Night in Bethlehem Negative

Happy Saturday!!

A quick and easy share today, as my Team Meeting with "Tamara's Trail Blazers" starts in under an hour!

I love how fast this simple card came together ...

When mass producing up to 100 Christmas cards you NEED quick and easy!  This once fits the bill!

I was cleaning my craft desk last month (a rare occurrence indeed!) and stumbled across the negative space from the Night in Bethlehem Framelit that I had used on a previously made card.  As I was merrily throwing away all my scraps this one caught my eye and I recognized how pretty it was.  Garbage?  Nu-uh!!  Two minutes later I had a completely different look that I love using just the products/images in this one bundle.

Night in Bethlehem is my favorite product in the 2017 Holiday Catalogue.  At just $63.00 I think it is VERY good value for money!

After my Team Meeting we are celebrating Alicia's 12th Birthday with a trip to an Escape Room.  It's going to be a FUN day (one that THIS Mamma needs after a crazy, stressful week!)  Whatever YOU get up to today I hope you have a stampy day!!


Tam

Painted Harvest Pizza Boxes

Happy Thursday!

How is it Thursday already??  I tell ya, this week has been an absolute blur!  I don't know if that's a good thing or not! *lol*  What I DO know is Canadian Thanksgiving is just over a week away and fall projects are big in my Craft Cave right now!

Today I'm sharing a cute little project I whipped up for my Open House earlier this month (feels like MONTHS ago, not weeks ago!)

Check it out ...

LOVE!!!  KNOWING that the little "Pizza Boxes" would be VERY popular I stocked up on my pre-order (one of the many perks of being a demonstrator is we get to pre-order products ... one month earlier!).  I LOVE them!  They can be used as a key-UTE little gift of 3" x 3" notes and envelopes (like I made here) or they can be used for cookies or other food items.  They are 100% food safe and lined with a glossy/grease-proof coating.  I actually made up three of these gifts to take on my trip to Ottawa.  Yes, I STARTED them at 1:00 am and had all three finished by 1:30 am.  No lie!  SO quick and easy!

I used the FABULOUS ("must have set") Painted Harvest ($42.75 for the set and coordinating punch) and some retired embellishments and ribbon I had lying around waiting for a project jus like this!

We sell the 3" x 3" wee envelopes (2017 Holiday Catalogue; $11.75 (CDN + s/h/gst) for 40!  These wee envelopes are ALWAYS in my stash to use for gift card giving.  Just tape them to the inside of any card and slide your gift car in!).  To get the 3" x 3" card You just need to cut some 12" x 12" Whisper White card stock into 6" x 3" strips and fold in half!

My flowers were made using Daffodil Delight (the large background flower) and Crushed Curry (the darker, smaller top flower).  The centre is Soft Suede and the leaves are Garden Green.  I added some of our larger, retired sequins with glue dots.

The Pizza Boxes ($8.00 CDN + s/h/gst for 8 boxes) are easy to stamp on and I was happy the images/sentiment didn't "bleed".

These are GREAT little gifts to have on hand during the holidays. Yes, I DO plan to whip up Christmas designs to have on hand as well.

Add some 12" x 12" cards stock and some pizza boxes to YOUR next order.  You won't regret it!

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


Tam

Bike Ride Love

Happy Wednesday!

I had hoped to post yesterday alas, that little thing called "life" just keeps getting in the way!  I'm still trying to catch up from weekend away whilst trying to get ready for my next get away in just over a week.  I tell ya, I'm just not cut out for all this jet setting!

My mind whirling with thoughts at 5:00 am I decided to get up and take an hour of peace and quite (and coffee!) just for me!  Blogging really is "me" time, and is a luxury as I get to share what I love.

This is a card I shared on the Stampin' Up! demo site and my business facebook page (Tamara's Paper Trail) some time ago.  I absolutely LOVE this card.  It makes me smile :)

I just adore the pop of Lemon Lime Twist against the stark black!  I got the inspiration from a card made by Linda Callahan.  Check hers out at www.stampinseasons.blogspot.ca ...

I just LOVE how she simply hilighted the back of the bike.  Brilliant!  Always a sucker for a black and white card I started mine off there - clean and simple.  It needed a pop of color and Lemon Lime Twist was my go-to!

I have to admit - when the new catalogue first came out I wasn't at all convinced I would buy the Bike Ride Bundle ...

At $54.75 Canadian (plus s/h/gst) it IS an investment bundle, for sure ... and all those PIECES!  I usually find these types of bundles TOTALLY overwhelming and usually don't know where to start ... so I don't!  I buy them and then they sit ... and sit ... and sit.  I was determined to USE this one (BEFORE it retired!) and I just grabbed the bike frame, my black ink and some scrap white card stock.  I inked that bad-boy and when I stamped the image that beautiful black bike frame just made me happy! ... and I was off.  I stamped and stamped and stamped.  Black frame with red accent.  Black frame with blue accent.  Grey frame with yellow accent ... and on and on and on.

I stumbled across Linda's card and was inspired.  I knew immediately I wanted to use my brick wall embossing folder and things just went from there.

Don't be afraid to get the "complicated" sets.  Get the ones you love and just ink them up and stamp.  If you need inspiration just type the stamp set name plus Stampin' Up! then search through the hundreds of images and go from there!

Here is the card again ...

Here are the fine details ...

Whisper White Base - 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" run through the Big Shot with the Brick Wall embossing folder
Vertical Basic Black Mat - 2 1/4" x 4 3/4"
Whisper White top layer (using Bike Ride Bundle) - 2" x 4 1/2"
Basic Black Flag Mat - 1 1/4" x 3"
Whisper White top sentiment layer (from Up and Away Stamp set) - 1" x 2 3/4"
Bike frame and basket stamped with Black Archival Ink
Basket and bike rim stamped with Lemon Lime Twist
Seat and Pedal colored with Lemon Lime Twist marker
Flag popped up on Dimensionals
Mini Sequins attached with fine tip glue pen
Doily colored with Lemon Lime Twist using our sponge brayer

The Life Me Up set is $28 (CDN + s/h/gst)

Well ... I guess that's my "me" time over.  Time to wake the girls and get this day started!

Whatever you get up to today, I hope you have a stampy day!


Tam

Faux Metal

Happy Monday!

Let's watch a video today whilst I get on with planning my Team Meeting for this Saturday, shall we?  Ok!

This one is a fun technique.  Give it a try!

Have a stampy Monday :)


Tam

Deck the Halls with Embellishents

Happy Sunday!

Thought I'd share a Christmas card I made with (what else?) the Carols of Christmas Bundle.  Have I convinced you yet that you NEED this stamp set???  Seriously.  You need it.

Isn't it great?  I love the simplicity of it!  The "deck the halls" sheet music is behind the Deck the Halls sentiment.  LOVE when everything coordinates ... and no one coordinates products better than Stampin' Up!

Although I LOVE this card, it's not one I'll be using at my upcoming October Christmas Stamp-a-Stack.  Too many layers!  It doesn't LOOK like it, but this is actually quite an expensive card to mass-produce!  Seven layers of paper and a felt embellishment plus dimensionals = lots of products = high cost!

The base is Whisper White - 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"
The next layer is Garden Green 5" plus 2 ticks x 3 3/4" plus 2 ticks
Then Basic Black - 5" x 3 3/4"
Then the musical paper from Merry Music Designer Series Paper 4 3/4" plus 2 ticks x 3 1/2" plus 2 ticks
Next is another layer of Garden Green 3 1/4" plus 2 ticks x 2 3/4" plus 2 ticks
Next Basic Black 3 1/4" x 2 3/4"
Top Whisper White - 3" x 2 1/2"

The smaller top layers are adhered together and then the Garden Green layer is popped up on dimensionals.

The felt holly is from the Stitched Felt Embellishments

It's simple ... yet complicated!  *lol*

That's it for today.  Have a stampy Sunday!


Tam

Time to Catch Up!

Happy Saturday!

Phew!  What a WEEK!  .. actually it's more like What a 3-WEEK!  Seriously!  The first 21 days of September have been INSANELY busy!  Some stressful (back-to-school anyone??) but most awesomely amazing!

Yes, I'm back from my whirlwind trip down East to Chaffey's Lock.  Wow.  It really was everything I hoped it would be.  SUCH an amazing time with my Mom and Dad.  What made it just so incredible was being able to go to an area that has SO much history in my paternal family, see the places, hear the stories and meet the people.  I was briefly in Chaffey's about 30 years ago but before that I was a little girl.  I would have been 7 years old.  I was amazed at how strong my memories from when I was 7 were!  I vividly remember the layout around my Grandpa's cottage ... and the general store and boat house.  It was quite emotional being back there - for both me and my Dad.

Here are some of the hilights from my trip ...

We visited the graveyard in Elgin and found the headstones for my Great Grandparents...

 ... my Great GREAT Grandparents ...

 

... and my Great Great GREAT Grandparents!  That seriously blew my mind!!

  

Check out the information on that one!  They lived into their 80's ... my GGG Grandma would have been 26 when she had my GG Grandpa and my GGG Grandpa would have been 39 when GG Grandpa was born.  WOW!  That seems really "old" in the 1800's to be having babies and to LIVE so long.  I just couldn't get over that!

We got to go for a pontoon boat ride with my Dad's first cousin, Susan.  He was "home".  I love the smile on his face.  He told me later that all along the trip his "fishing guide instincts" kept kicking in and he would easily spot where the bass were hiding.  Once a fisherman always a fisherman!

 There were SO many great old building and barns in the area.  Road trips took a lot longer with me driving at 30 km, looking at EVERYTHING and stopping every few miles to pull over and take pictures!

 We went to both Davis Lock and Chaffey's Lock.  My GG Grandpa Philander and Great Uncle Elah were both Lockmasters at Davis Lock.  Great Uncle Elah was Lockmaster for almost 50 years ... and this is where he lived, in the Lockmaster's House.  The house is now available for vacation renting.  Hmmmmm .....

 There was a dinner in honour of my Aunt June and Uncle Pete (my Dad's brother).  53 Alford clan attended a delicious dinner at the Opinicon Resort ... in the "Alford Room"

 This is perhaps my favorite picture.  It is the actual pump my Dad used thousands of times when he was a boy, pumping water to bring back to the house.  Just wow.

 I was giddy with excitement at so many first for me.  I saw my first "live" acorns ...

 My first live stickbug ...

... and my first "live" lily pads ...

 Yes, it was an AMAZING trip.  I will cherish the memories and am so very, VERY grateful for the opportunity to go.

Now ... as when ANY mom goes away for ANY amount of time there is a LOT of catch up to do when she gets back.  Yes, Tuesday through Friday was a total GONG show around here!  I had my Minute to Win It Stamping Night last night and only started prepping it Thursday Night!  As always, though, everything came together and it was EPIC fun!!

This is one of the projects we made ...

 I LOVE these little pillow boxes!  We put 4 or 5 Kraft Caramels inside but the options of wee gifts are endless!  I will share with you an alternate use for these pillow boxes very soon!

For this project I used the Pillow Box Framelits from the Trim Your Stocking set (in Crumb Cake)...

The Maple Leaf Thinlit from the Colourful Season Bundle (with Cajun Craze) ...

And the Vintage Leaves Framelits for the Crushed Curry and Garden Green leaves ...

This wee card didn't make the cut but I just HAD to break open my new Merry Patterns stamp set and play for a minute ...

 SO cute!!!  This set is only available to hostesses in September and October with a party of $375 or more.  GREAT incentive to be a hostess.  My October calendar is jam packed but I do still have a few dates open, if you'd like to host a party.  Message me!

So there you have it!  A not-so-quick-catch-up on what's been going on in Tamara-World.  Let's hope this week is a little less crazy so I can continue to get caught up on all my projects and posts!

Whatever you get up to today I hope you have a super stampy day!  Pop in again soon!


xox  Tam

Card Packaging with Acetate Boxes

Happy Saturday!

Hopefully today the weather holds so I can visit my great-grandparents' graves and check out SO many other places from my family's past while I'm here in Chaffey's Lock, Ontario!  

No time to chat so I'll crack on!

Check out this super quick and easy gift idea ..

I LOVE that SU had come out with these affordable AWESOME acetate boxes that can be used for gift giving.  You can fit about 6 handmade cards into the box, add some ribbon and Wa-LOW!  A super awesome gift!  Cards are of COURSE my favorite gift to give teachers, friends, neighbours.  This packaging is my new FAVE!

10 boxes is only $8.50 CDN!!  On MY gift I added some of the FABULOUS new striped ribbon ($6.50) , some green sprigs ($6.50), some jute twine ($7.25) and a wee little silver ornament ($10), all SU, of course!

There you have it!  Quick, easy packaging for the best handmade gifts around!

Have a stampy Saturday!


Tam

Carols of Christmas Two-Ways

Happy Friday!

A quick share today of a quick card that you can get very different looks from just by changing the ribbon!  Check these out ...

Exact same card, different ribbon!

Standard card base.  Gosh ... now I have to think about the layer sizes .... ummmm ... I think the sentiment is 2 1/4" x 3 1/2"... and the black mat would be 2 1/2" x 3 3/4".  The vertical piece uses the Merry Little Christmas Designer Series Paper ($14.50 CDN - LOVE that DSP!!!!) is ... I think ... 2" x 4 3/4" and it's black mat would be 2 1/2" x 5".  Something close to that, anyway!  The sentiment is from Carols of Christmas stamped in Black Archival Ink, with a few rhinestones.  The whole matted layer is popped up on dimensionals.  The ribbon choices are Silver ($6.75) or Black Shimmer ($9.25).  Both are awesome but give a very different look to the card.

Which one is YOUR favorite?

That's it for today.  Have a stampy day!  I'm off to meet relatives I've never met before.  Ska-WHEEL!!



Tam

Merry Patterns Host Set by Stampin' Up!

Happy Thursday!

As you read this I'm probably somewhere between Western Canada (Alberta) and Eastern Canada (Ottawa).  I wanted to share this video with you.  All of my September and October hostesses should be receiving this FREE stamp set, as I anticipate their party sales will hit the quota required.  I LOVE this set and can't WAIT to play with it when I get home!!

Happy watching ... have a stampy day!


Tam

Carols of Christmas Tranquil Case

Happy Wednesday!

I don't have TOO long to chat today ... I have to start packing for my weekend adventure!  I'm off to Eastern Canada ... Ontario ... Chaffey's Lock on the Rideau Canal, to be exact, for a family reunion of sorts.  My Dad's family hails from Chaffey's and a number of his cousins still live in the area.  I am SOOO excited to be going!  Over the last 6 months Chaffey's has been calling to me and I have SO wanted to go there.  Alas, September is ridiculously busy for any mom and so when I heard about the dinner that was being planned I completely dismissed it.  That all changed when Mom told me she and Dad were thinking about going.  WELL!  Pack my bags and call me a cab.  I'm IN!  I think I surprised them BOTH by my level of excitement and interest in going.  Seriously!  What a blessing and wonderful gift to be able to travel with them both to my Dad's old stomping ground!  The place my Grandfather used to live and work as a fishing guide.  The place where my great-grandparents lived and died.  The place where my great-grandfather and great-uncles helped build many of the building that are still standing ... and we will be staying on the property where 3 or 4 of these cabins are!!  (I thought we were staying in one that my ancestors actually built ... alas it is the one cabin they DIDN'T build!).  All good.  Turns out the owner has said if those cabins aren't rented out we are welcome to have a look around.  Wa-HOO!  How thrilling!!!  

I can't WAIT to re-visit Grampy's boat house ... and smell that smell of gasoline and fish mixed together.

I can't WAIT to get an ice cream at the general store down the road.

I can't WAIT to visit the graves of my great-grandparents and grandparents.

I can't WAIT to meet my Dad's cousins whom I've been getting to now via Facebook.

Excited???  Just a BIT!  

This will most likely be Dad's last trip to Chaffey's.  To be able to see the sights, meet the people, hear the stories from Dad ... what a gift.  Truly.  There was no chance I WOULDN'T go ... 

OK!  Maybe I DID have time to chat *lol*.  

Let's get on with today's share, shall we?  I just LOVE this card.  I CASEd the idea from the fabulous Stampin' Up! Artisan Aurelie Forbes.  Check it out ...

This is Aurelie's card ...

You can see how similar they are!

I LOVED Aurelie's card but I wanted to make it a little more duplicatable for class purposes.  Aurelie's card has quite a few more steps involved.

For my card I used a Tranquil Tide card base and a 5 1.4" x 4" Whisper White layer.

I used one of the circle thinlits from the Layering Circle Dies to cut the circle in the whisper white layer.  I stamped the Tranquil Tide portion that you could see with stars from the Carols of Christmas Set ($26 CDN clear) with White Craft Ink ...

I then used the various framelits to cut the frame, trees and deer (stamped in Crumb Cake).  The framelits are $40 ... or you can buy the bundle at 10% off, for $59.25)

*** Can I just say this bundle is a MUST HAVE!!!  I don't say that about every set or bundle but this one I DO!  Seriously.  It is a top "keeper" and I will never part with it.  VERY versatile!!!!!

Right - back to the card ...

I stamped the Christmas Wishes from the Merry Mistletoe set ($25 CDN) in Tranquil Tide, tied some white bakers twine around it, added a few rhinestones to the Tranquil Tide tree and Wa-LOW!  A very pretty little card that is fairly duplicatable!

OK - I've taken WAY too long to do this post so I'll sign off and wish you a very stampy day as I head off on my travels.  I hope to schedule a few posts for while I am away so do pop in again soon.

xoxo


Tam