Hello Fall

 This is one of the cards we'll be making at our Fall Stamp-a-Stack on October 28th. I've been experimenting with StampKeeper.com. Take a look - it's a great site where Fun Stampers Journey coaches and Close to My Heart consultants upload projects with pictures, instructions and supply lists. You can browse through many projects, click on one, and have all the information you would need to replicate that project, along with a list of the supplies that are linked directly to the creator's online website so you can just click to shop! Here's the example of the supply list for this card. (This sample isn't clickable! But you can go to funstampersjourney.com/wilmapayne or email me if you'd like to order any of these items.)

sk# 49

Product List

Butter Cream 8.5 x 11 Cardstock

[CS-0006]

$6.95

Whip Cream 8.5 x 11 Cardstock

[CS-0040]

$6.95

Cocoa Powder True Color Fusion Ink Pad

[IP-0016]

$7.95

Summer Days True Color Fusion Ink Pad

[IP-0042]

$7.95

Limeade Splash True Color Fusion Ink Pad

[IP-0019]

$7.95

Journey Twine Natural

[AC-0005]

$5.95

Journey Foam Squares - small

[AD-0084]

$2.95

Journey Foam Squares - medium

[AD-0085]

$2.95

Journey Glue Dots - small

[AD-0083]

$3.95

Hello Fall Bundle

[BD-0299]

$35.00

Hello Fall Die Set

[DI-0311]

$18.95

Hello Fall Stamp Set

[SS-0450]

$19.95

January Class Cards

I just realized I hadn't posted pictures of the cards we made last weekend at our January class!  It was a fun day with a great group of ladies. I always enjoy getting together with them.

Watercolor lift

Pan pastels and stencils

Inspired by (and totally copied from!) Jeanne Bobish,
fellow FSJ coach

December Card Class

Today we did these five projects at card class.  Since I haven't been able to have a card class since August, I decided to add the blue angel and the treat bag as an extra little gift to the ladies.
    
I provide a two-page instruction sheet to my class participants - this month I had to shorten it, so it doesn't include the dimensions of the layers, colors, etc., but I've shared it in my DropBox here if you would like to download it: December Card Class Instructions
Hopefully I'll be back posting more regularly now that we're home from various trips.  I'll post pictures from our Thanksgiving visit with family in southern Oregon soon.

Denise's Class Today

I attended a card-making class today, put on by fellow FSJ Coach Denise Weiger.  We had a great time and got to play with several new items (pan pastels, color splash pencils, and color burst pencils).  I had never tried the triple-stamp technique, so was excited to give that a try.  AND - she fed us!!  A delightful croissant and chicken salad sandwich, home-made chocolate chip cookies, and pineapple-coconut drink.  Yum.  We had a lot of fun, and made 5 lovely cards.  Thanks so much, Denise - it was a real treat to attend your class today.

Just a few meandering thoughts...

Oh my - I just realized how the last couple of weeks have flown past, and here it is, AUGUST!  I have so many items on my "To Do" list, and I don't seem to be getting any of them done!  Summer is a time for relaxation and friends, so much of that list will have to take a back seat for now, but I really need to think about my August class.  I found some time yesterday to do a little stamping, and came up with this.  Not sure it will make the cut for the class (might be too time-consuming), but I like it anyway.  I used PanPastels on the background, and colored the back of vellum for the butterfly wings. (The butterfly die is not FSJ - not sure what company makes it.)

We were blessed to have a quick visit from my cousin and her daughter from Wisconsin this past weekend.  My mom came out also, so our time was spent eating and visiting, of course.


The weeds continue to grow no matter what I do to discourage them, so I need to get out and spend some time on my knees in the dirt...an enjoyable activity early in the morning before it gets too hot.  Still no tomatoes or peppers, but we planted late this year. The plants themselves are looking good.

We have a new fawn.  Five or six deer visit our "pond" (just a garbage can lid I keep filled with water) a few times a day.  Last night we sat on the deck watching the baby tentatively exploring the back yard.

Speaking of the deck, we finished the last railing on the new extension.  The only thing left to do on that project is to install the step.

And...I'm really excited to have my FIRST Fun Stampers Journey recruit!  Deb Muniz joined FSJ in July.  I'll be sending this card her way later today.  Welcome to the journey, Deb!

July Swap

Occasionally I participate in a card swap with stampers all over the country.  It's a great way to get new ideas.  I made several copies of this card for the July swap, and can hardly wait to see what I get back!  This one was fairly easy to mass produce.  I love the way sponging with a bit of the yellow Pan Pastels makes the bulb light up. I also used silver Pan Pastels on the base of the bulb.  I got BOTH of these stamp sets free when I went to the Fun Stampers Journey Convention...already saving up for next year! ;-)


Supplies:
Whip Cream Card Stock (CS-0040)
Lemon Drop Card Stock (CS-0018)
Retired Black & White Paper Pack
Sun Rays (DI-0108)
Rich Sorbet Pan Pastels (JM-0082)
Brush Silver Pan Pastels (JM-0097)
Black Licorice Ink (IP-0041)
Happy Sentiments (SS-0304)
Delightful Light (SS-0344)
Foam Squares (AD-0084, AD-0085)

Pan-Pastel Dahlias

Happy Monday, everyone!  I had such a nice weekend - I shared Saturday with a lovely group of ladies (and one young gentleman) at my monthly card class, and met a new crafter when she happened to hear one of us mention "VersaMark" and came in to see what was going on.  On Sunday, friend and fellow-Coach Denise W. and I drove up to Colorado Springs to my up-line's team meeting where we shared ideas and learned lots of new things.  I'll be sharing the make-it projects and a swap from that meeting later this week.

I finally finished this card after my first experiments with Pan Pastels.  

I tried using a stencil for the background, but discovered the pastels didn't blend into the card stock, and there was a LOT of excess color dust that smeared when I tried to remove it. The color was vibrant, but as you can see, it looked pretty messy!


So I scrubbed away at the surface with a paper towel and succeeded in removing the excess color, creating a softer look but also smearing the white areas.
We were told at convention that the pastels would erase with any eraser, so I grabbed a pencil with a relatively clean eraser and started cleaning up the white areas.  It WORKED!!  But since I really don't want to work that hard on every card, next time I'll try daubing the color onto the surface instead of rubbing - or else start with gesso or modeling paste through the stencil to create the design, then pastels on that surface.

The dahlias were a bit easier - I just rubbed the color on.  The pastels blended very nicely, and I didn't need to worry about going outside the lines since I was cutting them out anyway.


I really like working with the pastels, but know I need more practice!  These will be available on July 1st on my website:  www.funstampersjourney.com/WILMAPAYNE.

Materials:
Dahlia Burst (SS-0203)
Rich Sorbets Pan Pastels (JM-0082)
Happy Sentiments (SS-0304)
Artful Wall Stencil (JM-0088)