Prince of Peace Christmas card by Stampin Up and me

 

 

Hi dear Stampers.

Thanks so much for stopping by. As always I love to have you visit.

& Yes, that's right. Here is my first Christmas card of the year :) I know, I know...  many of you start creating these cards in July.. But.. I am usually kinda late with my beauties.

But today I thought.. why not get this 'party' started :) We will see, who knows.. maybe this is going to be a fling.. and this is all that it is going to be for this year :)

I have to admit, I am still in denial about all the snow here in Calgary.. I am still wishing it was summer.. so creating this card .. kind of was a wake up call for me. So yah.. it is winter and I better face the facts of the cold snow and wind outside :)

 

 

 

The Stampin Up Only #83 Challenge Blog, has one interesting challenge this week. It is called: A Favorite Sentiment.  

 

Well, this new Stampin Up stamp is for sure one of my favorites. It is called Prince of Peace. (#134811 - $8.95) To me, this is what Christmas is all about. That the Son of the most High God is born and that we can celebrate His birth and His life. Don't get me wrong I also love connecting with our friends and family during these Christmas holiday times.. But I couldn't do one without the other.

 

'Celebrate the birth of Christ with this label. It will make a great addition to your Christmas cards and other holiday creations + it coordinates with the Deco Labels Collection Framelits Dies. 

 

Have a beautiful evening!

Inky hugs, Pauline

Kind & Cozy Cupcake Thinking of you card by Stampin Up and me

 

Hi dear Stampers.

 

Welcome back to my blog. & Thanks for stopping by again. First of all, I totally want to thank you for all the Blog Love I got after my last post. It so made me smile. It was so good to read your little notes of encouragements. I love how this blog and these 'silly' cards of me, have the ability to make me feel connected with so many other talented crafters out there. You all are such an inspiration to me in your art and creativity. Thanks for being that sweet blog person in my life, that takes the time to send me a little note.. it is so appreciated.

 

 

 

 

This morning I hopped over to the Mojo Monday sketch #318 Challenge and got  inspired by Julee's sketch. Did you see all those talented ladies at work this week. I am sure they put their sweet creativity hearts out there each week to make us smile.

And yes.. I wanted to play along.

 

For the first time I used my new Stampin Up Kind & Cozy stamp set. I so Love this set!! & It matches so well with my SU Cupcake punch.. It kind of has the same flair to it.

 



Well, I hope you enjoyed this sweet little post of today. I sure enjoyed putting it all together.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Inky hugs, Pauline 

Backyard Basics birthday card by Stampin Up and me.

 

Hi dear Stampers.

 

Thanks so much for hanging in there with me. I think that this has been the longest time I have been away from my blog. A lot of beautiful and fun things have been happening in my life and creating cards have been .. lets say... less present in this daily life..

I have had the opportunity to photograph the sweetest families these past few months. What a huge blessing and joy has that been. + I have been editing their photos for many hours after these photo shoots.. Fun, but making cards.. kinda got into the back ground of this little side job...!

But now winter is completely back in Calgary and with that I have been more inside my home then during those gorgeous summer days.

So, today I was wandering around my home and peeked into my craft room.. and suddenly I just had to play with all my beautiful goodies.  I hopped over to some of my favorite Challenge blogs to see if I could play along. And guess what I found...



 

 

The sweet and talented Jaydee from The Paper Players created one super cute Challenge (#170) this week.. Called 'Wildlife". I hope butterflies and (tropical) birds are considered .. wildlife as well. They do live in the wild (smile) that counts for something right :)

 

 

 

My sketch (#110) I took from the Freshly Made Sketches of this week. Dear Rita.. who always rocks her cards.. just like every lady on that blog.. created it. I loved working with it.

 

 

I used the 'Backyard Basics' and the Positively Chevron - Stampin Up stamp sets to create my card.

2 great stamp sets, that I will use for sure on many other cards. 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, my bed is calling me.. it is kind of tricky with this time change.. yesterday it was already my bed time.. at this time of night.. but this evening it shows that it is an hour earlier then my body thinks it is.. And you know, how it goes when you have kids.. they are still up at the same time.. because they don't care if it the clock says anything different.. So I am off to bed.

I hope you will have a beautiful week and thanks for stopping by.

 

Inky hugs, Pauline

Jewish Celebrations - Shalom card by Stampin Up and me

 

Hi dear Stampers.

 

Woo hoo!  It's finally time to order from the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog.  There are so many wonderful choices of stamps, paper and embellishments for Fall, Christmas and winter holidays!  What's your absolute MUST HAVE (or two.. or 3.. or 4)? 

 

 

I have been so busy these last couple of weeks, that I haven't even ordered anything yet.. but I hope that day will come soon.

 

Please CLICK HERE, if you would like to take a peek at the NEW SU Holiday Catalog of 2013.

As for my card today. I had the Jewish Celebrations stamp set still laying on my desk and thought I would give this set another try. I loved working with it the other day and couldn't wait to try the other image that is also included in this gorgeous stamp set. The Menorah and the star of David.

 

I used the Clean and Simple Stampin Challenge #252 of this week to create my card. The banner didn't quite fit under my main image, so I pushed it a bit to the side.

Our Creative Corner Challenge - Words, words, words - of this week also fitted perfectly with what I had in mind for my card today.

So there you go..

Have a beautiful rest of your day.

Inky hugs, Pauline 

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