3 of a Kind

These are samples of the last card we will make at my stamp-a-stack on Friday. They all use the same DSP, just different sides. It's retired but who cares! The colours are great: tempting turquoise, green galore, and apricot appeal. I also used the flowers from One of a Kind and the Boho Blossom punch. A couple also use the Word Window punch. These samples show how simple it is to change up a card & make it your own!

Cupcake Case

This is another card we will be making at the stamp-a-stack this Friday. I cased it from Alesha at A Little Scrapbook Therapy (click here to see her card). Please ignore the hideous colouring job on the cupcake stand and the crooked sentiment. I was in a hurry to finish it and made a mess! Ugggh! I am somewhat of a perfectionist and that kind of stuff drives me nuts. Looking forward to making a new one on Friday! Colours are Bermuda Bay with Melon Mambo and basic black. I also added some Crystal Effects to each of the cherries on the tops of the cupcakes. I think this would look good with some kind of texture on the Melon Mambo layer...polka dots or something might be fun.

Beer & Football

Here is another card we will be making at this Friday's birthday stamp-a-stack. A truly masculine card...beer & football! The card is whisper white with a layer of kraft that I ran thru the Big Shot using one of the texturz plates and tore at the bottom. The footballs (from Just Football) are stamped in Close to Cocoa and the beer in black. I used my pastels in More Mustard to colour the beer. They are punched with the 1 1/4" square and the small tag and then layered over the larger punches. Finally, I used some black twine to finish it off. Oh, and the sentiment is from the Family Phrases set. I also used the "Cheers to you" sentiment on the inside.

Decor Elements!

I am so happy with how these turned out...I must get more! I put these butterflies from the Stampin' Up decor elements line up in Jenna's room this afternoon. It was so quick and easy. I have decided I am going to buy 2 more packages and take them up and over her door and to the next wall. I am also going to get more for other places in the house. These are the medium Flutter butterflies.

My Family

Just had to share these pics of our family that we had taken on Thursday night at the Karting for Cancer fundraiser my husband held. :)

So Proud

No time to stamp these days. We had hyrdoseeding done on Monday and I have been spending the better part of my days watering. It has been hot here all week (between 28 and 32 degrees Celcius which is about 82-90 for my American friends) and we have had no rain. But there is some in the forecast for tonight so my fingers are crossed!

Anyway, the 2nd picture was taken yesterday at the Rexall Edmonton Indy. My husband and son shaved their heads as part of a cancer fundraiser. My son's friend was diagnosed with cancer this spring; that's them in the top pic. My husband's company is sponsoring Alex Tagliani's car this weekend so we had Alex out to the event. Yesterday we spent some time at the track and were even able to tour his trailer and hang out there. Very cool! He is a super guy and we sure hope he does well on Sunday. The kids and I may head out again tomorrow to watch.

New Ribbon is Ready

If you ordered a ribbon share it is ready to go! I used to cut the ribbon and put it in a ziplock bag. Wasn't very pretty. Then I saw this idea on a couple of blogs and thought it was fantastic. I just used the heavy cardstock that comes with the designer paper. I cut it 3" wide for a single share (3 yards) and 6" wide for a double (6 yards). I used my 1" circle punch to punch out the notches. I didn't measure; just eyeballed it. It was so easy and looks great. I will do another share if I get at least 4 more people interested. You get 3 yards of each of these great new colours for just $20. (Canada only) You can either pick it up from me or I will mail it right to you for an additional $2.

It is a cool and rainy day here so I expect to do some stamping. I also promised my daughter I would show her how to use the sewing machine. Now that I have a huge studio I can leave it set up and use it for card and scrapbooking. Yay! Hope you have a great day.

Wow!

I just got a sneak peak at the new 2009 Holiday Mini Catalogue and all I can say is WOW! There are hostess sets (including a snowman...yay!), amazing holiday stamps, designer paper, a digital scrapbooking kit and Build-A-Bear stamps and dies for the Big Shot. It is amazing!

Stampin' Up also has a great deal of the week! I know I will be getting some of these great brads. I have the circle ones but have not gotten around to getting the squares so this is the perfect opportunity. I am placing an order on Saturday so please let me know if you want to order anything.

SAS Spoiler

We will {likely} be making this card at my upcoming birthday stamp-a-stack on July 31. I say likely because I could change my mind at any time! I got the idea from Splitcoaststampers but made a few little changes. This is the first time I have done the "rock and roll" technique. It is so easy and I think my stampers will like it. To do it just ink up your stamp in one colour and then rock and roll the edges in a darker colour. The results are awesome. Just be sure to stamp with the lighter colour first so you do not ruin your ink pads!

The stamp set is Priceless (along with the "wish big" from Short & Sweet). Colours are Pretty in Pink, Lovely Lavender, and Certainly Celery. I used Dazzling Diamonds in the centre of each lavender flower and used the piercing tool to create the butterfly's flight pattern. I would like to try this card in a couple different colour combinations.

Beary Cute

I just love this Bear from Under the Stars. I made these 2 cards while trying to come up with a Stamp-a-Stack card. Neither one is quite right but I am getting there. I have a hard time coming up with SAS cards as I can't quite keep them simple enough. Both have elements from cards I saw on Splitcoaststampers. The top one uses one of the texturz plates from SU and the cutter kit to rough the edges. I love that thing! The second one uses the Sanded background stamp and the letter and number are from Simple Serif Mini Alphabet & Numbers which is apparently now retired since I could not find it in my current catalogue. Bummer. Anyway, Both cards use Very Vanilla and Close to Cocoa. The top one uses a small piece of Creamy Caramel for the oval layer and the bottom one uses Really Rust. Both bears are colored with pastels. I like these because they work for anyone...kids, guys, and ladies, too!

Jenna's Card

This is my seven year old daughter Jenna's version of my card from yesterday. Isn't it gorgeous? I love the colours and how the pink and blue mixed to make purple. It uses Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay with Garden Green for the stem & leaves. She is very proud of her card and was so excited to hear I was going to put it on my blog. "But you're going to say that I made it, right?" was her first reaction! Gotta love kids!

Stampin' Up a Storm

Made using Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum & Pale Plum.

Made using the new In Colours: Crushed Curry and Dusty Durango with Old Olive

One version of the So Saffron, Really Rust, and Old Olive combination.

Another version of the colours listed above.

Cards made using the Big Shot. Layered the flowers, added rhinestone brads. Used a textruz plate for the celery layer. They turned out ok but are missing something. Not my favorite cards ever but pretty quick and easy.

What else is there to do on a rainy day besides stamping? Well lots, really, but I chose to spend a couple hours stamping! Made a few ok cards and then it happened...I came across what I thought was a nice card in the new catty to case and WOW did I love the results! I used markers to colour the stamp from "Inspired by Nature". After markering all the colours on a sprayed a light mist of water right onto the stamp and then stamped the image on naturals cardstock. The look is like watercolour. The pictures do not do them justice. They are so pretty! I love to give cards away that I love so I am excited to give 2 of these to friends who just moved into new hoses, one for my parents' 40th anniversary and one to the company who built our new home.

Scrap-tacular Day!

It has been ages since I scrapbooked and I had forgotten how much I really love to do it! My best scrappin' friend Julie came over for our first session in my new studio and it was fantastic! I decided that I would work on the pictures I took at the New Kids on the Block concert last November. Yes, I was a teenager again for one night last fall and it was the most amazing night EVER! :) Anyway, I managed to get 6 pages done which I am super happy about. It only took me a few minutes to get back into the groove. The letters are chipboard covered in whisper white craft ink and embossed with iridescent ice. I used both my star punches and star die for the bigshot. Colours are Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Black. I am not a Kiwi Kiss fan but it matched the ticket so I used it and I love the results. I will show more pictures of my pages as the week goes on.

Make a Wish!

You can purchase this adorable "printable" stamp set and help the Make a Wish Foundation. Alica at Happy Stampin (you can visit her blog...check out my faves) recently lost her 5 year old son to cancer and make a wish was a special part of his life. This stamp set was created in his honour. Click here to check it out.

I have purchased mine and hope to make a card to share in the next day or so!

Ribbon Share

New IN COLOUR ribbon share! For just $20 you will receive approximately 3 yards of each of the 6 new 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbons from Stampin' Up! If you were to purchase full spools of these ribbons it would cost you over $100! Colours include (in order of photo): Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Dusty Durango, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry. Email me at leanne@cantorque.com to order. I can ship to anywhere in Canada for an additional $2.

This card is cased from someone...I think maybe Julie from Paper Pleasing Ideas. Anyway, we are making it at a workshop today. It uses the set Inspired by Nature. I stamped the grass in Old Olive and the sun is made from a 1" circle mask with Summer Sun pastel. The butterfly is from Flight of the Butterfly. I stamped it in Pumpkin Pie and cut it out. It is adhered with a glue dot. The ribbon is also Pumpkin Pie and I used a rhinestone brad from the "fire" collection. The white layer is 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 and the orange layer is 2 3/4 by 3 3/4. Simple but pretty.

First Workshop Card

I held my first workshop in my new studio last weekend and this is one of the cards we made. It was a big hit with everyone. They chose their own designer series paper and made a version of this card. They all turned out fantastic! Cut 12 - 1 1/4" squares out of the DSP of your choice. Flip half the squares over and glue onto some scrap paper (copy paper) that is 3 3/4 by 4 3/4. Line it up so it is centered on the Top Note die for the Big Shot and run it thru. It's that easy!