thank You Thursdays - Specials from Stampin' Up!

Thursday 17 October 2013

I've discovered that I'm a "punch" girl! For me there is nothing better than pulling a punch out of the drawer to add an embellishment to a stamping project or card.  Stampin' Up! now has a bunch of stamps on sale as part of their Thank You Thursdays Specials. Don't miss out.


Bitty Butterfly Punch Item #129406
Regular Price: $21.95 CAN
Discounted Price:$16.46 CAN
Pansy Punch Item #130698
Regular Price: $21.95 CAN
Discounted Price:$16.46 CAN
Hexagon Punch Item #130919
Regular Price: $21.95 CAN
Discounted Price:$16.46 CAN

Artisan Label Punch Item #130920
Regular Price: $21.95 CAN
Discounted Price:$16.46 CAN

Mosaic Punch Item #131267
Regular Price: $21.95 CAN
Discounted Price:$16.46 CAN
What a great way to add to your collection!  Here's some of the samples made by the Concept Artists at Stampin' Up! to show off these great punches.
Artisan Label Punch and Bitty Butterfly Punch

Hexagon Punch

Pansy Punch - punch out several layers of crepe paper and attach them using a brad, then bunch the layers to create this great flower.
To order any of these punches or any other product, email me or you can shop on my Online Store.

Happy Stamping and Punching!
Melva

A special project share and Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals...

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Happy Belated Canadian Thanksgiving!

I was able to spend some time with some stamping friends on Saturday which is always fun.  We always have so much fun when we get together and always come up with a great project!

Originally the plan was to work on My Digital Studio, but we actually worked on an project that Diane Evans (check out her blog) shared with the Canada Inks Up! team at Convention.  Diane's StarBook is amazing - a photo and memory album.


What a great way to capture photos and memories from Christmas.  You can bring out your album each year and set it on your coffee table for family and friends to add new memories to.

I'll be offering a class in November - stay tuned for the details.

Don't miss out on the great weekly deals from Stampin' Up! this week.

Argyle Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Argyle Textured Impressions Embossing Folder 
Regular Price: $9.95
Discounted Price: $7.46
Basic Pearls Jewel Accents
Basic Pearls Jewel Accents 
Regular Price: $6.50
Discounted Price: $4.87
Deco Labels Collection Framelits Dies
Deco Labels Collection Framelits Dies 
Regular Price: $30.95
Discounted Price: $23.21
In Color Dahlias
In Color Dahlias 
Regular Price: $9.95
Discounted Price: $7.46
Sophisticated Spooks Ensemble -- Digital Download
Sophisticated Spooks Ensemble - Digital Download 
Regular Price: $16.50
Discounted Price: $8.25
Sweet Treat Cups
Sweet Treat Cups 
Regular Price: $3.95
Discounted Price: $2.96

Happy Stamping!
Melva
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