Sneak Peeks at New Suites!

Hi Stampers!
I'm so excited that June 3rd is almost here and I can fully share the new Annual Catalog!  While as a demonstrator I get to see the catalog early, I can't necessarily order whatever I want!  I guess patience is a virtue, right?! 

Today I want to share some quick looks at what I've been playing with. I'm so excited about the new In Colors! They are vibrant and cheery and really look great together. The new suites I've been able to get also take advantage of the new colors!  Want to see?!!

Flowers For Every Season Suite:

This is a HUGE suite where you can buy all the pieces together or separately. There is a jar punch and coordinating stamp set as well as sunflower stamps and dies. You can see the five new In Colors on several of these projects. They are Just Jade, Misty Moonlight, Cinnamon Cider, Magenta Madness and Bumblebee - aren't they gorgeous!

In Good Taste Suite:

This set is a great suite of textures and images to combine with so many other sets. The Designer Series Paper features a variety of surfaces you would typically see on a wall, floor, counter space, etc. Think tile, wood, plaster, paint, etc.

World of Good Suite:

This last suite introduces a new foil paper - Brass!  It's a softer gold and so versatile. If you like to travel and adventure, you will love this sweet!

I hope you've enjoyed my sneak peek!  Meanwhile, we are getting closer and closer to June 3rd when the whole catalog will be available to order (with just a couple of exceptions due to shipping delays directly related to Covid-19). I can't wait!  I'm hosting an Annual Catalog Open House next Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at my house and you're welcome to stop by if you're in the area! I'll have catalogs, some Make-N-Takes, some samples and displays, some treats and more! You can even place an order that will be submitted on June 3rd.  Contact me for more details!

Happy Stampin',
Sarah

Retiring Products Greatest Hits Part 3

Hi Stampers!
If someone were to ask you what your favorite stamp set is, what would you say?  Isn't that almost an impossible question to answer!  It is for me. It's easier for me to tell about the 2-3 in a whole catalog that I don't care for.  The first thing I do when I get a new catalog is savor it slowly once thru, then go thru again armed with sticky note flags, colored coded in order of importance and mark every page that has something I want. It becomes my wish list for the entire year or length of the catalog.

This is kinda like that only in reverse... I'm sharing some of my favorite sets that are going away from the catalog but won't be leaving my stamp room any time soon!  Here are today's greatest hits!

Let It Ride #148765
Blog posts:  Let It Ride.  and   Swirly Frames

Love You to Pieces #151352
Blog post:  Love You to Pieces

Artfully Aware #149447
Blog post:  Artfully Aware

All of these wonderful stamps are retiring May 31st so if you would still like to get them, you need to act now!  Once a supply is gone, it will not be replenished as Stampin'Up! is gearing up for the new Annual Catalog and all it's goodies which go live on June 3rd.  I particularly loved these sets because they seemed like "my style" as far as sentiments that I would actually use and express to someone. They were fun to color and create with and they were unique, not like other sets we have.

Take a look at the online store under "shop now" and click on "Last Chance Products" to see all that is available still. I would hate for you to be disappointed in June because you missed out!

Hope you have a lovely weekend and can get outside some!  It's rainy today here but we are anticipating a sunny, warm weekend - good for the soul!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Retiring Products Greatest Hits - Part 2

Hi Friends!
How are you doing these days?  It's a more sincere question than usual, right?!  There are so many people I haven't seen in quite awhile that if I do run into them, it's an event - still no hugging, but we can at least enjoy seeing each other's face.

We only have a few more weeks of enjoying the retiring products from SU. I wanted to share some more of my favorites that you need to get before they are gone!

Sweetly Swirled #149284

Ride With Me. #151106
Original Blog post:
Ride With Me

Welcome to the Team #149388
Original Blog post:
Welcome to the Team!

Just a reminder that once things retire, they tend to be gone, gone, gone!  Occasionally some dies or paper shows up in the Clearance Rack but stamps are always gone for good, which is the main point of most cards - the stamps!  Take a quick look at the Annual Catalog and Spring Mini Catalog to make sure you don't miss out on anything. You can also browse the "Last Chance Products" section of the online store to see what's left!  Here's a link:

Last Chance Products

I'm patiently waiting for my preorder to arrive of some of the new products in the upcoming 2020-2021 Annual Catalog. With Covid-19 and related disruptions, shipping has been extra slow and requiring extra patience... UGH!

Let me know if you have any questions or want help with an order. I'm formulating some plans for classes and events as we emerge from this lockdown so stay tuned! I can't wait to stamp with you!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Family Party meets Mosaic Mood

Hey Stampers!
For some reason, I'm having a hard time with the gumption to blog. These in between transition times are always tough as I have a hard time saying goodbye to some well loved products and of course, can't get the new stuff yet!  I did submit a preorder for some new Annual Catalog products, but as of yet, nothing has shipped. The Covid-19 thing is taking a toil on many areas of life and shipping delays are one of them... Oh well.

Yesterday, I had another online class that featured two stamp sets that will be in the new catalog and are in the current one. They are "Family Party" and "Mosaic Mood".  We did a total of 6 cards with 4 being regular sized cards and two being 3"x3" cards for a gift bag, etc. I thought it would be fun to show them to you! The beauty of the "Family Party" stamp set is that you can customize any card for any relationship! I also wanted to demonstrate that you can adapt most stamp sets for either men or women, sometimes it just takes some creative designing!  Many of the components in these cards used products from the Mosaic Mood Suite including the flower gems, the embossing folder and especially the stunning Designer Series Paper. Most of these products are in the "Last Chance Products" section of the online store so they are still available if you have to have some!

One of the design elements in the paper is a hummingbird and here's a colorful one, about to enjoy some flowers! The "kindness" saying was stamped twice on Very Vanilla paper, once in Terracotta Tile and once in Mint Macaron. The Mint Macaron was cut out with the coordinating punch and the "kindness" word was fussy cut out of the other one with scissors. Adding dimensionals behind both layers really makes it pop out!

The Designer Series Paper has a sheen to it on one side of each paper and these rose and tile pieces really show case that. I did cut the roses out with scissors. The Mosaic Mood stamp set comes bundled with the punch you see here, used for the sentiment. It's a great size for any sentiment!

This is an example of making a card more "masculine". I skipped all the hummingbirds and roses and used some leaf and tile border themes from the paper. This card features the tile embossing folder, which is also retiring and available in the "Last Chance Products" section of the online store. 

I wanted to try one more masculine card and also was eager to stamp the big tree image in the "Mosaic Mood" set. The "Family Party" set also comes with numbers so you can really customize your card for a special birthday!

Finally, we used the cute note cards from the "Best Dressed" suite to make a couple of 3"x 3" cards for gifts. You can add dabs of Designer Series Paper like I did on the one on the left or you can just do some stamping and pop up the name or relationship. There are coordinating envelopes with these and you get 24 in a package, three different color options including these two plus a Purple Posy variation.

We had a great time doing the class online. I'm considering continuing these options even after we are able to resume in person classes safely. Let me know if you would be very interested in online classes in the future. I do them via Zoom and then record them as well on my phone and offer a YouTube link to watch the class after the fact at your own convenience.

I'm so glad you were able to stop by and see these cards!  Keep watching for more news and projects as the 2020-21 Annual Catalog gets closer to launching on June 3rd! Meanwhile, I'm on the lookout for UPS to show up any day!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

RETIRING PRODUCTS - Greatest Hits Part 1

Hi Friends!
I've been struggling a little with my creative mojo. It happens this time of year when things that I have are going away and things that I want haven't arrived yet. It's the retirement/new catalog season of Stampin'Up! that happens every April-May.  I have such mixed feelings!  I decided I want to give some love to some of my favorites that are leaving and remind you about them.  They are on the "Last Chance Promotion" section of the online store and many products are discounted!  Be sure to check out the online store - so many great deals!

The first one is called "Sea of Textures". I didn't initially want this set because frankly, an octopus grosses me out!  I ended up getting it because of the other stamps in the set and then to my great surprise, I had so much fun with it. This set never made it to a class so it didn't get a lot of time in front of my team or customers. Here it is again, including a link to the original blog post!

Original blog post:

Sea of Textures blog post

The second retiring bundle I want to remind you about is called "Best Catch". This deals with a little less creepy fish!  Here are some cards I made with this set, which happens to be perfect for the fisherman or woman in your life!

Here's the link to my original blog post:

Best Catch blog post

Although these bundles are retiring, I'm keeping mine!  I think I will come back to them time and time again. Here's  a link to the store:

Online Store

Thanks for stopping by! If you like the sea, get this set before it's gone!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah