Originally I planned to have a post for you once a week but as usual life does get in the way or let’s say a few projects have. I am back from Pitt Meadow’s where I taught 6 classes in 3 days. What a “ride” that was. Stamps, ink, foil, great tape and glitter “flew” everywhere. I met lovely ladies that live in and around the Vancouver area and got to spend time with close friends. Worked hard and played hard and of course took tons and tons of photos.

With Anacortes came a few days with Linda Hoensalaar, her beautiful sister Sarah and their lovely friends. Here we feel so welcome it is like our American home. I am always overwhelmed by the beauty of Anacortes and I love, love spending July 4th there. The parade, “Judy and Ross’s”, 4th of July party and watching the fireworks from Sarah’s balcony = 3 days of bliss. I am an “Anacortes, wanna be” for so many reasons.

Be still my "Anacortes, loving heart".

Our "Anacortes lovelies" & cherished friends.

Next was all the wonderful days teaching at “Be Creative”. Haroldine Wingfield and her wonderful husband Bob make us feel so welcome in their home that this is an event both Brian and I look forward to. I teach and play with Haroldine “and the gang” and the guys look after us. Throw in the beauty of Pitt Meadows, a walk on the dike, card playing, “farkel playing” and lovely “surprise” visits from more great friends (Diane Baldwin of Scrapbook Central fame), shopping and sharing ….. well, we just wanted to stay and stay and stay.

Teaching .... okay, sharing, laughing and playing "alot".

More playing ..... NO stamps involved .... a rare moment.

Walking on the dike .... this is just minutes from Haroldine's & Bobs .... "of course" I have stamps in my pockets but these mountains need no embellishment.

Good food, great friends and wonderful memories to last a lifetime or until next year when we make more (memories that is).

The classes that I taught all began with white “superstock” which you can purchase thru “Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine”. I truly love this paper and to be truthful use it most of the time. I love the “substantialness” of this cardstock. It will take the “many layers of altering” that I love to do and beg for more. 99% of everything I created in these projects was done using this “fab stuff”. The only things that were not made from it is the ribbons, the fibers (love, love my “Wonderfil” fibers) and my “Judi-Kins” embossable window plastic that I am totally “over the top” with as well.These classes will be published in the wonderful “zines” that I am so blest to write for, Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine & Scrap & Stamp Arts. We step them out photographically so you can follow along at your leisure and create your version of one of these fun and innovative projects orrrrrr you can take a class or two from me at one of the “Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnivals” that I will be teaching at in Edmonton & in Calgary or at “Scrapfest” in Oshawa.

If you are interested in an “over the top” weekend where I will be teaching 4 or more of these projects, come join us at an event hosted by Diane Baldwin at “Scrapbook Central”. Diane is putting together our 2nd annual event where we stay at an oceanside resort and stamp & crop the weekend away on breathtaking, Vancouver Island. Bring a friend and come share and play with us for a weekend you will love.

What used to be "just white superstock" is now special projects for special people. I love what I can create with rubberstamps, "Clearsnap stamp pads & ink" and white "superstock".

I will look forward to meeting some of you at these wonderful events where we all get to share the joy that our rubberstamps and stamp pads bring to us when we are creating, sharing and laughing together. A “HUGE THANK YOU” to “Clearsnap”, “Frog’s Whisker’s Ink”, “Stampendous”, “Impression Obsession”, “Acme United” and “Letraset” for sponsoring these wonderful classes that I am privileged to share with you. AND, AND, AND …. a hug to all my friends that I made while teaching at “Be Creative”. I will see you next year when we “indulge” our creative souls one more time.

I have one more very special photo to share (I could share many, many more but I have to get back to my projects). This is a lovely shot of two amazing people who Brian and I feel so blest to have as friends. THANK YOU Haroldine and Bob for all you bring into Brian’s and my life. We miss you and look forward to being together again to laugh, to share, to shop (you still have one more TV to buy …. tee hee) and to simply enjoy each other’s company.

Our "lifetime" friends Haroldine and Bob .... miss you guys!!

With smiles and ink and more than “one” stamp,
Cathie.

Obviously, I will have to stop counting my posts at some point but it is just a little incentive for me to “stay focused” and “remember” to get them done …. “a little ADHD here and I do have a good memory but it has been described as “short” (insert giggle). I am blogging from my motel room as I am teaching at Haroldine Wingfield”s lovely store in beautiful, Pitt Meadows, B.C. for the next couple of weeks and although we are not with them presently (Haroldine & Bob) we will be returning after we celebrate “July 4th” in this gracious, scenerific, little town on the ocean called Anacortes. Love, love it here. We will spend time with my good friend Linda, attending a parade, a party and then watch the fireworks this evening from Sarah’s house up on the hill. A “little holiday” tossed in with some wonderful work/sharing/giggling/inking/stamping & much more at Haroldine’s.

Haroldine Wingfield owns a store named “Be Creative”. She has owned and operated it for the past 19 years and each and every nook & cranny is stuffed FULL of lovely, stampingly creative, stuff. If you are ever in the Vancouver area, you NEED to seek her out. If you love to stamp and love to create this is a “destination spot” for you. I will be teaching 6 classes there over the next couple of weeks and I am looking forward to sharing with each and every one of her clients. Let the “ink fly” and the “stamps sing”.

In my last post I spoke (typed) of pages and cards from years back that have not lost any of their color intensity since the day I made them, even though they have have been subjected to fluorescent lighting for years on end as they were displayed in my family store for that long. The photo I am attaching to this post is one of those projects. The page is 10 years old and has lost no color intensity at all due to the fact it was created with “Clearsnap’s“, pigment line of ink. This classic style of pigment ink is one of the most lightfast inks on the market today. Choosing this style of ink allows you to create projects you can enjoy throughout your life and not feel the need to hide them in a book. Of course, you will want to protect them from direct sunlight as “she” (the sun) has the power to suck the color out of anything.

As you can see “back in the day” (what day and what does this really mean? (lol)) 10 years ago we were all heavy into “direct to paper”. This technique was made popular by the good folks at “Magenta” and is still one of the best background building techniques I know. My “stamp smoosh” and “smack down” techniques are derived from this idea and those of you who know me, know how much I use those. The stamps I used in the background are Magenta’s as well … the hydrangea, well I am not sure, and the “text technique” I found in a magazine way back then. If I was at home I could check both these out for you as I still have the stamp and the “article” I got the text idea from but because I am sitting in this cozy little motel room in lovely “Anacortes” that info will have to wait. The point of this particular blog …. get your pigment ink out and use it. I know you have this classic style ink in a drawer somewhere and even if you bought years ago, it will still be “good to go”. It may need re-inking but you should be able to get your hands on those. In Canada I know you can get them at Haroldine’s, “Be Creative” store in Pitt Meadow’s, Diane Baldwin’s store, “Scrapbook Central“, on Vancouver Island, Sandy Hobbs carries them thru her online store called “Scrapbooking Fanatics“, and Kathy at “Scrap & Bean” in Edmonton I believe has them too. Remember, your stamp pads are “the vehicle” and the re-inkers are “the gas for your vehicle”. Personally, I believe I would buy the re-inkers before the stamp pads … they mean (the re-inkers) that much to me in “my stamping life”.

With smiles and ink and “re-inkers”,
Cathie.