Q Designs

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 18:44:00 +0000

I figured maybe I should update a few pictures since the last ones were over FIVE YEARS AGO! So here is a pretty current picture of my kids and my little granddaughter, Riley.

A lot has happened in the last five years, but I won't bore you all with the details. In more recent news, I went back to work at a hair salon. The name of the shop is Pur Bliss Salon in Roseville. If you need a new stylist, leave a comment here and I will get in touch with you!

Have a great day!
Susan

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 01:48:00 +0000

Well, hello there! I have not used this blog in quite a few years, but I decided to resurrect it from the dead! For those of you who are not on Facebook, I thought this might be an easier way to find out about my classes and other info. If you are on Facebook, you ca check out my Facebook page, Q Designs Susan Porter, Paper Arts Instructor. https://www.facebook.com/paperpaintink/ Come and visit me there and be sure to like my page so that you will be following me and receive notifications when I post something new. Also, share my posts if you have friends who might be interested in Paper crafting with us. And friend me on Facebook if you have not already! I don't have enough friends!

Check out the classes I have currently available to my right. See if there is one that interests you! More classes will be coming soon!

I have mentioned to some of my students that I have become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! I decided to try it out as a way for me to be able to buy supplies like cardstock and new stamps, and also to have things available for my students to buy, if they so choose. I don't want to lure you away from other demonstrators or be in competition with any of you that are already demonstrators, I just wanted to have something available for those who want to take advantage of it. I will not be using solely Stampin' Up! products. I will incorporate them into my usual style, and keep classes mostly technique based. With that being said, I'm excited to get my starter kit and start creating classes for you all!

If you are interested in signing up for classes and are not on Facebook, please leave a comment here or email me and I will get in touch with you.

Happy Crafting!
Susan

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:13:00 +0000

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday with your family and friends! We sure did! Everything was yummy and went very smoothly. Dave and I make a good team. Here are a few shots from our dinner. Let me just say the Jack Daniels Chocolate Pecan Pie was amazing! I'm usually a pumpkin purist, but this is our new fave! To see all the photos check out my Facebook post. www.facebook.susanmarieporter.com

Got a few wedding photos for you as well. Jake and Ashton got married on October 29, 2011. It was a beautiful wedding at the Peppermill in Reno, NV. The kids are moving into an apartment in the next month or so. I am so excited for them to have their own place again. Baby Riley needs her own room! Can't wait!

In the crafting news.....

I am working on new classes for the store. I have my ideas together, now I am trying to get my samples done and work out the kinks. There are some new products at the store that I am incorporating into classes. I hope you come and try them out! I am most excited about the Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists! They are so cool! I have been playing with them for awhile, but we finally have them in the store! Yay! The Frantage chunky embossing powder and mica flakes are also something I am dying to get my hands on! It looks like fun! I have always loved German Glass Glitter too. I love the chunky look it gives your projects. Those are just a few of the new things I want to play with, but there are more! We have tons of new toys from Viva Decor, new markers from Marvy that are more affordable alcohol based ink pens, watercolor pencils sold individually, and some of the most beautiful paper lines out there!

I have two classes left til the end of the year and they are both on Saturday, December 3rd. I have Cards to Die for, and Color Your World - Winter. I believe that there is still space in both classes so call The Stamp Art Shoppe on Tuesday and sign up! (916) 773-4378 See you there!

Susan

Copics Certification... Finally!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 06:41:00 +0000

I am pleased to inform you all that I have been accepted to the Copics Certification Class offered in Sacramento on October 17th! I am so excited! As most of my students know, I have been teaching basic Copic Marker classes at The Stamp Art Shoppe for the last year and a half or so, but I have never had any formal training. Certification is expensive and usually far away. Sandy and Richele had just passed on what they had learned here and there. (Thanks, ladies!) I picked it up fairly quickly with a few minor struggles in the beginning. But, I am a colorer (is that really a word?) from way back and I have the fancy coloring books to prove it! Now, I am ready to learn more. Mostly because I want to be able to teach my students more, and partly so that I can challenge myself. I will learn what I can from this class and then hopefully be able to take the Intermediate class next time it is offered in the area. Yay!

I have really noticed a lot of improvement in my students work and I recently opened a new class this session called Advanced Copic Marker Techniques. If you have had my Copic Marker Workshop and are looking for the next step, the advanced class may be for you. My students had a blast in the first class and learned so much.

One of the great perks of teaching the classes is that they have allowed me to know what colors I want to work with and what colors students are wanting to work with and therefore we can order new colors accordingly. One of the constant requests is for skin tones. They can be a bit elusive at time and require a little more practice. We have added close to 30 new colors since I began teaching the classes and the customers and I are always pushing for more!

This photo is of one of the cards from my Color Your World - Winter class. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Coloring!

Susan

A Little Distracted...

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 04:58:00 +0000

I can't lie. I have been just a little distracted lately. I found out in mid-June that my oldest son was going to be a father! With that news came frenzied planning sessions with his bride-to-be and her mother about bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, and a whole host of other wonderful things.

With that being said, I cut back slightly on my classes at The Stamp Art Shoppe this session for a few different reasons, but one being so I had time for wedding preparations. I still have several to choose from and I hope I see you in class soon! I am also helping Sandy and Linda with The 12 Tags of Christmas Series during the month of December. If you haven't signed up, check it out! It should a fun holiday treat!

Most of my classes are filling up quickly, but there is still some room in some especially evening classes. I will tease you with a picture of my Spooky Greetings 2011 class and my Color Your World - Autumn class. Hope you can make it to one! www.thestampartshoppe.com

Susan

Goodbye for now....

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:55:00 +0000

Well, I have to say goodbye to a few classes that are near and dear to my heart. They have had a good run, but their time has come to an end. I am putting my Mastering the Basics series of classes on the back burner for now. The next session of classes has so many new classes and special holiday classes that there just wasn't room for them on the schedule. Also, I have taught most of them for over a year and most of our customers have taken them. If you happened to miss them just gather four friends together and let us know and we can find an open time on the schedule to do a special request class. Thank you all for your support with classes!

Be sure to be checking your email towards the end of this month to get first crack at the new classes when they come out! The teachers have been working hard once again to bring you the latest ideas, techniques, and products!

We have had lots of new customers in the store and taking classes so when you meet them in class I hope you will give them the ol' Stamp Art Shoppe welcome and make them feel at home. We were all newbies at one time!

Thanks again for support and love! See you in class!

Susan

What's New?

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 04:35:00 +0000

Hello My Lovelies!

Thanks to all of you who came in to take class with me last week! We had a ton of fun on Thursday night in Mastering the Basics #4. Friday we got down to the business of blending with those snappy little Copic Markers. It is one of my favorite classes to teach because I really see how much you guys improve by the end of class! Cool! I hope you are all practicing your blending techniques! I want to see your progress so bring your finished projects into the store!

I know most of you ladies who take regular card classes at The Stamp Art Shoppe have had my Mastering the Basics #2 class, but in case you missed it, I am offering it twice next week. Pictures are to the right. Thursday Morning at 10 and Thursday evening at 6. There are spaces available if you are interested please call the shoppe at (916) 773-4378 to sign up. We will be using four different products in class, color wash, pan pastels, alcohol inks, and perfect pearls. It is a nice way to try these products and see if you like them. I will demonstrate two techniques with each product and we will make a card with each product. This class has been a sell-out for over a year and it will be retiring for awhile when this session is over. :-(

Don't worry though! I have lots more ideas up my sleeve for next session! Watch for my yearly favorite, "Spooky Greetings". Both Frightful and delightful! As well as more technique classes and product introduction classes. I am always so excited to plan new classes and I usually can't wait til the new ones start to see how you all like them! I know it's a little crazy, but I love it! I hope to see you in class soon!

Susan

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:49:00 +0000

Hello Everyone!

I was checking my class lists for the next few weeks and I noticed there are lots of spaces available! It's probably due to vacations and such, but check your schedules if you are in town, there may be classes that you want to sign up for! This Thursday evening my Mastering the Basics #4 at 6:30pm is only half full. If that is one you would like to take give us a call at The Stamp Art Shoppe! (916) 773-4378 We will be working on cards using stamp kissing, layered emboss resists, water-ink stamping, and acrylic block backgrounds. As always I have a full class for you guys full of tecnique and ending with four beautiful cards. I hope to see you there!

Susan

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Hellooo! Just wanted to share a Father's Day Card I made for my sweet man last weekend. He is such a good dad and wonderful husband. He has been into cooking lately and the boys got him a meat cleaver! He wanted one to chop things up with! I am not complaining as long as he wants to cook!

The other pictures are from my Embossed Canvas Cards class last week. We had a blast creating our little embossed masterpieces! I hope you join us for another class soon!

Susan

Class pics from Embossed Canvas Cards

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:08:00 +0000

Hello there! Just wanted to share some pics from class last week. Everyone had a blast making their embossed canvas pieces! A new world has opened up! Thanks, Ladies! It was fun!

Susan

Dads

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:08:00 +0000

Grad Party Favors and Cards

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Good Afternoon, Bloggers! I just wanted to share some graduation cards I made and little cupcake picks my girlfriends and I came up with for the grad party. For the cards I used a Hero Arts clear stamp set called, Many Dots. I just stamped the dots in different colors along a winding path. I love small images like this for making quick cards. Try it at home and remember to use at least 3 colors and stamp your images in odd numbers like 1,3, and 5.

Good luck!

Susan

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 02:15:00 +0000

Okay, so a student/friend brought it to my attention yesterday that I hadn't updated my blog in awhile. So I signed in to check it out and relized that my last post was Christmas! Whoopsie! I will try to be better! I meant to update when the new class schedule came out in May and I never did. I made a promise to update tonight so here I am!

There are some really cool classes at The Stamp Art Shoppe this session. Patty outdid herself with two awesome nature themed projects, some wonderful steampunk themed projects, and her "Going Green" series is going strong. Betsy is trying her hand at tranferring her wonderfully creative talents to some really unique card projects this time around. I highly encourage you to try their classes. You will not be disappointed in the creativity these gals will pass along. Evelyn is up to her usual greatness with a trio of fabulous classes, she never disappoints! Lovely Linda has her usual favorites, Stencil of the Month, Pergamano Card of the Month, Glitter classes, and Basic Cards with Basic Grey. Miss Karen Brooks is teaching Contemporary Art Journal and she also has some cool collage 3-D projects too! Our fearless leader, Sandy has a few classes this session as well. I am continuing with the Mastering the Basics series and I added a new one this time. It is Mastering the Basics #4. All the Mastering the Basics classes are great for both beginners and those who need a gentle refresher on some basic to intermediate techniques and they do not have to be taken in order. I also have some classes using Sticky Back Canvas. You can't believe how many things I have discovered we can do with this stuff! One of the classes is Embossed Canvas Cards and I still have space available in this class! The first one is next week! You may have missed Alcohol Ink Bootcamp. It was back in May, but I probably will be repeating it next session so keep your eyes open for that one. Perfectly Pearlicious and Shabby Chic Style are two classes that have been popular this time around. I think they are both full, but check in at the Shoppe to be sure. Also, be sure to put yourself on the wait list. If we decide we can fit another one on the schedule, we will know who to call! I brought back Macho Cards for the third year in the row and it was accompanied by Color His World, a class designed for those of us who just want to color! It had a masculine theme this time, but it will probably be kind of seasonal in the future. Those classes are passed as well, but the samples are still on display on the website and at the store for ideas. Check them out at the Website in the classes gallery! http://www.thestampartshoppe.com/

It's Dadas & Grads Season!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:29:00 +0000

Happy Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 06:07:00 +0000

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season! Our Christmas was wonderful and we are looking forward to the new year. Here are a few pics from Christmas morning. G-ma came over and made her signature Eggs Benedict (with a twist). We use Cheez Whiz instead of Hollandaise sauce! Very white-trashy, I know! It started when the kids were little and they didn't like the Hollandaise sauce, so we improvised! Now it is tradition and we wouldn't have it any other way! The boys look forward to having G-ma come over and make breakfast on Christmas morning.

Our Christmas dinner was amazing and we had a house full of family! I was so busy cooking and getting everything ready that I didn't snap one picture in the evening. Bummer. The prime rib was gorgeous! I guess you have to take my word for it tho!

I hope your holidays were amazing and that you are thankful for your blessings in life! More crafty stuff to come soon! Take care!

Susan

New Classes for the New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 23:50:00 +0000

Well, the time is coming for our new class schedule at the Stamp Art Shoppe to come out! Sandy is working hard on the newsletter and website this week and it should be ready for the last week of December. Yay! It is so much fun to work in the store and see the beautiful samples that our teachers have worked so hard on. It always blows me away with the amount of creativity and talent we have in our teachers! I hope that you try classes from everyone and sample their talented work.

We have a guest teacher returning this March so be sure to watch for the sign-ups. And with CHA the end of January, I am sure Sandy will be bringing back treasures from the show! It should be an exciting time for classes and shopping at the store!

I am excited for my classes as well. I have a few returning classes, The Mastering the Basics Series I, II, and III, but I have revamped the Copic Marker classes into one workshop with a workbook that we will use to practice many techniques. I kept the price low so that you can take it over and over again if you want! Look for my Foiled Love class if you enjoyed the Foil Cards from ArtBytes. Cards from the heart returns again with some quick and fun cards that can be used for Valentine's Day or just for greetings. If you are looking for technique-rich classes you might want to try my Artsy Canvas Cards or Shabby French Plaque classes. More pictures to come soon!

Thanks for stoping by!

Susan

A Cre8tive Affair!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:47:00 +0000

Well, today wrapped up the last day of Anniversary celebrations at The Stamp Art Shoppe! I just wanted to share some pics I took with my phone just as the festivities were beginning. These were the decorated lampshades and baskets that Sandy has been working on for months! She outdid herself with her decorations and every little detail. Art bytes went off without a hitch and lots of fun projects were created! Sandy saved the newest products for the weekend so that customers were inundated with new stuff! I personally can't wait to try the Chip Art kits from Meloday Ross. Really cool!

Later!

Susan

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 06:35:00 +0000

Art Bytes are in full swing at the Stamp Art Shoppe! We have one more day of mini classes and anniversary celebrations before we wrap up year 8! The Shoppe has been bustling with students and shoppers all coming to join the festivites. Of course there is always Sandy's gorgeous decorations to behold! The woman is amazing! Come by for a look-see tomorrow and put your name in for a door prize! Check out the beautiful foil cards we made in class today! So easy and so much fun!

Well, I have some fabulous news! My Rocklin Thunder Varsity Football Boys are in the play-offs again! Good job boys! This year has been considerably tougher, but we have still managed to make to the first round! So, football season continues for us! Woohoo! Go Thunder!

Our Halloween Open House went well this year. We enjoyed our delicious soups and passed out candy to some of the cutest little monsters around! My favorite time of the year.

Gotta go to bed and rest up for the busy day tomorrow!

Susan

Halloween is almost here!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:16:00 +0000

Are you ready to get spooky? I love Halloween and I love Halloween crafts even more! Here is a picture from my Vintage Halloween Printer's Tray class. This was probably the most fun I have had putting a class together! I used the 7Gypsies printer's tray and lots of fun techniques and products. Ranger's Distress Crackle Paint made my metal embellishments look old and worn. Just the effect I wanted for this project! And of course, Distress Ink always is must for grunging-up your projects! For backgrounds I used patterned paper and plain cardstock embossed with various cuttlebug and sizzix embossing folders. They added interesting texture and dimension to the finished piece. I encourage you to make one of your own! My students made some awesome trays in class!

Happy Crafting!

Susan

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 04:57:00 +0000

It has been awhile, I know! Life is busy. That's the only excuse I have! I am trying to fit everything in! What can I say, I love life and I enjoy everything that I do, so what would I cut out? Cleaning, bills, laundry, etc... You get the picture, right!

On to better things... This is a pic I took of a card I made. I used techniques I learned in Kelly Rae Roberts book, Taking Flight. It is so much fun to do! Thank you for sharing, Kelly Rae!

Gotta go for now! Have a great day!

Susan

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:41:00 +0000

Okay, so clearly I am lame at posting latey. Since I have started working 2 days a week at The Stamp Art Shoppe, my life has gotten alot busier. I know it is only 2 days, but it is really a big change in schedule for me. I am now working 5-6 days a week and trying to keep up with things at home and Nick's sports activities, etc.... Thank goodness I have a very supportive hubby who helps out a lot! Thanks, Babe!

So... enough about my crazy schedule. One of the many things I have been doing is finishing up classes for this quarter (so late, I know!) and experimenting with techniques for my classes next quarter. I think you all will really enjoy them. I am posting some pics of my "Made with Love" recipe keepsake book, and my "Color Blending with Copic Markers" classes that are coming up in the next few weeks.

For next quarter I am planning some techniqued filled classes that may be new to you or review for some, but either way they will exand your creativity and push you to really use your tools, products, and your imagination! I will also be teaching an all new "Macho Cards" class this summer. It was such a success last year that I thought I would teach it again. I will be passing on my vast knowledge of making manly cards. I should have enough experience with my 3 men at home! I am also working on an ongoing class that would be teaching techniques that are a little beyond the basics. It will give you a chance to really play with some of the products in our store and perfect your techniques as well. My other classes are TBA so check back here to see what I come up with or at The Stamp Art Shoppe website after May 1st. If you have any suggestions for future clases I would love to hear about them! Just stop by the Shoppe on Thursday or Friday, or leave a comment for me here. I hope you join me for some paperfun soon!

See you soon!

Susan

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 05:10:00 +0000

Boy, I have a lot of catching up to do! The holidays were a little bit different for us this year. Different, but still great. We were busy with football until the week before Christmas! Our boys kept winning until they made it to the State Championships! They did lose there, but only barely. They are still number one in our hearts!
Because of all the football activities and last minute trip to southern California to see the game, we had no Christmas decorations up! So rather than buy a tree to have for a week, we put up our mini trees and the stockings and a few special decorations. We did our shopping, decorating, grocery shopping, and cooking all on Christmas Eve! I can't believe we pulled it off! We also stayed home on Christmas Day. That was also a first for us. We had a really nice, peaceful day. I highly recommend it.
I have been busy trying to get my classes together for the new session at The Stamp Art Shoppe. It is always hard to pull this one off around the holidays, but it was especially trying this year with our football activities. I am almost done! I will post pictures soon! I have been enjoying working at the store two days a week. It is great to be able to get to know the customers a little better. I am looking forward to getting back to teaching soon though!
Well, I am calling it a night. Happy New Year!

Susan

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:12:00 +0000

Wow! It's been busy around here! I didn't realize so much time had gone by since I last blogged! Here's a little football update for y'all. Our Rocklin Thunder boys have been winning every game! They won against Roseville a week ago and that finished our regular season with a perfect 10-0! Last Friday night was the first game in the playoff series and we beat Elk Grove 35-7! We move on to the next round and face Atwater at home next Friday night. We would then move on to Grant the following week provided they win this week too. (Of course! They are Grant!) Looking forward to the game!

Okay enough of that football stuff! I started working at The Stamp Art Shoppe 2 days a week! It has been great so far. I love to see the customers in the store and I am learning so much hanging out with Sandy. She is amazing! So if you are in the area on a Thursday or Friday, stop by and say hi!

I am working on new classes! They will be Valentine, Spring/Easter, Mother's Day, and maybe another surprise or two in there! If you have enjoyed my Inchiewonderland classes and the Paper Love Quilt, keep your eyes open for the new calendar coming out the first of the year! There might be an Inchie Valentine project you will want make! I hope to see you in class!

Today I went to Apple Hill with my girlfriends. It was a lovely day of estrogen therapy! We started out with wine tasting, and moved right on to lunch! My kind of day! Took a few photos that turned out pretty good. They might seem like weird things to take pictures of, but they caught my eye. Enjoy!

Susan

Great Inchie Gift Idea

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:58:00 +0000

Good evening!

I just wanted to share a great idea for Christmas gifts. In my Inchiewonderland class we made this framed Christmas Art piece. It was very easy to make and I think it came out really cute. I wanted to use my 1" punch to make a pattern of paper for the background, and it just grew from there. I embossed ans stamped on most of the papers and added little Christmas images here and there. Once you get the hang of it you could whip out quite a few with no time at all. I used a lot of images from Art Warehouse stamps and the papers are from everywhere. I just tried to keep the colors somewhat matching. Mounting the squares on parchment and then the brown paper really made the colors pop. Who would have thought brown would be the color to do that? It always surprises me how that works! They looked really nice in the black frames. Let me know if you make some of these Inchie art pieces!

My Rocklin Thunder boys play Roseville tomorrow night! Last game of the regular season and we are expected to win easily. I am still looking forward to it tho! Hopefully my son will get some playing time if they are ahead by a few points. It's been so hard to be second fiddle this year. :( We will find out Saturday night or Sunday who we play first in the playoffs. I heard we may have home field advantage for one or both games. That would be cool.

Well, gotta get to bed!

Susan

Sierra Foothill League Champs!

noreply@blogger.com (David & Susan Porter) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:35:00 +0000

Whewww! My football boys are 9-0! We beat Del Oro for the very first time last night! We are SFL Champions for the first time! When we Win next week against Roseville, we will have a perfect record for the first time! I am so excited that my son is a part of such a talented team! Go Thunder! I am exhausted today from cheering for hours and and jumping up and down! I get so excited I can't sit or stand still! I will have a perma-grin for the next week at least! On to Roseville and then District play-offs. I have a feeling we could do some serious damage this year! I am clearing my calendar for the games!

Got a couple pictures of my Christmas cards from my classes. I wanted to do a class where we focused on embossing and Christmas Cards are great for that because it makes them so elegant. We did a couple of fun techniques like layering over clear embossed images and using Versamark and glitter embossing powders. Not to mention some of the traditional colors and techniques. The classes were fun and I am now done for the year! I am looking forward to focusing on classes for the new year! I have some really cool stuff planned for my students!

Speaking of my students... I have to give a shout out to all my wonderful Stamp Art Students! You gals rock! I can't tell you how much I enjoy teaching and creating classes for you all. You are so positive and supportive! Mwhah! ;*

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend at the anniversary party for The Stamp Art Shoppe! Lots of fun and new treasures there this weekend! Make sure to come down and check it out! Starting next week I will be working there on Friday and after that on Thursdays and Fridays. So, hopefully I will see you in the store as well as in classes!

Have a great day!

Susan