Blue Christmas??????

I know this is a crazy title for a June post but since our monthly Christmas card class is coming up this week, I thought I'd try to cool things down a bit during this beautiful but steamy weather we're having. These 3 cards came together quickly and although I've second guessed the colours on the Santa and snowflake cards several times, I decided to leave well alone. Needless to say there will be line-ups for the cuttlebug and heat tools this week, but we're all used to that by now...right? Looking forward to Thursday as always:)

Masculine cards

Like many paper crafters,I always find it a bit challenging to come up with cards for the guys. As Father's day is coming up soon, I thought we should make a couple of cards suitable for the occasion at this week's class. I still haven't decided what to do for the third card, so it will be our mystery card for the week:) I love the look of heat embossing and it works really well on both of these cards. I used walnut stain Distress ink and clear embossing powder for the canvas background,the tree and the truck. I really like the bronze metallic cardstock behind that old truck. I don't have a Happy Father's day stamp, so I think I'll use a computer generated sentiment for this one..... something like "Dad, you're a classic" I've been missing my own Dad for many years now, but we are fortunate to still have Steve's Dad with us, and he's always had a thing for cars and trucks, so this one will be for him. The tree card has a good space for a sentiment and the girls in class usually like to pick out their own sentiment stamp for this type of card so I left it blank for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend and let's keep our fingers crossed that we're all done with tornadoes now!

May Contest Winner

Wow! Two posts in one day....what is the world coming too? As promised here is Kathy's winning card and what a beauty it is too! Even my husband, who rarely comments on such things said he really liked it!!!!!
Now for our June contest...... I was planning on a masculine theme, but then I realized that most people would want to make a Father's day card and then they wouldn't be able to actually use it for Father's day as it would still be at the store for the vote.......so, instead of that, how about a wedding or anniversary theme? To enter the contest you must purchase one sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 METALLIC or specialty wedding cardstock in your choice of colour. The card should be 5 1/2 inch square and you can use as much, or as little of the specialty paper as you like. All entries must be at the store by June 17th and will be on display for voting until June 30. This month's lucky winner can choose any one in-stock EK Success slim edger punch. That's a $14.99 value.
I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Goodbye May...Hello June

The flowerpot pocket card is the third card we will make in class this Thursday. I love the crackle background stamp I used for the flower pot. I got it at Scrapfest from a company called "Local King Rubber Stamp" This stamp was also put to good use at our Scrapbook Canvas class last night. Lisa and Keri inspired the eight ladies present to create their own work of art (or maybe it should be work of heart!) and I believe everyone took home something to be treasured for years to come. Becky was kind enough to let me photograph her finished canvas and I'm sure you'll agree that it a beautiful example of scrapbooking for home decor. While the ladies were busy creating their masterpieces last night, I counted the votes for our May card contest. This month's winner is Kathy with her stunningly simple black and white card. Congratulations Kathy and thanks to the other entrants, all of whom received many votes for their cards. I will post a photo of Kathy's card later today along with details of our June contest.

Split Negative

Last night we had our monthly Christmas card class but I'm not going to post pictures of the cards...I don't want to be blamed for a freak snowstorm now that we're having such beautiful weather LOL! The ladies made beautiful cards as always, despite the fact that I had a complete brain freeze while demonstrating an origami fold that I've done dozens of times! It's a good thing these ladies are a patient bunch because my brain seems to be taking little vacations more frequently these days! Oh well....the good news is that I already have samples for next week's class. I decided to try out a technique that I've seen and admired many times, but had never actually used. It's called Split Negative and it could easily become my new favourite technique. As you see from the photos, I made two mirror image cards by stamping and embossing the butterfly once on black cardstock and then again on white. Then I simply cut each image in half and matched the black with the white. The patterned paper is doubled sided and works really well as an accent for this technique.
I'm excited about our upcoming Scrapbook Canvas class on Monday. We have a full house for this class and will be scheduling a repeat soon for those who couldn't make it to this one. Monday will also be the last day of our May card contest. I'll post the photo of the winning card on Tuesday along with details of our June contest.
It's hard to believe June is almost here...I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine as much as I am. Drop in for more chit chat on Tuesday.

Say cheese!

I was so impressed with the creations the ladies in my class came up with last week that I had them pose for photos!!!! Of course I was paying more attention to the cards than their creators, so the photo composition leaves a lot to be desired..(sorry for lopping off the top of your head Judy)! One of the ladies escaped before I could get my camera out...(I'll get you next time Ann!) and another was camera shy so I took pics of her cards without her. The pictures don't come close to capturing how fabulous these cards look in real life, but I'm sure you'll agree that they turned out beautifully. These ladies are one of the many reasons I LOVE my job so much and why Thursday has become my favourite day of the week!
There are some gorgeous entries in our May card contest, so be sure to stop in and vote for your favourite. Votes will be counted on May 31st and the winner will be announced on June 1st along with the theme for June's contest.

New Talent

Class nights are always so much fun but when everyone has left for the evening, I always wish I had remembered to take photos of the cards that were made. Marci is a relative newcomer to our group of stampers and when she heard that I wished I had taken photos she sent me pics of a couple of the cards she has made in class recently. Thanks for sharing Marci..... you're a fast learner! Aren't they great????? Please feel free to share your creative talents here....we can all use a little inspiration from time to time! Lots of new goodies arriving tomorrow but I probably won't get them put away until Friday as I have a group in the store tomorrow afternoon and class in the evening. I'm looking forward to a fun evening with the ladies as always and pleeeeeeaase let there be some sunshine tomorrow!