A Whole Slew of Retiring Products for Pals Paper Arts

As you know, there is only 1 week left until all the products retiring from the old 2014/15 Annual Catalogue will be gone for good!!  And I didn't want you to to accuse me of holding out on you, so I got out a whole slew of them, some that I haven't used very much in the past year, just to give you an idea of what you may be missing out on if you leave these to die an unnoticed death! Seriously, if you google these stamp set names you'll come up with many more great projects and then there's Pinterest!  This card was inspired by Pals Paper Arts Challenge #252:

This sketch, by Kerry Willard Bray, features a hexagon shape, and I thought of getting out the Six-Sided Sampler Stamp set, but it's not retiring and I wanted to be a bit more creative than that. So my next idea was Mosaic Madness. This stamp set is retiring and you can pick up the wood mount and the clear mount sets, each 25% off. I liked the Mosaic Madness set, as well, because of the long horizontal elements that would work for the horizontal panel on the sketch.  Let me show you what I mean:

• My background DSP is from the Bohemian Designer Series Paper collection, so I used a colour palette from that set for my card: Blackberry Bliss, Rich Razzleberry, Delightful Dijon, Island Indigo and Bermuda Bay. These are all very rich, full-bodied colours which manage to work well together.
• I would have put my horizontal panel across the middle of my mosaic pieces as the sketch indicates, but they are so small that, even when I trimmed the horizontal piece right down, you couldn't see much of them. So I opted to put it at the bottom of the mosaic pieces. The mosaic pieces were punched out using the Mosaic Punch, which is retiring and on sale for 50% off.
• Speaking of the long panel, I stamped it in Rich Razzleberry with one of the long horizontal stamps from the set, but it was not long enough to go entirely across the card. It turned out to be a job for my trusty Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. (If you haven't used this terrific tool before, I have a video tutorial for you explaining how to use it.) Then I covered it with Versamark ink and added Heat & Stick Powder. I heat set it with a Heat Tool and then quickly added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and heat set it again for that sparkly look.
• The sentiment is from the set, A Round Array. It is also retiring and the clear mount is on sale for 20% off. I punched it out with the 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch and mounted it on the base made with the Label Love Stamp Set. This set is, you guessed it, retiring June 2, and the wood mount version is on sale for 25% off, while you can get the clear mount for 15% off. The shape was punched out using the Artisan Label Punch, again, on sale for 50% off until June 2!

And it's Tuesday again, and that means new:

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the Stampin' Up! products used to make this card today!

Sneak Peek Products from the new 2015/16 Annual Catalogue, available June 2, 2015:

Bohemian Designer Series Paper, Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad

Product List

Mosaic Madness Wood Stamp Set [130246]	Mosaic Madness Clear Stamp Set [130249]	Label Love Wood Stamp Set [130619]	Label Love Clear Stamp Set [130622]	A Round Array Wood Stamp Set [129087]
A Round Array Clear Stamp Set [129090]	Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133675]	Island Indigo 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122923]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642]
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad [131171]	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad [126986]	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad [126950]	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246]	Heat & Stick Powder [100625]
Heat Tool [129053]	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751]	Paper Snips Scissors [103579]	Mosaic Punch [131267]	7/8" Circle Scallop Punch [129404]
Artisan Label Punch [130920]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

Salt Lake City for the Rising Star Trip

Well, I'm here in Salt Lake City for the Rising Star Trip!  So far it's been a blast and we haven't even officially started yet!  Stampin' Up really knows how to treat it's demonstrators, for sure!  I hate to sound provincial, but I travelled first class for the first time ever!  I'm not sure if that was planned or not, but it was...roomy!

We're staying at a Hilton hotel in Sandy, Utah, which is close to Stampin' Up Head Office, where we'll be training for the next two days.  Look what I got all to myself:  Woo hoo!

It's a small suite!  Two TVs. Separate sitting room.














And Stampin' Up left us some milk and cookies as a welcome gift.  And they were welcome after a day of flying with not much to eat except those desicated airline peanuts!


I met the other Rising Stars after I arrived. (I was the last one to get here.) We all went out to dinner and got to know one another.  I felt comfortable right away!  Such friendly people!

Tomorrow we are up early and at the head office all day!  More on that later!

I brought a gift for my fellow Rising Stars and I used the same design (different DSP) as I did for my roomie gifts at Convention in July.  Here's a photo or two:

Sorry for the bad photos, but I don't have my usual editing program on my hubby's laptop.  You get the picture though.  I used Season of Style DSP for these.  A whole 12 x 12 sheet!  No cutting, just scoring and folding and it is easy peasy!

The cool thing is, you can store it flat for travelling, and then open up the folds to create the box and add the belly band once you fill it with whatever! (See picture below!)

I have to sign off to get ready for my day of training!  Talk to you soon!

Stamps:  Label Love (w130619; c130622); ABC123 - Sketched Alphabet (c130565)
Paper: Season of Style DSP (132340); Old Olive (100702) and Whisper White (100730) cardstock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Baked Brown Sugar (131174) and Cherry Cobbler (126966)
Accessories:  White Tea Lace Paper Doilies (129399); Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Edge Grosgrain Ribbon (132135), Sticky Strip Adhesive (104294)
Tools:  Simply Scored Scoring Tool (122334); Artisan Label Punch (130920)

Here in Utah

We arrived in Salt Lake City around noon yesterday and took the hotel shuttle back to the hotel where we are staying.  Our rooms were not quite ready for us, so we left our baggage and decided to do what all normal women do  - SHOP!  Well, they shopped and I kept track of where everyone was so they wouldn't lose each other.  I also had the only phone we could use to contact our American friends and wait for them to contact us.

We finally found each other and, since we were all famished, went to find this amazing waffle place for lunch.  By the way, the temperature is around 37 degrees celcius here, so any midday walking you do is very tiring!

If you're ever in Salt Lake City, find this tiny little place and try their delicious but heavier Belgian waffles with creme fraiche and fresh fruit.  Yum!

Then it was time to head back to the hotel to check in and get unpacked and settled.  Holly and I are sharing a nice room with a couple of quirky features, but overall very comfortable.  We shared roomy gifts!  I'm dying to show you the ones I made:

These sweet boxes are made from one 12 x 12 sheet of Design Series Paper (Afternoon Picnic DSP shown here).  I put some little sewing kits for fabric and clothing emergencies inside. As I was thinking about how I could make a fancy box to store the sewing kits in one day last week, I opened up my email and YouTube sent me some video suggestions. One of them was a video tutorial by Stampin' T on how to make these little boxes.  The link to the video gives you great detailed instructions, so I won't try to duplicate, but it involves taking a full sheet of DSP and scoring and folding it to create the box.

The box lies flat for storing or packing and then you open up the box part when you are ready to put something inside it.  The Wisteria Wonder piece is a belly band to keep the box closed and I just decorated it with Wisteria Wonder Chevron Ribbon, a quarter of a doily and to make the label, the Label Love stamp set, the ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet and Numbers stamp set, and the Artisan Label Punch!

They were so much fun to create!  Make sure you watch the video and give this project a try!

By the way, I was given permission to post these photos of the shenanigans that went on in the hotel room in Seattle two nights ago. Can you guess who?  Leave a comment with your guesses!

Stamps:  Label Love (w130619; c130622); ABC-123 Sketched Alphabet and Numbers (w130565)

Paper:  Afternoon Picnic DSP (131390); Wisteria Wonder (122922) and Very Vanilla (101650) cardstock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Wisteria Wonder (126985) and Coastal Cabana (131175)

Accessories:  Wisteria Wonder 3/4" Chevron Ribbon; Tea Lace Paper Doilies (129399)

Tools:  Artisan Label Punch (130920), Simply Scored Scoring Tool (122334)

Babies!

What is it about babies?  They are so cute, they can make an ordinarily sensible, reserved person do the strangest things.  If you ever watched my Skype conversations with my daughters and grandsons, without knowing who was on the other end of the conversation, you would think I had totally lost it.  Funny noises, vroom-vrooms, raspberries, high pitched voice, laughter, strange gestures!  Yup, you would probably have me committed!

These are my two grandsons, Parker (above) and Kesten (right).  They are about six months apart in age, both very different from each other but each adorable in his own way.  I'm excited to get a visit from Parker this weekend.  Grandma hugs, here we come!

I'm also excited because my oldest daughter, Erin, will be giving birth in about a month from now to her first baby!  So with babies on my mind, I set out to create a card from some of my new catalogue goodies that I was able to preorder.

Right off the bat, you'll be asking what colours you are looking at.  The turquoise and peach colours are two of the new In Colours for 2013/14, Coastal Cabana and Crisp Cantaloupe.  Tropical looking aren't they!  Wait until you see them all!  I originally paired them with Baked Brown Sugar, but it just wasn't working, so I switched that out for the Crumb Cake panel which was embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots folder.  The stamped image is from Baby Prints, a stamp set which you will see again in the new catalogue.  The sentiment is from a new stamp set called Label Love which coordinates with a new punch - the Artisan Label Punch.

I like how it works with the tiniest of the Pearl Basic Jewels.  The white organza ribbon works well as white on white.  When you go to stamp the footprints (which are so realistic), be sure to stamp off once before stamping on your front panel so the colours are toned down a bit.  Also, I raised the Crisp Cantaloupe panel up with dimensionals, as I did for the label also.

There!  All ready for the new baby!  And those new colours...Yummy!

My Big Shot Club is going ahead starting next Thursday, May 23 and there is room for only 1 more person. It's a terrific way to get a Big Shot in an affordable way.  Email me if you are interested.

Time for an Update on the Retiring Accessories.  They are available until June 3, while supplies last.  These are the latest accessories to sell out:  Posy Party Stampin' Around Builder Wheel; Bees and Blossoms Stampin' Around Builder Wheel; Pretty in Pink 8 1/2 x 11 card stock; Craft and Rubber Scissors;  1/16" Circle Punch; Elegant Bouquet Textured Impressions Embossing Folder; and the Petite Pocket Bigz XL die.

Stamps: Label Love (w130619; c130622)*; Baby Prints (w128148; c125472)

Paper:  Coastal Cabana (131297)*, Crisp Cantaloupe (131298)*, Crumb Cake (120953) and Whisper White (100730) card stock.

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Coastal Cabana (131175)* and Crisp Cantaloupe (131176)*

Accessories:  Pearl Basic Jewels (119247); 5/8" Organza Ribbon (114319)

Tools:  Artisan Label Punch (130920)*; Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impression Embossing Folder (117335); Big Shot (113439)

* Not available until May 31st, when the new catalogue comes out