Let's Chase the Gray Away!

Hello stampers and a happy rainy Wednesday to all!

 Thanks for coming to visit The Classic Card today!  I really appreciate your faithfulness in coming back each Monday, Wednesday and Friday to read my blog and look at my cards, especially since there are about a ba-jillion other blogs you could be reading that are way better than mine!  As I have mentioned in the past, I focus on the clean and simple style of stamping, out of necessity.  As a Stampin'Up! demonstrator, I need to be designing cards that are fairly quick and easy to make, especially since there are often newbie stampers at my events.  These types of cards are known among demonstrators at "workshop-able" cards, meaning that they are suitable for use at our stamping parties (we used to call them workshops).
So if you are looking for intricate designs with multiple layers, lots of embellishments, and fancy techniques, you are in the wrong spot.  I try to use color, a good layout or design, and simple enhancements to give my cards a crisp, clean look.

The card I have to show you today will be used for some upcoming stamping parties that will showcase new stamps from the new catalog.  This is a super-simple card that is easy to stamp, but the fun flower image and the bright colors just make me smile.  There's really nothing "over the top" about it... it's just a bright, fun card!  Hopefully these bright colors will chase the gray away!    Please take a look...

Are you a big fan of square cards like I am?  I love the look of a square card, but paying the extra postage that is required for a square card is not one of my favorite things to do.  If you make your square cards 4 1/4 by 4 1/4, they still fit in a regular rectangular envelope and you won't have to pay anything extra.  And who really cares about the envelope anyway?  It just gets tossed (into the recycling bin, of course). 

The stamp set I used for this card is called Morning Meadow.  You can see it on page 203 of the new catalog.  The good news is that it is only $10 in clear mount.  The bad news is, you have to have $10 hostess dollars to purchase it.  Yes, it is one of the new hostess sets for the 2013-2014 catalog year.  This fun set has 5 other great stamps in the set in addition to this flower.  There's even a coordinating punch that punches out the flower.  You can easily get this great stamp set by hosting a stamping party for your friends, family, and co-workers.  You can even have your party at my house, which means a minimum of work for you! Just let me know that you'd like to be a hostess and we'll find a date that works for you!

The colors I used are Calypso Coral, Summer Starfruit, and Bermuda Bay.  The ribbon is the Stitched Satin in Summer Starfruit. 

I'm sorry, but I'm going to be MIA on Friday.  But I promise to be back on Monday with another classic card that I think you'll love.  

Have a wonderful weekend and let's all think sunny thoughts!

Hugs,

Susan

Gingham Garden

Hello there stampers!
It seems odd writing on a Tuesday, but that's what happens when I promised yesterday that I'd catch up with you today.  So... happy Tuesday and happy birthday to my friend and fellow demo Mary!  I'm hoping your day will be relaxing and fun!

In only 3 more days, we'll be able to order from the brand new catalog.  I wish you could see my list of things I'm ordering, but it might be too shocking for you!   There are certain things that I've just got to have.  And I'm sure you are finding things that you feel you must have.  One thing that I think we'll ALL love is the new Magnetic Big Shot Platform.  Your framelits will now stay put when you are cutting out stamped images... no more post-it notes required!  I cannot wait to get my hands on this great new tool!  (item #130658, $39.95, page 184 of the new catalog).

OK... enough chatter!  Let's cut to the card, shall we?

This fun paper is the new Gingham Garden collection of DSP and it is one of the things that demonstrators were allowed to pre-order so we'd have something to make new samples with.  I get quite a few decorating magazines each month and I've been noticing a lot of gingham prints in housewares, fabrics, and paper products.  Stampin'Up! does keep up with the trends, so this is just one more example of their uncanny ability to pick the right trends to follow.  These are the colors in Gingham Garden--  Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Melon Mambo, Night of Navy, Pear Pizzazz, and Whisper White
.
Here's what I used to make this bright and happy card:

Stamp Set: Label Love, p. 33 of the new catalog
Ink:  Melon Mambo
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Island Indigo, Gingham Garden, and Whisper White.
Accessories:  Square Lattice Embossing Folder, 2 1/2 inch Circle Punch, 2 3/8 inch Scallop Circle Punch, and the new Artisan Label Punch (page 181 of the new catalog).  This new punch coordinates with the Label Love set.  The ribbon is Pacific Point 1/4 inch stitched grosgrain.

Wouldn't your very best friend love getting a card like this from you?  Due to Memorial Day yesterday, I'm meeting with my SOS group today, so I've got to run.  Hope you'll have a great week (it's a short work week!) and slide smoothly into Friday!

Hugs,
Susan

Happy Memorial Day!

Hello Stampers and Happy Monday!
Since today is Memorial Day--- an official holiday--- I'm giving myself the day off!  I hope you'll all remember the significance of this day, even though you might not be attending any type of ceremony or visiting a cemetery.

Please come back tomorrow (Tuesday) for another classic card.  Meanwhile, enjoy the holiday.

Susan

New for You!

Hey there, stampers!  Happy Friday!

I'm so glad you came back to The Classic Card today!  Now I'm wondering if you might be able to do me a small favor.  Writing a blog on a consistent basis is quite labor-intensive and I'm feeling like I might be doing all this work for nothing.  I do enjoy writing, but quite honestly I have a LOT of other things on my plate and there are many other things I could be doing with my time.  Each time I open a new post, blogger.com tells me that I have 9 followers.  I have written hundreds of posts, but the number of followers has never changed.  I'm hoping you can help me with that by spreading the word about my blog to other stampers.  I would love to have a few more readers.

Today I have another "sneak peek" for you, sometimes known as a "sneak peak" on other blogs where the writers don't know the difference between a quick look and a tall mountain.  I'm sorry to say that spell-check cannot help a person who has homonym troubles.  Sorry I got off track there for a moment.... let's move forward and check out the card.

This is a "stamp once and you're done" type of stamp and I just love it!  It's called Wildflower Meadow and it's just one big stamp.  The easiest way to use it is to lay it face up on your work surface and then pat the ink pad all over it.  Then lay the paper on top of the inked stamp, top it with a piece of scrap paper, and gently rub all over to transfer the image.  Believe it or not, I inked the stamp with Early Espresso and I was quite surprised that it turned out a lot lighter than I thought it would.  The printed paper resists the ink a bit, giving the image a softer look.Here's something to get excited about...  this stamp has a matching embossing folder, also called Wildflower Meadow.  The greeting is part of the Label Love set, which has 7 different images.  The most exciting thing is that there's a matching punch for this set, called the Artisan Label.  The Designer Series Paper I used is called Gingham Garden and the color of this sheet is Daffodil Delight.  I added some of the silky seam binding in Crumb Cake to finish the card.

The new catalog goes "live" at noon on May 31st and I can't wait!  I've got a few spots left in the Summer, Salad, and Stamping event at 11:30 on Saturday June 1st, so if you'd like to join me for lunch, I'd love to have you.  Just drop me a quick email at sjrstamps@gmail.com and I'll save you a spot!

Have a great weekend, everyone!
Don't forget that tonight is my annual hostess appreciation night.  Come and get your free catalog!  If you haven't been a hostess this past year, you are invited to come on Saturday, starting at 9 am to pick up your new catalog!

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!
Hugs,
Susan

Out with the Old, Bring on the New!

Hi there, stampers!

Happy Wednesday and thank you for coming to The Classic Card today.  My, oh, my!  After seeing what mother nature can do when she whips up a tornado, I don't think I'll feel justified in complaining about rain ever again.  So, it's gray and rainy today.  So what.  It might not be our favorite thing, but at least we have a roof over our heads.  That is something which makes me feel very grateful. My heart goes out to all of those poor souls who've lost family and friends and homes and whole neighborhoods and towns.

I've been working like a little beaver (or duck?) to wind up this Stampin'Up! year so I can move on.  Although the new sales year doesn't start until July 1st, the new catalog year starts on June 1st and that's what's got me working overtime as I try to clean and organize my stamp room and get ready for the influx of new stamps, new paper, new ribbon, and all sorts of new products.  The old has to go to make room for the new!

Speaking of new... I've got something new to show you today.... finally!  Take a look...

Although I'm not allowed to show you the actual products, I can show you items made with the new products, so here's a card showing off some of the goodies that you'll find in the new 2013-2014 Annual Catalog.    First of all, let's talk about the colors.  I've used three of the new In-Colors on this card... Crisp Cantaloupe, Coastal Cabana, and Baked Brown Sugar.  I just love these three colors together!  The stamp set is called Mosaic Madness and what a versatile set it is.  I've already seen a Christmas card made with this set. Stamped in red and green, with the little shapes suspended from baker's twine,  they look like little Christmas ornaments.  There's a Mosaic punch that coordinates with this set, so it is quick and easy to punch out the stamped images.  Oh, and there's also an embossing folder too, called Modern Mosaic. The birthday banner is in a hostess set called Banner Greetings that you can get for just $8 in hostess dollars when you host a party.  

Of course, I'd love to put your name on my calendar.  I'm booking parties now through December, so think about when you'd like to have your party and soon you'll be the lucky one with tons of new stamping toys that you got FREE, just for hosting a party.  To make it as easy on you as possible, I'd like to encourage you to have your party at my house.  That way you don't have to clean and I don't have to pack everything and travel.  It works out wonderfully well for both of us and, as I mentioned, YOU get the goodies!

Well, my friends, I'd love to stay and chat, but I must move on now.  I've got a lot to accomplish today!  I hope you'll take time to come back and visit with me on Friday when I'll have another new card to show you!

Hope your week is going smoothly!
Hugs,
Susan

Ten Days Left!

Happy Monday everyone!

I just glanced over at my calendar and oh my goodness!  There are only 10 days left before the end of the 2012-2013 catalog!  Yikes!  So today I think I'll point out some "must-have" products that you'll need to order before the end of the month.  In doing so, I'll show you several cards using these products, just to jog your memories. First of all, I'll show you the fun Soda Pop Tops that were so popular in the spring catalog that Stampin'Up! couldn't keep them in stock.  By the way, they are on back order right now, but you can still order them and they should start shipping on May 30th.

Did you make this card at one of my Sale-a-bration stamping parties??  I just love the silver bottle tops and the great accent they make on a card (#129388, 3.95 for 16... 8 each of two sizes).

If you're going to order the bottle tops, you might as well get the petite little stamps that fit inside, such as this wreath and bee.  That set is called Collage Curios (p, 24 of the spring catalog, $15.95 in clear mount).

The next product that you need to order is the Flower Trim #126869, 6.95 for 2 yards.  Let' see if I can find a card in my picture collection...  oh, here's one!

I just love this soft and pretty flower trim.  I'm so disappointed that it is NOT in the new catalog, and I'm hoping that it will be listed on some sort of "carry-over sheet.  

A couple of other "must-haves" from the spring catalog are the Rain or Shine stamp set (the one with the fun umbrellas... a perfect set for Oregonians!, #126777, $15.95 in clear mount) and the adorable Oh Whale set (# 129132, $16.95 in clear mount)

.  Here are some cards to refresh your memory on those two sets...

Oh, and one last thing you need to order...it is sort of hard to see in these two photos above, but the cute Cloudy Day embossing folder #127022, $7.95 is going away as well.  Again, if you're an Oregonian, you know we practically have a monopoly on clouds, so what a perfect background texture this will make for your cards!

Thanks for stopping by today.  Don't forget to come back on Wednesday.  I'm working with some new products and I should have card for you showing some of the new In-Colors and a new stamp set or two.  

Have a smooth Monday and I'll look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

Hugs,

Susan

Remembering my Mom...

Hello Stamping Friends,

I'm sorry I missed posting on Monday and Wednesday, but here I am, back with you again on Friday.  I got a phone call last Friday from my sister letting me know that my mother had suffered a small stroke.  At first it didn't sound too serious, but then another call the next day confirmed that I needed to fly down.  My mom  passed away peacefully on Tuesday evening.  She was 97 years young.  She was attended by some wonderfully skilled hospice nurses, who kept her pain-free and peaceful.  My mom was an amazing role-model for her children and grandchildren and of course we're saddened by her loss.  But more importantly, we are inspired to live the way she lived--joyfully, energetically, boldly, lovingly, generously, compassionately, and adventurously.  She was quite a character!

Since I haven't been home long enough to stamp with my new goodies, I'm going to show you one of my favorite stamp sets that you absolutely NEED!  If you don't have this set already, you need to order it quickly, before it is gone forever.  This is a classic set that I will not be selling in my garage sale, so please don't wait and think you'll snag it there.  If you are a fan of fall, nuts about autumn, or loopy about leaves, then send me a quick email and order this set today.  I will be putting in an order after my Fabulous Flowers class this coming Saturday, May 18th, so if you'd like to avoid the $6.95 minimum shipping charge and add it to my class order, you are welcome to do so!

Oh, I guess maybe I should show you the card, you think?

You might have made this collage-y card at one of my fall parties last year.  I just love the way this turned out! The shadow stamps which form the background were made by trimming pieces of leftover rubber into rectangles.  Then I just adhered them to some clear blocks, inked them up with So Saffron ink, and then stamped the focal panel with them to give a structure or skeleton on which to hang the other images.  I love, love, love the French script stamp in this set, as well as the splotchy dots which give paper a wonderful vintage look. There's even a cool Paris postmark!  Here are the details:

Stamp Sets:  French Foliage, page   86 , item #121166, $14.95 in clear-mount,  # 120845, $19.95 in wood.  The sentiment is from Tiny Tags, page 124, #118592, $16.95 in clear-mount, #118091, $22.95 in wood.
Ink:  Crumb Cake, So Saffron,  More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, Soft Suede
Paper:  Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Accessories:  the base of the card was embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder, page 189, #119976, $7.95.  The little tag was punched with the very versatile Jewelry Tag Punch, page 183, #117190, 12.95.  The tag is tied on with Linen Thread, page 173,  #104199, $4.50 for 15 yards.  By the way, the Jewelry Tag Punch is also on the retired list, so don't delay if you'd like to have this petite tag that is so very versatile.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!
Hugs,
Susan

More fond farewells

Howdy there, stamping friends!

Here we are at Friday again and the month of May is just zipping by!  There's not much time left to decide which discontinued products we cannot live without.  We can order from the current "big" catalog and the spring catalog until the end of the month, so if you haven't taken a long, hard look at the retired stamps list, it might be a good idea to check it out.

If you attended my annual Retirement Party, you've already made this card.  But since most of my customers didn't attend, I wanted to show this card which features 5 retiring products.  Let me show you the card and then I'll go over the products that are going away.

Retired Product #1... Build a Blossom stamp set, p. 95

Retired Product #2  Blossom Petals Builder Punch, p. 185

Retired Product #3  Scalloped Square Bigz Die  (for the card base), p. 192

Retired Product #4  Scalloped Squares Duo Bigz Die, p. 193

Retired Product #5 Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon, p.172

I'm really sorry to see this fun flower set retire.  It is fun to use and you can make all sorts of flowers with it.  The matching punch makes it so easy to quickly put a 3-D flower together.  The colors I used are Wisteria Wonder for the petals of the flower, with Daffodil Delight for the center.  The green scalloped square behind the flower is Wild Wasabi.

My stamp room is starting to look a bit better, as I'm making progress on getting all the scrap packs put together.  Once I finish up some of these chores, I'll be turning my energy and attention to designing new cards for you using NEW stamps, paper, and accessories!  I've got some great new goodies to show you and I hope to have something new to share with you soon.  But please don't hold your breath.... remember,
I'm not that fond of blue.

Hope everyone will have a wonderful weekend, and for all of the mothers out there, may you feel loved and appreciated!

Hugs to all,
Susan

Bye Bye Birdie!

Hello Stampin' Peeps!  Hope your Wednesday is going smoothly so far!

As we're all well aware, there are quite a few (over a hundred!) great stamp sets whose days are numbered. At the end of May, they'll all go away... out with the old and in with the new.  I understand it is necessary for some of the sets to go so that there'll be room in the catalog for new goodies.  Nevertheless, I'm going to miss some of my favorites and the set I'm showing you today definitely falls into the favorites category.  I'm wishing that Stampin'Up! wasn't going to pull the plug on this beautiful set.

I've loved this set (Nature Walk) since I first laid eyes on it.  It was love at first sight!  I guess other stampers didn't love it as much as I did.  Anyway, I'm very sad that this beautiful set is being retired.  In case you didn't attend my Retirement Party last Saturday, this is one of the cards we made.  The card stock colors are Pool Party, Crumb Cake, and Very Vanilla.  I used Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso and Pool Party ink.  Oh, and this gorgeous embossing folder, Vintage Wallpaper is being retired as well.  The Crumb Cake strip was embossed using the Woodgrain embossing folder.  Thankfully, that folder is not being retired.  Some of the soft and silky seam binding in Crumb Cake adds a nice finishing touch.

I'm in the midst of lots of end-of-year chores, like making scrap packs out of discontinued DSP and card stock.  Oh my!  My stamp room looks like a huge scrap pile at the moment!  Guess I'd better run and get everything bagged up!  Thanks for stopping by today!  I'll look for you again on Friday when I'll have another classic card for you.

Happy stamping!
Susan

Fun in the Sun

Happy Monday to all the stampers out there!  Wow!  Wasn't that just the best weekend ever?  What fun to get out and about in the sunshine!

I had a great stamping weekend.  First I held my annual Retirement Party on Saturday and then on Sunday I had a fun Cinco de Mayo stamping party with my Hillsboro customers.  These fun ladies dressed up for the occasion  (see the photo on Facebook at The Classic Card).

The weatherman says the good weather is going to continue, so I thought a fun sunny card would be a good one to share. I received this card as a swap at our last Stamp2gether ( a monthly demonstrator event).  This diorama card was made by my talented downline member Janet Jones.  Isn't it just the cutest card ever?? It makes me want to drop everything and make a run to the beach!

The base of the card is Crumb Cake. The hole was punched using the 2 1/2 inch circle punch ( page 185 of the annual catalog).  The sky inside the card is Pool Party.  The "sand" is Crumb Cake which has been torn to give it an irregular edge. The ocean is Pool Party card stock that has been  torn and then sponged with some Island Indigo ink.  The clouds in the background were embossed on Whisper White with the new Cloudy Day embossing folder ( page 28 of the spring catalog), then cut out.  That cute sun umbrella is from the set Sweets for the Sweet ( page 49 of the annual catalog).  It is stamped in Lucky Limeaid.  The sentiment "just for fun" is also part of the Sweets for the Sweet stamp set.  The sentiment was punched out with the Decorative Label punch, given a quick sponge in the Island Indigo and then a sweet little knot of Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain was added for a little extra "oomph."  Thanks, Janet for allowing me to share this great card on my blog!  I'll definitely be making some cards like this for summer occasions.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Please come back on Wednesday as I've got more stampin' inspiration to share with you!  Meanwhile, may your Monday go by smoothly and without undue drama.  If you are lucky enough to have today free, be sure to spend a little time creating!

Hugs,
Susan

Another Favorite Bites the Dust!

Hello Stampers!

How did it get to be Friday already??  The days are just flying by, but that's OK with me because it means that we are getting closer and closer to our wonderful Northwest summer.  Speaking of summer, haven't the last few days been glorious?  I'm a happy camper in my capris and sandals and hopefully I won't have to put them away again!  But seriously, I know better.  I know that May and June can be rainy and even cold, so I'm not going to be too surprised when we get more gray and rainy days.  For right now, I'm just going to enjoy each sunny day that we get!  The Sherwood Farmers Market starts this weekend, as do many markets all around the metro area.  So that's a sure sign that summer is on its way.

Today I'm going to highlight another stamp set that is going away... the wonderful Quint-Essential Flower stamp that you can find on page 110 of the current catalog.  This single stamp only comes in the wood-mount format, but what a versatile stamp it is!  There are five different punches you can use to punch the various layers in this stamp and they're all shown at the bottom of page 110.  Check out my "take" on this set:

I used Midnight Muse and Summer Starfruit ink, along with a little touch of Baja Breeze in the ribbon and the third layer of the flower. The designer paper is from the Comfort Cafe collection which you can find at the top of page 163.  The Fancy Fan embossing folder adds a little texture to the Midnight Muse layer.  For my card, I used only 4 of the punches.  I omitted the 3/4 inch punch.  You can use this flower with so many different sentiments and color combinations... it's quite the little workhorse.  Of course you should not use this flower on a guy card.  You know my rules... it just isn't done!

I've got to run, my friends!  The retirement party is coming up tomorrow, Saturday May 4th at 11am and although the card stock is cut and the supplies are all ready to go, I still have some cooking to do!  Have a super weekend!  Don't forget to come back on Monday for more stamping inspiration!

Happy May Day!

Hello Stampers and thanks for coming back to visit The Classic Card!

Yay, it's May!  Good weather is getting closer and closer.  And if we can believe the weather man, we might see some sunshine for the next few days!  That almost borders on the miraculous, doesn't it?

May is the last month of the 2012-2013 catalog, so it's time to think about ordering some retiring stamps.
I want to make sure that all of you know about some of my favorite stamps that are going off into retirement, and what better way to inform you than to show you some cards made with these great stamps?   A list of the stamp sets just doesn't do it... you need a visual, so here are a couple of photos for you:

This fun set is called Aviary and you can find it on page 101 of the current catalog. It is $17.95 in clear-mount.  The set contains an assortment of 4 bird cages and 4 cute birds, including an adorable little owl.  I won't bother going into the colors used on these cards, as the colors, ribbon, and DSP are discontinued.  I love this stamp set because of its versatility.  It makes a cute birthday, thank you, or thinking of you card.  And it's just cute, whimsical, and fun!

I hope you are planning on attending my annual Retirement Party this Saturday, May 4th at 11 am.  I'm going to serve you some delicious brunch-y food and you are going to make 2 wonderful cards with retiring products.  There is no cost to attend, but of course orders are encouraged and appreciated.  I've only got a couple of spots left, so if you'd like to join us, please email me at sjrstamps@gmail.com.

Have a happy sunny Wednesday and please come back on Friday for more stamping inspiration.

Hugs,
Susan