Brenda's Top Ten

Friends! I don’t know about YOU but every year I swear I love this new Annual Catalogue THE MOST. It is almost laughable at this point, but every year I truly do find myself falling in love again! Here are my Top Ten Favorite NEW things coming out!

1.     The NEW In Colors (pg 122) —This is really on my list every year, but how can it not be to have 5 new colors to create with? This is like, my 16th year as a demo, and I am pretty sure these 5 colors are the most original ones we have ever had. They are definitely the most neutral of the bunch for sure. My current fav—Boho Blue. Message me next week, it will probably be different!

2. The Bright & Beautiful 6x6 DSP (pg 129)—I LOVE STARS, like love them. For my wedding my friends and I traced out literally hundreds of stars, spray painted them, and hung them from the ceiling at my wedding. So naturally I am in love with this collection of DSP because it has several star prints AND the most amazing color combinations! Trust me, you will love it too!

3. Level Complete Stamp Set (pg93)—where has this set been all my life? Having two boys, who are into gaming, this set is perfect! Teen boy cards will be so easy with this awesome gaming themed stamp set! I would love to make you some—hit me up! I love to do custom card orders!

4. New and Improved Stampin’ Write Markers (pg 125)—with an increased ink barrel and bullet writing tip, these updated markers are AMAZING! Trust me! And available in all of our new Core Colors, this is the perfect time to give your markers a refresh!

5. Scallop Gift Card Boxes (pg 126)—I give alot of gift cards with having 3 teens and lots of teenage nieces and nephews. I love to spoil my kids on every holiday too so these boxes are perfect for their favorite gift cards!

6. Tinsel Gems (pg 140)—these come in a Three Pack or Four Pack option in a variety of colors that are the perfect size to add a little bling to your projects!

7. Just my Type Stamp Set (pg 69)—over the years we have had a few different type writer sets and I will never stop loving the vintage nostalgic aspect of them. I got a type writer as a birthday present in grade 7 and while I have yet to write my manuscript, I am excited to create cards with one!

8. 3/8 Sheer Ribbon Combo Pack (pg 143)—I’m sorry, but who doesn’t love ribbon? Especially ribbon with a beautiful silver edge in 3 brand new colors?

9. 2 3/8 Circle Punch (pg 147)—This circle punch is a part of a bundle called Circle Sayings and it is a brand new circle size, the biggest one we have seen yet! And I don’t know what SU changed in their punch design, but its definitely more light weight than previous punches which is FANTASTIC!

10. Paper Florist Dies (pg 165)—these are stand alone dies (which is what I refer to them as because they do not have a stamp set attached) are AMAZING! They are the dies used to create the project on the back cover of the catalogue. They have unlimited potential!

Tropical Retreat Weekend

Today was supposed to be the first day of my three day Tropical Themed retreat. I was scheduled to host a weekend of stampin’ with 15 of my favourite people, but the universe has had other plans. We have rescheduled but I wanted to share some of the fun projects I had created for them. It makes me a little less sad about the turn of events.

I created a cute pocket pouch that holds some class passes to some of my favourite workout studios in Edmonton and a voucher for some Davids Tea. I recently shared another project with this pouch style card, I hope you were inspired by it too! The flowers, DSP and color pallet are all inspired but the Tropical Oasis suite in the Occasions catalogue.

Fun tip: Sometimes a stamped image just needs a little something, I find a flick or spray of a Stampin’ Write marker ink is the perfect touch as you can tell on the large flower.

The attendees at my retreat received this cute pouch that had gift cards to my favourite local fitness studios and Davids Tea

I found these cute bags on my recent Target trip and they were perfect for some of the little gifts I had for everyone. A fun stamped tag was the perfect touch!

This was a last minute project! I had already done a lot of the food prep including making my Oreo Popcorn. Here is the link, it is posted on my Lifestyle Tab under Favourite Recipes :

www.stampsandstretchypants.com/oreo-popcorn

Once I decided the retreat wasn’t going ahead I packaged up a bunch of popcorn using the 3x9 Printed Gusseted Cellophane Bags from the Birthday Bonanza collection. The pineapple tag was created using the yellow pigment sprinkles on Daffodil Delight card stock. The top of the pineapple is from the SAB Lilypad DSP. The Let’s Hang Out Soon sentiment seemed appropriate and is from the SAB second release called Rise and Shine. I hope they do brighten up everyone’s day a little bit!

Girlfriends Night Out!

See this space? It wants YOU to come and make it messy with stamps, paper and candy wrappers! I invite you to get your girlfriends together for the ultimate crafters night! Book a private stampin’ session with me making either 3 or 6 cards (typically double of 3 designs) enjoy some treats and wine while you visit and explore your creative stampin’ side. Fun is a guarantee! Message me for pricing and availability :). This is the best time of year to get together to make some holiday cards!

Why do you stamp?

I have really been thinking about this lately, especially as summer comes to an end and back to school starts. It means a return to routine and my busiest time of year as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. I have been pondering this question all summer as I consider how I can find new customers. This is, truly, the biggest hurdle in any one’s business. So how can I share my LOVE of stamping’ with those who have never experienced the magic of ink, rubber and paper! How can I discover someone’s motivation to stamp? What makes people carve out the time in our busy lives for this hobby? How can I demonstrate the creative benefits of stamping? I know I do it because it excites and challenges me, it gives me joy to create something and share it with others. I love to make things for people and I love to make a card that makes my heart smile. So, I am curious…why do you stamp? Or if you are visiting as a non-stamper, what would it take for you to give it a try? Leave me ALL THE COMMENTS! I will randomly choose one comment as a winner and will contact you to make arrangements to send you a thank you gift. I can only ship to Canada—disclaimer!

Hi, its Brenda and I am new here!

This is me in my happy place!

Hey! Welcome to my new blog :) I hope you enjoy this space I am creating. It is a work in progress for me and a huge personal achievement to take the plunge into blogging. I will definitely be exercises my technological muscle in the weeks and months to come as I learn to master this new skill set! You may be wondering why I wanted to begin this journey. Let me tell you a little about me!

I have been a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator for coming on 13 years. I came into the company the same way many people do, I loved the product and wanted to have everything! I also like to craft with other people and this seemed like a natural fit for me as I was also a new mom. I have enjoyed the flexibility that Stampin’ Up! has offered me and when my youngest babe went off to grade one I decided to begin second career with lululemon. I have always enjoyed an active lifestyle and the brand. Fast forward to now and here I am combining my passions into Stamps and Stretchy Pants. The lifestyle portion of my blog will feature favourite recipes I share at my stamping events, my trials and tribulations being a mom to 3, plus a sprinkling of humor and sass, and whatever else is happening in my life.

There are so many people that have helped me get where I am with my Stampin’ business, my role as a mom and wife, supporting me and cheering me on. This blog is for you, a place to share my crafting inspiration and to just be real.

Please be kind and generous with your feedback!