It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas!

The rubber is burning in my craft room! I've been busy making cards, bags, bows and centerpieces. It's been awhile since I posted to this blog, so I thought it was time to upload some of my work.

I love Christmas and crafting my own cards and decorations. Some of these have been inspired by designs I've seen on line and some just came out of my own head (sometimes the creativity is working). I hope these examples inspire you.

NEW CATTY IS WOW!

The new Stampin' Up! Fall-Winter Idea Book and Catalog became effective last Monday and it's full of fantastic stamps and accessories. I'm really excited about the scallop edge punch and the scallop square punch. There are several new Christmas stamp sets that are really beautiful and, of course, the cool new In Colors. My wish list is growing!

To celebrate the new catty I'll be having a workshop on Friday, August 22, 7:00 pm. Since we didn't get a chance to make the candy card at my last workshop, I've reworked it in the In Colors for this workshop. Additionally, we'll be making a 6"x6" scrapbook page and I'll demonstrate how this can be incorporated into a progresssive page.

There has been a flurry of paper, glue and ink in my stampin' room this week as I have had 4 birthday cards, 3 baby cards and an baptism card to do, as well as my samples for my upcoming workshop. All of this while watching the Olympics...couldn't miss seeing Michael Phelps win his 8 gold medals! Needless to say, the housework hasn't happened, but who wants to dust when you can stamp. : )

FAREWELL, GOODBYE

The Froggy Film card was CASED from lizzier on SplitcoastStampers. The "Find Joy" card has a candy bar inside.

It's hard to believe we are coming to the end of the Stampin' Up! Spring and Summer Collection period. August 10 is the last day to order the retiring stamps and accessories. Many of the accesssories are already sold out. On August 7 and 8 I will be having a farewell workshop where we will make 3 projects with retiring products.

I loved the In Colors and hate to see them go, but I've seen the new In Colors that will be carried in the new Fall and Winter Idea Book and Catalog and they are great colors as well. August will be an exciting time of transition, saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the wonderful new products that Stampin' Up! will reveal. The new catalog is effective August 11 and I can't wait to see it!! Above are the 3 project we will be making on August 7 and 8. Also, mark your calendar for August 22 when I'll be having a special workshop to introduce the new catalog.

THREE POCKET CARD

This 3-pocket card was fun to make! My good friend and downline, Deb, will be the big FIVE-O tomorrow, so this card is for her. I used the Berry Bliss Designer Series paper from Stampin' Up!...one of my favorite DS paper sets. The tags go into the pockets and I left room on one of them for a personal hand-written message. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEB!

Fresh-Cut Notes

Stampin' Up! has a great special this month. They are offering a brand new, die-cut Fresh Cut stamp set, which is one of the new sets in the upcoming Fall and Winter catalog, for $21.95. Purchase this set during the month of June and you can order the Fresh-Cut Notes for only $5. Or you can order the notes by themselves for $8.95. Here is a trifold note card I made using both of these items. These cards are 4"x4", 15 cards with envelopes, and make great little notes to tuck in with a gift. You can get both for FREE just by hosting a $400 workshop in the month of June. For more information, check out Stampin' Up!s website.

I saw a great post on SCS from Traci Gentry and have decided to add my version of her 4th of July bag to my workshop this week. You can check out Traci's version here. Thanks, Traci, for this cute idea!

FANCY FOLDS CLASS

On Thursday, June 5, 7:00 pm, I will have a Fancy Folds Class. With Father's Day around the corner, we will be making a masculine card that could be used as a Father's Day card or a birthday card. This unique folded design looks like a shirt. At ths class you will also learn to do the Iris Fold technique. The cost for the class is $10, but place an order of $25 or more and the class is FREE. Please RSVP to kathystamps@gmail.com or call me at 269-7363.

We are excited to offically announce Stampin' Up!'s first-ever eScape Day, June 25, 2008. This will be a day to turn off laptops, cell phones, pagers, PDAs, and all those other electronic devices that we'e grown so accustomed to. Take the time to reconnect with friends and loved ones through personal communication...no roaming charges, guaranteed!

To celeberate and promote eSacape Day, for the entire month of June, Stampin' Up! is offering an eScape Bundle featuring four great products for a special price of $30 (that's 25 percent off):

- Circle of Friendship stamp set
- Love Notes assortment
- Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad
- Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

Happy Stampin'!
Kathy