Beyond Words

Happy Monday! I hope you've had a good weekend and are ready to face the new week with strength and determination.
I just returned home from Stampin' Up!®'s 30th Anniversary party called OnStage, held in Orlando FL. It was an absolutely incredible experience for which I struggle to find the words to adequately describe. As part of the celebration I was treated to a day at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival...

...followed by an unbelievable dessert reception, complete with party favours that included the soon-to-be-released Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogues! Such an amazing day with some of my dearest stamping friends.

Then the main event started and it was one surprise after another, accompanied by the honour of being recognized for my accomplishments in the past year. It was utterly overwhelming as I crossed the stage several times and was showered with gifts and accolades from my peers. I am completely humbled at the way I have been blessed to share something I love while helping others enjoy creativity and make a difference in their lives. All I can say is thank you...to God for His unfailing faithfulness and to my family, customers and team for their unwavering support. I am blessed beyond measure.

Seeing my name on the board of top achieving demonstrators was so surreal!

You can't tell in this photo, but I was balling my eyes out...so overwhelming.

The best walk of the week was for earning the Greek Isles Incentive trip because I got to take it with my BFF Michelle Suit. I can't wait to cruise with her next summer! It was also humbling to learn that only 445 demonstrators (out of more than 53,000 world-wide) earned this trip.

Now coming down from such a high wasn't easy and I crashed with a loud thud as I realized that I have report cards due first thing Tuesday morning...back to reality! I do want to share a fun project with you, though, that I created using my Products of the Week for this week...

I'll be demonstrating this card as part of my Tuesday Live @ Five video over on my Facebook page this week. I love the pretty ombre tree from the Snow is Glistening stamp set and non-traditional colour-scheme. I used Pool Party, Mint Macaron and Highland Heather for my tree with Smokey Slate as the perfect neutral backdrop. Those pretty sparkly silver snowflakes were cut using the Snowfall Thinlits...so pretty and easy to make DIY embellishments for any holiday or winter project.

The sentiment is also from the Snow is Glistening set and is the perfect, subtle addition to the beautiful tree.

On the inside I couldn't resist stamping another tree and sentiment from the same set. This soft colour scheme makes me want to rethink my traditional Christmas decor!

I will have all of the details for how to make this beauty in tomorrow's video. If you miss it live be sure to catch it on my Facebook page for the rest of the week, on my YouTube channel next weekend or on the Video Tutorials tab above at the end of the week.

Thanks for stopping by...have a wonderful week!

Product List

Snow Is Glistening Photopolymer Stamp Set [149742] $27.00	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [147107] $10.25	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [147106] $10.25	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad [147103] $10.25
Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad [147113] $10.25	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $10.50	Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131202] $11.50
Silver Glimmer Paper [146960] $6.75	Big Shot [143263] $150.00	Snowfall Thinlits Dies [149692] $53.00	Farmhouse Framelits Dies [147922] $44.00
Swirls & Curls Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [147923] $10.25	Silver & Pool Party Baker's Twine [147015] $5.50	Clear Faceted Gems [144142] $6.75

Rustic Christmas

Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend. Mine was crazy-busy as I hosted two Christmas card buffets and did a private class for a group of friends who wanted to get together to make Christmas cards. Whew! Good thing I'm heading off on vacation on Tuesday! I am headed to Orlando, FL for Stampin' Up!®'s 30th Anniversary OnStage Live convention. I can't wait to gather with 7000 other demonstrators from around the world to celebrate this amazing company and get a sneak peek at the Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogues. It will be an extra-special celebration for me as I just learned last Thursday that I finished last year ranked as the #9 demonstrator in Canada and #105 in the world (out of 50,000 demonstrators)! This came as a complete shock to me and I couldn't be more honoured. I am truly blessed with amazing, loyal customers and a fantastic team who have become like family.

Because I will be away all week, I am unable to do my usual Tuesday Live @ Five video, but I will FOR SURE be popping on live throughout the week with lots of exciting news and announcements from convention. Be sure to like and follow my Facebook page so you don't miss a thing!

Now, today's project was inspired by a card I received from one of my team members, Sandy McCullough. I switched it up a bit and simplified it for my buffet last week...it was a hit!

I began with a 4" x 5-1/4" Crumb Cake card stock panel and stamped the trees from the Winter Woods stamp set across the top. I added a 2-1/4" x 4" piece of Festive Farmhouse DSP across the bottom. The tree is from the Winter Woods stamp set and the deer is from the Dashing Deer set. I stamped both in black ink and die cut them using the In the Woods and Detailed Deer framelits respectively.

The "Merry" is die-cut from Basic Black card stock using the Merry Christmas thinlits. Tip: apply the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets to the back of the card stock before die-cutting to make gluing them on your project a breeze! The "Wishes" is from the Merry Christmas To All stamp set and the snowflake is die cut from Galvanized Foil sheets using the Alpine Sports dies. I didn't add much embellishment...just some Festive Farmhouse cotton twine and a bit of Wink of Stella on the tree.

On the inside I added a Whisper White panel on which I stamped the deer image and the sentiment from the Winter Woods stamp set in black ink.

Lots of different products used on this one...I love the how easy it is to combine different products to create a beautiful project. You can see the full supply list below.

Thanks for stopping by...have a great week and be sure to check out my Facebook page for all the news from OnStage Orlando 2018!

Product List

Winter Woods Clear-Mount Stamp Set [147661] $31.00	Dashing Deer Clear-Mount Stamp Set [147728] $30.00	Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set [147702] $34.00	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $11.50
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $11.50	Festive Farmhouse 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [147820] $15.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $8.25
Galvanized Metallic Paper [147805] $6.75	Big Shot [143263] $150.00	In The Woods Framelits Dies [147919] $45.00	Detailed Deer Thinlits Dies [147915] $46.00
Merry Christmas Thinlits Dies [147912] $38.00	Alpine Sports Thinlits Dies [147916] $41.00	Festive Farmhouse Cotton Twine [147888] $11.00	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] $11.00
Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets [144106] $13.50