I also got to use my Big Shot with one of the Birds and Blooms Sizzlits dies (Item 116314 for the Starter Kit including these two and more, or Item 113439 for the Big Shot and Item 113485 for Birds and Blooms die). The petals come out separately, which I layered with two different colored card stocks.

Ingredients:
Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes (Item 115370)
Card stock: Whisper White (half sheet folded in half, or size A2), yellow and blue card stock from the Earth Elements pack (Item 105566), which I assume are Summer Sun and Not Quite Navy
Designer Paper: Delicate Dots (Item 114674) from Sale-A-Bration 2009, but no longer available
Ink: Garden Green
Miscellaneous: District Ribbon Originals (Item 109187, currently in the Clearance Rack!), Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (Item 111325)

New Clearance Rack in the Online Store

Overview:

Stampin’ Up! is launching a new section of the online store called the Clearance Rack. The purpose of the Clearance Rack is to clear out the inventory of surplus items that have been retired. Many of these retired items will be offered at a substantially reduced price.

Details:

• The clearance rack is not a promotion. It will launch September 29, 2009 but does not have a set end date.

• All products in the Clearance Rack section are retired, discontinued items. No current products will be sold in the Clearance Rack.
• Clearance Rack items are only available while supplies last. Items will be removed and new items will be posted depending on inventory levels. There is no set time for availability.
• Clearance Rack items will be listed and pictured only in the online store.
• All sales of Clearance Rack items are final. No returns or exchanges will be accepted, except in the case of defective product.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Q: Why does the order have to be placed online?
A: Because the products are only available while supplies last, promoting and taking orders for these items in a workshop setting can result in problems in figuring workshop totals, hostess benefits, and actual delivery of the product. It is very possible that when a customer places an order for one of these items in a workshop, that item will be sold out before you have the opportunity to place the order.

Q: Is the Clearance Rack a promotion?
A: The Clearance Rack is not a promotion and has no end date. The intent is for the Clearance Rack to be a permanent part of the online store.

Q: How often will the Clearance Rack be updated with new items?
A: There is no set schedule. Clearance Rack items will be posted and removed based on inventory levels. Because there is no schedule, please check my online store regularly for new postings.

Q: If you run out of a certain item, will you restock your inventory and post it for sale again?
A: No. Clearance Rack items are retired, discontinued items and are only available while supplies last.

Q: Where can I see a list of available Clearance Rack items?
A: Because items will be posted and removed based on inventory levels, a list of Clearance Rack items will not be posted. To see the available items, simply visit the online store.

… Aaand, now that that’s out of the way, this is how you get to the Clearance Rack:

1. Go to my SU! store

2. Click on Shop Now at the top right corner
3. Find the Clearance Rack link on the left side. There are some pretty good items there, and I’ll be getting a few myself! Color me excited! (Can you tell?)

Ingredients:
Stamp Set: Four Square (Item 111632)
Card stock: Vanilla (full letter-size folded in half) and Chocolate Chip
Designer Paper: Delicate Dots (Item 114674) from Sale-A-Bration 2009, but no longer available
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Miscellaneous:
- Chocolate Chip 5/8″ ribbon (Item 109051)
- Natural Hemp Twine (Item 100982)
- Scallop Square Punch (Item 112081)
- 3/8″ Star Brad from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware kit (Item 111325)

Notice something? All Stampin’ Up! Yay! Really, I still have a lot of other things but they just don’t compare to SU! quality so I’ll probably just … give them away? We’ll see. Anyway, I’ve found that in making cards, the ideas always float around in my head but when it comes down to putting things together, it still takes me a while, so here are a few tips:

• Compile all the items you think you might want to use.

• Draw a composite/sketch of how you want your project to look like. This can change as you go along and move things around.
• Have a clear idea of the measurements. You don’t want to cut paper and find out that it doesn’t fit, which means cutting again or pulling out a new piece of paper because it’s too small.
• Keep an open mind and accept that it’s not going to look completely perfect! Seriously, no one is going to notice if the pieces aren’t totally aligned.
• Very helpful: visit sites like Mojo Monday or Splitcoast Stampers for ideas. I subscribe to both and I get weekly sketches!

Have a great week, everyone, and happy crafting!

Anyway, below are two cards that I have done in the last month. Both of them were made with a full sheet of letter-sized cardstock folded in half. I needed make them with enough space for 15 messages and signatures because they were for the office.

I can’t seem to get rid of these patterned papers even though I don’t have that many of them. Each project really only needs a piece and the rest of the sheet gets put away, but I don’t want to throw them out so I keep using them. To do something different, that flower is part of another patterned paper that I cut out rather meticulously. No stamps were used for this card; the “welcome back!” was printed on my laserjet printer, because oddly enough, I don’t have anything like that.

I’m also a bit sorry to say this: I didn’t use any SU! products, but this was enough for my purposes. Don’t worry, I promise that as soon as all these miscellaneous items are gone, it’ll be SU! all the way!

Ingredients:
Card stock: light pink/peachy color (8½ x 11 folded in half) and hot pink (the reddish orange-looking part of the photo), metallic green, white
Patterned paper: from Target (including the flower)
Miscellaneous: Martha Stewart edge punch, vanilla (for the flower) and sage green brads (corners of “welcome back”) from Paper Source, teal/sage-ish ribbon, 1/4″ corner rounder punch
No ink pads or stamps were used.

The next one is a good luck card for someone who was leaving our office.

Again, those flowers were cut out of another patterned paper because the colors just coordinated so well with the striped one underneath. Same ribbon, same green brads, same green metallic paper. I suppose the pink from the previous project was just replaced with purple in this card, but hey, it works.

I did use two different stamp sets here: “good luck” from Fundamental Phrases (Item 114968) and “wishes” from Heard from the Heart (Item 111644). The latter stamp actually reads may all your wishes come true, but I just wiped out the words I didn’t need when I inked the stamp. This process will become so much easier when I get my Stampin’ Write Markers (in Earth Elements, Item 105539) because with that, I can just ink parts of the stamps I need using the markers and use them the same way.

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Fundamental Phrases (Item 114968) and Heard from the Heart (Item 111644)
Card stock: Vanilla (8½ x 11 folded in half), metallic green, metallic purple
Patterned paper: from Target (including the flowers)
Ink: Basic Gray
Miscellaneous: sage green brads from Paper Source, teal/sage-ish ribbon, 1/4″ corner rounder punch, Scallop Edge Punch (Item 112091)

With that, I’d like to mention that Stampin’ Up! has come out with the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog. Please note that the catalogs are now yearly, with more mini catalogs during that same period (like the current Holiday Mini 2009 or Occasions Mini). Many goodies await, so if you’re interested, please visit my Stampin’ Up! site and enjoy!

Here’s a closer look at the bottom stamp.

I just love this stamp set because it’s so versatile. The set is called Congrats and it was one of the promotional items from Sale-A-Bration, which ended yesterday. I got every single product from SAB, even some doubles. Maybe I’ll get the chance to show all of them eventually.

I did get to use two more special things: Stamp-a-ma-jig (hereafter SAMJ) and one of the dies that came with my Big Shot. I used the SAMJ to center the “congratulations” and “on getting older” on the small pieces of paper that i had already cut before stamping. Let me tell you, that wasn’t the best decision. It probably would’ve been far easier to stamp them first and then cut, but at least I made good use out of the SAMJ!

The Sizzlits Stampin’ Up! Billboard decorative strip die came with the Big Shot Starter Kit (Item 116314, no doctor’s bag). I didn’t think I knew when and where I could use this, but because I did a practice run with it, I had enough letters to make “HeLEn!”. There’s no exclamation point in the die, and that was just added – with what I presume to be a lowercase L and the hole out of the E – because when I glued on the letters, they were a bit off-centered.

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Congrats (Item 113770, but no longer available)
Card stock: Whisper White and a hot pink
Patterned paper: from Target
Ink: Garden Green
Miscellaneous: sage green brads from Paper Source, Stamp-a-ma-jig (Item 101049), Sizzlits Stampin’ Up! Billboard decorative strip die (Item 114510, if separate from the Starter Kit)

In other news …

Now that Sale-A-Bration is over, Stampin’ Up! has moved on to the next promotions: Occassions Mini 2009, which is from April 1st to June 30th. In conjunction, Get Connected is an incentive: for EVERY $40 in products from the Occassions Mini catalog, you get one item from the “Under $10″ section (p. 208) in the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog for FREE! Once again, it’s a great way to earn free products!

Some FAQs:

Q: Is there a limit to the number of free “Under $10″ products a customer can earn?
A: No! Your customers may choose one “Under $10″ item for every $40 they spend on Occasions Mini products.

Q: Does the $40 requirement include accessories?
A: Yes. Customers may purchase stamps and/or accessories to reach the $40 minimum.

Q: Can customers order additional products on their order besides items from the Occasions Mini?
A: Yes. Other items may be purchased, but only Occasions Mini products will count toward the $40 minimum.

Q: How and where do I enter the “Under $10″ item so my customer gets it for free?
A: Upon entering at least $40 in merchandise from the Occasions Mini, you may enter the “Under $10″ item of your customer’s choice. The item will come up at $0. Please note: The free item must be ordered after the $40 minimum has been reached; otherwise, the item will appear at retail price.

Q: If my hostess has a $300 workshop, does she get to choose two “Under $10″ items?
A: No. This promotion is designed to act as a booking incentive for workshops held, not the size of workshops. Hostesses only earn one “Under $10″ item per workshop.

Happy shopping! Remember, I’m always here to answer any questions you may have.

I got the Big Shot Starter Kit (Item 116314), which came with the machine, multipurpose platform, standard cutting pads, two dies, Sizzlits 4-pack, a decorative strip, a pair of decorative strip cutting pads, and an extended spacer platform. Whew! It sounds like a lot and it is a lot, but it’s really not complicated. These are what came with the kit:

Top Note Bigz Die (Item 113463, if separate from Starter Kit)

Scallop Envelope Bigz Die (Item 113462, if separate), comes out scored and ready to fold.

Birds & Blooms Sizzlits Die 4-Pack

In addition to the Starter Kit, I also got the Stampin’ Up! Backgrounds 1 (Item 114512), which comes with six texture plates (or Texturz, as SU! calls them):

You do need to get the Texturz Silicone Rubber (Item 114615) and Texturz Impressions Pad (Item 114614) to be able to use the Texturz plates. At $5.95 each, though, it’s not a bad deal and you’ll get many, many uses out of them!

I’m looking forward to using my Big Shot for a lot of future projects. Hopefully you’ll get some ideas of your own!

Reminder: Sale-A-Bration ends TOMORROW! If you have anything in your shopping cart, make sure you purchase your items by tomorrow to get the FREE SAB products!

I made three cards over the weekend, for different reasons.

This first is a sympathy card. I don’t even have actual sympathy stamps because they depress me. The stamp that I used is from the Define Your Life set and I thought it was appropriate enough to be used for a sympathy card.

Here’s a closer look at the stamp called “memories.”

Isn’t that just nice? In case you can’t see it well, it reads,

memories: Recollection of the past; retaining and recalling experiences. Thoughts of good times past.”

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Define Your Life (Item 114950)
Card stock: light purple
Patterned paper: from Target
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Miscellaneous: 3/8″ light blue grosgrain ribbon with white stitching, ivory brads from Paper Source, 1/4″ corner rounder punch

Now, another get well card.

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Fun & Fast Notes (Item 113500)
Card stock: Whisper White, light pink, metallic mint (leftover from wedding)
Patterned paper: from Target
Colors: Basic Gray classic ink, Stampin’ Pastels (Item 105542) in chocolate chip and different reds, pinks, and greens

This is a generic card that I made with no one and nothing in mind.

I got the idea from one of the Splitcoast Stampers challenges, and while I didn’t exactly do the challenge, I just loved the idea of three squares. All three of the flowers came from one single stamp, so I just inked them separately, stamped it all at once, and cut up the squares. For the back layer, I used metallic purple card stock that I had lying around, left from one of the projects that I did for a friend’s mom.

You know how much I love using scraps? Aside from the purple card stock, that bow is also made with paper! I had a long piece of light pink paper, cut it to size, and made the bow with it. It just gives me a feeling of satisfaction when nothing goes to waste.

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Eastern Blooms (Item 111626)
Card stock: Whisper White, metallic purple, light pink (for the bow)
Patterned paper: from Target (same as sympathy card above)
Inks: Not Quite Navy, Cameo Coral, Garden Green

Using more of my old stash is becoming easier and now I can put things together without too much thought. I’ve found that coordinating materials and ink really goes a long way because it gives a greater sense of cohesiveness.

I wanted to give two of my friends a bit of emotional support today so I made them these good luck cards.

I made this first card with the thought that the recipient would appreciate something a little bit more elegant and floral. This was actually pretty simple – pretty and simple – because the patterned paper already did most of the work for me. All I had to do was match it with card stock, ribbon, and a stamp. And with this, I’m all out of this green ribbon! Yeah!

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Fundamental Phrases (Item 114968)
Card stock: pink card stock from Michael’s
Patterned paper: from Target
Ink: Ruby Red
Ribbon: from Michael’s
Miscellaneous: 1/4″ corner rounder punch

The next good luck card:

The recipient of this one really likes brown so I tried my best to add a splash of it. As it turns out, I had pink and brown patterned paper and I thought it was cute. Add the hedgehog into the mix and it’s even better! I wish I had known that that’s a butterfly on the hedgehog’s nose so that I could’ve colored it! I honestly thought it was just a knot or something. At least now I know better.

The pink card stock still looked plain to me even after stamping and coloring the hedgehog with the Going Gray color from Stampin’ Pastels, so I wanted to give a border to it by swiping and smudging copper ink along the sides. It made the card look antique-y and worn out.

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Fundamental Phrases (Item 114968) and Fun & Fast Notes (Item 113500)
Card stock: Whisper White and light pink
Patterned paper: from Target
Ink: Basic Gray, Stampin’ Pastels (Item 105542), and brown and copper pigment inks
Ribbon: from Michael’s
Miscellaneous: 1/4″ corner rounder punch

I also made one card using a different stamp set … but I’ll share that another day.

Again, I made an effort to use as much paper from my old stack, but used SU! stamps and ink. I still have quite a lot left but I’m sure I’ll go through most of them by playing with the other items that came with the starter kit. One of the new things I used was the Stampin’ Pastels, which are little chalk-like blocks for coloring. It’s pretty fun because it has different color families, and in this case, I used it for the flower and the chick. I can’t wait to find ways to use it again! Oh, and the green ribbon? It was the closest thing I could find to kind of sort of match. Hah.

Ingredients:
Stamp sets: Fun & Fast Notes (Item 113500) and Fundamental Phrases (Item 114968)
Card stock: light purple
Ink: Basic Gray, Stampin’ Pastels (Item 105542)
Patterned Paper: from Target
Ribbon: from Michael’s

Yesterday, my immediate supervisor asked me to create a birthday card for our director and a get well card for one of our coworkers. It took me a while to figure out what I even wanted to do because I was determined to make do with the flimsy card stock and patterned paper from my old stash. I did, however, get to use a couple of stamps from two new stamp sets.

Everything from this card aside from the ink is pre-SU! and a couple of elements were thrown in randomly. I’ve realized that a lot of things I end up doing are pretty much just accidents. For example, that ribbon on the right side was hastily added because I didn’t stamp the Happy Birthday in the center. Plus, the pink paper on which I stamped wasn’t part of the plan. Underneath is a light green metallic paper that I was originally going to use just wouldn’t absorb the ink and kept smearing even after I used a heat tool in an attempt to get it to dry. I just ended up with a very layered look. I think the ribbon and bow were a bit much but oh well.

Ingredients:
Stamp: Happy Birthday from Paper Source
Ink: SU! classic ink in Garden Green
Card stock: basic white 8 1/2 x 11 folded in half, rose pink, metallic mint
Patterned paper: part of a set from Target
Ribbon: from Michael’s

Next up is the get well card.

Again, mostly pre-SU! with the exception of the stamps and ink. For some reason, I found it easier to think of what colors to use for this one. Perhaps it’s because it’s for a man … and men need less frills? I don’t know. Anyway, I got this idea off a card from my upline (person with whom I signed up to be a demonstrator) and used layering the way she did it. This way, they’re not all on top of each other (like the first card), and instead are just kind of overlapping. It gives a different perspective and I got to use the metallic mint paper again, of which I have a lot left from my wedding.

I don’t have a Stamp-a-ma-jig yet to create perfectly aligned stamps, so I had to eyeball it and it looks like the row of flowers came out okay. I also only the used the words “get well wishes” part of a bigger stamp with a vase of flowers. The trick is to just ink the part of stamp that you want to use.

Ingredients:
Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms (Item 111626) and Fun & Fast Notes (Item 113500)
Card stock: light purple, basic white, and metallic mint
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Basic Gray, Garden Green, and Cameo Coral
Patterned paper: from Target
Miscellaneous: silver brads from Paper Source

Lighting on my photos leave a lot to be desired but it will be better one day, I promise.

Don’t forget: Sale-A-Bration 2009 is currently underway! Get a free Sale-A-Bration product for EVERY $50 purchase. You can get great stamp sets, designer paper, and ribbons. Download the catalog from the SU! website for more details, and click here when you’re ready to shop!