Aloha, all!
Yes, I am finally back from my 3-week long trip to the U.S. east coast. With tax season in high gear as I returned, I am just now getting back into my stamping routine (well, as much of a routine as it can be for me).
First of all, a lot has happened in the last week in the Stampin’ Up! world. You may have already heard that Stampin’ Up! will not be offering either a Die-cutting/Embossing machine or a Paper Trimmer in its new catalog, due out on June 4th. As the catalogs are printed up months in advance, I doubt that this is a decision that they have made recently.
My first thought was, great! With the Big Shot not in the catalog, now I can buy a Cricut to see what all the fuss about it is. On the other hand, these machines are not cheap, and I still have a good Big Shot. So my guess is that I’ll be using my Big Shot for a while to come.
A Paper Trimmer is something else. Mostly what I use my Stampin’ Trimmer for is to make interior cuts on paper. For cutting layers for cards and scrapbooks, I use a guillotine paper cutter. The one I use right now is identical to the old Stampin’ Up! cutter, but it’s got a Tonic/Tim Holtz brand on it. I liked it when Stampin’ Up! sold it and I still like it. For Scoring Paper and Cardstock, Stampin’ Up! still has it’s fab Simply Scored Tool, which is what I use for most of my scoring, and which I highly recommend for you!
But today’s news – and the big news as far as I am concerned, is the list of retiring products. As those of you who’ve been following me for a while must know, I really dislike the way that the Stampin’ Up! admins format their lists. So each time a list like this comes out, I first get it into a format that I find readable, then I start to focus on what I have to order before something ends up being out of stock. For me this year, the must have backups for my craft room are the Paper Piercing Tool, the 2″ x 8″ Cello Bags (I use them for holding bookmarks), and the Watercolor Paper. While I’m sure Stampin’ Up! will have some kind of watercolor paper in the new catalog, I particularly like the size and texture of this paper, so I’m stocking up.
As for Formatting the Retiring List, I have prepared a copy of the list for you. This copy, which you can access by clicking on the Last Chance Products icon near the top on the right, is in order by product Category (Bundles, Stamp Sets, etc.). Then within Category, in order by Catalog, first the Annual then the Occasions Catalogs. Finally, the items are in Page number order. I’ve also cleaned up some of the text (e.g., sometimes “Stamp Set” was before the stamp set name, and sometimes it was after; let’s be consistent, please!).
There was initially some confusion for those of us who hadn’t been at this past weekend’s Stampin’ Up! On Stage events. There are A LOT of stamp sets listed – many more than usual. But what is happening is that Stampin’ Up!, as previously announced, will no longer sell wood-mounted stamp sets. They are replacing continuing wood-mount stamp sets, along with “clear-mount” stamp sets, with the new Cling Stamp Sets. I have shown those sets that will continue to the new catalog, but in a different format, using Green Text. There is another color in my list and that is Red with Struck-out text. Those are stamp sets and other products that have already sold out. I have included the list as it was current at 6:00 pm Eastern Time April 15th. I will update the list every few days, and will put the date on which I updated it at the top of the first page.
I’ll have more information about all of this – and, as always, a Tutorial! – in my newsletter, which I may get out tonight, but certainly by midday tomorrow. I’ll also include an update on the new Stampin’ Up! Storage products that were introduced at the beginning of the month.
So much to catch up on!! Let me know if you have any questions.
Here is a list of some of the products I mentioned above. Click on the icons to see if they’re still available!
