Leap into Fun

That's what I named my latest class, in keeping with what else, but Leap Year! After I post this, I'll need to go figure out some sort of fun supper to serve tomorrow night to celebrate the special day!
I was trying to figure out a 'theme' for this class and feeling overwhelmed with so many fabulous sets to choose from in the Occasions Mini , I went kind of off on a tangent and decided to focus on Glitter...cause it's winter again and I love all the sparkly snow! But I focused on flowers and butterflies! (and well, Bees, I guess, too! One of the Girls re-did a sparkly card I'd done a few years ago with the set Buzzin' By) The Girls never cease to amaze me with their combinations and takes on my samples.

and mine. I used some of the Fine Supernova Stampin'Glitter in Aqua with the Sticky paper and the Beautiful Butterflies. I made up a bit of a 'body' with some Bakers twine in Pool Party.  I stamped with a BG stamp from the set Creative Elements in Soft Suede. Used my Paper piercer to add a little interest on the Turquoise scallop cut from the 2 scallop circle die and tied it all up with a Crumb Cake Seam Binding bow!

We had a lovely evening and the Girls went away with smiles and sparkles shimmering all over them! I love when we work with Glitter! I always think we should head out dancing after the classes!

I have 2 more classes tomorrow, so watch for a few more renditions of the cards!

Enjoy your extra day!

smiles,

Laurie

Living in the 70's

I just came across a great quote! I wanted to share it right away...which is good , as it was time to put together a new day's post! 

I was working on a couple pages of a little project I started over the weekend. One of my albums from the 70's really needed to be redone... the first no-no, according to all experts, ...its one of those magnetic albums, I have a few of these...but this one might have been reworked by me as a kid, since several of the photos are no longer stuck and fall all over. In addition, none of the plastic 'protecting' sheets are secured down. Thirdly, I actually thumb through this album often and share it to help illustrate some of my childhood stories. I have no idea what the thought was to how the photos in the album be arranged, as the pictures are in completely random date order as well as events all skewed... Partly in keeping with this spirit, and partly in keeping with trying to make it a quick project...I have mostly just pulled the photos out and reapplied to new pages in the same order, adding some journalling and stories roughly under the photos. I'm using photo corners, so if I ever want to scrap a single photo onto a 'real' scrapbook page, I'd be able to. Throughout the album, there were pictures of me in front of a birthday cake from every year (no supporting photos) So one difference in the new book is pulling all these together onto 2 pages...and I'm laying down some patterned paper and a title (I've used the Happy Birthday die I bought off the Clearance Rack , but really should probably have a subtitle Blowing out the Candles LOL) The book is nearly done, but these pages are slowing me done with some creating!
anyway, I digress and hence the quote I wanted to share which  I just saw in my planner and love:

I think people don't place a high enough value

on how much they are nurtured

by doing whatever it is

that totally absorbs them.

Jean Shinoda Bolen

I'll share this simple card I revamped from my Christmas workshop with a new panel, using the Hostess set: Faith in Nature and lightly colouring it with our Stampin'Pastels.

The back panel was embossed with the Stripes folder and the circle embossed with Petals a Plenty. I used the In Colours: Poppy Red and Pear Pizazz along with the Soft Suede and just a smidge of Daffodil Delight.

thanks for stopping by today!

smiles,

Laurie



Class Act...

From the looks of things, you'd think I was always so focused!  But I don't think anyone was fooled for long. Although the classes were loaded with information and ideas, and I stayed on track during them.

This morning,  I'm trying to finish off the couple projects I started on the weekend...well, and lets face it...I'm dreaming of all the half-done ones I took along with me to 'wrap up' idly while there visiting!
Learned a new way of colouring that I can't wait to share with my gals! (and a new style of 'card', too!)

Also, catching up with some of my online course material and found this great article shared by a fellow student on the boards. Why?  Thought I'd share the link with you, too...

smiles,
Lauire

The Weekend

We had a wonderful time in Red Deer this weekend at Crop-a-ganza! Jennifer and I took a couple classes with Cathie Allan and learned some pretty neat things with stamps and paper! The hotel was wonderful and the space was perfect for being pampered in by the gang that put on the event! Thank you, ladies!

Sharing a photo of me and Jen at the PJ party...and to show that I knew her before she was published!!!
Such exciting news!! There was a contest by Canadian Scrapbookers magazine for a layout to  be published in an upcoming issue...and there were about 100 entries...all of them stunning, and a few others winning sub categories and honourable mentions in those categories...but Jennifer's gorgeous layout about "her man", the UPS driver (complete with a handsome photo of said man and his truck) won!!!!
I spent the Albertan Family Day Holiday helping the Girls clean their rooms, with breaks for some baking peanutbutter cookies, sledding outside and Cary towed them behind the quad on the tobaggan for a long time, much to their pleasure! The day was a picture perfect winter's day, bright sunshine, fresh fallen snow, kids dressed in their gear with grins from ear to ear!

I'll get back on track this week with some creating and posting, then planning another card class. Sale-a-bration is in full swing and so many wonderful sets to earn with your purchases, its the perfect time to stock up on favourite colours and a few new stamp sets from the Occasions Mini.

smiles,
Laurie

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Such a fun day! We're blessed with a beautiful sunny day, a beautiful snowfall yesterday to cover all that was not beautiful in the winter, and no sick kids home from school...health is a WONDERFUL thing!

I decorated up the breakfast table for Cary and the Girls to be greeted by this morning. Nothing grand, just simple, but happy! ('course the photo was taken in the middle of the night, so it's darker than they saw it...)
One of the greatest serendipities of this Stampin'Up! business is having stuff on hand to play with.
The big  scalloped hearts are from the latest Sizzix Framelits and I just put one on either side of a jumbo box of Smarties. The Bouquet of Flowers are made with the new punch and matching stamp set Mixed Bunch and totally CASE'd from pinkbuckaroo 's blog (I love that name, and she has some fabulous stuff!)

I also thought I'd share this sweet little banner my Littlest made at my last class, that she came to.She asked her Dad later, when she saw it hanging in the hall by the stairs, "do you know why Mommy put that there?" probably a shrug from Cary, so she continued, "because she liked it better than the one she made!"
Which was totally true! {{heart}}

have a wonderful day in your corner of the world,

smiles,
Laurie

A Challenge card

...and it really was...the small image and simplicity of it, had me thinking to do something very simple (and hope for fabulous in it's simplicity LOL) but the rest of the challenge was to use bright green and my favourite colours of tulips...the challenge also had these fabulous photos of aerial shots of tulip fields, stripes of wonderful colours...so I was sure I'd use the striped paper from that same Hostess pack, Cheerful Treat...but as it all mulled around the polka dots came out...and as strong as they are for the image, it seemed to play up the dots on the egg...

One big plus as I coloured was I realized my blender pen yesterday was dry so that's why Karen Barber's technique was not working for me at all, and today I had better results with a new Blender pen. In fact, I was pretty excited at the pot...using Concord Crush, should have been very scary and dark and I am so pleased with the way it kept the detailing of the stamp...I'll certainly be using this for colouring images! Great tutorial on Splitcoaststampers!

Found a couple really neat things I want to do this week from a few wonderful blogs I'm following...I'll be sharing them. And working on some stuff and pages for my Big Picture Classes. Hopefully, get a little messy with May's fun class and pull some things out of my scrapbooking drawers to play with. As well as pack up some things for a weekend away in Red Deer at Crop-a-ganza. I'm looking forward to spending a wonderful weekend with my dear friend, Jennifer.

smiles,
Laurie

Crackin' Out

Playing over at Splitcoaststampers for the Virtual Stamp Night...which was last night, but I didn't get a chance to play then since we had our cousins over for a visit, always good times when we're together.
I got a chance to read a couple challenges, and got excited to think I should 'crack' out my new set Everybunny, to play the first one: Which came first? the chicken or the egg?
One of the images is a chick hatching.
Part of the challenge is to complete the card in 45 minutes (good for me, as I monkey about usually, so I like that I need to glue things down! ~ take a picture and load it)

I hadn't cracked open the Designer Series Paper I bought with Hostess credits some time ago, so worked with it tonight, too. I stamped the image with Staz On. Then worked with Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Daffodil Delight markers. I attempted to blend a bit and add some layers of colour from Karen Barber's tutorial, but it only worked so-so (get to practice that more, I guess!) I layed out the different colours of the 2-sided paper...at first thinking to work with a green but at the last minute going with the stripes. (I think I'm using this set again for the Tulip challenge...so maybe the green side will get used on it...) I stamped the image twice, cutting out the egg to lay on the ground, popped up on dimensionals. I used the Big Shot Lots of Tags Sizzlets for the saying. I don't use thse nearly enough for how much I love them!

I'm taking a class with May Flaum through Big Picture Classes, so I'm hoping to try to work some misting into one of these challenges, too. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Maybe first thing in the morning, before heading out for a Family Festival event at the National Historic Park...

smiles,
Laurie

Just My Type

A quick entry with a card I made a few of to swap at Leadership in San Antonio. I really love this set...didn't think I'd need it when I first was looking through the new Occasions Mini but didn't take long to see how fun it can be. And there are loads of great ideas by so many talented people. This card came about as I was playing with the paper from Just Add Cake on another card...and when I saw the letters, it got me thinking...this would make a neat layer for that Typewriter. So a bit like this post...pretty plain and simple.

I used Espresso ink and cut around the image to pop up on the Wild Wasabi green panel. The little green edging is the Lace Ribbon Border. And I stamped the Ato Z little mini background once with Tangerine Tango onto the Tango in the bottom right corner.

smiles,

Laurie

Valentine Crafts Day

Today, I went to my DD's class to make a Valentine Craft. Another Mom had suggested we have the kids make coupons for little deeds around the house, so I designed a sweet card to house the coupons. I found a neat idea for making 2 openings. We folded a sheet of paper in quarters...and glued the bottom edge...viola little pockets on both sides of the card to hold some little coupons with pull tabs on them. I love when a craft can really show off the child's style...and this worked out wonderfully for them, they were able to decorate the front and interior how they'd like. I also love when they like what they have come up with! When I left, they were proudly displayed across a table in the classroom!  From there (and after groceries) I headed to our Girl Guide troop to complete another Valentine Craft with 14 Guiders. I pre cut the makings of a banner. A simple vertical hanging with the letters L O V E. Aiyaiyai! I'm not used to precutting for projects and can't get over the amount of spinning of the Big Shot handle needed to cut out paper, cardboard, hearts and more scalloped squares, along with the letters themselves! I worried a bit about the fact that all the letters and background squares would be all the same colour for all the girls (where was the individuality in that?!...). However, with the choice of 4 backgrounds and the magic of creativity, not one was similar to another! I loved the results!!! and the girls were so proud.

On Sunday, I had a group of ladies and girls over for a Valentine Class, we worked with a Scrappin' kit and made cards, the banner, and a little Pillow box owl (idea found on line and so sweet!). I had one Mom attend with her daughters...who ended up making 4 cards herself! Her first cards!!  ...it is so neat to see that spark of  'I can do it' happen! They took their cards home in a little box that I picked up on the Clearance Rack awhile ago, we added a big fat bow and a tag to dress them up!
 The littlest girls were pretty happy with the chocolate they found at each setting, wrapped in a simple but sooo pretty triangle box that I recreated from a lovely 3D swap Amy Rogers gave me at Leadership this year.

More Valentine's to come this week...I should join the Hop again, that was fun...just too many other Valentine's today to check it out...
see you tomorrow,

smiles,
Lauire

Flashback Friday

As promised, here is the card...made from way back in October 2010.
I like the ring of Flashback Friday,though and I'm thinking I might make it a regular feature...maybe not every week, but maybe once a month. In this case, I think it is a pretty card, but Flashing back, I think could be sort of funny to see the way we did things if I go back a decade...or even to some of the stuff my Mom saved of mine from the last century! My whole stamping life started back in the 80's with black embossing powder from a little store off 17th Ave SW and 14th St in Calgary..I think it may have had a florist shop next door or as part of it. I found all these little jars of powder and a basket of stamps and a little pad of embossing ink, actually I think I may have only invested in the Embossing pen. It wasn't Versamark, because about a dozen years later, I thought that was only sold by Stampin'Up! when I started selling it!  I bought at least one stamp and one jar of black EP. I used my stove element to melt the powder. Anything I made looked so stark and not at all classy like so many of the CAS cards I see now....they were just hokey...no wonder it took me a dozen years to embrace it (that I travelled alot around the world throughout my twenties might have as much to do with it, I suppose...but that's stories for other days!)
So remind me about these fun flashbacks if you don't see them again...I lilke the idea.  I took Lain Ehmann's LOAD through Big Picture this Fall and many of her triggers for the day fell into a rotation of themes...one of them was probably Flashback Friday, because I remember pulling out some old stash to make a page, and another week some old photos and memories.
Maybe I'll challenge you to create a card using a stamp that is collecting dust that was once a favourite and link a post here...or if you're clever post a little thumbnail and a link! It will be very fun to see!

I originally posted my card on Splitcoast Stampers , an original by me based on a thumbnail that I thought was different than it was when it enlarged. There was no embossing,  and I think if I remember the card was a Cherry Cobbler medallion on Very Vanilla paper....so I set about making the card from my mind that  I thought the thumbnail looked like...does that make sense?

Enjoy the weekend!

smiles,
Laurie

I'm Guessing the Groundhog saw his Shadow

It will be awhile before we see a Mixed Bunch of flowers in our yard...but I'm sharing this card made with the stamp set Mixed Bunch, you can scroll back here as winter continues on !

This is my Simply Irresistable card that started the classes this past week. Starting with a piece of glossy white cardstock, stamped the A to Z background in Espresso, then stamped the flower overtop with versamark ink, embossed in clear and brayered the entire piece with Razzleberry. I embellished it with a strip of white paper embossed with the Hearts and edged with our scallop punch. Tied it up with Baja Seam Binding and a Firestone Brad!

I'm off to organize my room a bit more, I am seeing some surfaces! I'm working on scrapbooking this month but have been running behind by being gone for part of the month in January.

I'm still  processing all the great information and all the fun I had while in San Antonio at Leadership. (and still hoping that this coming year, a couple of you will come along with me as part of my group...with the great pricing on getted started as a Demonstrator right now, it's a great starting place...what a deal for just $150 you can Join the Fun )

I have been talking to a few friends about the book discussion Ellen Richardson did on Change Anything. It was really wonderful and we've had some good conversations stemming from what was shared in the class. Ellen Richardson shared from her heart and then shared how to use her story and apply it to areas in our lives to Change Anything!

The other concept I keep talking about is from the class about Including a New Generation in Your Stamping Business that Amy Swartz and Paula Critchlow taught and all the buzz of the fabulous changes Stampin'Up! is planning to help us stay savvy in this modern social world. Amy Swartz is brilliant and I remember being so exited when they announced hiring her a few years ago.

alright, short and sweet was one thing that Paula Critchlow taught. I probably ad libbed the 'sweet' part, it was probably: short and succinct...and it hit home for me, as generally I am anything but...I was teasing a girlfriend yesterday that her phone machine cut me off (okay, to begin with does the New Generation even use the phone?!) So I was telling her that more and more people have the 'Laurie default' on their machines to cut me off after a couple minutes of rambling, she laughed, I sighed,...just my goodbyes are 2 minutes long!

smiles,

Laurie

Fairies in February

We got the month started off right by having the calendar page coloured for my Littlest's room. 

It's bright and happy and she is thrilled!

 I taught my simply irristible technique again today. I really love the way the gals created cards with their flair over the past few classes with this technique. I'm planning to take photos in future classes to share on the blog to show off their talent! I'm one of the few Demonstrators I know that does not pre cut all the card stock for classes, but instead I let the ladies choose their colours, often stamp sets (from a selection) and depending on whether it's a technique or a template/ sketch class...even the layout differs from card to card. Often they start with one of mine, then make variations of the others I have for examples.   I am always flattered when they copy mine with just a tweek or two, but thoroughly enjoy seeing their cards unfold! 

I'll post my Swap card that started the idea for this class tomorrow...and then maybe I'll do a Flashback Friday this week with the very original card that inspired that swap card! 

smiles,

Laurie