August 30, 2015

You're A Peach!

I'm in total shock that it's already the end of August, but what better way to give a nod to summer than with fresh, bright, summery colours (and everyone's favourite summer fruit!)



 Get out and make the most of this last weekend of August - it's too sweet to spend inside!

All supplies from my online Canadian Stampin' Up store - shop online 24/7 and get your craft on!

Cheers!

August 28, 2015

TGIFC18 - Monthly Challenge Remix!

Happy Friday!  I'm so glad to see you back for another TGIF Challenges blog post.  


It's the last Friday of August (wait, whoa, what?!) so it's time for our monthly challenge remix.  


Put simply - choose two of the month's challenges and put them together.  I had enough trouble with the starburst sketch challenge the first time, so I opted for the other two - Back To School, and the colour challenge.


And I had so much fun making this card.  I got to use a handful of my favourite things - stars, Words of Truth, Writing Notes, and grunge.  Love!  

Thanks for popping in today and don't forget to click here to check out the other designers' entries and submit your own!

Have a fabulous weekend!

August 26, 2015

Holiday Catalog - Sneak Peek!

We are just a few short days away from the launch of the Stampin' Up Holiday Catalog, and I'm so excited to share a little sneak peek with you!  


I'm a total sucker for acorns - and living in a place where they don't exist - so of course I was swooning over this adorable stamp set!  I can't wait for you to see the whole thing on September 1st!

Have a fabulous day!

August 23, 2015

Thanks A Bunch!

I don't know if my readers know this, but I usually photograph my cards and update my blog in batches, scheduling my posts to appear on certain dates - basically, I'm spending an hour or two in one sitting to do my blogging for a week or two at a time, instead of having to commit to updating daily.

Anyway, a while ago, I did this for a huge chunk of time.  Like, three or four weeks.  And now it's Saturday night as I'm writing this, I'm sore and exhausted and ready for bed, and I just realized that I have a post scheduled to go live Sunday morning (this one - the one you're reading) and it's nothing but a title and a picture.

It's kind of weird, because while my blog is posting and I'm talking about one thing, life is happening behind the scenes and other things are going on.  I actually got very lucky in scheduling those three weeks of posts a while back, because those three weeks have been a blur of a pinched nerve in my back that rendered me unable to walk or care for myself and my husband having to take a week off work to take care of me and our son, followed by a road trip out of town for my mom's milestone birthday, and then returning just in time to develop an abscess on a tooth.  That tooth has been two more weeks of agony, two more root canals on it (for a total of four, plus three crowns...), two more rounds of antibiotics, and I'm waiting on surgery for it.  It was supposed to be done last week but there was still too much infection to go in and take care of it.  Meanwhile, the abscess is pressing right down on the nerve in my jaw, causing searing pain anytime something touches the tooth.  It's so frustrating, painful, and exhausting.

Anyway, I'm sharing all of this because I'm actually updating in real-time right now.  It's a weird feeling.  And honestly, I sat here staring at this card and thinking "what do I have to say?  All I've been doing lately is taking pain-killers and sleeping."  It seems like ages ago that I made this.

But I digress.  Here it is... 


Did you notice I watermarked it twice?  I just noticed that right now.  Whoops.  Also, since when do I take photos in direct sunlight?!  

The Market Fresh stamp set is one that I never would've given a second look to, but I got playing with it at a friend's house a while ago and just fell in love.  I had so much fun colouring those sweet little grapes.  It's nice to bust out of your comfort zone every once in a while and do something different.

I'm hoping I'll be feeling better and creating more soon.  This has been a bit of a rough patch and I can't wait until I'm feeling like myself again.  In the meantime, there are still lots of posts coming up, but they may be less frequent than you're used to - thanks for putting up with me, friends.  Thanks a bunch.  :)  

-S. 

August 21, 2015

TGIFC17 - School Days!

Thanks goodness it's Friday - seriously - and thank goodness it's time for TGIF Challenges!  


This week's theme is probably hitting too close to home for some of you... 


Maybe your kids have already gone back.  Maybe they're going back soon.  Maybe your baby is starting school for the first time this year (oh, I can't even deal with this - my little man doesn't start until next September and I'm already emotional!) 

Today, I thought I'd feature a little start-of-school gift.  This could be something special for your child, or a sweet gift for your little one to bring to their teacher on their first day. 


The sentiment on this one has two special little features - first of all, it's a Paper Pumpkin stamp - and you KNOW how I love my Paper Pumpkin!  Secondly, the stamp is straight.  But straight just wouldn't do, and this is why I love photopolymer - using your fingers, gently curve the sentiment as you adhere it to the block, then press firmly to hold it in place.  Kablammo!  Custom curvature! 


Take a few minutes to hop over to TGIF Challenges and see what the other designers have up their sleeves this week, then join us with your own challenge entry - I'd love to see what you come up with!

Enjoy your weekend with your kiddos (or your weekend without!!!) and see you again soon!

August 20, 2015

Triple-Up Thursday FEAT. a Special Guest Star!

Hello and happy Thursday!  I'm SUPER excited to share with you a little something that has been in the works for the last several weeks - Triple-Up Thursday this week is featuring a very special guest star!

Before we acquaint you, though (as IF you don't already know who she is!), you might be asking - what's Triple-Up Thursday?  Easy enough, my friends - it's a weekly(-ish) feature where I share three 3x3" cards made with a very basic set of supplies - five ink colours and one stamp set.

And this week?  I'm handing the reins off to the fabulous Holly Stene!


I'm completely in LOVE with her colour pallet of Hello Honey, Pool Party, Watermelon Wonder, Wild Wasabi, and Soft Suede - I would never think to pair these, but oh my goodness are they ever beautiful!




Are you in love?  Holly nailed it (as usual!) - check our her blog post for this week by clicking here, and share some love with her as a thanks for joining us this week.  So happy to have you, Holly!

See you again tomorrow for another round of TGIF Challenges!  Happy Thursday!

August 18, 2015

TGIFCTD03 - It's time for a throw-down!

It's time for TGIF Challenges Throw-Down - August Edition!  The concept is easy; choose at least four items from the mystery box, add your staples from the pantry, and create a paper masterpiece!  The catch, though, is that you can't use anything else - nada, squad, nothing, bupkiss.  That's where it gets really tricky!


This project went through several revisions.  I had a brilliant idea that looked so pretty in my head and terrible on paper.  Then I decided to make a little box!  Oh, no, can't use one of my punch boards.  I know - I'll do a card-in-a-box!  That's just cardstock and score lines!  Nope, can't use window sheets.  Aaaaaand this process continued.  For two days.

No joke - my husband came to join me on the first night (which has literally never happened before) and he made three cards while I was still shifting supplies around on my desk.  So THAT was embarrassing.  (More on that later... he used the poop emoji as his jumping-off point and wants to be a guest star for a Triple-Up Thursday post.  I wish I was kidding!)

I got there eventually, though, and in a rather untraditional and very-me sort of way.  I used Flower Patch for a fun and custom sentiment, and used one of the stamps to create the starburst effect from the glimmer paper (simply stamp it on the back side and cut it out!) A bit of splatter and a swipe of watercolour got my ink colours in, and we were rockin' and rollin'.

Wanna join me for the August Throwdown?  Here's the specs this month!


Now it's your turn!  Grab your mystery box items, set out your pantry, and get crafting - I can't wait to see what you come up with!