Paper Pumpkin and Celebrate Sale-A-Bration Party Plus How Up are You on Stamper's Lingo?

Last week was a week of celebrations. First I had my second quarter team meeting with my Papercraft Cats team and there were a number of big celebrations. We had birthdays, and sales, and promotions and bonuses to applaud and luckily, my April Paper Pumpkin kit arrived at my door just in time for me to use those awesome card designs to create some lovely mementos for my team members! Thank you Sara Douglass, for your creativeness and thank you, Paper Pumpkin for always arriving at my door just when I need you! Have a look at some of the other cards I created. I altered colours and layouts slightly to suit my purposes, but they are mostly the way they were meant to be. (By the way, there is an awesome free gift in this month's kit!!)

I did use a couple of other stamp sets on the bottom two cards. One was an old motivational one that I got at a Stampin' Up! function several years back that works really well for team meetings, but you can no longer get them. The other I used is the Vertical Greetings stamp set, which gave me a vertical congratulations, which was perfect for the second design here.

Now I suppose it is too late to be issuing a spoiler alert, but if you haven't already got your April Paper Pumpkin kit and you like to be surprised, you probably don't want to  watch the following video:


           


Now, the second celebration was held on the weekend, and it was my Annual Celebrate Sale-A-Bration Party. I hold these parties just after the end of Sale-A-Bration each year to reward my customers who earned a Sale-A-Bration reward from me during the promotion. We have an awesome time!

We have yummy food! The hit this year was the combination of strawberries and chocolate brownies!

We play some really fun games! This year it was an Easter Egg hunt with a twist, a questionnaire on Stamping Lingo (more on that later) and several rounds of Bingo! (Gail wouldn't let us stop until she won!)

And of course, there was shopping from my retired stash, and, as always - Stamping!

We did two cards, one retiring products and another with sneak peeks from the new annual catalogue! You can see the two samples here. In short, a good time was had by all, including the host! You'll want to make sure you qualify next year!!

I thought I'd leave you with the quiz I gave the group. See how you do and make sure you read the questions carefully. They're really not hard, but you only appreciate the humour by reading all the alternatives! We were all giggling when we checked the answers together! I'll post the answers, if it's really necessary, on Wednesday!

Watercolour with a Marker Outline for As You See It Challenge #148

I really enjoyed myself with this challenge for my Design Team sample for As You See It Challenge #148! I always do when I get into a watercolouring project. With the retiring list coming out, it always takes me back to the Annual Catalogue and old favourites that I haven't used for a long time. Just to be clear, this stamp set, You've Got This, is NOT retiring and will be in the new Annual Catalogue, but it is an old favourite and I haven't used it for ages!

Here's Amanda's great colour challenge from As You See It Challenges this week:

Aren't those colours dreamy together? Perfect for spring blossoms! And all these colours will be returning as well!

• To do this watercolouring, I tried a method that I found on Sage Kimble's blog. I inked the stamp using Stampin' Write markers of the three colours in the challenge as you see here, huffed on the stamp to remoisten any ink that had dried and stamped on watercolour paper.
• For this method, you should be able to use an Aqua Painter like a paintbrush by dipping it in water (as opposed to filling the well with water). You should be able to move the ink from the lines of the stamped image to fill in the center of each section, but with the pastel colours like So Saffron, that just didn't work, perhaps because the colour was so light. Instead, I just got some ink on the lid of the So Saffron Classic Ink Pad and used that to paint the flower petals.
• Once the first layer of colour was laid down and dried a bit, I added some more to the undersides of the petals and where the petals overlapped to give the image more depth.

• The leaves and stem, with the Garden Green ink worked as they were supposed to, just using the image outline to fill in the colour. I used the writing tip of the marker to go over the lines again after to add definition.
• After the image was watercoloured, a little background of Sahara Sand ink around the edges of the image also adds dimension.
• The sentiment looks great stamped in Basic Black Archival ink right over the image.
• The Embossing Folder used for the Pink Pirouette panel, Falling Petals, is retiring, but is a great deal right now, on sale for 50% off!

I thought I'd give you an update on what has sold out from the retiring list, since it's been awhile since it was posted.

2016-17 Annual Catalogue:

p. 167

 • Item 135346 - Project Life Corner Punch Price: $10.75

p. 169

 • Item 138328 - Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Price: $4.25

 • Item 138329 - Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Price: $4.25

• Item 138330 - Tip Top Taupe Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Price: $4.25

• Item 138331 - Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Price: $4.25

• Item 138332 - Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Ink Refill Price: $4.25

• Item 138339 - 2015-2017 In Color 8-1/2" x 11" Cardstock Price: $10.00

p. 171

• Item 131186 - Brights 12" x 12" Cardstock Price: $13.75

• Item 131189 - Subtles 12" x 12" Cardstock Price: $13.75

p. 172

• Item 141633 - Affectionately Yours Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

p. 173

• Item 141631 - Festive Birthday Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

• Item 141641 - By the Shore Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

• Item 141646 - Moroccan Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

• Item 141655 - Blooms & Bliss Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

• Item 141661 - Fruit Stand Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

p. 174

• Item 138434 - Brights Designer Series Paper Stack Price: $29.00

• Item 138436 - Regals Designer Series Paper Stack Price: $29.00

• Item 138437 - Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack Price: $29.00

• Item 141642 - Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack Price: $12.50 -$10.00  Save 20 %

• Item 141643 - Serene Scenery Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

• Item 141658 - Playful Palette Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

p. 176

• Item 107297 - Crumb Cake Medium Envelopes Price: $8.50

p. 177

• Item 119246 - Rhinestone Basic Jewels* Price: $6.75 - $3.38  Save 50 %

• Item 119247 - Pearl Basic Jewels* Price: $6.75 - $4.73  Save 30 %

p. 178

• Item 114319 - Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon Price: $8.00

• Item 141650 - Melon Mambo 1/8" Stitched Ribbon Price: $8.00

• Item 141691 - Pool Party 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon Price: $12.00

p. 179

• Item 141664 - Floral Boutique Designer Washi Tape Price: $6.75

• Item 141683 - Blushing Bride Designer Washi Tape Price: $4.00

• Item 141684 - Night of Navy Solid Baker's Twine Price: $4.00

p. 180

• Item 102566 - Jet Black StāzOn Refill Price: $8.00

• Item 109196 - StāzOn Cleaner Price: $7.00

p. 181

• Item 100625 - Heat & Stick Powder Price: $6.00

p. 182

• Item 103684 - Adhesive Remover Price: $4.75

p. 183

• Item 121779 - Clear Block Cleaning Cloth Price: $5.25

p. 185

• Item 135847 - Silver Mini Staples Price: $5.25

• Item 139083 - Handheld Stapler Price: $13.50

p. 195

• Item 127821 - Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $10.00

• Item 133737 - Lovely Lace Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $10.00

• Item 138287 - Elegant Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $10.00

2017 Occasions Catalogue

p. 14

• Item 144705 - Sealed with Love Photopolymer Bundle Price: $59.25

• Item 144706 - Scellée d'un baiser Photopolymer Bundle (French) Price: $59.25

• Item 142752 - Love Notes Framelits Dies Price: $40.00

p. 21

• Item 142779 - Succulent Garden Cardstock Pack Price: $10.00

p. 42

• Item 144719 - Special Reason Wood-Mount Bundle Price: $67.50

• Item 144720 - Special Reason Clear-Mount Bundle Price: $59.25

• Item 144721 - Raison spéciale Clear-Mount Bundle (French) Price: $59.25

• Item 142750 - Stylish Stems Framelits Dies Price: $41.00 - $24.60  Save 40 %

p. 47

• Item 142786 - Urban Underground Embellishments Price: $8.50 - $5.95  Save 30 %

• Item 142787 - Urban Underground Designer Washi Tape Price: $6.75

• Item 142783 - Urban Underground Specialty Designer Series Paper Price:$17.00 - $11.90 Save30%

p. 48

• Item 144734 - Nailed It Wood-Mount Bundle Price: $63.75

• Item 144735 - Nailed It Clear-Mount Bundle Price: $54.75

• Item 144736 - Les bons outils Clear-Mount Bundle (French) Price: $54.75

• Item 143230 - Build It Framelits Dies Price: $35.00

p. 51

• Item 142788 - Falling in Love Designer Series Paper Price: $14.50 - $8.70  Save 40 %

• Item 142793 - Tea Lace Paper Doilies Price: $6.00 - $4.20  Save 30 %

* Not gone for good, just reconfigured!

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 products used to make this card today.

Product List

You've Got This Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139575]	You've Got This Wood-Mount Stamp Set [139572]	Watercolor Paper [122959]	Sahara Sand 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121043]	Pink Pirouette 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [111351]
Subtles Stampin' Write Markers [131263]	Regals Stampin' Write Markers [131262]	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931]	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad [126957]	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad [126976]
Falling Petals Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [142761]	Aqua Painters [103954]	Big Shot [143263]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Fast Fuse Adhesive [129026]
Glue Dots [103683]

Traveler for The Paper Players

Today I'm continuing with my idea of using one sketch to highlight both retiring product and new products in two different cards. My sketch today comes from The Paper Players' latest challenge: a clean and simple project featuring a method of transportation. I chose an ocean liner.

It's interesting, because just this past Sunday, I was watching a documentary about the first steam powered ocean liners between North America and the UK. They were proposed and designed and built by a man called Sir Samuel Cunard. He was so successful that his line of steamships actually exceeded expectations and not only greatly reduced the time and danger of transporting the mail and freight across the Atlantic, but passengers as well. This opened North America up to greatly increased immigration. I was thinking of this as I chose the retiring stamp set I wanted to use for this challenge: Traveler. Here's my design:

• I chose the ship from the Traveler set and stamped it in Soft Suede, but before I stamped, I removed the Soft Suede ink from the top of the three smokestacks and the flag at the front with a Qtip. I then coloured them in with a Real Red Stampin' Write Marker for a little pop of colour in the general sepia tones of the card. I wanted a little more for the water than the stamp provides so I used one of the splatter images from another retiring set (sob!) Gorgeous Grunge with Crumb Cake ink to create some splashy looking waves, then used the same image with VersaMark ink and White Stampin' Emboss Powder, heat set to make some white caps.
• Another spatter image from Gorgeous Grunge was used to add a little grunge to the front panel with Crumb Cake ink.
• The sentiment is from a third retiring set called Suite Sentiments, stamped here in Early Espresso.
• The ship is die cut using the Stitched Shapes Framelits and backed with a Scallop Square from the Layering Squares Framelits.

I then took the same layout and used it to make a similar card with mostly new products from the 2017 - 18 Annual Catalogue. The bundle I chose to use for this is quite possibly the most versatile bundle Stampin' Up! has put out for quite a while! It's called the Colourful Seasons Bundle* and it represents all four seasons with blossoms, leaves, snowflakes and chairs & cold drinks! I've picked summer here and die cut an Adirondack chair with a cold drink of limeade on it, using the Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies*. Instead of an ocean cruise, we have a Stacation!

• The Colourful Seasons stamp set* includes the sentiment you see and the cold drink, both stamped in the new In Colour, Lemon-Lime Twist*. The chair was die cut as I mentioned before, using the coordinating Thinlits, Seasonal Layers*. The Stitched Shapes Framelits and the Layering Squares Framelits created the panel for the chair just as they did for the ship in the previous card.
• The background texture came from a continuing stamp set called Timeless Textures and a little Bermuda Bay ink added over only part of the image using a Stampin' Write Marker.

There you have my two examples! I hope you're finding this useful. Let me know with a comment!

*New products from the 2017-18 Annual Catalogue, available on June 1.

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 products used to make this card today.

Product List

Traveler Wood-Mount Stamp Set** [134510]	Traveler Clear-Mount Stamp Set** [134513]	Suite Sentiments Wood-Mount Stamp Set** [142968]	Suite Sentiments Clear-Mount Stamp Set** [142971]	Gorgeous Grunge Wood Stamp Set** [130514]
Gorgeous Grunge Clear Stamp Set** [130517]	Soft Suede 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115318]	Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119686]	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101650]	Versamark Pad [102283]
Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [126978]	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [126974]	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [126975]	Brights Stampin' Write Markers [131259]	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]
Heat Tool [129053]	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372]	Layering Squares Framelits Dies [141708]	Big Shot [143263]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]
Fast Fuse Adhesive [129026]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

** Retiring Product - available while supplies last until May 31, 2017

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 products used to make this card today.

Product List

Timeless Textures Wood-Mount Stamp Set [140514]	Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140517]	Bermuda Bay 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131197]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Brights Stampin' Write Markers [131259]
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372]	Layering Squares Framelits Dies [141708]	Big Shot [143263]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Fast Fuse Adhesive [129026]
Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

Colourful Seasons Stamp Set*, Lemon Lime Twist 8 1/2 x 11 Cardstock*, Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad*, Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies*

*New products from the 2017-18 Annual Catalogue, available on June 1.