Moved ...

Sorry to add one more click to your journey...
This blog moved in 2009. Please visit: Loves Tea and Paper
Thanks and I appreciate you stopping by!

This Blog Moved, Please Follow Me

Thanks for popping by. This blog moved to a new address here: http://inkspiration.typepad.com/inkspiration_for_stamping/ Hope you'll click on over! Thanks, Ann

Hey, What's Going On?

My blog is looking a little wonky, isn't it? There's a reason for that... ... I have decided to move my blog to another blog provider because it will provide me with more pages and a gallery; in other words, it will be better for you! And it will be better for me, because I am currently to trying to keep a website up to date, my blog current, and a Stampin' Up! site up to the present as well - it's just too much. With the new blog, everything both you and I need will all be in one place. If you want to check it out, please click here It's a work in progress, but I hope to everything in place within the next few weeks. For those of you getting these blog updates by feed, I hope you'll subscribe to my new blog. Thank you to everyone whose been visiting this blog - see you at www.inkspiration.ca Happy stampin'! - Ann

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

It's my hubby's birthday tomorrow and I'll likely not get to post so I'm showing you this card I made for him. Even as an adult, he would probably still say his favourite animal is the monkey, so I used Monkey Business, a set I borrowed (again) from my friend Christa last week for our club meeting and haven't returned yet. Thanks Christa! The challenge was then to make a card that was somewhat masculine using Monkey Business. How to not get too cute... Earlier in the weekend, Jan Tink, a fabulous American stamper, posted her most recent stampin' invention, the Bib card. I thought, why not give it a go with Brian's card. The bib card is a variation of the tent card, but instead of having a piece adhered to the top fold, it's actually cut part-way and popped. I used Blue Bayou as the card base, again to try to set a masculine tone, and because Brian's favourite colour is blue. I paired it with Wild Wasabi and Purely Pomegranate. I used the new SU! scallop punch for the Wasabi layer in the top part that sticks out. The heart is raised with a dimensional and is embossed with Irridescent Ice because I can rarely resist something glittery or blingy on a special occasion card, but I avoided ribbons for his card, opting to kept it simple. Is it cute, probably - how could it not be when it starts out with Monkey Business? But I do think he will like it. After all, it's from me. :)

Fall Frenzy Promotion

Fall is a beautiful time of year, but it gets a bit busy, doesn't it? Stampin' Up! has given you a great reason to carve out some time for yourself by presenting this Fall Frenzy special. It's stamps on sale, and who doesn't love a sale on stamps? With a $40 purchase from our Fall/Winter Collection and/or the gorgeous Holiday Mini, you may also purchase any set(s) from this list at 30%off: Item Page # Description Discounted Price 105355 26 Bitty Boos Too $17.47 109284 29 Haunting Halloween $18.17 110211 29 Halloween Hantee $18.17 107383 30 Thoroughly Thankful $22.37 109373 108 Autumn Fest $23.07 109421 91 Elementary Essentials $27.27 110366 17 Stem Silhouettes* $30.77 110388 17 A la Tige* $30.77 And have you seen the Holiday mini yet? It's rich and elegant and has you covered this upcoming fall and Christmas season - from tags to gift cards, wrapping and garlands to cards and scrapbook pages, there are ideas galore in sets that range from cute to fun to versatile to religious to elegant to practical. If you don't have your own copy yet, look at it online here, or email me for your own paper edition.

Baroque Inspirations

Oh, I have been a bad blogger this week! So sorry... But I've got lots to show you today. I think I've mentioned before that Baroque Motifs is one of my favourite new sets. Today I am featuring my Baroque cards. The first ideas for these cards came from online galleries and blogs, but for most of them, I have changed up colours, or played with the layout, substituted elements I didn't have for accessories I do have. Credits for the originating ideas would go to, among others, Amy Celona and Catherine Harwood. There are others too, whose names escape me. Some of these cards were for a Baroque Motifs class I held recently and some were used for other things like stamp club and team swaps. Enjoy! And if you have any questions about colours or techniques, feel free to leave a comment.

Unfroggettable Shaker

Last week's hostess wanted to learn how to do the shaker card. This card turned out to be a bit harder than our group was up for, but we dove in and made a go of it. I think the ladies were pleased with the card, but as a group, it did take a long time to make these! I love the Unfroggetable stamp set - so very versatile and fun - great for kids cards, and for our grown-up kid at heart people. This card features lots of punches: both of the tag punches and the Word Window punch. The filler for this shaker is our microbeads. Fun card, eh? Happy stamping! - Ann

Team Meeting Swap Cards

There are lots of talented stampers on our team. Even though the attendance was a bit lower, (summer holidays interfered for some gals, I think) there are a lot of great ideas here. Check these out: Wild Rose was the first set I bought when it appeared in the 2007 IBC last summer. I still love this set, and I love this card. I don't think I've ever used the Earth Elements family to make a card with this set. But after receiving Diane's card, I'm going to! Lisa's card uses a level 2 hostess set, Perfect Presentation. Lisa loves to use punches and it shows on this card. Look how she's inserted the "peace" square using the slot punch, on an angle! This card also has a lot of sparkle in real life! My card was deliberately simple so they could duplicate it as a make and take in their classes if they wanted. I used it as a make & take for a stampin' party last night, actually, and the ladies loved it! The card uses a drop shadow technique where you stamp in a dark colour and then stamp the same image again in a lighter shade a bit lower. This card uses glitter for some extra shine but it's hard to see it in the photo. Jamilla's card is another easy make & take idea, using the very popular "doodle" look that this is feaatured in a number of sets in the Fall/Winter collection. One of Jamilla's favourite techniques is tearing, so that's what she used for the focal point. Jamilla just recently joined our team, and this set was in her starter kit. Katrina's card features another SU! popular theme: the office look, as well as a lot of dtp. The spiral punch down the right side fits right in with this theme and I love the staple on the tag - it's just the perfect touch for the office style. How cute is this! Kristi's card features some of the new textured cardstock in the vertical strip on the left. And I love the detail in the upper left corner where she punched two strips using the Word Window punch, attached them with brads and then tied a piece of grosgrain ribbon around it. Christy's monocromatic card features some new designer paper and lots of embossing. Christy used her white gel pen to add some dots to the greeting - it totally works with the dotty looking circles that she embossed and punched out. What a fun & funky Christmas card! I love swapping - it's a great way to see stamp sets in a way I hadn't before, and to get some creative juices flowing. Thanks to my team for sharing their talents with me! Happy stamping, - Ann

Inkspiration Meetings

I had a team meeting here earlier this week. Not everyone can make it because of distance, but we always have a great night. We swapped, shared projects we're working on/teaching, talked shop, ate yummy snacks (thanks Christy!), and made a great make & take (thanks Jamilla!). And I remembered to take pictures this time - yeah! Here are some of the projects that various team members are working on this month - from altered items, to cards, to scrapbook pages, we've been busy stamping! Hope you've enjoyed these - next time I'll share our swap cards - the theme was new sets. Happy stamping! - Ann

Cards for Me!

Obviously in this business it would not be cool to be giving store-bought cards, so all the cards I send are made by me (which is why they are often late, too, sorry!) LOL. Well last week was my birthday and I was VERY thrilled to receive some hand-made cards. These, from left to right, are from: friend Shannon, SCS Rak from Joanne, friend Christa, SCS RAK Kim, my mom, my mother-in-law, and my daughter, Sarah. Sarah is 7 and very creative. Lately, she's opening crafts-for-kids type books and finding ideas there to implement, so she got out her fancy scissors to cut out the 'M' on my card and she dipped into her little container of brads I had given her (retired item). She stamps too, but chose not to for this card. Anyway, they are all made from the heart and I love them! Happy stamping! - Ann

How Does Your Inkspiration Flow?

Last month, my terrific upline loaned me a few stamp sets for the New Sets & Colours class I was holding. She loaned me Pick a Petal, which is going on my shopping list now - I love that set! And she sent a few samples she had stamped to show my class and to inspire all of us. This card, which she got the idea for from Split Coast, I think, was one I chose to use for my class. Originally I was just going to copy Joanne's card for my class. It's a great card, why reinvent the wheel? As I stamped, though, the inspiration started flowing, and my card ended up looking like this. The first change was to change the card from portrait to landscape, with the card opening on the right side. I loved the scalloped edge accented with the white gel pen, so that stayed, but I omitted the Real Red brads (I don't have them, and I didn't think my card needed them). Of course the ladybug constructed from one of the petal stamps and some punches of course stayed. I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the polka dots for some extra punch. Joanne used the Basic Black marker to hand draw a flight trail behind the lady bug and the antennae, which I started to copy too. But I noticed that one of the petal stamps has the word "smile" formed into one of the edges. I used the marker to ink up the word "smile" and then hand-doodled the rest of the flight trail. I love Joanne's card, and you know what, I love mine too! Here's a photo of the two of them together: There are so many beautiful stamping artists out there (online, in the SU! mini's and full collections) generously sharing their ideas. It is OK to copy them (including the ideas I share with you here) provided you give credit where credit is do, and never submit a non-original idea for a contest or magazine call. Sometimes, what starts out as a copy, takes a different path to becoming something original. Happy stamping! - Ann

Stampin' Up!'s Just Announced Another FAB Promo!

Wouldn't you love to receive a full family of inkpads for free? Who wouldn't? From August 10th - September 30th, anyone who signs up with the Stampin' Up! family of demonstrators will receive a package of full-sized classic inkpads from the colour family of your choice. This is a $79.95 value! What a great deal! Our kits deliver a ton of value. Option one, containing over $500 worth of products, costs $275 + PST (no GST or S&H. Option two, expands on the first kit with an additional $120 more products geared specifically towards scrapbooking, for just $70 more + PST (no GST or S&H). Either option will include the terrific gift of the free family of inkpads. You may choose from Bold Brights, Rich Regals, Earth Elements, or Soft Subtles, or you may take the 6-pack of the In Colours family. And your starter kit comes with enough supplies, including the paperwork, to easily get you through your first six parties. Would you be interested in learning more about becoming a Stampin' Up Demonstrator? I would love to get a small information packet to you so you can make an informed decision. If you are in Canada, you would be a welcome addition to our growing team of stamping/scrapping consultants. Just email me at ann@inkspiration.ca to request your info pack.

Great Convenience Product & a Special to Go With It

I'm back after a fantastic 19 days in northern Ontario - well not really far north. Just bear country. And rattlesnake territory... Anyway, it was a beautiful time of rest, relaxation and sun. I'll post scrapbook pages as I get them completed.... Meantime, SU! has big news for August. The Three For You punch box has an added product with purchase - 30 Love Notes. How simple does this make your next session of cardmaking? The cards are cut, scored and ready to stamp on - the box has a set of 9 die-cut stamps (just punch them out of the rubber and mount them, no trimming needed!) with ink spots in colours that co-ordinate with the Love Notes. And a punch that works with the stamps. Could our paper crafting be any easier? Super when we've got the urge to create but not a lot of time to commit, as happens so often in the summer! Email me or call me to order yours - shipping anywhere in Canada is available.

Want a Closer Look at those Cards?

Most of these cards will have been influenced one way or another by the many talented stampers who share their creative gifts on line, either in their blogs or by posting to online galleries. Can you tell we had a fun night of stamping, playing with new sets and new colours! If you are sorry you missed the fun this week, there are more classes coming up in August and you are welcome to join us. See the calendar here. If you can't make those dates, I'd be happy to come to you - just gather 4 or 5 friends and I'll take the stamp class on the road. If you are really too far for that, I would be happy to put the materials in your mailbox for you.

Here they come!

I've got a class tonight and the cards are ready! I think they'll have fun playing with the new colours and new sets!

Ribbon Originals and Colour Matches

I have been ogling the new Ribbon Originals ever since the Fall/Winter collection came out, haven't you? If you haven't really checked these out, you can click here to see them. I love all the variety of textures, widths, patterns and colours available on each card. Perhaps you don't know which ones to start with, or maybe you're just going to get them all! Either way, you may find this list helpful in matching these ribbons to your projects: The coordinating colors for the Ribbon Originals are: Beachfront: White - rickrack Sahara Sand - zig zag River Rock - pleated Very Vanilla – gathered grosgrain Basic Gray – velvet District: Pumpkin Pie – stripe grosgrain White w/ Celery – diagonal stripe woven weave Basic Gray w/white – stripe grosgrain Blue Bayou/Sage Shadow – checkered weave Sage Shadow – grosgrain Fairy Tale: So Saffron – jacquard flower Rose Red – grosgrain w/ white stitch Certainly Celery – woven loop Regal Rose – gathered grosgrain Almost Amethyst – grosgrain Jersey:Basic Black w/ white –stripe grosgrain Real Red – twill w/ zigzag More Mustard/Wild Wasabi – grosgrain Brocade Blue – wide grosgrain w/stripe Wild Wasabi – twill Sherbet:So Saffron – wide grosgrain w/ stripe Groovy Guava – woven loop Purely Pomegranate – w/ white polka dot Mellow Moss – velvet Soft Sky/Very Vanilla – elastic w/ gather Theater:Always Artichoke – grosgrain w/ loop Close to Cocoa – velvet Old Olive/River Rock – reversible satin Old Olive/ Vanilla – elastic w/ gather Chocolate Chip – satin w/ border

It's True! - Christmas Cards in July

I know, I know. Who's thinking of Christmas during summer? It'll be here soon enough without us rushing things, right? Well, I'm thinking Christmas, already. A demonstrator in Alberta is hosting a Christmas card swap and I decided to participate. I am hoping to get LOTS of great ideas back to incorporate into my fall classes. Here are my entries for the swap: This first card features the City of David set on a Night of Navy and Whisper White colour combination. There is lots of sparkle to this card through the use of SU!'s Irridescent Ice embossing powder over the Craft White ink. This card is an adaptation of a card I saw on an online gallery. It's probably a combination of about 3 card ideas. It uses the Peaceful Wishes set with red, green and silver tones, and more embossing - this time with silver embossing powder on silver cardstock. Isn't that a great look? These cards will be featured in my fall Christmas card classes, and I can't wait to show you some more great Christmas card ideas then, so plan to join us!