Christmas Blessings Candle

I think Pinterest is the biggest "enabler" around for crafty goodness, don't you? So many beautiful cards, so many new products, that I just want them all!!!

Thankfully, my pocketbook keeps me in check :-)

But when I saw a card made with this lovely Memory Box die - called Tall Tapered Candle - I couldn't resist purchasing it!

I had a holiday table centerpiece in mind while putting my card together, so had to hunt in my stash of dies for the appropriate die cuts to place at it's bottom. This is what I came up with:

The Tall Tapered Candle was cut from a pearlescent white cardstock. I left the "ribbon" section empty, but re-added the pearlescent pieces for the candle sections. I used Stampin' Up's Old Olive cardstock to cut the Memory Box Glowing Candles die (see below), then I proceeded to cut off the candle sections so that I was left only with the leaf & sprig sections:

The wee poinsettia die cuts were added using Poppystamps Small Blooming Poinsettias die set - the perfect size. 3 white pearls were added to their centres (3 mm & 4mm sizes).

The sentiment was heat embossed in gold using PTI's Signature Christmas stamp set, which matches the glittery gold cardstock I paper pieced into the candle's flame.

Hope you have a fabulous day - thanks for popping in!

Brilliant Christmas Gifts

I'm here again to post yet another holiday card I've made recently, and yes, I know what you're thinking ...
I can't believe I'm posting so soon after my last post either! LOL

Usually, when I have spare time (what's that?? right), I`m usually online checking out blogs (I follow A LOT of lovely blogs!!!), or looking at all the lovely cards posted on Pinterest (follow me, the link is above, just under my blog banner ..... ), or cooking (especially on weekends as I like to prepare meals for the coming week. I work full time and it`s challenging getting healthy meals on the table at night when I`m exhausted from work).

I envy those who are dedicated enough to post on a regular basis, and one day, I hope I am one of them :-)

So, back to my card ... SO easy, as truly, this die does all the work.

This is an exclusive Simon Says Stamp die called Brilliant Gifts.

I die cut it from a mirror gold cardstock, as well as some DP from my stash that I thought would suit (I chose small patterns for it to show through, and matched it to coordinated cardstock colours to add variety). My card uses the DP along with Stampin` Up`s Real Red and Gumball Green cardstock.

The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted`s Ornamental Style stamp set.

I have a hard time making CAS cards, so all this white space made me sweat a bit (haha!), but truly, this die is so beautiful that it looks just lovely on it`s own, so I left this card as CAS as I could. Do you agree with me?

Since the diecut is made from metallic gold cardstock, I`m also entering this card on Virginia`s View November Challenge Blog `All Things Metallic`.

Have you seen all the beautiful cards posted for this challenge? You just have to go check it out!

It`s now snowing here north of Toronto - a gently falling, thick snowflake kinda snow. Peaceful ... like Sunday mornings should be. Hope your day is A-MAZING and thanks for spending a wee bit of it on my blog.

Simon Says Stamp Holiday Frame Dies Card Set

Happy Saturday morning!

We are starting to see snow falling here in the Toronto area, but fortunately (for now), it's not sticking around. Tomorrow the downtown area of Toronto will experience the 110th Santa Claus Parade, so it's definitely beginning to feel like Christmas is right around the corner!

When my kids were younger, we loved going downtown to watch all the amazing floats drive by, waving at them, and humming along to the holiday tunes played by the many talented bands that went by. One amazing experience, made all the better with hot chocolate to keep us warm on a chilly day :-)

I'm popping in to post a couple of cards I made recently (I have 4 craft sales to prepare for in the coming weeks so I apologize about my lack of posting).

I purchased this lovely die set from Simon Says Stamp - Holiday Frame Dies - and couldn't wait to use it as I've seen some beautiful cards on Pinterest with it. (Psstt ... Pinterest is my current addiction, and is wonderful for enabling my craft spending habits LOL)

I decided to do a red & navy colour scheme, sprinkled with silver. I used 2 different stamp images, 1 from PSX (G1602) of the Snowmen Trio, and one purchased at Michael's in their dollar bin of a Winter Cardinal (CraftSmart). Both were embossed in red ink inside the frame.

The background was created using JustRite's Retro Sparkle Background Stamp, in silver ink.

I added a few scattered Iridescent 4mm and 3mm rhinestones to bling them up a bit (Pizzazz Aplenty) :-)

Here are the 2 side-by-side:

Have a lovely weekend, and thank you for stopping by my blog.

Happiest of Holidays

I know I've been neglecting my little blog for some time, and truly, it was never my intent! I've been busy creating tons and tons of cards (unfortunately, mass producing them in preparation for several holiday craft sales I have coming up in the coming months). This has taken up a lot of my crafting time, but I've promised myself that I would take pictures of my cards and post them soon. Keeping my fingers crossed :-)

In the meantime, I did manage to put this quick card together with these ice skate diecuts that have been sitting on my craft desk for a couple of months. I added mini white pompoms and silver marker to embellish them a tad.

Thanks for popping in - hope you like my card!

Supplies used: Papertrey Ink On Ice stamp set & die; Papertrey Ink Happiest of Holidays (sentiment); Spellbinders Labels 4; pop dots; silver marker; Pumice Stone Distress Ink; Stampin' Up Baja Breeze cardstock; Bo Bunny DP

Papertrey Ink's (Lack of) Customer Service

I am a Canadian customer of Papertrey Ink and have been for some years (i.e. I've spent literally THOUSANDS of $$$ on their beautiful products). Of course, shipping to me here in Canada is expensive, but as there is no Canadian supplier, I don't have much of a choice. On occasion, perhaps once a year, I go into the US for vacation and arrange to ship my goodies (from Papertrey as well as other online suppliers) to a Kinek point located just across the border. I avoid the shipping costs and duties, and pay a minimal $5 pick-up fee.

One such occasion occurred recently, and I had actually placed SEVERAL ORDERS with Papertrey to pick-up at Kinek during my vacation, my last one including a die set that was recently re-stocked and for which I ordered another set for a friend (as we often combine our orders). Well, when I opened the box, one of those die sets was missing - only 1 was shipped, so I contacted Customer Service (Julie Heskamp, the owner of Papertrey Ink).

Of course, by this time, I was back home from my vacation here in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). Actually about an hour north-east of Toronto.

Julie was very quick to reply, and exceptionally pleasant ("hope you're having a fabulous day" etc.), and replied back to me that yes, IT WAS THEIR ERROR IN NOT SENDING THE 2ND SET.

When she advised me of her resolution, it floored me!!! Even after admitting it was THEIR FAULT, they advised me that they could only send the missing die set to the original destination - i.e. the Kinek point in New York state, which is a 3-hour drive (one way) from my home!!

When I explained my situation - the distance, the pick-up fee, the fact I wasn't going to be visiting the States again for some time, the fact that almost all of my orders have been shipped to me here in the GTA with those few cross-border occasions, the fact that 1 die set can be sent to me here in Canada for minimal cost, and the fact that they admitted fault in this situation - she reiterated that they were only willing to send it to the original destination ("company policy"), or I could receive a credit for the $10 product.

It's a shame how dreadful their "Customer Service" is. They definitely have a way of making customers feel like their satisfaction is not worth their efforts or added expense, no matter how small.

No wonder they have an "F" rating at the BBB!

I'm saddened because I still like their product and realize that my decision to cease buying from them would mean absolutely nothing to them, no matter how much money I've spent with them over the years. I also can't help thinking that, if I were an American customer, would they be willing to send that missing die set to my home address in the US, or would they still insist on sending it to the Kinek point because it's their "Company Policy"??? I mean, 1 US address is the same as sending it to another US address, right?

It's highly likely it's because I'm a Canadian customer and it's too much trouble for them to correct THEIR error by sending the die set to me here in Canada at an added cost to them.

Shame on Papertrey Ink!

Neon Happy Birthday - Virginia's View Challenge #5

I have been following Virginia Lu's blog for a little while, inspired by her creativity and card designs (as well as her hilarious antics involving her DH, Dr. John). In fact, when she started her "Virginia's View Challenge" blog recently, I had every intention of playing along.

Five months later, I have finally managed to make a card to get in on the incredible fun (where does the time go??). And what could be better than this month's challenge than to use die cuts??? I mean, seriously, you should see my die collection! I have a terrible addiction to those lovely metal things, and there is no end to the fabulous designs coming out all the time. Can one ever have enough dies? I have yet to discover the answer to that, so in the meantime, I'll continue to buy the ones that catch my eye ;-)

This card uses the lovely Memory Box Blissful Butterfly Border, paired with the Papertrey One Liners: Happy dies -

I've also been wanting to play with some neon cardstock I picked up a while back, so took the opportunity to use the colours with the butterfly border die. I gave the white panel some texture by running it through my Cuttlebug with the Papertrey Linen & Canvas Impression Plate die, glued the border die on a slight diagonal, filled each pocket with the neon cardstock diecuts, then adhered the "Happy" diecut at the base. I can't tell you how hard it was to leave the top portion alone ... have I mentioned how difficult I find it to make a CAS card??? LOL

The inside of this card completes the sentiment with "Birthday".

So there you have it ... my entry into this month's Challenge - to use diecuts. Why not join in on the fun?

Trillium Gift Card sets

If you read back on a previous post in which I featured a Retirement card for a dear friend, you'll know that I picked up the My Favorite Things Die-namics set "Lily" as I thought it would work nicely for a "Trillium" flower, the official flower of our Province of Ontario. My SIL requested a card set to give as a gift when she visits a B & B this summer.

I came up with a couple of designs that feature this lovely die set. This is my first:

The first design uses Stampin' Up's Hardwood Background stamp on the main panel stamped in (SU!) Crumb Cake ink on Kraft cardstock, then stamped again on white cardstock for the inner circle that holds the flower die image. I surrounded the circle opening with a Spellbinders Stately Circle die in (SU!) Garden Green cardstock, the same colour cardstock also used in the flower & stem using the Die-namics Lily die.

The sentiments on all the cards were stamped in (SU!) Garden Green ink using PTI's Wet Paint Stamp Set, a current fave :-)

Of course, thinking perhaps she wouldn't like it, I went back to the drawing board and came up with another design:

The second design I decided to leave as blank cards to be used for any occasion ... but using some of the same elements (i.e. Garden Green cardstock, the exact same flower).

A Spellbinder's Floral Oval die surrounds the lovely "Trillium" flower, and I used some neutral designer paper that I had in my stash. I added a bit of bling around the upper right corner of the oval by gluing 3-3mm Yellow Gold Pearls purchased from Pizzazz Aplenty, my favourite supplier of bling in so many amazing colours & sizes! (Pssst! By the way, they also happen to be having one of their BOGO sales, so head on over to their site & stock up!! You have until the end of the month, or until supplies last.)

Hope you like my "Trillium" cards & Happy Canada Day!