New Catalog Ribbon Shares

With every new catalog that comes out I also offer my customers the opportunity to join a ribbon or DSP share. This option is great for getting a little bit of everything without having to pay the big bucks to get it all. Ribbon shares are split between 5 people. Each person will get 2 yards of each ribbon in the set or 1 yard of each ribbon from a 5 yard spool. You pay only for your share of the ribbon. This June I will be offering 4 different ribbon shares.

As per Stampin' Up! policy, I can not order the ribbon until all the spots in the share has been filled up. Please comment below or email me at girlfriend.originals@yahoo.ca if you would like to reserve your spot for a share. The cost to own all the ribbon in the new catalog would be well over $300. Sharing is the most economical way to get everything and you can always order more of your favorites. Payment by EMT or Paypal is required to reserve your share(s). I will ship anywhere in Canada. Cost of shipping is $1 per share.

3/8" New In-Color 2016-2018 Ruched Ribbon Share
10 yards in total, 2 yards of each of the 5 colors
- $13.50
UPDATE: This is currently on backorder until July 11th.

2015-2017 In Color 5/8" Mini Striped Ribbon Share
10 yards in total, 2 yards of each of the 5 colors
- $13.50

1/8" Stitched Ribbon Share
6 yards in total, 2 of each of the 3 colors: Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate
- $6

New Other Ribbons Share
This share will include the following new ribbons: 1/4" natural trim in gold and silver (2 yards each), 3/8" sheer linen in Mint Macaron (2 yards), 5/8" Burlap (1 yard), very vanilla lace (1 yard) and mini pompom (1 yard). 9 yards in total.
-  $14

Flower Pot Card

I recently had 2 classes where we made this card. I had asked all the girls to bring a pen and paper if this wanted to write down all the dimensions and instructions to make this card but then I decided to post this instead. Often for my classes I do not type out instructions as having taught classes for 3 years I've come to the realization that NO ONE LOOKS AT THEM!! They only look at the sample.

 

Here is a perfect card for Mother's Day (May 8) or birthday or get well etc. I used mostly the 2014-2016 In Colors (133681 cardstock). My card base is Tip Top Taupe (138336) and measures 3.5"x9". Score along the long edge at 3.5" and 7". I do all my cutting and scoring using my Stampin' Trimmer. Once you have scored your card base, do one mountain fold and one valley fold (it should look like a Z).

Use a border punch to punch the "shorter" side. I used a retired SU border punch one of the first items I ever purchased when I joined as a demo. Next you will need to cut a Flower Pot template. Light cardboard or a cereal box will work great. Start with a square that is 3.5"x3.5". Measure 1/2" on 2 corners (in the photo below it is the bottom of the template). Then you draw a line on both sides to the top corner and trim. Use scissors for this **NOT** your trimmer. Now lay the template on top of your flower pot card base and trim off the sides.

You do not need adhesive for your flower pot. Just tie a piece of ribbon or use some washi tape. I used both as you can see in the photo.

 

The inside piece Tip Top Taupe measures 2.5"x4.5" and the Whisper White is 2.25"x4.25".

Lay your inside piece on top of the envelope (this is a regular A2 sized envelope), when you are attaching your flowers so that you know the finished product will fit inside your envelope.

Don't forget to decorate your envelope.

Materials:

Cardstock: Lost Lagoon (133679), Mossy Meadows (133676), Blackberry Bliss (133675), Tip Top Taupe (138336), Whisper White (100730), Hello Honey (133678).
Ink: Lost Lagoon 133644, Mossy Meadows 133645, Blackberry Bliss 133642, Hello Honey 133643, Versamark clear (102283), Memento Black Tuxedo (132708).
Stamp Sets: Crazy About You (Clear 138859, Wood 138856, Photopolymer 137137), Botanical Blooms Bundle (140819), And Many More (Clear 134276, Wood 134273).
Other: Tombow mono glue (110755), dimensionals (104430), itty bitty accents punch pack (133787), petite petals punch (133322), banner triple punch, white embossing powder (109132), heating tool (129053), embossing buddy (103083). Stitched satin ribbon (retired)

You can purchase all these items from my online store: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/girlfriend-originals/

Watercolor Wishes Card Kit

Whenever someone new comes to one of my classes and expresses interest in card making I always recommend the Watercolor Wishes card kit (140406). For $43.25, this kit comes with everything you need including stamps and 2 ink spots in Night of Navy and Watermelon Wonder to make 20 unique cards. Great kit for beginners and seasoned card makers.

 

Here are 18 of the cards I made using this kit. It was so much fun and so easy.

 

 

 

 



Pottery Painting

Yesterday I taught a morning card class and after class some of the girls and I decided to go do some pottery painting at Wise Adventures in Mississauga. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what our pieces will look like once they are glazed and fired up.

Here is my salt shaker and a tooth brush holder that I painted for the kid's bathroom.

This was not the first time that I have done pottery painting but it was the first time that I did it without a 5 & 6 year old in tow. Here are my kids hard at work last month painting a soccer ball bank and a game controller keepsake box. Can you believe I forgot to pick up their finished pieces yesterday? ARGH! Having ADD really sucks sometimes (ok, sucks most of the time except when medicated).

Eric working hard on his soccer ball piggy bank

Adam's game controller box

 In February I also had a mommy and Adam day where we painted a Spiderman Mug and a Pirate travel mug (for Eric). It was nice to spend some crafty time with my big boy.

This was an Adam and mommy day

 

Here are some of their finished pieces. I'm so proud of my kids and I'm so excited that they are creative and love anything crafty. I guess they get that from me.

 

Adam using the Angry Bird mug that I painted

This was our first time painting pottery

 

Eric's figurines

Adam's octopus

My Angry Bird mug. LOVE IT! I was happy the kids were able to tell me what color to paint everything

Adam's monster piggy bank

 

 

Organization for Inks, Punches, Markers & Cardstock

I will be the first to admit that when it comes to organizing my craft room, I do have some OCD tendencies. I am always in search of the perfect storage or organizer for my craft items and since I am constantly asked what I use, I have decided to list my a few of my favorites (that are not from Thirtyone) below:

1.  I use the Snap-N-Store Letter Size File Box to organize all my 8.5x11 cardstock. My hanging folders fit perfectly inside it and the labels I made myself - I made extras for my customers and downlines. I have my paper sorted in alphabetical order and I put 2-3 colours in each hanging file.

2. I love the Sparco Storage Organizer cube. It is 6x6 inches and sits nicely on my desk perfect for my copic and alcohol based markers. I have about 100 markers in mine.

3.  For my ink pad and punch storage I use the 36 Ink Pad Holder and the Lock-Down Punch Holder from Stamp n Storage. These fit perfectly into my Ikea Expedit shelving unit and are always within reach. These come in natural wood color, I painted mine white to match my desk.

My Creative Escape aka Craft Room

When I first joined Stampin' Up! in December 2012, we lived in a small townhouse in Scarborough and our kitchen table double as my craft table and I had a craft shelf to store all my craft stuff. Yep, you heard me correctly. A SHELF! I can't even remember which room this was in but I'm thinking it was in our bedroom.

I was thrilled when we moved to our new house in Oakville that I finally had a craft room which double as a guest room only about three times a year when my in-laws came for a visit. I had a vision of what my craft room would look like and told my hubby Peter that I had to have the Ikea Expedit desk and shelf. Finally, my own little craft oasis.



My beautiful craft corner in our guest room.

But my excitement dwindled quickly as I realized the room above the garage had sub-zero temperatures in the winter and was sweltering in the summer. Yes, there were times when I would sit in there in the middle of July crafting in just my underwear and sweat would drip from my forehead (I'm not kidding!) or I would sit in there wrapped up in a blanket, wearing gloves while trying to make all my Christmas cards. Soon I started crafting in the room that most people would reserve for a formal dining room.


Ahhh, so much warmer in this room.

I abandoned my lovely craft space and let the dust collect on all the shelves for about 2 years until one morning I got the brilliant idea to move everything downstairs. I was crafting downstairs anyways so why not just move my craft table downstairs? So one Saturday while my hubby was out getting our snow tires put on the van, I decided that I would disassemble my desk upstairs and move it all downstairs that way he couldn't say anything about me not using that desk that I just "had to have" and never use. Now I use it everyday.


Here is my happy place

My personalized pillow from Thirtyone which really says it all

My classroom where I teach classes and have workshops

 

February 2016 Paper Pumpkin Alternate Cards

 

 

I am a big fan of Paper Pumpkin and look forward to getting my little orange box every month. Paper Pumpkin is great because it comes with everything you need to create great projects. I love using the stamps and leftover extras to make alternate cards.

These were all made with the scraps leftover

Cards for my customers

February Paper Pumpkin Card Projects

February Paper Pumpkin Stamp Set

 

Join Paper Pumpkin by April 10th and you will get an exclusive EXTRA stamp set with your April kit because Paper Pumpkin is celebrating their 3rd anniversary.

 

Join now: https://mypaperpumpkin.com/en-ca?demoid=2115784

 



 

March 2016 Paper Pumpkin kit

 

#imbringingbirthdaysback

I'm bringing back birthdays. It seems that these days hardly anyone sends out birthday cards anymore. It's usually just a quick "happy birthday" on a Facebook wall and I'll admit I'm guilty for that. So this year I have decided to send out as many birthday cards as I can to all my friends and customers. It's my way of spreading smiles one card at a time and hopefully the recipient appreciates it. I know I love getting cards in the mail from my customers and downlines.

 



These are all my cards for April and May birthdays (does not include the 5 Mother's Day cards that I'll have to send out as well). I put a post-it note on the envelope to remind myself when to drop it in the mailbox and I keep this pile of cards by entry hallway.

Here are some of my more recent birthday cards.



Elegant Butterfly Shaker Card

Cased from Mary Fish

Watercolor Wings Card

Flowering Fields Sale-a-bration 2016 Watercolor Card

No Bones About It Shaker Card