I {Heart} My Stamping Friends!

I would have to say that THE BEST part of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is the friends that I have made. Wonderful, funny, creative people, that I would never have encountered otherwise, have come into my life and greatly enriched it, and for that I am truly grateful! Of course, the tangible perks (like the discount, sneak previews, etc.) are nice, too, but I like the "people" aspect the best.

This is one of the cards we made at the SU Retirement Party on Friday. The inspiration came from Vicki Burdick's card.....I just love her style!

While the focus was mainly on things that won't be available after May 31st (I am SO going miss Pear Pizzazz!), there are a few things on there that will be staying.  And I really, really like this stamp set, so it just may end up on my 'retired keepers' shelf.

Note: Retiring items are listed in red

Stamps: Growing Green, Bring on the Cake
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Pear Pizzazz DSP, Daffodil Delight DSP, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Jet Black Staz-On, plus Pear Pizzazz, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, and Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Daffodil Delight 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 2011-2013 In Colors Brad Pack, Blender Pens

Retiring SU Accessories

The other shoe has dropped, and now the list of retiring accessories is out. (*THUD*..........Can someone please give me a hand up off the floor?)

As we were warned, it is also a long list. Some things, like the Classic ink pads, Heat Tool, and Stampin' Scrub, are being reconfigured and will be all shiny and new in the new catalog. Others are going to be gone forever, like the Craft ink, Stampin' Pastels, 12 x 12 textured cardstock, mini library clips, and colored rhinestone brads.

Please remember that, while the retiring stamps will be available to order through May 31st, the accessories are only available while they last.  So, if there's something on the list that you need, it is best to order it a.s.a.p.!

Now, I know there will be groans, and whining, and gnashing of teeth, but don't let my prostrations bring you down.

Very, very soon there will be a shiny new catalog with lovely new things to make us fall in love all over again, and forget all about our old loves!

A Little of This and That

It's been an interesting few days, and by interesting, I mean good stuff happenin'. First, I was tickled to be notified that my April Showers card was chosen by Tiffany Bauer this week as one of the cards featured on My Crafty Picks #62 - woohoo! Thanks, Tiffany, you made my day!

Then, I finally got the iPhone I've been waiting for. Had to wait for the contract with one carrier to end so I could switch carriers. I even sent my very first text message yesterday. (Yeah, I've finally joined the 21st Century, lol.) And let me tell you, the learning curve is impressive. :-)

DH got a new phone, too, but all he wanted was a phone, with "no fancy stuff." He just uses it as a phone while at work and shuts it off when he gets home. Luddite.

This week is all about prepping for a class Thursday afternoon, then a team meeting Thursday evening with my downline, and then the big Mystery Hostess Retirement Party* on Friday evening. This is the invitation that was sent out. It needed to be something quick and easy to make in multiples, and yet be eye-catching.

The "Bring a Friend" circle is mounted on a U-shaped strip of acetate, so it bobbles when the card is opened. It was stamped on the leftover circles punched from the front of the card.

* The theme of the party is focusing on items that will be retiring the end of May. We'll be making three projects, enjoying scrumptious snackies, giving away prizes AND having a drawing at the end from the people who qualified to see who the hostess will be. The winner gets all the Hostess Benefits, just as if she held the party herself! But everyone will go home with a prize of some sort. There's room for a few more, if you want to come. Contact me for details before Thursday night!


Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Workshop Words (given out at Leadership)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie Classic, Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Marker
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka-Dots embossing folder, 2-1/2" Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, clear acetate

Double Dutch Fold

This is such a fun card to make and, for all the WOW factor, it's really easy, too! It's called a Double Dutch Fold, probably because it somewhat resembles Double Dutch Doors. (Ya think?)

What really made this super simple was doing the scoring with the Simply Scored Scoring Tool.  Just place the markers where you need them, and you could crank out a bunch of these beauties in no time!

I have been somewhat giddy the past few days, because I made my reservation to go to the Stampin' Up! Convention this year FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME! Woohoo! Yes, I am a Convention virgin, lol.  I'm going to get to meet lots of online stamping friends face-to-face, shop the Memento Mall, create some gorgeous make n' takes, shop the Memento Mall, get free stamp sets, tour the home office, shop the Memento Mall, learn strategies to help make me a better demonstrator, get my picture taken with Shelli Gardner, shop the Memento Mall, and possibly be a lucky Prize Patrol winner (I hope)! It's four days of stampin' fun, and I cannot WAIT for July to get here!


Stamps: Just Believe, Elementary Elegance (retired SAB)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze Textured, Island Indigo, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: Lucky Limeade and Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pads, plus Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, and Always Artichoke Stampin' Write Markers
Accessories: Big Shot, Scallop Square Nestabilities die, Oval Punch, 2011-2013 In Colors Brads, Whisper White 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels

April Showers

Bring May flowers, right? Only here in sunny Southern California we have a pretty much year-round growing season, so there is always something in bloom. Which brings me to one of my favorite flowers, Forget-Me-Nots. I am besot by their beautiful blue blooms (like that alliteration, lol?), but for some reason, I've never grown them here. So I figured I could make my own.... et voila!

This was going to be the card for this week's challenge at SUO Challenges, until I read the guidelines for the theme more closely (always a good idea), and saw that we were to focus on the Occasions Mini.  Oops! There was some serious scrambling in the stamp cave to make up for my failure to pay attention. (Which seems to be happening a lot lately. Squirrel!)

Karen Barber's card on SCS was the inspiration - I thought the layers of embossing would really set off the blue flowers.


Stamp: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquiose, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Basic Black, Pacific Point, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Big Shot (bet you didn't see that coming, did you? lol), Vintage Wallpaper and Square Lattice embossing folders, Little Leaves Sizzlits die, Blossom Petals Builder Punch,  Boho Blossoms Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Scallop Trip Border Punch, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, 1/8" Circle Punch, Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, White Gel Pen, Stampin' Sponges, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

SUOC 43, Occasions Goodbye!

The excitement of the Stampin' Up! stamp retirement list coming out a couple days ago kind of pushed the fact that the Occasions Mini catalog is ending in less than two weeks(!) out of the spotlight.  There are several stamp sets and accessories that I really hope will carry over to the big catalog in June! Really, really hope. Like, I'm going to throw a temper tantrum if they don't. Well, okay, maybe not a tantrum, but I will be very sad.

Our Challenge this week at SUO Challenges is to bid a fond farewell to something in the Occasions Mini that you are going to miss. If you don't have anything from the Occasions Mini (gasp!), then any retired Stampin' Up! product may be used.  I hope you will join us and share your project at SUO Challenges. We love to see what other creative people make with Stampin' Up! products. You all are so inspiring!

The sketch this week from Mojo Monday was my inspiration. The individual tea cups were colored with a marker and stamped twice. One was punched out with the circle punch and the other was fussy-cut and popped up on a dimensional onto the circle. Since the greeting was already on the last circle, pearls were added instead of a banner at the bottom.

The Occasions Mini items used were the Tea Shoppe stamp set, 40mm Pearl Basic Jewels, and Twitterpated Designer Series Paper. These are all going away April 30th!


Stamps: Tea Shoppe
Cardstock: Whisper White, Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, and Twitterpated DSP
Ink: (Stampin' Write Markers) Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka-Dots embossing folder, 1" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 40mm Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Retirement List is Here!

Stampin' Up has just released the stamp retirement list, and it is extensive! I figured it would be, with the catalog changes coming.  You can see the list HERE, or click the image above or on the left. 

Keep in mind, this is just the list of stamps that are retiring the end of May.....the accessory retirement list will be available April 25th. If you've been thinking about buying any of the sets on the list, I recommend you do it sooner rather than later, as supplies may be limited.

Let me help fill in your stamp collection!

Still Here!

Life has been a wild ride the past 2-3 weeks. First with my friend Cindy passing away unexpectedly, and last weekend, my eight year old cousin Rayanna lost her battle with leukemia. Then Wednesday my Dad decided he's going to forgo further treatment, and checked himself out of the hospital, and immediately after that sobering news, I found out the floral arrangement for Rayanna's funeral wasn't delivered. Geez, can I just hit rewind, and start this month over?

The highlights of the month were the times I got to spend stamping, especially when it involved stamping friends! This is one of the cards we made in last week's Fancy Folds class. It's a Swinging Z-Fold and was inspired by LeeAnn Greff's tutorial HERE.

With Mother's Day rapidly approaching, I wanted to incorporate something that could be used for just such a purpose, and this was the result. Actually, it could be used for just about anything, by stamping the appropriate message for the occasion inside on the left, and then writing a personal note on the right.

Tomorrow the much dreaded much anticipated (I'm so conflicted!) Stamp Retirement List will be announced, so stay tuned! 

Stamps: Apothecary Art, Loving Thoughts
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush, Whisper White, Flirtatious DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush, and Lucky Limeade Classic
Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelits, Blender Pens, Dazzling Details, Lucky Limeade 1/8" organza ribbon (retired)

Easter Blessings

I love Spring. I love everything about it, from the lengthening days (which has nothing to do with DST), to the renewed growth in the garden, and from the bright, happy colors to the birds chirping and carrying on. Yep, the season of rebirth and renewal is one of my faves (right up there with Autumn, Summer, and Winter)!

This Easter card sums it all up for me. Everything in one card! I didn't have a stamp with the greeting, so I printed it out myownself.

Stamps: None!
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Attic Boutique DSP
Ink: None!
Accessories: Big Shot (of course), Framed Tulips embossing folder, Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Holiday Windows Movers & Shapers die, Pearls Basic Jewels, Frost White Shimmer Paint, sponge dauber, computer & printer

CONGRATULATIONS! - SUOC42

Yep, that's the theme of this week's challenge at SUO Challenges.  If you look around, inspiration for making a card or project can be found anywhere, whether it is colors from a magazine ad, or a quilt pattern, and the inspiration for the challenge this time came from the fact that our Design Team member, Michelle Laycock, is celebrating her 10 year anniversary as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!  Congratulations, Michelle!

I'll be back later with details for this card - right now I'm on my way out the door to my upline's house. We're making cute tote bags for our Simply Scored scoring tools! Should be a fun day. :-)

Stamps: Elements of Style, Party Time
Cardstock: Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, Paisley Petals DSP
Ink: Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze
Accessories: Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder, Modern Label Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Regals Buttons Collection, Pearls Basic Jewels, Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim, Stampin' Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals

Cheerful Get Well

This is another commissioned card for my client. She wanted an assortment of bright, cheery get well cards, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try out the Versa Shadow Technique.  It's a quick technique that can turn an ordinary card into a WOW card!

It works best on medium- to deep-colored cardstock. Stamp and heat emboss the image with light-colored embossing powder and a heat tool. (Don't forget to use an embossing buddy first to eliminate static!) Then take a VersaMark pen, and trace around the image to make the "shadow". Easy-peasy!

Actually, there are two techniques on this card.  I did the "rock & roll" technique on the flower.


Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Mixed Bunch
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Old Olive
Ink: VersaMark pad, VersaMark pen, Peach Parfait Classic, Pumpkin Pie Classic, Basic Black Classic
Accessories: White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Blossom Punch, Oval Punch, Paper Crimper, Summer Sun Corduroy Button Brad (retired), Lucky Limeade 1/8" Organza Ribbon (retired)