Annual Catalog & Occasions Retiring Lists

Well, the time has come once again.....the time to say good-bye to old favorites. Normally I would be sad, but having just gotten back from OnStage with the new annual catalog in my hands, I'm ready for the new things heading our way!

I must say though, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that, after all these years, Lovely As A Tree is finally going to that great retirement home in the sky. It's been around since before I became a demonstrator!

Anyway, the links to the lists are below. Please note that these are ALL "while supplies last", even the retiring stamp sets, and many things will sell out quickly.

Stampin' Up! said effective immediately, stamp sets offered in clear-mount or wood-mount in the 2018–2019 annual catalog that are carrying over into the 2019–2020 annual catalog will be offered in clear-mount and/or wood-mount until existing inventory has been depleted or until June 4, 2019 (whichever comes first). If the inventory is depleted, you will be notified of the automatic switch to cling when placing an order for that stamp set. This means that you may end up purchasing select cling stamp sets (in carryover artwork) before they can be ordered from the catalog! All carryover rubber stamp sets will be available in cling medium only (with the exception of background stamps in North America) beginning June 4, 2019.

Before you panic if you see your favorite stamp set is on the retiring list, scroll to the bottom of this post for a list of stamps that will be in the new cling mount style (per the paragraph above).

2019 OCCASIONS RETIREMENT LIST

2018-2019 ANNUAL CATALOG RETIREMENT LIST 

Everything is listed by page order which makes it easy to locate what you are looking for.

  

Please use the host code (on upper right) if your order is under $150.00. Anyone placing an order (no matter the amount) using that code will receive a gift from me!

  

Accented Blooms,
Animal Outing,
Artisan Textures,
Barn Door,
Beautiful Day,
Beautiful You,
Bee Thankful,
Birthday Backgrounds,
Bokeh Dots,
Botanical Bliss,
Country Road,
Crafting Forever,
Dandelion Wishes,
Dashing Deer,
First Frost,
Flourishing Phrases,
Gallery Grunge,
Healing Hugs,
Heartland,
Hold on to Hope,
Itty Bitty Greetings,
Kindness & Compassion,
Label Me Pretty,
Lilypad Lake,
Little Elephant,
Little Twinkle,
Love You to Pieces,
Magical Mermaid,
Painted Glass,
Peaceful Place,
Perennial Birthday,
Pop of Petals,
Rooted in Nature,
Sea of Textures,
Sorry for Everything,
Special Celebrations,
Stitched All Around,
This Little Piggy,
Tropical Chic,
Winter Woods

My Inky Friends DSP Showcase

My Inky Friends are showing off the lovely Designer Series papers from Stampin' Up! today. There are five of us participating, but there are so many more pretty Designer Series Papers that are getting overlooked! You may have hopped here from the Stampin' Bunny (heh, see what I did there?), but if you are starting here with me, just follow the link at the bottom to see the next stop on the hop.

I chose Gingham Gala because I just adore gingham checks; it reminds me of little girls' dresses, or cute aprons, or men's shirts. And Gingham Gala is so full of happy Spring colors! Spring brings rebirth and renewal, so I just had to use the little ducklings in Fable Friends for a baby card.

Adding layers using the Stitched Labels and Stitched Shapes really shows off the image. The background was created by starting with a Night of Navy 4" x 5-1/4" mat, and then adding six 3/4" strips of DSP, all spaced 1/8" apart.

A little Whisper White Flax ribbon and a few Gingham Gala Adhesive Sequins completed the card. Now I just have to wait for someone to get pregnant so I can use it, LOL!

The next card is for a long time friend whose favorite color is purple. I used the Blossom Builder Punch to make the gingham flower, and strips of the Lemon Lime Twist gingham on the Subtle-embossed background. It's a great way to use up those odd bits you can't bear to toss!

The Well Said and Well Written bundle made the birthday greeting cute and easy. The "happy" was left over from Tuesday's card. Useful bits, dontcha know. *grin*

I was holding my breath when I stamped the "birthday" directly on the card. Since it's a red rubber stamp, not photopolymer, I hoped I had it straight! If not, I'd have had to stamp it on a label and add it, but it was straight, whew!

I added a Granny Apple Green Glimmer Dot to the flower's center for a bit of bling, and of course these cards needed some of that beautiful gingham to dress up the envelopes!

Up next is Sharleen, over at Stamp With Shar, who is featuring the beautiful Garden Impressions DSP!

Holy Cow, Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!!!

The retirement list for the Occasions and 2018-2019 Annual Catalog comes out on Monday, and there are some BIG surprises that will be on that list! One of them is that the Stampin' Trimmer is being discontinued. Now, before you go into panic mode, Stampin' Up! is working on a new, improved version which will remedy some of the issues they had with the old trimmer. (Hopefully, the blades for the new trimmer will last a lot longer!)

Speaking of blades, refill blades will be available while supplies last, and starting Monday the order limit will be six packs instead of the current limit of three. SU says they have ordered a six month supply, based on past sales history, but you can be sure they'll run out a lot sooner because everyone will be snatching up replacements!

So, to make a long story short, get 'em while you can so you have enough to hold you until the shiny new, awesomer, I-can't-believe-I-ever-lived-without-it paper trimmer is released. And no, they haven't given any estimates of when that will be, darn it!

The other huge news is (are you sitting down?), they are discontinuing their relationship with Sizzix and the Big Shot will not be in the annual catalog. WHAAAAT??!

Again, before you go into panic mode, they are working directly with a new manufacturer on an improved die cutting/embossing machine, but it won't be ready to launch when the annual catalog comes out. There will be new style dies and embossing folders in the catalog (whew!), and they will work with with the Big Shot and other similar machines, but may need a shim since the distance between rollers may be different.

On old-style dies, when you place an open die (dies that coordinate with stamps) over a stamped image, a small border of cardstock is visible around the stamped image. With new-style dies, the die hugs the edge of the stamped image. Instead of aligning the die to the space around the stamped image, you will align it to the edges of the stamped image. When the image is cut, there will still be a cardstock border around the image.

OLD STYLE

Hmmm, sneak peek at a new stamp?

NEW STYLE

And HALLELUJAH, they have improved the adhesive that secures the dies to the insert sheet in the package so that it’s not too sticky. It’s easier to remove dies from the insert sheet, and the adhesive won’t cling to the dies. No more broken fingernails!

I have to tell ya, after I got over my initial shock at the news, I started getting excited. I know that the new trimmer and die cut machine will be fabulous and worth the wait. And while I wish there wasn't a lag between the end of the old and the introduction of the new, I'm glad that Stampin' Up! is taking the time to do it right!

Drink Your Tea!!!

I love it when the song birds come back in the Spring! One of my favorites, song-wise, is the Eastern Towhee. While not as flashy looking as Cardinals or Bluebirds, they are still very attractive birds, and they have the most delightful song. It sounds like they are saying "Drink your tea-ea-ea-ea." If you want to hear it, click THIS LINK and then click the arrow next to SONG. It's a short clip of the song, and you'll see what I mean. *smile*

Which leads me to today's card (great segue, right?). The Tea Together stamp set is on page 49 of the Occasions catalog, and we were blessed with matching Framelits in the Sale-a-Bration flyer that just ended. Rumor has it that the framelits may be carrying over to the new annual catalog. I'll find out for sure next Friday!

I stamped the rose three times so I could fussy cut the center and make two additional layers so it really looks 3D. I'm very glad that was the only fussy cutting I needed to do - the cup & saucer, tea pot, and rose with leaves all had a matching die!

Product List

Tea Together Cling Stamp Set

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Floral Romance 12" X 12" Specialty DSP

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

Petal Pink Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

Dark Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Marker

Mossy Meadow Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

Big Shot

Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies

Tea Time Framelits Dies - RETIRED

Share What You Love Artisan Pearls

My Inky Friends Design Challenge #16

Hey, stamping friends, we have a new challenge for you today, and it's a sketch this time. The inspiration for this layout came from the card on page 23 of the Occasions catalog, as seen in the graphic above. Here is my take on the sketch:

If you'd like to play along with ourchallenge, click the banner at the top of the page or follow the link below. The guidelines are simple!

1. For a sketch challenge, follow the general design of the sketch, although it can be flipped or rotated. For a color challenge, Stampin' Up! colors are listed. You can use compatible colors and add neutrals as needed.

2. Create something new that has not been posted before.
3. Post your creation on your blog or online gallery, and please provide a link back to our challenge. Provide a direct link to your project or post to the Linky on the challenge page. 
4. Feel free to combine up to three challenges, as long as you include a link to the Inky Friends post.
5. Most important of all - have fun!
I was so happy when Coastal Cabana came back as one of the core colors, but I've hardly used it since it made its return! What's up with that? It is the perfect "in between" color that coordinates with Pool Party and Bermuda Bay. Here I've paired it with a pop of black and yellow.

The Piece of Cake bundle is so much fun to pay with, and makes quick cards so easy! Handy Tip: Use a piece of scrap cardstock to punch with the Cake Builder punch, then save it as a template in with your stamps. When you use the stamps, the template makes it simple to line up the cake AND the cake stand on your block!

The yellow "ribbons" on the corners are die cut Daffodil Delight scraps using the Sweet Cake Framelits dies. I thought the card needed just a little bit more yellow to balance all the blue-green.

Measurements

 Stitched background: Whisper White used third-smallest Rectangle Stitched die
 Mat: Basic Black 2-15/16" x 3-5/16"
 Embossed background: Coastal Cabana 4" x 5-1/4"
 Card base: Basic Black 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" scored & folded at 4-1/4"

Product List

Piece Of Cake Photopolymer Bundle

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

Pool Party Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

Bermuda Bay Light Stampin' Blends Marker

Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

Big Shot

Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies

Sweet Cake Framelits Dies

Simple Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Whisper White 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon

Stampin' Dimensionals