Another sneak peek into the 2013-14 Annual Catalogue!

A quick post with some pictures that I have been meaning to share for a few weeks now (oops) - these are a couple of things that I made during the Make & Take session at the Annual Convention in Brisbane this year.

Spoiler Alert! Lots of new stuff ahead!

This first is a little note card stamped with one of the little deco elements from Hello, Lovely.  See those colours?  That right there is an example of three of the new 2013-15 In Colors - clockwise from top left is Crisp Cantaloupe, Coastal Cabana, Old Olive (well, I did say there were only three new colours shown) and Bermuda Bay.

As you can imagine, this took some planning to get the stamps in the right place - without a Stampamajig, it would never have worked.

This nifty little printed bag is also a new item - chevrons are just so hot right now! (Zoolander reference ... anyone?)

Also shown is some of the new Chevron Ribbon in Calypso Coral and the greeting, of course (which I previewed the other day) stamped in Coastal Cabana.

It looks a little underdressed because I haven't added the band of Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon to tie it shut - mostly because I haven't finished the rest of the gift cards to put inside.

Here's a closeup for your viewing pleasure :-)

Only a few more days to wait until the release of the new 2013-14 Annual Catalogue!  It's released on July 2, 2013!  I can't wait!

Images © 1990-2013 Stampin' Up!® 
Supplies used:
Stamps:  Hello Lovel
Cardstock:  Note Cards & Envelopes, Whisper White, Old Olive, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive
Accessories:  Tag a Bag Gift Bags, Calypso Coral Chevron Ribbon, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Stampamajig

Watercolour Flowers

Occasionally I like to sit down with a cup of coffee and take a look at what other people are doing with their Stampin' Up! supplies, and one person who can always wow me with her talents is Michelle Zindorf (go on, take a look - I'll wait here till you get back).

Normally, Michelle is the queen of brayers - many of her tutorials cover the use of the brayer to create multi-layered backgrounds that are just amazing - but this one in particular caught my eye.

 And to my surprise, I realised that I had all the stuff I needed to make it (actually, knowing how much "stuff" I have, this probably shouldn't have been surprising at all).  So I sat right down to give it a go (literally!  I dug everything out and started as soon as I saw the picture!).

As it turns out, the only things I didn't have were a Tempting Turquoise marker (but the inkpad will do in a pinch), and the Crisp Cantaloupe inkpad (one of the new In Colors - I have it on my wishlist, but I just haven't got around to placing my demonstrator pre-order quite yet).  Luckily the former In Color Calypso Coral is now staying around as part of the rejigged Subtles range and while it's a much stronger colour, it has subbed in quite well :-)

I wish you could see the colours properly - the light when I took the photo was a little dim, and the vibrance of the original hasn't come across well in these photos.

Here's a detail of the flowers - you can see the white gel pen highlighting the tops of the flowers, and the marker lines at the bottom for shadow.

Images © 1990-2013 Stampin' Up!® 
Supplies used:  
Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes
Cardstock:  Old Olive, Pool Party
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Calypso Coral, Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Always Artichoke Stampin' Write Marker, Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker
Accessories:  Watercolour Paper, Clear-Mount Blocks, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, uni-ball Signo Gel Pen

A little sneak peek

As I've probably mentioned before, one of the (many) advantages of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is the opportunity to get your hands on stuff before it is available to the general population - and attending a convention or event is a perfect example of this perk :-)

Here's a quick sample of a card made with a couple of the stamp sets we were given at the Convention in Brisbane this year ...

The greeting comes from a set called "Hello, Lovely" - the images in this set are a mix of graphic elements and a few greetings that are a little 50s retro.  The grungy and splatty stamps are from another new set called "Gorgeous Grunge" - I have to admit when I saw this set, it didn't grab me, but after using it and seeing samples of what it can do, it has grown on me :-)

Here's a closeup of part of the splat and a little bit of the new Washi Tape - woo hoo!

Finally, you may or may not recognise the blue in this picture ... those with long memories might remember a former In Color called Soft Sky?  Well, it's back!  And it fits perfectly into its new home with the Subtles colour range.

Images © 1990-2013 Stampin' Up!® 
Supplies used:
Stamps:  Hello Lovely, Gorgeous Grunge, Clockworks 
Cardstock:  Wisteria Wonder, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Whisper White Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Crumb Cake, Soft Sky
Accessories:  Epic Day This and That Designer Washi Tape

Current Specials - so much to tell you

There is just so much going on over at Stampin' Up!, I thought it best to combine it all into one mega-post :-)

25% off Digital

There is still a few days left of the 25% off Digital promotion - selected Digital images, packs and templates at 25% off recommended prices.  Hurry - you only have until June 15 to take advantage of this offer!

You can find the discounted images at my Online Store - simply click the Special Offers link and then the 25% off Digital link.

Best of 25 Years

As part of Stampin' Up!'s 25-year anniversary celebration, they are bringing back some of their favourite stamp images from the last quarter century and combining them into 11 sets, which will release—one set per month—until April 2014. Even better, along with some great classic images, each "Best of" set will also include a never-before-seen image!

This month, the set is Best of Flowers, shown below (the little daisy, a never-before-seen stamp, coordinates with the 1-1/4" Scallop Circle punch).

You can see the images in more detail at my Online Store - click the Special Offers link, then the Best Of 25 Years link.

All Best Of stamp sets will contain between 3 - 5 images, and will be priced at $25.95.  The stamp sizes may differ from the original release.  The Best Of stamps will only be available in Clear Mount.  A Best Of stamp set will be released each month until April 2014, and all sets will be available until April 2014 unless sold out beforehand.

Single Stamps

From now until August 31, Stampin' Up! are selling a small assortment of single stamps which are not found in any of the catalogues.

Click the image to head over to my Online Store, then click the Stamps link, followed by the Single Stamps link to see the stamps in more detail.

The stamps are only available in Clear Mount, and don't come in the usual cases but will come packaged in cello bags.

Retirement List

Lastly, don't forget that this is Retirement List month!  In preparation for the release of the 2013-14 Annual Catalogue next month, a whole bunch of stamps and accessories are being retired so there's room for more great stuff.

Check out the list of retiring products below

• Retiring Stamps
• Retiring Accessories

Remember that retiring items are only available while stock last, so some of your favourites may already be gone.  If you look at my Online Store (click the Retiring Products link) you will find that you can only see items which are still in stock - this is the best way to work out what you can order and what is sold out :-)

Convention swap

It is traditional, when stampers/papercrafters get together, to swap creations with other crafters ... and a Stampin' Up! event is no exception.

Now, I really don't have the time or inclination to make a hundred swaps - I personally find it a little stressful - but others have no such problems :-)

However, I do like to make a small token for the members of my "team" - Gailforce Stampers, heaaded by Our Fearless Leader Gail.

This is what this year's swap looked like ...

Now, I know that Summer Starfruit is a colour you either love or hate, but come on - doesn't it look great beneath a mat of Midnight Muse?

And here's a closeup of the little greeting ... I used Fabulous Phrases, punched out with the Small Oval Punch and layered onto the little curvy banner from the Bitty Banners framelits set.

Images © 1990-2013 Stampin' Up!® Supplies used: Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes, Fabulous Phrases
 Cardstock:  Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Whisper White
 Ink: Old Olive, Midnight Muse Accessories:  Bitty Banners Framelits, Small Oval Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Stampamajig