I finally got some swap cards made for Stampin’ Up! Leadership today!  I did lots of embossing with my Stampin’ Up! Heat Tool and Gold Embossing Powder! This is the Flowerfull Heart, one of the Valentine sets in the Online Store and the greeting is from the cute set Yippee-Skippee.

You can’t see too well in the photo but the card base is Baked Brown Sugar card stock. And for the finishing touch, I used the new Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape in the corner.  Washi tape is so easy and fun to use.  Just tear it off the roll or cut it.  It’s even repositionable.

I’ll let you know what fun I have at the Stampin’ Up! Leadership Conference today! It’s always exciting to wonder what new products or announcements they will have for us. It’s always a good time when you are at a Stampin’ Up! event!  Think about signing up to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and be part of all the fun while running your own business!

Here’s a Sale-A-Bration sneak peek preview for you!  Sale-A-Bration is the biggest promotion of Stampin’ Up! With every $50 you spend, you earn a free product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure!  The designer series paper you see on this card, Sweet Sorbet #133521, is one of your choices.  Although it is valued at $10.95, you would get it FREE with a $50 purchase. The flower stamp is also one of your choices, the Petal Parade stamp set.  I stamped it, cut it out, and popped it up with a couple Stampin’ Dimensionals. The greeting on the card is from a great set, Yippee-Skippee. The washi tape across the paper is from the Occasions Catalog, Retro Fresh This and That Designer Washi Tape. I actually got the “coordinating colors” mixed up as the paper matches Crisp Canteloupe and the tape and ink are Tangerine Tango.  But it all still looks good together! And I love the saying on that stamp!!

You won’t be able to get your free products until Sale-A-Bration starts January 28, but there are lots of great products available in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store! When you order, be sure to check the categories listed in the left sidebar of the store page – Weekly Deal, Clearance Rack, Valentine product, etc. You don’t want to miss a thing!

I found myself drawn to this stamp image again from So Very Grateful in the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog. This time I stamped it and colored it in and cut it out with my Paper Snips. (Paper Snips are great for this kind of intricate “fussy cutting”! If you don’t own some, put them on your next order.) I wasn’t quite sure what I would do with it and played around with a partially gold embossed paper doily. But what I decided to do was layer a piece of the Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum on Whisper White, adhered my cut-out flowers on top and tied some new Gold Baker’s Twine around the layer. I didn’t see a good spot for a greeting, just couldn’t figure out that part, so I just left the card plain. Nothing says you have to have a greeting on every card you make! I can always add one later or just use it as a notecard with no specific sentiment.  I LOVE the vellum with the tiny gold hearts – and all the rest of the sheets in the package!

You can find the products in the new Occasions Catalog (By the way, it’s not called the “Occasions Catalog” but it is referred to as that. It’s actually titled “Celebrate The Everyday”). You can shop at your convenience at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE or contact me and I can put your order in for you.  If you are shopping today, don’t forget about the current Weekly Deals, only good until midnight tonight MT.

This thank you card made with the new So Very Grateful stamp set in the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog 2014 might bring a hope of spring to those of you snowed in in many parts of the country today! Personally, I am a little jealous that I am not in a winter wonderland with lots of snow – as long as I could be home with my family and baking cookies, stamping, or going out to play in the snow! The cold air is even supposed to reach way down here in Houston but just for a night or two and then it will get up to a balmy 72 degrees later in the week (they say!).

This is also a sneak peek at some designer paper you will be able to get FREE during Sale-A-Bration beginning January 28. It is called Sweet Sorbet #133521 and will be beautiful on your springtime projects! You can see the strip of it on the side of my card layer with a strip of Pool Party punched with the Scallop Edge Border Punch. The card base is one of the 2013-2015 In Colors, Crisp Cantaloupe. I haven’t used that color very much but I think it will be pretty for spring and summer coming up!

I stamped the flowers in Stazon Black ink so I could watercolor with my Blender Pen and ink pads.  I used the colors Pool Party, Crisp Canteloupe, Pistachio Pudding, and Summer Starfruit. All these colors coordinated with the Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper.

In case you are new to Stampin’ Up!, Sale-A-Bration is the company’s biggest promotion. For every $50 in merchandise that you purchase, you earn one FREE product from the special Sale-A-Bration brochure. This promotion runs from January 28 – March 31.  You will want to take advantage of it! If you are new and don’t have a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator you are already working with, email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com if you would like the Sale-A-Bration brochure or the new Occasions Catalog just out!

If you are snowed in this weekend, get out your flower stamps and light-colored card stock and stamp and think of spring! This So Very Grateful stamp set, available in clear- or wood-mount is going to be able to used in many ways and comes with three nice greetings! Check out the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog in my Online Store right now.