30 Jun 2011

Tomorrow is the Big Day

It feels like Christmas presents and Birthday parties all wrapped together - the new Idea Book & Catalogue 2011-2012 goes LIVE tomorrow!!! You will be able to see the catalogue on-line at my Stampin' Up! Store.

There are wonderful new Stamps Sets, gorgeous Designer Papers, new In Colours, fun Accessories, and a great new Hostess Program. Be sure to check it out!

And don't forget my Open House & Catalogue Launch on Sunday, July 10th. Stop by for fun, samples, sales, and your very own shiny new IB&C! Let me know by July 7th if you are coming so that I can have everything ready for you!

And if you like, you can even tour my garden:


Be sure to check back tomorrow!
Happy Stamping
Carol

28 Jun 2011

Lovely and Lacey

One of the new Designer Series Specialty Papers has a real treat included in it - Doilies! All different designs, in two colours, called Flirtatious Specialty.

Here is a card I made using only one of the collection:
This doily is Pumpkin Pie, along with the card base. The accordion flower is done in Daffodil Delight. The beautiful sentiment is a Hostess set from the Summer Mini. I used the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder on the Whisper White cardstock. Hope you like it!

Happy Stamping
Carol

26 Jun 2011

How About This Colour?!

It's a wonderful soft purple, better known as Wisteria Wonder. It looks beautiful in all kinds of colour combinations but today I've chosen a monochromatic theme along with the neutral Whisper White.

Isn't it purdy?!!

And that gorgeous DSP is called Flirtatious Specialty. The circle is a die cut from a new Bigz L Die called Perfect Pennants. The sentiment in the middle is from a new Hostess set called Tagtastic. You're gonna love it!!

Remember the new Idea Book & Catalogue 2011-2012 (where you can find all these gorgeous goodies) goes live on July 1st!

Drop by my stamping studio to pick up your very own copy!

Happy Stamping
Carol

24 Jun 2011

My Favourite New "In Colour"

Well we have a new set of In Colours available July 1st and I want to give you a sneak peek of what they look like - so I put them all on one card:

We have Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, and Island Indigo... can you match them up with the colours above?

As pretty as they look in this photo they are even more beautiful in Real Life! I'm am passionately infatuated with Pool Party so I made it the base of the card so that there would be more of it!

Combined with last year's In Colours we now have ten in the collection, and they make up a yummy group.

Can you find the other sneak peeks in the photo??? There's a double punch (pennants) and a sentiment (a stamp from one of the hostess sets). You're going to love the new Hostess Benefits system!! I'll tell you all about it next week.

Happy Stamping!
Carol

22 Jun 2011

Getting Ready for my Open House

I'm having an Open House and Catalogue Launch for my customers and class members on Sunday, July 10th. So I've been going through my craft studio pulling out all the retired DSP and stamps, plus a whole pile of other stuff that I've been collecting over the years, but never used, and I'm going to put it all on sale!

There are boxes and bags of goodies, and stacks of new catalogues - all waiting for you Dear Customers!!!
Plus you'll find samples of new products, upcoming class projects, prizes, goodie bags, and even lemonade and cookies!

Make sure you contact me by July 7th to let me know you're coming!!

In the meantime - Happy Stamping!
Carol

21 Jun 2011

Postal Strike, Team Swap, and Snow Much Fun

So we have a postal strike here in Canada, and we don't know how long it's going to last... So I decided I would show my team my swap card on this blog while we are waiting for postal service to begin again.

This month we had a sketch challenge:
And this is how I've interpreted the sketch:
Isn't this snowman a cutie! He's from the new Snow Much Fun stamp set in the new IB&C being released in July.

Here is a close up of Mr. Snowman and his sparkle:
Inside is the...
I used the Medium Sizzlits Dies Timeless Type Junior Alphabet to make the words. The glitter is Dazzling Diamonds, and I used the 2-Way Glue Pen to attach it.

The cardstock is Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White, the cover white is embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots EF, and I coloured the snowman's hat with an aqua painter and Wonder Crayons in Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and Not Quite Navy.

I hope my ladies like them!

Happy Stamping!
Carol

18 Jun 2011

The Last Goodbye...

This is the last retiring set I'm going to feature - Petal Pizzaz.

This set is great for fast and simple cards because it is a solid set of images - no colouring in, or double stamping. And you can make your cards bold or subtle.


For this one I used ink in Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride, and Rose Red. The sentiment is embossed with the new Melon Mambo embossing powder. The DSP is from the collections packs in Old Olive and Rose Red.

Hope to see you soon and I will be showing off new RUBBAH!

Happy Stamping
Carol

16 Jun 2011

Dotted Ribbon Punch Technique

One of my special ladies (Hello Karen!) asked me how to make a frame using the Dotted Ribbon Punch and I learned the technique from Dawn Olchefske. In fact you can make one of these frames from any of our Border punches!

The magic number is 3. Cut a 3 inch square of cardstock, then centre the punch along one side and punch, centre the punch on the opposite side and punch, then do the same with the remaining two sides. You can see the frame that results on this card:
Isn't that cool?! And soooo easy. The cardstock used is Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, and Pretty in Pink. The ribbon is Pretty in Pink Satin, and the ink is Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black. DSP is from the Regals Collection Pack. The stamp sets are Butterfly Prints, Just Believe (sentiment), and Flight of the Butterfly (flower).

This was our last Hostess/Technique class of the season so I made a special little treat for each person. It's actually a sneak peek filled with retired items and chocolate!

Oh I love pink! Especially Melon Mambo pink! Especially filled with chocolate!!

Come back soon - I'll be showing more sneak peeks from the new catalogue! (One of the benefits of being a demo - we can order early!!)

Happy Stamping!
Carol


10 Jun 2011

Another Set I'll Miss

I love the little bees in the Just Buzzin' By stamp set that is retiring the end of June. And the sentiment is great too "Just buzzin' by to say, Have a honey of a day!"

It's a great set to watercolour - you can get lots of shading in the beehive and the honey pot that is also part of the set!

On this card I've coloured the bees with markers - So Saffron, Basic Black, and Bashful Blue. I stamped the beehive in Cajun Craze on So Saffron card stock, then cut it out and sponged the edges with Cajun Craze.

It's fun reminiscing with stamp sets - I'll have some more for you next week.

Happy Stamping
Carol

8 Jun 2011

Good Bye to

Another favourite stamp set of mine that is retiring is Pick a Petal. It's been around for quite a while but I'm still sad to see it go.

This card uses Pretty in Pink and Basic Black cardstock, along with DSP from the Neutrals Collection in Basic Black and Pretty in Pink. The rose in the centre is also retiring.

And while this stamp set is obviously flowery, it can be used for many other things....

Like candles for a birthday:

Or an exclamation point for a celebration!
Believe it or not it can also be used to cheer someone up who is ill:
So if you're looking for a versatile set that can be used for a variety of cards this month is your last chance to order Pick a Petal.

Oh yeah, and it can be used for flowers too!

Happy Stamping!
Carol

5 Jun 2011

Good Bye to some of my favourites!

This week I'm going to make cards with some of my favourite stamp sets and embellishments that are being retired. They are all beautiful products and I wish they could stay around forever....

Today's card uses Friends 24-7.


The cardstock used is Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, and Night of Navy. DSP is Old Olive from the Brights Collection. Ink is Cajun Craze, Old Olive, and Night of Navy. Ribbon is 1/4" Grosgrain in Night of Navy. I also used the 3" die and the Scallop die.

This has been a very versatile set - all the images could be used together or individually to make beautiful cards. If you've been thinking about purchasing this set - do it before June 30th or it's gone!!!

Happy Stamping!
Carol

2 Jun 2011

Melon and Suede and Baja Breeze

The names even sound pretty, and this group of ASI swaps are pretty indeed!


We used a colour theme this month - Melon Mambo, Soft Suede, and Baja Breeze, PLUS we had to use a die cut as well. Now all three of these colours are strong colours in their own right and it was fascinating to see how each demo made them work harmoniously together:

Maree softened the strong colours by using stamped images on the cardstock:


Linda balanced the boldness by using lots of neutral white:


Louise chose one of the colours to be the dominant while the others were accents:


My card used a lot of neutral Whisper White sponged with Soft Suede, with the other colours as accents:


Which one is your favourite?
Happy Stamping!
Carol

1 Jun 2011

The Lists Are Out!!!

It's June 1st and the retirement list of stamps and accessories have been released. You can see the complete list by clicking on the icon to the right ---->

The accessories are only available while supplies last, but the stamp sets are guaranteed until the end of June.
Be sure to check and see if something on your wish list is going to become unavailable July 1st so that  you can order it now before it's gone forever!

Happy Stamping!
Carol