Jewish Celebrations Shalom card by Stampin Up and me

 

 

Shalom to you dear Stampers.

 

How did your Tuesday go? I hope it was a good day and I hope you had some time to play as well with your crafting goodies. Any day is a good day in my books, if I have a little time for myself to create a card.

 

 

A couple of years ago, Stampin' Up! released this gorgeous stamp set called Jewish Celebrations! Now, this silly me, thought it was not for sale anymore, because this stamp set is not shown in the main SU Catalogue of this year. (I am not sure on the ins and outs on that decision, but all I have to say is, that it is a real shame)

Now, a couple of weeks ago I made my own little discovery of the day.. and if you heard a loud squeal, it was me :) This beautiful is still for sale online!!! So guess what I did.. I ordered it and today I was able to play with it for the first time. 

 

 

 

I hope you don't mind me sharing a little bit of one of my other passions these days. I am trying to learn a little Hebrew. I think it is one of my favorite languages in the world. The depth and beauty in it.. is beyond me..

Now, most of you probable know that the Hebrew word shalom is understood around the world to mean "peace." However, "peace" is only one small part of the meaning. "Shalom" is used to both greet people and to bid them farewell, and it means much more than "peace, hello or goodbye"....

Hebrew words go beyond their spoken pronunciation. Each Hebrew word conveys feeling, intent and emotion. Shalom is more then just simply peace; it is a complete peace. It is a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.

According to the Strong's Concordance 7965, Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full.

Lovely isn't it?

 

 

 

Okay.. I had another profound moment today while creating this card.

I discovered that I could use 2 of Stampin Up's punches with one of the main images of this stamp set.

 

There is the hexagon punch (#130919 - $21.95) and the 2 1/2 inch circle punch (#120906 - $22.95).

How cool is that!

 

Please CLICK HERE if you would like to order the 'Jewish Celebrations' from Stampin Up for your own card making and scrapbook pages.

 

 

 

Now, I would like to enter my card in to the 156th Paper Players Sketch Challenge of this week. The talented and sweet LeAnne created a really nice layout for us.  So I tried to implement the sketch and details of her sweet sketch.. but it was trickier than I thought it would be when I wanted to use the circle instead of the rectangle.. Anyhoo.. this is what I came up with.. (smile)

 

Have a beautiful sleep tonight, I know I am off to bed soon.

 

Shalom!!

Cycle Celebration - Sunny birthday card by Stampin Up and me

 

 

Hi dear Stampers.

 

I am glad I am able to pop in with my blog today. I am so excited about this card I created the other day. I was inspired by the Paper Smooches Picture Perfect Challenge of this week. And there is one amazing and sunny photo to get us going. Please hop over to their beautiful blog and leave them some 'love', they really have created some super sweet cards to inspire us.

 

 

As for my card,  I did some punching and I tried to keep it clean and simple. Can you spot the 1-3/4 inch Scallop circle punch in my card? (#119854 - $22.95) The sentiment if from one of my favorite new Stampin Up stamp sets. 'Cycle Celebration'. (#130273 - $20.95) 

 

Please CLICK HERE, if you would like to see this beautiful SU set for yourself.

 

 

The photo of that gorgeous sun, that the ladies of the Paper Smooches posted on their blog, also inspired me to share a little bit of my passion here. ( I hope you don't mind..)

2 weekends ago, we helped a dear friend harvest the honey from the beehive that she has in her back yard here in Calgary. We as a family were so excited to learn more about bees and how to be a bee keeper. If everything will go as planned, next year we will have our own bee hive. We learned that each year, with one single bee hive, you can harvest about 140 pounds of honey.. Oh my, what a huge treat.

 

 

 

 

Did you know, that, there are about 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of food globally and, of these, 71 are pollinated by bees.

 

Just weeks ago in Elmwood, Canada, local beekeeper Dave Schuit lost 600 hives, or a total of 37 million bees. Another Canadian farmer lost eight of his 10 hives.

The bees started dying in droves just after corn in the area was planted, an alarming red flag since corn seeds are often treated with neonicotinoid pesticides, which are known to kill insects by attacking their nervous systems.

 

In the US alone, a full one-third of the food supply depends on pollination from bees -- so if bee colonies continue to be devastated, major food shortages will inevitably result.

If you would like to learn more about the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee, check out the documentary film Vanishing of the Bees. If you’d like to get involved, here are four actions you can take to help preserve and protect our honeybees:

1. Support organic farmers and shop at local farmer's markets as often as possible. You can "vote with your fork" three times a day. (When you buy organic, you are making a statement by saying "no" to GMOs and toxic pesticides.)

2. Cut the use of toxic chemicals in your house and on your lawn, and use only organic, all-natural forms of pest control.

3. Better yet, get rid of your lawn altogether and plant a garden or other natural habitat. Lawns offer very little benefit for the environment. Both flower and vegetable gardens provide excellent natural honeybee habitats.

4. Become an amateur beekeeper. Having a hive in your garden requires only about an hour of your time per week, benefits your local ecosystem, and you can enjoy your own honey! Worldofbeekeeping.com and beekeeping.org are but two websites that can help you get started.

 

The Bee-Action Campaign: Help Stop the Use of Toxic Neonicotinoids

Neonicotinoid pesticides are widely used in large-scale agriculture, but that’s not the only place they’re found. They’re also widely sold in garden centers (including big-name stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s) and are even found in seeds and plants you may purchase from your local nurseries.

Friends of the Earth has launched the Bee-Action Campaign to tell stores to take bee-killing pesticides like noeonicotinoids off of their shelves, and you can help by signing their petition now.

 

 

Well, I hope I didn't offend anyone by sharing this piece of information. I just love bees. I think they are smart, beautiful and so hard working! Without them this place called earth, would look so different.

 

Anyhoo.. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I appreciate your time.

Have a beautiful rest of the day

Inky hugs, Pauline

Post Card & All dressed up Framelits die birthday card by Stampin Up and me

 

Hi dear Stampers.

 

What started out as a super hot and sunny day, turned into a cloudy one this Sunday afternoon. We were thinking of hitting the pool, but now we are not so sure.. Maybe a ride on our bike will be more fun. But before we head out, I wanted to show you a quick peek at my card.

 

I created it for my brothers sweet wife. And just between you and me... I am way to late with sending it..  She also lives on the other side of the ocean, The Netherlands.. so this will be a very belated Happy Birthday card. Sigh..

 

 



 

 

I don't think she reads this blog, so I think I am not giving the surprise away :) by posting this card today :)

I used the All dressed up Framelits die (#130101 - $30.95 for 3 of the cutest Framelit dies) from Stampin Up. To my surprise I realised that this dress  perfectly fits on a normal size card. So, all I had to do, was rolling the die through my Big Shot Machine and Foila!!! there you have it. Oh and did I mention how I love the simplicity and clean look of the dress! Just stunning!

 

(Please CLICK HERE if you would like to order this beautiful SU die.)

 

When I hopped over to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #110, I knew I wanted to play along with the 'Count me in' Challenge.  

 

 

HAVE YOU TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE  Buy 3, Get 1 Free Designer Series Paper Promotion?   With the Envelope Liner Framelits Dies from the Holiday Catalog coming soon (Aug. 1), you will want lots of pretty paper on hand!  Ends July 31.

 

A splash of pattern can give your paper crafting projects instant WOW!  Now through July 31, buy three packs of select Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper and get one for FREE!  Stock up!  Buy SIX and get two free!  There is no maximum limit!

Choose any Designer Series Paper on pages 151, 153 and 154 of the 2013-2014 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog with the following exceptions, which are not included:

Designer Series Paper Stacks

Specialty Designer Series Paper

Designer Series Paper ordered using hostess rewards

 

 

 

Texts messages are so easy to send. Next time, why not send a handmade postcard? It's so much cuter! This Postcard Background Stamp measures 5" x 3-1/2". (Clear-mount Post Card stamp: #130369 - $16.95)

 

 

Well, the sun is coming out again.. So we're going to give this splashy pool a try today :)

Will be lots of fun.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

 

Inky hugs, Pauline

Cycle Celebration friendship card by Stampin Up and me

 

 

Hi Wheely sweet friends :)

 

How is your weekend going?

I hope you are having some time to play, like me this morning.

My hubby went mushroom picking with the kids in the Kananaskis area and I was treated by a dear friend of me to go with her to a soap and facial cream making class here in Calgary.

Wow, is there ever lots to learn about all the ingredients that when mixed and melted together can turn into beautiful creams and soaps. I have to say, that I love to know what I put on my skin. There are way to many chemicals out there, that I really like to stay away from, because they are just not the best for us.

 

 

 

But, before we went to this class, I dove into my craft room and created this sweet card for my dear friend. I inked up for the first time the Cycle Celebration Stampin Up stamp set. (#130273 - $20.95)  I love that cute little bike. It worked so well with what I had in mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This whole set of 6 different stamps is just beautiful.

Please CLICK HERE if you would like to ad this beauty to your collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Freshly Made Sketches - Sketch Challenge #94 was perfect to work with. Thanks ladies for inspiring me :)

 

 

 

 

Well, I am off to bring our kiddos to bed.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Inky hugs, Pauline

Wetlands thank you card with the Canadian Goose by Stampin Up and me

 

 

Hi dear Stampers.

I hope your day is going by pretty awesome. We have sun and that means we are spending a whole lot of time outside!

 Have you noticed this beautiful new stamp set in the new catalogue? Well as a Canadian it was hard to pass this beauty by.

It shows the Canadian Goose so beautifully in this set and it has a bit of an ocean going with those tiny little sea birds.. Oh I love it!

 

 

 

You can find it on page 69 of your Stampin Up Catalogue 2013 - 2014. It is called 'Wetlands' (#126695 - $26,95 + shipping and tax for the wood mounted stamp set and $20.95 for the clear mount stamp set #126697)

 

 

 

 

I created my card with the Paper Smooches Sketch in mind. Please hope over to their beautiful blog to see what the design team has created for all of us to see. You will for sure be inspired.

 

 

 

I also inked up my new cute goosie with my new Smoky Slate ink colour. (#131179 - $7.25)

Classic Stampin’ Pads come in exclusive Stampin’ Up! colors, grouped in collections to make choosing coordinating colors simple. Exclusively designed stamp pad lids fold under to make inking large images like background stamps easy.

* Dye-based ink
* Acid free
* Coordinate with exclusive Stampin’ Up! card stock and Stampin’ Write Markers
* Firm foam pad for great ink coverage
* 1/2 oz. ink refills available

 

 

 

 

The other day we went to a friends organic farm. They have chickens, cows, horses (they don't even own a tractor, they plow the land with the help of their horses.. we picked herbs in the forest and in the grassy fields and made the most yummy tea of it.. Our kids loved hanging out there and help a little. We all were so blessed to hang out there and learn and love on all the animals.

 

 

Cuddling a little chick never gets old.

 

 

 

So much fun to gather all the eggs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used my Oval Collection Frame Lits Dies from Stampin Up,

 to make that perfect oval cut you see on my card. (#129381 - $32.95)

Easily cut stamped images from the Oh, Hello Stamp Set. Largest scallop oval: 4-1/4" x 5-1/8". 6 dies. Cuts single sheets of paper with your Big Shot, Standard Cutting Pads, and Multipurpose Platform.



 

 

This lovely sketched set imbues the peacefulness of the great outdoors. Includes three sentiments for several different occasions.

 

 

 

Well, I am off outside again.. I think our plants need some loving in all this heat.

Inky hugs, Pauline

Perfect Blend friendship card by Stampin Up and me

 

Hi dear you.

Wow, how is your summer going? I hope you have loads of sun and beauty around you these days.

I don't know, if you have been following what happened to Calgary these past 2 weeks. But our city is still in a state of emergency. We had so much water coming our way, that it flooded a whole lot of homes and most of downtown.

Tomorrow will be the start of the Calgary Stampede (ever heard of that one? It is so .. so fun.. Think cowboys and line dancing and rodeo's and pancakes and lots of community getting togethers :) Anyhoo.. this city worked hard trying to get it all ready to go..

 

I am so impressed with all the volunteers who helped out every where and all over the place.

 

 

 

I so wanted to help out around the flooded area's as well and get my hands dirty as well :) but with our own 3 kids around the home and all the schools being closed for a whole week during the worst part of the flooding, the best thing I could do was staying at home and taking care of other peoples children, so they could clean up their homes, etc.

 

 

 

 

I was so glad that we are living on one of the hills here in Calgary and that the water couldn't reach our basement. But, wow, does my heart go out to all those precious people that are struggling right now.. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

 

 

 

 

 

And from the flood, I will hop over to my card of he day. I created it for the CAS-UAL Fridays Clean and Simple Challenge #108.

CFC108: Create a CAS project that has some sort of a material, i.e. fabric, felt, canvas etc

 

 

Well, here you go.. I added some of my favorite Wisteria WonderStampin Up  ribbon to this card and Voila.. it's like magic.. I love creating cards!

Thanks so much for the Challenge ladies and the opportunity to win that super cute stamp set.

And yes.. this is my second card with the Perfect Blend stamp set.. It is just to darn cute.. I can't help myself :)

Well, I hope you enjoy today's post!

I would love to hear from you, as always.

 

Inky hugs, Pauline