2023 Retiring Products

Just last week Stampin’ Up! released it’s list of 2023 retiring products! This time of year is always bittersweet for me. I’m excited for the new products coming in the new Annual catalogue and I’m sad to see the retiring products go. And sadly there always seems to be a few that hit harder than others. For me this year that’s the Friends are like Seashells stamp set and the Layering Circles and Stitched Rectangles dies. The dies especially are ones that I use so often!

As always Stampin’ Up is making room for the great new products coming in the new Annual catalogue that launches in just 3 weeks. Plus this year Stampin’ Up! did a Colour Refresh. So some colours we’ve been used to seeing in the Annual catalogue are also retiring. A couple of my favourites are a part of this too… Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizzazz. To help ease the pain of products leaving they’re offering up to 60% off!

I always say this when the list comes out, but this year it’s especially important. If there’s something on your wishlist that’s retiring don’t wait!!! After only a week ALOT is already sold out! Thankfully there’s still lots that’s available. But there’s no guarantee that things will still be available on May 1st (the last day of the sale).

In my more than 10 years as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator I’ve never seen retiring products sell out so fast! So don’t wait until all the 2023 retiring products are gone! For the most up to date information on what’s still available check my online shop. I just can’t keep up with it this year!

Check out the card I shared last week that features some retiring products that are still available here.

2023 Retiring Products

Easter Treat Bags

The Easter long weekend is just a few days away! I can’t believe how fast this year is going by, can you?! To celebrate we always do the big family dinner. And I also make a little something to hold a few treats for my munchkins. This year I’m making Easter Treat bags!

To make these I played around with the dimensions to make sure they would fit what I picked up. And I used a mix of retired and currents products. The Designer Series Paper and stamp are retired. I used some different designs from the recently retired Dandy Designs DSP pack from this year’s Sale-a-bration. The colours in this pack of patterned paper are nice and bright. So they’re perfect for this project! The stamp is from a few years ago, but those bunnies are so cute I just had to keep them.

The ink colours are the current part of the treat bags. I pulled the colours from the DSP designs; Fresh Freesia, Petal Pink, Mango Melody and Coastal Cabana. The die that I used to cut out the bunnies is also current; the Framed Florets dies. And I popped them up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To put it all together I used Tear & Tape Adhesive. It’s such a good, strong adhesive for 3D projects or fancy fold cards. Then to finish them off I filled them up with some colourful slime and chocolate. I pinched the tops of the bags a little bit too.

Easter Treat Bags

These Easter treat bags turned out really cute! In the end I made 4; 2 for my munchkins and 2 more for my nieces.

Check out another project I made using the Dandy Designs DSP here.

There’s a new list of retiring products now. So check out my online shop for all the info and discounts!

Scrapfest 2023

I can’t believe it’s almost April already! Spring is here! And I’m hoping the warmer weather and pretty colours will be here soon. In the meantime I’m getting ready to join Scrapfest 2023. I joined for the first time last year and I’m excited to be going back.

If you haven’t been to Scrapfest before here’s what you can expect… lots of different exhibitors with patterned paper, embellishment, stamp set and more! There’s also different classes that you can join if you buy more than a general admission. And of course it couldn’t be called Scrapfest without a crop! I haven’t been to a crop in ages! I miss bringing all my crafting/scrapbooking supplies and taking over a table to work on my projects.

To get ready I’m going through my craft stash and purging. This is always bittersweet! While I love all my crafting supplies, I only have so much room. And even though I tell myself I’m going to keep using these stamp sets, etc. I’ve realized that I don’t really. I’m sure that sounds familiar to many of you! I’m also making some new craft projects to sell. Of course there will be lost of cards for sale, including fancy fold cards like this one here. Plus this year’s Make & Take uses a fun and simple technique!

I’m looking forward to Scrapfest 2023! Seeing some familiar faces and making some new friends. I hope to see you there!

For more information check out their website.

Scrapfest 2023

Window Slider Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

A new month means a new Fancy Folds Design Team blog hop! And this month we’re making a Window Slider card! Even though I needed to take my time with this one, it’s still an easy card to make. Check out this video from Dawn, a US demonstrator. She gives the measurements and you can go step by step along with her if you need to.

This week I’m crafting with all things green since today is St. Patrick’s Day. So that’s where I started with my design. I’m using Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen because these greens go so well together. But also because I want to show off these great colours before they retire and while they’re still available. I used Evening Evergreen as the card base and a piece of the In Colour Designer Series Paper in Soft Succulent for the card mat.

Most of the images and the sentiment on the front of the card come from the Bottled Happiness stamp set. I also threw in a splash of Fresh Freesia for the flowers because I love how greens and purples go together. But the hidden sentiment comes from the Friends are like Seashells stamp set. I really hope this one carries over… it’s definitely a favourite of mine, no matter what time of year it is!

To make it easier to slide out the inner piece of Basic White cardstock I used my retired 1/2″ circle punch. This is one I’m never getting rid of! And then to finish it off I added a few Pearl Basic Jewels around the “window”.

Check out the next Window Slider card by Mette Nording Shaw from Australia here. And remember to keep hopping around the world to see them all!

To check out last month’s Fancy Folds Design Team blog hop, start here. Last month we made a Diamond Flip Fold card.

Hello Irresistible

I’m having a lot of fun this week with the new online exclusive Hello Irresistible Designer Series Paper. It’s such pretty patterned paper! Lots of great colours and a variety of designs too.

For this design I’m using a sketch I’ve used before. This way I can show off a couple of the different designs. And to help the colours from the DSP really pop, I’m using Basic Black cardstock for my card base.

In the background I stamped some paint splatter from the Quiet Meadow stamp set using Tuxedo Black Memento ink. The sentiment comes from the Beauty of Friendship stamp set. (It’s so easy to forget about the great products in the Annual Catalogue sometimes) Then I die cut the sentiment using one of the Layering Circles dies and popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. To finish it off I added a few of the Loose Frosted Dots.

Hello Irresistible

Sadly, as I write this, the Loose Frosted Dots are temporarily sold out. But the Hello Irresistible DSP is in stock. I do wonder how long that’ll last though. It’s really pretty and really popular!

Check out some other cards I made using this online exclusive DSP here and over on my Facebook page.

And of course you can grab this and any of the other online exclusive products in my online shop!

Online Exclusives

Stampin’ Up! is offering something sort of new. They’ve done this once or twice before, but now they’re making it a regular things… online exclusives! So these are products you’ll only be able to find online. No use looking in any of the catalogues! And right now there are a bunch of online exclusive products. One of my favourites is the Hello Irresistible Designer Series Paper!

There are some great colours and designs in this pack of patterned paper. And so I wanted to have this be the focus of my card. I’m using Petal Pink as my card base since it’s one of the colours in this more pink design.

On top of this pretty paper I added some Basic White die cut pieces using the Meadows dies. The “thank you” is from the Something Fancy stamp set. I heat embossed it with gold. And then cut it out with one of the coordinating dies. Next I popped up my tag and added some of the gold trim from the Simply Elegant Trim pack.

Online Exclusives

I just love the colours and designs of the Hello Irresistible DSP!

Be sure to check out all the online exclusives in my online shop. There isn’t a timeline for how long these will be available and not all of these will be restocked. So don’t wait long if you see something you love!

And if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me!

Adorable Owls

I can’t believe it’s the last day of Sale-a-bration already! And that means its time to say goodbye to the Adorable Owls… and all the Sale-a-bration products. Adorable Owls is definitely my favourite stamp set from this catalogue. These guys are just too cute! So for my last card I of course had to use this stamp set.

I wanted to pair this stamp set with the Country Gingham Designer Series Paper. That’s one of the ways I figured out my colour combination. I also wanted to colour my little friend and Balmy Blue is one of the watercolour pencils in Assortment 2. So I’m using one of the Balmy Blue designs and paired it with Crumb Cake.

Above the DSP I stamped some leaves and flowers from the Delicate Borders stamp set. Then I layered my owl on top. I used one of the Framed Florets dies to cut out my owl and create the frame with Crumb Cake cardstock. To colour my owl I lightly coloured with Early Espresso, since there isn’t a Crumb Cake watercolour pencil, and Daffodil Delight for the beak and feet. I coloured the owls eyes with Balmy Blue and lightly all around him for a bit of sky.

From here I popped up my framed owl using some Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then added a phrase from the Adorable Owls stamp set with Crumb Cake ink which I also popped up.

Adorable Owls

It makes me sad to say goodbye to these Adorable Owls, but I think I’ll be holding on to this stamp set so I’m not too sad.

Check out another one of my favourites from the Sale-a-bration catalogue here. And make sure to head over to my online shop before the end of today if you want to grab some last minute Sale-a-bration products. Once they’re gone… they’re gone!

By the Bay

At the beginning of this month I put out a sketch challenge for my direct team. Just something fun and to spark some creativity! I often use sketches when I’m stuck for an idea or as a starting point for a design. But this one I stuck with because it’s a great one for showing off patterned paper. And goodness knows there’s a lot of great patterned paper right now in the Sale-a-bration and Janaury-April Mini catalogues! For this design I’m using the By the Bay 6″ x 6″ Specialty Designer Series Paper. It has so many beautiful designs and I love the gold foil!

With the sketch I already had the layout/design for my card. And I knew I what DSP I was using. So all that was left was to choose my colour combination and stamp set. I pulled my colours from the DSP of course. Originally I thought I’d be using more blues. But it turned into a Petal Pink and Sahara Sand card.

Since I ended up going for a summer/seaside themed card, I decided to use the Friends are like Seashells stamp set. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again… I love how versatile this stamp set is! I framed the seashells and sentiment with some Sahara Sand cardstock. Then I popped them both up on top of the patterned paper using Stampin’ Dimensionals. And instead of adding some pearls or jewels to add a bit more bling, I added some Wink of Stella to the seashells. Too bad it doesn’t really come through in the picture.

By the Bay

I had a lot of fun with this first team sketch challenge! And I hope my team did too!

Check out another card I made using the By the Bay Designer Series Paper here.

You can get this great pack of patterned paper along with some beautiful and FREE patterned paper until Tuesday! That’s the last day of Sale-a-bration. Don’t miss out! Check it all out in my online shop.

Beach Themed Handmade Card

Even though it’s still very wintery outside I decided to make a beach themed handmade card. While I enjoy winter I think I’m eager for the warmer weather to arrive! The design for this card comes from a sketch challenge with my larger team. And I decided to work with the gorgeous By the Bay 6″ x 6″ Specialty Designer Series Paper this week for my projects.

I switched up my card design a little from the original sketch. Instead of a full card base, I decided to only have half a card front. I thought it would look really neat if the 3 diamonds hung off the card front so to speak. My card base is Sahara Sand which is one of the colours from the By the Bay DSP. I also used Sahara Sand cardstock to frame my diamonds.

For my ink colour I pulled another colour from the DSP, Petal Pink. And I stamped a phrase from the Friends are like Seashells stamp set on a piece of Very Vanilla for the inside of my card.

Just behind the diamonds is another one of the designs from this pretty pack of patterned paper. I love the iridescent shimmer it gives off! Then I popped up the centre diamond with some Stampin’ Dimensionals and added a few of the Flat Adhesive-Backed Pearls to add even more shimmer.

Beach Themed Handmade Card

When I decided to craft with the By the Bay DSP this week I was totally not thinking I would be crafting a beach themed handmade card! It just goes to show that things can totally take a different turn once you start creating.

Looking for some more summer-themed cards? Check out my post using the Friends are like Seashells stamp set here.

Want to join in on all the creative fun on my teams? There’s never been a better time to join! Send me an email or you can sign up here.

Diamond Flip Fold Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

The Fancy Folds Design team is back for another year of fun fancy folds! And this month we’re making a Diamond Flip Fold card. It’s a nice simple fun fold card to ease back into things. For measurements and video instructions, check out this video from Linda Bauwin, a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator from the United States. And the measurements I used for my Basic White squares is 2 7/8″ x 2 7/8″.

This week I’m crafting with the Beautifully Happy stamp set from the Sale-a-bration catalogue. So I started my design with that in mind. One of my colours is of course a green (Mint Macaron) and so I pulled out the Country Gingham 6 x 6 Designer Series Paper. The smaller design from this sheet really helps the flowers be the focal point. Then to go with the Mint Macaron I chose Fresh Freesia. It’s such a pretty purple and I love pairing greens and purples together!

For the stamping I stamped the outline with full strength Mint Macaron. But for the “filling in” I stamped off for the leaves and buds. Then it was back to full strength for the flowers. I added a sentiment from the In the Moment stamp set to go on the inside. And went with Crumb Cake for my ink colour. As much as I love Fresh Freesia, I wanted a more subtle colour for the sentiment I chose. Then to finish it off I added a few of the Flat Adhesive Backed Pearls to add a little bit of bling. I also added some Wink of Stella to the flowers once they were fully dry.

To keep going on this month’s Diamond Flip Fold card hop, check out Mette Nordling Shaw’s card here.

You can also check out last month’s hop here, where we made a Shaded Gatefold card. That was definitely a fun one!

And don’t forget… Sale-a-bration is almost over! So if you’d like to earn the Beautifully Happy stamp set that I used in today’s card then head over to my online shop before February 28th!

Sale-a-bration #SimpleStamping

After a little break last month, Stampin’ Up!s back with another #SimpleStamping challenge. And this time it’s some Sale-a-bration #SimpleStamping! So just stamps, ink, paper and a Sale-a-bration item. Nothing fancy like ribbon or embellishments this time. We can make any kind of card we want, so I’m taking advantage and making a few thank you cards to give to my customers.

For my Sale-a-bration item I’m using the Beautifully Happy stamp set. I thought about using one of the Designer Series Paper packs from the catalogue, but thought I’d stick with very simple stamping. My main colour is Mint Macaron. I used it for the cardstock and one of my ink colours. The other ink colour is Pool Party.

In the background I stamped the single flower image a few times in Mint Macaron. Then I filled in the spaces with some Pool Party paint splatter. In the centre I stamped “thanks” from the Biggest Wish stamp set and framed it with the larger floral image in Mint Macaron. I also added another single flower with the same colour. Then I “filled in” the flowers with Pool Party and popped it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Sale-a-bration #SimpleStamping

Looking at it now I’m tempted to add some Wink of Stella or a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

I hope you enjoyed this Sale-a-bration #SimpleStamping project! Check out another card I made with the Beautifully Happy stamp set here.

Sale-a-bration’s only on for 2 more weeks! Don’t miss out on getting these great products for FREE! Fill up your cart in my online shop before February 28th!

Dandy Designs

I am just loving all the patterned paper in this year’s Sale-a-bration catalogue! There is a nice variety with the colours and images, even in the packs themselves. But I think my favourite pack is the Dandy Designs Designer Series Paper pack. For one it’s free during Sale-a-bration. But also because it’s a HUGE pack of paper filled with lots of colours and some really fun designs. You can use these designs for just about any occasion… including Valentine’s Day.

The inkspiration for this design comes from a card swap that one of my team members shared. I used it as a sort of sketch to follow. Then since I wanted to make a Valentine’s Day card I used that theme for the colours and stamps. The card base is Petal Pink and the card mat is one of the Petal Pink designs from the Dandy Designs DSP pack. I like this design because it has a few different shades and the design isn’t too big or overpowering.

On top of that I created a tag of sorts using some more Petal Pink cardstock and one of the Something Fancy dies. The dies don’t actually work with this sized piece of cardstock the way you typically would use them. So to make the top of the tag I slid the cardstock through the die horizontally and used one of the other dies to make the hole. Then I stamped the sentiment and image on a piece of Basic White cardstock; Petal Pink ink for the sentiment and Tuxedo Black Memento ink for the cat. I coloured the heart with the Light Petal Pink Stampin’ Blend and added some White Crinkled Seam binding ribbon. Next I popped up the tag with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals. And to finish it off I added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Dandy Designs

Check out another card I created using the Dandy Designs DSP here.

And if you love this patterned paper, don’t wait to put in your order! Sale-a-bration is almost over and then this pack of paper will be gone! You can get this pack free with a $120 order, but there’s also lots of options with a $60 order. Check it all out in my online shop!

Beautifully Happy

This year I decided to focus on featuring one products in all my projects for the week. For this week it’s the Dandy Designs Designer Series Paper from the Sale-a-bration catalogue. And for this card I’m pairing it with the Beautifully Happy stamp set, which is also from the Sale-a-bration catalogue. This is such a great stamp set! There are lots of different sentiments that make it versatile. And you can use the images for colouring or for 2-Step stamping.

For this card I started with a few different strips from the Dandy Designs DSP pack. To help the colours pop I’m using a Basic White card base and I decided to pop up the strips with some Stampin’ Dimensionals to be a bit different this time. On top of the DSP strips I added a piece of vellum that I cut using one of the Layering Circles dies. Then on top of that I have another die cut circle of the same size in Basic White.

Instead of doing 2-Step stamping I wanted to colour my images. So I stamped them with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. Once it was dry I used the Watercolor Pencils, assortment 2, to colour them in. I used Flirty Flamingo for the flowers and buds. And to give a little more depth to them I pressed more firmly in certain areas to get a darker shade. For the centre of the flower and the bee I used Crushed Curry. And then for the leaves and stems I used Granny Apple Green.

To finish it off I stamped the sentiment with Fresh Freesia ink. And then added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Beautifully Happy

I’m going to miss the Beautifully Happy stamp set. I can’t believe that Sale-a-bration is already more than half over!

If you want to learn more about this year’s one and only Sale-a-bration check out this post. And to take advantage, and earn FREE exclusive products, before February 28th head to my online shop!

Favored Flowers for Valentine’s Day

For a pack of Designer Series Paper I wasn’t so sure about I’m sure having a lot of fun crafting with it! This time I’m using the Favored Flowers for Valentine’s Day. Can you believe that Valentine’s day is only a week and a half away?! Already it seems like time is flying by. But for today that’s a good thing because it’s super cold here and I can’t wait for Spring!

For this card design I pulled a few similar designs from the Favored Flowers Designer Series Paper pack, but in different colours; Blackberry Bliss, Calypso Coral and Petal Pink. I love Blackberry Bliss and so I used that for the card base. I also used it to frame the sentiment which comes from the Love Cats stamp set. Which is also stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink.

I punched the hearts using the plain heart punch from the Heart Punch pack. And behind those I embossed a piece of Basic White cardstock using the Cane Weave 3D embossing folder. This way the colours and designs on the hearts stay the focus, but the background isn’t too boring. I popped up all of the hearts and the sentiment with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then I finished it off by adding a couple of Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Favored Flowers for Valentine's Day

Favored Flowers for Valentine’s Day may not be the typical Valentine’s Day card, but I really like it! Check out another card I made using this same pack of patterned paper here.

And head over to my online shop if you want to get your hands on this beautiful paper! Remember Sale-a-bration is only on until the end of this month, so don’t wait too long!

Favored Flowers

At first when I saw the Favored Flowers Designer Series Paper in the Sale-a-bration catalogue I was not a big fan. I love flowers, but I wondered if the patterns were a bit much for me. But I’ve been seeing some card designs lately that are helping change my mind. So I pulled out my pack and I think the designs look much better in real life. This pack of patterned paper uses some of my favourite colours and some of the blooms are easy enough for fussy cutting. I’m not fussy cutting for this card, but I did want to show off some of this pretty paper.

This card is a nice simple one because I really want the DSP to be the focus. I started with deciding which design I wanted to use for this card. This one has Petal Pink and Calypso Coral in it for the flowers. And Mossy Meadow and Evening Evergreen for the leaves. I used Mossy Meadow for my card base because it’s a nice neutral colour and not too dark. Plus it really helps the colours from the blooms to stand out.

Next I stamped a phrase from the Something Fancy stamp set using Mossy Meadow ink. I cut it out using one of the Stitched Rectangles dies. And then I framed it with the flip side of the same sheet of patterned paper. Finally I popped it all up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals and added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels for a bit of bling.

Favored Flowers

I’m so glad I opened the Favored Flowers pack of Designer Series Paper! It really is pretty!

There’s lots of great patterned paper that you can earn for free during Sale-a-bration. Check out this card that I made using the Dainty Flowers DSP here. And you can see all the great free Sale-a-bration products over in my online shop! Don’t wait too long though! Sale-a-bration is only here until the end of February and things could sell out before then.