Let It Snow Christmas Card with Reindeer Fun

I'm always a little secretive with my Christmas cards because it's so hard to keep things a secret on social media. We just all want to share so bad and smartphones are super good at making it easy!

Now that the Canada Post strike is over, I just don't feel like sending out my Christmas cards, aw! Here's one that was waiting in the wings using Reindeer Fun and a Memories and More card from last year or the year before. Memories and More cards are so handy when you need a right-sized background...or foreground! You can't go wrong with having some holiday themed ones on hand for a quick card.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

 

Flashback Friday--Spring Birthday Accordion Fun Fold Card

Here's the big reveal from my last post, Sunday Sketch--Spring Birthday. Never ever have I made a card like this before, and you can see why it was six months late :-D

This amazing fun fold card is an accordion fold card. You can make accordion fun fold cards with or without the interlocking middle panel and windows. A quick Google will give you lots of inspiration.

This card was so amazing I made a video of it as it was hard to photograph.

Some more photos--click for full-size:

It's a little difficult to give exact instructions as the card was received, but I can give some general guidelines. I enjoyed the design and assembly challenge immensely. With this card, remember you are designing a front, four middle panels, the accordion and potentially the backside. Although I stamped the inside accordion, you'll see many stampers use scrap DSP instead. Go with whatever makes it special--the windows don't need to be a rectangle either!

• Take time to make a model card from scrap cardstock to work out the measurements. As I used one of the Ornate dies for the window frame, I had to make the cut out slightly smaller.
• The card is still 4.25x5.5" when folded. I used a 12x12" Very Vanilla sheet to cut a regular base and then I made another base with the left side 0.5" longer so I could attach them together to make one long accordion.
• The inside accordion is 2" tall and originally had six panels--but I realized four would work.
• Use a quality adhesives like tear tape or Tombow to keep the card together ;-D

Seriously, I felt like I used every stamp in the stash! I ended up taking group photos of the stamp sets so I would remember :-D Current ones are linked:

• Butterfly Brilliance
• Dragonfly Garden
• Enduring Beauty
• Everyday Details
• Grassy Grove
• Honeybee Home
• Nature's Beauty
• Nested Friends
• Quiet Meadow
• Textured Essentials
• Thoughtful Expressions

Other details:

• Petal Pink cardstock
• Very Vanilla 12x12" cardstock
• Flight & Airy DSP
• Early Espresso ink

Would I make another accordion fun fold card again? You bet!! I loved all the different elements and space to work with, plus they have so much potential and possibility! One could easily make a mini scrapbook or gift book for someone or create a seasonal display too.

 

Sunday Sketch--Spring Birthday

LOL this is a belated sketch for a belated birthday card--look for a post about this very special and complex card. You'll see why it was six months late :-) The complexity of this card required the inside to be designed, which was actually quite easy. The front, however, remained quite elusive and it was the last part of the card to be finished.

Stay tuned...

 

Flashback Friday--Inspirational Sketches

I've been meaning to post this little card for ages. I made it back in spring 2024 when I had friends over for crafternoon. I was working on something else, but I just had to make a card! Sometimes it's easier to make a complex card than something simple--but all you really need is ink, stamps and paper. I love birds--I've had budgies since I was a kid--and I enjoy wandering the wilderness and urban areas to catch a glimpse of them. I may not be the most hardcore birder out there, but nature reminds us to take it slow, take it easy and move at our own pace :-)

The house sparrow from Inspirational Sketches is just the right size for a vertical or horizontal card--and just realistic enough for me. Although I like birds, it has to be the "right" kind of bird stamp for me to add to my collection.

Until next time...

 

December Stampin' Up! News

December is a busy month for Stampin' Up! demonstrators. Not only do most of us have the January-April Mini Catalogues and new product on the way, the September-December Mini Catalogue Last Chance Products Sale is on starting December 3rd! It's always a good time to dust off those wish lists. It's also a good time to mention going forward that Stampin' Up! is making changes to how it retires products. I'll make another post about this since demonstrators have access December 3rd and I need to read up on it, but the Clearance Rack we know and love is being replaced by the Last Chance Products promotion.

As always, you can shop with me online or email me to place an order.

In other news, there's some beautiful new old DSP now available while supplies last! Whaaaaat? Three previously used designs have been refreshed with new colours and personally I can't wait to order a refreshed Serene Love package. These count as an Online Exclusive, which is where you'll find them on the website. Online Exclusives have no fixed retirementdate like Annual and Mini Catalogue items by the way--some may be available while supplies last and others may be replenished. date like the Annual and Mini Catalogues

Lastly, Sale-A-Bration starts January 7th, so mark those calendars!!!

Stay tuned...

 

New Scrapbooking Brochure from Stampin' Up!

If you've been faithfully following Stampin' Up! for the past few years, you've seen how the scrapbooking offering has changed. It's been a while since single colour 12x12" cardstock packs, kits or even albums have appeared in the Annual Catalogue. There was a shift to Memories and More pocket scrapbooking, which I personally appreciate. Although I'm not a hardcore scrapbooker, I'm loving that the single colour 12x12" cardstock packs are back, because sometimes you just want a larger sheet. And bonus--they're two toned! I can't wait to see them in person. It feels like a win for thrifty cardmakers who don't want to buy so much cardstock (oh, who am I kidding??? :-D). To be honest though, buying a whole variety pack to get one or two colours made me rethink some of my ideas.

Something else you may have noticed, whether on SU's website or just in general, is that SU's competitor, Close to My Heart, ceased operations in June 2024. CTMH ink, cardstock, page protectors and more can still be ordered through Stampin' Up! while quantities last.

SU kindly welcomed CTMH consultants on-board as well! If you're curious, you can also see how the two companies colours compare.

Flashback Friday--Berry Delightful Thank You Cards

As a hobby Stampin' Up! demo, I don't feel the pressure to focus on the latest and greatest. Of course, I do love the latest and greatest, but if you noticed my lack of projects over the past year, I'm building up to where I was almost ten years ago. It's these little wins and finishing up older ideas that gives me pause. Even these very simple thank you cards, made from 2021's Berry Delightful DSP and a thank you sentiment from the Daisy Delight stamp set had me thinking.

Simple stamping is wonderful, but if I was to remake these cards, I would probably use Crumbcake or Basic Beige for the bases and Basic White or Very Vanilla for the thank you tags. I absolutely can't remember what my 2021 idea was, but sometimes it's good to let go...and just keep going forward!

Watercolour DSP is always a personal favourite, so you can bet I bought a few packages of Berry Delightful :-)

Until next time...

 

Flashback Friday--Celebrate Today with Stampin' Up!

Today's Flashback Friday is a bit of new and a bit of old! You can still order the Celebrate Today magnet board kit. 

Even though I'm an avid and very capable crafter, I appreciate Stampin' Up's kits line. They're perfect for when you don't want to fuss with preparing materials, as a gift or simply to take along. Personally I keep a few kits and Paper Pumpkins to take over to my parents. It's fun for Mom and I to make something together and have a pile of cards to share. They have everything you need:

There's also no time limit on kits! The Celebrate Today kit comes with a 12x12" magnet board, frame, gold binder clips, stickers, die cuts and cards. You can easily make an organization station in half an hour with this kit, but because I'm plenty crafty, I made it special :-) Sometimes kits are just a suggestion, which is why you can find many kit alternatives online. 

You know how you save paper for special projects? I've been sitting on a stash of Flight and Airy DSP from 2024's Sale-A-Bration. This was definitely that special project! I love purple, so the speckly purple background sheet was a natural place to start. A perfectly sized piece Tea Room DSP from a few years ago wonderfully delineated the bottom. I used the pre-cut folder to make my own template to make co-ordinating folders. The extra cards are double-sided, so I can use them for other projects and cards.

Bonus fun: Did you know you can upcycle magnets for thrifty fun? We all receive those realtor or dentist magnets in the mail--don't throw them out! With DSP scraps, adhesive and some clear packing tape, you can make your own magnets, which is also what I've done here.

A project like this is easy to do on your own with some magnetic sheets and a picture frame. The possibilities are endless--you can make them as gifts or change them with the seasons too! Until next time...

 

Flashback Friday--Peaceful Cabin and Winter Gifts

Today's Flashback Friday revolves around last year's Peaceful Cabin stamp set from Stampin' Up!. Peaceful Cabin was very popular with crafters, especially for rustic scenes rendered in grey and blue. There's just something about the cabin that takes the mind away to...well...a peaceful place!

These cards were destined to be unfinished forever until this past week. Sometimes an idea or sketch (or both!) doesn't work out the way you envisioned it. Staring down the card bases, I knew they needed just a little more effort to be complete. I even stamped out sentiments. It just wasn't going to work out.

I put them aside once more and worked on another unfinished project--2019's Winter Gifts Paper Pumpkin. This fun set made 20 gift tags and there were plenty of "spare parts" still in the box even though I made a few. Gift tag Paper Pumpkins are fun because you can make awesome card fronts from them. As luck would have it, I found a stack of pre-cut bases and stamped and glued. Winter Gifts' stamp set included a scripty "Let it snow" sentiment and I used it on ten cards, such as the ones below:

Then, I realized it was the PERFECT message for those Peaceful Cabin bases. I stamped another five let it snows, and from Peaceful Cabin, stamped a bunch of pine trees and added the little fox to the corner of each card. Silver ink snowflake dots finished off the scene--done!

The bases went from blah to beautiful in an afternoon. Don't give up on those unfinished projects--maybe they just need some extra time or a change of direction. As crafters love to say, late for last year, early for next!
Until next time...

Yay! Time for the new September-December Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue!

It's time for a new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue, which means new, festive DSP stamps and more! Contact me for a printed catalogue or shop with me online.

Flashback Friday--Rocking Horses Christmas Cards

I haven't posted a cardmaking how-to in ages! Last year's health problems tanked my energy, and when my energy returned, I faced a new problem--I just couldn't seem to make a card!

I caught up on some Paper Pumpkin kits, but designing my own cards and choosing different colours, stamps and ink seemed to escape me.

How is it possible to have a whole room dedicated to stamping and not...stamp?

Funnily enough, I found my road back from an unlikely source. If you haven't seen the new Simone Biles documentary on Netflix, I highly recommend it. Although I'm not a huge sports fan, I enjoy Netflix's sports documentaries, from The Last Dance to Untold. I've always loved biographies and stories about people overcoming challenges. My challenges seemed so small compared to highly paid, highly talented, and, sometimes, high-flying athletes, but we're all human. Something about Simone Biles' struggle resonated with me. After her case of twisties, she returned to the gym and slowly regained her skills and confidence.

Crafting was my sport. It used to be so easy--what happened?

Perhaps cleaning the craft room would help. I came across many baggies of festive spare parts and bases that had been started. All they needed was the tiniest bit of time and effort to put them together. A sentiment here, some bling there--and voila! I made some cards! The original use for the spare parts long forgotten, I just arranged things until they looked pleasing and committed to gluing them down. Soon I had a stack of Christmas cards and pride in finishing unfinished projects. Are you even crafting if you don't have unfinished projects? 😄

So, here's a little Flashback Friday for one box of spare parts contained coloured rocking horses, stamped and sponged background layers and cut white paper and vellum.

Here's a reminder of the Sunday Sketch I posted last year, using the Rocking Horse set:

I made these pieces in 2023:

• background layer stamped and sponge with Poppy Parade (one Cherry Cobbler is the exception)
• white copy paper and vellum (cut at the same time so the layers matched perfectly)
• rocking horses stamped with Early Espresso on Basic White and Crumbcake cardstock

To complete the project, all I needed to do was add:

• six bases from three 8.5x11" sheets of Cherry Cobbler cardstock
• stamp the white paper and stamp a sentiment with Early Espresso
• punch gold stars from scrap gold paper

Then, to assemble, I:

• attached the Poppy Parade layers to the Cherry Cobbler bases
• placed tear tape on the back of the rocking horses and carefully adhere the vellum layer to the paper layer
• trimmed scrap DSP and cardstock to mount the sentiments
• placed the stars and used metallic ink to dot the vellum layer

It took an afternoon, but the card I envisioned last year is ready for this year. Sometimes breaking a big idea down into the tiniest task helps too.

Christmas tends to get a free pass in my Stampin' Up! collection and you can see why--sometimes you just need those little star stamps from older sets. Finding just the right stamp in my collection for the floor truly felt like a win too.

Maybe I was too caught up in perfect, maybe I just needed to reconnect to the joy in finding something I still do love. It's okay to take breaks and okay to start again--even when life is challenging and doubts loom large. Self-kindness, focus and perseverance can go a long way to reaching a goal, whether it's on the gymnastics floor or the craft room :-)

Hooray--time for a new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue!

It's time for a new Annual Catalogue, which means new patterns on 6x6" DSP, pretty pretty new In-Colors and more! Contact me for a printed catalogue or shop with me online.

I'm still here!

I'm still here--just not stamping much. Without going into too much detail, I had a health scare last summer which necessitated a bunch of tests. One day I was motoring along, just living my life and then before I knew it, I was signed up for a lot of appointments. Eventually my whole world revolved around researching tests, waiting for the tests and then, waiting and worrying for the test results. To make things more interesting, my doctor retired and I started over again with a new doctor. Despite all the testing, there were no obvious sources of my very common problem--anemia.

Usually crafting has always been the first thing I ran to during a crisis, but I became terribly stuck. My flow of daily doodles and ideas dried up. I tried different things and activities, but I could just get my crafty mojo back. Trying to boost my iron intake, getting enough sleep and conserving precious energy actuallly took a lot of effort.

The good news is I'm on a better path and starting to doodle again. The pause button is still a little jammed, but if I'm gentle with myself, I know and trust everything will pop back into place. That's the great thing about stamping--it's always ready when you are. A card doesn't have to be complicated to be heartfelt nor does every tool in the stash have to be used. I forgave myself for not sending out cards on time, or at all. I find myself doodling again and know my old self is still there, waiting to bloom again with all the wonderful things spring can bring :-)

New Year, New Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue :-D

Time for another mini cataologue PLUS Sale-A-Bration, where you can earn bonus rewards with qualifying orders. Contact me for a printed catalogue or shop with me online.