Stampin' Up!

It’s Annual Catalog Retirement Time!

April 1, 2021 by Robin

It’s April and that means the sale of Stampin’ Up! products retiring on May 3rd is in full swing! Actually, this sale has been going on for more than a week already. And already some products have sold out. The good news is that most retiring products are still available.

Aloha, all!

Stampin’ Up!’s 2021-2022 Annual Catalog is going to be released on May 4th, just a bit over a month away. I have a copy in my hot little hands and I can hardly wait to order some of the new product suites. So excited! But I’m also a bit sad at those products that are in the current catalog but won’t make it into the next. Just yesterday I made what it likely close to my last card using the Under My Umbrella Stamp Set. It’s not a set that I use a lot. But it’s one that is just perfect when the need for it arises.

Here’s a Link to the Retiring Product List

I have a copy of the retiring list that I’ve edited a bit to try to make it easier to see what’s retiring. Click here to read and/or download it.

Interested in Any Retiring Stamp Sets? Now’s the Time to Buy!

You might be interested to know that there are 93 stamp sets that are going to retire. Maybe one or two of them are sets that you’ve thought about buying once or twice during the year. If so, not is the time to buy them. Stampin’ Up! makes its own stamps, so they should be around for another week or two before they stop replacing them when they run out. But why not buy one now when you know they’re available?

It’s Not Just Stamp Sets that Retire

Can you believe that there are 37 Stampin’ Up! Die sets that are going to retire? Granted, some of them are associated with many of the stamp sets that are going to retire. But there are also some staples that are going to go away. Among those are Layering Ovals Dies and Layering Squares Dies. The good news is that the Layering Circles and Layering Rectangles are sticking around for at least another year.

And the embossing folders! I cannot imagine not being able to demonstrate the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder. I loved that it made cardstock feel just like the textured cardstock that we had in the catalog a while back. The same goes for the Brass and Champagne Foil Paper. I’ve used that a lot in my projects. And then there are ribbons and embellishments and tools, oh my!

Some Products Are Discounted

Stampin’ Up! has not told us how they go about deciding which products are going to be discounted during this (or any) sale. My personal idea about this is that these are either products that are large enough that they don’t want them to take up storage space. Or they could be products for which they ordered to much stock and, again, they need to get rid of them to save space. Either way, check out the discounts. Some of the products are pretty neat!

Yes, Some Products Have Already Sold Out

When you look at my list of retiring products, you’ll see that some items are listed in red, with the text lined out. Those products are already sold out and are no longer available. Over the next several weeks there will be more and more red listings. Don’t let one of them be something you’ve been thinking about buying!

If you have any questions about this list or about buying retiring products, do give me a call or send an e-mail. I’ll help as much as I can.

Meanwhile, have fun with whatever you’re working on or playing with this week!

April Showers – Under My Umbrella!

March 31, 2021 by Robin

The Under My Umbrella Stamp Set is one of my favorite kind of outline stamps. It has several stamps that are just perfect for stamping on patterned paper to give them a pretty patterned color. No markers, or brushes, or colored pencils needed! It’s also the perfect stamp for this time of year. Tomorrow is April and in many parts of the United States it’s a very rainy month, leading to the old saying, “April Showers Bring May Flowers.” And what could be better for April Showers than a lovely umbrella?!

Aloha, all!

The area where I live, as well as the area where my friend, Cheryl Hamilton, lives are pretty much the middle of a rain forest. So we get some good rains all year. In fact, we measure annual rainfall in feet, not inches, though I do think that Hilo, Hawai’i, has Haiku, Maui beat by about 4 feet. So both of us can pretty much relate to the need for umbrellas. That’s why we decided to make the Under My Umbrella Stamp Set the featured set for today’s session of Island Hopping.

But It’s Retiring!

When we chose this set earlier this month, we knew that we’d hear by now if this set was going to retire and not carry over to the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. Sadly, this set and its accompanying Umbrella Builder Punch will be retiring at the end of the current Annual Catalog. The good news is that I still have another 5 weeks to have fun using it for my cards. And you still have those same 5 weeks to think about buying both of these fun products!

Having Fun With the Hydrangea Hill Paper Set

While I’m very sad not to have this stamp set around after May 3rd, I was happy to have the beautiful Hydrangea Hill Designer Series Paper set to use with these stamps. I loved trying to make up my mind about which the papers in that set would be the best for my umbrella. You can see that I couldn’t choose just one. So I ended up using three different prints from the paper set to make not one but three umbrellas. Right now I’m working on a set of tutorials that will be ready to be published soon and the Hydrangea Hill papers are featured in one of the 16 samples in the set. Oh, and I should point out that the Hydrangea Hill paper and all of the products that coordinate with it will be around in the January – June Mini Catalog until June 30th!

A Stamping Tip

Often when I’m stamping on Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Papers, the ink does not settle into the paper evenly. That happened this time when I was using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on the Hydrangea Hill prints. One way to fix that would be to stamp the image twice. But you and I both know that doesn’t work well unless you use a stamp positioning tool. In this case, the stamp positioning tool was Stampin’ Up!’s Stamparatus.

If you read yesterday’s post, I used the Stamparatus for stamping on those Easter Cards. But the purpose was different – I wanted to make multiples of a card quickly. For this card, I held the paper in place with one of the Stamparatus’ magnets and stamped the image with the Stamparatus twice (three times in one case). Because both the paper and the stamp stay in the very same spot, you don’t get thick lines or “ghost” lines.

Those Stamped Images are Everywhere!

Not only did I stamp and punch some umbrellas for the front of the card, I also added one to the front of the envelope that I made to go with this card. I don’t always make matching envelopes, but I thought this would be a fun envelope to arrive at someone’s house during an “April Shower.”

While on was on a roll with this, I kept going and added a different umbrella image to the inside of the card. It’s peeking out in the photo at the top of this article. But I wanted you to see one other stamp from this set – the garden boots! For the inside of the card I punched a handle for the umbrella. There wasn’t enough space on the envelop for that, though I may go back and draw a little bit of one before I send it out next week.

I especially love the boots. I’d love to have a set of rubber boots with this fun print on them. As I no longer have a garden, I’ll just have to watch other people wear them. Hmmm. Maybe I can go visit Cheryl and wear some in HER garden!

The Bottom Line

This stamp set and it’s coordinating punch are going to retire as of May 3, 2021. The good news is that the punch is on sale for 60% off! It’s now only $7.20, down from $18. And the stamp set, with its 15 stamps is only $16. Besides the 4 umbrella/boots stamps, there are 4 floral stamps and 6 sentiments. Oh, the the raindrops! Do you see that rain on those umbrellas? That’s a stamp that I applied repetitively on the background of the umbrella layer on the card!

Finally, don’t forget to visit Cheryl Hamilton’s blog today. Guess what stamp set she’s using. (Oh, did I already tell you?)

And have fun with whatever is keeping you busy with your crafting these days!

Catalog Carryover – Timeless Tulips!

March 30, 2021 by Robin

The Timeless Tulips Stamp Set first appeared in a Stampin’ Up! Catalog in the Spring of 2020 and carried over into the 2020-21 Annual Catalog. The catalogs also included a Tulip Builder Punch that made it easy to stamp all the stems and leaves and then adhere the flowers over them without any fussy masking. I have been crossing my fingers that this set would carry over into the new 2021-22 Annual Catalog so we could at least one more Spring to play with the tulips. And my wish came true!

Aloha, all!

Stamps that feature not only tulips but also sentiments that relate to Easter and Mother’s Day have a bit of a limited time each year in which they can be used. The result is that, while you may find Mother’s Day and Easter greetings in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogs, you rarely find whole stamp sets like Timeless Tulips. So I was pleasantly surprised last year when this set carried over to the annual catalog. And now it’s happened again. And I’m going to take advantage of it this year AND next!

DisINKtive Stamps

Timeless Tulips has one feature that I love in stamps. Stampin’ Up! has named their stamps with this feature “DistINKtive” stamps. While it looks like I’ve added different values of the same color to the picture, I’ve had nothing to do with it. Stampin’ Up! makes these stamps in such a way that some areas hold more ink and others less ink, with transitions along the way. So all I have to do is ink up the stamp as I usually do, stamp it on paper, and the shading appears without my having to do anything else at all. Check out the close-up of one of the tulips on the right.

Timeless Tulips To The Rescue!

The photo at the beginning of this article shows three Easter Cards that I sent out this week. In fact, I totally forgot that Easter was coming until I realized that this past Sunday was Palm Sunday. Where have I been? And how was I going to make the 15 cards (minimum for me) to send out for this holiday. I totally spaced on St. Patrick’s Day this year, and two space cadet experiences in a row was not going to sit well with me. I am a “card lady,” after all!

So there I was on Sunday realizing also that the US Postal Service has not exactly been speedy with the mail of late. Cards had to get in the mail on Monday morning. Yikes!

Timeless Tulips to the rescue! I quickly sketched out a card that I thought was doable. These DistINKtive stamps stamp so well and that punch makes this a lot quicker than running piece after piece through the die-cutting machine. But what about all. those. leaves. and. stems? Not to mention the sentiment.

Stamparatus To The Rescue!

Stamparatus to the rescue. I laid out the stamp set’s two stems and three leaves. Ooops, the leaves needed to overlap the stems. That’s why I love the Stamparatus stamp positioning tool better than any others. I placed two plates onto the Stamparatus. I laid out the two stems on one plate and laid out the leaves on the other. I put the top layer of the cardstock in the Stamparatus, inked up both plates and press one – open – press two – open. And repeat.

Those stems and leaves were stamped in no time.

I repeated the process with one of the stems on one plate (the one that the bow is on) and the sentiment on the other.

Now’s a Perfect Time to Buy this Stamp Set and Punch!

While both of these products will carry over to the next Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog, if you buy the stamp set and punch now, you’ll have plenty of time to use the set for the 2021 Tulip Season. There are some beautiful sentiments that you can use with this set, too, including Happy Birthday, a sympathy sentiment, get well soon and, of course, “Happy Mother’s Day”!

If you’re interested in learning more about this set, including all of the 15 stamps in the set, just click on the picture of it in the slide show below. That will take you right to my personal Stampin’ Up! store. I’d love if you’d choose me as your demonstrator and start with this fun set!

Meanwhile, have some happy Springtime Stamping Sessions this week!

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

March 26, 2021 by Robin

Easter is a great occasion for sending cards to friends and family. It’s also a time of the year when I really and truly switch from the darker colors of the fall and winter holidays to the light and cheery colors of Spring. Even if this card didn’t say it out loud, you have to know that it’s welcoming us to the delights of the season of new beginnings.

Aloha, all!

Even here in Hawai’i I’m enjoying Spring already. The temperatures are finally climbing in to the high 70s and the sun has been shining almost all week. I certainly can hope that the winter rainy season finally is abating and I can enjoy the outdoor pleasures of the tropics.

But I’m also very aware that, in the part of my world that involves my favorite Stampin’ Up! products, some things that I love are going away. Yes, the Stampin’ Up! list of retiring products has been released, and some of my favorites have already sold out. While I typically do not buy retiring products, it’s only because I really need to save space for wonderful new products that will be coming our way in the next few months. Otherwise, how am I going to let you know how wonderful it all is if I don’t have the room for it?

Introducing the Retirement List

But those of you who like to have it all – and have the room for it! – can get lots of retiring products right now at a “last chance” sale price. I’ve taken Stampin’ Up!’s list and simplified it a bit for all of you and have a link to it right here on my blog. I will update it every few days so that you can see what’s already sold out. As always, if you have any questions about what’s retiring and what’s sticking around, just call or e-mail me!

What’s Retiring in Today’s Card?

As you may know, I’ve been working hard at creating some greeting card tutorial booklets that are available right now for you to buy. And there are more on the way. I’d like the tutorials to be good at any time and for anyone, even if they don’t use Stampin’ Up! products. So the basic tutorial for every card design is very generic. But of course I have to share samples using my wonderful Stampin’ Up! products. That’s where today’s card comes into play.

This card is one of the samples in my tutorial booklet, “Drapery Fold Cards.” Now that I look at it more closely, I should probably have entitled this section, “What’s NOT Retiring in Today’s Card?” What’s not retiring is that fun Just Jade gingham ribbon (part of the Flowers for Every Season Ribbon Combo); the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch; the Timeless Tulips Stamp Set which is where you’ll find the sentiment; and that beautiful floral embossing folder, Ornate Floral. What IS retiring is the great paper set, Flowers for Every Season Designer Series Paper. Really, it’s everything from poinsettias for Christmas, Tulips for Spring, all kinds of flowers for summer and sunflowers and such for the fall. Every season! Don’t let that one get away!!!

And About the Greeting Card Tutorials

There are already four sets of Greeting Card tutorials for sale. You can see them all by clicking here. Then you can pick one that you’d like to read more about. After that, a link for that specific tutorial with a more detailed description will appear on your screen. As I said before, each tutorial suggests the types of products you might want to use to complete your own project. That includes measurements for all papers, as well as ribbons if I suggest one.

Then I have at least two samples for each tutorial, each using a different set of Stampin’ Up! products. Each sample has its own page, along with a list of the exact products I used with their measurements. I’ve really tried to give you samples that will inspire you to look at what you already have to make the projects. But you have to know I’m always more than willing to help you order the Stampin’ Up! products you’ll need if you’d like.

As of the day I write this, ALL of the materials in this card are available for purchase. I’m thinking that luscious set of papers might not last long. But, believe me, there are papers in the upcoming catalog and the January – June Mini Catalog that will work wonderfully with this design.

Why not try it out?

Whatever you’re crafting this weekend, have fun with it!

Make a Card for National Quilting Day!

March 19, 2021 by Robin

Card made with quilt block pattern — A Tulip Quilt Block Made with Stampin’ Up! Papers

What a great way to make a greeting card for a favorite quilter!

Aloha, all!

Several years ago, just on a lark, I decided I wanted to try to make a card front using a pattern based on a quilt block a friend was making. Every once in a while I see another pattern that I just have to try. I’ve now accumulated quite a few blocks and finally have written some tutorials so that you can easily create them, too!

The Tulip Block Card

No matter when I get the urge to try making quilt block cards again, the first pattern I come back to was that first one I tried – a Tulip Block. And isn’t Spring just the perfect time of the year to be creating that for a friend? For this card I chose to use a set of Stampin’ Up! patterned papers called Hydrangea Hill. It may be a few weeks get before Hydrangea begins to bloom. But some tulips should be thinking about blooming right about now.

Most of the blocks that I make with paper consist of little paper squares and triangles made from cutting those squares on the diagonal. But occasionally I’ll let a rectangle or two make their way into a design. The Tulip Block is one of those designs.

You may notice that I don’t have a sentiment on the front of this card. Sometimes when I make the quilt blocks, they just scream to have a bow attached. That was the case with the Tulip Block card. For this Spring-y card, I thought that a flighty double bow made with White Seam Binding Ribbon was just the thing. After that, I didn’t want to cover up any more of the pretty squares in the tulip design, as I would have done if I added a sentiment.

There’s A Quilt Block Tutorial For Sale!

The Tulip Block paper-pieced pattern is one of three quilt block patterns for cards in my tutorial booklet. Each of these tutorials includes a supply list as well as directions for putting the whole block as well as the greeting card together. While of course I love the papers I used for my samples, you can use whatever papers you like and the quilt blocks will be lovely.

Each block is sized so that it will fit on one or two layers over a 5″ square card base. This size card fits inside a standard A7 (5-1/4″ x 7-1/4″) envelope.

I usually sell this set of tutorials for $10. But today through Sunday, March 21st, it’s on sale for $5! Just click here (or on the picture on the right) for more details!

There Are Other Tutorials for Sale, Too!

At the moment I have four tutorial booklets for sale. You can see a list of each of them here. Just click on any of them to find out more about each. Going forward, I’ll be adding a new set of tutorials about once a month. The April tutorials are card layouts, and I’m loving all the samples I’m making to show them off!

So Happy National Quilting Day to all my Quilting friends – and all you Quilt lovers, too!