Spring Cleaning at Stampin' UP!

It's that time of year - time for some spring cleaning by Stampin' Up!  They just released the lists of retiring products from the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog and Occasions Catalog.  (See links to downloads below.)  This is your last chance to purchase some of your retiring favorites before they are gone for good.

LAST CHANCE PRODUCTS - ANNUAL CATALOG

LAST CHANCE PRODUCTS - OCCASIONS CATALOG

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT RETIRING PRODUCTS!

• There is no minimum purchase required.
• All retiring items are only available while supplies last and will be discontinued after May 31.
• Retiring host sets can only be purchased using your Stampin' Rewards from a qualifying order of $150 or more (total before shipping and tax).
• Depending on inventory, discounts on select products may be introduced on or after May 8.
  • These discounts will not be pre-announced.
  • If you purchase a product at retail price and then it is later discounted, Stampin’ Up! will not refund the difference.
  • If there is a product you want, it is recommended to purchase right away and not wait to see if it’s discounted later or you risk it being sold out.
  • If you start an order before a discount is announced, the order will not include the discounted pricing. If you want to order a product that has been discounted, you will need to start the order after the discounts are announced. 
• Retiring tools & accessories will only be available while supplies last.
• Retiring stamp sets are guaranteed available until May 25, after which they will only be available while supplies last.
• Our ink pad design is retiring (including all current pad designs) but not all Stampin’ Up! colors.  Colors that are not retiring will return in the newly designed ink pad (easier to open, stackable, etc.) in the Annual Catalog.  Additionally, returning and new colors have been reformulated so that the ink will be slightly different.

Paper Pumpkin for March

This month's Paper Pumpkin was a great one ... especially if you like "shabby chic."  It was also the five year anniversary for Paper Pumpkin.  Stampin' Up included a little gift in our March kit of wood embellishments.  I really enjoy my Paper Pumpkin kit each month.  I usually make at least one of the cards/projects that the directions call for but use the rest of the stuff in the box to make alternate projects.  So far, I have made 15 cards with the elements and stamps that are included in the kit, only supplying a few card bases and a little bit of ribbon, doilies, etc that I have on hand.  All of the cards below are alternates.

For this card, the "extra" elements I used were the doily, Crumb Cake cardstock, and a piece of  Wood Textures DSP.  I stamped the flower image (included in the PP kit) in the corners of the DSP.  The scallop piece is flap part of 2 envelopes that were included in the kit - I just butted them up together and adhered them to the card after wrapping twine around them.  

For this card I again supplied the Crumb Cake cardstock, Fresh Florals DSP, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla which I die cut using Stitched Shapes, and the Lime ribbon.  

Again, I used a piece of Crumb Cake and Fresh Fig cardstock and the pink twine.  But the rest of the items are found in the kit.

For this one, I used Powder Pink cardstock for the card and for the die cut sentiment (Celebrate You thinlets).  The green striped piece is the back of the envelope that came in the kit.

If you enjoy working with kits and getting a little surprise each month, consider signing up for Paper Pumpkin.  Now is a great time to sign up for Paper Pumpkin with 50% off promotion.  (Don't forget to use my Hostess Code located in the top left corner.)

• Promotion is for new subscribers only
• Offer is available March 11–May 10, 2018
• Offer runs for 2 months
• Use code SAVEFIFTY0418 at checkout
• Discount is applied to one kit per month for the first two month of a new subscription.
  • How it works: A new customer can subscribe during April’s subscription period from March 11–April 10 or May’s subscription period from April 11–May 10 and receive the discount. If a new customer subscribes during April’s subscription period they will receive 50% off their subscription when billed in April and May. If a new subscriber subscribes during May’s subscription period they will receive 50% off their subscription when billed in May and June. If a customer suspends during their 2-month discount period, they will receive their discount during the first 2 months in which they reactivate.
• Does not apply to prepaid codes

Bird Banter

Remember me???  I've been AWOL .... again!  I just need to slow down and take time to keep up with my blog.

We were in Atlanta for a week recently and had a good time.  Ashley was there for the week attending a pediatric conference so it was a good time for us to see her.  We stayed with her downtown for a couple of nights before driving to Dunwoody (suburb of Atlanta) and staying with some old friends for a couple of nights.  During the day, Sonny and Jim played golf while Melanie took me to a couple of historic homes and museums.  It would have been better if the weather had been a little warmer!!  I was prepared for 60+ days and while it may have gotten to 60 degrees, the wind was terrible and just about knocked you off your feet.  Luckily, I brought Ashley a jacket to wear or our Hawaiian girl would have froze!

I have a couple of birthday cards that I have made lately using the Bird Banter set and sent to friends.  I'm giving myself a pat on the back that I remembered to take a picture of them before mailing!!

I love the bright colors on this card!  The birds are so much fun to color using the Stampin' Blends.

This is a simple card but I love how the balloon continues on past the square.

This card I sent to my granddaughter in Colorado.  Her birthday was while I was in Hawaii and it was a little late getting to her!  It is a tri-fold card as you can see in the next picture.

Love this "early bird" saying for the card!!

March Stamp Club

I had Stamp Club next week and we did a lot of birthday cards (although I gave them the option of changing the sentiment if they wanted to.)

This first card is ideal for a masculine birthday.  I don't know about you but seems I never have enough masculine cards when I need them.  Using the Wood Textures Paper Stack (6x6) makes it a lot easier.  The "celebrate" sentiment is from Amazing You (Sale-a-Bration) and the other two sentiments are from We Must Celebrate (Occasions Catalog.)  Using the Stamp-a-ma-jig made lining up these sentiments a breeze.

This card was so simple but I just love it!  The sentiment is from Special Occasions which is a wonderful stamp set for sentiments!  And how about that little bitty cake???  I got that from Tabs for Everything which is a set I got from Stampin' Up for free.  I didn't think I'd use it but it has come in handy for a lot of uses - words, hearts, cake, stars and to stamp tabs.  Take the time to look at the samples using this set in the catalog (pg 43 of the Annual Catalog.)   I love, love, love the DSP on this card.  You can get it FREE from the Sale-a-bration catalog with a $50 order - BUT only until the end of the month.  So, if you love it like I do, put an order in soon!!

I think this next one is my favorite for this month and it's another Sale-a-Bration project.  The stamp set is Epic Celebrations (for the tennis shoes) and the birthday sentiment is from We Must Celebrate.  I used my new Stamp-a-ratus to line up the sentiment all the way down the card - easy, easy!!  The Stamp-a-ra-tus will be available in the new 2018-19 catalog which will debut in June.

I borrowed the Hold On to Hope stamp set and framelits for this card from my downline, Debbie.  It makes a beautiful card.  I really love the filigree cross.  By using Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets on the back of the card stock before die cutting it makes it so easy to adhere to the solid cross.  This was my first time to use the Ruffled embossing folder and I love the look!

I just finished packing for a trip to Atlanta.   Ashley has a pediatric conference in Atlanta and will be there all week so we are driving down tomorrow afternoon.  We will stay with her a few days and a few days with some good friends of ours.  Sonny will play golf and Melanie and I will probably do a little shopping!!  Fun times!!  Can't wait.

Stamp 'N Hop Blog Hop #2 featuring Sale-a-Bration Products

Hi!!  Welcome to the Stamp 'N Hop blog hop.  I am blogging to you from beautiful Lake Norman in North Carolina.  I am so glad you have decided to join us.  We love comments so would love to hear what you think of our projects.  This month we are featuring the Sale-A-Bration Second Release stamps as well as other stamp sets from Sale-A-Bration.  You can earn these stamps for FREE by placing a $50 order.  I hope you enjoy my post and will take the time to visit (and comment) on all the other blogs posted at the end of my post.

My first card I made using the Epic Celebration stamp set.  This set is timeless yet it also represents youth and creativity.  I just love these tennis shoes!  Since I just got my Stamparatus last week, I had to try it out on this card to line up the birthday sentiment!  Wow!  How great is that tool!!

I used my paper snips to cut out the tennis shoes but if you are not into cutting, you could always stamp them on Whisper White cardstock and punch it out with a Circle Punch or Die.  I used several stamp sets for the sentiments - Happy Birthday is from a Paper Pumpkin set but there are a lot of other sets that have Happy Birthday in them that you could substitute (like We Must Celebrate.)  "Hip, Hip, Hooray" and "celebrate" are from Happy Birthday Gorgeous.  The background behind the shoes is from Eclectic Expressions (Sale-A-Bration set) stamped in Dapper Denim (but stamp off first for a lighter color.)

Cardstock:  Dapper Denim, Real Red, Whisper White

Ink:  Real Red, Dapper Denim, Daffodil Delight

Dies:  Stitched Shapes, Circles

Stamp Sets:  Eclectic Expressions, Epic Celebrations, Happy Birthday Gorgeous

My next card also uses the Epic Celebration set as well as Eclectic Expressions.  I stamped the background with Tangerine Tango using full strength ink and stamping off to make some of the impressions lighter.  I used Lemon Lime Twist (my favorite!) for the dots.  I stamped the guitar with VersaMark ink and embossed it in Copper.  That really made the guitar stand out.  For the inside of the guitar, I used Brusho crystals (Gamboge) with my Aqua Brush.

 Cardstock:  Lemon Lime Twist, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White

Ink:  Lemon Lime Twist, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, VersaMark

For my next card, I pulled out Eclectic Expressions again for "thank you" stamping it in Bermuda Bay, each time getting lighter and lighter.  I used that wonderful Stamparatus to line up the "thank you's."  If you are new to Stampin' Up and are wondering what the Stamparatus is, watch the video below.  I have used other stamp positioning tools, but this is the best!  The flower is stamped with Lemon Lime Twist.  I stamped the flower again on scrap white card stock, cut it out and mounted it with dimensionals.

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Bubbles & Fizz DSP (from Sale-a-bration)

Ink:  Lemon Lime Twist, Bermuda Bay

I hope you have enjoyed the products I have shared with you.  Please continue to hop along and see what other demonstrators have made!

Idonna Miller
Ilka Teschke
Tracey Gouraud
Kayla Adams
Joanne Hodge
Sandra Roberts
Melissa Tennison
Mo Rootes
Britney Vanderlaan
Tracie Evans Langley
Melissa Kerman
Georgia Gaydos
Shannon Cole
Lisa Kmiec
Amy Grendel
Jenn Charles
Laura Mackie
Eva Pottsova
Rachel Traudt
Laurie Meier
Susan Simpson
Kimberly Smith
Tracy Lewis
Karen Pearmain
Christina Walker
Bobbi Miller
Danielle Kassing
Kirsten Aitchison
Sharleen Luciano
Rebecca Fellows
Arden Dougan
Linda Handford
SHARON MARANICH (you are here)
Mikaela Titheridge
Andre Gordon

Cats in a Crate!

Hello Stampin' friends!  Do you like cats?  If so, I have a really cute card to share with you today!!  I made this last week for a fellow cat lover friend using the stamp set, Pretty Kitty.  You can find this stamp in Stampin' Up's annual catalog on page 49.  My daughter is actually the big cat lover in our family.  If I were to choose, I would probably pick a small dog over a cat.  But I love my cat, Sammie, who I inherited from my mom.  She is definitely a one person cat though - me!  When my daughter was a child, there was a house at the end of our alley (in Texas, most houses have the garage at the back of the house and an alley for coming and going) that every few months would have the "free kitten" sign in the yard.  She and I tried to adopt one of those cats several times - even once, bringing the kitten home with us - but Sonny would not have any part of a cat so we walked back and returned the kitten.  Finally when she was in middle school and I was working at the public library, someone brought in a mother cat and her litter that had been abandoned.  It was close to Christmas and the public buildings would be shut down.  They were going to put the kittens and the mama cat to sleep if no one would take them.  I called Sonny and got the "ok" and brought a kitten home to Ashley for her birthday.  She named him Mr. Claus.  She loved that cat - not me so much.  We had him for several years.  Eventually, of course, I ended up taking care of him when she went to college until he got sick and we had to put him to sleep.  No more cats in our life until about 8 years later when someone abandoned a kitten in the parking lot of the hospital in Washington where she was doing her residency.  Since it was a military hospital, we figured someone got transferred and left the kitten behind.  Ashley named him Taco.  He was a great cat!!  Much more lovable than Mr. Claus!!   He made the cross country trip from Washington to D.C. laying on a pillow on the console between us happy as a lark.  Unfortunately, he got sick after 2-3 years and died unexpectedly when he was being sedated to give him fluids.  That was the worst!  She went several years before she'd even think of getting another cat but finally, she and I made a trip to the pound and found Bogart.  He is the BEST cat ever!!  Everyone loves him - even Sonny!!

So - now that you have read all that, I guess you would like to see the card!

This card took a little longer to make than the average card.  I stamped the kittens on neutral card stock (Basic Gray, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Smoky Grey) and cut them out with my paper snips.  The "crate" is from the Wood Textures DSP.  I used dimensionals on the "crate" and just fit my cats in using Glue Dots.  I used markers to color their bows and put a little pink on the ears.  The push pin holding the sign is from Painters Palette.  I used the Mini Treat Bag Thinlets for the zig zag ends of the sign.

Here's a funny picture for you.  I was doing some spring cleaning Saturday and when Sonny moved the chest in our room so he could vacuum behind it, we found the hiding place for all Sammie's toys:

I think spring will be here soon - at least I am hoping!  These are some pictures I took in the last couple of weeks.

Beautiful sky!

Sunset through the trees.

Flowering spring trees!

Another beautiful sign of spring!

NC Blog Hop - Brusho

Welcome to the NC Blog Hop.  We are happy to share our projects with you.  We are all SICK of winter so we thought we'd make a few projects that will have us thinking of warmer days to come.  Although I really can't complain.  The past few days we have had record warm days here in the Charlotte / Lake Norman area and it is supposed to continue into next week.

I dusted off a stamp set that I haven't used in a while, Pocket Full of Sunshine.  This is a great stamp set for making masculine cards as well as card for the teenagers in your family.

I also used a new product (Brusho) that you can find in the Occasions catalog.  I actually got my Brusho several weeks ago but have not had the chance to play with it.  Today was the day!

Brusho is made up of watercolor ink crystals.  The perfect "canvas" for using them is either Watercolor Paper (which is what I used) or SU's Shimmery White card stock.  When you get your Brusho, do NOT take the lid off!  The powder is super fine and will go everywhere.  Simply grab a push pin, pierce the top and use the push pins for the seal on the bottles.  Each Brusho package includes 5 pots - Brillant Red, Gamboge (orange), Moss Green, Prussian Blue, and Yellow.

You can use Brusho in a variety of different strengths to achieve different washes.  Standard strength can be used a straight forward painting to add washes of color over a design.  More diluted Brusho is excellent for producing pale washes of color.  For extremely intense vibrant colors, only add a very small amount of water to the Brusho.

You can mix Brusho into infinite shades by varying the amount of water.  The colors are fully inter-mixable, making them easy to experiment with.  Try using a sponge or a soft brush to paint with.  Another method is Ink & Wash where you apply Brusho as a wash of paint to inked images to bring an element of color.  First though, make sure that your image has been stamped with waterproof ink!  You can also use Brusho with a mask and apply it either with a brush or with a spritzer.

Also try using Brusho as a Resist Technique!  Stamp your image in Versamark and emboss with any of SU's embossing powders.  Heat set the image; then use one of the following ways to add the Brusho:

• Mix water with a bit of Brusho sprinkled on an acrylic block.  Paint over the image to form a background using an Aqua Painter.
• Spritz watercolor paper with water and then sprinkle Brusho on and watch it spread (that is what I did with my card.)
• Use an Aqua Painter to distribute color where you want it.
• Allow to dry naturally or use the heat tool to speed it along.

Here is the first piece I made using Brusho.  I will use it later in making a card.

Have you been watching the Olympics?  I have so much respect for all the athletes participating!  We have watched them every night for the last two weeks.   After tonight's closing ceremony, I think we will go into Olympic withdrawal!!  My favorites this past week were the shoot-out for the girls hockey team to win Gold and the Curling event which netted the guys a Gold medal!  Here's a card I made for the Olympics also using Brusho.  This time I used my Aqua Painter to move the ink where I wanted it.

Brusho is a fun technique that is pretty easy to do!  Give it a try!

I hope you have enjoyed my Brusho card.  Now make sure you "hop" along to the next blog on the list.  I know Laurie has something special to share with you.

TONI CAMPANA

TAMARA DAVIS

JO ANNE HEWINS

TRACIE EVANS LANGLEY

SHARON MARANICH (ME)

LAURIE MEIER

SUE ROOT

KATHY SVEDBERG

FRANCES WAGNER

CHRISTINA WALKER

February Stamp Club Projects - Lots to Love & Waterfront!!

These are the projects we made in Stamp Club this month.

We first made a little box using the Lots to Love Framelits Dies from the Occasions catalog.  It is really easy to miss this set of dies - I did the first 2-3 times I went through the catalog.  But I really love this little box and it is super easy to make.  I used it at Valentine's and made a bunch of little boxes that I filled with Dove chocolates. 

Whisper White Narrow Note Cards and Envelopes (page 19 of Occasions) were decorated using the 6"x6" Picture Perfect Party DSP.  This DSP makes it super easy to create simple birthday cards!   I gave them their choice of using the Bird Banter stamp set or the We Must Celebrate critters (below).  Blender pens were used to color with.

These are a couple of the Valentine boxes that I made to give to friends.  The hearts framelits are included in the Lots to Love dies.  I just used some old DSP that I had on hand to decorate the boxes.

We also made two cards using the wonderful Waterfront set.  I think this is one of my all time favorite stamp sets!  I wanted the gals to see how versatile AND how easy it is to use this set and make a masterpiece!  Think I sold four sets last week!

The beach scene:

The mountain scene:

The Best Laid Plans!

I decided to make this a priority today!  I think I am just getting lazy and not scheduling any posts.  I am going to try to do better .... but no promises!!  I am the same way with logging in my meals for Weight Watchers.  Now that I am in the "maintaining" position, I have slipped a LOT in counting points and not eating the smart way I should.  Need to get these Dove chocolates (my fav!) out of the house!!  Going out for lunch is not great for my plan either!  Today it was with friends to Outback which recently opened in Mooresville.  OMG - just looked at points for the 6 Coconut Shrimp that I had and they were 20 pts!!  Then add in the French Onion Soup for 8 points and I have exceeded my point count for the day!  Luckily, I didn't eat breakfast (saving up for lunch!) and am making a Chicken Taco Soup that is zero points!  Yesterday, I played bridge and our hostess was really good about planning our entree to make it gluten free and fat free.  It was a delicious taco soup.  BUT .... then the dessert was served and this gal can't say no to dessert!  She had devils food cake with something on top, served with fresh whipped cream AND Bailey's liquor drizzled on the cream - quite decadent!  But we couldn't stop there!  Oh no, then we all had to try a shot of the Bailey's Chocolate Cherry liquor!  I didn't bother to add up those points!  I'm still at my goal weight (at least I was when I weighed in last night) but if I continue to eat like that, I won't be!

(NOTE - I think I was jinxed!  I wrote the above paragraph yesterday mid-day.  I downloaded pictures from my phone to include in this blog posting and would you believe - my computer would not connect to internet after that.  I have been working on getting it fixed since about 4:00 on Tuesday until 6:30 Wednesday night!  I did all I could do before calling for help this afternoon.  Luckily one of our friends that lives in the next subdivision is a computer "guru" and was able to help me.  Although he did admit to me when I told him everything I have tried to do to fix the problem that I probably knew as much about it as he did.  We finally got it running and he installed a malware program and a cleaner program on my computer.  So now I can share some cards with you!)

HAPPY VALENTINE's!!

I think this stamp set is so cute.  It is on page 39 of Occasions Catalog - We Must Celebrate.  I used my Blends to color the little guys.

I decided I might get more use out of the stamp set if I cut all the little critters apart.  Some of them are pretty close together but if you are real careful, you can cut between them.  Then you can make a card like this one easily!  Again I used my Blends to color them.

FAST FUSE SALE

Starting Tomorrow

February 8- February 12th

or

until Supplies run out

When you purchase( 1) Fast Fuse

you will get

(2) Refills for FREE

FYI

Last year the Fast Fuse promotion

ran out a 4 year supply

in a matter of just a few days .

Stampin' Up! is bringing back the

5 day ONLY promotion

BUT

it's while supplies last .

Please act quickly!