May is Just Around the Corner!

Hey there, stamping friends!

May will be here in just one more day!  I'm excited for May first to arrive because that's the day that customers can pre-order from a nice array of beautiful products from the new catalog that goes live on June 1st.  

I think that this is the first time that customers have been able to place a pre-order.  I don't recall that this has ever happened before.

The suite of products is called Share What You Love.  I sent out an email on Saturday with a flyer and a video attached that show all of the goodies you can pre-order.

Today I've got two card that I made using products from the suite.

 

The base of this card is Mint Macaron, which is coming back!  I'm so happy that this favorite color of mine is re-joining the Subtles color family!

There are three different bundles of products that you can pre-order during this special promotion and each bundle includes one or more freebies.  The bundles are available to order beginning Tuesday, May 1st through May 31st.    Look for an email on May 1st for the new May Host Code.  Please refer to the flyer I emailed on Saturday for all of the ordering information.  

The designer paper in this suite is so much fun... great flowers and other designs in the double pack.  The stamp sets are great too! There is some gorgeous velvet ribbon, pearly doilies, and other accessories as well.  

Speaking of host codes.... it's time to announce the winner of the April Host Code drawing.  The winner is Judy Billings!  Congratulations Judy!  Please let me know what you'd like to have as your prize. You have $25 to spend.

May the week ahead be a sunny one!  If it turns out to be rainy, you know how to create your own sunshine with stamps, ink, and paper!

Hugs and happy stamping!

Susan

Farewell Times Five

Hey there, stampers!

Are you enjoying some spring-like weather?  It was 86 degrees yesterday and today the forecast is for 88.  We are hoping that it stays in the 80's for a while longer, because once we get up into the 100's, we are not happy campers!

Well, here we are at week 4 of April, which means we have about 5 weeks left on the 2017-2018 Stampin'Up! catalog.  So today I'm going to show you a pretty card that has FIVE retiring products.  

But first a little reminder.... Stamp sets will be available until the May 31st deadline, but accessories like card stock, ink, ink refills, designer paper, punches, ribbon, etc. are only available "while supplies last."  That is why it is best to concentrate on accessories now, while they are available, because Stampin'Up! doesn't guarantee their availability. I just checked the retiring list and all of the products I used to make this card are currently available.

This is known as a Bridge Fold Card.  The beauty of it is that it can stand up by itself and is wonderfully three-dimensional, but then it folds flat and fits inside a standard envelope for mailing.  If you would like the easy directions to make this card, please email me at sjrstamps@gmail.com and I'll email them to you!  

So let's get started on all of the retiring products I used.

First of all, the card base is Soft Sky card stock (#131203, $8.00, p. 186). I'm really sad that this color is being discontinued, as it is one of my "go-to" colors.  Of course the ink pad and refill are also going away.  You can find those on page 186 of the annual catalog.

The next element that is being discontinued is the Whole Lot of Lovely Designer Series Paper (#144110, $11.00, p. 188).  I thought this paper was one of the prettiest in the 2017-2018 catalog.  

The sentiment on the card is from the Birthday Blooms stamp set (#140658, $19.00, p. 70) 

The flower on the "bridge" of the card was stamped with the Flower Shop stamp set (#130942, $18.00, p. 28) and then punched out with the Pansy Punch (#130698, $16.00, p. 207).

The center of the flower is a Faceted Gem (#144141, $5.00, p. 197).  Thankfully, those are NOT being discontinued!

To shop online, please just click the "shop now" button at the top of this blog.  This will take you to my Stampin'Up! shopping site where you can create your account (if you are a first-time shopper) and then enter your order.

Please use the April host code 3KDV7CHN if you are placing an order less than $150.  I will enter your name into my April Host Code drawing for a $25 gift certificate.  If your order is $150 or over, please do not use the host code.  If your order is $50 or more I will enter your name on my 50-50 Board for a $50 gift certificate.  Your name will be added once for every $50 you spend!

I hope this springy card has inspired you to get out some stamps, ink and paper and make a pretty card that you can send to someone who's having a birthday, needs encouragement, or who would just love to get some real mail for a change.  Remember, we can make the world a happier place, one card at a time!

Have a great week!

Hugs to all,

Susan

Turquoise Water

Is there anything that says "vacation" more effectively than a photo of a gorgeous beach and turquoise water?  When I picture a tropical scene, the water is always a beautiful shade of turquoise... never steely blue, never a gray blue, never a dark green, but always a bright, clear turquoise. 

You might be wondering why I'm going on and on about turquoise, but I really have a very good reason.  That's because Tempting Turquoise is about to be discontinued.  At the end of May--- and maybe well before that--- Tempting Turquoise will join the ranks of retired colors.  

I've had this Waterfront stamp set for a couple of months, but this is the first time I've taken it out of the box to play with it.  You can find this stamp set on page 48 of the Occasions catalog. It has been one of the top sellers. Thankfully, it will be carried over into the new annual catalog that begins on June 1st.  

What a versatile set this is!  You can create a tropical beach scene as I have done with this card, or you can create a mountain lake ringed by evergreen trees.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of this set because of the many different ways the images can be combined.  Also, it is perfect for masculine and/or gender neutral cards and we all need those!

Here are the products I used to create this sunny, happy card:

Stamps, Waterfront, Paint Play (for the Happy Birthday sentiment)

DSP, Tempting Turquoise (this DSP is now discontinued)

Card Stock, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, and Whisper White card stock

Ink.  Tempting Turquoise, Sahara Sand, Lemon Lime Twist, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride.

Big Shot Dies:  Stitched Shapes

The retiring colors are not guaranteed to be available until the end of this current catalog on May 31st.  Therefore, if you'd like to create some tropical cards featuring bright clear turquoise waters, please get your orders in quickly.  There are 13 colors that will be retiring... Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Elegant Eggplant, Island Indigo, Perfect Plum, Rose Red, Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette, Soft Sky, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi and Wisteria Wonder.  Please check your stamp pads, ink refills, and card stock supplies and fill any "holes" in your color collection before it is too late.

The April Host Code is 3KDV7CHN. Please use this host code when placing online orders of less than $150.  I will enter your name into the April Host Code drawing for a $25 gift certificate.

I've also got a new 50-50 Board going and you'll have your name added to it for each $50 you spend.  You could be the winner of a $50 gift certificate!  

Fun stuff on the horizon!  I have pre-ordered a new Suite of products from the NEW 2018-2019 catalog and it will be arriving on Tuesday.  I'll be posting some pretty new cards made with these products over the next couple of weeks.  The great news is that YOU will be able to pre-order these new goodies too, starting May 1st... a full month before the new catalog begins!  

Does your weather forecast look a bit gloomy?   We'll have clouds and showers for the next 3 days and I've got a plan to deal with the gloom.  I'm going to use my Waterfront stamp set to create a bunch of tropical beach cards, then I'm going to imagine myself stepping out of one of those colorful little cabanas with an umbrella drink in hand.  The sun will warm my face and I'll sink down into the soft, warm sand. Ahhhh!  Wouldn't you like to join me?

Have a great week!
Susan

Bright Birthdays

Hello Stampers and a happy Monday to all!

Today is a very big day in Stamping Land!  First of all, the new annual catalog will be posted at noon Pacific Daylight Savings Time.  I wish you could all get a peek at it, but unfortunately, you have to be a demonstrator to see it this early.  Being the first to see new catalogs and products is one of the perks of being a demonstrator.    Another reason for excitement is that the retiring list will be posted today as well.  I will send it along later today in a group email to all of my customers, so be looking for it sometime this afternoon.  I will not be sending it out as soon as it is posted, as I will have a house-full of company at that time.  You can probably find it on the Stampin'Up! web site if you are in a hurry to see it, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

I've got a birthday card for you today that you could make in quantity and have on hand for any birthday that comes along.  I love having some general birthday cards in my stash that don't look too feminine or too masculine or too much like a card for a small child.

Check out this card and you'll see what I mean... it would be perfect for just about anyone!

If I was thinking of sending this to a guy, I might tie a knot in the ribbon, instead of a bow, but other than that, I wouldn't make any changes.  I used products from the Picture Perfect Party suite on pages 4 and 5 of the Occasions catalog.  The stamp set is called Picture Perfect Birthday and the printed DSP is called Picture Perfect Party.  I stamped the candles in Lemon Lime Twist, Pool Party (stamped off once) and Berry Burst (also stamped off once).

The sentiment is stamped over the candles in Berry Burst.  

The base of the card is Whisper White, with a layer of Bermuda Bay over it.  The sentiment is stamped on a Whisper White oval, cut with one of the Stitched Shapes dies.  

Why not get out some of your favorite birthday stamps and create a stack of birthday cards for all of the upcoming birthdays on your calendar??  You'll be ahead of the game and you can feel a sense of accomplishment, knowing that you are ready for any birthdays on the horizon.

Hope the week ahead will be a good one for you!

Hugs to all,

Susan

Coming right up... April Showers!

Hello Stampers!

I hope you all had a nice Easter yesterday and that you are ready for a fresh new month!  March turned out to be super-challenging as our daughter broke her leg in a fall.  Two surgeries later, she is now on the road to recovery, but she cannot put weight on her leg for another 6 weeks.  We took over the care of our granddaughters so that their dad doesn't have to miss work. We are thankful that we are here and able to help with whatever needs doing, but we are looking forward to the day when she can be the mom again.  We're a little too old for this parenting gig!

It is time to bid a fond farewell to Sale-a-bration, but there are still 2 months left before the Occasions catalog is history.  So today I have a fun card that uses a set from the Occasions catalog called Sunshine and Rainbows.  You can check it out on page 33.  This set has matching Rainbow Builder framelits for easy cutting of rainbows, clouds, a sun and even a lightning bolt.

This card was one I received in a swap at the OnStage event in Salt Lake City last November.  I'm sorry I can't give the proper credit, but this card did not have a name attached.  

I love the saying "you can't have a rainbow without a little rain,"

This stamp set is perfect for rainy Oregon!  The card base is Daffodil Delight, the dark clouds at the top are Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point.

Don't forget that some awesome In-Colors are being discontinued at the end of May.  Usually the stamp pads, refills, and card stock sell out fairly quickly, so if you are needing any of the 2016-2018 In-colors, order them now.  The colors that are going away are:

Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy, Sweet Sugarplum, Peekaboo Peach, and Flirty Flamingo.  

Please check your email later today (Monday) for the April Host Code.  May the month of April bring you a few rainbows along with the rain!

Happy stamping!

Susan