Storage Solutions

My daughter and I stopped to have tea with Donna yesterday. Cassie was given the premier tour of Donna's craft room. I am so envious of all those lucky souls who have a space dedicated to crafting pursuits. My DH and I along with our 3 teenage daughters live in a small house. I am the definition of a kitchen table crafter. So when DH purchased a storage unit to use in the shop, I saw it as a perfect solution for my now overgrown storage.

I went from this(and this is in much better shape than mine was):



To this:



It obviously has so much more room. It is studier and the drawers slide smoothly. I can store both my Cuttlebug and Big Shot in the bottom drawer easily. I still need to organize it better but wow I am a happy girl with this purchase. (Sorry the boy thought I needed his picture too when I took this photo.)



This was a Home Depot purchase and intended for shop/garage storage but sometimes you need to think outside the box to find solutions that work for you.

Snow Day

The kids have finally gotten their wish, the second snow day of the winter. Remember when we were kids and snow days were like a precious gift? As adults we have so much we feel responsible for. If you can, why not use this snow day to do the things you want to do, not the the things you have to do. Enjoy the day. Snow can be a pain but it is so beautiful. Even the cows looked like they were having fun.

Sharing Time

Donna & I decided we needed to set aside time from our busy lives to get together with friends for an afternoon to stamp and talk. We have found that talking is usually first, since one friend lives a distance away and we don't see her as often as we would like. The first thing we do is spread out on the table. Funny how stamping can take up so much space. It is time we use to do whatever on that day. It is only for a couple of hours but we have so much fun. I haven't taken the pictures of a couple of the cards we made for the day.

Puppies

Donna is mom to 2 furry babies. Fira, is her newest baby, a beautiful golden retriever. So it is no surprise that Donna often ues this cute stamp from Inkadinkadoo on her many of her cards.



We always sign our cards, much like an artist would sign their paintings. Card making is a form of art and we want the people who receive our cards to know that we cared enough to make them something from the heart. I will have to check with her to find out which company makes the stamp "When I care enough I make it myself".



Supplies:
Inkadinkadoo
Rosewood Stamp
Martha Stewart punch
Ribbon

Happy Birthday

Penny Black's hedgehogs are so adorable. Donna has used this one to create a sweet birthday card. I love the polka dot background. Layered and embellished with a few gems, a card anyone would be pleased to receive. Donna is looking up the "Happy Birthday", she doesn't recall which company it is from.

Supplies:

Penny Black clear stamp
gemstone embellishments

Stampers Camp

How would you like to get away for a weekend dedicated solely to stamping and card making? Here's what we have in mind…...

You will arrive Friday night for a Wine & Cheese party and visit with your fellow stampers. On Saturday from 10:00 until 12:00 and from 2:00 until 4:00 you will have classes demonstrating interesting techniques and creative stamp combinations. Lunch will be provided and Saturday evening enjoy a BBQ at the farm of Tom & Rose-Marie. Sunday will be your final day of instruction from 10:00 until 12:00. Sunday afternoon BYOS (Bring Your Own Stamp), Rose-Marie will be available to answer questions or you can start your journey home. Classes will include Pop Cuts, Flowers, Flowers, Flowers and Sizzix & Cuttlebug Creations.




Your cost of $300 will include the wine & cheese social Friday evening, your accommodation for two(2) nights, lunch and BBQ on Saturday plus all of your classes and supplies to complete the projects. If you prefer, the cost for all of the classes, the BBQ and one night accommodation is $200. Or if you just want to enjoy the classes only your cost is $75. Accomodations will be at the recently renovated Water's Edge Inn. Check them out here

We all have gorgeous stamps that we have used once or twice and are now collecting dust, bring them with you and we will have a stamp exchange throughout the weekend. This exchange of stamps will be for camp participants only.

Contact us if you require more information or to make your
reservation. Deadline for registration is date April 30, 2010. We will take registration for a maximum of 25 people. Contact us at rosewood@frogswhiskersink.com to reserve your spot.

Belated Happy Valentines

I had my nieces here for the weekend. Shannon, the youngest who loves paper probably more than I do :) decided she need to make valentines cards. By the end of the afternoon all of the girls had made at least one card each. A.J. preferred a larger more traditional card and Shannon made more free from creations. Not a stamp was used, just paper, scissors and few embellishments. I have always encouraged my girls to be creative and my nieces are being given the same opportunity as you can see from the unique and beautiful cards they made for the people they love.

Happy Valentine's Day

Flower Soft

Flower Soft has arrived in the store. If you haven't tried this stuff, it is just so much fun. It makes Teddies fuzzy, flower gardens and bouquets come to life. The colours are fully blendable and easily applied with your favourite adhesive. Sorry again for the fuzzy picture. I am trying to do better.



It was a good day to go to work ...just like Christmas

Teddy Bear Blue

This cute little card, created by Donna is sweet birthday card. It would be the perfect for a baby shower card or even a get well soon card. That Teddy is just so cute. The pale blue ink was difficult to scan well enough for you to really see how well Donna co-ordinated the whole card.

Supplies:

background Hero Arts - Woordprints; Happy Birthday - Rosewood; Bear - Little Suzy's Zoo

New Tool

I love my Cuttlebug but the Big Shot goes where the Cuttlebug can't. It easily accomodates most dies including Original Sizzix and the instructions for using the Big Shot are illustrated on the base plate. It is heavier. It doesn't slide on the table and it doesn't make that disturbing cracking sound when you pass something a little thicker through the machine.

Rose-Marie signed up to become a retailer for Sizzix products. Our new supplier gives us the opportunity to purchase promotion items with deep savings that we can pass onto our customers. One of those promotions was a Big Shot bundle. The photo shows all of the goodies that were included in the bundle. This bundle was available for limited time however the supplier has a new promotion that has recently started. Contact the store if you would like to order one or would like more information. The contact info for the store is located here at the bottom of the home page for Frog's Whiskers Ink. The promotions do change often and are available for a limited time only.

Happy Valentine's Day

Rose-Marie taught a beginners class last week and this is the card she created for demonstration.

Stamp and emboss with Red Tinsel embossing powder. Fold paper so that top of heart is just at the fold. Trim around heart through both layers. Stamp Valentine's greeting inside. Stamp heart a second time; cut out centre section and pass through a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Rose-Marie used the Baroque Cuttlebug folder for this particular card. Distress heart centre with red ink. Attach to centre of stamped heart; add ribbon. The piece of white cardstock for layering can be run through Cuttlebug folder if desired.



Supplies:

Rosewood stamps (available here)
Red Tinsel Embossing powder

Sunflower Wishes

Sorry about the lousy scan. Not sure what happened :)

Nestibilities are so much fun. I created this card to go with a shower gift for a friend who was having a fall wedding. The Sunflower Shapeablity seemed like such a good fit and Curved Rectangle Nestibility makes a great tag. This was my first real attempt to use the dies (Donna gave me great instructions) and I was surprised at just how easy it is to use the Spellbinders with my Cuttlebug. The paper was from my extensive stash but looks so much like hand made paper.


Sorry I can't remember where the stamp is from at the moment.

Big & Bold

I had the opportunity to drag my family to Heather's Stamping Haven in Ottawa this weekend. Nice store and great people in the cutest little strip mall. I didn't have much time but I did manage to find a few things to bring home for my stash.



Jess got to stamp first and she created this card with our latest treasures. She stamped it twice. Once on black with Brilliance Moonlight White and a second time on grey cardstock with black ink. The sentiment from Impression Obsession was stamped in black and embossed with Rainbow Sparkle. She did decide to distress the base card with black to tone down the white. She also popped the grey squares and the pink sentiment square.

Supplies:

Outline Rubber Stamp Co. Inc.
Impression Obsession Inc

Winnie the Pooh

Donna is our Cuttlebug queen. She (and I) love tools and the Cuttlebug has become our staple of our cardmaking. Pooh Bear is a Cuttlebug die. It has really nice deeply defined lines.

Supplies
Cuttlebug Winnie the Pooh diecut
Rosewood stamp "Friends"
Michaels discount stamp