September Projects, And A Whole Lot of Life!

Has life ever been busy lately! It just got busier in the last couple of weeks; not just my stamping life either - the whole kit and kaboodle has been off the charts! First, one of my cousins from Ontario moved out here (and is now moving back home this weekend... ), to try life on her own. Well, thank God she was here, because I ran into a babysitting emergency about 5 days after she got here, and well, even though I had to drive across the city to get her, and across the city again to bring her home, I'm so glad she was there to help!

Next, we had some friends stay with us for an emergency visit to a specialist; so our house was unexpectedly full for a few days. I never mind when they stay with us though; they are our best friends, and our kids love to see each other too!

I enrolled Kaitlyn into a few classes this fall, to help ease the boredom we are both feeling. I take her to 2 classes on Tuesday mornings; an Art and Stories class, and Kindermusik; both taught by the same teacher back to back, so at least I'm not driving here, there and everywhere! On Wednesdays I'm trying to go to yoga, and on Thursdays Kaitlyn is in a parented/unparented "My First" pre-school at the YMCA. I can tell you, all this has definitely eased our boredom!

On top of all this, I am in full swing when it comes to my Christmas classes! I had my first bundle class last Tuesday, and have a second round this coming Tuesday. I really enjoy having classes, and people seeing that they really can make some beautiful things with their own hands!

I also had my September stamp club meeting of Friday, and showed my ladies how to do the Polished Stone technique as well as Reverse Masking. I figured that since I had introduced the Masking technique last month, they would love to see how Reverse Masking works too. My best friend attended the class, and I think she was proud of me for the RM card - it was only 2 layers of paper!!! I love to use multiple layers, so this card was a definite departure for me. I love how it turned out, and love Splitcoast more for the inspiration! Since Stampin' Up doesn't sell an oval scallop punch, and I don't use any other company (I'm definitely an SU snob!), I cut out an oval using the oval Coluzzle template, then used the Slit punch to punch around the oval, making scallops. I did 6 of these for my ladies to share for the class, so they didn't have to make the mask themselves. Normally I let them do everything for the card they are making (other than the initial paper cutting), but since a number of them had been to my Christmas card bundle class that week and had used that Coluzzle until they were sick of it, I figured I would do them that small favor. Plus it cut the time involved in making the card. I did punch one out while they watched though, so they would get the idea of how to do it themselves.

The other card we did was for the Polished Stone technique, and I have to say that Splitcoast did not let me down for this one either (warning: blatent CASE!). I would have loved to put some ribbon on mine too, but didn't have the color I needed! :( I do love this technique though. I haven't done it in awhile, and now that I have again, I think I will do it more often on my own projects - it's just so easy! Everyone loved using the crimper on the bashful blue piece, and I showed them how to make a scalloped edge using the Corner Rounder punch. I am SO addicted to that Lovely As A Tree set though; I really need to find a new favorite now that I think everyone in the club has this one! ;) I can't help it; almost every card I want to make just screams out for that set! I'd love to know, what's your favorite, most used set?

Any Suggestions?

I'm sitting at my craft table tonight, with some actual time to stamp! My husband is gone for the evening, and my daughter is asleep, so I am so happy to be able to sit down and create without interuptions! :)

Tonight I am working on some pages for a 6x6 album I'm putting together for a class. I decided to use a color I have never used before - Elegant Eggplant! I've also used Certainly Celery, Rose Red, and So Saffron, which are some of my favorites. This page is meant to be the "June" page, in which Father's Day falls. I didn't want it to necessarily be ONLY for Father's Day, so I wanted to keep it more neutral; not a lot of froof (if you know what I mean). I do think it needs something else though; but cannot for the life of me decide what to do! Here's a picture:

I'm thinking I'd like to put something on the bottom left of the first page, and the top left of the second page. I'm not sure if it should be an image of some kind, or just a piece of embellishment, or what. If you have any ideas for me, I'd love to hear your suggestions! :)

Advent Calendar

Here are some pictures of the Advent Calendar you could make if you join my Christmas Card Bundle classes! See below post for more information on this class, or view details in the calendar section of my website! :)

Christmas Card Bundle Class

I am holding a whole bunch of classes at my home this year, and many are already filled up! I do have some spaces in a few of them though, so if you are interested in any that you see on my blog or on my website, please contact me at sherivan@telus.net to register! :)

Here are the pictures of the projects we will do at my Christmas Card Bundle class. This is a 3 part class, which runs once a month for three months (Sept., Oct., and Nov.). At each class you will make 8 cards, of 1 design, and at the end of the 3 classes you will have 24 cards of 3 designs. Also included if you take all 3 classes is a free advent calendar class which I will hold at the end of November. The fee for this class is $60 for the bundle, or $20 per class.

Here are the pictures! :)

Here is a picture of the inside of "Warm Wishes" card.

Stamp-A-Stack Christmas Cards

By popular request, I have found some time to get these pictures up so you can see what cards we will be making in the Stamp-A-Stack class in October. I still have a couple of spots left, so if you are interested please email me and I will get in touch with you to add you to the class! :)

This class consists of 5 each of 3 card designs, making 15 total. The cost for this class is $35.00, and will be on Sunday October 14th, at 1pm.

Here are the cards! :) Let me know what you think, and if you would like to join us!

What A Scrappy Weekend!

Whew! I just took the day to recuperate from 2 days of scrappin' mania at Scrapfest. We set up in the afternoon on Thursday, and were there meeting fellow scrappers and doing some shopping ourselves all day Friday (9am-9:30pm) and Saturday (9am-6pm). I met so many nice people this weekend; I went away smiling, thinking of all the ideas I saw and the contacts I made. I also got to spend a lot of time with 3 other demonstrators; the same demos I went to Convention with. They are all a lot of fun, and we made sure to have a good time while we were there. :) Here's a picture of me standing in our booth; we had retired stamp sets for sale, examples of the classes we are offering in the next few months, and other samples of projects you can make with SU supplies. I was very happy to be a part of Scrapfest, and can't wait for next year!