BUY NOW, before we have to say BYE, NOW!

The Retirement List for Accessories and Decorative Items is Here!  It's a long list - including almost 3 full pages of items up to 70% OFF!

All of the items on this retiring Accessories & Decorative items list are available ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST - so you'll want so SHOP EARLY!  SU! will be posting a list to demonstrators each day at 4:00pm of sold out items, so I will share that list with you each day.  Don't delay in your shopping - you don't want to be disappointed!

BIG NEWS IN THIS LIST -
When you look at the retired accessories list, you'll note that all of our Stampin' Pads are listed. This is for two reasons: (1) Craft Stampin' Pads will now only be available in black and white; and (2) we are introducing a new Firm Foam pad in our Classic Stampin' Pads with the 2012-2013 annual catalogue.  The Firm Foam pads offer better ink coverage and, in turn, better stamped images.

• Only select Stampin' Write Markers will be available individually (Stampin' Write Markers in colour collections will continue to be offered)
• 12" x 12" Textured Card Stock will no longer be offered
• 12" x 12" Smooth Card Stock will only be available in select individual colours and colour collections

So, if  you use a lot of the 12"x12" card stock for your card making or scrapbooking, now is the time to stock up!  The same with the Craft Inks, which  are great for stamping on fabric, tiles, and embossing - they will only be available in black & white after this.

I'm super excited for the new Catalogue coming out, and the new style of ink pads!  You will still be able to use your existing re-inkers on the new pads, with the exception of the following colours which have been reformulated for better colour:

• Basic Black 
• Basic Gray
• Marina Mist
• Perfect Plum
• Tempting Turquoise

All five colours of the reformulated inks have been fully tested and approved. While using the new ink formula in the old Stampin' Pads is fine, we do not recommend using the old ink formula in the new firm foam pads. Any refills purchased after April 30, 2012, will contain the new formulated ink.

Remember my personal special offer - place an order of $75 or more (before S/H) before April 30th and get 15% off your total order!  This offer is only through me, so you must contact me -either email debsmart@shaw.ca or phone 604 298 0472 - to place your order.  

What are you waiting for - go shopping!!  Click the Retiring Items button on my sidebar (left) to go directly to the SU! page of retiring items, browse & make your list, then get back to me!

Happy Shopping!
~Deborah

Occassions Mini Almost Over!

Can you believe that April is almost over?!  Where has the time gone?  If you're like me, with children in school, before we know it, summer break will be here and the usual routines won't apply! 
I am looking forward to summer; this year I have so many family members visiting from all over - Scotland, Quebec, Calgary, Toronto - it's going to be fabulous!  Do you have special plans this year?

Along with the end of April comes the end of the current Occassions Mini Catalogue (April 30th), which makes me sad :(  There's so much in this catalogue that I just love - the Twitterpated Designer Paper, Jelly Bean Brads, Pleated Satin Ribbons, Twitterpated Buttons - and so many of the stamp sets!

If you're like me, you'll want to stock up on these items before they disappear!  Typically, the Designer papers and embellishments (ribbons, buttons, brads) don't carry over into the new catalogue, which means you won't be able to order them after April 30th.  Some of the stamp sets may, and probably the new Framelits and Edgelits, but I can't guarantee you that, and I'd hate to see you disappointed!

So stock up now - on these, and the retiring stamp sets (see post below and button on the sidebar) - and if you place a $75 order before April 30th with me - you'll get 15% off! 

This "Hello" card I made using the Everyday Enchantment DSP and Fresh Vintage Stamp Set, both from the Sale-a-bration Catalogue that ended March 31st.  I'm sure hoping that the stamp set carries over - it's one of my favourites!  The Beautiful Wings butterfly Embosslits die is from the current Idea Book & Catalogue (item# 118138 $14.95), as are the Scallop Oval Punch (#119856 $22.95) and the Small Oval (#120908 $13.95).   The Framelit Labels collection (item#125598 $32.95 set of 6) are in the Occassions Mini.

I hope you enjoyed having a look at today's card, and I hope you'll contact me to place your order soon!

And remember - keep looking for the clues in the Treasure Hunt!  Keep checking the Late Night Stampers Web Ring list (seperate page) - the demos with and asterisk * by their name means that they've posted their clue!  Gather up your clues, and email me when you've got 20 of them!!

Happy Stamping - and Clue Hunting!
~Deborah

Faux Pinwheel Card

I had such fun creating this new card!  A fabulous SU! demonstrator named Dawn Olchefske put together a video on how to do this, and it is SO easy!  ( it's easier than you think - but go ahead, let others think it took you forever to make! lol).

This type of card can be used for so many different occassions - perfect for a 'just because' card for a friend, or change the sentiment to suit your need!

Here is my take on Dawn's card

I just know you're going to want to make one of these for yourself, so here's Dawn's website http://www.dostamping.typepad.com/  Stop by, say 'hi' to Dawn, and tell her I sent you! :)

What kinds of cards will you be making next?  Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear from you!

'Til then,
Happy Stamping!
~Deborah

UPDATE - Retirement List Contest

Well, stampers, I'm very sad to say that I  didn't receive any entries for the retirement list contest! :(
I don't understand why - don't people like free things any more?  Hmmmm.....

Okay - so what I'd like to know is this - what kind of contests do you like to enter?  Or type of prizes do you hope to win?

I sure hope you'll take the time to enter the Treasure Hunt contest - it may take a few days for lots of demonstrators to post their clues, so make sure you keep checking back!

LET ME KNOW - LEAVE A MESSAGE - I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!  This blog is for you - for fun and information and creativity sharing - so please - let me know what you'd like!

Thanks for sharing!
~Deborah

Retirement List is Out!

It's here, and it's HUGE!!  Stampin' Up! has released the list of Retiring Stamps for the 2011-2012 Catalogue, and there are a lot of stamps going away!  Yes, it's early, because the new 2012-2013 Catalogue will be released 1 month early this year - June 1st, instead of July.

To see the list of retiring stamps, click on the 'Retired List' gadget on this page (it's 2 pages, in small print, but remember you can zoom in to see it closer up).

If some of your favourites are on the list, you want to act quickly before they're gone forever - they're only available until May 31st! 

Also retiring will be the 2010-2012 In Colors (in cardstocks, inks, refills, and markers) and more! The retiring Accessories and wall Decor lists will be posted April 25th.

Now I know this means you'll want to order lots of stamps, accessories and decor before they're gone - so I want to make it easy for you!

Place a minimum order of $75* by April 30th, and get 15% off from me!!

Plus, I'll also give you a FREE copy of the new 2012-2013 Catalogue as soon as it's available!

(remember - this special is available only through me, so you must place your order directly with me, in order to receive the 15% off.  Either email, or call me with your order - debsmart@shaw.ca or 604.298.0472)

(*$75 before taxes & shipping)

DON'T MISS OUT - ORDER NOW!!

Happy shopping!

~Deborah

A Contest For YOU!

Hello Stamping friend,

It's almost that time of the year - the existing Idea Book & Catalogue (the big book!) will expire on May 31st - less than 2 months away!  Yes, it's exciting looking forward to the new catalogue - but before that, a lot of existing stamps will be retired!

Of course, that got me to wondering - which stamps will be retired this year?  Which stamp set (or sets!) will I wish I had bought before they were gone?  Which stamps will you miss, and wish you had bought?

Here's where you - and some fun - come in!

Post your comment here, telling me your guess of which 10 stamps (or stamp sets) will be retired.
The person with the most number of correctly guessed stamps/sets will be the winner!

How to enter:
(1) Subscribe to my blog
(2) Post a reply to this post between now (April 9th) and this Sunday, April 15th at 9:00am
(3) Make sure you post the full stamp and/or set name.

How to win:
(1) You're a subscriber to my blog
(2) You've listed up to 10 stamp and/or stamp set names that you think will be retiring from the current catalogue.

The winner will be the person who guesses the highest number (from their list of 10) of stamps that are being retired, according to the offical retiring list, which Stampin' Up!  will be releasing to us Demonstrators this Sunday, April 15th.

The winner will receive the retiring stamp of their choice, from their list, up to a value of $25.!

So don't wait - grab your current Idea Book & Catalogue, and start writing down your list of 10 retiring stamps!  (don't have a catalogue? call or email me, and I'll get one for you!)

Happy browsing!  And good luck!

~Deborah

Spring has sprung!

We've had a couple of nice days in a row - sunshine, very little if any showers, and the cherry blossoms are bloomin' up a beautiful storm!  I hope you've had a chance to enjoy some of nature's wonders for yourself this week.

Since it is springtime, I entered a couple of cards into a challenge this week for the 'Late Night Stampers', a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from literally around the world!  We all chat on a site called Stampin' Connection, which is for demonstrators only.  It's a great place to meet lots of super people, exchange ideas and information, and see fabulous designs that others create.
 
If you like the sounds of this, and enjoy purchasing and using Stampin' Up!'s quality products, you should consider joining my team and becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator yourself!  If you'd like to join, you can go to my demonstrator site at www.stampandcreate.stampinup.net to sign up right away, or send me an email at debsmart@shaw.ca if you have any questions and/or would like to talk about the benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  I'd love to hear from you!

Okay - back to the cards!

 I just love butterflies, and am always delighted when I see the first one of the season!  This butterfly is unique in that I didn't use a butterfly punch or stamp; I created it using the Blossom punch and coordinating Blossoms stamp set.  Then, I snipped two of the petals from the blossom, leaving the butterfly shape!  Very cool, isn't it?!  You can only just see it, but I dipped the edges of the wings into Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and added small pearls for the body. The pink patterned paper behind it is from the brand new Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper  - this is part of the 'preview' suite of our upcoming new Stampin' Up! catalogue, which debuts June 1st.  You can order the products from Summer Smooches now, though, until April 30th.  If you miss this preview, you'll  have to wait 'til June 1st to order!    The Old Olive cardstock was run through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  Adding texture just adds a special something to the card, don't you think?  The colours used are Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Old Olive and Whisper White.

Hmmmm...for some reason, I'm not able to upload the next card properly - it keeps get flipped onto it's side!  Very annoying!  Well, until I'm able to figure out how to correct the problem, I'll have to leave you for now.  I hope to have it corrected, and be back tomorrow to share it with you!

Until then - Happy Stamping!
~Deborah

Monday, Monday...

Ah, Monday!  It's usually the most maligned day of the week - meaning the weeked is over, the work week has begun.....but it doesn't have to be all bad!!

You'll  notice something new if you scroll down to the bottom of my page - go ahead, do it now, I'll wait....  Oh good, you're back!  Did you notice the new 'blinkie' for SUDSOL? 

You don't know what SUDSOL is?  That's okay - I didn't either, until I clicked on the same 'blinkie' on another Stampin' Up! demonstrator's page!   SUDSOL stands for 'Simply Unique Demonstrators Sharing Online' - a FANTASTIC website for Stampin' Up! demonstrators to join for Stampin' Up! information, workshop tips and templates, project ideas, and much, much more!  And a lot of what you'll see there is unique to SUDSOL - not on every other site you go to!

If you'd like to try it out for FREE for 2 weeks, just click on the 'blinkie' below, and it will take you to the trial member sign up page.  You won't regret it!!  And I'm pretty sure that, like me, once you check out the incredible wealth of information sharing on this site, you'll sign up for your SUDSOL membership, too!  You can sign up for different terms; 3months, 6 months or 1 year; whichever suits you best.  And that's what SUDSOL is about - helping you with your Stampin' Up! business, the way that suits you best.

So c'mon!  2 FREE WEEKS!  You've got nothin' to lose! :)

Happy Stamping, and SUDSOL reading!
~Deborah