Ink Up My World: April 2016

Friday 29 April 2016

Going, Going... GONE!

Going, Going... GONE!

That's right folks! It's that time of year again where Stampin' Up! starts to retire stamp sets and products from the current 2015 / 2016 Annual Catalogue.

2016 Stampin' Up! Retiring List

Here is a list of the items that I am sad to see go!

Retiring Stamps

Another Thank You – 136835 - $20.00

Flowering Flourishes – 126367 - $22.00

An Open Heart – 135002 - $22.00

Everything Eleanor – 124164 - $33.00

Every Blessing – 139919 - $20.00

By The Tide – 129120 - $25.00

The Open Sea – 123032 - $23.00

Sassy Salutations – 126707 - $22.00

Six Sided Sampler + Hexagon Punch – 140261 - $36.50

World Map Background Stamp – 130345 - $18.00

Dots For Days – 138950 - $13.50 Sale

Corner Garden – 134048 - $15.30 Sale

Swallowtail – 129216 - $18.00

Going Global – 140748 - $23.00

Petite Pairs – 122497 - $26.00

Retiring Accessories / Inks / Punches /Dies / Embossing Folders – WHILE SUPPLIES LAST

Blackberry Bliss Ink Pad - $8.00 / Paper - $8.75/ Reinker - $4.00

Hello Honey Ink Pad - $8.00 / Paper - $8.75/ Reinker - $4.00

Lost Lagoon Ink Pad - $8.00 / Paper - $8.75/ Reinker - $4.00

Mossy Meadow Ink Pad - $8.00 / Paper - $8.75/ Reinker - $4.00

Tangelo Twist Ink Pad - $8.00 / Paper - $8.75/ Reinker - $4.00

In Colour Kit – Includes ALL the above colours – 133673 - $40.00

Everyday Chic Designer Washi Tape – 138385 - $10.00

Honeycomb Embellishments – 140566 - $6.25

Brayer – 102395 - $15.50

Large Oval Punch – 119855 - $20.00

Scallop Oval Punch – 119856 - $22.00

Hexagon Punch – 130919 - $20.00

Chevron Punch – 132154 - $27.00

Bird Builder – 117191 - $22.00 -

Hexagon Hive Thinlits – 132965 - $31.00

Chalk Talk Framelits – 129983 - $21.70 sale

Circles Collections Framelits – 130911 - $33.00

Deco Labels Collection Framelits – 130102 - $31.00

Oval Collection Framelits – 129381 - $33.00

Square Collection Framelits – 130921 - $33.00

Floral Frames Collections Framelits – 127012 - $33.00

Honeycomb Embossing Folder – 129370 - $6.48 Sale

Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder – 129984 - $6.48 Sale

Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder – 132174 - $9.25

World Traveller Embossing Folder – 138289 - $9.25

If you would like to purchase any of the items you see listed above or others from the retiring list please click on the link below and choose Michelle Klieber, Demo #2117909 as your demonstrator.

Stampin' Up! Online Store - http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/default.aspx

Tuesday 26 April 2016

Balloon Builder Stamp Set & Punch

Hello Stampers!

Today I decided to work on making birthday cards as I have several birthday's in May and I thought I would get a head start on making my cards.

Like with many of my other cards I went to Pinterest for some inspiration and low and behold I came across this beauty! The bloggers name is Betty Roberts and here is the link to her creation - Balloon Celebration .

I love the colours she used so I decided to duplicate them and try a couple colour variations of my own.

Watermelon Wonder, Calypso Coral & Crisp Cantaloupe

Here is the link to video where I show how to make this card. I chose to film the teal colour, because well, teal is my FAVOURITE colour!

So like most of the cards I make, I couldn't make just one - I had to make a bunch - in all different colours! The options are endless and the cards look like it took you forever to make them.

Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay & Costal Cabana

Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum & Wisteria Wonder

Cajun Craze, Tangelo Twist & Pumpkin Pie

Mossy Meadow, Old Olive & Pear Pizzazz

And them all together :)

Here are the measurements for the card pieces and the supplies I used. Remember Costal Cabana is a retired colour, but you can substitute in any light teal/blue for this.

Card Base - Island Indigo - 8.5" by 5.5" and scored at 4.25"

First Layer - Whisper White - 4" by 5.25"

Second Layer - Whisper White - 3.75" by 5"

Thanks for dropping by and feel free to leave a comment!

Stampin' Up! products that I used to create these card.

Click the links below to be taken to the Stampin' Up! Online store.

Please make sure to choose me, Michelle Klieber, demo 2117909 as your demo!

Balloon Builders Photopolymer Stamp Set

Balloon Bouquet Punch

Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad

Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

Island Indigo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad

Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

Snail Permanent Adhesive

Snail Adhesive Refill

Stampin' Dimensionals

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Ink Refill

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Sunday 24 April 2016

My Crafting Journey and My Craft Room - A Dream Come True!

So I have often been asked how I got into paper crafting and I tell people that it started with making a 25th wedding anniversary present for my parents - I took on the giant task of making them a scrapbook. It was a huge under taking, but being the student that I was at the time I didn't have a lot of money to buy them a nice present so I thought I'd give them one from the heart. Needless to say, it was a huge hit!

As I think back even further to when I was a kid, I realized that I have always had a love of art. Although, I am self proclaimed left brainer and a teacher of Business, Math and Science - so not a person that you would think of as "artistic" and I still don't consider myself as such. Instead I think of my self as crafter - give me raw materials and some adhesive and I can create just about anything. Give me a pencil and tell to draw and I'm lost!

So where I am going with all of this?, well after my endeavour with my parents scrapbook, paper crafting took a back seat while I finished up my University degree and jetted away for a year of Teacher's College in New Zealand. When I came back I dove right into finding a job and when I did, it consumed my life. I decided in needed a hobby to help me relax and then back came paper crafting - which I did in my basement - my cold, unfinished, cluttered basement.

As time wore on I realized how much I loved what I was doing. Especially when my Mom got sick, I used it as way to block out and cope with the fact that she was dying and my time with her was limited. She lost her second battle with Cancer on October 13th, 2012 at the young age of 59.

Me & my Mom at my Aunt's Annual BBQ

As a way to deal with my grief I threw myself head on into my job and my hobby. That same month I had gone with a friend to ScrapFest here in Ontario and met an awesome Demo from Stampin' Up!, sadly I cannot remember her name. So I spend most of the next 3 months thinking about joining Stampin' Up! and I finally took the leap after seeing my upline's ad on Kijiji for card making class - I was inspired by her cards and thought that maybe I could do that as well.

So on February 5th, 2013 I became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and I haven't regretted one minute of it! I started my own meet up group, just like my upline, and my first class was filled with all of my very supportive friends. Little by little new people started to join my MeetUp group and attend my workshops. I was very rapidly outgrowing my kitchen table. Which up to that point was where I was holding my workshops and I did this for a year and a half. When I realized that I couldn't continue to grow where I was, so I gathered my nerve and begged my Dad to help me finish off the basement and make it my craft room. He, of course, was reluctant, as it was a big project for him and I - plus he would be doing most of the work as I was still working full time, plus we had some help from my amazingly talented Uncle. But never the less we worked hard and completed my craft room in 4 months and I am exceptionally proud of it!

This was what was existing in the basement before we started.

We had to add in this wall as it was large open space into the back -
which is now storage.

My Dad & Uncle, putting in the dry wall.

All drywalled & mudded!

My viewing window - so I can see who is coming down the stairs

Gotta hide the electrical panel!

Painting & laying the floor.

Finally finished!

And here is a look at what it looks like today - well almost. I have added in a few more shelves and cube units and I have extended my workspace island.

Well it was a labour of love and I think we did very well for two beginners and a very small budget! I feel I come a very long way from where I started and I couldn't have done it without the help of some wonderful people. So from the very bottom of my heart I thank you all! Please feel free to let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Till Next Time!

Michelle

Friday 22 April 2016

My Very First YouTube Video!

My Very First YouTube Video!

Hello Stampers,

I'm sorry that I have been MIA for the last month, but life has gotten a bit busy and my blog was the one to suffer. But have no fear! I'm back and ready to try something new.

As you all know I have been a Stampin' Up! Demo for a little more then three years and during that time I have met many wonderful paper crafters. Some of them have encouraged me to make videos about my card making endeavours but I have been really resistant. Mainly because of the time needed to make a proper video, then edit it and then upload it. But I found myself with some time on my hands this Friday and decided that I would try and give it a shot. Miraculously, I found that it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought and although the uploading takes some time, the rest of the video went pretty swiftly. It only took me three takes and then about an hour to figure out iMovie. Please keep in mind that my video is VERY basic, but I figure paper crafters will care more about the card then about my lacking video editing skills!

So without further ado... I present my first YouTube video.

I decided to demo a card that was inspired from a Pinterest pin by Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Michelle Gleeson -- http://stampinmojo.com/2015/12/grateful-bunch-sneak-peek.html

I decided to make these cards as Thank You to all my customers who made a purchase from me during the month of April. So if you did, then look out for one of them to be included with your order!

As you can see from my design I opted to use layers and added in a few more elements. I decided to do 12 cards in total - three of each of the four different colour combos.

Combo #1: Melon Mambo & Blackberry Bliss

Combo #2: Tempting Turquoise & Island Indigo

Combo #3: Blushing Bride & Rose Red

Combo #4: Mossy Meadow & Pear Pizzazz

Sizes Required for the Grateful Bunch Card
Card Base - 8.5" by 5.5" -- scored at 4.25"
First Layer - 5.25" by 4" (also the inside layer size)
Second Layer - 5" by 3.75" (Whisper White Layer)
Small Cardstock Layer - 0.5" by 3.75"

Please note that I have listed all of the supplies that I used below. Just remember that Mossy Meadow & Blackberry Bliss will be retiring at the end of May, along with the Another Thank You stamp set. So if you want any of these items, please head on over to the Stampin' Up! website to order. Please feel free to use me, Michelle Klieber (Demo # 2117909), as your demonstrator.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Michelle

Stampin' Up! products that I used to create these card.

Click the links below to be taken to the Stampin' Up! Online store.

Please make sure to choose me, Michelle Klieber, demo 2117909 as your demo!