Closing out November with Julia Stainton

Here we are at the end of November. The December kits are ready to roll (for tomorrow), but I wanted to share Julia's projects from November. If you've been in the store, you will have seen them displayed in person. This is the one that gets all the attention. It must be those adorable kids :)

And the denim flower ... old jeans + Tattered Florals die = super cool handmade embellishment.

And of course, lots of stitching ...

Julia always makes good use of the kit packaging. Part of the smaller paper bag appears behind her photos ...

And that fabulous Tattered Florals die again with the remainder of the paper bag ...

Julia always does such lovely work and now her cards are available for purchase in the Up The Street store. Stop by for a peek :)

Kids' Card Class

Saturday, December 4th at 1:00 pm (ages 10 and up).
Laura Davidson will be teaching this kids' class featuring Heat Embossing and Sizzix Folders to create 6 reindeer/snowflake cards.
Space is limited, so e-mail upthestreet@isp.ca to reserve your spot today.

December Sneaks from Lesley

I was able to spend a bit of time playing around with the December kit today. I didn't get as much done as I would like, but was thrilled to get some sneak peeks from Lesley. Can't wait to see the rest :)

"Very Vintage" with Mandy Starner

We're only a few days away from December, but I've never gotten around to sharing the design team's work with the November kit.
I love that Mandy is able to show so many ways to use a kit. Although her layouts are typically single pages, she varies the amount and sizes of photographs she uses on each one.
To showcase a single photo, the woodgrain background is interesting without overwhelming the layout.
By using a white border on her photos, Mandy is able to overlap them and still have them looking crisp and seperate.
I love how Mandy has used the trinket pins in this cluster at the top of her page. It suits the subject of the page as it looks as if the leaves are falling into the photos.
Grid layouts are a fantastic way to showcase smaller photos and use up smaller, leftover bits from a kit ... shorter lengths of the borders from the Sassafras papers and punched borders are layered together ... chipboard accents from the November add-on really "make" this page.
If you don't want to haul out your sewing machine to create your grid lines, faux stitching can easily be drawn on or use thin strips of leftover paper for a similar look.
Small photos are a wonderful option for your layouts. 3x4 and 2x3 photos are some of my favorites right now and are so easy to print at the Kodak picture maker booths.
I love all of the dimension in this embellishment cluster. Just keep adding little bits and pieces until you're happy with the look. And then add one more ;)
How adorable is this card? After I saw it, I immediately ordered the two-step punch Mandy used for the cupcakes to stock in the store. And the teensy yellow hearts on each cupcake are accents from the Pink Paislee sticker sheet.

And one more card ... just a sweet little note card with layers of scallop borders and one of the Maya Road transparent doilies. Lovely :)

There are still a few of the main kits and add-on kits left. If you order one now, it can be shipped together with the December kit to save on shipping.

December Sneaks

So this is what we were doing today ...
Packing December kits :)

It's a big one folks. Lots of Pink Paislee Father Christmas, Bo Bunny Noel, Websters Pages Waiting for Santa, Basic Grey Jovial ... some other stuff too. Just can't remember tonight :)

On sale December 1st. Mark your calendar!

Getting into the Groove

Hello Poor Neglected Blog Followers. I must apologize for the sad, sad state of my blog updates. There always seems to be something else to attend to first. Namely, stocking and re-stocking. And moving things around. A lot. But it's fun :)
I've started to get a few holiday decorations up (although with the rain today, I'm sure not feeling too festive) ...
A few new (old) vintage items are in, including this fantastic card table that doubles as wall art ... there are two little hooks on the top that allow you to hang this bad boy up when not in use ... Crazy Pumpkin Man greets me every day and has been joined by some crazy cute little metal dragonflies (at a great price, I might add). A woman was in a few weeks ago and asked if he was a *insert native god name here*. I had no idea, but apparently he resembles some native fertility god. I need this thing out of here pronto. Mama don't need no mo' chillens and I'm trying to touch it as little as possible.

Also new are these wonderful stainless and enamelware pieces. And a vintage spice rack. Neat, neat, neat.

Huge corrugated metal stars crafted by Pennsilvania Amish farmers and of course, many fabulous pieces from Born in a Barn ...

The library cabinet is a favorite of everyone's. When we first moved into the store, I was using it as a television stand.

This cream hutch is one of my favorite pieces. It would be perfect in any scrapbook room.

And these little benches are the perfect gift for grandparents unsure of what to get the little people in their lives this Christmas. They can be personalized to say whatever you want on the back and will be available to pick up within the week. Stop by the store for more details.

Rounding out our tour ... the nummy stuff. New flavours of fudge arrived last week and are available to sample on "Fudgey Friday" every week ...

And chocolate pizza. Oh man. Soooo good. A wonderful quality chocolate base with marshmallows and crisps ... topped with Skor, candy cane and white chocolate. You can't even imagine how good it is.

If you missed the Grand Opening in October, I will be having a Christmas Open House the first weekend in December. Friday 10am until 8pm and Saturday 10am until 4pm. Lots of great sales and draw prizes. Use up your Srathroy Downtown Dollars while you're here.

Hope to see you soon :)

Whoa

So much new product in the store ... where to begin?

Christmas product ...
Bo Bunny Winter Frost
Pink Paislee Father Christmas
Little Yellow Bicycle Christmas Delight (loads of coordination embellishments)
Lily Bee Christmas Town
Basic Grey Jovial (again ... so many embellishments)
Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather
Teresa Collins Noel
MME Holly Jolly & I Believe
Karen Foster Whimsical & Traditional Scrapbook Kits
3 Bugs in a Rug North Pole

New lines from ...
Webster's Pages
Lily Bee Design

Embellishments ...
Jenni Bowlin
Zva Creative crystals & pearls
Prima flowers & branches
Sassafras Lass

Martha Stewart punches

Coredinations Core Couture Cardstock

Stamps ...
Hero Arts
American Crafts
Inkadinkado
Flourishes
Basic Grey
Studio Calico

Also just in today ...
Studio Calico Elementary line and Mr. Huey mists
Elle's Studio Vintage Flashcards & Christmas journaling spots

I'm sure I've missed some. You'll just have to stop in to see for yourself ;)

November "Very Vintage"

I have been waiting for this month's kit for a very long time. Ok ... so a few months. But still. It seemed like a very loooooong time :)
Michelle Clement (our guest designer from July) actually designed the Sassafras Mix & Mend line that figures prominently in the November kit. How cool is that?
I neglected to take a photo of the backs of the papers, but trust me ... they're just as lovely as the fronts. There is a mix of the Sassafras Mix & Mend, Crate Paper Restoration, 7 Gypsies Conservatory and Pink Paislee Sweetness. Also included is a sheet of the Creative Imaginations 12x12 brown corrugated paper. This is the first one I pulled out to use. So fun. One of my favorite items in this kit is the Coredinations Couture cardstock (the teal coloured paper on the left). When I ordered it, I hadn't realized that it was quite so sparkly. It's absolutely gorgeous. I've since ordered it in a dozen colours for the store and can't wait for it to get here.

A nice selection of Maya Road pins & florals, Crate badges & brads, Kaiser keys ...

Maya Road transparent doilies (swoon) & resin flowers ...

Pink Paislee alphas, Maya Road velvet rik rak and Prima lace ...

Visit the store for a complete kit content listing and to view some of the coordinating embellishments available. You can order through the site, by e-mailing upthestreet@isp.ca or by visiting the storefront at 2 Front Street West in Strathroy.

Also take a few minutes to pop by the gallery. Fantastic stuff :)