The NEW Stampin’ Up! Catalog is here!!

 

You have been waiting patiently for launch of the new Stampin' Up! 2012-2013 Annual Catalog and the time has finally arrived!

View the 2012-2013 annual catalog online (Flash)
Annual catalog PDF
Stampin' Supplies List

I am so excited about this fun and fresh new catalog! I love the layout, the samples, the photos, and of course the product!! Contact me today if you’d like to schedule a new catalog party or a girl’s night out!

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER!

• The Stampin' Up! ordering system will be down until Noon Mountain Time today due to the transition to the new catalog. 
• Ordering begins at Noon Mountain.  (2:00 p.m. Eastern, 1:00 p.m. Central, 11:00 a.m. Pacific)
• If you plan to purchase the Stampin' Up! $99 Starter Kit (more details here) today, you will not be able to do so until Noon Mountain Time.
• Due to heavy traffic at at the time of the catalog begins, you may experience lag time when placing your order. 
• NEW UPDATE!  The New $99 Starter Kit just got better!  Get a product bonus (value to $48) when you join during June.  SEE TAKE THE CAKE STARTER KIT PROMOTION!
• ANOTHER NEW UPDATE!  Stampin’ Up! just announced the “We {HEART} our Hostesses” promotion for June and July!! With a qualifying workshop or customer order of $450 or more, you will receive an ADDITIONAL $50 in free merchandise!! Click here to see the promotion information.

Get the new Stampin’ Up! catalog delivered right to your door for only $5!! (U.S. only please) No purchase necessary. Includes catalog and shipping.

Email me to order yours today!

Freaky Smooches

 Welcome to the April Tour de Freaks Blog Tour!

 You have likely arrived here at my blog from the lovely blog of the talented Yvette Ashe at Yvette's Paper Garden.

 I'm glad you've joined the Freaks as we showcase projects from the Summer Smooches line of products. The Summer Smooches Suite is a line of products that will be in the 2012-2013 Annual Catalog beginning on June 1, 2012. Stampin Up is doing a special sneak preview of the product line for the whole month of April. You can order all of the products in the suite until the end of April. After April they will take a "vacation" until the Annual Catalog starts in June when they will be available again for the whole year!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the bright and fun colors and patterns of this collection!! It has been so much fun creating with such vivid colors and fun patterns. Hopefully you will enjoy the collection as much as I have!

This first card is one I did for a demo swap I do locally each month. This is an MDS digital hybrid card. Because Awash with Flowers (retiring soon) is a two-step stamp set, I didn't want to have to stamp it for each of the swap cards I was making. So I opened up my handy dandy My Digital Studio program and created my stamped image with the digital version of Awash with Flowers. I filled each flower with some of the colors that are found in the Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper. Once printed and cut, I created the rest of the card using traditional products in colors that are also found in the Summer Smooches DSP.




The card below is the card I created for the Summer Smooches Freak Swap that we had last month during the demonstrator preorder period of this product line (one of the perks of being a demo!). I received some GORGEOUS cards in return from this swap and hope you have enjoyed seeing some of them along the tour today! The new Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon is one of my favorite new products in this suite!! Don't you love it??



The Happy Mother's Day card below is a card we did last week in my Stamp Club meeting. I love how it's a bright and cheery Mother's Day card rather than a soft and subtle one that we often see for moms. This card doesn't use many of the products found in the Summer Smooches Suite, but it does use the Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper and coordinating colors.



Another great perk of being a demonstrator is receiving our monthly demonstrator magazine called Stampin' Success that is FULL of inspiring ideas and projects! The tutorial for the bookmark below was recently featured in one of the issues of our Stampin' Success magazine. I took the idea and made it into a fun Summer Smooches bookmark with the Summer Smooches DSP, coordinating colors and another fun new product called the Blossom Punch and Mixed Bunch stamp set. These fun and functional bookmarks are SUPER easy to create using the new Diagonal Scoring Plate and Simply Scored Scoring Tool!






I'm really glad you stopped by and visited me on the Tour de Freaks! I hope these projects have helped you get excited for the Summer Smooches line of products that are available until the end of April and then again in the new 2012-2013 Annual Catalog.

Please leave me a comment and let me know yous stopped by to visit!




The complete Tour de Freaks lineup can be seen below if you happen to get lost along the way.

1 Jan Tinklenberg http://stampspaperscissors.typepad.com
2 Wendy Weixler http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com
3 Barb Mullikin www.barbstamps.com
4 Lisa Martz http://lvstmpn.wordpress.
5 Connie Babbert http://inkspiredtreasures.com/
6 Yvette Ashe http://yvettespapergarden.wordpress.com
7 Jason Casper http://www.stampindad.com
8 Sandy Mathis http://www.stampwithsandy
9 Deb Currier http://artfeltimpressions.blogspot.com
10 LeeAnn Greff www.flowerbug.typepad.com

A special thanks to the following stampers for their inspiration:
Tessa
Melissa
Margaret Moody

Punch Art Bunny

 

As promised last week (sorry I’m a little later than I was suppose to be), I have made the recipe for all the punches I used on the Punch Art Bunny I posted as part of the Control Freaks Blog Tour.

I created these pictures in MY DIGITAL STUDIO so please excuse the poor drawing on the paws and cheeks … it’s not easy to do on a computer!

Also, the nose on the bunny here is an inverted heart (which you could easily use), but on the actual bunny I used a “pie slice” out of a 3/4” circle.

The black circles shown here are what would actually be punched out of your card for the “bunny hole”. I used the 1 3/4” circle punch to punch those out.

The oval punch used for the insides of the ears and feet is actually retired. It is what use to be called “small oval punch”. I’ve used the measurements for it here so you can try to get as close as possible if you don’t have that punch.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to email me and ask!

Enjoy!

It’s a FREAKY Easter!!

Welcome to the April CONTROL FREAKS Blog Tour!! We are all getting our freak on this month with Spring & Easter cards or projects.

Regardless of what the weather is like in your neck of the woods (it’s snowing here in mine), the Freaks’ Blog Tour is bound to get you in the spirit of Spring and Easter.

You’ve most likely arrived here on my blog after visiting Yvette Ashe’s blog at Yvette’s Paper Garden, but if you happen to have just dropped in here, you can follow the loop and see all of the blogs in the tour.

Since my March club meeting was the only time I’d be meeting with my club stampers before Easter, I focused all of our creations around the Easter holiday. They fit perfectly with our theme here this month, so I am excited to be able to share them with you as part of the Freaks’ Tour!

I’ve really been wanting to feature the Hello, Doily background stamp on one of our club projects and I really love the look of this flower image from Just Believe stamped over the Medallion or the Doily stamp. The color scheme for this card came from the colors used in the Twitterpated DSP in the Occasions Mini Catalog. Since I don’t have many really good sentiments for Easter, I decided to use one that is retired as a tangible stamp, but is still available as a digital stamp in My Digital Studio. This digital stamp for the sentiment comes from the Easter Blossoms Stamp Brush set printed out on Whisper White cardstock and then punched out with a circle punch.



Supplies Used: Stamps: En Francais Background, Hello Doily Background, Just Believe, Easter Blossoms (digital); Ink: Versamark, Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, Basic Gray (digital); Paper: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White (for digital printing); Accessories: My Digital Studio, Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon, Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1 3/4” Scallop Circle Punch, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals

I’ve also been really loving the look of the new Paper Doily Sizzlit die for a beautiful background image. You saw me use it in last month’s Freak Tour post but I really wanted to share it with my club stampers so I made another card with it in the background … I just love how it looks!


Supplies Used: Stamps: Easter Dove; Ink: Basic Gray; Paper: Blushing Bride, Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Twitterpated DSP; Accessories: Paper Doily Sizzlit Die, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, Extra Large Oval Punch, Pear Pizzazz Pleated Satin Ribbon, Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon, Twitterpated Designer Buttons, Pearls Basic Jewels, Dimensionals

This last one was everyone’s favorite card. And aside from all the punching I had to do to get it ready for everyone, it was my favorite as well! Everyone seems to love punch art cards! I took two different ideas I had seen around online and combined them to make this card fun on the inside and out.

I have received so many requests for the punch art recipe to this bunny today that I have decided I will post some pictures showing the punches and quantity used in the next couple of days. I want to give a bit of time for the Tour to run its course, then I will post the pictures. Check back with me on Thursday or Friday.




Supplies Used: Stamps: Easter Blossoms (digital); Ink: Soft Suede (for inking edges); Paper: Peach Parfait, Chocolate Chip, Pool Party, Whisper White, Lucky Limeade, Everyday Enchantment DSP; Accessories: Lucky Limeade Bakers Twine, Basic Black Stampin’ Write Journaler, Calypso Coral Stampin’ Write Marker, Dimensionals; Punches: Scallop Oval, Large Oval, Ornament, Modern Label, Boho Blossoms, 3/4” circle, 1 3/4” circle, Cupcake Builder, Scallop Border

This last project is one that we didn’t get to in our club meeting this month so I will change the sentiment on it and use it in next month’s club meeting since I already have everything cut and ready to go.

I really love the fun and versatility of the Petal Cone die. It wasn’t until I saw it used in this fashion last year that I was tipped over the edge enough to buy it. I have certainly not regretted having it in my collection!




Supplies Used: Stamps: For Everything, Fresh Vintage, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Peach Parfait, Whisper White, Everyday Enchantment DSP; Accessories: Petal Cone Die, Blossom Punch, Modern Label Punch, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack,

So there’s all of my Easter creations for Club and the Control Freaks! Notice how not a single creation focused on bunnies and eggs?? Even though none of the sets I used (except for sentiments) were meant for Easter, they all work wonderfully together to create fun & festive Easter greetings! Don’t let your creations be limited by what you don’t have – think outside the box and find things that will work for what you need!

Continue on the Control Freaks Blog Tour by visiting the next stop at Gretchen Barron’s blog. If you should get lost anywhere along the line, head back here to see the full lineup of bloggers:

 
 



1 Sandy Mathis http://www.stampwithsandy.com
2 Dawn Olchefske http://dostamping.typepad.com
3 Wendy Weixler http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com
4 Connie Babbert http://inkspiredtreasures.com/
5 Barb Mullikin www.barbstamps.com
6 LeeAnn Greff www.flowerbug.typepad.com
7 Jan Tinklenberg http://stampspaperscissors.typepad.com
8 Yvette Ashe http://yvettespapergarden.wordpress.com/
9 Jason Casper http://www.stampindad.com/
10 Gretchen Barron http://www.gretchenbarron.typepad.com

Thank you to the following stampers for their inspiring cards:
Laura
Lorri
Laura

A Few Club Cards to Share …

I know I have been horribly absent from my blog. I’m starting to become reconciled to the fact that I am just not a real blogger and won’t really have much of an established presence in the blogging world at this point in my life.

I do have to post occasionally to my blog to be allowed to continue doing some of the blog hops that I’m in and love to do … so I’ll continue posting.

I want to share with you the cards we made at my February club meeting. I just had my March club meeting last week, but I’ll be sharing those cards with you as part of the CONTROL FREAKS BLOG TOUR on March 20th.

By the time I was preparing for my February club, I was just overstuffed with holiday cards and projects so I wanted to steer clear of those for a bit and go with more of a Spring feel to the projects. I also wanted to focus a little more on stamp sets from the Annual Catalog rather than focusing on ones in the Occasions Mini catalog.

So without further ado …

I won the Sweet Floral background stamp at Convention last year from the Prize Patrol and have been wanting to use it for a LONG time. It just kept getting pushed back by other stamp sets and projects. So this was the perfect time to make sure it got used!


Supplies Used: Stamps: Sweet Floral, BFF, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Rose Red; Ink: So Saffron, Rose Red, Garden Green; Accessories: Beautiful Wings Die, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Rhinestone Basic Jewels


Awash with Flowers is another stamp set I’ve had for quite some time and never use it as much as I would like to. So I decided I would make sure it got used on this batch of club projects. I really loved using the faux watercoloring technique on this card. All we did was ink up the stamp and then spritz it with a bit of water before stamping it on the watercolor paper. It’s so easy and so fun!



Supplies Used: Stamps: Medallion, Awash With Flowers, Fabulous Phrases; Ink: Staz-on, Rose Red, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede; Paper: Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz, Watercolor Paper, old dictionary paper; Accessories: Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Modern Label Punch, Scallop Trim Border, Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding, Pearls Basic Jewels


Language of Friendship is a stamp set I’ve always debated with myself whether I like it enough to buy it or not. With it being one of the sets from the Annual Catalog that can be earned during Sale-a-bration, it was the perfect time to grab it! I certainly don’t regret it!


Supplies Used: Stamps: Language of Friendship, Ink: Early Espresso, Pool Party; Paper: Naturals White, Early Espresso, Pool Party; Accessories: Bird Builder Punch, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch; Scallop Trim Border Punch, Scallop Circles #2 Die, Lucky Limeade Stampin’ Write Marker, Pool Party Stampin’ Write Marker, Pool Party Seam Binding, Pearl Basic Jewels


Thanks for stopping in today! And thanks to those of you who stick with me here on my blog when there really isn’t much reason to keep coming back. Hopefully I’ll be better in the future!

As I mentioned above, don’t forget to come back on the 20th to see what the Control Freaks have in store for you this month!







A special thank you to the following stampers for their inspiration:
http://roseyscrapper.blogspot.com/2011/02/awash-with-flowers-and-watercolor.html 
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2018527?&cat=21723
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2015021?&cat=21688 

Get Ready For Spring Fever!!

 

For anyone who is in the Northern Utah area, check out the flyer below for information on my upcoming class using the Spring Fever kit from Stampin’ Up!

Click the picture below to be taken to a PDF of the flyer for you to print out.

Contact me ASAP to register so I can order all of the materials needed!!

Big Shot Freak

 

WELCOME to the February 2012 Control Freaks Blog Tour!!!

We are showcasing PROJECTS USING DIE CUTS and the BIG SHOT in this tour.

I am the first stop on the tour, but you may be joining me from Wendy Weixler’s blog. When you done here you can click on the "next blog" link at the bottom of the post to continue on the tour. (All of our projects will be live no later than Monday morning.. if you are joining me Sunday night, you may need to check back tomorrow if all links are not quite working yet.)

My first project is a card I made for a swap I do every month with the Dazzling Duchesses (my friend Vicky Kahlandt and her downline). It features the new Edgelit dies with the coordinating embossing folder as well as the Fun Flowers die.

My next card is inspired by a card in the Occasions Mini catalog and features the new Paper Doily Sizzlits Die as well as the new Framelits dies in the Label Collection.

I wanted to show you close up how sparkly this card is too:

My last project features one of the many boxes you can make with our Big Shot dies as well as the fine details you can add to a project with our Big Shot dies. I’ve sued the Fancy Favor Die and the Leaf Sizzlit die on this box.

I hope you’re ready for a FABULOUS ride as you continue along the tour!! Next, you’re on your way to the ever-astonishing Patty Bennet’s blog! I love how she’s created some fun stuff that is “off the page”!!

Thanks for stopping by and joining me today for the Control Freak’s Blog Tour!! Please leave me a comment and let me know you were here!!

My First Freak Swap

As many of you know the Control Freaks started out as a group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators that wanted to be able to swap with other demonstrators who were all willing to commit to be held to a very high standard of creativity, artistry, and workmanship. The blog tours that give the Freaks the most publicity are a fairly recent thing.

The Freaks have a swap with every new mini catalog and IB&C release. I was fortunate enough to get into the group in time to be included in the swap for the new Occasions Mini catalog This was my first Freak swap and I was a tad bit stressed over making sure that I lived up to the standards and produced a great product. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about as far as having great products to use in the process! The Occasions Mini is PACKED with fabulous new stamps, accessories, and tools!

The stamp set I chose to use for my swaps was the new “P.S. I Love You” set. I love how this set has great images and sentiments combined to make the perfect Valentine or a simple heart-felt wish of love to someone dear.

I also used a variety of products from our Twitterpated Suite and also played with our new Framelits and Edgelits dies.

 

So without further ado … here’s the card I created:

I was blown away by the swaps I received in return and truly felt like the work I put into mine was truly worth the wonderful swaps I got in return. I only hope that each of the ladies I swapped with feel the same about my creation.

Thanks for stopping by today. Let me know you were here!

SUPPLIES USED:

Stamps: “P.S. I Love You”; Paper: Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red, Pear Pizzazz, Island Indigo, Whisper White,  Baja Breeze, Twitterpated DSP; Ink: Island Indigo; Accessories: Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon, Twitterpated Designer Buttons, Pearls Basic Jewels, White Bakers Twine, Dimensionals; Tools: Hearts Collection Framelits Dies, Adorning Accents Edgelits Dies, Adorning Accents Embossing Folders, Scalloped Heart Embosslit Die, Full Heart punch, Hearts Galore punch, Modern Label punch

I’m a Control Freak!!

I’m so excited to announce that I am a member of the Control Freaks swap and blog tour group!!

I have been a great admirer of the Control Freaks and their fabulous creations for a while now as I tour their blogs during their monthly blog tour. I have a few friends who have part of the group for a while. One of them suggested that I look into becoming a part of the group because the work I do is of the quality they are always looking for. In October I was officially made a part of the group. I decided to wait to make the announcement until it was time for the tour. I will be doing my first swap with the group in December and I am so VERY excited!

Now on to the tour …

WELCOME to the November 2011 Control Freaks Blog Tour!!!

We are showcasing projects based on the idea of keeping things simple. In the Stamping World, it’s called K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stamper). Since we’re still in the Christmas season I decided to make my simple creations Christmas based.

You have probably joined me after visiting our leader, Lisa Martz’s blogand you can click on the "next blog" button at the bottom of the post to continue on the tour.

Our tour officially starts on Sunday, November 20th.. so if you are joining us early, some of the blog tour links may not be quite up yet.. so please check back Saturday morning for the full tour.

Here’s a preview of all three of my projects:

One of the things I like to do if I’m trying to keep things simple is to take full advantage of the work Stampin Up has already done for me. I love how easy it is to make an awesome project using our coordinating products. The other thing I like to do is focus on one stamp set. There are often plenty of images in one stamp set to do everything I need on my project that there’s no need to use more than one.

I decided I wanted to focus on our Polar Party stamp set from the Idea Book & Catalog for these projects.

The trio of trees in this stamp set is by far my most favorite image in the set. I may not have purchased it if this image wasn’t in the set (although I do like the rest as well). This project was made super simple for me by following the color scheme that Stampin Up had already established in our Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin Kit. I used a piece of DSP from the kit and then used all products and colors that coordinate with the set.

It’s difficult to tell by this image, but the center tree has glittery ornaments. I simply used one of our Blender Pens and dipped the tip of it into our Champagne Shimmer Paint to color each of the ornaments.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Polar Party, Petite Pairs; Paper: Christmas Lane DSP, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White; Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Lucky Limeade, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Bashful Blue; Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Dots ribbon, Dazzling Details, Champagne Shimmer Paint, Blender Pen

I am one of those that is a fan of nontraditional Christmas Colors. I love having blues, pinks, and other colors that give Christmas projects more of a whimsy feel for me. Here I paired Marina Mist with Old Olive simply because those are colors that are part of the palette of the Letters to Santa DSP.

I really wanted to add some shimmer and glimmer to this card, so once again I turned to our shimmer paints. I brushed the Frost White Shimmer Paint around the edge of the Top Note shape as well as colored the bear in with Frost White Shimmer Paint using a Blender Pen. Then I turned to our Dazzling Details and Dazzling Diamonds to add some glitter to the project. I finished it off by adding some bling with our rhinestone jewels.

Take a look at the image below to see it better:

The blues I used to color the bear are the exact same color. For the lighter blue I used a blender pen and picked the ink up from my ink pad really lightly. For the darker blue I used our Stampin Write marker of the same color.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Polar Party; Paper: Letters to Santa DSP, Marina Mist, Whisper White; Ink: Basic Black, Marina Mist, Lucky Limeade, Real Red; Accessories: Bashful Blue satin ribbon, Dazzling Details, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Dazzling Details, Northern Flurry snowflake die, Rhinestone jewels, Blender Pen

This pillow box turned out different that I had originally planned. I had planned to hang a tag from it stamped with an image from Polar Party to fit with my other projects. But after I got the box and snowflakes cut from our glimmer paper, I just didn’t want to cover them up at all and I felt the box said plenty all by itself.

I just love the glimmer and shimmer that our new glimmer paper has. I can’t wait to see even more colors come out in the future!

Supplies Used:

Paper: Red & silver Shimmer Paper; Accessories: Northern Flurry snowflake die, Sizzix pillow box die, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, rhinestone jewels

I hope you’ve enjoyed my first ever contribution to the Control Freaks Blog Tour!! You’ll find more simple yet fabulous inspiration as you continue on to Barb Mullikin’s blog.

Thank you for joining me!

Join me Saturday ...

Join me on Saturday, November 20 for an exciting announcement!

I'll give you a little sneak peek though. It looks something like this ...

**FREE** Digital Downloads

 

Celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day with Stampin' Up! for a four-day online event designed to introduce more of our customers to our digital content. Digital Scrapbooking Day is November 5, but we'll keep the celebration going from November 4-7! The event will include free downloads, blog posts with exciting project ideas all weekend long, and the announcement of the 2011 My Digital Studio Contest winners.

Here’s a peek at the free downloads:

 

Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity to become familiar with Stampin’ Up’s digital software and content!

Click the image below to be taken to the My Digital Studio site where you can join in on the celebration!

Christmas Mini Album Class

Christmas CD Holder Mini Album

Get a jump on your holiday preparations with this fabulous album!

Sign up today for my Christmas CD Holder Mini Album class (if you're local)

or order a full kit of the class (if you're not local).

This fun and festive mini album is not only beautiful and easy to make,

but it is also very interactive and loads of fun to decorate, fill, and then enjoy!

(They make wonderful gifts too whether filled or empty!)

With all of the necessary supplies included (even the ribbon and other details),

this class is a steal at only $25!

You can sign up for the class by emailing me here or contacting me through my Stampin Up website. Please sign up ASAP so I can order the correct amount of kits that I will need.

If a kit needs to be shipped to you there will be an additional shipping charge.

Contact me today to reserve your spot!!