Wendy's Little Inklings

Need some stamping motivation? Try one of my Stamp Clubs!

Stamping Motivation!  Need some?  I've got some!  My Stamp Clubs have been planned from now through June, and we're going to be creating some exciting projects!  January will see us doing some embossing in ways that we've never done before, and February's club will feature brayer techniques.  Also coming up in the next few months are "faux" techniques, movement cards, and a special "Good Neighbours" class.

Sound exciting?  It is!  Come and join us!  We'd love to have you at the stamping table!!!

January Club dates are Monday the 11th (9:15am), Monday the 18th (7:30pm) and Thursday the 21st (7:30pm).  There is no class fee, but club members do need to make a minimum purchase of $20.00 from the catalogue on a monthly basis.   

Not sure if you want to join, but still want to check it out?  Why not come as a guest!  Guests are welcome - you pay a $5 class fee, but don't need to make a minimum purchase.  However, if you join the club on the night of the class, and/or make your minimum purchase, the fee is waived!

Call me at 905-655-9347 or e-mail me at wendy@wendyslittleinklings.com to reserve your spot.  You can come to any of the above dates, and we're flexible on future dates as well!

The card below is one that we made last summer.  Hope you like it!

I was going to post something from My Digital Studio today, but that's not going to happen.  I've been working on a small scrapbook from our visit to Great Wolf Lodge last week, but I don't know how to save individual pages as jpg files yet.  This will require some more "playing" with the software.  Hopefully I'll get it figured out quickly.

Happy New Year everyone!  I'm off to watch movies, eat pizza, and play games with my hubby and kids.

Quick Note Tonight...

IWow!  Is the Holiday Season ever crazy.  It's been eventful around here, which has prevented me from doing anything constructive for a few days!  I've done a bit of scrapbooking - both paper and digital, and will try to post something from the digital book tonight.  Or tomorrow :)

I am about to update my Stampin' Up! calendar for the next few months.  Check back tomorrow morning (Wednesday) to see what's planned for the next little bit.

Cheers!

Wendy

Boxing Day Pt. II

After the year I've had, I need to leave Christmas projects behind for awhile.  Lots of cards, lots of time, and lots of paper!

So... what to do?  Well, the first thing is to check out all of the new stuff that arrived last week in my latest box o' goodies!!!  One of the benefits to being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is that we can order new items during a preview period.  This time we were able to order our Sale-a-Bration items and fun stuff from the not-quite-released Occasions Mini Catalogue in December.  The best news?  The stamps were 20% off!  Here's a sneak peek at some of our new products...

I'll be posting photos of some of my creations shortly :)  In the meantime, happy stamping!

In honour of Boxing Day...

I give you boxes!  I love it when I can find a plain box that can be stamped and personalized.  This Christmas I found some boxes to hold my etched plates, and stamped them using my Serene Snowflakes stamps.  Last year I stamped the boxes that held my cookies for the annual cookie exchange.  I've also decorated gift boxes, and created a pretty nifty children's play box using stamps and ink.

Where do I find my boxes?  This nifty store called Solutions.  They are a Canadian organizing store, and their first store opened 10 years ago here in Whitby.  They always have an interesting selection of boxes, along with other fun things you can stamp!

I'm off to shop!!!  Happy shopping...er... stamping!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Today's uber-quick post is my own Christmas Card for 2009.  It was CASE'd from this card found at SCS.  I loved it when I saw it, and found it really easy to create after all of the masked cards I've stamped this year.

Enjoy your holiday, and Best Wishes for 2010!!! 

Build-a-Bear Christmas Ornament Kits

I packed up a bunch of these Build-a-Bear ornament kits for Christmas this year, and gave them away to some of my friends.  I still have a few left though that I'll hold onto for next year.  I will also make a few more and pack them into a slightly nicer cello bag to list in Etsy.  These ended up on bags that I had on hand.  They fit the bear pieces, but were a bit scrunched from sitting around in a box.  The header was made using the always-useful Top Note die; the sentiment comes from Warm Wishes, and the bear and pawprint images come from Seal of Pawthenticity.  

I forgot to mention that we made these in Michelle's class last week.  I took a pile of bear pieces into school with me, and the kindergarten students used copious amounts of glue to put them together.  It was soooo cute because some of the boys actually made Mrs. Claus bear ornaments to give to their sisters or moms.  Love it!

Now that Christmas is here, I'm packing away the Beary Merry Big Shot die until next year.  But... I have two new Sizzlets in a box, waiting to be opened, for Valentine's Day and Easter.  Who needs rabbits when you can have Easter Bears!

Merry Christmas Eve!!! 

A Very Round Snowman

It's a big accomplishment to have a round snowman on a card, but this card certainly fits the bill.  We actually made this at our last big Demonstrator meeting in September (more on this below!), but I forgot to post him until now.  Too.  Much.  Going.  On!  Anyhow, this adorable snowman was created using circle punches. 

Punch 5 of each size, fold them in half, and glue them together.  It's that easy!  His hat was cut freehand, and Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint was sponged on.  Don't forget - you can still order the Shimmer Paint after the Holiday Mini Catalogue items have headed into the vault.  The background paper is from the Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper pack.  There's a fun shimmer to it as well!

I am heading out to another Demonstrator Gathering hosted by Jennifer Tinline (an outstanding demonstrator in my upline!) in early January where I will be presenting a bunch of fun techniques for movement cards. 

Registration for this meeting has closed, but if you want to attend her fabulous meetings in the future, you need to become a demonstrator!!!  January is the perfect time to do this - extra rewards from Sale-a-Bration, extra rewards from me, and you'll be able to earn some extra cash to pay your Christmas bills and fund the hobby that you love!  Click HERE for additional info, and give me a call to chat!  I'd love to be able to share all of the Stampin' Up! secrets with you.

Happy Stamping!

My Great Aunt Alice's Molasses Cookie Recipe

Okay, it has nothing to do with stamping, but I've had a couple of requests for my molasses (aka. crack cocaine) cookie recipe, so here it is!

3/4 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup molasses

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

Mix in order given, then chill dough slightly.  Form into one inch balls and roll in sugar.  Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve on a plate that has been etched using some of Stampin' Up!'s amazing stamps!!!  Your guests will surely be amazed.

Merry Christmas!.

This one's on my tree, but it's not for those that aren't good with finicky.

After seeing this tutorial on SplitCoastStampers (SCS) for a Double Ball ornament recently, I really wanted to make this cute ornament with my stamp club.  Then I made it.  Decided that it would drive my friendly ladies slightly insane the week before Christmas, and that it probably wasn't a good idea.  So, we made the Delightful Decorations Ornament that you've seen before. 

It's cute...

If you don't mind finicky, it's pretty easy to put together using the hat pins and beads from the Pretties Kit.  The bottom ball of my ornament is slightly squished because I tried to make it without looking at the instructions.  When it wasn't working, I hijacked my computer back from the family member that was monopolizing it and looked at the instructions again.  That's when I was able to put it together properly, using some of the fun Holiday Lounge Designer Series Paper in the catalogue. 

It's December 22nd, and I'm still running around - this time I'm scrapbooking!  Until tomorrow, happy stamping and scrapping!

Swiveling Tree Decorations (but not on your tree!)

I was blog/SCS trolling the other night and came across this card by Glenda Calkins.  I have always loved cards that do things (like swivel), but sometimes the effort needed to create them is just too much.  She created this ornament swivel card using her Big Shot, and I just had to try!  Here's the version that we made at Stamp Club this month.

When closed, it just looks like an ornament is at the centre of the card.  But when it's open...

The ornament swivels open, and you can see where it opens on the card.  Sneaky eh?  I created this using my Big Shot.  It would be possible to create it without one, but it would be much more labour/time intensive.  The DSP on the card comes from the Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper pack.  It's lovely and flocked!

I think that I may finally be finished with my Delightful Decorations and Christmas Greetings sets for the season.  I've cleaned up my dining room in anticipation of Christmas festivities later in the week.  It may get all messed up tomorrow if I decide to scrapbook, but I've got a few things that I need to finish first.

Happy Stamping!.