Surprise!

 Well friends - anyone still out there?!  So sorry I haven't "blogged" in forever but there has been a lot going on.  My husband & I both got COVID in March.  I had no problems with it - just felt like I had a bad cold.  Sonny .... not so much although we don't know if it is a result of COVID or not.  About a week after he got the virus, he was still feeling bad & coughing a lot.  He went to a Minute Clinic & was diagnosed with pneumonia.  The coughing let up a little bit but he was still just feeling "off."  After about a month of still not feeling great, we started visiting various specialists.  He started having shortness of breath and would be huffing & puffing just walking up and down the driveway.  The x-ray showed fluid around the lungs and heart.  He had a CAT scan in July, x-rays, Echo and Stress tests in August ... !!  Now he is scheduled to have a heart stent next week & to see the pulmonary dr in September for a sonogram and removal of the fluid.  He stopped taking his meds for the CML leukemia for the past month and that seems to be helping a lot.  We'll see in the next few months.

As for me - I had my own issues but not so bad.  I had a lithotripsy (shock wave) to try to break up the kidney stones.  I think it worked.  I haven't had any pain with the stones & hope that continues.  I hope to do the other side in December.  I have not had any pain from the stones but I prefer to get them blast them & make them smaller.

I haven't had a lot of extra time to do much stamping but here are a few cards I have made using the July Paper Pumpkin kit.

Watercoloring

Who knew there was a Watercolor Month to celebrate!  July is World Watercolor Month and Stampin' Up has lots of watercoloring products - pencils, paper, stamps, ink and more.  Watch the video above and see what we have to offer.  Practice makes perfect for watercoloring.  Watch some of the videos about watercoloring and search #WatercolorStampinUp for ideas.  I love to watercolor and you can too.  My favorite way to watercolor is squeeze a bit of ink in the lid of the ink pad.  Use an aqua pen to dilute some of the ink and color away!  

Here is a card I did using the Sale-a-Bration stamp set, Hippest Hippos.  

JULY - DECEMBER MINI CATALOG & SALE-A-BRATION

 The July-December Mini Catalog Is Here!

The July-December Mini Catalog products are now available! Check out dozens of NEW stamps, dies, papers and embellishments that are perfect for fall and winter projects! 

The catalogs are wonderful!  Click on the Catalogs below.

MINI CATALOG

SALE-A-BRATION

It’s  Stampin’ Up!  most wonderful time of the year.

During Sale-a-Bration, for every $50  increment you purchase from either the 

new 2022 July – December / Holiday mini OR the Annual Catalog you get to

 pick something for FREE from the Sale-a-Bration mini catalog .

There are three  $100  level  item’s you can pick  for your $100.00 order 

( before tax and shipping )

• Amazing Phrasing # 159930 ( page 11)
• Wonderful World  # 159918  (Stamp Set and Designer Paper combo) 
• ( page 14)
• Tree Lot Dies # 159938  (page 12)

the Tree Lot dies coordinate with the Trees for Sale  Stamp Set # 159785

that is in the new Holiday mini catalog on page 39.

When your order reaches $300 or more ( before shipping and tax)  you can get the Perfect Pomegranate Stamp Set # 159899on page 17 in the Sale-a-Bration mini.

FREE SHIPPING!!

 

For one day only - TUESDAY, 6/21 - Stampin' Up is offering free shipping with every $75 order.  So email me, text me, call me with your order.  Also, you can put an order in on your own - just click on "order online" above & put your order in,  This also is good for Paper Pumpkin (as long as it is not for a month to month kit)  You can also get some great deals on the Clearance items!

Can't believe how long it has been since I posted!   So sorry!   Since COVID got us, I have just not had my normal energy.  I go up to my craft room & end up playing games on the computer instead of working on other things!   Sonny really doesn't.  He ended up also getting pneumonia along with the COVID.  That was in mid May and his lungs still are not clear.  He just finished another round of anti-biotics that hopefully will do the trick.

I have had fun making cards using the Celebrating In Color Paper Pumpkin kit for May.  I made 20 cards from the kit & just added a little bit of additional cardstock and some stamps from other sets.  Here are the ones I made - mostly (CASE-d)

These are from the envelopes!

Let's Set Sail!

These are some of the cards I made using the new Let's Set Sail stamp set.  There is a coordinating Punch for this stamp set.

For the card on the top with the striped DSP, I found that piece of designer paper in Ashley's stash & it goes great with the Lemon Lime sails!

I made a Z Fold card for the sail boats.

Z Card open

I stamped the pelican with Crumb Cake - using my Stamparatus so I could add additional ink on the image by stamping it multiple times.  I used a marker to make the rectangle shape framing the pelican image.

Beautiful Shapes

 I found a stamp set in Ashley's stash that is old and retired but I was able to make some great cards with it.  The top two cards are both made with the Dear Doily set.   

The 2 cards on the bottom are using a smaller doily.  But the hexagon shapes is from the Beautiful Shapes dies.  This was such a fun card and a great one to use your bits and pieces of designer paper!

Beyond the Horizon Paper Pumpkin, March 2022

 

Ashley and I had such fun making cards these past weeks.  Here are a few that Ashley has made using elements from the Beyond the Horizon Paper Pumpkin kit.  This was one of the best kits we have gotten.

Fun time with family!

 So sad ... I am coming home tomorrow!   Ashley and I have had such a good time during the 2 weeks I have been in Maryland.  We toured the DC Mormon Temple, attended a funeral (of one of Ashley's friends father) at Arlington National Cemetery, watched an the US Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team perform their "Drill at Dusk" performance at the National Harbor, attended the Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks in DC, shopped A LOT at the Tanger Outlets and had lots of "play time" and good restaurants to eat at.  Smack down in the middle of my visit was Ashley's commencement ceremony!!  She earned her Masters of Health Professional Education degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.  We are so proud of her!

Now I need to go home and take care of my hubby.  We both tested Positive for Covid a couple of weeks before I left for my trip to Ashley's.  Luckily my quarantine ended the day before my trip!  Sonny had been having a lot of congestion a couple of weeks before taking the covid test so we thought it was all related.  He ended up going to an UltraCare the first weekend I was gone.  He was diagnosed with Walking Pneumonia!  He was supposed to be playing in a golf tournament in South Carolina that next week!  He got started on the Z Pack & other meds they gave him so he ended up just missing the first two days of the tournament.  But he is still not feeling great.  Hoping he can get in to see his doctor this week.

Tropical Layers Dies

 I have another card using the Tropical Layers Dies.  The circles are punched out of the Designer Series Paper (Artfully Composed).  

I am going to miss this stamp set and dies.

Waves of Inspiration

I just love this Waves of Inspiration!  And using the Stamparatus and Sponge Daubers (or Blending Brushes) to add ink to the wave stamp allows you to add lots of colors .... so pretty!  This set is available now and is also in the Annual Catalog.

This was such a simple card to make.  I stamped the wave using Balmy Blue ink.  Next I used the Sponge Daubers to add a bit of Night of Navy and the new Tahitian Tide In Color to various places of the wave stamp.  I just kept adding a bit here and there until it was how I liked it - using the Stamparatus to hold it in place.  The only thing next was to add a couple of birds and a sentiment.  

For this one, I die cut the two wave portions onto Night of Navy and adhered it over the top of the wave.  

By the time you read this, I will be on a plane enroute to spend a couple of weeks with my daughter.  I can't wait!  I finished my 5 day quarantine and am ready to go (with a mask on!)

Artfully Layered

Happy Mother's Day!

Unfortunately I can't see my mother today!  We had plans to get together at my nephew's house for Mothers Day and for my nephew's daughters 2nd birthday.  But the universe had other plans for me!  I tested Positive last Wednesday for the dreaded COVID!  Can't believe after staying in & doing all the stuff you were supposed to do for the last two years that when I think we are safe, it hits!  After I tested, my hubby tested too and got the same result as I did.  He is going stir crazy having to stay at home for a week!  He didn't even have any symptoms other than the congestion he has but he gets that way every year when the yellow pollen is around.  I felt like a house had fallen on me last Wednesday which is what made me do the test.  But I am getting better every day and we started taking meds right away.  I'm sure we will be ok in the long run.

I love the new catalog BUT there were a few items that were not included in it that I will really miss!  For instance, the cards I am sharing with you today are at the top of my list!  I was really surprised that the Tropical Layers Dies & Artfully Layered stamp set was on the chopping block.  This bundle was featured in the Jan - June mini catalog SO if you want this bundle, you can still purchase it until the end of June!  It is not going to be in the Annual Catalog.  The details for this bundle is #157761 / $53.00. 

It seems every time I order a leaf set, it gets retired.  Oh well, I still use the retired items and will continue to do so.  Here are a few of the cards I have made using this bundle.

For this card, I kept the colors muted - using Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand and Gray Granite.  This is usually not my style (as I love bright colors) but I really like how this turned out.

Another card using the Artfully Layered Bundle.

It's hard to see but there is a die in this bundle that does not cut out.  it just leaves the impression - slightly cutting instead of embossing.  If you look at the bottom corner and the top left corner you will see the texture the die leaves.  Pretty cool!  I tore a piece of Kraft paper and stamped the sentiment on it.  The scallop is also one of the dies in this set.

And another Artfully Layered Bundle.  This time I used Terracotta Tile cardstock (retired In Color) for the card and the scallop piece.  The Artfully Composed DSP worked great for this card.  You can also only get this paper until the end of June and believe me, it is a beautiful pack of designer paper.

This card was an experiment and it came out ok.  I cut a piece of textured green vellum that I bought from Stampin' Up! several years ago at 11" x 4 1/4"  I adhered a piece of the Artfully Composed DSP onto the front of the vellum piece.  I wrapped a ribbon around the front and die cut a couple of leaves / ferns (?) on the front and inside of the card.

Floating Technique

 Want to try a floating strips card? Get in line to make a fun and creative card using acetate or window sheets and strips of cardstock!  You can also use dies to cut different shapes for this technique.  

There are no rules…. use your creativity once you see how easy this technique is.

I used a piece of window sheet (transparency, acetate, etc.) and Tomboy Glue to adhere the strips down.  Trim off the edges when you are done and adhere to your card.

I like to use my grid paper to make sure I get the strips even.

 

 

When we spend too much time looking backward, we can prevent ourselves from living in the present which is where all our power is. Focusing too much on the past can hinder our ability to move forward.

This doesn't mean you have to forget your past or pretend it never happened. But what is done is done.

So try not to stress about what happened yesterday because it can affect the quality of your "today" and your "tomorrow."

Always remember that every day is a new opportunity to begin again. Every meal is a new opportunity to make better choices.

An AWESOME Deal from Stampin' Up!

 Make your wishlist for TOMORROW!  The new catalog from Stampin' Up! launches and it's starting with a huge promotion on the already amazing Starter Kit.

May 3 - May 30, Stampin' Up! is giving away 4 amazing products in addition to it's regular starter kit offering ... including the full set of new In-Color ink pads (that's a HUGE value!)

The starter kit is $99 plus tax; the shipping for the kit is FREE and you get to choose $125 in products that you'd like to have.  Then .... they are throwing in these products completely free!

For many people, purchasing the Starter Kit seems scary.  They worry about meeting a quarterly minimum and what's more, they worry about having to run a business.  Well, I'm here to relieve your worry's and fears about both.

Did you know:

• There is ZERO requirement to run a business.
• Purchasing the Starter Kit is much like paying for a Costco membership.  You simply get to shop at a discount, but if you wanted to work for Costco (or in this case, Stampin' Up!) you could do that too.
• The dreaded minimum - I find people get hung up on this.  YES, there is a quarterly retail minimum to meet of $300.  However, if you don't meet it, that's ok.  You will just go back to being a customer, but in the meantime you got to be a part of something spectacular and got a lot of free product. 

There is ZERO downside to purchasing the starter kit.  There's noting to lose, only to gain!

 Just click above - "Order Online" and then "JOIN" or just give me a call with your order!

  

Horizons!

 I've done a little of stamping in the past week or so.  I really love the March Paper Pumpkin - Beyond The Horizon - and have made a bunch of cards using the set.  It is gorgeous and coordinates well with 6x6 DSP, New Horizons.

This card uses the 6x6 DSP, New Horizons, along with the stamp set, On The Horizon (as a bundle.)  I bought this die mainly for the fence but I love the other dies and stamps in this set.  I am pretty sure it will carry over to the new Annual Catalog. 

This was such a simple card to make but has a WoW factor!  I opened up one of the cards from the Paper Pumpkin and cut it in two.  I used one of the dies from the Stitched Rectangles to die cut a rectangle in the middle of the card.  I cut a border around the Stitched Rectangle piece and mounted in over the hole I cut out with dimensionals.  The card is made using Misty Moonlight (In Color) cardstock.  For the tag, I used the Tailor Made Dies.

For this card, I cut off about 1 1/2" and adhered the piece I cut off to the bottom of the Paper Pumpkin card.  All the elements and the card came directly from the Paper Pumpkin kit.  See the card opened up below.

This is the card opened up using more elements from the Paper Pumpkin kit.

Cruise Time!

I returned from my cruise last Monday.  Ashley and I had a blast!  We went to concerts at night and broiled ourselves in the sunshine during the day.  (I'm waiting for my arms to peel!)  The musicians who performed for us included The Beach Boys, Temptations, Monkees, a Beatles band called Hard Days Night who were wonderful, Joe Piscopo, Emerson Hart, Yacht Rock Review, The Surfrajettes, and Mark BMacGrath.  My favorite was the Temptations and the Hard Days Night band.  The Beatles band had  custom tailored costumes, vintage instruments, Liverpudian dialect and precise attention to every detail recreating the magic and music of the total Beatle phenomenon.  Three costume changes during their set covered the full range of the Beatle experience.  The Temptations still have it and they are celebrating their 60th anniversary!  The sole surviving member of the original classic Temptations, Otis Williams, is 80 years old but you wouldn't believe it.  

Beautiful ice sculpture.

What skills!

This was Saturday night 60's.  We found bell bottoms at WalMart!

Groovy head bans!

Temptations

In the holding room waiting to board.

Leaving Miami

In Colors

 Good Morning!  Today Stampin' Up! demonstrators will be downloading the 2022 Annual Catalog!  While there are so many exciting products to soak in from the new catalog, I enjoy getting to know the new In Colors.  So many of our favorite Stampin' Up! colors started as "In Colors."  I started as a demonstrator in February of 2005 and the "In Colors" started in 2006.  Back in 2006, Stampin' Up! added six colors to its color collection in the Annual Catalog.  The In Colors offer colors that are trending in home, decor, fashion, design, and crafting.  For several years, Stampin' Up! offered a colloection six In Colors each year.  In 2010, the company offered five In Colors and announced that In Colors would be active for two years, alternating between years. 

See if you remember these first In Colors - Vintage Violet, Buckaroo Blue, Cool Caribbean, Marigold Morning, True Thyme and Cranberry Crisp.  I'll admit, I don't remember many of those first ones.  This year's In Colors are ......drum roll please!  Parakeet Parade, Tahitian Turquoise, Starry Sky, Orchid Oasis and Sweet Sorbet.

Here's a fun fact for you - Sixteen colors in our current color families started as In Colors.  Here are the collection colors that were introduced to us as In Colors:

• Pacific Point (2008 In Color -> Brights)
• Soft Suede (2009 In Color -> Neutrals)
• Crushed Curry (2009 In Color -> Regals)
• Melon Mambo (2009 In Color -> Brights)
• Rich Razzleberry (2009 In Color -> Regals)
• Bermuda Bay (2009 In Color -> Brights)
• Poppy Parade (2010-2012 In Color -> Brights)
• Blushing Bride (2010-2012 In Color -> Subtles)
• Pear Pizzazz (2010-2012 In Color -> Subtles)
• Calypso Coral (2011-2013 In Color -> Subtles)
• Pool Party (2011-2013 In Color -> Subtles)
• Coastal Cabana (2013-2015 In Color -> Brights)
• Blackberry Bliss (2014-2016 In Color -> Regals)
• Mossy Meadow (2014-2016 In Color -> Neutrals)
• Mint Macaron (2015-2017 In Color -> Subtles)
• Flirty Flamingo (2016-2018 In Color -> Brights)

When the catalog is released to demonstrators this afternoon (3 pm EDT), Stampin Up! will simultaneously launch the Last Chance product sale for products that are retiring from the 2020 Annual Catalog.  Check out those products later today.

 

Shipping Increase

 

These 5 colors are retiring soon ink pads, refills, cardstock, ribbon While supplies last Shop Retiring Colors Beat the shipping cost increase!   Starting April 1st, minimum shipping will increase to $7.95 (from $6.95) for orders under $73 or 11% of product total (from 10%) for orders over $73.  Protect your color investment by getting an ink refill and as much card stock as you think you'll need.

Stampin' Up Shipping Charges

 I want to let you know about a change to Stampin’ Up!’s shipping and handling pricing. Starting April 1, the minimum shipping charge will increase by $1.00, from $9.95 to $10.95—or by one percentage point, from 10% to 11% of the total order amount—whichever is greater.

I want to make sure you’re aware of this change, as it impacts both you and me. Stampin’ Up! is only one of many companies that have had to increase their shipping and handling costs in response to the global supply chain crisis. Stampin’ Up! has worked to keep the increase as minimal as possible so we can continue bringing you the unique, high-quality, and coordinated paper crafting products we love.  

I appreciate your business, and I’m happy to help you figure out the shipping costs for your order any time you’d like to know before purchasing. Remember there are some FREE SHIPPING deals Stampin’ Up! has a couple of times a year! I encourage anyone to buy a pre-paid paper pumpkin kit during those times as it will save you a whole bunch over the course of a year.

Thanks for your attention.

Waves of the Ocean

Each of the world’s wide and open oceans is brimming with beauty and wonder. Marvelous marine animals, miles of submerged mountain ranges, and unique underwater plants lie thousands of feet below Earth’s dry surface, encouraging exploration and awaiting discovery.

Discover the depths of the ocean—and your artistic abilities—with the Waves of the Ocean Collection! This coastal collection includes an inspiring set of stamps and detailed dies, both early-release products from the upcoming 2022–2023 Annual Catalog. Plus, a pack of paper made from images of hand-poured paint, blue-hued foil sheets for a sea of shine, and radiant rhinestones for a splash of sparkle—each an exclusive product you can only purchase during the promotion period!

Explore artistic expression with the Waves of the Ocean Collection. With these seaside supplies, you’ll dive into inspiration and swim in a sea of creativity!  

Check out the video below - 

The bundle  (stamps and dies) is $51.25 (USD) but if you want it all (and who doesn't) it is $79.25.   

The Waves of the Ocean Collection includes:

• Waves of Inspiration Bundle (10% off)
  
• Waves of the Ocean 12" x 12" (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Designer Series Paper
  
• Blue Foils 12" x 12" (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Specialty Paper
  
• Rhinestone Waves Basic Jewels
• Only available while supplies last

The Designer Paper is $11.50 / Blue Foil Specialty paper is $10.  

Exclusive embellishments only available during the Waves of the Ocean promotion are $6.50.

• 168 adhesive-backed rhinestones
  
• 3 mm: 20 each of 6 colors
  
• 4 mm: 4 each of 6 colors
  
• 5mm: 4 each of 6 colors
  
• Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Pacific Point
  
• Only available while supplies last
• 
  

Click on the pictures below to get a better view of this wonderful collection!