Another swap? Are you kidding me?

Remember me?  The one who swore off all swaps until the end of time?  Well, the end of time certainly came a lot faster than I anticipated because suddenly I've agreed to be part of another swap.  This is a perfect time to say Oy vey!

A friend of mine is having a swap using the brand new stamp sets that are being released each month this year in celebration of Stampin' Up!'s 25th Anniversary.  The one I chose to do is the set released for May:  Best of Brides and Babies (item #133482).  So far it's probably my favourite set with the Best of Butterflies being a close second.  You can tell from the name of the stamp set that I would be having a choice of making a baby card or a wedding card, right?  That was a really difficult decision.  The stamps for each were so appealing.  After changing my mind several times, I finally chose to do a wedding card.

You can see from the images in the stamp set that any of those stamps would be fun to use.  For my wedding card I decided to use the Bride and Groom stamp as well as the Bells stamp.  

The designing process can be really difficult insofar as there are so many ways one can use the stamps and also so many colours one can use and so many ways one can use the products. So I decided that I would use the Vellum Cardstock but first emboss it with my Framed Tulips embossing folder.  I love the way vellum turns opaque and white wherever it is embossed.  The pattern of the Framed Tulips embossing folder gave the embossed edges a very lacy look.  Using my StazOn, I stamped the bride and groom towards the lower left of the embossed vellum and then on the reverse side of the vellum, I used my Pacific Point Stampin' Marker to colour in the bouquet and the flower in the bride's hair.

I also chose the Pacific Point as my base cardstock to compliment the colour of the flowers.  In order to emphasize the lacy look of the embossed vellum and also to make the stamped image stand out, I cut a slightly smaller piece of Whisper White to mount on the base cardstock first and then I centred the vellum over that.  You can really see the details in this picture.

Since the image of the bride and groom isn't very large, that left an awful lot of plain white on the card.  To balance the stamped bride and groom, therefore, I chose to put the scalloped heart from the Hearts a Flutter stamp set towards the top right corner of the card on a separate piece of Whisper White cardstock.  I stamped the heart using the new Smoky Slate ink.  After using my framelit to cut the heart out, I used VersaMark to stamp the bells onto the heart and then used silver embossing powder to heat emboss them.  I loved the finished result.

I adhered the heart to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.  And that, I decided, would be enough.  The finished card looked elegant and simple.

And that is the card everyone in the swap will receive.  

Soho Subway Designer Paper, oh yeah!

I ordered the Soho Subway Designer Series Paper during the pre-order period that Demonstrators are given prior to a new catalogue becoming "live".  We only have a short list of products from which we can choose and, of the three Designer Papers offered, one of the two I chose was Soho Subway.  I really love the colours in the paper.  Early Espresso has always been one of my go-to colours as has Very Vanilla.  Island Indigo is such a deep and rich colour while Summer Starfruit, a colour I barely tolerated when it first came out, has become another go-to colour during this past year.  The new 2013-15 In-Color, Crisp Cantaloupe, worked well with each of the other colours.  The one fear I had was that the large letters or numbers on a few of the sheets of the Designer Paper might be overwhelming when used in a card.

Today I took the plunge and decided to use a piece of the Designer Paper that had "NEW YORK" written boldly across it and that featured all of the five colours.  No, there isn't any Island Indigo in the actual piece that spells out "NEW YORK", but the two skyscrapers beside it are actually the reverse side of the sheet and the graph squares (or windows, as I chose to designate them to be) are actually drawn in Island Indigo.

There is a lot going on in the card, some of which you only notice after you've looked at it more closely.  The layer I've put directly onto the base cardstock of Crisp Cantaloupe, is made up of a piece of Summer Starfruit and Early Espresso adhered together.  I took two strips of the graphed side of the Designer Paper, each a different width and length, and adhered them to that layer, beginning right at the join-line.  Then I put that pieced-together layer through the Big Shot using my Square Lattice embossing folder.  The embossing made it appear as if it was one layer of cardstock.  

Before I adhered that layer to the base cardstock, I tore the top right hand corner away, making sure I didn't damage my skyscrapers.  Once I had adhered the layer to the base cardstock, I carefully tore the corner off the base to compliment the torn corner of the layer.  Then I adhered the piece of Designer Paper with the "NEW YORK" parallel to the skyscrapers, but extending into the Early Espresso section of the layer.  At this point the card was looking very stark.  I knew I had to add some different textures and shapes to break up the sharp angles.

I took a piece of the 7/8" Cotton Ribbon and frayed about 3/4" on each end.  Then I used my Stampin' Spritzer which contained a mix of Rubbing Alcohol and Summer Starfruit re-inker to spray both sides of the ribbon, making sure that the frayed ends also got well-spritzed with the solution.  While that was drying, I took two of the medium sized Simply Pressed Clay buttons and pushed each one into my Early Espresso ink pad, making sure that I got some ink onto the sides as well.  The result was a sort of "ringed" effect since the deeper grooves of the button remained the white of the clay.  That didn't last long since I immediately took them and spritzed them with the same Summer Starfruit solution with which I had spritzed the ribbon.

While the embellishments were drying, I took a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and prepared to stamp my sentiment.  I had decided to use the "make a wish come true" sentiment from the Make a Wish stamp set.  I thought it was appropriate since I would love to go to New York and so would my daughter.  First I inked the stamp up with my new Crisp Cantaloupe ink pad.  Then I used my Blender Pen to remove the ink from "make a" and "come true" and also from the "I" in "WISH".  Having de-inked those portions of the stamp, I proceeded to ink them up using my Stampin' Markers.  I used the Early Espresso marker for the "make a" and the "come true" and then used my Summer Starfruit for the "I" in "WISH".  Didn't the ink begin to dry on my stamp?  Yes, it did.  No worries, however, since a simple series of "huffs" (as if you're steaming up your window in the winter) added enough moisture to reactivate my ink.  You can see from the image that all the colours stamped equally well.

Yes, my sentiment does look a bit grubby, doesn't it?  Well, it just looked too sterile compared to the rest of the card so I took one of my small acrylic blocks and, without a stamp or anything else on it, tapped it onto my Baked Brown Sugar ink pad, stamped it off onto my working paper, and then "stamped" it onto the sentiment.  The ink had separated into droplets and I love the final effect.  I had used a sponge to "age" the edges of the base cardstock as well as the torn corner and now I dampened the sponge slightly and sponged the edges of the sentiment.  It gives a totally different look than a dry sponge does but, done sparingly, is very effective.

I adhered the ribbon using some Snail adhesive and then adhered the sentiment using Stampin' Dimensionals. To finish it off I used glue dots to adhere the buttons and then "filled" the centres of the buttons with the Large Rhinestone Basic Jewels, using tiny pieces of the Stampin' Dimensionals.

There you have it.  The large letters worked perfectly as did the graph side of the Designer Paper.  I enjoyed the challenge and really love the resulting card.

Surrounded by Pillow Boxes! Such fun!

There are a lot of really great samples in our brand new catalogue.  You've probably seen the cute pillow box on page 122 and wondered how it was made, considering that Stampin' Up! retired their little Pillow Box Bigz die over a year ago.  The answer is a template.  Isn't that terrific?  A template just costs the paper you print it on and can be resized to fit your needs.  It truly is the best of both worlds.

Using the pillow box template, I had to try my hand at a couple of pillow boxes (are you surprised?).  My first one highlighted that favourite stamp of mine, the Swallowtail (item #131943).  That giant butterfly has helped me create so many wonderful items!  I'm still madly in love with it.

So, I made a sandwich (no, not the edible type).  At the bottom I placed my Stampin' Pierce Mat (item #126199).  Then came my Designer Paper (or cardstock).  Next came my template and I was good to go.  Using my Simply Scored Stylus (item #125624), I firmly traced all the lines of the template (for the straight lines, I depended on a ruler).  Once traced, the lines were nicely visible on my Designer Paper and I was ready to begin cutting the solid lines of my template using my Paper Snips (item #103579).  When that was done, I simply folded along all the broken lines of my template and was ready to put it together using some Sticky Strip (item #104294) along the side flap.  Before I did that, however, I used my 1" Circle Punch (item #119868) to cut a partial circle into one of the rounded pieces on each end of the box.

After that, it's a matter of decorating the pillow box.  Since it's a nice, generous size, the Swallowtail stamp fit pretty well at a slight angle.  I decided to use the Embossing Resist Technique and therefore stamped it using my VersaMark (item #102283) and Clear Embossing Powder (item #109130).  Once that was set using my Heat Tool (item #129053), I let it cool down completely and then pulled out a Sponge Dauber (item #102892) and my Basic Gray stamp pad (item #126981) and began working the ink into the embossed butterfly.  I was careful not to get a lot of ink past the outline of the butterfly but at the top, around the head and wings, I made it quite a bit darker and went over the outline quite darkly in order to make it appear like a shadow and give a 3-D effect.  Remember, you can always add more ink with your dauber, so begin lightly and keep adding until it makes you happy with the effect.

When I finished with my shading, I adhered the side tab  to the untabbed side and my little pillow box looked great already.  My final touch was to add one of the large buttons made with the Simply Pressed Clay (item #130685) and then used a Stampin' Dimensional (item #104430) to add one of the smallest flowers made with the Simply Pressed Clay to the centre.  I adhered that to a piece of folded 5/8" Crochet Trim (item #118481) and attached it all to a corner of my Pillow Box.  I loved the result.

Of course I had to make another one.  This time I used cardstock and decided to use my Honeycomb Embossing Folder (item #129378).  I stamped a few bees into the pattern towards the edge so that they would still be visible after I added a girdle to the Pillow Box.  I used contrasting cardstock for the girdle and decorated it up using my Secret Garden stamp set (item #129144) and the matching Secret Garden framelits (item #129372).  For a sentiment, I used my A Round Array stamp set (item #129090) and its matching 7/8" Round Scallop Punch for the centre and used a dimensional to put it in the centre of the larger tag which I made using my Label Love stamp set (item #130622) and its matching punch, the new Artisan Label Punch (item #130920).

The two Pillow Boxes couldn't look any more different but they're both gorgeous.  I can't wait to see what type of Pillow Box I'm going to create next!

NOTE:  I added the following Pillow Box on June 28th, after making this one using paper from the Soho Subway Designer Paper and adding extra "bling" to the finished box.  In real life this one sparkles enough to make you put on sunglasses!

Watch for my upcoming classes.  I'll be offering technique classes and other fun classes where you can learn to make some of the items I'm featuring on my blog.

Congratulations! Spring Treasure Hunt Winners.

Congratulations to our two LNS Spring Treasure Hunt Winners:  Lisa Eisner and Heather Hopson.  Each won a prize of $150 in Stampin' Up! products of their choice.  What a wonderful time to make those choices, just as the new catalogue is open for orders.

A big "thank you" to all the participants in the LNS Spring Treasure Hunt.  Remember, there will be another LNS Treasure Hunt this fall.

My Open House Sneak Peek is almost behind me!

Well, it's almost over.  I had part one of the Open House Sneak Peek on June 1st.  It just seemed like a good way to go since I could get the orders placed right away now that the brand new catalogue is active.  It was a good Open House.  I had two waves of customers and finally wound down around 6 p.m. which was an hour later than I planned.  But you know what Robbie Burns said about the best laid plans of  "meece and men".

As expected, everyone loved, loved, loved the new Simply Pressed Clay.  They were amazed at how light it was (featherweight) and how easily it coloured.  No, I didn't show them how to add drops of re-inker.  From all I've heard and read, that is just a mess waiting to happen, not to mention that too many drops of re-inker make the clay really hard to dry.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: I made the buttons and flowers we used ahead of time to ensure complete drying of the Simply Pressed Clay.)

We used the Simply Pressed Clay on two of the make-n-takes.  The first was a simple 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" card featuring the Gingham Garden Washi Tape.  I called that my "happy card" because the colours just made me smile.  Everyone loved it.

That cute button just off the centre is made using the Simply Pressed Clay which, once dry, was so easy to colour using the Daffodil Delight Stampin' Marker.  The tag is one of the six great sentiments that are part of the Hostess Stamp Set Banner Greetings.  I just love the way everything co-ordinates and is perfectly framed by the Whisper White cardstock which I embossed using the Chevron embossing folder.

The second card which we made for the make-n-takes was the standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" size and featured the brand new in-colors.  Again, I kept it simple, having the background embossed with the Modern Mosaic embossing folder and then lining up the butterflies, punched from each of the new in-colors with the Bitty Butterfly punch, along a piece of Whisper White stitched 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.  To finish it off, each butterfly has a little rhinestone in the centre of its body.  The sentiment was stamped with the new Baked Brown Sugar ink, using one of the sentiments from the Sweet Essentials stamp set which is currently on sale at 25% off.

The third make-n-take (yes, I decided to have three!!!) was a simple flower using one of my favourite dies, the Blossom Party Originals, along with the leaves from the Secret Garden framelits and the medium sized flower using the Simply Pressed Clay.  The only non-Stampin' Up! supplies I used were the glue gun and the floral wire.

Don't the Crisp Cantaloupe and the Pistachio Pudding cardstocks look great with a bit of the same colour ink sponged on them?  I sprayed the flower using an alcohol and Summer Starfruit ink mixture in my Stampin' Spritzer.

And there you have it---the basic play/work during the Open House.  Everyone ordered the Simply Pressed Clay and the Buttons & Blossoms Simply Pressed Clay Molds (wow!  That has to be one of the longest names of product in the catalogue!)  Especially after they got to try pushing the clay into the molds by themselves.  I think they were all amazed at the incredible flexibility of the clay as well.  No worries about anything being broken during the mailing process.

Why do I say it's almost over?  I am accommodating a couple of my customers by letting them come on Monday right after work.  This time of the year weekends get really busy.  I can relate to that.

A Little of This and a Little of That...

You know how it is.  You're browsing in a store and suddenly you spot something.  It's nothing much, actually, but it totally grabs your imagination and you can already see your finished project in your mind.  Well, that happened to me when I was looking for a plain old Post-It note pad.  I found one but I found something even better as well---another Post-It note pad.  The other Post-It note pad was perfect!  It matched my Dress Up framelits and I was certain I could match the colours in the note pad.  So, of course, I bought that one as well.

Can you see what I mean about this being a perfect Post-It note pad?  Since I already had a standing acrylic 5"x7" frame which I had bought some time ago on spec, the ideas were just falling all over each other in my head.  I finally decided to match the image on the note pad as closely as possible but I would reverse the background colours.  I chose to put Bermuda Bay as the main background and then put a strip of the Certainly Celery from the Subtles Collection Designer Series Stack at the bottom.  The colour match was phenominally close.

I chose a piece of Naturals White cardstock to cut the dress dummy using the Dress Up framelits.  Then I used the same framelit to simply cut a piece of Basic Black cardstock, eliminating the bottom stand.  I hand cut the top to match the top of the dress on the note pad.  Once the Basic Black dress was adhered to the dress dummy, it looked perfect.  Since I didn't have a stamp for the shoes I decided to punch out a heart from a piece of Red Glimmer paper using the Small Heart punch and a tiny heart using the Owl Builder punch.  The large one, I adhered at the base where the floor would be and the tiny one, I adhered to the waist of the dress.

Then I drew a choker necklace using my Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Marker and covered that with the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details.  Once that was dry, I was able to slip the completed design into the standing acrylic frame.  It was no work at all to put some strips of Sticky Strip on the back of the note pad to adhere it to the left of the frame.

This stands perfectly on my desk and is so much nicer in person.  And it all began with a Post-It note pad...

Playing with clay!

If someone had told me that I'd be making my own flowers and buttons and dozens of other things out of clay to embellish my cards, I'd have scoffed.  Why bother when there are so many embellishments available, right?  Well, guess what!  I'm making my own and loving it.

You're going to have so much fun when you come to my Open House!  We're going to make and colour our own flowers for the awesome card we'll be putting together.  Intrigued?  Well, you should be.

In my last order I received the White Simply Pressed Clay that will be available with the new catalogue.  It's so easy to use and stays flexible even after drying.  It can be coloured by kneading some drops of ink refill into the clay but I found it was easiest to get precisely the colour I wanted for my project by leaving the object the clean white colour of the clay and then using my Stampin' Write Marker to colour it (or an ink pad with a blender pen).

I went a bit crazy using the clay because it was so easy to use.  Not only did I use the Simply Pressed Molds that you can buy for the clay, but I also used a couple of my Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps.  Actually anything that you can push the clay into will act as a mold and once it's dry you have a brand new embellishment.

The card which I made features the clay embellishments as well as two of the new In-Colors and also the new Mosaic Punch that is also in the new catalogue.  This time, instead of using the punch with the Mosaic Madness stamp set, I used it simply to cut out six of the shapes from the Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock.  Using my Bone Folder, I curved the sides of the shapes to give them some dimension and sponged them with the same coloured ink.  I then layered them in threes to make a blossom.  I also used the leaves framelit from the Secret Garden framelits to cut out two sections of leaves from the new Pistachio Pudding cardstock.

For the rest of the card, I used the Pool Party cardstock as well as the Island Indigo cardstock.  They matched the piece of Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Paper perfectly.  I cut a window out of the designer paper using one of my Window Frames Collection framelits so that I could feature a piece of the printed window sheet from the same Specialty Designer Paper.  Love the result!

Put them all together and what do you get?

I have a hand-coloured clay flower inside the paper blossom as well as at the top left.  The L O V E is made out of the clay as well and then hand-coloured.  For the letters I used one of the cookie presses that was available for Demonstrators, saying "LOVE what you DO".  The "LOVE" letters were the perfect size for my card.  The ribbon I've used diagonally across the top left is some Island Indigo left over from Sale-a-bration.

I absolutely love this card.  The new colours---the new clay embellishments---everything just comes together perfectly.

Introduced by "Madison Avenue"

Remember the Madison Avenue stamp set which you could get free with a qualifying purchase during Sale-a-bration this year?  Didn't you just love those tile-like influences in the design?  Well, Sale-a-bration may be over for the year but just wait a few days for the unveiling of the new catalogue and you may just be as delighted as I was to see the continuation of this design.  Of course with the brand new stamp sets (you'll have to wait for the new catalogue to discover the name) there is a wider range of stamps and designs to combine.  Intrigued?

For this particular card, I've used two of the new colours that have been added to the colour collections.  I love the richness of the colours, don't you?  I stamped right in the centre of the designs made by the brand new embossing folder and the stamped images just "pop" against the Whisper White.

For the sentiment I used one of those cute Round Array stamps that is available in a bundle at 15% off with the matching 7/8" round scallop punch.  If you want that bundle, be sure to order it before May 30th to get that 15% savings.

And this card uses some more new colours as well as the same new stamp set and embossing folder.  Like the sentiment?  It can be yours if you hold a workshop and choose it as one of your hostess gifts.  This sentiment along with five others make up a really versatile stamp set.

Remember, you'll be able to order from the new catalogue starting May 31st.  I'll be posting more of the tempting new products over the next week or so.

May brings us Brides and Babies!

What a terrific stamp set Stampin' Up! has just released for their May 25th Anniversary Best of Stamps!  It's a beautifully drawn set of five stamps, four of which have been released sometime during the past 25 years and one of which is brand new and never-before-seen.  You can check out the PDF flyer here.


Aren't the images great?  And they don't just have to be used on cards.  Can't you just see some of them embellishing your scrapbook page?  Or that special page or framed art you're making for someone you love?

These stamp sets are being released, one each month, for the full year of 2013 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Stampin' Up!  To sweeten the pot, Stampin' Up! is giving away a "proof of purchase sticker" with each stamp set in the 25th Anniversary collection.  Adhere the sticker to the Collector's Card that your Demonstrator gives you and, once you've collected six, you can send in your collector's card and redeem a FREE set of your choice, up to a value of $17.95.

What a deal!  Can't you see yourself using this set for your projects?

Would you like to see a "hidden door"? How about a Hidden Door card?

I love playing with different types of cards.  One card that I found a while back was called the "hidden door" card and I knew I had to try making one.  Well, I did and it was actually easy, but I didn't like the way the card looked when you opened it.  So, of course, I had to fix that.

This is the original card I made after seeing a hidden door card.

Number 1 is the front of the card with a girdle around it.  The card opens in the centre, like a gate, and because it is folded inside, it actually works best with a girdle around it.  Number 2 is the inside of the card as you just open the front cover.  I've also stamped on the inside of the front cover to give it more interest.  Number 3 shows what happens when you open the card along the centre line of the inside.  You see through the "hidden door".  I thought this was so terrific, but wanted something less checkerboardy for the inside of my card.

This is the card that I created next:

I wanted to make this card more striking and so I used colour for it.  Yes, the two blooms are different colours.  I used the Raspberry Ripple ink for one and the Primrose Petals ink for the second.  The leaves are stamped in Gumball Green for both.  I used the full flowers from my Fabulous Florets stamp set (love that set and am so glad it is not being retired) and cut them out before adhering them with dimensionals.

The girdle is simply made using a piece of Basic Black cardstock.  A hand-coloured butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and cut out with the matching Elegant Butterfly punch was glued to the join in the cardstock and then I used my Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and matching framelit for the sentiment.  I was so happy with the front of the card, it didn't even have to become a "hidden door" card to be special.

But, of course, it did become a "hidden door" card.  When you take the girdle off and open the front of the card, this is what you see:

I discovered that I could fully cover the checkerboard as long as I left a cut down the centre so that the secret door could still be opened.  So for this I used the Early Edition Designer Paper as my background (I'm going to miss that paper since it's retiring with the current catalogue).  In the centre of that I stamped the chair from the Cherish Friendship stamp set (retiring, so get yours before it's gone at the end of May) on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I cut that out using my Labels Collection framelit.  Then I stamped the goose from the Cherish Friendship set on Whisper White and cut it out using my wonderful snips.  I loved the way it all looked after hand-colouring it, especially since the goose overlapped just slightly, taking attention away from the cut down the centre of the page.  I finished that page off using the Word punch to cut out the sentiment I put together using the Fabulous Phrases stamp set. 

Now, for the hidden portion that you reach by opening the page I just made.  You sort of bend it in the middle and pull the hidden door apart and, voila, you reach the hidden page:

As you can see:

I left this page in checkerboard because it allowed me to use a number of sentiments together.  It was such fun, especially finishing it off using the floral butterfly stamp from the Papillon Potpourri set.

You know, I think this is going to have to be one of the WOW cards in my next class.

Another "Bombs Away" Birthday Card

This is such a fun set to use!  I knew as soon as I saw the set, Bombs Away Birthday, that it would be great for use with the chalkboard technique.  This time, however, I combined the set with the original Photopolymer stamp set, Designer Typeset.  Talk about a card that's black and white and "red" all over.  (Had to say it!)

I'm sorry to say that the Spritzer tool which I used to get the spots all over the card is being retired this year. I love using mine.  At a reduction of 25%, this is the time to get this amazing tool.

A New Photopolymer Stamp -- Birthday with a zinger!

Well, Stampin' Up! is now offering two Photopolymer stamp sets:  Designer Typeset and the brand new Bombs Away Birthday (item #133411).  I really enjoyed making a card using the new one.

One of the things that I particularly like about this stamp set is that it uses some beautifully varied type.  I can see my next card using the set being a chalkboard style.  The sentiments are perfect for that technique.  The sentiment I decided to use just begged me to use the Music Notes wheel.  They go together perfectly.

In looking through my Designer Paper, I found a piece in the Patio Party which just "spoke" to me.  It's simple, primarily Baja Breeze with tiny Whisper White hearts all over it.  So I used the Baja Breeze as my base cardstock and combined it with the Designer Paper and also some Midnight Muse and Whisper White cardstock.  For my stamping and a bit of sponging around the sentiment, I used the Midnight Muse ink.

What appeals to me about this new set of Photopolymer stamps is that all the sentiments are light-hearted and offer the sort of zingers you would feel comfortable making to really good friends.  This card, for example, is perfect for one of our friends who would be totally mortified if the staff in a restaurant ever came to the table and sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  I'm sure you have friends like that, too.

The beauty of this set of 7 stamps is that it costs only $16.95.  That made it a must have for me.

Specials Ending April 30th

Yes, there are some time-limited specials which you may not want to miss.

One of those is the special-release package called "Sent With Love".  The Designer Paper is perfect for all those travel spreads you may wish to scrapbook and also for those special cards you're itching to create.  You can get all the products in this bundle separately, but why would you wish to when you can get the entire bundle for 20% off.

Another specially priced bundle that you will be excited about is the "This and That" line.  All the products in this bundle can be bought separately now and in the brand new catalogue which debuts June 1st.  What you won't be able to do after April 30th, however, is to buy all the products in a bundle, saving 15%.  No, this offer does not appear in the new catalogue, where you will have to buy each product in the line separately.

Remember, you can either contact me and include these bundles in my current open Workshop Order or you can click on the link I've provided (the name of the product is your "hot" link) and order them online.  If you type in the Hostess Code, 9EDMJAPY,  you will be eligible for one of my free give-aways.

My Thanks to YOU!

Hi everyone!  The retirement lists are out and you can click on the hot spots in my last posting to see what is leaving Stampin' Up! that you might be interested in buying before it's gone forever.

I also have an Open Workshop order right now and, if you're wanting to be included, you can contact me to place an order (it can be retirement items or current items or a mixture of both).  If you wish to be included but prefer placing your order online, you can choose to use the Hostess Code to be included in my Open Workshop, 9EDMJAPY, and for your order, you can even include Clearance Rack items.

Anyone included in the Open Workshop will, of course, receive a custom-designed card, but for this order only, if your order is $25 or higher (before shipping and tax), I will include a package of the Silver Glimmer paper

or a package of the Rhinestone Basic Jewels, your choice, as a "thank-you" for your continued support of me as your Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Stampin' Up! Retirement List---Get your favourites before they are gone forever!

You have until June 3rd, 2013 BUT if you're familiar with Stampin' Up! you know that a lot of the items on the list will not last until that date.  If you see something you've had your eye on, don't delay.  Once it's gone, you've lost your chance.

We're making room for all the fresh and fun new products in the NEW 2013/2014 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue which is coming out May 31st.  To do that we have to say goodbye to some of our old favourites.  Yes, it's hard to say goodbye, isn't it?  But you don't have to.  You can still grab those special items you love before they're gone forever.

*DOWNLOAD  Stampin' Up! Retired Accessories

*SHOP  Retired Accessories
       
              25% Off

              40%Off

              60% Off

*DOWNLOAD  Retired Stamp List

*SHOP  Retired Wood Mount Stamps

              Retired Clear Mount Stamps

If you're going to order online, remember you can add on any Clearance Rack merchandise as well.  Make a list of all your favourites and get them before they're gone, gone, gone!

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Stampin' Up! has some great stamps.  I didn't have any problems finding some appropriate ones for my Earth Day card.  Hope you enjoy it!

Remember, we'll be finding out which stamp sets made it into the new catalogue soon.  The retirement list will be out in a few days.  If there is a stamp on that list which you've had your eye on, it will be your last chance to buy it.

Sometimes a kit is the answer!

Have you seen that cute "dress dummy" framelit?  It's part of the Dress Up framelits that compliment the All Dressed Up stamp set.  I've used it for several cards and also at my last make-n-take for a charity Scrapbooking All-Day Crop.  It's a fun element to use on a card but sometimes, cute as a framelit is, you might not see a lot of continued use for it and be hesitant to buy it.

Stampin' Up! has come up with a great kit that lets you use the "dress dummy" element for a total of six cards at an affordable $17.95.  For that price you get everything you require to make six cards.  Everything! How great is that?

What is "everything", you ask?
        - Happy Birthday Photopolymer Stamp (1)
        - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Crumb Cake Cardstock (6 pieces)
        - 2" x 4 1/4" Very Vanilla Cardstock (6 pieces)
        - Very Vanilla Medium envelopes (6)
        - Tea Lace Paper Doilies (6)
        - Dress-Up die cut (6)
        - Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Spot (1)
        - Vanilla 5/8" Flower Trim (6 pieces)
        - Sponge Dauber (1)

As long as you have an acrylic block onto which to mount your stamp and some Snail Adhesive, you're good to go.  You can jump right in and begin making your cards.

What do the cards look like?  They're actually a great design and will blow the recipient away.  And the Happy Birthday stamp will come in handy for your future birthday cards as well.

Isn't that a terrific looking card?  You could buy the kit for yourself to make those next six birthday cards on your list or you could buy the kit for your crafty friend or relative and surprise them with a project that they will love making.  And it's only $17.95 (Item #133913)..

Remember you can order this through my online store or you can contact me directly.  I'd love to plan a workshop for you and your friends and introduce you to this kit and all the other wonderful new items Stampin' Up! is offering.

Spring is Timid this Year!

If the weather people are right, it will be snowing overnight.  This is simply wrong!  It is, after all, April 16th.  The white stuff should be melted and long gone by now, even here in Alberta.  Considering that the first flakes began falling back on October 23rd, I think Winter and its white accoutrements have had a long enough run.  It's time for a change--a warm change!

As a result of this unseasonably cold weather, I couldn't help but create a card that made me feel more in tune with Spring.  That beautifully rendered stamp set, Nature's Walk (121997 Clear; 121925 Wood) simply cried out to be used.

For this card I decided to use my Watercolour Paper and Watercolour Pencils.  I love the way images look when I use those in conjunction with my Aqua Painter.  The butterfly, bee and flower looked as good as I had hoped they would.  I even used the blue watercolour pencil to create a light wash behind the images.

The colours in the images helped me choose the base cardstock and all the remaining Designer Papers and cardstock colours.  The perfect choices were More Mustard for the base, Midnight Muse as the next layer, the lattice design from the Print Poetry Designer Series Paper Stack, and, for my mat behind the Watercolour Paper, the Midnight Muse with script, again, from the Print Poetry Stack.  I love it when the choices are so easily made.

I knew I wanted to add the bird, as my Spring Robin, but decided to stamp it on the Glossy White paper to make it stand out against the Watercolour Paper.  To colour my robin, I used a selection of the Stampin' Write Makers.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  The fussy cutting: a real chore, but when you have an idea in mind, you have to go with it.  Thank goodness for the Paper Snips.  They are so sharp and have that wonderful, tiny, pointed end which makes cutting a robin's feet not only possible but actually easier as well.

I wanted to have a sentiment on the card, but I really didn't want to take away from the images.  What a perfect time to use the brand new stamp set: A Round Array (129090 Clear).  I used it with the matching 7/8"" Scallop Punch and also used the 1" Circle Punch to create a background and the 1/2" Circle Punch to cut out the centre of a second image I stamped, to give the sentiment a layered look.

And the card was ready for assembly.  Just making it made me feel as if Spring might actually be ready to show itself.  How could there not be robins out there?

I love the way this card turned out.  The only thing that would make it even better would be looking out my window and seeing the scene as reality.  (Are you listening, Spring?)

A Colour Refresh---News Regarding the Stampin' Up! Color Families!

There is a real shake-up in the Stampin' Up! colors!  Ten of our colors are being discontinued.  The Color Families are undergoing a real change, with the Regals and Subtles experiencing a real "shuffle" as colors leave or join a new family collection.  Check out the chart below for the details!

Announcing Stampin' Up!'s upcoming Color Refresh! We love color and we know that you do too. Color is fundamental to who we are and what we offer. We are thrilled to share our updated line of colors, and hope you will be as excited as we are by the new possibilities!

• Brand NEW - Smoky Slate
• FOUR returning current In Colors include: 
  • Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder
• FIVE returning past In Colors include: 
  • Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry (Both from 2009-10 In-Colors)
  • Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride (Both from 2010-12 In-Colors) 
  • Soft Sky (From the 2008-09 In-Colors) 

Check out these colors displayed in their new collections!

Colors Retiring/Discontinuing:

• Regal Rose
• Pretty in Pink
• Bashful Blue (re-inkers out of stock)
• Certainly Celery (re-inkers out of stock)
• Baja Breeze
• Riding Hood Red
• Bravo Burgundy
• Not Quite Navy (cardstock already out of stock)
• More Mustard
• River Rock
• Lucky Limeade (2011/2013 In-Color)

Playing with colour!

Things are so grey outside right now!  Maybe I'm just more conscious of colours (and the lack thereof) because even with very variable weather on our vacation, the colours in the Caribbean are so saturated that a bit of rain or cloud doesn't have the impact it has here.  Since I've come home, I feel as if my colour perception has gone wonky.  Shouldn't there be more colours in my world?

Well, if I don't see the colours I want when I look out through my windows, there is nothing for me to do but add some colours inside my room.  What better way than to create a card?

I've liked some of the cards I've seen where people have stamped flowers on Crumb Cake and then coloured them in with a layer of white craft re-inker.  Why not try it on something a bit more saturated, I asked myself.  I liked the idea of using Chocolate Chip as my background to really make the colours "pop"--and so I did!

Step 1:  Cut a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock with the Top Note die.

Step 2:  Using Versamark, stamp selected flowers on die cut.  (I used some of the flowers from My Secret
             Garden and some from Fabulous Florets.)

Step 3:  Sprinkle stamped flowers with white embossing powder and heat emboss.

Easy, right?  Even at this stage, the flowers just "pop" against the deep, warm brown of the Chocolate Chip. My next step was to colour in each of the flowers with some of the Whisper White Craft Re-Inker.  I used my Aqua Painter for that.  Because of the intensity of the Chocolate Chip, I wound up using a second coat in order to have the pale base on which to add the desired colours for my flowers.

Once this layer is dry, it's easy to paint on the colours of the flowers using a Stampin' Marker or a Blender Pen and ink from a Stamp Pad.  I also like to use those terrific Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  Anyway you choose to get the right colour into those flowers is fine.  You'll just be blown away by the terrific contrast you have against the background Chocolate Chip.

Even with just one layer of colour and no shading, you can see how nice this is going to look.  I like to let the layers dry in between and then just deepen the colour towards the centres.  After I get everything the way I would like it to look, I add in some leaves using the Gumball Green embossing powder.  It just "pops" against the Chocolate Brown and adds dimension to the piece.

Finally I mounted the piece onto a base of Rich Razzleberry and a layer of Crumb Cake embossed with the Woodgrain embossing folder.  Add the sentiment and it's all ready to go.

This is such a fun way to have bright flowers on a dark background.  It takes a bit of time but it's definitely worth it in the end.