Aloha, all!
For the past two months I’ve been calling what I post on Thursday a “Throwback Thursday” project. That project usually is something that I made years ago and redid with today’s Stampin’ Up! products. But today’s Throwback Thursday takes me back to a time when Stampin’ Up! had annual conventions, mostly in Salt Lake City, Utah. And there was always a Make and Take Session highlighting brand new products which we were the first to see. Those were highlights of those long ago events.
This year, with the world in the midst of a pandemic, Stampin’ Up! chose to have a virtual convention. But guess what? We still had Make and Takes!
We Got to Order New Products!
This year’s Make and Takes featured some of the same fun aspects of a live, in-person, session. We not only got to see, but got to order a bunch of new, never-before-seen products for ourselves! The products are all from the upcoming Stampin’ Up! January – June 2021 Mini Catalog (formerly known as the “Occasions Catalog”). The suite from which the products come is called the Dandy Garden Suite. We got to order a stamp set, Designer Series Papers, ribbon, and an embellishment package. Definitely fun seeing that new stuff!
The Make and Takes Were Well-Organized
Once we received the new products for our Make and Takes, we received instructions for what we were going to need to make our cards. Besides the suite products, we needed some cardstock and adhesives, of course. But we also had to cut all of our papers and cardstock into the sizes called for for each of three cards we were going to make.
When I write a tutorial that involves Designer Series Paper sets, I usually specify which prints from the set I used in my sample. But in the case of the OnStage Make and Takes, we had directions only to cut “3 different patterns” to the size specified. I’ve seen lots of the projects that other demonstrators made and the choice of papers is all over the place. And they’re all gorgeous!
I was fairly deliberate about the choices I made by basing them on the cardstock colors that we were going to be using for the particular project. You can see my choices over at the left. I really liked how they complement the dragonflies that we stamped on the top layer.
The Ribbons and Embellishments Are a Lot of Fun!
I generally tend to buy only embellishments that lie fairly flat on a card. That makes it easier to mail. But when I read, “Lady Bugs,” I had to try them out. The great news is that they’re not too bulky, so I think I’m safe with the mailing. For sure, I was so happy to be able to use them in one of the cards as the top of the page.
The Mossy Meadow Braided Trim is the same size and texture as the current Real Red and Linen trim. I love how easy it is to use it to make a bow, as in the third of the make and take cards, below.
Oh, and I Shouldn’t Forget the Punch!
My favorite kind of a Stampin’ Up! bundle is one that includes a punch! That’s especially true when I’m going to make a lot of cards using cut-out elements. In the card above you can see little dragonflies darting across the Designer Series Papers. But there’s a large dragonfly in the punch that comes with the bundle, too.
This is one of the stamped images from the Dragonfly Garden Stamp Set. We used the large dragonfly from the punch to cut out this cutie. I love that I can just stamp a bunch of dragonflies and just punch, punch, punch. Yes, I love my die-cutting machine. But there are just too many steps for making a large number of the same image for my taste.
But a stamped image isn’t the only image where this punch works. There is a print in the Designer Series Paper set that has lots of dragonflies, and they are all punchable. This butterfly from the top picture on the left is from the dragonfly print, and the punch again works beautifully.
The Bottom Line
Two messages for today. First, you are going to be able to start ordering products from the new Stampin’ Up! Mini Catalog on Tuesday, January 5, 2021. I can hardly wait until you see the other products from that catalog. But the Dandy Garden Suite is going to be a highlight for sure!
The second message is that, if you were a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, you wouldn’t have to wait until January 5th! We demonstrators get to start ordering from this catalog on December 1st! Wouldn’t you like to be a part of that? If you would just like to chat about the possibility (I am not a pusher for sure), send me an e-mail or give me a call. I love what I do – just the way I do it! And you might be interested in the possibility, too.
The weekend is almost upon us and I hope you have a great time crafting!
