Monday, April 30, 2018

Picture Perfect Fun!

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a lovely day and managed to get outside for some LOVELY spring weather!  I did!  I'm back to my longer route with Koda.  We have 4 different routes ... we are now up to our 3rd longest.  The final one will start next week - a sure sign that warmer weather is on the horizon!

Tonight I'm share the cards we made Friday night at my Picture Perfect Birthday "product included" class.  This is the first product included class I've had.  It won't be my last!  Stampers came and made 8 cards and they got a Picture Perfect stamp set to take home.  It was a great value and a great class!

In usual Tamara style I was still designing the last card at noon on Friday but I just love how they all turned out.  Lookie:
I can't believe I made so many quick and easy cards ... and I like them!  Normally I need to have lots of layers or over-think everything for HOURS ... but I started designing Thursday night at 7:10 pm and I guess I just didn't have TIME to overthink things.  Hmmmm .... maybe I need to try that EVERY class!  *lol* ... na ... that was flying a LITTLE too close to the sun, even for me! *lol*

So let's look at the cards a little closer, shall we??

This one was ridiculously quick and easy:
I used up the last of my Peekaboo Peach card stock, ran it through the Striped Embossing Folder (**tip - spritz your paper with a fine mist of water before running it through the Big Shot.  The water helps break down the paper fibres a bit and reduces the risk of your paper cutting/tearing with such a deep embossed image).

I cut a 2" x 5 1/2" strip of the Picture Perfect DSP and punched the end with the Triple Banner Punch.  I stamped the sentiment in Archival Black ink (retiring!) and cut it out with an oval framelit.  I used 4 card-lengths of the Bermuda Bay Sale-a-bration ribbon and added three Perfect White Accents (retiring).  The sentiment is popped up on dimensionals.  Bam!  Done!
This one was easy too!  White card base, Berry Burst strip of 1 3/4" x 5 1/2", Picture Perfect DSP strip of 1 1/2" x 5 1/2".  I tied some Soft Sky ribbon around the pieces.  I cut a whisper white piece of 3" x 4" and a Berry Burst of 3 1/4" x 4 1/2".  The sentiment is from Birthday Wit, stamped using my stamparatus in Berry Burst.  (*** if you haven't seen my Facebook video showing you how to do this you MUST!  I give you an AWESOME tip on using your ink spots ... and finger daubers ... and you get to hear me crash into my light ... good times!  Head to Facebook and search for Tamara's Paper Trail.  Like the page and follow me ... and "get notifications".  I post on FB ALL the time with lots of projects and tips!).  I popped the layers up on dimensionals.  BAM!  Done!
This one reminds me of cards I made when I very first started stamping.  Whisper White layer, spritzed with water and run through the Starburst embossing folder.   The black layer is 2 1/4" x 5 1/2" and the white layer is 2" x 5 1/2".  I stamped the candles in Bermuda Bay, the flames in Lemon Lime Twist and the sentiment in Archival Black.  I tied some chevron Bermuda Bay ribbon around it, popped it up on dimensionals, added some rhinestones and used my Wink of Stella on the flames.  BAM!  Done!

This last one is my super favorite!  I just LOVE the layout!!!
A 1" x 4 1/2" strip of Berry burst.  a 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Basic Black.  A 3" x 3" piece of Picture Perfect DSP.  A scalloped Oval Basic Black piece (from the framelits).  The senitment is stamped in Archival Black and punched out with the Stitched Oval framelit.  the snetiment is popped up on dimensonals and 3 rhinestones add some bling.  BAM!  Done!  I will DEFINITELY be using this layout again.  there's just something about it I love!!

So there you have it - my Friday night class with a great stamp set .. that just HAPPENS to be carrying over to the new catalogue!  I'm glad!  Too bad the designer paper isn't - that stuff is the BOMB! ... and I just might have to stock up and hoard a bunch of it for the future!

That's it for tonight.  I HAVE to get to my cave to act on an idea I have for a class that will work great for Teacher's Gifts or a Mother's Day gift.  Stay tuned for that ... and have a stampy night!


Tam

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Saturday Morning Catch Up

Happy Saturday!

Wow.  Feels like forEVER since I've posted!  I started this one last Sunday ... was it really only 6 days ago??  I'm not even kidding when I say the last 3-4 months have been a BLUR for me!  The kids keep asking me "remember?" about conversations we've had, things we've done ... and I can honestly say "no!"  Rings a bit of a bell but I don't remember!  This week my head has been well and truly lodged up my backside!  Driving the girls to school the other day (after 8 months of doing so) and I missed the turn ... by SEVEN BLOCKS!!!  Whaaaatttt??  Just really dumb things all week long.  Keep entering the wrong PIN on my credit card (and believe me, I use it a LOT so there is no excuse for getting it wrong!), going to the store to buy a certain item and then buying everything BUT that item ... just silly, "not thinking" things that aren't like me.  Oh sure, I'm a bit of a gong show a lot of the time but not to THIS degree!  I chalk it up to just going to hard for too long.  I "crossed the finish line" Monday morning and had 7 full days without any stamping commitments on my calendar.  I've been playing catch up on things (still haven't started my taxes yet, though!), taking longer walks, getting back on track and trying to decompress.  Now that I'm starting to slow down a bit I'm realizing just how exhausted and tense I was!

It's been a crazy ride of emotions since Tamye passed.  I will be numb with sadness one day and then so full of love and gratitude for all the gifts she gave, and continues to give me.  Last Saturday many of the Panda Cubs (aka my Stampin' Up! side-lines ... Tamye's Team ...) were over for a team get together.  It was great to see so many of my friends but, obviously, it was bitter sweet as the one person who originally brought us all together, and fostered SO many connections and friendships wasn't physically there with us.  Of course we felt her presence and there more laughs and smiles than tears ... but still ...

Many delicious snacks were brought - fresh, home made scones, muffins, breads ... and Christine brought us home-made Macarons that were over the top amazing!
She hand piped and colored them.  They were divine!  Perfectly soft, yet chewy ... ohhhhh they were delicious!

The plan is for the Panda Cubs to get together every month, as we did at Tamye's.  None of us want to lose what we have.  I look so forward to getting together again next month.

How about some projects??

I had class last Friday night and I wanted to use products that haven't seen NEARLY enough ink time before they retire May 31st.

These are all the sets I own that will be retiring !!!
First up ...
I LOVE this card!  It uses the retiring Emerald Envy In Color green ... and the retiring set Garden Grown.  It's a bit of, what I call, a high-maintenance card, in that there are a lot of steps to creating this image.  I stamped the sentiment in Emerald Envy, using my Stamparatus.  I then wiped off the green ink from the stamp, used my black marker to ink the sentiment and then stamped it again.  THAT is the beauty of that tool!  The stems and leaves are green, but the sentiment is then black ... and it's perfectly stamped!  You would never know it was once green!

I then had to stamp the entire image in different colors on scrap whisper white paper - lemon lime twist, tangerine tango and daffodil delight.  THEN I had to use the framelits to cut out the flowers and attach them with glue dots.

The pot is stamped in Tangering Tango, cut out with the framlits, popped up on dimensionals and then I added some shadowing to ground the pot, using my Smoky Slate Light Blend marker.  I don't even know where I got it, but I found some Emerald Envy Bakers Twine for the side, and I added some clear Wink of Stella to the flowers.  Yes, high maintenance, but I love it!

Next up ...

I wanted to play with the retiring Magical Day bundle of products.  I really am surprised this stuff is retiring - it really is a great bundle to own!!

I took inspiration from this card Brandi Mah showed me ...
I wasn't feeling in a very mermaid-y mood, so I played with the dragon ...
Old Olive and retiring Tangering Tango were the colors used on this one.  The DSP was from the Magical Day DSP.  The dragon was stamped and cut out with the framelits (as were the flames).  The sentiment was stamped in Old Olive and then again in Tangering Tango on scrap so I could cut out the "you are" with a pari of paper snips and popped up on mini dimensionals.  I used the retiring self-adhesive backed sequins and some Wink of Stella for a little shines, after coloring the dragon with the Old Olive Blends.  LOVE those blends!!

Finally I wanted to use the Watercolor Wings retiring set.  I also decided not to hard the lovely Sweet Sugarplum cards stock.  I struggled with this one, as I RARELY use colored card stock for the base.  I asked people on Facebook which one they preferred.  As always, the results were mixed.
In the end I went with a bit of a mix of the two.  I used a softer ribbon (retiring) along with the White Perfect Accents (SOOOOO sad those are retiring as well!) ... and this is what we had in the end.
The "Lovely" is from the Lovely Words thinlit dies.  I really like how it turned out in the end.

So there you have it - a not-so-brief update (when am I EVER brief???)

Things ramp up a bit more again this week.  Team training Tuesday night, Rebecca's birthday and volunteering Wednesday, class Friday (guess I should design those 4 cards soon) ... and the dreaded of all things ... doing TAXES ... but, as always, it will get done.  Somehow!

Today is Rebecca's birthday "party" with friends so I guess I should rotate my back side off the couch, walk Doodles and get this day well and truly started.  Thanks for popping in - have a stampy weekend!


Tam

Friday, April 13, 2018

Stamparatus Pressure

Happy Friday!

Class tonight - last call for registration.  I have 2 spots left to make these three great cards!
If you're in the Edmonton area and want to come along let me know!  $15 for the 3 cards or free with a minimum $20 purchase.  Just bring your own adhesive, dimensionals and glue dots.  The rest is provided :)

SU released another stamparatus video.  There is a slight learning curve with this tool but I promise you, you will LOVE having it.  You can purchase one for $65 CDN starting June 1st.


Whatever you get up to today, I have it's a stampy one!


Tam


Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Sitting Pretty!

Happy Tuesday!

Well, they say "there's no rest for the wicked" ... I must be wicked, 'cause there's certainly no slowing down for this girl this week!

If you follow me on Facebook (find me at "Tamara's Paper Trail) you'll know that my On Stage Presentation in Red Deer this weekend went amazingly well.  Oh sure, I don't actually remember much about the day other than it DID go well and I had a great time but that's ok, right?  *lol*

Sunday I felt like I'd been hit by a truck!  I had trouble holding a thought for more than 30 seconds (if you watched my live FB video you'll realize that pretty quickly lol) but I must say, last night I slept MUCH better than I have in months with the pressure of THAT project gone.  As I say, no time to rest, though ... I have class Friday morning, Friday night, Team Gathering Saturday morning, Anniversary dinner with Craig Saturday night, Tamye's "Move it Forward" event Sunday afternoon, Meeting Sunday night and Coffee and Cards Monday morning!  Oh ... and Stampin' Up! released their retiring products list so a *bit* of work to do for THAT, not to mention wanting to sit and flip through my new catalogue for hours on end.  Ya.  Rest?  Who had time for THAT luxury???  hee hee.

So I thought I'd quickly share the projects I made for On Stage using the new Sitting Pretty bundle of products.  This isn't available for purchase until June but it's one you will want to buy!

Check these out:




















Obviously there are some I like better than others - my faves are the first tri-fold card, the red wrought iron chair with the plant, the bear cub baby card, the Fresh Fig card and the Just Breathe bulldog card. 

They're all pretty self-explanatory ... except the tri-fold card.  I may have to do a video on that one in the future.  I used the Charming Cafe bundle for that one (retiring) along with the Waterfront set.  I just LOVE that card!!!

Alas, given my to-do-list I'll leave it there for now.  Gotta get cracking!

I hope you had a great weekend, I hope you order your retiring product (and ink refills!!!!) soon so you don't miss out ... and I hope you have a stampy day!


Tam

Monday, April 9, 2018

2018 RETIRING PRODUCTS LISTS!

HAPPY MONDAY!

I'd LOVE to fill you in on all the fun of my On Stage event and presentation ... soon!

Right now I have to share with you the RETIRING PRODUCTS LISTS!!!

Stamp sets are guaranteed until mid May but everything else is WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

*** THERE ARE 13 MAIN COLORS RETIRING!  MAKE SURE YOU ORDER YOUR PAPERS, INK REFILLS AND COORDINATING PRODUCTS TODAY OR TOMORROW OR YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED!  THEY WILL SELL OUT!!! ***  You've been warned! lol

You can order anywhere in Canada through my online store 24/7 here

If your order is under $200 and you enter the hostess code 2ENGMYQT at the checkout I will mail you a thank you gift!  (make sure you have allowed SU to let me know who you are so I have your mailing address! ... it's under your profile info in my store)

Check out the retiring Occasions Catalogue Products here

Check out the retiring Annual Catalogue Products here

Have a stampy day!


Tam

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Stamparatus Magnets

Happy Wednesday!

Ya.  This.  Could have used this video about 2 weeks ago *lol*.

You can order YOUR Stamparatus starting June 1st.  You MUST have this tool!  Total game-changer!

Have a stampy day


Tam

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

April Class Schedule

Happy Tuesday!

Before I go on I just HAVE to say a HUUUUUGE THANK YOU to all my customers and club members who have placed orders with me so far this year.  I have had THE best Sale-a-bration promotion in my 12 years of business.  My January and March sales were my highest in my career.  I am thrilled and honoured to me your “stampin’ dealer”!!

Now … on to a wee bit of business!

THE RETIRING LIST OF PRODUCTS WILL BE COMING OUT NEXT WEEK!!!  Yes, stamp sets will be guaranteed available until mid May but OTHER items, are only while supplies last!  THAT means, first come first served and EVERY year people are caught unaware!  I will post the list as soon as I get it but we already KNOW that the 2016/2018 In Color items will be retiring!  



I have just noticed that many (likely) retiring items are already in low supply so, guess what?  Chances are they’re going to be “no longer available” as soon as next week!

STOCK UP NOW if you want any favourite embellishments, designer papers or 2016/2018 In Color items!!


You can email me your order and, if I can combine a few, I may be able to save you some shipping charges.
You can order online 24/7 through my online store at www.tamarabertram.stampinup.net and have your order delivered right to your door (there is a minimum $9.95 shipping charge)
** Current Club members - you CAN order these items now and have them go towards your April order - but I need to know in advance, so message me before ordering!

** Orders under $200 placed through my store and that use the hostess code 2ENGMYQT at the checkout will receive a gift in the mail from me. **

Now … back to our regularly scheduled program ….


UPCOMING CLASSES

  • TECHNIQUE CLASSES:
    • *** NOTE:  There is no Tuesday class this month. 
    • Friday, April 13th  9:30 am
    • Friday, April 13th, 7:00 pm
    • Same class, 3 projects, $15 or free with a $20 purchase
    • My house
    • Bring your own adhesive, glue dots and dimensionals
    • Oh!  Did I mention I’ll have all kinds of samples from the card swap I’m doing at the On Stage Stampin’ Up! Conference this weekend?  True story!  Ask me nicely and I’ll even do my presentation for you LIVE and show you the ALL NEW bundle or toys I got to play with!!

  • *** NEW *** PRODUCT INCLUDED CLASS:
    • Friday, April 27th, 6:30 pm
    • $30 non-refundable fee (if “life happens” and you can’t come you will get the supplies to make the projects at home)
    • Well be making 8 cards using products from the Picture Perfect Party Suite and you get to take home the Picture Perfect Birthday Stamp Set!!
    • Bring your own adhesive - everything else provided!
    • ***RSVP BY TUESDAY, APRIL 17TH so I have time to order and receive the products!!



That’s it for April!  I’ve been up to my eyeballs preparing for the Stampin’ Up! Conference this Saturday.  I’m presenting!!!  SOOO excited!  I can’t wait to share my projects with you!!  


Hope to see you soon - have a stampy night!





Tamara