Hi there folks! I hope you are enjoying all the new offerings in the new catalog. I know I am and I am sure there is even more to come with the Seasonal Catalog coming in August. I can't wait to see all of the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas stuff. The holidays are my favorite time of year! Well, I'm busy preparing for this weekends Card Buffet with my recent recruit Flossie. I will have more fun cards to show you after Saturday so check back.

Just a reminder...the 25% off Digital products ends on June 15th. Don't wait too long to pick up this discount off of digital product and print services. Check it out on my website here.

I wanted to share my card for this month's group card swap. I had fun making it, even though I was up late tying to figure out the layout till I was able to CASE one similar. SU Michele Reynolds made one similar here and I changed it up a bit, but thanks to her for the inspiration!

The theme was summer fun. I loved the bikini made using the Dress Up Framelit Dies (130101) and had to make one for myself. The bikini was made using the Polka Dot Parade DSP (126902) and I backed it up with the Gingham Garden DSP (129310). Now, you probably can't see through the glare...I took this picture in my car before going into the meeting because I realized I hadn't taken a pic of my card to share yet. I guess I could've waiting to go inside for better lighting, duh, oh well. The base of the card is Marina Mist and I used a piece of Whisper White over the base that I textured using the Perfect Polka Dots (117335) texture folder. I thought it went well with the bikini. The saying comes from the Blooming with Kindness (126422) stamp set..."Warmest Wishes"...Summer....Yeah, well my kids say I'm too punny already, so I know! 

It's been fun sharing with you. Drop me a comment and let me know what you think. I love to read your comments.

Happy Staming...

New Stampin'Up! Catalog Kick Off Open House

This past Saturday I hosted a new catalog kick off open house. What fun we had! Friends could stop in, pick up a new catalog, make 5 free cards using new catalog products, see numerous samples, eat, chat, and generally just relax and have fun. I had a fantastic turn out and was visited by several friends, new and old. It was so much fun just for me!
I thought I would share my card projects with you today...

First was this fun dress card using the Dress Up Framelits (130101). I have discovered so many fun outfits to make with this framelit set.  I added a flower from the flower trim found in the Spring Catalog. We smushed one into a stamp pad lid that had ink on it in order to kind of antique the flower. You can use the water pen to do the same or even a re-inker to dye the flower to match a card you are making.  I  used  Cherry Cobbler for the base card. Demonstrator Vicki Burdick created the inspiration for this card. She has a ton of cards on Pinterest.

The next card was created by using the Mosaic Punch (131267) along with the matching Mosaic Madness (130249) stamp set. The base card is Whisper White, then I used the new Coastal Cabana and Crisp Cantaloupe papers & inks, as well as Baked Brown Sugar ink. The word phrase came from the Blooming With Kindness set (126422). Add some rhinestones for some sparkle...oh! and yes, shimmer spray to finish! The inspiration was copied from a card by SU! Demo Melissa Davies. She added a butterfly and some flowers to hers....really cute!

For the base of this card I used Very Vanilla cardstock. I used the Apothocary Accents Framelits (127003) and the Essentials Paper Piercing Pack (126187).  The background paper is Pistachio Pudding paper ran through the Big Shot using the Fancy Fan (127751) folder. The butterfly was punched out of Strawberry Slush cardstock and the Bitty Butterfly (129406) and Elegant Butterfly (127526) punches. The Delicate Designs (127023) embossing folder for the lacy design and topped it with the Gingham Garden Designer Washi Tape (129314). Now, in case you haven't seen the new Simply Pressed Clay (130685) you will love it! You press this silly puddy like clay into the Buttons & Blossoms Molds (131272), place into the freezer for 10 mins. and ta-da! Flowers ready to paint, or sponge or whatever! You can color them using a re-inker prior to molding as well. What a fun embellishment these are.  You can even press a stamp into the clay for a unique accent to a card. Oh, the words are from the Trust God (126702) stamp set. I love the soft colors for this year's NEW In-Colors. Michelle VanWiggeran is the Demo that came up with the basic design for this card, I saw her sample on Stampin'Connection.

Next, I wanted to do a simple chalk board kind of card and this is what I came up with. I used Basic Black as a base card. Although you can't tell by this photo....the background is actually Pool Party cardstock.  The Labels Collection I used offers a variety of sizes to cut out accents. From the Heart (126557) was stamped using the StazOn (106960) white pad and I drew accents around the perimeter with the Uni-ball white gel pen (105021). The corners were punched out with the 1/2" Circle punch (119869).

Last, but not least....is this little ditty. Gingham Garden DSP (129310) was used along with Whisper White for this card. The Label Love (130622) stamp set was used with the Artisan Label (130920) Scallop Trim Border (118402) punches for this card. The trim piece was Pistachio Pudding. A super simple card to make.    
And the paper offers lots of color combinations too!
Everyone really seemed to have fun playing with the new stamps and accessories. I truly enjoyed sharing the new products and playing with my new stash. So, until next time, I hope you all get a chance to look through the new catalog and see all the fun new stuff Stampin'Up! is offering this year. I'll be preparing swaps for next week and swaps for convention so check back to see what I come up with...until then,
Happy Stamping!