Retiring Stamp Sets List...

Here's the list of stamp sets that will be retired - they are available until January 1st, 2008. Be sure to check the list carefully... don't miss out on any of your favourites! The number that precedes the stamp set name is the page number.

26 - Bitty Boos Too
26 - Home is Where the Haunt Is
28 - Carved and Candlelit
29 - Booglie Eyes
31 - Dotted Autumn
32 - Simple Snowman
32 - Thankful Season
33 - Glorious Garlands
36 - Holiday Tag Team
37 - It's Snow Time
38 - Hung Up on the Holidays
39 - Merry, Merry
40 - Frosty
42 - Flaky Friends
44 - Cold Play
44 - Sparkling Sayings
46 - City of David
46 - Solemn Stillness
47 - Hebrew Holidays
51 - Heart Flutters
54 - Figures of Speech
56 - Big Celebrations
59 - Symbols of Solicitude
60 - Stinkin' Cute
61 - Monkey Business
66 - Dog-Gone It
67 - Double-Line Doodles
70 - Heartspeak
71 - Farm Fever
73 - Flowers & Flourish
78 - I'm Here
80 - Peek-A-Boo
81 - Bundle of Joy
82 - You're Neat
85 - By Land
92 - Circus Train
92 - Silly Sealife
97 - Sassy Stems
100 - Looks Like Spring
104 - Abundant Joy
106 - Serene Sunflower
108 - Autumn Fest
110 - Bareback
119 - Label Classics
126 - Wing It
132 - Background Sampler
132 - Letter Patterns
136 - Dot Spot
136 - On the Spot
137 - Aida Cloth
137 - Linen
137 - Well-Worn Words
138 - Fine Lace
141 - Season by Season
145 - All About U
146 - Elegant Inspirations
147 - Friendship Flowers
147 - In My Thoughts
148 - Palabras Maravillosas
149 - Alphabits
149 - Genuine Articles
152 - Business Boosters
152 - Stamped from the Heart
153 - I Did It
154 - It's a Date
156 - Letterpress Alphabet
156 - Letterpress Numbers
157 - Headline Alphabet
157 - Headline Numbers
158 - In the Loop Alphabet
158 - Typeset Alphabet Lower
158 - Typeset Alphabet Upper
158 - Typeset Numbers
161 - all Monogram upper case letters

Dormant set - Bodacious Bouquet

Dormant set - Images de mon pays
Dormant set - Word by Word

The retiring accessories list will be available on December 10th so be sure to check back!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

One stamp set

Here are two cards that each use only one stamp set! This makes stamping very easy...

The first one uses the Eat Cake set which is one of my favourites for birthday cards these days. It's so quick to stamp a card with this set and it works well for cards for men, women and kids. I used a couple of punches on this card - the Ticket Corner and Spiral punches. The colours on this card are Basic Grey, Night of Navy and Brocade Blue.

And, this card is one that I created last year using the City of David stamp set. What you can't see in the scan is the sparkle - I stamped the main image in Whisper White craft ink and then embossed it with Iridescent Ice emboss powder. It gives it just a little sparkle. This is then mounted on Brushed Silver card stock and a little piece of Basic Grey Taffeta Ribbon finishes it off nicely.

Only a couple more sleeps until the retiring stamp set list will be out... I'll post it here so be sure to check back!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Last chance!

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow, November 30th, is the last day for free shipping! I'll be placing an order later this evening and will place another tomorrow night at about 9:30 pm. Email any orders to me at bevennis@shaw.ca.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Tonight's card...

Mom and I are busy this evening stamping a few last cards before this weekend's craft fair. We sold a lot of baby cards at the last two fairs so needed to re-stock and Mom wanted a new card or two... So, here's what I came up with tonight. I really wanted to stamp with the hippo...

It's a cute little card and I'm quite pleased with it. The hippo and greeting are both from Bundled in Love. The greeting is actually all on one line and in order for it to fit on my card, I had to stamp it on two lines... I was able to ink just the word "Welcome" and the circles and star first by stamping off the corner of the pad and then after cleaning the stamp and inking just the word "Baby!" I used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to line up the stamp up. It was easier than I thought it would be and I think it worked out pretty well. I coloured the hippo with an Aquapainter - he's stamped with Basic Grey ink on Naturals White card stock. And, I also used the Flannel Plaid background stamp on a strip of card stock down the side to add some texture. I've used Soft Sky and Blue Bayou which I think are the perfect baby colours!

So, if you want to come and visit us at the craft fair, we will be at A Touch of Salt Spring on Friday from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm and Saturday/Sunday from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. It's at Panorama Rec Centre.

Oh, and just a reminder that free shipping ends on Friday... please send any orders to me by Thursday evening to be sure that they will get in on time!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

More holiday creations!

Can you believe that Christmas is one month from today? I've stamped lots of Christmas cards already this fall, but they've all been for stamping classes! I have lots to do in the next month!!

I thought I would share a couple more swap cards that I received this month... I know a few of you had a chance to see these in person this weekend and I saw a couple of you studying these cards.

This first one was created by Kirsten. She used the new 5-Petal Flower punch to create the main feature on this card. I'm guessing that she actually crumpled her paper first and then punched it. She has also used the Floral background stamp and the swirl from Season of Joy (in the Holiday Mini Catalogue). The little tag comes from the hostess stamp set called Party Punch and is punched out with the Designer Label Punch.

This next card was stamped by Lorraine. I love the way she has used the Designer Series Paper in the background by folding it up so you can see both sides of this great double-sided paper. This paper is from the Wintergreen package. The main stamped image is from the Seasonal Whimsy set and the greeting is from Many Merry Messages, both stamped in Always Artichoke. She has finished the card off with a nice little touch of Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon.

And, I also wanted to share this card that I designed and was thrilled to be able to offer at a stamping class this weekend. The stampers who made it seemed quite happy with their creations - they each changed the card a little bit to make it their own which was neat to see. This card is made entirely with the Hebrew Holidays stamp set. I've embossed both the Menorah and the dove in silver. The important addition to this card when I was creating it was the Vellum card stock that I placed in behind the Brilliant Blue card stock - it helped create a border that wasn't too harsh between the two blue colours.

I had a terrific weekend - hanging out with 35 stampers over 3 different classes... We had a lot of fun! Hope you had a great weekend... and here's to a wonderful week ahead!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Wrapping Up the Holidays

Click here to see Stampin' Up!'s newest special offer... There are some great deals on products that will help you make all of your holiday gifts look beautiful! Here are some highlights, but be sure to check them all out because there are several offers!

~ The Tags For All stamp set is now 20% off - only $33.56!
~ Chocolate Chip and Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon are buy 1, get 1 free!
~ Designer Gift cards from the Holiday Mini Catalogue are 30% off - only $6.27!
~ You can order a 3-Pack of the little tins that the Accents & Elements are packaged in (tins are empty and ready for decorating) for only $13.50!
~ Order a Holiday Tag Bundle for only $5.50!
~ Celebration wrapping paper is still available for $24.95!
~ Hand Selected Accents & Elements are 25% off - only $11.21!

You can also see some project ideas here. All items are while supplies last.

Remember, there is also free shipping in the month of November on all orders!

Happy wrapping!

Bev.

Here, Kitty Kitty

Isn't this a fun card? It was stamped by Alicia and I received it in our swap this month... It's a birthday card from your cat. Now, truthfully, I would like to see the cat stamping! : )

There's lots of dimension to this card - the birthday hat and the mouse are both popped up with Dimensionals. Alicia has also used the Meow wheel on her background piece and I think she used the Stampin' Around Wheel Guide (pg 192) to keep her wheel straight as she rolled it on the card stock. The main colours on this card are Elegant Eggplant and More Mustard. Very adorable!

Today was a great mail day for me... First, I received a beautiful stamp set from Shelli Gardner, CEO of Stampin' Up! It's a lovely gift that she sent just to say thanks! Well, she didn't just send one to me, she actually sent one to every Stampin' Up! demonstrator! The set is one that we will see in the new catalogue when it arrives in early January and it's a level 3 hostess set. It's called "Time Well Spent" and along with some great new flower stamps and the cutest little butterfly is a greeting stamp that says: "time spent with friends is time well spent". Isn't that true? Can't wait for you to see the set... Hopefully I'll be able to stamp something with it next week to share with you here!

Oh, and the second exciting piece of mail was some fabric for our 100 Good Wishes Quilt! I was so thrilled... we are now up to 18 squares and I know there's lots more to come!

And, some exciting news... Stampin' Up! is announcing a holiday special on Friday! I don't know much yet, but we will receive details on Friday morning so be sure to check back...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Let it snow...

Here are a couple of the make and takes from our meeting last night. This first one is Sonia's creation. It's a fun card - simple to make thanks to the Wintergreen Designer Series Paper. Sonia used the It's Snow Time stamp set and added a little touch of Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon.

This next one is Melanie's card using the Cold Play and Big Deal Alphabet stamp sets. Isn't it cute? I like how she added the scarf using the Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon... She just attached it to the card using Mini Glue Dots. Thanks for stamping this card for me, Melanie - I was busy holding little baby Ariana (such a little cutie she is!) so I was very happy when some of my friends offered to stamp cards for me!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Babies!

Just a quick post tonight as I have only a few minutes before my downline meeting starts... Here are a couple of cards that I stamped last night for some new little future stampers. The first one is for baby Ella. It's done in Almost Amethyst and Basic Grey. The elephant comes from the Year After Year stamp set.

This second one is for baby Ariana who arrived into the world much earlier than expected - two days after her Mom came to a big stamping meeting so I think she just wanted to join in on the stamping! The stroller comes from Fun & Fast Notes.

For the greeting on both, I've used two stamp sets - the word "welcome" comes from Warm Words and the "little one" comes from Holidays & Wishes - I just eliminated the word "sweet" at the beginning of this greeting. I've also used the Prints Designer Series Paper on both cards and Taffeta Ribbon.

I better sign off and finish getting ready for a fun evening of stamping!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Eyelets...

I was just talking this afternoon about how I rarely use eyelets anymore because I usually opt for brads. Here's a card that might inspire me to use eyelets again more often! This is a card that I received from my friend, Lucie. This is a fantastic card! I love the colours - Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace and So Saffron with Confetti White card stock. And you all know how much I love ribbon, and I think that tying this little piece on through one of the eyelets is perfect! Lucie used the Heartfelt Thanks set for the flower, the Wonderful Words set for the greeting and both the Print Pattern and Fine Lace background stamps.

I have a busy week ahead but hope to be back tomorrow evening with a couple of new card samples after my group meeting.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

More Baroque Motifs

Baroque Motifs (pg 126) has been a favourite stamp set for many... I had never thought of it as being a set to make a Christmas card, but here's a great example of how versatile the set can be! This really simple card is stunning! It would be another great card to make multiples of for your holiday greetings. I've used Wild Wasabi and Purely Pomegranate on this card, but you could easily substitute any colours you like. In fact, you could easily substitute different colours and a different greeting for a completely different occasion... like I've done on this next card.

I stamped this one for a class that I'm teaching tomorrow night... yes, I'm flying home from Ottawa and teaching a class just a few hours later - call me crazy! : ) The hostess for the class loves the Baroque Motifs set so I thought this would be a great card. I've used Mellow Moss and Perfect Plum on this one. Notice how I used the Tafetta Ribbon on this card - it's tied in a knot at the end and then the end is secured with a Mini Glue Dot. This is a good way to get the added touch of ribbon while being a bit more conservative on how much you use.

I liked the classic simplicity of the card as it is, but there are lots of ways you could dress these cards up even more. Touch on some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter on the flowers using a 2-Way Glue Pen, do some sponging around the edges of the card and the greeting, or add some brads to the centre of the flowers.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Just sent my newsletter and forgot...

to include mention of this year's Santa's Workshops. Why is it that right after I hit send, I think of something or notice a typo...? I haven't noticed any typos yet, but I'm sure there's probably something in there! LOL!

Anyways, I ran two Santa's Workshops in October and many of you were able to come. I have another scheduled for November 23rd and it's a full house already... But I'd be happy to schedule another if there is interest - it would have to be in December. Please send me an email (bevennis@shaw.ca) or leave a comment on this post to let me know if you would be interested in coming to a Santa's Workshop in December - I have 15 different Christmas cards for this class and you choose which you want to stamp!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Fun Foam - a fun technique!

Fun Foam is the perfect addition to Christmas cards - especially cards with snowmen! It adds some fun texture and is so easy to use. Here's how:

1. Select your image and cut a piece of Fun Foam to the correct size. It's better not to cut the Fun Foam too large. I usually cut it to about the same size as the wood block of the stamp that I am going to use.

2. Ink your stamp with StazOn ink. Remember that because StazOn is a solvent-based ink, it does evaporate so you don't want to leave the lid off of it too long. For this technique though, I do leave my stamp on the pad until I'm ready to use it just so that the ink doesn't dry on the stamp while I heat the Fun Foam.

3. Use your Heat Tool to heat the Fun Foam. Don't get too close because you can burn the Fun Foam! I always place the Fun Foam on a piece of tin foil (shiny side up)for this step - the tin foil reflects the heat and helps to speed things up! You will want to heat the Fun Foam just until the edges start to curl up a bit - don't overheat or it will roll up and you won't be able to stamp on it!

4. Quickly press your stamp into the Fun Foam... you really need to be quick with this so that you get the stamp pressed in before the Fun Foam cools. Hold the stamp in place for 10-20 seconds so that the image is indented into the Fun Foam as it cools. Carefully pull the stamp off the Fun Foam. This is a good time to make sure your StazOn lid has been replaced!

5. If you want to add colour, use a Foam Applicator, Q-Tip or disposable makeup applicator to touch on Stampin' Pastels.

6. When you add your Fun Foam to your project, it's better to apply the adhesive to the piece that you are going to stick the Fun Foam to - if you apply pressure to the back of the Fun Foam, you can sometimes see marks through to the front.

Have fun with this technique! Fun Foam is available in your local craft store - but don't go in the stamp aisle...!! : )

Supplies used on this card:

Card stock: Brocade Blue, Real Red, Vellum
Ink: Brocade Blue for snowflakes, Basic Black for greeting, Jet Black StazOn for snowman (pg 186)
Stamps: Holiday Tag Team (pg 36), Fundamental Phrases (pg 155), Short & Sweet (pg 140)
Other: Stampin' Pastels (pg 186), Fun Foam


Happy stampin'!


Bev.


(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Proud...

This post has nothing to do with stamping, but I just had to share my thoughts with you tonight... As many of you know, I'm in our Nation's capital right now. I've been to Ottawa many times over the past 9 years and I absolutely love coming here. Thankfully, the weather is wonderful so tonight I decided to venture out to a nearby mall. As I was walking back to my hotel, I was crossing over the Rideau Canal and I was really wishing that I had my camera with me to capture the moment... I found this picture on the internet and it's close to what I was seeing tonight. What a beautiful sight - the Parliament buildings with the Peace Tower so prominent, the National War Memorial with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier... Sure makes me proud to be Canadian!

Well, with all of that, I do have some stamping work to do tonight so I better get to it! I'm hoping to have a newsletter out tonight or tomorrow... it's been a long time since I managed to send my last newsletter - back in July!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Here's another card made with the Lovely as a Tree stamp set... I love this card! It was inspired by a card that my upline, Alison, showed to us when she demonstrated the reverse masking technique that has been used here. I'm planning to post instructions of how to do this technique here in the next couple of weeks... I have another idea for a card that I'd like to try!

I'm off to Richmond this afternoon to go to a concert at the River Rock Casino... looking forward to a short getaway with my hubby! Then, I'm away to Ottawa for the rest of the week for work meetings... I'll be back on Friday so there will be a few days without posts!

I hope you are having a good weekend. Lest we forget.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Simply Said

Simply Said is one of my favourite stamp sets. I love this greeting... the sentiment is beautiful and the font is perfect! This card is actually quite simple - the bottom is Designer Series Paper. It's the Prints paper in Rose Red.

Don't forget about the Pretty Papers special on this month - buy 3 packages of Designer Series Paper and receive 1 free! Be sure to check out the beautiful Designer Series Paper on pages 170-173 of the catalogue as well as the two packages offered in the Holiday Mini Catalogue. And, remember that there's free shipping for the month of November... contact me at bevennis@shaw.ca to place an order!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Getting ready for another craft fair...

Well, I've just finished tying 125 bows! Mom's been busy this week making snowman soup for this weekend's craft fair and my job was to tie the bows...

I haven't had time to create any new cards this week so I thought I would go through my card sample box and see what I could find... Here's a favourite from a couple of years ago that uses the polished stone technique along with the Lovely as a Tree stamp set. The important thing about stamping on top of the polished stone is to use StazOn ink. I'm not sure that the greeting that I chose for this card was the right one to use - it probably would look better with a more elegant greeting. I do still love the card though. Lovely as a Tree is such a versatile stamp set - you can use it all year long!

So, this weekend, we will be at the Calico Christmas Craft Fair. It's at the Pacific Christian School on Friday night from 6:00 - 10:00 pm and then on Saturday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. This is one of my favourite craft fairs so I'm really looking forward to it!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

I have a new stamp set!!

The Season of Joy stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalogue did not initially make it onto my wish list. I didn't think I would use it that much and had a hard time imagining a lot of Christmas cards made with this set. Well, little did I know that I was going to see some many wonderful samples with this set... resistance was futile and I had to order it! I put it together last night (quick and easy since it's die cut) and stamped this card with it. I was inspired by a card made by Patty Bennett - I just made a few subtle change to make this card my own... I'm actually quite pleased with it! This is another card that would be easy to make in larger quantities. I've used Purely Pomegranate and River Rock on this sample, but you could easily substitute Wild Wasabi or Real Red or Ruby Red if you wanted a more classic Christmas look. One stamp set, one colour of ink, one roll of ribbon and a couple of colours of card stock and you are ready to go - oh, and add in some brads for a little bit of interest and you are set!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Happy Holidays!

Here's a card that I made for some of my November classes. This one uses the Dashing Designer Series Paper - you could use all of the different designs in this package with the three different stamps from this Big on Christmas stamp set so create lots of different cards! This is a quick and easy card... it would be perfect if you need to make lots of cards for the holiday season! Remember that all of the Designer Series Paper is on special this month - buy 3 get 1 free!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

FREE SHIPPING!!

Here's some wonderful news...

From November 5 through November 30, Stampin' Up! is offering free shipping to Canadian customers!

My next order will be going in this Thursday evening... contact me if you need anything!

A new technique...

This is a card that you can stamp at Santa's Workshop (coming up on November 23rd - space still available!). It uses two new stamp sets - Holy Triptych from the Holiday Mini Catalogue and En Francais. The new technique, which I have no name for but it makes me think of colour washing, can be seen in the background of the oval. First, I stamped the Holy Family in VersaMark and embossed with Gold Glory Emboss Powder. Then I used an Aquapainter and picked up some River Rock ink and washed the background with the ink. You need to make sure that you have a fair amount of water on the bristles of the Aquapainter when you do this if you don't want too much colour left behind on your cardstock. As with so many things, you are better to add more if you don't get enough, but you can't take colour away once it's on. I used Very Vanilla card stock for this technique - the result is stunning! It actually almost looks like the card stock has a bit of a shimmer once this technique is done. This is a very simple but elegant card. Click on the card to see a larger view. I'm now thinking about other cards that I can create using this technique!

Our craft fair went really well this weekend... it was nice to see so many of you drop by! We were sold out of Snowman Soup shortly after the fair opened this morning - very popular little items! Mom will be busy making more this week in preparation for the Calico Christmas Craft Fair next weekend...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

November Special

I love using Designer Series Paper. It's beautiful and it's colour coordinated which makes it easy to use with all of the other great Stampin' Up! product line. And, it's a quick way to add some colour to a card or scrapbook page! For the month of November, it's easier than ever to add some Designer Series Paper to your collection - when you buy three packages, you'll receive one free! Check out all of the Designer Series Papers on pages 170-173 of the Fall-Winter Collection 2007. And, click here to see some great projects featuring the Designer Series Paper - you will also find the pattern for the great stars which are shown on page 171 of the catalogue.

I'll be sending in an order on Sunday, November 4th in the evening - contact me at bevennis@shaw.ca to place your order!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images cpyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Getting ready for Craft Fair season...

Well, my Mom has been busy stamping away, getting ready for craft fair season. She's in three fairs this year, the first one being this weekend. It's the Strawberry Vale Christmas Craft Fair - come and see us there! It's on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm each day at 11 High Street (corner of High and Burnside). These are this year's version of the Snowman Soup packages... we don't have many made for this weekend's craft fair but will likely be busy making more before next weekend when we are at the Calico Christmas Craft Fair at Pacific Christian School. By the way, you can click here to see the instructions that I posted last fall for the Snowman Soup... These make great little gifts!

We've had a busy week... Yesterday was my Dad's 80th birthday and we had a wonderful surprise celebration (yes, we pulled off the surprise!). There were 16 of us there and we had a lot of fun! I'd show you a photo or two of the event, but at the moment he entered the room and we yelled surprise, I realized that the new batteries I put in my camera were not so new so I don't have a single photo... I must remember to check these details ahead of time - always turn the camera on after changing the batteries just to be sure! But there were lots of other cameras so I'll get copies eventually!

Looking forward to craft fair season and some upcoming stamping classes... Don't miss out on Santa's Workshop on the 23rd of this month - it will be the same cards as we did in October's Santa's Workshop but if you didn't come last month, you'll want to be sure to be there on the 23rd!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)