So, What is YOUR Favorite in the Mini?

That's the theme of this week's challenge at SUO Challenges! Create something using your favorite stamp set or item from the new Occasions Mini. Well, as much as I love nearly EVERYTHING in that catalog (except the gnomes....I just don't get the appeal), I was head-over-heels ecstatic when I saw the Framelits and Edgelits. I've been longing for thin metal dies, made by our very own company, for like, EVAH!

And, apparently, so has much of the rest of our Design Team, because most of us used them, one way or another, in our cards this week, tee-hee! Hey, we know a good thing when we see it.  I was really tempted to use the Bordering on Romance stamp set, too.....so glad I didn't, now that I see what my peeps designed! Long-time followers know that I have to gear up for all the February birthdays coming up, so I went with Crazy for Cupcakes instead.

Thanks for stopping by, and I can't wait to see what YOU choose as a fave from the mini. Maybe one of you can convince me that gnomes are awesome.

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Bring on the Cake
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip, White Cardstock Vellum
Ink: Cotton White Staz-On, Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede, and Basic Black Classic Pads, plus Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker
Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelits, Little Leaves Sizzlits die, Perfect Polka-Dots embossing folder, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Boho Blossoms Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon, Circle Rhinestone Brads, Blender Pens

Stampin' Addicts 2012 Occasions Mini Blog Hop

Hello, and welcome to the latest Stampin' Addicts blog hop! We are featuring items from the new Occasions Mini catalog that starts January 4th, and boy oh boy are there some fabulous new goodies to showcase! If you started at the beginning, you just hopped here from Rhonda's blog, where she showed the Bordering on Romance stamp set. That hinged card was cute, wasn't it? I am stop # 5 on the hop. You can find a complete hop list here, in case you need it.

I chose the Mixed Bunch stamp set, which has a lovely Blossom Punch to match! The first card has a 3-D blossom made by stamping and punching the flower image three times, then moistening them with water and "scrunching". I think red, black, and white look so sophisticated together, don't you?

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Thank You Kindly
Cardstock: Whisper White, Poppy Parade
Ink: Basic Black Classic
Accessories: Blossom Punch, Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper folder, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon

The next card is kind of a cute, funky little thing, using one of the smaller stamps in the set. These flowers were punched using the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch.

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Bring On The Cake
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, and Lucky Limeade, Berry Blossoms DSP, Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, and Lucky Limeade In Color DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Poppy Parade, Concord Crush, and Old Olive Classic
Accessories: Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, and Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine, In Color Designer Printed Brads, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, lollipop sticks (non-SU)

And the last project is a gift set of 3x3 cards (and envelopes) in a Scallop Envelope box. The butterfly was made by trimming down the punched flower and adding pearls for the body. Cute, huh? Glad you think so, because that gift set is blog candy! Just leave a comment and you're entered to win (US addresses only, please). Winner will be announced Monday.

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Petite Pairs
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Big Shot, Scallop Envelope Die, 1" Square Punch, Postage Stamp Punch, Pool Party Baker's Twine, Pearls Basic Jewels, Island Indigo 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, Calypso Coral 1/8" Organdy Ribbon, Modern Label Punch, Decorative Label Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Blossom Punch

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you were inspired. :) Your next stop is Heidi's tea-riffic blog. (Teehee!)

When you have a chance, be sure to check out Stampin' Addicts, where the motto is "Positively creative! Positively Stampin' Up!"  Positive attitudes AND creativity abound there, and all Stampin' Up! fans are welcome, whether you're a stampin' newbie or a seasoned demo.

SA Swaps

In addition to an open forum for anyone who loves Stampin' Up!, Stampin' Addicts has a section that is just for demonstrators. (You can't get in unless someone tells you the super-secret handshake.) 

And one of the thing we demos like to do is swap card fronts with other demos, when we get to pre-order from the upcoming catalogs.  Being a swap junkie, naturally I signed up for a couple swaps that were due the week before Christmas.  The. Week. Before. Christmas.  What was I thinking?!

Thankfully, I only signed up for two swaps this time (I've been known to commit to 6-8 swaps, plus blog hops), so I managed to get them done without too much stress. This card is for the 2012 Occasions Mini Swap.


Stamps: Mixed Bunch (available 1/4), Word Play
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Twitterpated DSP (available 1/4)
Ink: Island Indigo Classic (I know - I need to re-ink my pad)
Accessories: Blossom Punch (available 1/4), Big Shot, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, Old Olive 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, Tempting Turquoise button (Brights Collection)

Next year, would somebody please come kick my behind if I sign up for swaps during the holidays?

A Technique & a Sneak Peek!

Today's card uses the Double Embossed Enamel technique, as featured in this week's Weekly Inkling on Splitcoast Stampers. The video tutorial for this technique can be found here on You Tube. It's a fun, easy technique, yet it has a lot of wow factor.

This is also another sneak peek at two more 2012 Occasions Mini catalog items. The flower is from a set called Mixed Bunch, which coordinates with the new Blossom Punch! The flowers in this set are gorgeous; each one is completely different!

Stamps: Mixed Bunch (available 1/4), Word Play
Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Calypso Coral, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: VersaMark, Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka-Dots embossing folder, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Basic Black button (Neutrals Designer Buttons Collection), Calypso Coral 1/8" Organdy Ribbon (FREE Sale-A-Bration item, available 1/24)

SNEAK PEEK - WAHOOOO!

Mr. Brown brought my 2012 Occasions Mini catalog and 2012 Sale-A-Bration preorder last night, and even though I should have been doing other things, I couldn't resist trying out some of the new goodies (yes, I am weak....I admit it), and using as many as I could on this card without letting it totally out of hand.

*Crickets chirping*

Well okay, maybe I could have toned it down a little bit, but I really wanted to show as much as I could on this one card! We Stampin' Up! demonstrators aren't allowed to post the products themselves ahead of time, but we CAN make something with 'em, and share that. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love being a demo? Getting to preorder new things and create with them, before everybody else, is one of the MANY great perks of being a SU demonstrator!)

So, on this one little card, you will see five items from the Occasions Mini and two items from the SAB catalogs. The first thing you may have noticed are all the die-cuts. Yep, Stampin' Up! is coming out with Framelits - something akin to Nestabilities, only they're even better because you can see exactly where the die will cut, making image framing a piece o' cake!  We will also have Edgelits dies to cut fancy edges AND there are embossing folders for the edges to match!  And you might have noticed the two little embossed hearts. That's from the new Fashionable Hearts Embosslit - it's just like the Beautiful Butterflies Embosslit, only hearts! I {heart} hearts.


Stamps: Bordering on Romance, Sweetheart
Cardstock: Whisper White, Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (FREE SAB item)
Ink: Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride, and Poppy Parade Classic
Accessories: Big Shot, Edgelits Adorning Accents, Framelits Hearts Collection, Embosslits Fashionable Hearts,  Large (8 mm) Pearl Basic Jewels, Pearl Basic Jewels, Calypso Coral Everyday Enchantment 1/8" Organdy Ribbon (FREE SAB item)

In 2012 Occasions Mini catalog, starts 1/4 
In 2012 Sale-A-Bration catalog, starts 1/24