Clipper Street and Seth Apter

Yes, that title is correct! Seth Apter spent three days teaching right here in Langley, BC, Canada at Clipper Street Scrapbook Company! And I got to be there for the Saturday and Sunday class.

Anyone else ever have an experience that you just can't fit in a Facebook post or Instagram blurb? Well that was my weekend. I don't even know if I have the words now to describe it, but I'm going to fumble all over myself and give it a try.

I think everyone knows how much I love my LSS, Clipper Street. I am grateful on a daily basis that I have this place to go to, for creative supplies, for inspiration, for a talk and a vent too. Deanna works so hard for us to bring in amazing teachers, all the newest product and the whole team is just amazing. Thank you Deanna and all the amazing team at Clipper Street! I did a post a couple of years ago about this fabulous place and you find that post HERE 
I also wanted to give a shout out to the anonymous person that called or emailed Deanna at Clipper Street and generously paid for half of one of my classes. I do not know who it was, but that was an amazing kindess and I was a bit overhwhelmed by that gesture, Kim and Deanna can vouch for that. So to that person, thank you for your kindness!

I had the honor of meeting Seth a couple of years ago at Creativation when I was there with Emerald Creek. Sometimes I fan girl a bit (okay A LOT, there were witnesses to most of it LOL) and talking with Seth was no exception. But he talked to me like a peer and was so kind and gracious, I was just in awe of that experience. Then this weekend having him teach for two full days and being a part of that, mind boggling. Seth is so incredibly talented and so generous with sharing his knowledge. He was so encouraging in class and walked the room to help everyone! As I listened to him teach and learned new techniques, I also learned much more about creating and "letting your piece tell you what it wants/needs". I found learning from Seth to be such a stress free environment, even though I went in thinking "omg, what am I doing here, I shouldn't be here, I'm not good enough, what if i make a mistake, what if I put something in the wrong place" Trust me, you can have all those thoughts, but after a few minutes of being in class and listening to Seth and seeing him do a demo, those thoughts will disappear! You will feel like you belong there and if you have a question, ask it!! Seth is very open with his ideas and help and sharing his talent. I will always be so grateful for this opportunity and a huge thank you to Seth for how approachable he is, how gracious and kind he is and for sharing so much of his talent with the rest of us. It was an honour to have been in your class Seth.

And how cool is that denim shirt!? It even has paint on the back of it!

Now on to one of the best experiences I have been lucky enough to have.

I think most of you who visit my blog know who Seth Apter is, you can find his incredible art/post/supplies at The Altered Page. And you will want to and follow him and see his artwork, go aheadgo add the link to your favorites, I'll wait! :)

The Saturday class was called Get Baked, featuring Seth's new Baked Texture Embossing Powders that he created with Emerald Creek Craft Supplies. Our first project was a small canvas using the Vintage Beeswax and learning some collaging and mark making.

Finished project! 3 glorious layers of Vintage Beeswax!

 

I love this one! Reheated this section and pressed this stamp into it for texture! Look at the edge of the a and r to see the nice deep impression I got!

 The afternoon was a larger canvas using all the Baked Texture powders. Learned so much about layering paints and creating focal points. And in case you're wondering, the answer is yes, Yes you do need all of the Baked Texture powders.

Not complete, I still have some marks to make. But I love the Chunky Rust I added.

If you're still hanging in here, thank you!! I know this is a long post! Sunday's class was called 52 Card Pick Up and it was an absolute incredible learning experience! I think one of the favorite classes I have ever been a part of. A deck of black gessoed cards and a day of getting painting, stamping, stencilling, collaging and NOT overthinking! Very freeing to just do/create and to do it in an environment where you have such an encouraging teacher that says "if I go left and you go right, that's okay"

Yes, I used a colour called Pumpkin Soup!! I wanted a different colour but it was being used so I just winged it AND I quite like it! Just do it!

Not all 52 cards are completed, but they are ready for collaging! It was such an incredible experience and one I won't forget. Learning to just do and not overthink is a hard one for alot of us, but if you have the opportunity to take a class with Seth, do not miss it! You will learn so much more than just techniques.

Thank you for reading this far and have a really wonderful week!

And as always, thank you for all the support!

Cathy

Christmas Has Begun

I was so lucky yesterday to be able to pick up some of the Christmas dies from the Tim Holtz Christmas release! Before anyone else in the world (well before other stores had them)! How excited were the shoppers at the Customer Appreciation day at Clipper Street yesterday?! Crazy excited!! So many dies sold out so quickly! I was so happy to get my hands on the retro car! It had me at first sight! LOL I was excited to get that package open and try it out! Wow...there are a so many little pieces and yes I did lose two teeny weeny dots for the "i" and for the exclamation point! But perfect chance to add a touch of bling.

The completed card. Nothing to fancy on the first run, I put it together like it shows on the packaging. The blue behind the hills is just blended Iced Spruce Oxide ink then splattered with Salty Ocean Oxide ink.

Here are all the tiny bits you use to put this together. The door panels are there too, just hard to see on my Ranger mat. One thing I did have to redo was the set of black ovals at the bottom. they need to done in white so you get the image of the whitewall tires.

These are all the different papers I used for all the little bits. The plaid and the stripe are from the TH paper stash last year and were used for the bow and gift and the words. The silver holographic I used for the the 3 little fender pieces. I used a shimmer white (had in my stash and never used it before) for the snowy hills, the red for the base of the car is also a shimmery one. Two shades of green for the trees and black and white for the tire bits. The car panels are cut out of a little piece of scrap I had left over from my coffee journal I made.

And again, all the little pieces put together! :)

I am very happy to have my hands on this die and can't wait to create more cards with it. I already have a turquoise cardstock picked out for the next car and on that car I think I'll do white panels. Or not...not sure yet lol. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Cathy

Clipper Street...My Local Scrapbook Store

 
It's hard to know where to start when I want to tell everyone about Clipper Street and all the amazing things about it. 

A very basic start would be to tell you about all the businessy stuff, like they ship all over the world, they have all the newest and favorite products in stock all the time, if you need something and they don't have it, they can usually order it for you. They have parking lot Garage Sales in the summer so you can sell your unused stuff and make space for new products! The store is full and always so organized, ask and anyone can tell you where an item is. Or you can just enjoy yourself and wander through all the aisles and see all the products from some of your favorite companies. I spend a lot of time near the Ranger products and Sizzix and Simple Stories and.....well you get the idea. 

Here is the crew from today after their always sold out Christmas Open House with special guest Kelly from Lawn Fawn!

Look at all these smiling faces! And this was after the crazy day they all had taking care of all the customers and serving us treats and running make and takes!

And it's time for the goofy picture!! LOL

Clipper Street also has amazing classes taught by their staff, and some incredible guest teachers. Always working to bring in the most sought after teachers and always creating and designing the incredible classes for you to take. They offer the classes on weekends, evenings and daytime classes as well. 

I've taken classes with Deanna, Jo, Stacey and a mini one today with Meghan. All of them are amazing and so talented. The classes they create are so popular because you get so much bang for your buck, you create in class and almost always have enough left overs to create more at home. There is such a wide variety of classes, card ones, scrapbook layouts, mixed media canvasses, art journaling....so many interesting ways to learn and create at Clipper Street.

It's all thanks to Clipper Street that I have these two amazing photos and had the chance to meet 2 of my creative idols! 

Learning all about Color Burst and seeing it in action with Ken Oliver, what a great day.

The amazingly genuine and down to earth Dyan Reaveley!! This was something I was so excited for...yes I was the crazy person starting the line up at 4:00 to make sure I got into her class! And this would not have happened with the persistence and determination from Deanna at Clipper Street!

But aside from amazing classes, all the supplies you want/NEED, the businessy stuff, the awesome projects throughout the store that you can take pics of for inspiration.....Clipper Street is really the best of the best because of the people that work there!!

When exciting things happen, and you share it with the girls, they are excited with you. they totally get the excitement. Michelle was working the night I found out I had won a seat in Life Book 2014 and understood my excitement. Linda that was there in the evenings over the summer loved to share projects. This is their passion and you can tell from the way they teach, talk to you and show you what's new in the store. 

Walking into Clipper Street is like walking into an extended family member's house! You are always welcomed, there's joking around and laughs and smiles, and even a few tears sometimes. These ladies treat everyone so well and with respect, it doesn't matter if your a customer that can afford to spend hundreds or a customer that spends a smaller amount, every customer is made to feel like and important part of this store! And it's customer service like that, that keeps people loyal and coming back. You feel like your part of the store and that you matter to them. Seriously....I was trying to decide on a new hair cut and showed Meghan when I was in and decided on a different style LOL  You can be having a hard time with things but when you walk in and start chatting and shopping, you just feel better, like you get to just enjoy what you love and share with others who love it too, and the bad stuff is set a side even just for a little while.
This crew of incredible human beings is led by Deanna, who is so talented and hard working and kind and teaches at the Teresa Collins Event in Vegas. 

Deanna, getting her first tattoo, with Dyan for moral support!

Lori is Deanna's Mom and Stacey's Mom in Law and she is on hand to help all the time and always so organized! 
 

Lori, Dyan and Deanna

Stacey is one of the kindest people I have ever met and helped get donations together for The Salvation Army Art Therapy program and is now a Prima Marketing Educator! 

Stacey on the left with a huge donation for the Art Therapy Program from the staff and customers of Clipper Street!

Kim is always smiling and she got to meet my pretend country music boyfriend, Keith Urban and she is also an amazing photographer. 

Kim

 
Jo and Meghan are always smiling and you can just be yourself around them, (even if your normal self is a little twisted like me LOL) and they create amazing classes to teach. 

Jo

Meghan

And that my friends, are just some of the reasons I love and support my local scrapbook store, Clipper Street and why they continously win Best of the Best in Langley. Three top awards, Best Cards and Stationary Store, Best Craft and Hobby Store, and Best Specialty Gift Store!!

You can find all this fabulousness here in Langley, BC!!

6360 202 St # 105

Langley, British Columbia

(604) 514-2229
Instagram:  @clipperstreet_scrapbook
E-mail: langley@clipperstreet.com

A couple of the pictures are my own, the others are from the Clipper Street Facebook page, used with permission. And you can go there and see pictures from all the amazing classes!

 Thank you for stopping by and reading about one of my favorite places to be! And if you are ever in the Langley area, stop by and see this amazing team and shop for all the latest in supplies you know you NEED/want!

Have a great week everyone!!
Cathy

Circles In Class

This post is doing double duty for me today. I wanted to share this amazing class I took at my LSS, Clipper Street and I wanted to create a project to show at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge - Going Round in Circles! 

I love taking classes with Stacey of Stacey Wakelin Designs! We learn so many techniques and ways to use products and it is a very relaxed atmosphere. She is informative, positive, supportive and if there is something you aren't liking about your project she helps you find a way to change it. My sister and I have taken two canvas classes with her and have really enjoyed the class and spending time together!

Everyone in class received packages of letters (well some went without due to backorders) and that is what some people used to add their words inside the embroidery hoops. We were shown how to age them and paint them to make them more vintagey and less shiny. I didn't have the stickers which worked out fine with me, I knew I had these little wooden words at home and was going to use them.

 

 We started with a blank canvas board and just added our colour, texture, stamped images, tissue images, more paint one layer at a time. We used the Tim Holtz Grit Paste, first time for me, and I love it!! Gorgeous texture, dries quite quickly and takes colour nicely too!

I also brought my buttons home to finish up because I love my Hammered Metal, Burnt Copper Leaves and Charred Gold embossing powder from Emerald Creek. I used those powders on all my buttons and I just love the swirly texturey look I get. 

Gorgeous metallics to finish the buttons

 

 

I painted my little wooden letters to match the Dylusions Paints I used on the canvas. And I had more white space than I wanted for my paper background so I went around the piece with my Fallen Blossom stamps from Nicole Wright Designs.

Lovely stamped Finnabair butterfly on tissue paper and some mica flakes for shine and the fantastic Grit paste in the background too.

It was a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours on Sunday, hanging out with my sister, Stacey, getting messy and painty and having a canvas that I love to bring home!

Thanks for stopping by and have a really great week!

Cathy

Challenges Entered:

Frilly and Funkie - Going Round In Circles

 

Summer Days....

Good Morning everyone!!

Again, I have neglected my blog. I finally found a second job and have been working everyday for a couple of months now. I just finished with my part time job and was very excited to have had two days off this week!! It was very exciting for me! LOL I spent it mostly with my nephews and painting with them so they can enter a kids are exhibit at Opus Art supplies .

I haven't arted much in the last little bit, but I was able to take an amazing class at Clipper Street Scrapbooking, with Deanna. Her teaching for the class called "Black magic 2" was based on what she learned through Prima and Finnabair (also two of my fave sources of inspiration). It was such an amazing class and totally took away my fear of using black!!

We started with a simple white 9X12 canvas board and from there the magic began!

the finished project - Black Magic 2!! It was such an amazing class and I even loved using glitter this time!

I'm hoping to take another class here soon if time permits and I have that evening off of work. Clipper Street is by far one the best places to shop, take classes or even just pop in and share some ideas. The staff there are amazing!

So this will wrap up this post...but there is more to come for sure!! A couple of 12X12 canvasses I did for myself and my sister, a beach festival out in White Rock, BC that I managed to snap a couple of great photos at. Two more projects on my art table...time to get busy and complete them so I can share with you!

Have an amazing weekend!

Cathy