Stampin’ Up! has just added new items to the online Clearance Rack, with up to 60% off select products. But during this Clearance Rack refresh, there is a unique opportunity for a second chance to add the Favored Flowers and Dandy Designs Designer Series Papers to your craft supplies. If you loved these two offerings from January-February 2023 Sale-A-Bration, this is your chance! (PS: Dandy Designs DSP has 48 sheets of 12″ x 12″ paper in the pack!)
Wow. I totally overlooked a major price increase for a Stampin’ Up! product I use almost every day: the Medium Basic White Envelopes (#159236). In the current (2023-2024) Annual Catalog, they are $8.50 for 40 envelopes. That price is good through the end of April. In the upcoming Annual Catalog, they will be priced at $11.00. I assume the quantity is the same, but it isn’t stated in the new catalog (page 107).
That’s an increase of nearly 30%, so you can be sure I am stocking up before the price goes up! Why are the Stampin’ Up! envelopes important to me? Can’t you buy cheaper ones elsewhere? Of course. But Stampin’ Up! understands ink + paper, so my experience is that SU! envelopes are superior for stamping — and if you’re going to send a handmade card, don’t you want the envelope to provide a sneak peek? Also, I believe Stampin’ Up! envelopes are a heavier weight, which provides some protection for the contents.
The January–April 2024 Mini Catalog and the 2023–2024 Annual Catalog are retiring on April 30! Of course, you knew that and, just as I am, you’re probably looking forward to all the new products on their way. Meanwhile, from April 9–30, you can stock up on your favorite products and save up to 60% on some essential craft supplies! So, what are you waiting for? Start making your list! After all, Last Chance Products will only be available while supplies last. More details:
Make a plan, but do not begin your order until Tuesday, April 9. To qualify for discounts, your order cannot be started before April 9.
All retiring products are available while supplies last, and there are no purchase limits.
Discounted items can be added to a Starter Kit and redeemed as a 50% off item or with Stampin’ Rewards.
Only orders opened and closed during the promotion period apply.
Stamp sets are not guaranteed during this promotion and are while supplies last.
Aside from items retiring, remember that there will be price increases in the new catalog effective May 1 (and also for Paper Pumpkin subscriptions effective April 11):
Classic Stampin’ Ink Refills
Stampin’ Blends
Select Specialty Inks
Embossing Pastes
Stampin’ Spots
Cardstock
Select Note Cards and Envelopes
Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machines and Plates
Punches
Select Storage
Select Tools
Select Adhesives
I’m sure you got the “while supplies last” message — so make that plan and get ready!
Due to increased costs to produce these items, new pricing for several Stampin’ Up! products will be effective May 1, 2024. So that you can be informed and plan any purchases when the Last Chance sale begins Tuesday, April 9, I spent several hours comparing old and new prices, summarizing the results in a two-page, printable pdf document (click here to open the pdf or click the image above). If you plan to order Last Chance items, do not begin your order until April 9.
I did the best I could with this challenging project; please let me know via a comment if there are corrections I need to make.
I was inspired by a Libby Fens design to create this card for last month’s All-Occasions Stamp-a-Stack. It’s a great example of how much can be done with (mostly) stamps, ink, and paper.
Unfortunately, the editing I had to do to my photos to make the purples more red than blue resulted in the loss of black on the sentiment strip and flower centers. This is so pretty IRL, and it was the favorite card of the six I offered at this event.
That sentiment is from the Happy Little Things photopolymer set (with 18 stamps!), another recent offering in Online Exclusives. There are just two dies in the Happy Little Things set of dies (my card posted a few days ago shows the other one behind the sentiment tag), and I hope there are more of these small sets coming along.
Meanwhile, my copy of the Stampin’ Up! 2024-2025 Annual Catalog finally arrived yesterday. It’s so, so much better to see it in person than online, where a two-page spread is so tiny it’s a challenge to appreciate things. At least for these aging eyes! This catalog is unlike any other I’ve seen in my 19 years as a demonstrator (and a few years before that). I hope you get to see it for yourself soon!
Click the images below to add current products for this card to your cart in my Stampin’ Up! online store. Disclosure: I get a commission for purchases made through these links, at no additional charge to you. Thank you!
Comforting Thoughts is an Online Exclusives set from the most recent release. The sentiments are perfect for life’s difficult moments, such as death or severe illness; the inside we used in this All-Occasions Stamp-a-Stack card reads, “Thinking of you, praying for you, hoping with you.”
I love a wreath, and this one from Encircled in Nature couldn’t be more simple. I chose the floral spray in springtime Flirty Flamingo to embellish the twig wreath.
There are options in the Encircled in Nature bundle to bump up this design, and you’ll see how I did it if you’re coming to an April camp:
Monday, April 8 @ 6:30 in Rochelle(space is limited)
Click the images below to add current products for this card to your cart in my Stampin’ Up! online store. Disclosure: I get a commission for purchases made through these links, at no additional charge to you. Thank you!
It was a card by Jeanie Stark that started my obsession with this layout. I held my see-through quilting ruler up to my laptop’s screen to see if I could figure out the exact measurements. I think I came close; the sketch with the measurements I used is at the end of this post.
I love this Sunny Days Designer Series Paper from Sale-A-Bration 2024. It’s the perfect combination of colors, I think. Not too sweet.
The first (white) layer on the card front above is 4″ x 5¼”, but I omitted that layer on yesterday’s cards. The rest of the layout follows this sketch:
I’m sorry to say that the Heartfelt Hexagon punch (and then, the Heartfelt Hexagon bundle) is unavailable until the week of April 22.
I don’t know how it happened that it was Christmas one day, then the next day we were looking at the Last Chance lists. So I have felt unprepared for some of the changes coming up, including the retirement of the 2022-2024 In Colors. That was my motivation to use them immediately!
The Stamp Review Crew blog hop provided the perfect opportunity to use colors I love, Orchid Oasis and Starry Sky, as variations on this layout. The product list at the end of the post includes supplies for both cards.
These cards used a layout inspired by demonstrator Jeanie Stark, one that I first used for a February camp card. My post tomorrow will show you that card, and I will include measurements for the center panel. I hope you’ll enjoy using it as much as I have!
And speaking of sketches, one of the cool little features of the upcoming Stampin’ Up! 2024-2025 Annual Catalog is a selection of 22 card templates in sketch format. Those are great starting points!
I am hoping my real-life catalog arrives in the mail by Saturday. That way, after the Easter brunch leftovers are refrigerated or sent home with people; all the dishes are washed, dried, and put away; and we have said goodbye to our guests, I can put my jammies on and do some serious work on my wish list!
Click the images below to add current products for this card to your cart in my Stampin’ Up! online store. Disclosure: I get a commission for purchases made through these links, at no additional charge to you. Thank you!
Last week I shared an easy layout in one of my cards for the Stamp Review Crew’s blog hop featuring Kindest Expressions. (You can see my post here.) At the time I posted that, I already had designed this card for last weekend’s All-Occasions Stamp-a-Stack. I could make this card using many, many different coordinating patterned papers and never get tired of it; this card uses the beautiful Countryside Inn Designer Series Paper.
My strategy for combining patterns is to provide contrast by using
A variation in scale (here, the center pattern is much smaller than those on either side).
One or two linear patterns (like the center one) and one or two floral or circular patterns.
This doesn’t get too busy because the color unifies the design.
This is such a simple layout: three 1″ x 5″ strips of patterned paper and a bold sentiment. Inside we used one of the stamps from Sweetly Scripted, a must-have set from the Online Exclusives.
The Misty Moonlight and silver baker’s twine was part of a combo pack several years ago. I’m sorry I have so little of it left in my stash!
Click the images below to add current products for this card to your cart in my Stampin’ Up! online store. Disclosure: I get a commission for purchases made through these links, at no additional charge to you. Thank you!
Stampin’ Up! offers several options for coloring line art, like the image here. Which option I use depends on the image and the result I want.
Let’s Color is a class that will offer you the opportunity to practice coloring with three types of media: Stampin’ Blends (alcohol markers), Watercolor Pencils, and Water Painters (for coloring with Stampin’ Up! Classic Ink). You will learn the differences between these coloring methods, how to decide which to use, and how to blend and shade.
You’ll take home a booklet with class notes and your practice samples, some of which will be suitable for projects you complete at home. You’ll use your own Watercolor Pencils and Stampin’ Blends (or you may choose the option to include them in your registration), but will share my other supplies.
Saturday, April 20 — 1:00-4:30 p.m. at my DeKalb home (322 Fairmont Dr) Note that registration is limited to 8 stampers.
Choose one of two class options:
With this class, you’ll also receive a 15% discount on Stampin’ Blends products purchased at the time of registration or at class. Note that some of these prices will be going up on May 1!
To register, send me a check and a note indicating which Combo Packs you’d like (see Option B, above), or register below via PayPal. I must have your registration and payment by Wednesday, April 10 in order to have your materials in time for class.
