New Scrapbooking Brochure from Stampin' Up!

If you've been faithfully following Stampin' Up! for the past few years, you've seen how the scrapbooking offering has changed. It's been a while since single colour 12x12" cardstock packs, kits or even albums have appeared in the Annual Catalogue. There was a shift to Memories and More pocket scrapbooking, which I personally appreciate. Although I'm not a hardcore scrapbooker, I'm loving that the single colour 12x12" cardstock packs are back, because sometimes you just want a larger sheet. And bonus--they're two toned! I can't wait to see them in person. It feels like a win for thrifty cardmakers who don't want to buy so much cardstock (oh, who am I kidding??? :-D). To be honest though, buying a whole variety pack to get one or two colours made me rethink some of my ideas.

Something else you may have noticed, whether on SU's website or just in general, is that SU's competitor, Close to My Heart, ceased operations in June 2024. CTMH ink, cardstock, page protectors and more can still be ordered through Stampin' Up! while quantities last.

SU kindly welcomed CTMH consultants on-board as well! If you're curious, you can also see how the two companies colours compare.

Flashback Friday--Berry Delightful Thank You Cards

As a hobby Stampin' Up! demo, I don't feel the pressure to focus on the latest and greatest. Of course, I do love the latest and greatest, but if you noticed my lack of projects over the past year, I'm building up to where I was almost ten years ago. It's these little wins and finishing up older ideas that gives me pause. Even these very simple thank you cards, made from 2021's Berry Delightful DSP and a thank you sentiment from the Daisy Delight stamp set had me thinking.

Simple stamping is wonderful, but if I was to remake these cards, I would probably use Crumbcake or Basic Beige for the bases and Basic White or Very Vanilla for the thank you tags. I absolutely can't remember what my 2021 idea was, but sometimes it's good to let go...and just keep going forward!

Watercolour DSP is always a personal favourite, so you can bet I bought a few packages of Berry Delightful :-)

Until next time...

 

Flashback Friday--Celebrate Today with Stampin' Up!

Today's Flashback Friday is a bit of new and a bit of old! You can still order the Celebrate Today magnet board kit. 

Even though I'm an avid and very capable crafter, I appreciate Stampin' Up's kits line. They're perfect for when you don't want to fuss with preparing materials, as a gift or simply to take along. Personally I keep a few kits and Paper Pumpkins to take over to my parents. It's fun for Mom and I to make something together and have a pile of cards to share. They have everything you need:

There's also no time limit on kits! The Celebrate Today kit comes with a 12x12" magnet board, frame, gold binder clips, stickers, die cuts and cards. You can easily make an organization station in half an hour with this kit, but because I'm plenty crafty, I made it special :-) Sometimes kits are just a suggestion, which is why you can find many kit alternatives online. 

You know how you save paper for special projects? I've been sitting on a stash of Flight and Airy DSP from 2024's Sale-A-Bration. This was definitely that special project! I love purple, so the speckly purple background sheet was a natural place to start. A perfectly sized piece Tea Room DSP from a few years ago wonderfully delineated the bottom. I used the pre-cut folder to make my own template to make co-ordinating folders. The extra cards are double-sided, so I can use them for other projects and cards.

Bonus fun: Did you know you can upcycle magnets for thrifty fun? We all receive those realtor or dentist magnets in the mail--don't throw them out! With DSP scraps, adhesive and some clear packing tape, you can make your own magnets, which is also what I've done here.

A project like this is easy to do on your own with some magnetic sheets and a picture frame. The possibilities are endless--you can make them as gifts or change them with the seasons too! Until next time...

 

Flashback Friday--Peaceful Cabin and Winter Gifts

Today's Flashback Friday revolves around last year's Peaceful Cabin stamp set from Stampin' Up!. Peaceful Cabin was very popular with crafters, especially for rustic scenes rendered in grey and blue. There's just something about the cabin that takes the mind away to...well...a peaceful place!

These cards were destined to be unfinished forever until this past week. Sometimes an idea or sketch (or both!) doesn't work out the way you envisioned it. Staring down the card bases, I knew they needed just a little more effort to be complete. I even stamped out sentiments. It just wasn't going to work out.

I put them aside once more and worked on another unfinished project--2019's Winter Gifts Paper Pumpkin. This fun set made 20 gift tags and there were plenty of "spare parts" still in the box even though I made a few. Gift tag Paper Pumpkins are fun because you can make awesome card fronts from them. As luck would have it, I found a stack of pre-cut bases and stamped and glued. Winter Gifts' stamp set included a scripty "Let it snow" sentiment and I used it on ten cards, such as the ones below:

Then, I realized it was the PERFECT message for those Peaceful Cabin bases. I stamped another five let it snows, and from Peaceful Cabin, stamped a bunch of pine trees and added the little fox to the corner of each card. Silver ink snowflake dots finished off the scene--done!

The bases went from blah to beautiful in an afternoon. Don't give up on those unfinished projects--maybe they just need some extra time or a change of direction. As crafters love to say, late for last year, early for next!
Until next time...

Yay! Time for the new September-December Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue!

It's time for a new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue, which means new, festive DSP stamps and more! Contact me for a printed catalogue or shop with me online.