Cheers!

Any-occasion card featuring the Happy Hour stamp set

I am SO excited!  Tonight at 8:00 pm I get a sneak preview of the new 2013-14 Annual Catalogue a full four days before the general population of demonstrators do!  I was successful in earning this wonderful perk as a result of a recent incentive event offered by Stampin' Up.  I can't wait!!!  I will share some inside info with you tomorrow...as much as I am allowed to...and I'll have a good idea of which stamp sets and accessories will be retiring.  The actual retirement list comes out on Wednesday of next week and, as always, items on it are while supplies last, so it is sure to be a busy time for all of us!  The card above is one I designed a while back and I am confident that the stamp set I used will be back for another year.  Happy Hour was new in this year's catty and it is a great one!  So versatile and fun.  On this design I used some Birds of a Feather DSP, as well as some Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP I had leftover from the fall.  The satin ribbon is also left over from the Holiday catalogue, but works perfectly on this card.  I couldn't resist adding a touch of sparkle with the Silver Glimmer Paper and a few rhinestones.  The liquid in the glass is paper-pieced, much easier than trying to ink with markers!  The colour scheme is Summer Starfruit, Basic Gray, Basic Black and Whisper White.
On another note, I want to remind you that time is running out to register for my Family Canvas class coming up this Friday, April 26th at 6:45 pm.  In case you missed it, here is the project we'll be creating:

Perfect for displaying treasured family photos, this project would make a lovely gift for Mother's Day, a new baby or just to keep for yourself to display in your home.  The class fee of $20 includes all materials and supplies to create one of the canvases pictured above, including the wooden easel to display it on!  Please indicate yoru colour choice when you register.  If desired, bring three photos with you to class to complete your project.  You'll need one 4"x6", one 3-1/2"x5" and one 2"x3".  Be sure to contact me to reserve your seat before the 23rd.

My Turn for April!

Today I get to show you my project for April at Craft Project Central.  Check it out:

Family Canvas and Card designed by Yours Truly!

I also did this same project in Midnight Muse and I am offering both options in a class on April 26th.  Click the Upcoming Classes and Events tab at the top of this page for additional details.  If you can't make it to my class (or even if you can!), you can subscribe to April over at Craft project Central to get the full-colour step-by-step tutorial.  Just $10 gets you 10 great projects...lots to keep you busy all month long!  I am also giving away a free subscription.  To enter the draw just leave a comment on any post dated April 1-15th, 2013.  I will post the winner on the 16th.  Good luck and happy stamping!

XL Baby

I'm back at designing over-sized cards again!  This time they are for babies...or at least baby showers.  There is a bit of a baby boom on our staff at school and I have been charged with making the cards for each of the moms-to-be.  Again, they have to be big cards to allow for about 30 or so signatures, so I am working with a much larger canvas than usual.  Today I have the first design for you.  This mom doesn't know what she's having so I tried to keep it somewhat gender-neutral.  Have a look...

Simple Baby card featuring the Letter It alphabet set.

Pretty simple, eh?  I liked the idea of doing a banner using the Letter It alphabet set.  I also used a couple of retired products on this card:  Nursery Nest DSP (from last year's catty) and the mini clothespins.  I really loved those little things but found them a wee bit large to use on a standard-sized card.  Not so with a jumbo one...they are just perfect!  I drew my colour scheme from the DSP:  Pear Pizzazz (miss that In-Colour!), Perfect Plum and Blushing Bride (miss that one too!).  I hung my little banner from some white baker's twine and popped up both the banners and the letters with dimensionals.  I hope the recipient of this card likes it...she is part of my monthly Inky Paws club that I run at work, so I know she'll appreciate the work that goes into a handmade card!