Beautiful Basics match report!

Well, I did my FIRST CLASS today - Beautiful Basics!

My aim was to help people release their creativity by showing them how to START card making. So, we covered cutting cardstock, scoring, matting, making the most of your stamps, colour coordination... etc etc. It was great because as I got them to do all the cutting, I just put the stacks of paper out & let them loose! That probably wouldn't work with too many more people but I am going to limit numbers. In fact, I already have 3 sign-ups for the next class, Embossing Extravaganza! (May 23rd - more details to follow)

Janette (and Solomon!) fiddling with ribbon.

Laura working away!

Janette's cards. Didn't she do a fab job!?

And Laura's cards! Can you believe it was her first time stamping?

It was lovely to stamp with friends today. I also did MORE stamping today, my upline Heather and I had a stamping lunch at Panera. I managed to get all of Jacob's (admittedly very simple - I'm ninja'd out!) thankyou cards done. All I have to do now is write them & mail them! 

Something slightly different!

I've been preparing for my Beautiful Basics class on Thursday (only two spots left!) and I thought I'd share the little handout I put together. It's full of hints & tips, such as guidelines for cutting & scoring cardstock, colour selection, matting, a few useful links, and all the details of the supplies I'll be using on Thursday.

Beautiful Basics Handout

I've tried to keep things very simple & used just one stamp set to create a versatile birthday card, a Christmas card and a fun general purpose card. It's a great starting point for newcomers to the craft & I know that more seasoned stampers would find the class interesting too. Here's a sneak peek:

I'll share some more pictures after Thursday. Don't want to steal my own thunder! Ha!

Beautiful Basics & Balti....more!

Just a quick heads-up about Beautiful Basics on Thursday. I am going to attempt to teach the basics of stamping, and we will be making 3 gorgeous cards from scratch. Nope, I'm not going to do all the cutting. Nope, you will not get a lovely little stack of all the pieces you need. YOU are going to LEARN how to do all that, all using one versatile stamp set & punch. Doesn't that sound brill? Well, I still have 3 spots left. A reminder of the details:

Beautiful Basics

Apr 18 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM  (Eastern )

OK so you have a few stamps, a bit of paper & some cardstock. How do you take the next step & turn them into gorgeous hand-made cards? This class is for you if:
 
- you bought stuff and now don't remember what to do with it (!)
- you want some fresh ideas for making the most of your stamps
- you just need a little prod in the right direction
- you just fancy stamping, chatting & giggling with friends
 
Class is $10 (this covers the cost of supplies) and you will come away with 3 gorgeous cards. Please bring your own scissors & adhesive. Place an order of $25 (before shipping & handling) and your class is HALF PRICE. Place an order of $50 (before shipping & handling) and your class is FREE. Can't say fairer than that! :D

I am going to have a sneak peek of one of the cards for you tomorrow. I'd love for you to join us so drop me a line if you're interested.

OK now another Baltimore snap! It was fabulous, and I am now really wanting to go to Convention. Sadly I can't this year, but I very much hope to be there in 2014!

Yup - it had to be done! (l-r) my upline & awesome friend Heather, SHELLI GARDNER (!!!!!!) and me. (If you aren't a stamper, Shelli Gardner is one of the co-founders of Stampin' Up! and a lovely person. I don't hug strangers though!) Spot the Brit - clue, it's all in the teeth! My hair started off all swooshy & straight too, then I had to dash out to a very sunny but very windy Charm City and it all went wrong. However here's a pic of me "mainlining" before kick off, when my hair still looked good! 

Please note, YES I am always that red! I have a naturally pink complexion & don't do makeup. Ever!

Do you like our lanyards? I sewed them with this fantastic tutorial! I fear the SU! fabric may not be around too much longer so if you have your eye on any of our beautiful designs, it might be a good time to stock up. But, what do I know!? :D

 

Right, enjoy your day, think of me as I catch up on chores I missed out on over the weekend!

Crossing my fingers....

...for a CRAFTY SUNDAY!

Cleaned my floors today, did the groceries, changed the beds, did the laundry... what a fun Saturday! But hopefully it leaves me with a clearish run on Sunday crafting.

I am hoping to knock together some instructions for Jacob's birthday party invitations. I googled & Pinterest'ed "Ninjago Punch Art" without much success so I had a go at my own. My first ever punch art and I have to say, my nearly 5 year old was impressed so it must be kind of ok!

Also, my "Beautiful Basics" only has 3 spots left so get in quick if you fancy it! I am ruminating over some ideas at the moment... you may even see sneak peeks!

Wish me a good night's sleep and an obliging husband for tomorrow!

Beautiful Basics Class

Mark your calendars now - I'm hosting a Beautiful Basics class on 18th April.

"OK so you have a few stamps, a bit of paper & some cardstock. How do you take the next step & turn them into gorgeous hand-made cards? This class is for you if:

- you bought stuff and now don't remember what to do with it (!)
- you want some fresh ideas for making the most of your stamps
- you just need a little prod in the right direction
- you just fancy stamping, chatting & giggling with friends

Class is $10 (this covers the cost of supplies) and you will come away with 3 gorgeous cards. Please bring your own scissors & adhesive. Place an order of $25 (before shipping & handling) and your class is HALF PRICE. Place an order of $50 (before shipping & handling) and your class is FREE. Can't say fairer than that! :D"

 Let me know if you fancy it - I only have space for 5 stampers!

Meh...

*** Pity Party Alert! Pity Party Alert! Do not read if you're not in the mood to indulge my first-world problems! ***

Urgh. Well, I think I might be about to throw the towel in as regards selling Stampin' Up! I absolutely love their products, but I just don't seem to be able to translate that into sales. I held a workshop in my home last night and invited pretty much everyone I know here in SoMD and whilst I had a great time socialising & chatting with my friends, at the end of the night my net sales were.... the roundest number in the world!

I'd spent all day cleaning, baking, and all the previous day designing the project & getting all my stuff ready to go. This while looking after two children and having very little support from the hubs (he isn't that interested in me earning money as it'll complicate our tax return... ????!!!).

I just feel a wee bit flat today, particularly as both my children are now ill & I feel like I neglected them all day. I know they were probably brewing their bugs long before now but it doesn't stop the Mummy Guilt. I am trying my best to get some sense of achievement out of my life here but there isn't much instant gratification in what I do!

Anyway. Here's a picture of my cocoa bunny cookies (with SU! cookie stamps, naturally!) I made for last night:

They were yummy. And they've been helping me through today! :D

Lucky Lady

I looked around at my wonderful friends at the "workshop" tonight and I felt very blessed. When we lived in Lancaster, UK, we both worked full-time, so we barely saw Jacob during the week, and needed the weekends to recover & do all our household chores. Consequently we had very few friends, and none that we saw regularly. Well, now I have a circle of friends, most of whom I see around once a week, and I just love it. They are all awesome!

Anyway! I promised you projects, so here we go!

The first project was a Ghoulish Googlies tag. It was pretty much straight from the kit, and we put two stamped cookies in the little bags. For some bizarre reason I failed to take a picture. Sorry! I suspect I might have actually convinced at least one of my friends to try that kit - WOW! I am the opposite of a hard seller. In fact, given the chance, I'd just give all my stuff away.

Second project was a Hallowe'en card:

For this I used the Toxic Treats stamp set (127901 - $20.95 (CM), 127898 - $28.95 (WM))I got FREE in the Printer's Tray kit I blogged yesterday. I just love this set. Usually I gravitate more towards "cutesy", so I would never have bought this set, but now I have it, I absolutely love it. I need a personal shopper that buys what I would actually use, rather than what I think I would! I also used some of the Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP (126906 - $10.95), some bling, and some of that luscious striped ribbon (127837 - $7.95). This card went down very well! Lindsay flipped the papers over and improved the card IMHO. I just love when people improve on your stuff!

Lindsay with Chrissy working away in the background.

Finally - my "piece de la resistance" (please correct and add accents as appropriate - my French is woeful):

S'mores in a jar! I got the recipe from here - how cute is it! I love, love, love this, and if someone were to give me this as a gift, I think I'd burst with excitement (as Jacob would say). If you look closely, the fabric is from the "Deck the Halls" pack (currently on the Clearance Rack for $0.99 - yes, you read that correctly). I decided it looked reasonably fall-y. Then there is Island Indigo ruffled ribbon and the tag was a hybrid project. Go me!!!! The front of the tag was first of all printed with DSP from MDS, then I traditionally stamped the jar from the Perfectly Preserved bundle (129944 - $38.95 (CM), 129943 - $44.95 (WM)) and die cut it with the Framelits included in the bundle. Then I stamped & die cut some apples, stuck them on the jar, and finally die cut another jar (without stamping) from vellum. I only stuck that down at the top, to prevent the glue showing through. Finally I die cut the "lid" from the same fabric.

This was the back of the tag:

All done in MDS2+  (130647 - $79.95)!!! After a few teething problems, I am now IN LOVE with this program. How cool is it to be able to do stuff like that? Best bit was, I didn't have the paper I wanted, so I just went online & bought it - so easy & simple (& dangerous). Then I sent them to the printer, which is just a bog-standard HP number, and voila!

Kerry and Zhenya

I am very cross with Lovely Heather as she didn't let me take her picture. Grrr. I'll get you next time, gadget!

All in all, a happy evening, and I am going to bed tired but happy. My SU! objective for the night was to persuade someone to book a party with me, but I failed, as I was gassing too much. Oh well! I will take a photo of the carnage of my dining room tomorrow - it might take me a wee while to get tidy ever again!

Surprisingly good weekend!

Well, on Friday night, the weekend looked like being a bit of a disaster as Stew was due to work a mad big day on Saturday, meaning another one-day-weekend for all of us. However Saturday dawned gloomy and drizzly. Hooray! Work was cancelled and the Pyne family rejoiced...

In the afternoon we went over to Heather's house for 4 people's birthday party - Heather, Heather's Mum & Dad, and Heather's best friend Brandi. It was loads of fun and a good time was had by all.

I arrived home to a surprise - a fellow SU! demonstrator from SCS had sent me this month's special stamp set "Reason to Smile" because I had been moaning on Splitcoast that I forgot to put it on my order. She said she'd pop it in the post to me free of charge. All I have to do is pay it forward someday. So I'm looking out for good deeds to do. Such a nice surprise!

Then I caught up with my Google Reader (how awesome is Google Reader?!) and saw I'd got another honourable mention on 55CCT! Awesome! Finally, I checked on here, to find I'd had 658 (!!!!) hits... The Online Card Classes ladies Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire had selected this card and this card as examples to show the techniques learned in class. So flattering and exciting. There isn't a lot of instant gratification or recognition as an SAHM so it meant an awful lot.

Today we went to the Vintage Source - a monthly flea market and antiques thingy. Bought a cute little side table, allowing us to finally get rid of the oval coffee table from hell. When we first arrived in the USA we were given a budget to furnish & equip the entire house. Well, needless to say some of the decisions we made on the million trips to IKEA have been regretted, including the coffee table. It is GOOOOOOOONE now though. Phew!

Anyway! I've done another couple of challenges for Apron Strings' Pinterest challenges:

100.100 (Yep, I'm all finished! Woo hoo!)

Inspired by Pinterest Challenge #15. Spritzed this one with that glimmer mist that I keep forgetting the name of to make it look a bit more festive. So loving Raspberry Ripple!

100.101

Inspired by Pinterest Challenge #13. Another good scrappy Christmas card. Love this one, I think I may crank a few of these out!

The only Pinterest challenge I haven't done this week is the Subway Art one (#11). I may have a play this evening.

Wordy Wordy Happy Happy

Heard some TOP SECRET awesome news today. Can't share details (not that you know the people involved anyway!) but I wanted a "So Happy for You" card and I was inspired by Stretch your Stamps' Day 10 (border stamps) and another of Lori's Pinterest challenges (#12):

100.99

Unfortunately the Sahara Sand (possibly my favourite SU! colour) came out green looking. Doubtless the green background didn't help!

Just love that zip stamp. It builds together so I can make as long zips as I like. FUN!

This was the colour inspiration pic from Lori -

I think I actually managed to follow the challenge quite closely on this one, unusually!

I have an idea/cunning plan for Apron Strings' Pinterest challenge #13 too... will have to see if I get chance to put it into action tomorrow.

Tawny Cards

Urgh...

Well it has been a tiring few days with Stew working really long hours. As a result I haven't had much energy for stamping in the evenings. I've been feeling really homesick, sometimes I just wish I had some family around so I could get a break. Anyway. Our life here is awesome but I really miss my sister, brother & parents sometimes.

However I had to get off my bottom tonight to make a gift for Mrs. Tawny, Jacob's teacher. It's her birthday tomorrow and she's bringing ice cream for all the kids. So sweet!

I tried to get Jacob to do a secret mission to find out her favourite colour but I think he was nervous. So we went with bright cheery colours!

I am going to call this 4 projects as I actually had to make them twice - had a MASKING DISASTER. Masked them all, stamped them all, then peeled off the masking paper to reveal ink had soaked through. There were some expletives muttered. Sacked off the masking and just plain stamped them in the end. The idea came from the Stretch Your Stamps class.

Jacob has also made her a bead bracelet with her name on it and drawn a big picture of an ice cream.

100.93-100.96 (Almost there!)

I also couldn't be bothered with the light box tonight. Sorry! To be honest it's a miracle they're even being blogged!

Apron Strings Challenges!

Another three Apron Strings challenges... Lori has some awesome challenges going at the moment and fabulous prizes.

This one was inspired by this picture and colour combination. I am absolutely not a purple person so this was really hard for me! I am pleased with the results though.

I've also used that die cut-out trick from Stretch Your Stamps too, just to give the card a little extra something. And I inked up the butterflies a new way (for me!). I squidged some Elegant Eggplant and Wisteria Wonder inks onto my Teflon craft sheet, then spritzed it with Perfect Pearls mist. Then I inked up the stamp. It was pretty watery but I kind of like the splodgy results. (So many technical terms today, I hope you're keeping up!)

100.89

OK Next up -

 Looking at the inspiration picture again, I realise I went slightly "off-topic" on this one. My computer is nowhere near my craft stuff so I do challenges from memory. And for some bizarre reason I was sure there was a cobalt blue in this one! Oooops. Anyway!

100.90

This one is also ticking the Stretch Your Stamps sentiments day box! I just LOVE that sentiment.

Last and most definitely least for the Apron Strings challenges this week (I am not a fan of this one, I think it's the green!) - but first look at the inspiration:

As Lori says, "White space is a good thing". Not green space. Oh well:

100.91

Looking at it now, perhaps my Corner Chomper would help at the top. I think it is beyond redemption but it's worth a shot!

Faffy flower...

Well the card class had an extra day today, using dies with matching stamps. Jacob watched the video with me and wanted me to try out Jennifer McGuire's card. Well... it was OK!

100.88

I coloured the flower image in with Prismacolor pencil crayons and proceeded to smudge it all over the inside of the card.  I am not sure colouring in is my favourite technique. The flower is stuck to the inside of the card and overhangs the edge. There is a matching "window" on the front which allows the card to lie flat. You trim the card to standard dimensions so that it fits in the envelope, which I would never have thought of but that Jennifer is just a genius.

As you can see, this card is written! One of my stamping friends (Carol) knows a girl in California who is battling sepsis at the minute. She (the girl, not Carol!) turns 22 next week and I've been following her story so I thought I'd send her a card. Hope she likes it. (I managed to get rid of the smudges first you'll be glad to hear!)

Have I mentioned "Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer" before? Well, I recently discovered the book and have been stocking my freezer up completely every 4-6 weeks. I tried some new recipes last week, including Cannoli. I had absolutely no idea what Cannoli were but anything with sausages in gets my vote! Well, I cooked the first batch tonight and they were yummy. Sort of like an American version of the much-missed Sausage Roll. They have our vote.

Black and Blue Christmas!

Well after my success with 523 {Christmas} Card Throwdown last week (Honourable Mention! First ever challenge success! Chuffed-to-bits.com!) I thought I'd try the colour challenge for July. When I first saw the colours I was a bit dumbstruck but then I had an idea which tied in nicely with SYS day 4 - Graphic Stamps:


100.86 and 100.87 (made two of these):

I actually REALLY LIKE this card and if I was mass-producing my Christmas cards this would be a good choice. Plus, it's a one layer card!

I am debating outlining "Holidays" with Pacific Point (to match the snowflakes) but I can't quite decide... thoughts?

In other news, Leo had his first proper food today! He tried BANANA gloop. He couldn't quite work out what was going on at first but he very quickly got the hang of it and wolfed it down! It was very cute, and quite a relief, as he's been very hard to satisfy with milk the last few days. He is a giant baby.

Such a cutie! Big day for little Leo today, he also tried out the ExerSaucer my friend Lindsay (notecard lady!) was kind enough to lend us...

I think Jacob secretly wanted a turn. Jacob has really enjoyed building Lego models today, he's really good at it for a four year old! I have zero spatial awareness so I have to position the model I'm working on EXACTLY like the picture, but Jacob surprised me with his skill!

Anyway, a good day here in SoMD. Hope you enjoyed the start of the weekend as much as I did. 

SYS Day 3 - Alphabet Stamps

I didn't have the suggested stamp set for this one, but I snapped up a similar set on Splitcoast's BST forum for $5 - Contempo Alphabet. Mega bargain! Only problem is, the clear mount would have been infinitely better for making backgrounds, especially with the Fiskars Stamp Press which is number 1 on my wish list. Anyway! For $5 you can't really complain!

100.84

Something doesn't quite work here, I think perhaps my background is a bit TOO pale. I used my favourite Sahara Sand stamped off to make it super pale but I possibly went too far! I'm not sure about the Wild Wasabi embossing either but not to worry!

This one was for Freshly Made Sketches #43:

I made it portrait instead of landscape. Not sure it was my best idea ever but not to worry! Fun sketch.

SYS Day 2 - Collage Stamps

I have to say, when I saw this stamp set, I wasn't keen at all. But... WOW. It makes some awesome cards. There are SO many great ideas in this course, I am really struggling to keep up. But, I am holding on by the skin of my teeth.

100.83

Loads of really clever techniques on this one, including water embossing, iron-off embossing, colour blocking... This is about as close a CASE of Jennifer Maguire's original as I could do with my supplies. And I changed the colours up.

PS The sentiment is straight in real life!

Christmas in July part 2

Tried a non-traditional colour scheme for my second lot of July Christmas cards. The sketch was from this challenge blog,  found via Patty Gorka (a fellow 100in100'er). Cool idea for a challenge blog, I will be taking part a lot I suspect!

100.78 & 79 (made two of these)

Not 100% keen on this one, the sketch is good (thanks to the challenge!) but I think the colour scheme is a bust. I just can't seem to get non-traditional schemes to work for Christmas cards. Oh well I shall keep trying!

Edited to add - I got an honourable mention badge for this challenge card! Wooo! Check it out!:

A little gift...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I missed a good friend's birthday recently. Well, I decided to MAKE her gift this time, as she is (hopefully) the type of person who appreciates the home-made.

100.75-78 (I counted the whole set of 6 as 3 cards as they were all similar) 

There are actually 6 of these cards in the set, but I couldn't get them all in & looking reasonable. They're all of a theme though. I just have to whip up a box, and wait for the envelopes to arrive as the cards are "4-bar" sized - 3.5" x 5".

I quite enjoyed making the set & I am inspired to perhaps make a few sets for gifts - possibly for Christmas.

Stretch Your Stamps day 1

OK my posts are going to be a little crazy for the next couple of days as I've got a couple of scheduled posts, but I also started the new "Stretch Your Stamps" course at Online Card Classes. Today was stretching your background stamps. I didn't get as much stamping done as I would have liked, and I still have a few ideas germinating in my head, but here's my first two!

100.81:

This one came together in a flash. I used the "Pot Pourri" stamp set from the supplies list for the "flowers" then kissed them with a Hero Arts background cling stamp. Then I used a Technique Tuesday sentiment. Easy! The colours are Crumb Cake/Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze/Not Quite Navy.

100.82:

On this one, I used SU!'s Woodgrain background on Crumb Cake cardstock. I first of all stamped it in Soft Suede then shifted it over about a quarter inch and stamped it again in Early Espresso. Then I distressed it a bit because it looked a bit stark and geometric. I wanted to do the owl in neon but couldn't figure out how to make it bright enough. Perhaps I should have done that colouring in on white ink think from the other day. Anyway! I wrote my own sentiment, which wasn't very successful somehow. I just don't have nice handwriting! Then I messed up the twine/linen thread. So, from a promising start I managed to completely mess it up! Oh well. I can always try again another day, hopefully at some point I will get to catch up with myself!

In other news, I think Jacob, Leo and I will have to trek up to the doctor's tomorrow. J managed to get a tick on Friday and we had a "wait and see" on it - well, today apparently it started itching. Poor Jacob. We are not very clued up on ticks and suchlike as I'm not sure they're all that common at all in the UK, however St. Mary's County appears to be the bug capital of the world. Eugh.We were supposed to be having a fun day with Heather and her gorgeous kids, but we shall see whether I manage to get an appointment or not.

{LOVE} this set...

I bought this set for the Stretch Your Stamps class at Online Card Classes which starts TODAY 9th July. Can't wait! It is a truly lovely set by Claudine Hellmuth (?) called Neighborhood. I actually made another one, with a paper-pieced house on it (100.72) but in the same colours, however I sealed it up for sending before I took a picture. Doh!

100.73:

Christmas in July Part 1

A CAS Christmas card. I made 3 of these (well actually I made four but one went horribly wrong!) I was inspired by a colour combo I spotted on one of the teachers of Clean and Simple Cardmaking's blogs but I can't for the life of me find it now. Sorry! I used Raspberry Ripple, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Island Indigo and Pool Party.

100.69-71

The stamps are a variety of snowflakes from Hero Arts, and I masked the sentiment out whilst stamping the snowflakes. Finally I added just a touch of Dazzling Details to give a bit of Christmas Sparkle!