Fun Stampers Journey Kit of the Month

I've never been a Kit of the Month customer with any stamping companies. I figured that I had paper and embellishments and I could buy the stamp set separately so why pay extra for the kit of the month.  I have to tell you that I am really enjoying getting the kit of the month from FSJ (Fun Stampers Journey).  First of all who doesn't love getting things in the mail?  Secondly, I am not always motivated or inspired to make cards or crafts.  The kit of the month gives me that little boost of inspiration I need. The kit comes with a stamp set that is only available to kit members during the month of its release and does not become available to non-kit members until 3 months after its release.  The kit also comes with 4 separately packaged card kits which include beautiful colored cardstock, embellishments and die cuts to create the cards that are shown on the glossy colored instruction sheets. 

I'm not the type of person who follows directions well, unless I'm being paid to do so.  If I see something I want to make I figure out in my head how to go about and it and do it or I watch or read the tutorial really quickly to get the gist of it and then I attempt to make it. That is how I work with the kit. I take out the contents for one card and after looking at the pieces I have been given I start putting them together like a puzzle to determine what fits where.  Then I start inking edges and stamping images and gluing on embellishments and before you know it I have finished a card and can't wait to open the next package to start on another one. Here are two cards I made with this months Kit of the Month.  If you want to join it's only $24.95 each month and it requires a commitment of 6 months. After 6 months you can either renew and continue getting the kits each month or stop getting them. Believe me, though, you will love getting these kits. 

Box It Up

I am inspired by these crafting gurus who are creating out of this world things. I wonder where they get such fantastic ideas.  Perhaps they have a nothing is impossible attitude.  They may see something that inspires them and then just start making it.  I strive to be like them, to be known for making things that are fantastic, out of this world, amazing. I'm not even close to it at this point but I only just started  few months ago.  This is my latest creation.  I saw something similar at Barnes and Nobles with stationary in it and thought "I can make that".  The next one I make needs to be a bit bigger but working with 6 X 6 chipboard (which is what the dimensions of this are) allows me to get more out of a 12 X 12 sheet of chipboard than if I used larger dimensions.

What inspires you to make the things that you do?

Halloween Right Around the Corner

Who loves Halloween? You either love it or can leave it.  I enjoyed it as a kid. My mom was a great seamstress and made us really nice costumes. The clown costume and ballerina tutus were the best.  When my kids were little and I took them out trick or treating I enjoyed Halloween as well.  However now that the kids are teenagers and I live on a cul-de-sac that doesn't get many trick or treaters Halloween has become just boring. My daughter wants to decorate our house for Halloween but why bother when hardly anyone will come that night to see it.  This year we're going to try to get the kids to come over by playing some really loud spooky music and perhaps have a spot light so that kids will realize that its worth coming to our cul-de-sac.

I sat at my desk yesterday, determined to make something.  Sometimes I just need to sit down and start cutting paper to get myself motivated. Fun Stampers Journey just released their first ever patterned paper sets.  Who doesn't love patterned paper? Collecting it is an addiction. Some of my friends seriously need help (you know who you are. LOL).  So, I grabbed the pack of Halloween themed paper and the paper with the cats all over it, their gorgeous yellow eyes staring out at me, called my name. My first attempt at making a card with this paper flopped. I was trying too hard.  Do you ever do that? You just want the card to be out of this world, hit one out of the ball park good, better than anyone else's you've ever seen amazing?  Ya, that's me sometimes.  What usually happens when I get in that mind set is that I end up messing the card or project up.  After tearing apart the first card here is one I came up with for the second and final card.  I hope it inspires you to make something. It's not about how you compare to others, it's about doing your best while loving what you do.

This other card I made a few days ago (again, it was a second attempt). I used the Day of the Dead stamp set from Fun Stampers Journey, the Journey Glaze and the Journey Sparkle Dust. 

3 Dimensional Creativity

Have you heard of 3 Dimensional crafting? Maybe not because I'm not sure that's even what it's called.  I think it's just what I call it because I really don't know what it's called.  It's when you take chipboard and make things with it, anything really. Well not drinking glasses because chipboard isn't water proof but pretty much anything your imagination can come up with (and that you can contort the chipboard into making).  Top names in the business that are doing this and selling their tutorials are Laura Denison, The Gentleman Crafter and Tim Holtz.

I got started making things from chipboard after I went to a crop and saw a woman there (now a dear friend of mine) making something that wasn't a scrapbook.  Isn't a crop where we make scrapbook pages and cards?  Not anymore.  Everyone at the crop were fascinated by what she was making. It was a little store front with an awning and a bay window which she put miniatures in to make a store display window.  I stopped what I was doing, not that I was doing much since I mainly just look through all my stuff at crops and talk (yes, I do tend to talk ....a lot), and asked my friend what she was making, how did she discover this craft, how can I start doing it and where can I find tutorials.  I wanted all the information and I wanted it immediately.  I had found my next passion.

Scrapbooking and card making had taken a back seat to life for the past few years. I would got to crops and fiddle diddle around with stuff, perhaps making a few pages for a mini album but nothing to write home about.  But when I saw what my friend was creating I left the crop that weekend, ordered chipboard and double sided adhesive and black cardstock and waited eagerly for it all to arrive so I could make something.  They aren't as fabulous as my friend's creations but I tried.

I find with paper it's hard to store it on a shelf because when I want to pull a piece out that's not right on top i end up pulling the whole stack off the shelf.  So, I made a paper holder that will allow me to see all the colors easily and pull out one piece quickly.  The side storage area holds quite a bit of stuff.  In the top vertical pieces I store my pop dots and glue dots.  In the little box in between those I can put my glue bottles, glitter or random small trinkets. In the bottom cubbie I store some brads that are pushed into little foam squares. I was really pleased with how this turned out.

Tomorrow I'll post a couple more things I've made, including a glue stand and a Halloween themed storage unit.

Keep creating!!
Kelly

California Fun Stampers Journey Grand Event

I just spent the weekend with almost 100 women and 1 man at The Fun Stampers Journey Grand Event in Pomona, California where the first ever catalog was released. There are over 500 yummy and delicious (Richard Garay's words) products to choose from.

The Event!  The fun started with women cheering for the founder of Journey Blooms, Richard Garay.  Fun Stampers Journey is one of Journey Blooms brands. There are plans for future products such as home products, storage products, stationary etc offered by Journey Blooms and each of those product lines will have a different brand name.  This is going to be a huge, amazing, phenomenal company!  It is so exciting to get in on the ground floor. Currently there are just over 200 consultants across the USA.  That is such a small number considering how big the US is, so for people who want to get into a business that hasn't already saturated the US with consultants this is the one to jump on the band wagon with.

Ok, back to the event.  Everyone was screaming for the super star Richard.  He is an amazing guy.  Just listen to him in his youtube videos and you'll be able to hear how passionate he is about Fun Stampers Journey. He supports and believes in his coaches.  He has an amazing Journey Crew who make sure products are the best quality and changes are made if they aren't the best.  They listen to their coaches and customers. They want to know what we think is working and isn't working, what would be helpful on the website, what products everyone would like to have. They realize the value of coaches and customers.  I heard that all weekend from Richard and his CEO and the rest of the Journey Crew.  We matter to them.  Have you ever worked for a company that doesn't care what you think, who don't care who you are? Well this is not that company!

From Thursday at 5pm until Saturday at 5 the ladies (and one man) at the event were kept busy busy busy.  We made several awesome cards and a beautiful easel project.  We watched as Richard and some of his crew made beautiful things on stage with the Fun Stampers Journey products. Products that included stamps, inks, dies, glaze, glitter, adhesive, many many colored papers, button and jewel embellishments, twine etc etc. We were motivated and inspired by what we saw and heard.  They are dedicated to helping us make our business' successful.

Here are pictures of the projects that were either demonstrated or that we made. Enjoy the Journey and feel free to contact me if you want more information about how to become a Journey Coach. It's a chance of a lifetime and we all believe in each other.

I totally forgot to mention this in my other posts.  The first 500 coaches who sign up are considered the 'founding' coaches and their start up fee is only $150! And what do you get for that $150?  More than $500 worth of product plus you receive 20% off your orders and 20% commission on customer's orders AND from 5-20% extra on volume sales AND commission from downlines.   Follow this link to see what the starter kit includes and to find out more about the company.... http://www.funstampersjourney.com/sites/all/themes/fsj/images/pdf/starter_kit1.pdf

More Cards to Inspire You

I've been busy creating more cards using the Fun Stampers Journey stamp sets.  I love the crisp image that these stamps deliver and the colors are awesome. For these first three cards I used the stamps from the August Kit of the Month. The kit of the month is a subscription based program. Every month for six months in a row you receive a kit that includes a full stamp set, materials to make 5 beautiful cards (cardstock and embellishments), and glossy color full page instructions on how to make the cards.  All this for only $24.95. That's an awesome deal.  The Kit of the Month is not available to non-members until 3 months after the month it is released in.  I love that because why would you bother being a member of a club that releases the stamp set to non-members shortly after you receive it.  It wouldn't really make sense. But the way that Fun Stampers Journey does it non-members have to wait for what members are enjoying right now.

These cards were made using the Floral Notes set.  I really enjoyed using this set because I can color in the flowers and make every card look different.  The card on the right is a drawer card. The flowers/tree (Imagine ATS stamp) and the word (from the Greet and Shout set) fold flat and the drawer slides in.

For the next card I continued to use the Floral Notes set and the word is from the Greet and Shout set.  The Pocket Card is made with one of FSJ's dies (and came in one of the kits of the month. The die didn't come in the kit, just the card. Now THAT would be an amazing kit of the month if it came with a die.).  I added a private message by attaching a little pocket on the back of the insert and cutting a little colored piece of cardstock that sticks out slightly with a large brad attached so that the person receiving the card will know that it's there.

Birthday stamps!  I'm tired of seeing birthday stamps that are plain looking cakes or the same old elegant wedding cakes or nothing-special gift images. That is why I think this birthday set rocks.  The cakes are whimsical and super fun to decorate.  They are in the To You set.  There's a cute little cupcake, some words, a polka dot border and three super awesome cakes included in the To You set.

On both cards I used the fabulous FSJ Glaze.  It makes things shine and if you want to sprinkle on some of their fine glitter it makes the card even more gorgeous. The glaze can also be used as an adhesive. I love products that have more than one use! I could play with these cake stamps and the glaze all day.

I hope you were inspired.  Enjoy your journey   ....wherever it may take you!!

STARTER KIT ARRIVED!!

I received my starter kit and was so excited to get started creating. 

I enjoy making things out of chipboard and now I have a few gorgeous FSJ stamp sets from my starter kit to help me make them look amazing.  On the front of this card holder that I made I used the damask stamp with the Blue Lagoon ink. On the drawer I used the small flower stamp from the Banners set and the Blue Lagoon ink.

This box will hold 4 X 6 cards and envelopes.  Instead of throwing your blank cards in a drawer and having to dig for them when an occasion arrives to send one out keep them in a beautiful box like this.  The drawer does open. Use it to keep your stamps and address labels handy. 

I loved playing with the Birthday Sketch and the Greet and Shout sets.  The images are super crisp.  I forgot to mention all stamps are made in the USA and are made of quality red rubber.  

This is a double slider card.  It's easy to make but your friends and family won't know that when they receive it.  I used Sweet Berry and Black Licorice Paper and ink for this one. I accented using the Journey Sparkle Dust as well as the Journey Glaze. The glaze is beautiful. Just squeeze some on what ever spot you want to look glossy then let it dry. It adds a touch of magic. It can also be used as glue.  Two in one...love it!

 Do you ever want to give someone a little gift and want it to look more extravagant than it really is (like a pack of m & m's). It's just a sweet little something to let someone know you're thinking of them but it's not very lovely sticking it in a card.  Why not make this cute drawer and put it in there? Make an easel card for the top and the person you are giving it to will be so impressed.

I love the damask stamp!  I used it on the whipped cream paper with the black licorice ink.  The awesome balloon stamp, the word and the cute clouds are from the June Stamp of the Month.

The stamp of the month club includes a stamp set, enough materials to create 4 designer cards (paper and embellishments) and instructions.  The stamp sets are only available to non-stamp of the month club customers 3 months after the club members receive their kit.
Enjoy creating!!