You have to love stamping... it gives you the chance to customize any card to any occasion! I'd bet you some big bucks that even Hallmark doesn't have a "Happy Halloversary" card in their roster.

Yes, today is Halloween and my wedding anniversary rolled up into one happy day. Those who know us well aren't surprised that we'd get married on such a day, but let me tell you -- we sure had a BLAST! Now we get to celebrate our special day by "trick or treat"ing with the kids and just being merry. I wouldn't change our Halloversary for anything.

Here are the cards that Brent & I exchanged earlier today (you'll see he went traditional... sigh) so you can see that real men do stamp.

I admit that I laughed at the holly image on his card, but he just shrugged and said he'd found it lying about on my table so he went for it. I was very pleased to hear he used my scrap drawers for the cardstock pieces, and didn't go for the full sheets instead :)

To better celebrate my Halloversary with you all, I thought some yummy BLOG CANDY would be in order! To enter to win, simply enter a comment below sharing either a HALLOWEEN or ANNIVERSARY memory with me. Bonus points if you have a HALLOVERSARY (but I sincerely doubt it).

What will the lucky winner get? Hmmmm... is it a TRICK or a TREAT? You'll have to wait and see! A random draw of all participants will be held Monday November 5th when I am back from the Hobby Show.

GOOD LUCK!
- Caroline

I'll be at the 29th annual Hobby Show this weekend for my 4th year in a row. This show is always a blast, and I get to meet so many great people there (and I've made some wonderful friends from those I've met over the years, too).

This year I'll be at booth #159 where we'll have loads of displays, demos, tons of door prizes and maybe even a fun make & take for you to check out. I'll also have hand-stamped cards for sale plus several retired stamp sets & accessories too, so please come and check out my specials.

Here's a picture of me setting up at last year's Stampin' Up! booth, before the crowds and mayhem began.

If you come by this weekend, please say hi to me or my handsome hubby Brent, or to any of my fabulous helpers (Kathy & Jessica, Lisa, Helayne, Diane, Krista, Susan, Kerry, Ann and Denise -- all fabulous stampers too).

The Hobby Show is in Halls 1 & 2 of the International Centre in Mississauga, close to the Toronto International Airport (6900 Airport Road at the corner of Airport and Derry.) Click here for driving instructions -- free parking!

For a limited time, you can now get the cute little "Wishing You Cheer" 4-piece set through me at 25% off its regular price! Check out the SCS gallery devoted to this set to get inspired with some fabulous ideas. I think it's an adorable set and at this price, how can you go wrong?!

This deal is only good until Saturday November 3, so please don't hesitate to call or email me to order yours.



GOODY BAG DEAL:
All Canadian orders over $50 placed by Wed. Oct 31 qualify for my stampin' Goody Bag deal.

Each package includes:
- full sheets of cardstock, envelopes, self-adhesive diecuts, patterned paper, card kits, Inspiration Sheets, ribbons, chipboard, accessories and exclusive hostess-only stamps.

Here's an example for you, but please note that each goody package I create is unique & will have different colours, accessories, etc. Just click on the photo if you would like to enlarge it.

I had a chance to visit the CreativFestival (formerly known as the Creative Sewing & Needlework festival) and say hi to many of my fellow crafting vendors there. I'll be exhibiting there at the Spring Show in April 08 and think it will be great fun; I know I had a blast when I was working at the 2006 one and met lots of great people there. Right now I'm prepping for next weekend's Hobby Show, where I'll have my annual Stampin' Up! booth. Hope to see some of you there!

Have a great weekend everyone,
Caroline

Cardmaking without using ANY stamps at all... seems somehow scandalous, when I think of it that way. But I want to share a recent class project with you so you can see what I mean:

1 plain white lunchtin + some clear Rhinestone brads + envelopes + 1 "Winter Bright" Simply Scrappin' Kit = one fantabulous project & loads of fun (even if there WAS no stamping involved).

Click on any image to enlarge:



























So there you have it: 16 completed Christmas cards, one decorated lunch tin (that I could further customize by adding "CARDS" or "RECIPES" to the front, or the recipients name even, and check how just HOW MUCH stuff is still left over!

I'm going to just keep on going with all the extra leftover supplies from the kit, and make tons of cute Christmas tags & mini cards too. I just can't emphasize enough how fast & simple these cards were to put together!

If you're interested in ordering this lunchtin & cards kit to make at home yourself (either to keep or to give completed as a holiday gift this year), please contact me and I'll share all the info with you!

Happy stampin,
Caroline

Please click on images to enlarge.... notes to come!



















All these cards were hand-stamped by me, however some were inspired & then modified from swap cards by the following stampers:

Card #2 inspired by Melissa Roberts
Card #4 inspired by Jen Peel
Card #5 inspired by Lynsay Mahon
Card #9 inspired by Amy Brown
Card #10 inspired by Glenda Travelstead


Happy stamping,
- Caroline

I've been inundated with requests to see all the other projects we were making last night for my "Pretties Kit" class, so without further ado... here they are - ENJOY!

ETA: I added a close-up of the beads on the textured Soft Sky paper, so you can see them better.
- Caroline

A-ha! Y'all have been talking behind my back on SCS, have ya?? Seems the word on the street is that Caroline's got some cool STUFF to share...

It's all good, and this just gave me a good reason to post some more picture's from my Founders Circle retreat (which is where I got the set & matching wheel in the first place).

Here's some more details/samples for you, so grab a bib to clean up the drool :)
(please click on images to enlarge)

Here is one of the cards we'll be making at the "Pretties Kit" class this Wednesday night (Oct 10, 7pm).

I was greatly inspired by a card that Dawn Byers made, and I loved the elegance of her colour choices.

I'll be showing the class participants several different ways you can customize the colour of your flowers, how to use the hat pins & beads, plus fun ways to play with the other embellishments that come in the Pretties kit as well (beads, pearls, brads, etc).

If you are in the Toronto area and you would like to join us, please let me know!

Happy stamping,
- Caroline

...

"Hi Caroline,
I finished up the 14 gift bags I made for Thnkasgiving, and then the 8 cards I made! Oh and I went to have Turkey Too! I used all SU paper and Inks, but may have used a couple non SU stamps (oops!)Oh and I have a BRAND NEW BLOG thanks to sue so you can check out the pictures there once I upload them!
Diane"

Congrats, Diane! Contact me to make arrangements for your new ribbon :)

Thanks for playing, everyone. Later on today I'll post some of the projects we'll be making at tomorrow's "Pretties" class... I still have some spots left so please contact me if you'd like to join us!

HAPPY STAMPING!
- Caroline

On Thursday, I was having a genuinely rotten day. One of those... you know what I mean?

When everything possible is going wrong, and there's no end in sight and you JUST want to crawl under the covers and say ENOUGH ALREADY!

Yeah, one of those days.

Anyhow, I was having one of my monthly Stamper's Clubs that night and everything was already set up for them to do, so I wasn't sure what to do with myself. And already being in a crummy mood...well... who wants to inflict that on anyone? Not me.

So while everyone was busy stamping their projects, I worked adjacent to them on the kitchen table and took out my new "Three Thoughts" Simply Sent kit. Wooweee! Stamping a bunch of cards that I didn't have to pre-cut the papers for? Didn't need to have a creative idea in my head? Had a stamp set that was already DIE-CUT too? Now THIS was stamping therapy, let me tell you.

So here are all the cards I made that night. I didn't cheat and add any additional embellishments, so no extra brads, buttons or ribbons (which is a stretch for me) but I'm so thrilled with how they all turned out!

I made a whack of birthday, thank you and "think of you" cards with matching envelopes and better yet, completely changed my mood around to a happy one :)

If you're in Canada, the final day for ordering these kits at my 25% off sale price is MONDAY OCTOBER 8! These kits can be found on pages 12-14 of the current catalogue (see link on the left-side of my blog).



Happy stamping,
- Caroline

Hello to all you stampers out there in CyberLand,

Happy World Card Making Day!

I'm excited to be stamping with some friends this morning at my 8 card Stamp-A-Stack, where we'll get to celebrate the 2nd annual World Card Making Day together. A little bit of music, a little chocolate.. and lots of stamping. WHOOT!

To celebrate with you stampers who are NOT here to play today, here's a chance at a little stamping blog candy for you: a brand new roll of Stampin' Up! pink grosgrain ribbon!

All you have to do for YOUR chance to win is STAMP a card today and then write me a comment below with a quick description of the card you made. How easy is that?

I'll draw a winner on Monday (our Canadian Thanksgiving day) and see who the lucky stamper is!

So... what are you waiting for? GET STAMPING!
- Caroline

Beginning today, the Build-A-Brad's in the Fall-Winter catalogue are BACK!

These can be ordered in either Antique Brass or Pewter (see page 189). I got a chance to play with them both at Convention and again at Founder's Circle, and I have to say they are the CUTEST and fastest little embellishments to play with! Whoot -- love 'em :)

I have an order going in on Monday so if you want any, please let me know!



Happy stamping,
- Caroline
Caroline LeBel

In case you haven't seen this video making the rounds these days, you MUST check it out... and get your hubby to watch too!

Man Made Card See how to make a greeting card using tools you probably already have in the garage! Watch Video

posted by Caroline LeBel, Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator @ 11:56 p.m. 0 comments

I don't usually post non stamping-related things on my blog, but since Catherine's been a Stamper's club member of mine for a while and EVERYONE know's her (since shes so darn shy and retiring...ha!), I wanted to share this lovely picture of her.

2 weeks ago Catherine and Andrew decided to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in style... and what better way then having the PERFECT wedding party all over again. We've been regaled at our Club meetings with all the fun wedding planning and details of shopping excursions with the girls, etc, that I just had to share.

To many many more decades of love, I raise a toast to you both!

- Caroline

It's hard to believe that it's been almost 2 weeks since I returned from my Founder's Circle retreat trip to Phoenix & Lake Powell, AZ. I joined about 130 other demonstrators from across the US and Canada for this great award time of sharing and fun, and I was able to see many stamping friends that I hadn't seen since Convention, Cruise, or even since the previous Founder's Trip! Of course it meant making NEW friends too, and that's just as much fun. Needless to say, I took a zillion pictures and I'll be sharing some with you here.

It was a time with many many highs, but also a big low as well. The saddest thing for me of all was that my dear friend and downline Marika was quite ill for most of the trip.

She had earned her spot by achieving the #3 Rising Star position last year, and this was to be her first incentive trip with SU (she's also earned the Bermuda cruise but that's next March). As she is primarily francophone, Stampin' Up! had arranged for a French interpreter for her & Maryse (the other French speaker) so they could get the maximum enjoyment out of their trip. Marek was a real howl, and I got to spend much more time with my little Frenchies on this trip.

So while Marika's fibromyalgia kicked in and it meant she missed most of the activities, she was never far from my heart and I hope she's finally starting to feel better.

Here's the 1st of 3 Photo Galleries that highlight some of the activities, places and people I visited while there. Over the next few days I hope to get some more highlights up for you... I'm away on a field trip with Serena's class tomorrow, then it's WCMD and then TURKEY WEEKEND (for us Canadians anyhow), but I'll do my best!

Happy stamping,
- Caroline

World Card Making Day is coming fast... this Saturday October 6, to be exact! It's actually not a Stampin' Up! specific holiday, but was founded in 2006 by PaperCrafts magazine. Here are some fun facts (as per the official WCMD website):

- The exchange of handmade greeting cards can be traced back as far as the ancient Chinese
- Today, card making is a worldwide hobby, especially popular in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- 1 in 6 U.S. households participates making cards
- 86% of scrapbookers also create handmade cards
- 92% of paper crafters create cards more than any other type of project
- The top occasions/themes for making cards are Birthdays, winter holidays (Christmas, New Year’s, etc.), thank you, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day
- Card makers prefer stamps and rub-ons for use on their holiday handmade cards


Here are 3 of the 4 cards we are doing for the Stamp-A-Stack that morning (10am-12pm). I'd show you all 4, but we need to keep one as a surprise for my sweetie customers, don't I?

ETA: Here are the original artists I CASE'd these ideas/layouts from:
1 - Danelle Henry
2 - Deb Valder
3 - Lisa Freeman






















Class details & RSVP info can be found HERE. Even if I don't get a chance to see you this weekend, hopefully you'll get a little bit of cardmaking in yourself!

Happy Stamping,
Caroline