Thursday, December 29, 2022

CASEing the Catalog

What do you do to find inspiration with new stamp sets?   

Sometimes I just play until I like what I am making.  Sometimes I look at what others are making and inspiration hits.  And sometimes I CASE the catalog.

CASE - Copy and Share Everything.  Or Copy and Selectively Edit - which is more like what I did with this card.


Take a look at the card on page 8 of the January - April 2023 Mini Catalog.  The one closest to the center of the page.  Recognize it?

It's a near-identical card to the one I have made.  The card uses the Country Floral Lane Suite of products, including the Country Bouquet stamps, Country Bouquet Punch, and designer series papers.  But I "selectively edited" a few things:

1.  Background paper - both cards use a sheet of the Cottage Gingham Designer Series Paper, but I chose to use a Mint Macaron pattern instead of the Sweet Sorbet plaid used in the sample.

2.  I matted the Mint Macaron pattern with Mint Macaron cardstock; the sample in the catalog used a full sheet of the plaid to cover the entire card front.

3.  I used the same DSP for the top panel as the sample, but I altered the size of the panel.

4.  I changed out the Mint Macaron strip below the greeting; the sample in the catalog uses Balmy Blue.


With the exception of the Mint Macaron strip, I copied the catalog sample for the greeting, hearts, and leaves.  However I decided to punch the banner with the Banner Triple Punch instead of rounding the corners.  


And finally I used a few Festive Pearls (in silver) to complete the card, rather than the Pastel Adhesive-backed Sequins that come in the suite.  


I love my card!  

Try CASEing the catalog for ideas and see what you come up with!

The January - April 2023 Mini Catalog goes live on January 5th.  What will be in your first order? 


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Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Need Simple?

Sometimes we just need a quick, simple card, right?  

Did you know that Stampin' UP! has a number of great stamp sets of phrases that can be used on a card front to create a quick, easy card?


Good Feelings is one of them.  Look:


This is an example of #simplestamping where you only use stamps, ink and paper.  I had stamped this background, using Rays of Light but ended up using something else for a card I was making.  So this panel sat on my desk. 

But I suddenly thought I could make a very simple card if I just used a large greeting...and voila!


Super simple, super quick and super effective - don't you think?  

Take a look through the catalog to see more large print greetings, and see for yourself how easy it can be to create a fun, quick and easy card.


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Monday, December 26, 2022

Around the Bend

 I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday with friends and family.  And now we count down to a New Year!

 We've been having extremely cold weather so I've been hunkering down in my craft room, listening to Christmas tunes and drinking hot cocoa while I play with new products.  Today I have a card that was not what I planned.  I was playing with Country Bouquet (see a sample here) but somehow it morphed into this:


I really don't know how that happened!  But I love it!  Even my husband commented on it (positively 😄).

I started stamping the heart images from Country Bouquet using Fresh Freesia ink, as I had pulled out the fantastic Sale-a-Bration pack of papers, Dandy Designs.  I also had the new Fine Shimmer paper on my desk.  And somehow inspiration hit!


I pulled out Around the Bend, a new set of dies that cuts leaves, flowers and curvy borders.  And I thought "why not cut some of these images with the Shimmer Paper?"  And then things kinda just came together.


I covered the entire front of the card base with Dandy Designs DSP, and added a strip of a coordinating piece layered over some of the Soft Succulent Shimmer Paper (it comes in three colors - Soft Succulent, Fresh Freesia and gold).  

The flowers and leaves are all cut from the Shimmer Paper with the Around the Bend dies and adhered to a Basic White square cut with the Stylish Shapes dies.  But I needed a layer to pull it all together - the Country Gingham paper did the trick!


Look at that shimmer!  So pretty!!



Around the Bend, Beautifully Happy (the greeting) and these beautiful patterned papers will all be available on January 5th!  Be sure to add them to your Wish List!  


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Saturday, December 24, 2022

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very  


or a Happy last night of



I'll be back next week with more samples of new products coming January 5th!  

Friday, December 23, 2022

A Sweet Citrus Video

I'm just getting started playing with all the new goodies I've received in my pre-order from the January - April 2023 Mini Catalog and Sale-a-Bration.  But I've already got a few favorites.  

I've already shown you a few cards (here and here) made with the Sweet Citrus Bundle (stamps and hybrid embossing folder) and today I'll show you how this all works together.  I've also got a few other sneak peek products.  See it all here:



Sweet Citrus will be available January 5, 2023 when the new January - April 2023 Mini Catalog goes live.

Can't wait?  Why not join Stampin' UP! and take advantage of the wonderful perk of being able to order early?  You can get these new products as part of your Starter Kit - only $99 gets you $125 worth of products AND FREE shipping!  It's a great deal!  Click here to find out more and to sign up.    

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Sneak Peek - Country Bouquet

Want another sneak peek of things to come?  As you know, the January - April 2023 Mini Catalog will soon make its debut, going live on January 5.  So today I have another look at a new suite of products, Country Floral Lane.

This lovely groupings of products include a stamp and punch bundle, two different designer papers, ribbons and sequins.  I've used all but the ribbon on this card:


 So what do I love about this suite?  

Well, first are the colors - luscious in Sweet Sorbet, Petal Pink, Mossy Meadow, Mint Macaron and Balmy Blue.  Then are the patterned papers.  The Country Floral Lane DSP is 12" x 12" and is full of little patterns to mix and match (see the heart paper above).  The Country Gingham 6" x 6" paper is just that -- lots (48 sheets!) of gingham patterns (see the plaid paper on the card).  

Of course the stamps are perfect for that February holiday!  Lots of hearts and flowers with sweet greetings.  But they aren't only made for Valentines - there are greetings for friends and lovers, and the florals are great for birthdays too.

And there's a punch!  The Country Bouquet Punch will cut out two sizes of hearts and leaves, making it very easy to get some dimension on your projects.  

AND...the Country Floral Lane has two sheets of patterns that can be directly punched out with the punch!  Yippee!  Easy peasy cards!

So let's take another look at my card:


I stamped one of the large hearts along with the smaller Sweet Sorbet one.  And the other large one (along with the Petal Pink heart) were punched from the DSP.  I wanted to see which I preferred, but it was almost hard to tell the difference!

And check out those Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins - two sizes in three iridescent colors!  A perfect touch of bling for your creations.


So what do you think of the sneak peeks so far?  This is the third day, and I haven't even gotten to everything I have!  So stay tuned for more samples coming next week!

And I've got a little video for you tomorrow highlighting Sweet Citrus, one of my favorite sets in the new Mini!

I'd love to send you a catalog!  If you don't have a Stampin' UP! demonstrator contact me to find out how you can get a catalog for FREE.  


Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Mixing New with Old

 While pulling out some paper to create a card, I spotted the Tea Boutique Cards & Envelopes that were hiding near the stash of envelopes I have.  And one color jumped out at me:  Parakeet Party.  I had an idea to use the new Sweet Citrus stamps to make limes, and so the green started my creative wheels a-turning.  And here's the result:


This is the second card I've made with this stamp set, and I'm loving it even more than I first did!  It's not just the stamps; the Sweet Citrus Hybrid Embossing Folder is what makes the stamped images come alive.  

Look at this close-up:


That embossing on top of the stamps make these limes look so real!  And since the die fits right inside the embossing folder, I can cut AND emboss at the same time!  


And that greeting!   Don't you have tons of people you could send this to?  I do!  


Sweet Citrus and the Sweet Citrus Hybrid Embossing Folder are going to be available on January 5th when the upcoming January - April 2023 Mini Catalog goes live.  Be sure to add this set to your Wish List!  And don't forget to check out the Annual Catalog for great products like the Tea Boutique Cards & Envelopes; they make creating so easy!


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