Good morning, or at least I hope it will be a good morning. It's 7am here on the Atlantic Coast, and the past few days the weather has been less than summery. (Is summery a word?) I made this card for my bff since she thinks I don't make any cards using purple....hehe! Here is the sketch for this week:
I should explain that I sketch out a card and it is hen scratching at best with details wrote across the sketches, and Darla does her best to interpret my sketches....so sometimes she can't get my little details in the same way, so she chooses the best options. So this is my card, from my sketch.
The card base is White Daisy which has a piece of Gypsy CS that was run through my cuttlebug using the True Love all-in-one folder. I then inked up the embossed section(which is raised, so it is the only part that takes the ink). The floral area is stamped on White Daisy using the Floral Happiness SOTM set in 1st and 2nd generation stamping. This stamp set has a base and detail stamp that coordinate together. This is 3D popped ontop of a White Daisy mat. The Sentiment is from the From Me to You stamp set(retired) in Black Ink and again in Gypsy Pigment Ink. The accessories used are silver coloured Opaques from the Licorice collection.
I hope you take the time to visit our Sketch Challenge, today our design teams creations are posted as well as the Top 3 from last week. If you haven't had the chance to enter yet, what is stopping you, grab our sketch and play along. Remember that every Monday morning, a new sketch is posted.
So we are still having so mush fun, there is just so much to do and so many fabulous people to meet. This morning we are doing things just a little bit differently. We are starting off with a Creative Session where we got to make this beautiful necklace. Yes, you heard me right. We now carry products for making some jewellery.
This necklace comes as a kit for only $14.95, which includes the base, the bling, the textile fabric, and the adhesive, along with instructions. Available to order August 1/13, this makes a great accessory to any outfit, and if you are looking for a gift that is just a little different, this is perfect. I'm thinking that along with the other base pieces that are available that it would make an awesome girls birthday party. (Contact me for more details, or to get your hands on a NEW Idea Book)
During this creative session we also got the chance to make some awesome cards using the New Spin cards, and New M-Size Stamp sets. (Watch for upcoming posts where I will post some photos of some of these cards.)
From there we went for lunch, and then I helped Darla and Rosalynd shop for their families, as I had my shopping all done. It was fun to help them find gifts for Darla's children, and for Rosalynd's husband and grandson.
After shopping we had our last General Session which was a Q&A with Jeanette. Here are just a few photos.
There were a few side-splitting moments, and I'm sure everyone had a few good chuckles. Even Jeanette and Monica had a few crack-ups. She answered lots of questions, and told some stories....it was a great closing General Session which was followed by a closing crop where we could finish any of the projects we didn't quite get done earlier.
It was during this time when I was handing out my last few swap cards to the corporate staff that I found my Sticky Boy. I was so excited, my very first convention. Here I thought it just couldn't' get any better than winning Rising Star, but to top it off I got to bring home a Sticky Boy.
After we finished at the crop, Rosalyn, Darla and I ordered a pizza to take back to our room. We had to pack as we were leaving very early the next morning. Our bus was leaving the resort at 4:15am.....urggg! Stay tuned for my next post with a few photos from the Dance party.
Today I decided I would play along with Color My Heart. This weeks colors are Sorbet, Blush and Gypsy. Recently I've been playing with my Embossing folders, which I love, and I really like being able to make my own patterned paper. So I dug out my cuttlebug and the Beautiful all-in-one folder, ink pads, sponges and my alcohol markers and got ready to make my card.
I colored the flowers in with the Alcohol Markers using the Blush, Sorbet and Gypsy. Then I grabbed my Olive ink and a sponge and colored the vines. Then using Blush, Sorbet and Gyspy ink and sponges went over the flowers to color in the areas that were left white. I took a piece of Ribbon from the Red Designer Ribbon in Sorbet(retired) and wrapped it around the flower paper, then adhered it to a piece of Sorbet cardstock. To finish the card off, I stamped Celebrate from the stamp set From Me to You (retired) in Blush pigment and heat set it using clear embossing powder.
I made this card for my Drop in Card Class, I wanted to showcase August SOTM, and give my customers a sneak peak at what was in store for them. I started with a White Daisy cardbase, then added a piece of Chocolate CS at the top, and on the bottom I added a piece of buttercup which was stamped using the New Geometric Backgrounds Stamp in Honey. I then added a piece of our New Bronze Shimmer Trim which will also be available to order on August 1/13. Then you will see I have a Cotton Candy mat, and I stamped the sentiment in Chocolate ink on the White Daisy and then adhered that all to the card. Using scraps of White Daisy I stamped the strawberry 4 times, twice in Cotton Candy, and twice in Chocolate. I also stamped the top in Olive. I trimmed out all pieces and paper pieced them together. After together, I used the Cranberry Alcohol marker and added the drizzle effect. The bottom strawberry is adhered right to the card, the second has 3D foam tape to pop it off the card.
It's time for another card from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. I am having so much fun, it is really great, we have an amazing design team, which has crossed the ocean. Yep one of our design team members is from Sweden. How cool it that? We've had entrants all over Canada and the United States, and a few from the UK.
The artwork that has been displayed on our blog each week is phenomenal. So here is the sketch #13:
You can find the post here, as well as the artwork submitted by all the entrants through out the week.
For my card I used Stella(retired), I wanted to keep it very subtle. I liked the patterns in this paper and the colors. So I layered them and stamped Happy Birthday from the Joyful Birthday Stamp set in Saddle. Then using the paper flowers, I colored them with Autumn Terracotta, Lagoon, and Sorbet Alcohol Markers. To finish the card I took some twine from the Harvest Assortement and a button that I had left over from somewhere else.
I hope you enjoyed my card, and to find the rest of the Design Teams creations, just click here.
Good Monday morning all, I know sometimes I get in a crafting rut, that is when I hit pinterest, or dig out a magazine to see if I can't stir up some inspiration. However, I since started creating sketches of my own, and my bff Darla Haverstock (partner in crime) has turned my sketches into digitial masterpieces. The 2 of us teamed up and created a sketch challenge called Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, and if you haven't visited us yet, we encourage you to pop over and check out the past 12 weeks of creations from our entrants and our amazing design team. 12 weeks, yep, we have been running for 12 weeks now, and that means we are at our 13th sketch. We hope you will play along. It has been so much fun, and we've met some amazing crafters already. We've had entrants from the UK and Sweden, and our Sweden entrant is now joining us as part of our design team. Welcome Anna-Carin. We also will have 2 other new design team members joining us on Wednesday. So don't forget to follow along throughout the week because Monday's are the day we post a brand new sketch. Wednesday's we announce the previous weeks Top 3, as well as showcase our Design Team's Creations. Boy oh boy, do we have a talented design team. Well here is this weeks sketch, and we hope you decide to play along with us. You have until Sunday evening, 11:59 pm AST to link up.
So, I ended my last post telling you that Darla and I had to rush back to our room to get ready for the awards banquet. When we got to the room Rosalynd was ready. So a quick change of clothes, refresh the makeup, and fiddle with our hair, we were out the door. Trying to rush to the convention centre with heels on was slowing us down. So we took off our shoes and hurried along. Thank goodness we already had our table reserved, and we had a fabulous view of the stage and screens. Lucy had gotten there early and had secured the best seats so that we could all see the stage and screens. Little did I know that all my friends knew something I didn't.
The meal was great, we started with soft mozzarella and tomatoes with a balsamic vinegar and a slice of prosciutto ham. Then we had a salad followed by beef tenderloin and chicken with veggies and a risotto.( can't find a pic of the menu, so going my memory here) The dessert was a chocolate bomb mousse, with Mickey Ears and a strawberry. It was delicious. While finishing our dessert, the awards started. The numbers that some of these ladies bring is phenomenal, and someday, I hope to be pulling numbers close to that too.
So, here in this photo you will notice I haven't clued in yet that the picture you see on the screen is of me and my father......yep, totally oblivious to the fact that they are talking about me, as I am 1 of 2 recipients of the Rising Star award this year.
Once I realized that I was watching a slideshow about me, I don't even think I heard anything that Monica said. I was in complete shock. I am truly honoured that my fellow Canadians nominated me for this award. Have I told you how much I love these ladies?
So to thank my Cross Canada Blog Hop ladies for nominating me, I'm going to thank each of you: Darla, Brandy, Stephanie, Brae, Rosalynd, Dianne, Terry Ann, Janet, Nicola, Deanne, Candra, Chantal, Carol, Suzette, Joanne, Carrie, Krista, Sheri, Allana, Cheryl, Teresa, Sandra, Famida, Nancy, Arlene, Kathy, Pam and Karen.(if I forgot anyone, I'm sorry) Thank you, thank you! I love you all!
The flowers were beautiful, and heavy, and so was the award. I even got the check to bring home too. When my craft space is completed, I plan on hanging it on my wall. Not everyday, you get presented with $1000.00.
Here is all the lovely ladies I had the pleasure to sit with. Starting left, Jennifer, Darla, me, Lucy, Ellen and Jolene(I think)!
Here you will see all the Canadian Winners along with the executive team, of Brian, Kristine and Monica. It was a fabulous night, and one that I won't ever forget. I am truly humbled to have been chosen as a Rising Star, and it is only pushing me to do bigger and better.
So after watching the fireworks and the final parade at Magic Kingdom, we headed back to our room for a good nights sleep. Morning time brought us the same routine, up, showered, dressed, head out for a coffee and a crossiant from the Pepper Market then off to General Session. Oh wow, we had many slip-ups in the skits, but that just made them that much more funnier. From Kristine showing us her underwear, to Bren and Kristine trying their hardest to stay sitting on the balance balls. Wow, all I can say is super funny.
After General Session, we had lunch at the Pepper Market, then we headed into the Art Gallery and to vote for the album contest.(so need to enter that the next time I go to convention) From there we had extravaganza where we got to see so many great projects by 6 fabulous artists.
One of our teachers was Jamie Turner, and then I got to meet Tresa Black. There were so many fabulous creations. I can't wait to re-create or create of my own version some of these projects. After we left Extravaganza we had some photo ops with some famous Disney Characters.
We stood in line to meet these lovable Disney Characters, which gave us less than an hour to head back to our room, get ready for the awards banquet and get back to the convention centre. Luckily, the day before, Darla and Lucy went and reserved our table. We got a very good seat. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post detailing the awards banquet.
So we have these super fun bags that totally are Spanish flair, and the NEW Idea Books and now we are getting ready to head to a Buffet Lunch that Close To My Heart is providing before we head into our first Creative Session. In between eating and creating, we got to have some fun with the photo display area that was set up for some fun photo ops.
Our first Creative Session had us making a mini album, with all pieces cut from the NEW ArtBooking Cartridge. Here are some photos of the Mini Album.
After creative session we were treated to Twilight pass tickets to any theme park. So since this was our first trip to WDW we decided to go to the Magic Kingdom. We ate at Peco's Bill's, and it was good, it was pub type food. Then we went on Pirate's of the Caribbean ride. Then we headed to Toontown so that we could hopefully meet some characters. Some of the girls wanted to do another ride, so Rosalynd and I headed right to toontown where we met some rather famous Disney Characters.
Stay tuned for more posts from my trip to Disney for my first convention.
Oh boy, you could tell Darla was feeling better after some sleep and her medication had kicked in. We got up, showered, and headed to the Pepper Market to grab a coffee and a muffin and then to General Session we went.
Everyone waiting for the doors to open, then running, and pushing to find the best seats.
Once seated we were in for a treat. We had some entertainment including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles, and our very own 3 amigos, Monica, Kristine and Brian.
The excitement was just rocketing through the entire room. It's really hard to explain, but you were sitting on the edge of your seats, and you had butterflies in your stomach. It was almost like being a kid on Christmas morning, and waiting for everyone to get ready before you could start opening presents. The anticipation of what they were going to tell us, show us, and give us.
This year marked the 10th year that CTMH has been in Canada. With 58 Canadians in attendance we were all called up on stage. After we went back to our seats, they then announced that we would all be getting one of the new Crush Albums. Which is a must have, but you'll have to wait until August 1st to order yours.
There was lots of laughs and some word slip-ups from some of the executive team, which was just too funny....and then we were let out to where we received the bag for this year containing the NEW Autumn/Winter Idea Book.
I made this card using Sketch #12 from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. You can find the sketch here:
I used Champagne, Desert Sand and White Daisy Cardstock to make this card. All papers have been distressed with Chocolate Ink. The image is from the stamp set A Little Bee (retired) and is stamped in Cashmere Ink. The sentiment is stamped using Chocolate Ink and is from the Pemberley Workshop Stamp Set. Then I wrapped some natural hemp around the mat and tied it in a bow. I also used Dots Embossing folder to give the layer a little texture.
Today I decided that I would enter another challenge other than creating for my own. Over at Color My Heart their challenge is to use Desert Sand and Bamboo as the neutral colours, then to choose 1 other non-neutral colour. I chose Outdoor Denim as my colour.
I started with just the White Daisy Card Base, then chose the Desert Sand as my mat. Stamping using Outdoor Denim Ink, I took 4 images from the Stamp Set Card Word Puzzle and stamped them at random on the piece of Bamboo. Then I cut a piece of Outdoor Denim for a mat, and a piece of Desert Sand to stamp my sentiment Happy Birthday from the Joyful Birthday Stamp Set in Outdoor Denim. The Sentiment is popped using 3D Foam Tape. I hope you like my entry.
After a late night exploring the convention centre and learning where the rooms we would be creating in all were located we awoke in a lovely air conditioned room.
Darla and Rosalynd were headed to Leadership day, as I had made plans with Janet McCormick to go shopping at Downtown Disney.
We did lots of shopping and I found a few things for the kids to take home, as I promised I would. The girls asked for Disney Princesses and Nicholaus asked for Lego. We had lunch reservations at the Rainforest Cafe, which was absolutely delicious.
If you haven't been to the cafe before it is full of automated jungle creatures.
After we ate I wanted to make sure I got Nicholaus his Lego, so we headed to LegoLand.
Janet and I then headed back to grab a bus so we could go register for Convention and get our name badges. We ran into another group of ladies also attending convention, and I hit it off with Patty, and we've become good friends.
After Leadership got out for the day, I met up with Darla and lots of other great crafty ladies and we ate at the Pepper Market.(we ate most of our meals there) We had plans to go swimming, but Darla starting not feeling well which resulted in us going back to our room where we assumed she was suffering from exhaustion. Not the case what-so-ever. We ended up calling 911 and Darla took a trip to the local hospital, where it was discovered that it was not exhaustion, but a severe sinus infection. She ws given prescriptions and came back and got some rest. Not to worry she was back to her hyper self come morning, and you can read about our first General Session at convention on Thursday.
Welcome to our July Blog Hop featuring retiring items that you will want to have too. You will see creations from our participants that will include many retiring items, from stamps, papers, and My Creations products, there is bound to be something that you will need to grab before it's gone. Last day to order these products before they are going going gone is July 31st. See your local consultant to place an order.
We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!
Congratulations! You are at the beginning of our Cross Canada Blog Hop. We have some great projects for you to check out featuring some retiring products, you'll want to order fast as these are while supplies last, and many items are already sold out. Enjoy our blog hop!
For my project I used the Canvas Journal and the Scholastic paper packet, both these items are retiring August 1st. First I measured and cut my pieces of patterned paper to fit the dimensions of the journal. Using Liquid Glass I adhered the front piece , and used the Memories Bonding Glue to adhere the inside. I used the Zip Strip to ad a binding, and covered it in Liquid Glass to give it that glossy look. Next I took 3 Durables adhesive Embellishments and added them to the bottom side of the page. Using the Cobblestone Alphabet Stamp Set and the colors Outdoor Denim, Cranberry and Honey, stamped the letters A,B and C then cut them out and adhered them to the cover. Using the same colors on the inside, I used the Scholastic WOTG stamp set and School is here stamp set to create the inside.
Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, paper and techniques seen along the way. Join us again in August when we will be featuring our Kraft products. We hope you will join us again on August 15th.
So, I've been home from Florida for 2 weeks now, and I've been compiling all the photos that I have managed to get from my roommates and other lovely consultants. Convention was am AWESOMEexperience and I am so happy that I got to attend. My roommates were Darla by BFF, and Rosalynd, who is another Nova Scotian, us Atlantic Canadians need to stick together you know. We had 2 flight delays on our way to Orlando, the first one happened before we even left Halifax. We flew into Philly and while there a huge Thunder Storm passed through. We had a 3 hour lay-over, which gave us time to grab some lunch. Then our terminals got changed. The storm backed everything up and we were about 15 minutes late on take-off, which had us landing about 20 minutes late, as we had to fly around a storm coming into Orlando.
We've just got off the flight into Orlando. We grabbed our luggage, then then headed to the WDW magical express where we got on a bus that would take us directly to our resort at Walt Disney World, Coronado Springs Resort.
This is a view of the convention centre from our section of rooms. We had to walk about 8 minutes from our room to the convention centre a couple times a day. The temperature and humidity is about the same as here in Halifax. So we didn't mind it too much. When we arrived and checked into the hotel we had been travelling for over 12 hours, it made for a long day, but we were super excited.
When we finally found our room in the dark, we were welcomed by these towels on the bed.
You would think that after travelling all day, we would be ready to go to bed, but you'd be wrong. Instead we headed to the bar where we met up with Lucy and some other fabulous ladies, where we ended up closing out the bar. Yep, they close at 1 am, and we were still chatting it up at 2 am.
Here you will see Darla posing with Lucy as they finally got to meet in person. That is the wonderful thing about Close To My Heart, you form relationships with other consultants all over Canada and the USA, and when you finally get to meet it's a huge celebration. We can't wait to meet all our new CTMH consultant sisters, as we have just opened in Australia and New Zealand. So once we finally decided to go to bed, the excitement was just begining as come morning the girls would be off to Leadership Day, and I was headed shopping with Janet at Downtown Disney. Come back on Tuesday when I'll be posting about my shopping trip at Downtown Disney.
