MIA!!!

Sorry for the extremely LONG absence but the past few months have been very busy and April is going to be incredibly busy!
The good news is that a lot of this busyness has been papercrafting! I just got back from a scrapbooking weekend where I had the best time and finally got to do some playing just for me!
There are lots of other things taking over my time and again most of them are crafting. I am very fortunate that I have some friends that thought of me!

I am going to be doing a scrapbooking and cardmaking basics presentation for the luckily few that got into my workshop at the "A Better Me, A Better You" conference my school board puts on for support staff on the 23rd of April. This led to me teaching a course on "Cards for All Occassions" on the 24th for the Continuing Education Program as well. I have my Quick 6 Card class on the 17th of April and on the 16th my new friend Vanessa (totally awesome chick!) is having a workshop at hew place. The best part is that I get to spend time designing all these great projects! The worst part is cutting all the paper, but that's okay since I watch tv while doing that.


Another great thing is that Stampin' Up! is helping me stay organized, I got my own Stampin' Up! website, which helps you guys shop with me 24/7, keeps track of all my events and lets everyone know about all the great deals.

I will still post events here, but I will be sending evites through the website and doing online registration that way as well. This site will mostly be a place to post all my fun projects for you to ooh and ahh over, so you better!

To check out my SU website, click here!

It is Easter Weekend, so I don't have to go to bed early so I will be posting new projects as soon as possible!
Anna

Overdosing on glitter! Thanks to Heat & Stick Powder

I LOVE sparkle, I'm a bit of a magpie, my eyes seeking out the shiny things in the world. Way back when my friend Maggie showed us how to use the sticky pages and glitter in the IB&C, I was hooked. Then I realized, they are great but I sure would like to make all my stamp sets and well, everything glittered. Strangely, I never owned a bedazzler.

Well, there is something you can use that makes it so easy to glitter up everything your little heart desires. Heat & Stick powder! Yay!!!

At our last demo meeting Maggie asked for someone to volunteer to demo Heat & Stick Powder and so I took on the challenge. This is the final card that everyone made after I showed them how to glitter three different ways. So pretty and sparkly! I love that the colours are subtle but it still sparkles.

The first thing we glittered was the vine from Vintage Vogue. The important thing with Heat & Stick powder is that is has some buddies it always works with - Versamark, Heat tool and to take care of any static the Embossing buddy.

To stamp with just glitter you

1. Rub the surface you are going to stamp with the embossing buddy.

2. Stamp the image in versmark, and then stamp onto your paper. Sprinkle with Heat & Stick and then heat with heat tool until just shiny.

3. Sprinkle with glitter, really pile it on, and then tap off the excess.

4 Re-heat with the heat tool, and yes, this is the necessary step, it sort of reactivates the sticky powder and then sets the glitter in it!

We also glittered the flower from Vintage Vogue as well but used colour behind as this makes the glitter really pop! Filling in any background that the glitter might not totally cover.

To stamp with colour and glitter,

You do pretty much the same as just stamping with glitter but in step 2 stamp into an ink colour of your choice AFTER stamping in the Versamark. If you stamp into the ink before the versmark you ruin your versmark pad! Then proceed with the stamping, glittering and heating! So easy!

The last thing we glittered was a brad, and this was so easy and created such a stunning effect! For this you need a brad, your sanding blocks, Heat & Stick, glitter, versamark and heat tool.

Glittering a brad :

1. Use the Sanding block to sand the top and sides of the brad to take off any varnish and to create a nice surface for the heat and stick.

2. Dip your brad into the versamark pad (I used the cutest little pink pliers) and then sprinkle with heat and stick.

3. Heat with the heat tool until shiny (this actually is better than on paper because you can see the powder turn shiny so much easier.

4 Dip into glitter until fully covered and then heat set again. Your glitter brad is ready for use.

Isn't heat & Stick powder so easy? Doesn't it make you want to glitter everything in sight? I did! I have 2 more cards to show you later that show what else you can glitter. I would show my husband and cats, but they aren't talking to me since I glittered them!

So let me know if you want to buy some glitter and Heat & Stick Powder!~

My Matroyshka - Tent topper Card

Quick post today, fighting a cold and I am pretty tired.

This card totally cheers me up every time I see it!

I made 7 of these for a swap at my Upline's later in the week and I had soo much fun.

I used the "My Matroyshka" Stamp set from the New Occasions mini. and I actually cheered when I saw it the first time in the catty - I'm Ukrainian, it's nice to see something that can have a little sentimental value. I did send a card made with this stamp set to my Grandma and it now has a place of honour with the family pictures.

I stamped the dolls with black Stazon and coloured them with a combo of watercolour crayons, markers, ink and blender pens. I then cut them out and coated them with Crystal Effects. That stuff is sticky, so be careful, once it's on it is on!

This is an unusual colour choice for me as I generally do not like orange (Might explain my dislike of carrots), but this colour combo just worked so well. Plus I have all this orange paper, I might as well use it. The patterned paper is also from the Paper Stack in the mini as well. Every piece in that stack is gorgeous! And so is the Satin Ribbon! So lush and fancy, and so easy to work with!

Now this is a new style of card for me called a "Tent Topper Card" and it was surprisingly quick and easy to make.

The card base is 41/4 x 81/2, this is folded in half. I used the Clear circle die for my background.

I decorated the circle and the base of the card.

To attach the circle, I placed my card base on scor-pal, at 51/2, I then centred my circle on the front so it hit the top edge of the scor-pal (You can also use your grid paper) and now my card will fit in a regular A2 envelope!

February Card Class!

What a deal! We will be making 6 different cards for a variety of Occasions including a Sympathy card, Thank You and a get well card. Stock up on cards quickly and easily and have fun too! The cards are designed for beginners and for those who want to make quick but lovely cards.


When : Saturday, February 27th, 1pm
Location : St. Micheal's School Ottawa 437 Donald Street.
Cost: Free with a $25 order placed that day, or a $15 flat fee

Bring a friend and make 2 extra cards for Free!

Please RSVP by February 17th so I can order and prep all the supplies! In the coming weeks I will be posting sneak peeks of some of the cards! See you soon!

Two step bird punch - the best punch ever?

So in the Ocassions mini are a ton of fabulous new toys. One of them being the Two Step Bird punch!
This is one of the cards we made yesterday in our Spring card organizer class and because of the bird punch one of the easiest! The hardest part is deciding which colours to use.
We also gave the Big Shot a workout by using the Scalloped Heart of Hearts embosslit and the Perfect Polka Dots Textured impressions folder. The Scallop Trim corner punch added just that little touch extra! The only stamping on this card is the greeting and we used the new clear mount sets and they are just fabulous!

I do like the new punches, they are easy to store and the guides on them are really helpful in lining up your paper.

The second card is one I did for a swap. I made 21 of these babies and I loved doing it because I love getting to watercolour. I used the watercolour crayons and my blender pens, but you can also watercolour using pencil crayons or markers and your water pen. You can also watercolour with your Stampin' Pastels as well.

I used the Scallop Trim Border (FREE with a $65 purchase) and the Scallop Trim Corner to punch out the rectangle. I found a fantastic tutorial online that helped immensely. The greeting was stamped onto the Woodsheets and then punched out with the Modern label punch. I love that the woodsheets can be used both in the punches and the bigshot.

Supplies :

Bird Card : Two Step Bird punch, Scallop Trim Corner, Heart of Hearts Embosslit, Perfect Dots Impreesions folder, Well Scripted Clear Mount Stamp Set (all Occasions Mini!), Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Naturals Ivory Cardstock, Melon Mambo DSP, Melon Mambo Ribbon.

Abundant Hope card : Abundant Hope Stamp Set, Scallop Trim Corner Punch (Occasions Mini) Scallop Trim Border (Sale-A-Bration), Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry Cardstock, Watercolour paper, Wood sheets, Apricot Appeal Ribbon, Perfect Plum ink.

Remember, for every $65 you spend you get something free from the Sale-A-Bration catalogue including some fantastic sets from the Idea Book and Catalogue! Book a workshop and you get to make some fabulous stuff and get free stamps and punches!

From now until February 28th, $2 from every "I {Heart} Hearts" stamp set (shown above) purchased will be donated to theAmerican Red Cross' Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

Set of 8 Stamps Wood Mount: $35.95 Clear Mount : $24.95

Contact me today to order your set.

Dreaming of Spring Card Keeper Workshop Sneak peek

Well, this week illustrated why I need to make some spring themed cards.

Join me and some stampin' friends to make 6 cards ( 2 each of 3 designs) and a card keeper. All are in Spring colours and themes and are GORGEOUS! We will also use some different techniques, including watercolouring.

This little picture is just a snippet of the whole card! Isn't that bird and branch cute? All made with ONE Stampin' Up! punch, now available in the new Occassions Mini. All the projects we will be making will include items from the Mini catalogue and from the Sale-A-Bration catalogue, so you can try them out before you get them for free!

To join in the fun, here is all the info you need!

When : January 23rd, 2010 - 12pm – 4pm
Where : St. Michaels School 437 Donald St. Ottawa
Cost : $35.00 includes the card keeper and all supplies
Contact me : Anna Crossley
(613)774-5753
Annacrossley@persona.ca

Space is limited to 12 spots. To ensure your spot Please register and pay by January 18th. You can pay by cheque, cash, or paypal. This is insure I have materials for you as I have to purchase them to have them for you!

We will be using the new clear mount stamps to personalize your cards, you get to choose your sentiments and greeting, so you can have all the Birthday cards, or Thank you cards you want or mix and match as you please.
Please bring your own adhesive and scissors if you have them.