In Color introduction

It’s that time of year again! Time to introduce five fabulous new colours to the Stampin’ Up!® collection. And I have LOTS of colour info to share with you today.

Every year I create a set of combinations for the new colours. You can find these on Facebook here – you don’t need to log in.

And I know you like to know how they compare to other colours in the collection, so I have created these graphics for you, too. I’d love to know what you think of the new colours, so please let me know in the comments.

Sneak Peek: Forever Greenery Suite

Who could fail to love the Forever Greenery Suite? You’ll be seeing a lot of it online at the moment because it was part of the Stampin’ Up!® pre-order, and I’m sure it’s going to be a firm favourite with customers, too, when the new catalogue goes live on 3rd June.

I just love the delicate leaf images in the Forever Fern stamp set and the bold colours of the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper – and I can’t wait to get my customers crafting with it!

Leaves don’t have to be green. They even look fab stamped in Blackberry Bliss... but let’s face it, Blackberry Bliss looks good on everything – even your fingers!

Retiring stamp set: Tropical Chic

 
Is that pink? What's happening to me? I saw a similar card to this created by a crafter called Yana Smakula and couldn’t resist making one of my own with the Tropical Chic stamp set before it retires at the end of this month.

I used Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight and Smoky Slate to create a DSP-style background. This would be great for a one-sheet wonder!

I also use the Share Sunshine PDF of greetings which has some fabulous sentiments for the current situation. You can download that here and all proceeds go to two very good causes helping to fight Covid-19.

There's a very small sneak peek on there, too – can you spot it? It’s the Flirty Flamingo die-cut on the card on the right. This is from the new Tasteful Labels set and I’m currently using it all the time. It’s going to be really popular, I’m sure.

My Smoky Slate ink pad desperately needed re-inking but, once I’d done so, I found it a bit dark (left card) so created another background by stamping off onto scrap paper first to get a paler look (right card). This is a good way of toning down colours which are too dominant and also a great way of getting more out of your ink pads, as you can get 2-3 shades from each colour.

#Loveitchopit with Magnolia Lane

As customers scrabble to purchase their favourite products before they retire, I’m scrabbling to use up my favourite retiring products because I only like to show you things that you can still buy. This is my choice; it’s often said to me “you have to use current products, don’t you?” but that’s not actually true. I just choose to concentrate on current products only because my crafting time is so limited.
Everything I make has to serve not only its desired purpose (a birthday card, a gift, a class project etc) but be shown on my blog, Facebook page and Instagram too. Waste not, want not!

This card uses the fabulous #loveitchopit technique pioneered by Aussie demo Kylie Bertucci. Basically you cut your 12x12 Designer Series Paper into 6x4 pieces, then use them on card fronts. It’s such a simple idea which not only gets you using your paper but means you can make beautiful and easy cards in next to no time!

I made this one using Magnolia Lane Designer Series Papers and the new Ornate Thanks stamp set. Hope you like it!

Old and new combine for thank you pouches

A mix of old and new here: three outgoing products and not one but THREE new products! Can you spot them?

The three outgoing products are:
1. Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper
2. Gorgeous Grape Mini Striped Ribbon
3. You Always Deliver stamp set.

And the three NEW products are:
1. A tiny image from a new stamp set called Comfort & Hope
2. Some little flowers punched out with the new Confetti Flowers Border punch
3. Labels created with the very clever new Lovely Labels Pick a Punch.

They came from my fantastic pre-order which arrived on Friday. Feast your eyes on this little lot...

You too can order brand new products before the  catalogue goes live if you sign up as a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator! You get lots of perks and meet some wonderful people, too. Please get in touch if you’d like more details of what you could order, or click below to get started. 
 

Sneak Peek: Forever Greenery Suite

I can't wait a moment longer to show you some of the products from my favourite Suite in the new catalogue.

The suite is called Forever Greenery and the stamp set is Forever Fern. I was naturally drawn to the lovely green colours – I think the Designer Series Paper probably uses all the greens we have!

Here I’ve created three cards for three stages of crafter...

The #simplestamping project uses just one Garden Green ink pad and a pack of notecards and envelopes, and is perfect if you don’t have many supplies or if you’re just in a hurry. 

The second project is for the casual crafter who may have some ribbon, embellishments and a punch (GREAT new punch, by the way!). 

Finally, there’s a project for the avid crafter which uses ribbon, embellishments, the co-ordinating Forever Flourishing dies, along with the absolutely gorgeous Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper and some vellum, too. Which one is your favourite?

If your Designer Paper is too bright for your project, you can tone it down a little by overlaying a piece of vellum as I’ve done here. This allows you to retain the design and keep the colours in the same palette without it dominating. 

You, too, can get early access to brand new products if you sign up as a demonstrator! Please get in touch if you would like to find out more.

Cuppa & Card with Friendly Silhouettes dies

You won’t want to miss this beautiful Designer Series Paper, which is retiring very soon and currently available at the reduced price of £8.60. It’s Perennial Essence and these cards only show off the more subtle side of the beautiful designs. I have another project to show you shortly which highlights some of the floral patterns.

These are this week’s Cuppa & Card projects; I don’t normally show them in advance but I have TWO kits left so thought I may tempt someone to give it a go. The session takes about an hour and takes place via Zoom on Thursday at 10.30am.

It’s a fun and effective way to craft as you can still chat with each other and hold up your project if you’re having trouble with something. Please shout up ASAP if you’d like to join.

For the floral card, I brayered the base of the die-cut with Pear Pizzazz then coloured the flowers with cotton buds tapped onto my ink pads. The tiny cluster of flowers I cut off weren’t wasted; I used these inside the card. 
 

Retiring product: Come Sail Away Memories & More cards

Clearing out my files and found this image which I don’t think I ever shared. It shows off the Come Sail Away Memories & More cards, which I believe are no longer available, but it may just give you an idea for using them up, or for other packs which are still available.

You don't always need stamps to make great cards! Check out your Memories & More cards and get some speedy projects under your belt.
 

Retiring stamp: Accented Blooms

Ok, it’s time to start showcasing some retiring stamp sets because a) if I don’t show you the projects now, I never will and b) you need to see what you’ll be missing if you don’t buy now!

This set is called Accented Blooms and it goes perfectly with the Tailored Tag punch. I’ve used it here with Peaceful Moments (not retiring) to create a simple sympathy card. It was quick, too, as the main image came out of my UFO box (unfinished objects). I just hope I don’t need to use the card any time soon.

Any image which fits the Tailored Tag punch works well with this stamped image, giving the set even more versatility. 
 

New home card using Snow Front, Beautiful Friendship & more...

 

I’ve become the official card provider to my family. It helps us all; I get to offload my old samples and they aren’t tempted to go to the shops during lockdown.

But the latest request threw me as it was for a new home card for my nephew and his girlfriend (you can move into a new home if it’s vacant and social distancing is maintained, in case you were worried). The problem is, both Mum and I need to send them a card, so they need to be different – and I don’t have any new home stamp sets.

This is roughly how the conversation went:

Me: "I don't have any new home stamps but I can do one with a lighthouse, a dog kennel or a beehive."
Mum: "I'm sure you have a house stamp."
Me: "No I really don't."
Mum: "I could have sworn I saw a little house."
Me: "No, it must be an old one you’re thinking of."
Mum: "I definitely saw a little house."
etc...

Turns out she was right! How come she knows the contents of my craft room better than I do? She hasn't stepped inside my house (or anyone else’s) for at least seven weeks!

In the end, I used no fewer than four stamp sets on this project: Snow Front, Water Front, Beautiful Friendship and Peaceful Moments. Well if you’ve got it, use it!

I used just the tips of the flowers and flower centre stamps from Beautiful Friendship to create a floral foreground. Without this, I felt the image still had a wintry, Christmassy vibe.

Christmas in May with Memories & More cards

Have I taken leave of my senses? Probably but, if you’re not working, lockdown is a great opportunity to get a head start on Christmas cards. Lockdown can feel a little like Christmas anyway – at least with the staying home and overeating!

Yesterday I held another class via Zoom, making five cards using Memories & More cards from the Clearance Rack. There was no stamping required, although there was the option to add some grunge spatters if desired.

Read product descriptions carefully when shopping online. Just look at the size of that ribbon!

Have another Quaran-tini!

It must be challenging being in lockdown alone, which is why Stampin’ Up!® has come up with this new image and greetings set so you can make cards to cheer people up. It’s part of the new Share Sunshine PDF which raises money for worth causes helping people affected by Covid-19.

Inside it says “it’s like a normal martini but you drink it at home, alone”. Perfect!

You can download the PDF here

When colouring images printed from your computer, for best results use Stampin’ Blends as these won’t smear your image. I tried to add Wink of Stella to the top of this image but had to take care as it was smudging the black ink.

Share Sunshine with cardmaking

What happens when you run out of glue midway through a project? You call on your demonstrator friends, of course! You can’t see this card too well in the video below but after so many takes I couldn't face another one so here's a close-up.

I made it using retiring Tropical Oasis Memories & More cards combined with the new Share Sunshine PDF of greetings for our time. This is a fabulous set of greetings, with some images, all designed for the current crisis, so we can send the perfect card to thank someone, cheer someone up or simply spread some joy (not germs!).

The cost is $12, which works out at about £8-£9 and, best of all, every single penny raised will go to these good causes:

* The WHO’s COVID-Solidarity Response Fund

* United Way Worldwide’s COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund.

You get to choose which one to benefit or split it 50/50. I think it's fantastic that in a global crisis, a global company is thinking globally to help people the world over.

You can download the UK version of the greetings here

And if the video doesn’t load properly, you can also view it here

What do you get in the PDF?

You get a 19-page PDF featuring 15 pages of greetings, in both black and colours (the Stampin' Up!® colours are detailed on the initial pages). You can print these out onto Whisper White cardstock and use them in your craft projects. Please don’t share the PDF with anyone, as it’s designed to raise as much money as possible for these worthy causes. 

When using the PDF, you'll see the pages are numbered so that the first page of greetings is Page 1. Please disregard these numbers when printing just one page of the document. You need to look at the page number within the document. For instance, Page 1 of the greetings is actually Page 5 of the document, so if you want the page with “I’d totally share my toilet paper with you”, you need to print page 5. I’d hate for you to waste your Whisper White on a sheet of instructions!