Yamstamps.com - Linda's Stamping Blog

Simply Scored Card

2012-01-29T21:01:44-05:00

I created this card using Stampin' Up!'s Simply Scored tool. You may recall my Christmas card where I used scored lines for a design element. When I revisited the concept for this card, I realized that having the scored lines so the bump was on the good side made them more visible. So here's the result. The leaf image is from the Days of Gratitude set the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny wishes. Always Artichoke, River Rock and Kraft cardstocks were used for this card. Can't wait til March 1st when the Diagonal Simply Scored Plate that fits on my Simply Scored tool is released! (Demos get to preorder in February - woohoo!)

If you are interested in learning more about demonstrator events and being a demonstrator, please attend my no cost Information Evening! Next one is being held Wednesday, February 8th at 7pm. RSVP for directions. If you can't make it that evening, please get in touch with me anyway - we can chat on the phone or make other arrangements. I'd love for you to consider becoming part of my demonstrator group!

Free My Digital Studio Trial - February 1st!

2012-01-28T14:05:24-05:00

As of February 1st, Stampin' Up! is offering a free 30 day trial of the My Digital Studio Express software! This is a great software program for digital crafting. I love working digitally - for one thing, scrapbooking is much less messy....and let's face it, most of my photos are digital and tend to live on my computer, where noone gets to see them (except me). It's a great way to create a number of cards as well - in the past, I've done my Christmas cards digitally and was able to include a number of photos from the year as a visual collage of my family's year. I'm planning on making a few books up in the near future as well. At left is a tag sample I made quickly using the Springtime DSP, scallop square punch and basic pearls.

If you're interested in trying out this software, please consider joining me at my FREE MDS101 class! The first one will be held on Friday, February 3rd at 7pm here at my place in Burlington. RSVP required. Please bring your laptop if you have one - I will walk you through the download of the software plus the basics of My Digital Studio. You'll leave that evening with your copy of the software plus information to get you started! If you don't have a laptop, you are still welcome to attend and look over my shoulder while we work. I will also be posting an online class in the near future for those of you not close to the Burlington, Ontario area. In the meantime if you want to watch a quick video - check out my video tutorials page. The first video is one that I made using a free template that Stampin' Up! offered for Digital Scrapbooking Day!

Lifelong Learning, Stampin' Up! Style

2012-01-27T10:15:00-05:00

They say that one of the best ways to keep sharp is to keep learning new things. At Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference, there were lots of choices in classes to attend to hear about different topics to help demonstrators in their businesses. (Don't worry, there's also a crafty sample at end of this blog post!)

One class I attended was "Why Women Buy" presented by Carrie Cudney who highlighted habits and trends amongst female purchasers vs. male purchasers. A slide she used to show some differences cracked me up:

The theory is that the female is looking for "the" perfect pair of pants, while often men will settle for "a" pair of pants; the female is often also shopping for other things and other people at the same time, therefore needs to look around at more stores!

Now, for those of you who have attended workshops or classes with me previously, there's no need to fear that I'll become a hard sell, marketing machine now - I'll just be working harder to help you find "the" solution for your crafting needs (vs. "a" solution!!).

I also attended a class on "Coaching For Performance" by Natalie White and Jim Pitt, which concentrated on how to help others come up with goals and plans to meet them. I do try to do this with demonstrators who are signed up with me, but this was a more organized/formal way of approaching it. I will also be doing this for myself to help me focus on my goals and the plans to reach those goals!

"Retaining and Engaging Your Downline" by Donna Griffith and Patsy Waggoner (a US Stampin' Up! demonstrator) provided some practical tips to keep my team of demonstrators active and acknowledged, so that they can continue to reap the benefits of having a source of income plus a creative outlet. I plan on using some of these ideas at my upcoming demonstrator meetings and throughout the year!

Of course, we also receive lots of crafty inspiration and ideas too! Here's more samples using the Fashionable Hearts Embosslit (guess what was on my order that just went in for Sale-a-Bration?! LOL). I love the framed artwork - so simple but so effective and perfect for any time of year - not just Valentine's Day.

My next card class is on Wednesday, February 1st at 7pm here in Burlington and the theme is "Love"-ly cards. We'll be doing a card suitable for Valentine's Day, but all four cards will be designed to be given to someone you care about at any time of year! Cost is $20 and includes all supplies including adhesive and envelopes. Please contact me to register. Space is limited.

Extreme Makeover at Stampin' Up! Leadership!

2012-01-26T10:29:00-05:00

Sometimes it's just a question of being in the right place at the right time...Through another demonstrator, we met a woman who was helping organize the Helping a Hero gala in conjunction with the taping of the final episode of Extreme Makeover - Home Edition. She needed crowd fillers, and we were more than happy to help her out!
Below - Ty Pennington and Meredith Iler (the organizer extraordinaire)

The evening was to raise funds for the organization plus celebrate the building of a home for a local wounded war veteran. All the designers were there, Lee Greenwood was there to sing as were the Four Tenors (originally the Ten Tenors from Australia).

Paige and some of the Tenors (above)

Demo friends and Tenors (below)

Kim, Lydia, Mel, Sue, me, Liz, Dana with a few Aussie guys thrown in for good measure ;)

This was one of those neat life experiences!

Oh - and just in case you forgot this was a paper crafting blog....here's another cute sample shared by Stampin' Up! at Leadership - this one uses the Fashionable Hearts embosslit die for the Big Shot plus the Labels Collection Framelit die in the background.

See, don't you wish you were a Stampin' Up! demonstrator so you could attend Leadership?! Oh wait, you CAN be!! Contact me for more information!

Fun Times at Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference

2012-01-25T10:40:00-05:00

I had a blast in San Antonio at Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference. One of the best things was getting together with demonstrator friends from across Canada and the USA. There's always lots of laughter and lots of great inspiration and ideas shared.

Here's a few neat samples from one of the displays featuring the Dresden Designs die - used for quilting plus for paper crafting as well! I did try my hand at quilting while I was living in BC....let's just say that while I enjoyed it, I wasn't that proficient....but I think the die would make quilting this pattern SO much easier and faster to put together! I love the cute tree that they made from Designer Series Paper.

We enjoy crafting as much as our customers do, and the make and takes are always eagerly anticipated. We received two sets when we arrived (well, among other things we received!) and we used these for our projects. Here are my friends Christina, Sue and Liz working hard....

okay, well perhaps not THAT hard...

This is the cute bag that our Leadership items were in - designed by a new friend, Mel - so creative! The bottom portion is reversible!!

I always come back from demonstrator events feeling re-energized (well, after I catch up on my sleep!!! LOL). I just need more time to process everything and follow-through on some new plans and ideas! (don't worry, I'll keep you posted).

I will have more photos to share in the next few days. Oh, did I mention that a few of us got to attend part of the filming for the final episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition???!!!! ;) stay tuned for more details

Sale-a-Bration is HERE!!!

2012-01-24T08:54:31-05:00

Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration is one of the best times of the year - and it starts TODAY! With every $60 in merchandise, you can select one free item from the Sale-a-Bration catalogue. The catalogue includes exclusive Sale-a-Bration items, plus some great items from the main Idea Book & Catalogue! Hostesses can earn more with their $200 workshop - a free reusable shopping bag, plus with higher workshop totals, a free bundle of Sale-a-Bration items! Click here for more information and click here to reserve your party date with me!

I just got back from Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas - I'll be sharing more samples and fun pictures from that in the next few days. I really enjoy being a demonstrator - and if you'd like to be able to earn an income doing something you enjoy, this is a GREAT time to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. The starter kit price is reduced to $150 - great value and a great start off for your business - plus all new demonstrators will receive either a free package of Designer Series Paper OR a free digital download every month for the rest of the year! You're not locked in, either - you can start with a Designer Series Paper Pack, and the next month, you can select a digital download to use with My Digital Studio software or other photo editing software.

If you'd like more information on becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, browse the information HERE, CONTACT ME or join me at my free Information Evening - the next one is TOMORROW - Wednesday, January 25, at 7pm here in Burlington. RSVP for directions.

If you can't wait to get shopping, start here. If you have any questions, contact me - I want to help you Sale-a-Brate!

Stampin' Up!'s Leadership

2012-01-20T00:14:31-05:00

So it's been an AMAZING time so far at Leadership Conference - and we really only had our first full day of activities today! Lots of goodies (stamps, accessories, digital artwork...), lots of information and lots of inspiration....all this with lots of great friends! I am so lucky to have Stampin' Up! as an outlet and income source. I'll have lots of great stuff to share with you over the next while! Here's a cute sample shared at one of the display booths:

Tonight we had a bizarre stroke of luck as well, as we were invited to fill out the crowd as Extreme Home Makeover taped part of their last episode (ever) here in San Antonio - got to see Ty Pennington close up, all the designers, plus got to hear Lee Greenwood and (some of) the Ten Tenors sing.

Tomorrow brings the last full day of Leadership activities, but we still have the Regional Training Event to attend on Saturday - lots of fun still to come!

Stampin' Up!'s new Framelits Dies - Video

2012-01-09T17:36:22-05:00

Curious about the new framelits dies in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalogue? Here's a video showing more about them!

Click here if you can't see the embedded video. Contact me if you have any questions!

One More Holiday Post....then I'm moving on - promise!!

2012-01-08T14:43:55-05:00

One more page that I shared on TV. This is a "traditional" scrapbook page - done with a 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock and photos. I like graphic layouts that are symmetrical....can you tell?? For one - they're easy to create! This page highlights the tradition that my mother has of giving her _great_ nieces & nephews an ornament at Christmas. (I have to correct my journaling on the page, as I was informed that I only wrote "nieces & nephews" - have to get the generational context correct).

Is one of your resolutions to get scrapbooking?! Consider attending my scrapbook class on Friday, January 13th at 7pm here in Burlington. It will be a good luck charm, I'm sure! We'll create a 2 page layout that evening, and you can add your photos at home. Cost is $25 and includes all your supplies, including adhesive. I'll have everything prepped & ready for you! All you have to do is RSVP. Get those memories down on cardstock before the details are forgotten!

CH Morning Live Appearance Video

2012-01-06T08:32:00-05:00

I am so lucky to be able to work with the fantastic people at CH Morning Live on a fairly regular basis! I was invited to appear to share ideas about saving those holiday memories.

Thanks once again to my friend and tech guy Tom for capturing the video for me! If you can't see the link above view the video on youtube HERE.

Christmas Digital Scrapbook Layout

2012-01-05T09:47:00-05:00

These are pages that I shared on CH Morning Live on Monday. I used My Digital Studio and the Christmas Jingle kit templates. I love templates because they make my scrapbooking even faster. I simply chose the photos I wanted to use, and then drag & dropped them into the template. I could re-size as I needed, and then added in my text and printed! These pages coordinate with one another because the kit uses all the same colours, so you can mix up the order of pages or just use selected ones. Half of my challenge with scrapbooking is getting started, so here, most of the work is done for me! I simply add my personal touches and then it's finished. The memories and stories are recorded, the photos are added, and it's there for all to enjoy. Much better than having those photos sitting in the hard drive (or on the camera's memory card) and trying to keep all those good stories in my head - because let's face it, MY memory is not getting any better.....

Don't forget to "like" the Yamstamps facebook page to get your free video AND your free digital download (see the link on the wall) before January 10th.

Free Digital Download!

2012-01-04T07:30:00-05:00

Are you on Facebook? Please "like" the Yamstamps facebook page - there's a free video once you're a fan. Once you're there, I've posted the link to a free digital download from Stampin' Up! but it's only available until January 10th, so don't delay. There's a very brief questionnaire to complete and then you can download the Day in the Life kit. (I included the link so you could see it but please go through the facebook link to get it for free!) The kit includes a whole whack of digital designer series papers, elements and accents plus a template, and is valued at $18.50 Canadian! I love templates - they're so easy to use - just drag & drop your photos into place. The items are available to use in My Digital Studio but there's also a version that you could use with other software (e.g. Photoshop)! Please contact me if you have questions about using My Digital Software and the elements either in MDS or other programs (I also use Photoshop).

Stampin Up Holiday Mini Catalogue Carryovers!

2012-01-03T08:50:52-05:00

I know that I'd mentioned that Stampin' Up! was not going to be carrying over the Stocking Builder punch from the Holiday Mini Catalogue, just to give you a "heads up" in case you hadn't gotten this cute punch yet! Stampin' Up! has let us know that there ARE items that will be carried over, so that you can still order these items even though they don't appear in a current catalogue.

The flyer is HERE and the list includes:

So you can still order these items after today! If something you love from the Holiday Mini Catalogue is not on this list, you are taking your chances if you don't order it now - though some sets may appear in future Idea Books, there's no guarantee! Place your online order now and you can also take advantage of the Clearance Rack - the online only Clearance Rack Blitz goes until January 5th!

Happy Shopping :) and please contact me if you have any questions! Come back tomorrow to www.yamstamps.com, as I'm planning on posting some of my samples from my TV appearance yesterday!

Instructions for CH Morning Live project

2012-01-02T09:31:06-05:00

Thanks once again to everyone at CH Morning Live for welcoming me onto the show this morning - a nice (albeit early LOL) way to start the new year!

I thought I'd share the instructions to re-create the post-it note holder I showed at the end of my segment.

1) Cut your cardstock to 3.25" x 8" (this is for a 3" x 3" sized post it). We used Certainly Celery cardstock

2) Score the cardstock at .5", 4.25" and 4.5"

3) Stamp as desired. We used images from Stampin' Up!'s Circle Circus this morning, in Old Olive classic ink.

4) Fold along your score lines, and staple near the fold at the bottom

5) Stick a portion of post-it notes inside the matchbook folder and close the top fold. You're done!

That's how easy it is :) If only being organized and remembering things was THIS easy!! LOL.

If you have any questions about the projects or products I showed this morning, please feel free to contact me. I hope to have a copy of the video uploaded by the end of the week, in case you missed it, so please bookmark www.yamstamps.com and come back to visit!

Happy New Year! Welcome 2012

2012-01-01T16:39:47-05:00

Happy New Year! Have you made your resolutions? I have the typical ones (at least for me) plus a few ones that are new to my list.

One of my perpetual resolutions is to be more organized....so I had to chuckle to myself when I was asked to be on CH Morning Live again - the theme being organizing your holiday memories! I am choosing to focus on the creative side of organizing memories, specifically scrapbooking the memories to preserve them! I'm scheduled to appear tomorrow morning (Monday, January 2nd) around 8:10 am if you're in the viewing area.

If you are hoping to get more scrapbooking done this year (or get started) - I'm scheduling a few scrapbooking classes here in Burlington over the next few months. We'll create two page layouts that you can then add your photos and memorabilia to once you take your masterpieces home. See my classes page for more information, or contact me to register.

Thank you for being a reader of my blog, and I wish you a very happy, healthy and creative 2012.

Holiday Greetings - two versions!! (and last chance to stock up?!)

2011-12-29T12:08:09-05:00

Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus... I've had a wonderful time catching up with family and friends, and taking a few moments to catch my breath!

I thought I'd share my Christmas card design with you. If you've been following my blog at all, you'll know that I like to do cards that look great but aren't too finicky. This one suited me to a T! I used the Simply Scored tool to create a few score lines around the edge of the card, and then used my Big Shot to die cut a snowflake from Brushed Silver metallic paper. I silver embossed my greeting to create a tone on tone effect, which I really like!

I then had a brainwave as I had stocked up on some of the fantastic silver Glimmer Paper carried in Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini Catalogue - and this is the "bling" version of my card...not so much subtle elegance but more in your face! (still love it, perhaps even more...).

If you LOOOOOVE the glimmer paper like I do, you may want to stock up on a few sheets before they go - they don't appear in the Occasions Mini Catalogue (though fingers crossed they may make a future appearance in a mini catalogue or the next Idea Book?? No guarantees though!). One thing that I _know_ will NOT be carried over (because Stampin' Up! has warned demonstrators already!) - the cute stocking builder punch! So if you fell in love with that punch, you may want to consider getting one before they disappear!! The Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalogue sales period ends January 3rd - so place your online order HERE (take a look at the Clearance Rack while you're at it...) or contact me.

Stocking Card for Christmas

2011-12-21T09:01:40-05:00

I love the Big Shot Stocking Die that Stampin' Up! carries - so perfect for this time of year! This is a card made with that die. I cut out two Cherry Cobbler stockings (at the same time), then embossed the Whisper White cardstock using the Petals-A-Plenty Embossing Folder. I then cut out the toe and heel with the die and the cuff as well. For the cuff, I folded the cardstock in half, then made sure that the fold was inside the cutting area for the cuff, so it didn't get cut off. With the fold intact, it holds this card together! One hint if you're going to re-create this card - if you fold the embossed cardstock with the good (puffy) side in before die cutting, it won't "crack" along the fold line as it may if you fold the other way. Ask me how I figured this one out...LOL.

Hope these last few days of preparation for Christmas aren't too crazy for you! Today's the last mailing for the 12 Weeks of Christmas for those on my email list so see you in your inbox a little later today.

Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack sale!

2011-12-15T08:30:37-05:00

Stampin' Up! is adding new items to the Clearance Rack in my online store! December 15 - January 5, keep checking in to see what's on sale. Punches (the older style with the black body), Big Shot dies, glitter and accessories... click on the image or HERE to visit my online store and start saving! Why wait until Boxing Day to shop the bargains - they're here now! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Happy Shopping!

Psssst! Want to Sale-a-Brate early?? Only for two days though!

2011-12-13T08:26:07-05:00

I'm attending Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference in January 2012 - I'm looking forward to attending this annual event for business builders, as I haven't attended in a few years. As a perk - I can offer you a special deal for TODAY and TOMORROW ONLY!! If you sign up as a Canadian Stampin' Up! demonstrator with my team by tomorrow evening, you can receive your starter kit at a discount, PLUS receive your choice of either a package of Designer Series Paper or 11 free digital downloads! Your starter kit will only be $150 for almost $250 worth of crafting AND business supplies. You will be ready to go right away, and will be able to share the fun of Sale-a-Bration as a demonstrator, when it officially starts in January.

Click HERE and click on "JOIN NOW" to take advantage of this special offer - but remember, it expires tomorrow at 11:50 Mountain Time. Contact me if you have any questions - don't miss out on your chance to Sale-a-Brate early!

New Projects Coming!

2011-12-11T13:05:27-05:00

I'm working behind the scenes getting the Inbox Inspiration Program ready to launch in the new year. My Inbox Inspiration program will be a paid subscription format, and subscribers will receive weekly emails featuring a project, with complete instructions, and may also include tutorials. It's similar to the Twelve Weeks of Christmas program, but it's going to be offered year round! If you'd like to be informed of the launch of the program, please add your name to the information mailing list. This is NOT the program itself, just a personal notification of the program launch. Your email address will not be shared. Please contact me if you have any questions!