The Stampin’ Up! 25 year celebration at convention is over and almost 7000 demonstrators are now headed home. Rich Judkins, the president and COO of Stampin’ Up! spoke at the closing ceremony about how very important it is to be innovative and how to learn to be that way. Now that I am no longer physically in Craig to be with my card exchange group, we have to be innovative in the way we connect.

Last Wednesday, I was in Pocatello, Idaho, on my way to convention in Salt Lake City. The stampers were meeting in Craig. I had already prepared kits with the card stock all cut and directions for the project. I called Dina on facetime and had a wonderfully fun evening helping them with the project from a lawn chair. Check out these photos.

It is the first time I have taught a workshop remotely. We made this card.

I love this sample using the Wildflower Meadow embossing folder and the coordinating stamp! I made it as one of my convention samples as well. The Pacific Point blue, Whisper White, and Daffodil Delight yellow make such a crisp and clean color combination. Have you purchased the Wildflower Meadow bundle yet? By purchasing the bundle, you save 15% so go order it here.

Supplies:

Wildflower Meadow Bundle (132985-c, 132735-w), Label Love stamp set (130619-w, 130622-c}, Artisan Label Punch (130920), Pacific Point card stock, Daffodil Delight card stock, Whisper White card stock, Whisper White Craft Stampin’ Ink Pad (101731)

If you weren’t at our card exchange club last night you missed out on a lot of fun. Hubby is out of town and I can think of no better way to spend an evening than spending time with my stamping ladies creating gorgeous cards, laughing, and having fun. This is the card you missed out on creating.

One of the new toys…err…tools I purchased this month is the Circles Collection Framelits. I was hoping they would take the place of all my circle punches thus saving me space in our travel trailer. However, the only one that duplicates a punch if the 1″ diameter one. The rest complement the circle punches. Here are the measurements of the circle framelits: 5/8″, 1″, 1-1/2″, 1-7/8″, 2-3/8″, 2-3/4″ 3-3/16″, 3-5/8″, 4″, 4-3/4″ which is the scalloped one. My dear, sweet husband said, ” Take the punches also. You will be really frustrated when you need that particular size and it is in storage.” Thank you, dear!!!

This tomorrow is the Blessing of the Fleet, an annual tradition in fishing communities. I thought The Open Sea was a particularly fitting stamp to use last night. Sail boats and sailing vessels like this have a romantic aura for me but I also know they are a lot of work!

Did you know that you can stamp on and color the cotton ribbon? I felt the natural color of the ribbon would be too light for this card so I used a sponge dauber to sponge Baked Brown Sugar ink on it.

Thanks for coming to visit me today. As always, order the supplies needed to make this card by visiting my online store or by clicking on the hyperlinked names of the supplies.

Supplies:

Stamps – The Open Sea (128454w, 123032c), Express Yourself (130336w, 130339c) hostess set

Card Stock – Soft Sky, Baked Brown Sugar, Very Vanilla

Ink – Night of Navy, Gumball Green, Baked Brown Sugar

Other – Circles Collection Framelits (130911), 7/8″ Cotton Ribbon (127844), Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine (113439), Sponge Daubers (102892)

I needed a quick card to contact our yard maintenance man so whipped up this one using the new Mosaic Madness stamp set and the new Mosaic punch. My original concept was to just have the diagonal line of mosaics but the card looked a little ‘blah’. So I added the border stamp  diagonally across the corners. I am pleased with the results. Of course, I have no Spanish stamps so had to hand write the greeting. Can you name the two new colors I used? Leave a comment below with your answer.

Supplies:

Stamp set: Mosaic Madness (130249 – c, 130246 – w)

Inks: Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin’ Pad (131171), Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin’ Pad (131174), Marina Mist Stampin’ Write Marker (119679)

Paper: Crumb Cake and Whisper White card stock

Other: Mosaic Punch (131267)

The stamp set I am saddest to see retire is French Foliage. It is a wonderful set and is versitile. I used one of the leaves with the bleach technique to create the card above. In real life, there is a golden shimmer as well because I sprayed Gold Smooch Spritz on the paper towel that had bleach on it. Someone gave this technique the name ‘Blemooch’. :o) The Gold Glow Smooch Spritz is also retiring. The retiring accessories are available only as long as supplies last and many have already sold out. This is the last week to order retiring items. Don’t wait for the last minute…check out the retiring lists here and order those items you have been eying before they are gone forever! So what Stampin’ Up! product are you going to miss the most? Leave a comment below.

French Foliage Stamp Set

Supplies:

French Foliage Stamp Set (120845 – w, 121166 – c)

Banner Greetings (new hostess set 129711-w, 129714 – c)

Gold Glow Smooch Spritz (118700)

Card stock – Pistachio Pudding, Cajun Craze, Whisper White

Supplies: Vine Street TIEF (130492); Best of Flowers stamp set (133342); Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set (129651-W/129654-C); Bitty Butterfly Punch (129406); Bashful Blue, Gumball Green, and Very Vanilla card stock; Large Oval Punch (119855); Extra-Large Oval Punch (119859)

Happy Plant a Flower Day! Yep…today is Plant a Flower Day and boy do we need flowers here in SE Alaska. Last week was sunny and you could feel spring in the air. This week we are having snow showers…go figure! Typical SE Alaska spring weather.

So what kind of flower would you plant? I love hydrangeas and would plant one of those if we weren't in temporary housing. Instead, I created this card with the hydrangea from the Best of Flowers stamp collection. This is Stampin' Up!'s 25 year anniversary and they have gone into their stamp vaults and brought out the best stamps in each category to create an anniversary stamp set. Each month they offer us a new set and in that set is a stamp that has never been seen before. Click here to see the sets released so far.

The Vine Street embossing folder and the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set are two of the items you can choose when you order $50 of product during Sale-a-bration. There are only 10 days left in Sale-a-bration so order now through my online store. I don't want you to miss out on this great opportunity to stock up on card stock, adhesives, and supplies and get free exclusive product at the same time. Check out the Sale-a-bration offerings below. If you want two items, then buy $100 in product. Order $150 in product, get 3 items and get $25 in hostess benefits!

Thanks for coming by to visit today. Before you leave, let me know what flower/flowers you would plant today in a comment below.

Until your next visit…blessings,
Sue

In last night's blog post I shared these pictures of this Pop 'n Cut card and talked about the wonders of the Dress Form Pop 'n Cuts and Card Base Pop 'n Cuts dies. Today I want to focus on the stamp set The Open Sea (w-123030, c-123032).

I like this set for several reasons. First, I live on an island in SE Alaska and boats, ships, and ferries are our way of life. There is something very romantic about sailing ships and they speak of adventure.

I love the vintage look of this stamp set as well. Stamp in in Crumb Cake, Basic Grey, or one of our wonderful blue inks. I stamped the compass with Pacific Point ink but stamping it with one of the red inks would also be very vintage.

Finally, I love the versatility of The Open Sea stamp set. It could be used on a Bon Voyage card, on travel scrapbook pages, or for a masculine birthday card like this one. Check out the different images in the index below and then click on the links above to order the set. While you are in my online store, remember to order stamping supplies you are running low on. I appreciater your business.

Until your next visit…blessings,
Sue
sue@soggystamper.com

Supplies: Dress Form Pop 'n Cuts die (130100), Card Base Pop 'n Cuts die (130099), The Open Sea stamp set (w-123030, c-123032), Sunshine & Sprinkles Designer Series Paper (126922), Apothecary Accents Framelits (127003), Window Frames Collection Framelits (129021), Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine (113439)

I am so excited to share this card with you! The Dress Form Die and the Card Base Pop 'n Cut die have so much potential. I needed to make a birthday card for my son and had not used this wonderful and romantic The Open Sea stamp set yet. Actually, I have had my eye on it ever since the 2012-2013 catalog came out but just hadn't purchased it until last month. The ribbon is from the Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack (130812) which you can get for FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-A-Bration.

Have I convinced you that the Dress Form die and the Pop 'n Cuts die are well worth the price because they open a whole new area of creativity for you? You can use them as the support for all kinds of pop-ups. Check out this blog post, and this one for more ideas. Then order them. Order any of the supplies I used to create this card by clicking on the linked item names of by visiting my online store.

Thanks for coming by to visit today. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and take a break while you browse my projects. If you like what you see and would like to receive exclusive projects once a month in The Soggy Stamper Newsletter, fill in the box on the right to subscribe. When you do, email me your phone number and your birthday. I send my subscribers an e-card I created just for them if I have their birthday.

Until your next visit…blessings,
Sue
sue@soggystamper.com

What is Sale-a-Bration, you ask? It is the time of year when Stampin' Up! celebrates with an astonishing offer! From January 22 through March 22, you get to choose exclusive product for free for each $50 you spend. I have used two of those free products on this card.

The designer series paper is one of the patterns in the pack of the Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper (127540). The butterfly stamp is included in the Bloomin' Marvelous Stamp Set (w-129651, c-129654). What is especially exciting is that this little stamp fits perfectly in the Bitty Butterfly Punch (129406) which can be found in the Spring Catalog. I layered the little butterfly onto the larger butterfly which was punched from Island Indigo card stock with the Elegant Butterfly Punch (127526). I stamped the greeting found in the Perfectly Penned Stamp Set (w-122890, c-122892) onto Whisper White card stock with Calypso Coral ink and cut it out with one of the Window Frames Collection Framelits (129021).

There are so many wonderful FREE items to choose from in the Sale-a-bration brochure (see images below) that you will want to come back again and again to purchase $50 worth of product before March 22 so you can collect many of them. They will not be available after March 22. OR…you can place an order for $100 of product and choose 2 items, or place an order for $150 and choose 3 items and choose $25 worth of hostess benefits. Each order of $150 or more will also get a free package of the Silver Glimmer paper. So….get busy placing your orders through my online store.

Until your next visit…blessings,
Sue
sue@soggystamper.com