Note of thanks to my "no contact" customers

I received a customer order the other day from Stampin' Up!'s on-line demo business website (dbws). It's not the first time somebody has ticked the "No Contact" box - which is entirely their prerogative. I am very appreciative of the business.

So, should you be reading this, I would like to thank you very much for placing your order through me. I do wish that I could say a proper "thank you" and to offer any assistance you might require.

If you decide that you would like to change that 'no contact' status, please feel free to contact me for a copy of the current catalogue(s). There is no obligation to purchase. My email address is AnythingGoesCrafts@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Cathy Miller
Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Single layer cards swap

I don't know if I'd ever made a single layer card before.  So when I saw a post advertising this swap, I was curious and really wanted some additional ideas to share with my classes and customers.

Most who attend my classes have heard me exclaim about not really liking a lot of white on my cards so... what to do about a single layer card?  where do I start?... with a piece of whisper white thick card stock!        and then to keep things simple I decided to use just a couple of colours: I'm pretty sure I used rich razzleberry (I had the perfect plum on the table too) for the backgrounds. And memento black ink for the sentiment which is from the Watercolor Words stamp set.  The flower strip in the white stripes is from the Bordering Blooms stamp set and is stamped in the same colour as the background, just really "inked up".

My contribution to the swap:

fresh card stock in the template

fresh card stock being placed in to
the much used template

When I made my original card, I just used some wide washi tape to give me the white stripes but to make 15 of them, I decided to make a template.  Plus you have to be REALLY careful when you peel the washi tape off to not take some of the cardstock.
It's hard to tell from these pictures because my template is white as well as my card stock but...hopefully you can get the idea.




The background technique is quite simple.  Wrap various sizes and widths of elastics around a clear block at various angles and distances apart.  I used a C block.  Add a rhinestone or two if desired (round dots on the card).  Ink up your makeshift background stamp and have fun creating unique backgrounds. No need to ink up after every stamp down on the cardstock; sometimes the second or even the third stamp is prettier.    I then used a sponge dauber and lightly or a bit heavier depending on the look I want to create, cover the area.   NO TWO CARDS ARE THE SAME!

I can't take credit for this idea.  Demonstrator Tina Weller posted about this back last spring.  I really liked the results and have tried it since then on a few occasions.  Like this one from the May 2015 class.

These are the cards I got back in return:

I almost couldn't participate in this swap because it was scheduled at the same time (wouldn't ya know it!) as the 3x3 swap I had already signed up for.   see previous blog post for that card.   But thanks to the wonderful generosity of the organizer, Sandi Risi, I was able to.  She met me earlier in the day to get my swaps, did the swapping for me (although I missed getting to meet the wonderful ladies that were involved with it) and then tracked me down after to give me all the new goodies PLUS that cute little purse in the picture.  What a wonderful person to do that for me.  Thanks Sandi!

Stampin' Up! Demos are awesome -- one big family!  If you'd like to be part of the family or to find out more about becoming a demonstrator, contact me to find out how you can be part of this great team.

supplies used for this project:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I'll post the other swaps another time.

Until next time...Happy Stamping!

Cathy

Anything Goes Crafts

My first Stampin' Up! Convention - July 2015

I had such a fabulous time on my trip from July 22nd-26th to the Stampin' Up! Convention held on the Thurs-Sat in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.   Part of that fun was in the planning to go -- the getting ready.... the organized swaps and the general swaps.

I've been meaning to post more... life has a way of catching up with me.  I even took this picture before I went to convention as a sneak peak of the 4 swaps I made.  Just too busy getting them all done to do a blog post.  lol

I got involved with
       3x3 love note swap (82)
       single layer swap (15)
       general swaps (just 25)
       and the "dinner with some fellow SU Canadian demos" Card Candy swap. (8)  I believe my dinner companions all had the same up-line but me, I'm adopted  :)


I started getting the 3x3 swaps done in early July -- thank goodness for Shallon and Ann (my fellow demos and roommates in Salt Lake), they were on the ball getting their's done and I figured I'd better follow suit.  Good thing I did or I'd have never got everything done on time.

             

                The stamps used are from the
               Birthday Blossoms Set

Bitty butterfly punch with pearls
flowers stamped from the Birthday
Blossoms set on the
In Colors Designer Series Paper and
punched out using the Pansy punch

It went so much faster making them assembly-line style:

since I didn't have enough of any 
one colour - I opted to make 16 of each of the 5
new In Colors and a few extra of the mint macaron.

Did you count the layers?

there were lots including the 2015-2017 In Colors

and the 2015-2017 In Colors DSP (Designer Series Paper)
and quite a few dimensionals to pop up the flowers and butterflies.

The final product:

I was going to finish the insides like this but
didn't since it wasn't a requirement of the swap.
And it was already a lot of work to make 82.

And these are the ones that I got in return --  so much talent, a whole lot of great ideas!!

 I'll be highlighting some 3x3 cards at classes this fall - be sure to sign up and you can see these samples in person.  I will be adding more classes but you can find the schedule here.








Supplies list:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I'll post the other swaps soon.

Until next time...Happy Stamping!

Cathy

Anything Goes Crafts

Paper Pumpkin July 2015 - great kit and alternate ideas

Well, I'm back from convention and seem to be busier than ever with the "normal" job (really I'm just STILL playing catch up).

I'm so thankful for my monthly Paper Pumpkin subscription ..... it forces me to do what I really want to do anyway ...... create!!!    A couple of the local subscribers get together monthly for the Paper Pumpkin NIGHT OUT and our last get together was this past Wednesday.    We made the kit as proposed by the talented folks at Stampin' Up! / My Paper Pumpkin.  This is my version - note that the envelope comes with the kit and of course, I had to decorate it as well!

The ladies and I always love coming up with ideas of our own - these are from the talented Charlene:
She's a lot quicker than I am with creating and maybe she did have one background ready to go before class  - love her ideas :)

The original  - and then with some added grey background (neither of us is a fan of a lot of white on a card)









 Then some different background effects -    the one on the right has an embossed background.

and this one -- using the vellum from the spring Sale-A-Bration catalogue on the inside of the card and the envelope -- love her ideas!!





Inga and her son, Austin, joined us on Wednesday.   She was checking out the Paper Pumpkin experience so didn't have a full kit for herself but she made the most of current and previous Paper Pumpkin stamps, some paper and the ink colours from the kit.

I only got one picture of Inga's cards  :(  -- loved her idea of "stacking" the cups -- she fussy cut all these out!!   Impressed.   And speaking of impressed... her son is such a talented artist.  










I was a little slower creating -- I wanted to do something REALLY different so I watercoloured the background using my aqua painter and the two ink colours that came with the kit:

and then an additional card using some sponging and some slightly off-centre layering to cover up all that white  lol :

It's a fabulous time to try the monthly Paper Pumpkin kits - they've got the 50% promo on AGAIN!!

Promo Small print --- for new subscribers only --
    If you want to know a bit more about the Paper Pumpkin experience, check out my blog post from May 2015 - http://www.anythinggoescrafts.ca/2015/05/paper-pumpkin-night-out-may-2015.html

But even if you've subscribed before and want to renew your subscription, the price is still decent at $24.95 / month (shipping included) plus HST.
I've seen the next two kits -- you are not going to want to miss out!!
      To sign up  or log in to your previous account:
              https://mypaperpumpkin.com/en-ca/?demoid=2138132

PLUS you get to come out to next month's Paper Pumpkin Night Out for some crafty fun with us!

Until next time...Happy Stamping!

Cathy

Anything Goes Crafts