Time for a Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop!

Yes it's time for an Occasions Catalog Blog Hop with the Wacky Watercooler gang. With the release of the new Occasions Catalog AND the Sale-A-Bration brochure, there's lots to show off.  Our hop is a circle; jump on anywhere and click the "next" or "back" buttons to travel to another blog.

You may have just seen Buffy Cooper's fabulous samples--isn't she the best?  And if you've joined here, be sure to visit all seven Watercooler artists and see what they have to show you.

I got to preview the Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs in November at an event in San Diego.  I was SO excited to take home this first stamp set, Beautiful Ride.  Because my first love - my VW Bug - was so very special to me, this set really tugged at my heartstrings.   Take a look:

As soon as I saw the stamps, I had a vision of the beach.  I grew up on a beach on Long Island, NY, and now spend time twice a year on Cape Cod.  So this card was in my mind and I had to get it onto paper!

I started with Shimmery White Cardstock and masked off my "beach" and the "water".  I sponged the sunset, then the ocean and finally the sand with my Stampin' Sponges and Sponge Daubers.

My bug was stamped with Basic Black Archival ink on Watercolor paper and then colored with Aquapainters.  Be sure to notice the "Love" on the door--what a great touch (as this is an anniversary card for my niece and her husband).  The bug was snipped and popped on Dimensionals.  I repeated the process for the couple and added them to the roof of the car.

Now since my niece's husband enjoys surfing, how fun was it that this set includes a surfboard?

That, too, was stamped, colored and cut out and adhered with really skinny pieces of Dimensionals.

Isn't that fun?

And speaking of fun, wait until you see the offerings in the Sale-a-Bration catalog!  My next sample spotlights a new set that can be yours for FREE (with a qualifying purchase) as well as some absolutely yummy designer series paper:

Wowsa!  I got hungry just looking at these luscious colors!

This card shows off Birthday Bouquet DSP - beautiful prints and colors in Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaroon, Blushing Bride and Pool Party, along with a few more.  So soft and romantic!

I used two of the prints on this card, AND there's a wonderful scallop of Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper...WHAT?  OMG...what a fabulous addition to our glimmer papers!

"Hooray" is a Sale-a-Bration offering called Perfect Pairings (I used the Happy Birthday stamp on the inside of this card).  Love the font!  My banner has a wash of color (Aquapainter and Blushing Bride ink refill swiped across my Whisper White cardstock) and then Hooray is stamped in Watermelon Wonder.

And see that little cupcake?  Also from a new set in the Occasions Catalog - Party Wishes - and three of the stamps have coordinating punches!  The Party Punch Pack includes the cupcake, a balloon and a candle!  Woo Hoo!

"It's Your Day" is from another new Occasions Catalog set - Sunburst Sayings - a perfect combo of sweet phrases to be used for many occasions.

That's it for me!  I hope you have enjoyed my creations highlighting lots of goodies now available in the Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs!

Now on to see what Deb Smart has to show you!  She always wows me with her ideas; I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for stopping by!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

New Catalog and OMG Weekly Deals!

The new Occasions Catalog officially went live today!  And what terrific items there are.  Don't have one?  Contact me and I'll get one right out to you.  Or click on the photo to the right and view it on line. 

And as if it couldn't get any better:

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack Price: $6.95 $5.21	Book Of Birthdays Swatchbook Template - Digital Download Price: $12.95 $7.77	Border Chevron Punch Price: $21.95 $16.46	Envelope Punch Board Price: $19.95 $14.96
Gold Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper Price: $12.95 $9.71	Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack Price: $6.95 $5.21	Note Tag Punch Price: $16.95 $12.71	Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper Price: $12.95 $9.71

OMG!  Look at these Weekly Deals!  I may have to purchase more of these, even though I have them already!  What great prices.  Envelope Punch Board?  Check!  Gold Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper?  Check!

If you need to add to your Occasions Catalog purchase in order to qualify for FREE Sale-A-Bration items, this is the way to go!

All products can be ordered here.

What have you created today?

New Toys!

Gee, you'd think it was Christmas!  I have a whole pile of new toys to play with (and share--yes,  I CAN share!).  Being a Stampin' UP! demonstrator definitely has its perks, and one of them is that I get to pre-order new stamps, papers and accessories before my customers.

So today, I thought I would share one of the new stamps, Guy Greetings, (#137178, $25.95) from the new Occasions Catalog, going live on January 6th!  This wonderful set will help me with so many of my "guy cards" this year--there are 22 stamps for lots of occasions. 

My hubby's birthday is the day after Christmas!  Can you believe anyone is THAT unlucky?   LOL!
That means that I'm usually not thinking of making a birthday card, but then the night before (yes, Christmas night!) there I am slaving away in my craft cave trying to make myself look good the next day...
This year we were in San Diego for the holiday, and didn't come home until his birthday.  So...(and I should at least get points for this) I actually had a gift AND had made a gift box (using the Gift Box Punch Board (#135863, $19.95), which happily carries over into the new catalog...whew!)  But I had not had time to make a card, so on his birthday, after we drive 10+ hours home (and he's snoring away in bed) I get out some new toys and create this:

Love it!  And to my credit (if anyone is giving that out), the card WAS completed on his birthday--he just didn't see it until he came down for coffee this morning. 

Lots of new goodies here:  first the stamp set:

I took the banner and the shoes and heat-embossed them with Early Espresso embossing powder (#128980, $4.95).  AND fussy-cut them out (yes, I did!).  My Very Vanilla cardstock (#101650, $8.50) was stamped with "husband" in Lost Lagoon (#133644, $5.95), and the sentiment in Early Espresso (#126974, $4.95).  (I also embossed just the top and bottom edges with a vintage Houndstooth Embossing Folder).

New Designer Series Paper:  For the first time ever, Stampin' UP! is offering a 4-1/2" x 6-1/2" paper stack called Adventure Bound (#137780, $6.95), with actual nature photos on one side and designs on the other.  They are so cool!  I chose the Early Espresso Houndstooth pattern (the back side is rope--really neat!) and trimmed it to 4" x 4-3/4".  Then I used the Deco Labels Framelits (#130102, $24.95) to cut out the label in the center.

I also used my Finishing Touches Edgelits (127010, $9.95) to create the sawtooth edges in Early Espresso and adhered the strips to the top and bottom of my DSP.  This was then popped up over the Very Vanilla, using Dimensionals (#104430, $3.95).  And it was all added to an Early Espresso (#119686, $6.95)base.  I also stuck three Early Espresso Candy Dots (130934, $5.95) in the middle to finish it off. 

Letting nothing go to waste, I used the cut out label for the inside of my card, and stamped Happy Birthday in Early Espresso on Very Vanilla; after flagging the ends using the Hexagon punch (#130919, $15.95), I just adhered it with SNAIL (#104332, #6.95) adhesive. 

Finally, an envelope:

Another strip of the DSP with a leftover edge of the edgelit saw-tooth strip was glued to my envelope.  Then I used another new item,  Sophisticated Serifs (#137161, $45.95), (an alphabet stamp with two sizes, perfect for creating monogrammed stationary!) to add his name.

Thanks for swinging by today; I hope you've enjoyed my first (of many) sample using my new toys!  Won't you leave a comment and tell me what you like best? 

What have you created today?

Stampin' Amigos Downline Meeting

It's so much fun to get together with my stampin' amigos.  Our little group had a meeting the other night, and I borrowed an idea from the Stampin' UP Leadership Conference earlier this month.  While there, we had a "Paper Pumpkin Challenge" where participants were given bits and pieces of Paper Pumpkin kits and had to create a special card.  Those voted in the top 10 received prizes.

So I decided to hold my own challenge--the Occasions Catalog Challenge.  There were 5 baskets from which to choose; each attendee took one.  They each contained a new stamp set from the Occasions Catalog and a card base from the Watercolor Wonder Designer Note Card set.  I also had a table full of other Occasions items:  the Gold Bakers Twine, Gold Sequin Trim, Gold Foil Sheets, Designer Series Papers in three patterns (Watercolor Wonder DSP, Kaleidoscope DSP and Retro Fresh DSP), new punches (Triangle, Chevron Border, Scallop Tag Topper, and Petite Petals), Watercolor Wonder Designer Washi Tape, a paper trimmer, along with 15 ink pads in coordinating colors.  Everyone had to create a card using all new items. 

Here we are, working away:

 and here are our creations:

Bonnie's basket included the Happy Watercolor set:

I love her hand-trimmed "swoop" along the bottom, as well as her "fingerpainting" of the flower (I did not include any blender pens, aquapainters or sponges).  The sweet doily and tails of gold Chevrons made a great embellishment.

Tani had Perfect Couple:

 

The gold tag, using the Scallop Tag Topper punch, made a perfect background for the sweet couple.  And Tani pnched the flowers (Petite Petals punch) from the Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper, adding just the right sequin element in the middle of each.

Crystal used Another Great Year:

She made her own "ink pad" by smearing ink onto the large acrylic block and then kissing her stamp on it.  Love how she made a Gumball Green and Island Indigo sentiment!  She also used the Essentials Wooden Elements sunburst, inking it with Island Indigo, and added the edges of doilies along the top of her card.  So cute!

And mine:  I had the Happy Congratulations set:

We all agreed that this was a great way to challenge ourselves and enjoyed our time together, creating!

Wanna join us?  Becoming a demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration is extra special!  You get to choose $150 worth of product for only $99!  We'd love to have another Stampin' Amigo!  Give it a try!

And let's get creating!

Occasions Catalog Live Now!

Finally!  After waiting (and drooling) for over a month, our new Occasions Catalog has been activated! 
Of course, as a Stampin' UP demonstrator I've had the luxury of pre-ordering my favorite items, and have been playing with them since the holidays.  In fact, I'm even using one of the stamp sets for my Leadership swap in Houston next week.




Are you ready?
You can even shop in your pj's!  Click here and your shopping spree starts now:
http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/priscillastamps/

If you live in the Davis, California area, sign up for my monthly Card Club--a "no obligation" class where you will make 4 cards each month.  See my website (link above) for more info.  We'll be using items from this new catalog in our January and February classes.

So let's get creating!