Last day to order from the Holiday Mini and Sale-a-bration Sneak Peek!

Time to stop procrastinating!  Today at 11:59pm the Holiday Mini expires to make way for the new Occasions Mini which goes live at midnight.  If there are still items on your wishlist or things you loved this year that you want to have for your holiday crafting next year, you have just a few short hours to get your order in before they are gone for good. 
As if the new Occasions Mini weren't exciting enough, we also have Sale-a-bration to look forward to!  In just three weeks Stampin' Up's biggest (and best!) promotion of the year begins and today I have a sneak peek at some of the FREE product that will be available beginning January 24th.  Have a look...

Birthday card using Elementary Elegance stamp set and Everyday Elegance DSP available for FREE during Sale-a-bration 2012.

Isn't that paper just gorgeous??  I love every page in the pack!  I can't often say that about DSP packs, as there are usually one or two patterns I don't especially care for, but this truly is beautiful paper.  The stamp set I used is called Elementary Elegance...love this one because it has both images and sentiments...always a hit.  Notice the butterfly brad and pretty ribbon?  Those are also FREE Sale-a-bration items!  They come in a combo pack which includes 30 printed brads and two 10 yard spools of organdy ribbon...and it all coordinates with the paper and the stamp sets!  Gotta love Stampin' Up's easy coordination...makes putting projects together a snap!  The scalloped edge on the card was created using the new Edgelits dies from the Occasions Mini...they're an easy way to add elegance and detail to any card.
Can you tell I'm just a wee bit excited about this year's Sale-a-bration??  Just wait till you see tomorrow's post...

Time to start thinking about Valentines...

Now that Christmas and New Year's are behind us it is time to get busy designing Valentines projects!  Today's card is one I designed a while back for a class on watercolouring I am teaching at an upcoming weekend retreat run by my upline.  Check it out...

Sweet Valentine's card using the Greeting Card Kids stamp set with sentiment from Delightful Dozen.

I kept the layout for this card fairly simple because the focus of the class is on watercolouring using different media.  I did add a bit of bling with the silver glimmer paper to highlight the sentiment (have I mentioned how happy I was to see that it is carrying over when the Holiday Mini ends tomorrow??).  I used rose red ink to stamp the sentiment, which is the same shade I used to colour the little girl's dress.  The DSP I used is from the Flirtatious pack.  I layered it on a piece of whisper white cardstock that I embossed using my perfect polka dots folder.  The whole thing is layered on a pretty in pink card base.  Easy and straightforward, leaving lots of time to watercolour!

Happy New Year!

Well, here it is a brand new year and to celebrate Stampin' Up has some fantastic new products to start your crafting year off right.  In just three short days the new Occasions Mini catalogue goes live, filled with tons of fabulous new goodies to tempt you:  Framelits dies (nesting dies that cut several different sizes of the same shape), Edgelits dies (dies that create decorative edges on your cards), and a gorgeous large doily die.  If dies are not your thing, there are plenty of new stamp sets, Designer Series Papers and embellishments to choose from (can we say pleated satin ribbon and scented embossing powders??).  I really had a hard time controlling myself during the pre-order...I truly wanted one of everything in the mini!
Now let's not forget that when a new mini begins, we must say good-bye to the previous one.  There are just three days left to order from the Holiday Mini, so if you adored those mini jingle bells as much as I did, you'll want to order your supply for next year's holiday crafting, as they will be gone after the 3rd.  As with any mini, there are some items that are carrying over; to see the Carry-over flyer click HERE.  (I have to say I did a little happy dance when I saw that the silver glimmer paper will be carrying over!)
Now on to today's post.  Since we are celebrating the birth of a brand new year I thought it fitting to feature a birthday card.  This one uses a ton of product from the upcoming mini and also works for this week's challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.

Yummy birthday card for HSS# 99 using the Sweet Cake stamp set and Sweet Shop DSP from the Occasions Mini.

Now doesn't that look good enough to eat?  The best part is that it SMELLS just as good!  I used the new vanilla scented embossing powder on the icing of the cupcake to make this card smell absolutely scrumptious!  WARNING (to all you new year's dieters out there)...this stuff smells good enough to eat...when you're heating the powder to melt it you'll want to take a bite!  I used several new products on this card:  Framelits die for the calypso coral label that I then embossed using the perfect polka dots folder, the Sweet Cake stamp set, which I stamped in pool party and again in soft suede and then paper-pieced together to get the multi-coloured image, and Sweet Shop DSP (gotta love those cupcakes!).  There are also a couple of teasers from the Sale-a-bration catalogue, which starts January 24th.  The brad and the 1/8" organdy ribbon are both available as part of the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack you can earn for FREE during Sale-a-bration!  Conveniently, they both coordinate with many of the products in the mini...you'd think maybe Stampin' Up plans these things!
Honestly, the crafting possibilities in the new mini and the SAB catalogue are just endless...what a great way to start off a brand new year!

I'm Ba-ack...

Well, here it is nearly the end of 2011 and I FINALLY am back in the photo-taking business.  Thanks to a good repair job my camera is fully functional and ready for action.  Since I've been away Christmas has come and gone in a whirlwind of family visits and big dinners.  The dust has finally settled and I finally have time to catch my breath.  As is always the case, when I finally give myself permission to relax a little, I get sick!  In fact, my whole family is sick with a nasty cough and cold.  My son has another ear infection to go along with the horrible cough, which is making the nights not overly restful in our house!  The poor kid can't get a decent sleep because he is coughing his brains out!  We're hoping he'll be able to nap a little during the day to make up for the lost sleep at night.  This bug can move along any time now!
This morning I had a rather pleasant surprise in my inbox.  It was an email from Pals Paper Arts that two of my designs had been chosen for their "Best Dressed for 2011" list!!  I was chosen for July  and September and I have to say I am absolutely thrilled and humbled.  What a great way to start my day after a rather crummy night!
Now, on to a project...and isn't it about time??  This card is the first one I created when I received my Occasions Mini pre-order goodies.  It is CAS and uses a bunch of new products...check it out:

CAS card using the new Apothecary Art stamp set from the upcoming Occasions Mini

I have to say I did a little happy dance when I saw the new Framelits dies in the Occasions Mini.  Those of you who have received your copy will know what I am talking about, but for those of you who haven't, these dies are along the lines of Nestabilities dies, with several different sizes of the same-shaped die.  They are perfect for layering and are easy to position to cut out images from the coordinating stamp sets.  The Framelits set that I used on this card is the Labels Collection and it coordinates perfectly with the images in the Apothecary Art stamp set.  This card, in fact, used my Big Shot to the max.  I die cut the label after stamping the image on very vanilla in Staz-on ink.  I also die cut a larger-sized label in baja breeze and ran it through again using the perfect polka dots embossing folder.  The background is another piece of very vanilla that I also embossed using the vintage wallpaper folder.  I watercoloured the flowers using my aquapainter and baja breeze ink pads.  The finishing touch on this card is the gorgeous pleated satin ribbon, another new product from the upcoming mini.  I LOVE this stuff...you're going to be seeing more of it in the coming weeks!

Boxing Day came early!

Stampin' Up is making a lot of holiday dreams come true with some fantastic deals on the online Clearance Rack.  Punches, dies, embellishments all at up to 80% off!!  These deals are while supplies last only, so act fast to get your hands on these fantastic bargains!  Click here to access my online store.

No Camera = No Photos

So you've probably been wondering where the heck I've been for the past week.  I am here, really busy, but still stamping.  My pre-order for the new Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration came and I had a chance to play for an hour or two.  The problem is my camera isn't working!  We are in the process of determining whether it is more economical to get it fixed or just buy a new one.  The challenge is, with Christmas fast-approaching, Santa may be working on a new camera for me so....no photos for now!  I've tried to let Santa know how urgent it is that I have a functioning camera, so maybe he'll make an early delivery.  In the meantime, happy stamping!  I'll have LOTS to share when I do finally regain the ability to take pictures!

NOT a Christmas Card!

I am so over Christmas cards.  I've been doing them since August and, quite frankly I am sick of them.  I held my last Christmas card class of the year today and all I can say is bring on Valentine's Day!  The card I have for you today is not a Christmas card.  It is a thank you card I designed for a class I am teaching at an upcoming weekend retreat in January.  The class is on watercolouring and so I chose one of my favourite hostess sets to colour:  Faith in Nature.  See what you think:

Thank you card using the Faith in Nature hostess set

Focal image detail

I just love this pear image.  I don't know why but it just really appeals to me.  I stamped it in versamark on watercolour paper and then heat embossed it in gold.  I watercolored it using my aquapainter and ink pads.  The rest of the card is pretty straightforward and uses more mustard, soft suede and crumb cake cardstock.  I am so looking forward to playing with my preorder items from the upcoming Occasions Mini...there's nothing like new goodies to jump-start the ol' Mojo!