LunAria Design Studios

If any of you pay attention to the dates of my posts, you can see that I am playing catch up today! Despite the fact that my life has been insanely busy, I have still found time to stamp. I need to get back on top of jewelry design and getting my Etsy shop set up and my shopping cart on here sorted out (hint, hint Tris!). But needing to do and getting done are two very different things. I have given myself permission to chill a bit until Rigoletto is done on March 17. I have a role in Vancouver Opera’s Rigoletto and will be busy with that for the next bit. However, there is always time to stamp!

By the way, the pictures in all of my recent posts have been taken by me! Tris gave me a great new camera for Christmas and it takes great pictures! I loved when he took my pictures too but it’s nice to be able to do it myself. They are not exactly perfect, but, I think they look pretty good for a point and shoot. The camera is a Canon Powershot SD1100. It’s a pretty powder blue and came in a pretty powder blue case. He picked it himself and did very well! Thank you honey!

Here are some pictures of the cards that I have been working on since Christmas.

I made this card for my brother’s birthday. He actually liked it!
Stamps: Season of Friendship, Heard from the Heart
Paper: Autumn Vine DP, CS: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, More Mustard
Accessories: Gold Brads, Big Shot

I sent this card to my Mom for her Birthday
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Heard from the Heart
Paper: CS: Taken with Teal, Pink Passion, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Passion, Only Orange, Taken with Teal, Certainly Celery, Yoyo Yellow
Accessories: Sticky Rhinestones (not SU!), Dazzling Diamonds, White Gel Pen

This was the alternate for my Mom’s Birthday
Stamps: Fresh Cuts
Paper: Urban Garden DP, CS: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: HP Hardware, Silver Brads, CC Felt Ribbon, Big Shot

Another Fresh Cuts card
Stamps: Fresh Cuts
Paper: Yoyo Yellow, Basic Black, Vellum
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: HP Hardware, Rhinestone Brads, BB Ribbon, other ribbon (not SU!), Brayer

This card was a lot of work! EVERYTHING is clear embossed and cut out!
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Paper: CS: Elegant Eggplant, Lavendar Lace, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum, Lavendar Lace
Accessories: Silver and Rhinestone brads, clear EP

So, I know Christmas is over but…I didn’t get to use this set before Christmas!
Stamps: Home for the Holidays
Paper: Holiday Treasures DP, CS: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive
Ink: Basic Black, Choc Chip, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Baja Breeze, More Mustard, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Gold brads, Alpine Originals Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds

Thanks for checking out the posts today! See you soon and Happy Stamping!!!

Sphere: Related Content

Last night I made an adorable stationary holder with my Love You Much Bundle. I haven’t made all the cards and tags to go in yet but it is so cute!

This is the outside and then it opens into this:

I can’t wait to fill it up with more cards! I put a few in the pockets just to show how it will look. Tags and mini cards go perfectly into the plastic bags. I am already thinking of other designs of this - Christmas, Easter, every day… My Mom loves this sort of thing - guess what she’s getting for Mother’s Day?

Sphere: Related Content

This past Saturday was a meeting of my first stamp club. I will be having a monthly card making class at my home featuring Stampin’ Up! products. Each month will feature seasonal products and at least one card that can be made into an any occasion card.  A new catalogue has been released and there are a ton of fabulous new products available. If you ae interested in the class, to book a class of your own, to host a party, or to get a copy of the new 2009 Spring/Summer Catalogue, contact me.

At the class, we used the Love You Much Bundle that is on sale until January 31 and made a mini pizza box holding 4 mini cards. Isn’t it adorable!

Close up of the box top

Close up of the 3×3 mini card

We also made little pillow boxes holding caramel kisses. The pillow boxes were cut from my new Big Shot pillow box die that I LOVE! I am so excited to play with this. My plan is to use the box for my jewelry sales.

Finally we finished the class with two all occasion cards. One using Flight of the Butterfly and Green Tea Designer paper and the other using Inspired by Nature. The Inspired by Nature set is not listed in the current catalogue but can still be ordered.

Thanks for stopping by! If the mood strikes, come on over to the next Stamp Club!

Stampin’ Up! has a great deal right now until January 31 for Valentine’s Day. The Love You Much Bundle includes the Love you Much Stamp Set, the Heart to Heart Punch, and the Candy Lane Designer Series paper, all items from the new Catalogue for only $50.28, 20% off the retail value. For more information, check out this link: valentines_bundle_1208ca. There are only a few days left on this great deal, so if you want one, please contact me asap! Here are some samples that I made with the bundle.

Stamps: Love You Much
Paper: Candy Lane DP, CS: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: HP Hardware, Silver brads, Heart to Heart Punch, RHR Taffeta Ribbon

Stamps: Love You Much
Paper: Candy Lane DP, CS: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: HP Hardware, Silver brads, Heart to Heart Punch, CC Felt Ribbon, Blender Pen

Stamps: Love You Much
Paper: Candy Lane DP, CS: Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Big Shot, Heart to Heart and Scallop Edge Punch

Stamps: Love You Much
Paper: Candy Lane DP, CS: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Rhinestone Brad, Heart to Heart Punch, RHR Taffeta Ribbon, Blender Pen

Stamps: NONE!
Paper: Candy Lane DP, CS: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: HP Hardware, Silver and Rhinestone brads, Big Shot, Scallop Edge Punch

Wow! I have been a very BAD blogger! My last post was before Christmas!!! I really must try to blog more regularly.

Some of you may ask: “What have you been have been doing, Sheila? or “Where have you been, Sheila? However, since I believe that the only people that read this blog are Tris and possibly my Mom, most of you, understandably, will not have been pondering those questions. But….I feel that I owe myself, Tris and my Mom an explanation, so, if you are reading this, I beg your indulgence.

In short, working, singing, teaching, rehearsing, stamping, making jewelry, and occasionally sleeping. In truth, the last few months have whizzed by. Beethoven’s Ninth with the Vancouver Philharmonic went well despite the fact that I felt like I was screaming my head off (what was Beethoven thinking when he wrote the soprano line in that Symphony?!?). Then, I went to Florida for Christmas and got to catch up with my Mom and Dad and brother and sister-in-law as well as ride some awesome rides at Universal Studios and say hi to Mickey Mouse at Disneyworld, all in balmy temperatures ranging from 25-30 degrees celsius. Here are some pics from the time featuring my family, some Who’s from Whoville, Cinderella’s castle with a billion little twinkle lights on it (SO PRETTY!!!), and the Wii that I got for Christmas (EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!).

My brother, Mom, sister-in-law and Dad at Seuss Landing at Universal

My Mom and Dad with a Who

Me dancing with the Who’s

Cinderella’s Castle

Me and my Wii!!!!

The Fam on Christmas morning (see the shorts?)

Of course, I came home to ridiculous amounts of snow and freezing temperatures here in Vancouver and had to fight through knee high snow to get to work and opera rehearsals.

Vancouver or Alaska?

Rehearsals for Carmen started on December 29 this year. This is unusual as we usually don’t start until after the New Year. However, Carmen is a big, busy show with a lot of music and the extra rehearsal time was definitely needed! In addition to work, teaching, and opera, Tris (my boyfriend) came home from Ontario on December 30 and ended up in the ER at St. Paul’s Hospital for almost the entire night and day on December 31. He was admitted with severe shoulder pain and is better but the doctors still don’t know what’s wrong with him. So, since December 29, I have been balancing opera rehearsals, my office job, teaching at home and in Richmond, and life in general. BUT, I AM BACK NOW! AND, I will try to blog more regularly than once every two months!

I actually have a lot of fun things to share…….

I am finally getting some items into my Etsy store. For easy viewing and prices of some of my jewelry items check out my shop here. Etsy only deals in USD so, if you are a Canadian customer and would like to purchase an item is CAD, contact me at sheila at sheilachristie dot com and I will create a listing here on my blog. Tris and I are in the process of sorting out my Items for Sale tab to reflect listings in CAD and will hopefully have everything listed within the week. All of the images of my jewelry items are available on Tris’s Flickr site here. If you would like one that is not listed on Etsy and want to know a price, let me know by number and I will let you know.

I have been remiss is my cardmaking the last few days due to working on my jewelry marketing.  I am giving a workshop on Tuesday night and will hopefully have some more pics to post after that. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

I have added an items for sale page here at LunAria Design Studio where you can purchase my creations and checkout with Paypal. If you are local please contact me at sheila at sheilachristie dot com to avoid shipping charges. As it is quite time consuming getting everything set up on here (as you can see, I only have one item up thus far…), please check out the pictures on Tris Hussey’s flickr page here (thanks for taking the pics Tris!). While I am in the process of getting things going, please contact me directly if you would like to purchase anything.  Just a reminder that I am donating 20% of all pre-Christmas sales to the Food Bank.  Thanks for checking this out and have a Happy Holiday season!!!

I am donating 20% of any card and jewelry sales in November and December to the Food Bank.  I set up a display at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on show nights last week and have thus far made enough to donate $150! Thanks to those that bought, I am very pleased but would like to give more.  As you know, the Food Bank is having a tough year due to the economic crisis.  If you have seen anything in my blog that you would like or would like to view my current stock of jewelry and/or cards, please contact me at sheila at sheilachristie dot com. I am working at getting pics up on here and Etsy but the opera has slowed down that process….at least Tris will have less to photograph after my sales at the opera! Here is a picture of the miniature craft sale that I set up in the rehearsal room at the Queen E. I was accused of being a gypsy carting this back and forth on performance nights but it was worth it!

This past Saturday, November 22 was opening night of Eugene Onegin, the opera that I am performing in right now with Vancouver Opera.  This opera is by Tchaikovsky and we are performing it in the original language in which it was composed….Russian.  It’s been great fun but a lot of work too!  You can check out my singing blog here. Here is a picture of me as a peasant in the show, more pics on my singing blog.

I was asked by the Chorus to make a thank you card for the lady that coached us on the Russian. I based it on a previous design but made it bigger so that the whole chorus could sign it. I made the envelope with my new toy, The Enveloper, that I picked up after a class at Scrapbook Warehouse last weekend.  Raissa’s name on the envelope is stamped with my SU! Lovely Letters Alphabet set (part of my SU! demonstrator starter kit). It is on a different colour because I originally tried to eyeball the letters right on the envelope…big mistake! But, as it turns out, a happy accident! Here are the pics, taken by my sweetie, Tris.

Stamps: SU! Lovely as a Tree
Ink: SU! Basic Black and Whisper White (both Craft), Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy
Paper: SU! Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze

Stamps: SU! Lovely as a Tree and Lovely Letters
Ink: SU! Whisper White (Craft), Not Quite Navy
Paper: SU! Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy

A friend and former classmate from UBC, Rhoslyn Jones, played the leading lady, Tatiana in the opera. Rhoslyn is from Aldergrove, BC (a local girl!) and is embarking on what is proving to be a very successful career. She looked stunning and sang beautifully at every performance. After creating Raissa’s card, I experimented with one for her.  I was clearly influenced, yet again, by Michelle Zindorf, you’ll notice that the first one has the background of the owl card I made and posted about previously. Here are the results of my experimentation:

Stamps: SU! Baroque Motifs, Local King Rubber Stamp Elegant Ladies, Stampendous Marble Texture Cube
Ink: SU! Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black
Markers: COPIC - C3, C5, C7, B000, B00, B02, R27
Paper: SU! Whisper White, Basic Black, Not Quite Navy

Stamps: SU! Baroque Motifs, Local King Rubber Stamp Elegant Ladies
Ink: SU! Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Basic Black
Markers: COPIC - R27
Paper: SU! Whisper White, Basic Black, Baja Breeze

I ended up giving her the second one along with a cluster necklace that I made.  Rhoslyn and two other good friends, Melanie and Jeanine, and I all went out for lunch last Wednesday.  Rhoslyn wore the necklace, I guess she liked it! Here are the lovely ladies:

Brava to Rhoslyn for a fabulous run!  I hope that we get to here her again here in Vancouver very soon!

Okay, so this blogging thing is a great idea in theory but when one is working three jobs and performing in an opera, it can be a bit of a time suck.  So, in lieu of a long post, here are some pics. Photos by Sue Farrant.

Stamps: SU! Snow Swirled
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, and Kiwi Kiss CS, Ski Slope DP
Ink: Riding Hood Red

Stamps: SU! Snow Swirled
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, and Kiwi Kiss CS, Ski Slope DP
Ink: Versamark with white embossing powder

Stamps: SU! Snow Swirled
Paper: Aqua Blue and Navy CS (not SU!), Whisper White CS
Ink: Adirondack Aqua, Denim, Purple Twilight, Versamark with White EP

Stamps: SU! Snow Swirled
Paper: Aqua Blue and Purple CS (not SU!), Whisper White and Baja Beeze CS
Ink: Adirondack Aqua, Denim, Purple Twilight, Versamark with White EP

Stamps: SU! Snow Swirled
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, and Kiwi Kiss, and Baja Breeze CS, Ski Slope DP
Ink: Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss

Stamps: SU! Snow Swirled
Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, and Riding Hood Red CS, Ski Slope DP
Ink: Versamark with silver EP, used the faux metal technique for the embellishments

Stamps: SU! Lovely as a Tree
Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, and Not Quite Navy CS
Ink etc.: Baja Breeze, Not Quite navy, Night of Navy, Adirondack Butterscotch,
clear and white EP, Uni-ball white gel pen

Stamps: SU! Lovely as a Tree and Snow Swirled
Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, and Basic Black CS
Ink etc.: Baja Breeze, Not Quite navy, Night of Navy, Adirondack Aqua,
clear and white EP, Uni-ball white gel pen

Thanks for looking!  Hope you enjoy the cards!