Last Call for the 2011-2012 Stampin’ Up! Catalog

Its finally here, the VERY LAST DAY you can order from the 2011-2012 catalog.  Don’t forget to double check your wish lists against the retirement lists so that you don’t miss out on something you’ve been waiting for.

Retiring Stamps | Retiring Accessories | Retiring Décor Elements

You can shop in the online store, or contact me at jennifer@nwstamper.com to place your order.  I’ll be checking email through midnight tonight so I’ll be able to get all the last minute requests in.

Here is my fond farewell to some of my favorite stamp sets and accessories:

Thank You Kindly Stamp Set, Berry Blossom designer paper, and Bouquet Blossom Triple layer punch

Awash with Flowers stamp set

Curvy Verses stamp set, Paisley Petals designer paper, Rhinestone Brads

Beary Best Friends stamp set, Blushing Bride In Color papers

Paisley Petals designer paper

Sincere Salutations stamp set, Flirtatious designer paper, Bouquet Blossom triple layer punch

Tree Trimmings stamp set, Many Merry Messages stamp set, Frightful Sight designer paper

So, act fast to grab what you love – Shop Online or email me ASAP at jennifer@nwstamper.com to make sure you get what you want -  and I’ll be back tomorrow with the digital version of the new catalog and all the information for the new catalog season!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

Get them before they are gone! Items are selling out so don’t miss out!

Retiring Stamps | Retiring Accessories | Retiring Décor Elements

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Bordering on Romance Thank You

The end of a catalog year always leaves me with stamps and accessories that I’m so happy are going to continue being available… and stamps that I’m sad are going away.  This card has both!

I love that Bordering on Romance is carrying over but boy am I sad that Sincere Salutations is being retired. I swear, this was always my go-to set for versatile sentiments that could be dressed up or down. I’m sure I’ll find a new favorite down the road, but I’m not letting go of my set for a while I think.

So, I made this card to send to a customer to thank her for a recent order and it was a great excuse for me to try blending and coloring using markers.  I used 3 different pinks to color in my flowers – Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, and Blushing Bride markers, and layered the colors and then did additional blending with my Blender Pen.  I started by coloring in the entire petal with the lightest pink, then did some shading with the middle tone pink (Blushing Bride), and then finished out with accent highlighting with the darkest pink (Regal Rose).  I think it turned out pretty well, huh?

The rest is pretty straightforward loving with my Big Shot (framelits and the lattice embossing folder).  Add some Paisley Petals designer paper and some basic pearls.

What stamp set will you miss the most when they retire in a week?

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

Get them before they are gone! Items are selling out so don’t miss out!

Retiring Stamps | Retiring Accessories | Retiring Décor Elements

Need a copy of the 2012-2013 Stampin’ Up! catalog? Click here!

Bordering on Romance Thank You Card Recipe:

Stamps: Bordering on Romance, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Rose Red ink pad, Pink Pirouette marker, Regal Rose marker, Blushing Bride marker, Garden Green marker, So Saffron marker
Paper: Paisley Petals designer paper, Crumb Cake cs, Blushing Bride cs, Basic Grey cs, Whisper White cs
Accessories: Big Shot, Labels framelits, Square Lattice embossing folder, Basic Pearls, Blender pen

Mixed Bunch: From Scrapbook Sketch to a Card

Last weekend, I did a presentation at the Northwest Women’s Show that was based around the idea that you can take one of the many scrapbook sketches out there and use them even if you are not a scrapbooker.  I don’t know about you, but while I like designing cards, sometimes my brain just isn’t working and so it is so nice to have a sketch or design to borrow from.  Often I will use the Stampin’ Up! idea book and catalog and just tweak a card that they use as a sample, but sometimes a scrapbook sketch is perfect!  As in this case:

I cased a scrapbook layout made by a friend and mixed it up using my Stampin’ Up! supplies (I posted about it recently) and so I took the same elements of the scrapbook page and just shrunk them down a lot to make them fit on a card.

One of my favorite elements of the original scrapbook page was the color blocked row along the bottom of the layout.  In my version of the scrapbook page, I had taken pieces of cardstock and ran them through my Big Shot with an embossing folder to give them texture; so I did the same thing with my card…only much smaller.

I also kept the Crumb Cake strip to separate the color blocking from the bottom of the card and the white background.  Then I added in the baker’s twine to keep going with my texture theme.  Now, with a card, I didn’t really have room for both a picture (or stamped image) and the flower, so I decided to keep the flower since I’m totally digging this Mixed Bunch stamp set right now.  And then I stamped my sentiment in the same color (Rich Razzleberry) as my title on my scrapbook page.

Overall, I love how this card turned out and that I didn’t have to think too hard since I was just copying another design of a scrapbook layout!

So, here is the challenge for you – take a scrapbook page that you found somewhere and turn it into a card!  Post a link here in the comments of my blog or on my facebook page.  I’d love to see what you come up with.

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

 First Tooth Scrapbook Page Recipe: 

Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, Sincere Salutations
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder classic, So Saffron classic, Rich Razzleberry classic
Paper: Chocolate Chip cardstock, Whisper White cs, Wisteria Wonder cs, Pink Pirouette cs, Rich Razzleberry cs, Lucky Limeade cs, So Saffron cs, Island Indigo cs, Crumb Cake cs, Concord Crush cs, Very Vanilla cs
Accessories:  Blossom punch, Scallop Trim border punch, 1” circle punch, Wisteria Wonder bakers twine, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Stampin’ Dimensionals

A Slightly More Masculine Thank You

Today I wanted to share the last of the cards we made at a recent class of mine.  The other cards all were flowery or included pink so I figured I ought to try to come up with something for the more manly folks in your life.  (Plus I really wanted to use my Stripes embossing folder for the Big Shot!)

So this is meant to be a quick and easy card you could make when you need a thank you card and everything you have in you drawer is too girly.  This was also one of my first times pulling out the First Edition specialty designer paper.  It’s a lighter-weight paper, so its kind of fun to play with – even when you are just doing something as simple as tearing an edge.

Oh, and did I mention that the Stripes embossing folder is one of the items you can get FREE during Sale-a-Bration? 
(It’s easy to miss in the SAB catalog, but it’s there!)

So, while I’m still trying to figure out just what defines a “masculine” card; I think this will work for now!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

Stripes Thanks So Much Card Recipe:
Stamps:  Sincere Salutations
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry classic
Paper: First Edition specialty designer paper, Rich Razzleberry cardstock, Soft Suede cs, Pear Pizzazz cs
Accessories:  Stripes embossing folder, BigShot, Gold Brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Snail adhesive, Paper Piercer

More Strength and Hope Card Ideas

In a continuation of yesterday’s post, here are the other two cards we made using the new Strength and Hope stamp set (missed the first two cards, you can check them out here).  The second card uses the “joy fold” technique to create a unique flap style card.  They are actually really easy to make and can be a fun way to do something a little different with your cardmaking.

To make the joy fold card, you need to cut two pieces of your base cardstock:  1 piece that is 4-1/4” x 8-1/4” and 1 piece that is 3” x 8”.  Score the larger piece at 5-1/2” and score the smaller piece at 4”.  Decorate the 4-1/4 x 5-1/2” piece with patterned paper if desired (I use the pink designer paper) then adhere the 3” x 8” piece of cardstock in the center of the 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” space so that the score line of the smaller cardstock is on the right side of the card.  Decorate the remaining flaps and areas of cardstock as desired.  You will end up folding the small flap from the card base inside of the 3” x 8” piece you adhered to the center of the card.  Then close the center piece over the little flap.  I promise, it is way easier than it sounds!

Get Free Card Kits!

Since I have extra card kits and want to continue to support the cause, I’m offering free card kits when you purchase this stamp set. Yesterday and today I posted the four cards we made and while supplies last, anyone who orders this stamp set from me can pick 2 of the 4 cards we made and I’ll send you the kits so you can make them at home with your new stamp set.  Everything will be precut and ready for you to stamp and assemble!  Just send me a note to jennifer@nwstamper.com when you place your order with which cards you want and I’ll get them on the way to you!

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