The 2007 Fall/Winter Stamp Set Retirement List

The 2007 Fall/Winter Stamp Set Retirement List came out yesterday morning. I was very pleased to see it came out early as I had to leave by 7:00 am for a craft/vendor show.

Not surprised about many of the retiring sets - well, except for a few of the newer sets with a more valentine or spring appeal.

Serene Sunflower is the one I am most upset about. I LOVE that set...just used it last week in fact for an out-of-the box card using it for a Christmas wreath. Looks Like Spring was a surprise too. I haven't used it in a while (duh, SPRING). Just thought those two would make it to the Spring catalog and then retire after that.

Most of my favorite go-tos for the fall/winter holidays will be gone...Booglie Eyes, Carved and Candlelit, Flaky Friends, and my beloved Frosty...I may just have to wear black on Tuesday for my It's a Wrap! class. I knew it would be his last year. He deserves retirement as I have sold probably 50+ Frosty sets since he joined our catalog! Now he can sit back at the Stamp Set Retirement Home and play shuffleboard with Stella Stamper!

I do not keep many retired sets - the only ones I have kept throughout the years are religious sets (for the card outreach program at my church) and some masculine-related stamp sets. I think I have a total of 5 retired sets that I still use. Frosty may join this bunch though as my set is soo stained from use and it is a great set to use with kids.

Well the good thing about this December retirement list is I can use my retired samples for Christmas cards this year and not have to store them for 6 months!!!!

I guess I will start December's posts with a tribute to a dear friend ... Frosty!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My customers are really important to me. Many of them I see more than my family and long-time friends. They share my love of stamping, and they look to me for ideas and inspiration.

Just a few weeks ago, I was blessed with a wonderfully happy moment. I was dropping off some items to one of my customers. She was not home, and her husband answered the door. I had called before I came so he was expecting me.

After I gave him the bag, he said "Jane, thanks for all you do." I must have look a bit puzzled. He went on, "My wife and her friends just love coming to your house. They look forward to it and always have such a great time. I hope you know how much fun they have!"

He said a few more kind words, and I told him how much I enjoyed having them stamp with me. There are some fabulous women in my customer circle!

I am so blessed in my life - wonderful husband and kids, family and friends, and a job and other interests which I am passionate about. My customers are a special blessing - and I am truly grateful for their friendship, loyalty, and inspiration.

Happy Thanksgiving - may your blessings be many!

A Stamper's Christmas Wish List

If you're a stamper, there is always something on your wish list. Why not make it easy for Santa this year? Here's a link to my Stamper's Christmas Wish List ~ hopefully, you'll get what you want for Christmas this year!

Stamping (and Laughing) With My Customers

This week, I held my third Technique Tuesday event. I had the techniques picked out for quite a while. I was actually surprised at how much I had prepared ahead of time. Thank goodness because it was one of those days when the to-do list was much too long (volunteering, cleaning, homework help, baking...).

I have three great boys and a husband who do help when it comes time to preparing the house for company. With my stamping business, that translates to about four or five evenings a month. There are jobs they love to do, and of course, some they don't like to do (you can include me in that one!).

Well, I was cutting out some of the pieces for a project and having to run a little interference in the household chores and the homework battle. I must have been pretty distracted because when my stampers got to the project later that evening, the pieces were not evenly cut. I wanted to just cry...I really love to pamper my stampers and try very hard to have projects all ready.

Leave it to my customers - they just laughed, took it in stride, and kept reminding ME that these were just samples for them. They totally understood and made me feel so much better.

Well, November is I Am So Thankful Month...and to all my customers...I am so thankful for you!

November Special

During the month of November, purchase three packs of our Designer Series Papers and receive one pack absolutely FREE!!! Regular shipping and tax will apply to the three purchased packs, there is no shipping or tax on the free pack.

Designer Series Papers are 12x12, patterned on both sides, come twelve sheets to a pack, and sell for only $9.95 per pack. These papers on pages 170-173 of the Fall-Winter Catalog and pages 12 and 19 of the Holiday Mini Catalog.

Here is a list of the paper packs and their coordinating card stock and ink colors:
Outlaw - Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla

Brocade Backgrounds - Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, River Rock
Fall Flowers - Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
Linen Prints - Always Apricot, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Pink Passion
Porcelain Prints - Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
Le Jardin - River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Uptown - Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi
Wintergreen - Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky
Flowers for You - Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
Petals & Paisleys - Certainly Celery, Taken w/Teal, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
Creepy Crawly - Basic Black, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust
Notations No. 2 - More Mustard, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi
Charbon - Basic Gray, Very Vanilla
Cerise - Real Red, Very Vanilla
Dashing - Old Olive, Real Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Cutie Pie - Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
Darling Doodles - Brocade Blue, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi
Apple Cider - Close to Cocoa, River Rock, Really Rust, Wild Wasabi
Holiday Harmony - Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Prints - These papers come in twelve patterns of one color per pack: Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Blue Bayou, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, River Rock, So Saffron, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Groovy Guava, Rose Red

Order your three packs and choose your fourth pack absolutely FREE. Call or email me today!!!

2007 Holiday Cards Stamp Camp

I held my 2007 Holiday Cards Stamp Camp this week. For my stamp camps, I am trying to focus more on card format and technique refreshers because I want to save the new techniques for my Technique classes. Here is one of the cards we did:

The Big on Christmas Criss-Cross Card was perfect for this stamp camp as it showed a different card format. I found the hardest part of the Criss-Cross Card (which is being featured all over the web) is visualizing what parts to cut off. I created a visual template for my customers. This really helped them cut the correct pieces. This will not be true to size, and the scan didn't pick up folded middle where cuts are made from.

I've uploaded the 2007 Holiday Cards Stamp Camp to my stamped art gallery - you can view it here: http://www.stampwithjane.com/stampcampgallerychristmas2007.html

Holiday Confusion

It is October 8th...Happy Columbus Day! Halloween is just around the corner...but it will be 85 degrees in Wisconsin today. To top that off, tonight is the first night of my Holiday Cards Stamp Camp. Baking Christmas cookies in 85 degree heat with my decorative jack-o-lanterns and witches gathered around my house is a bit more than strange.

What helps me get in the mood to stamp for the Christmas holiday season is music. My family has an extremely large collection of Christmas music. We used to keep it in storage after Christmas until November 1st (when I start my Christmas decorating), but now we keep it out with the rest of our music collection. I host Christmas in July events too, so this is helpful to create a mood in July as well.

Our Christmas music collection is an eclectic mix. Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack is never far from reach. It is my favorite, albeit somewhat cliche, music choice. They could play it at my funeral - now wouldn't that be a hoot! Maybe even have a sad little tree on top of my casket. I am also a closet Andy Williams fan (shh, don't tell anyone). I'll never forget singing with my younger sister to my parents' records when he was a "hot" item. Other holiday music favorites include The Roches, George Winston, Bing Crosby, Bare Naked Ladies, Johnny Mathis, Il Divo, Lorie Line, Manheim Steamroller, Larry Carlton, Chet Atkins, Twisted Sister, Amy Grant, Johnny Cash....ok, you get the picture. If only Van Morrison would come out with a holiday collection!

I'll post the Holiday Cards Stamp Camp pictures this week!

World Card-Making Day

Tomorrow is World Card-Making Day. I am pretty good about sending out cards for major holidays (I usually send them out for Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). I also send birthday cards to family, friends, and customers. However, I don't think I have ever sent a card out for National Chocolate Day or World Menopause Day. Thankfully, I know I never received one for National Grouch Day!

To the left of this blog post, I posted an October Listing of those types of silly or obscure observances...be sure to pick one out this month and send a card to someone who many not expect it!

I'm hoping to compile these throughout the year...so we can find more reasons to send cards!

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

This evening as I was making dinner, I caught the Friends episode with Phoebe's Smelly Cat video. I was never a big Friends fan, but loved Phoebe/Ursula on Mad About You. When I saw this episode, it reminded me I really wanted to share my Smell My Feet Tent Card.

As stated on the previous post, the tent card is making its way to nearly every stamping blog. I love Stampin' Up!'s new Batty for You stamp set - especially the smell my feet saying. Brings me back to my childhood I guess. So while you take a look at my creation, you can either start singing the childhood classic trick or treat song or the more updated Phoebe version Smelly Feet, smelly feet...why are you so smelly?

2007 Fabulous Fall Stamp Camp

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp air and bright skies...the gorgeous landscape backdrops...the crunching sounds of leaves underfoot. Now, my boys love this time of year as I tend to bake more...they translate autumn with the smells of my pumpkin bread or apple crisp. In Wisconsin, we truly have magnificent colors this year due to the late summer rains. Autumn colors in rich hues inspire me.

I love hosting my Fabulous Fall Stamp Camp. At this year's stamp camp, my customers made three cards and a 3D item.

I wanted to show a different fall color palette for one of the cards so I used Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, and Blue Bayou. WOW...it was a fabulous combination.

I then showed my stampers how to do the filmstrip technique. Easy to do and great way to stamp a silly card!

I also tried a different card format made very popular on recent blogs - the tent card. I love this new style and came up with lots of different versions.

The 3D item was a Trident Gum Packet. A big hit - so easy and adaptable to many different occasions.

All of the cards from the Fabulous Fall Stamp Camp have been uploaded to my stamped art gallery. I even posted the other samples I shared with my stampers - you can check them out here: http://www.stampwithjane.com/stampcampgalleryfabfall2007.html

September Technique Tuesday Class

Last week I held my September Technique Tuesday class. Another FULL HOUSE this month - and my stampers were thrilled with the techniques, color combos, finished cards, and their ability to quickly complete the projects!

I showed my stampers how to do the faux aging technique, the brayered bleach technique, and the rolling marble technique. Here was one of my favorites using Serene Sunflower and the faux aging paper technique:

All of the cards from the Technique Tuesday class have been uploaded to my stamped art gallery. I even posted the other samples I shared with my stampers - you can check them out here:

http://www.stampwithjane.com/techniquetuesday92007.html

Just Punchy Stamp Camp Sample Slide Show

New Holiday Mini Collection

Stampin' Up!'s new Holiday Mini Collection should be showing up in your mailboxes. WOW! Besides the fabulous new stamp sets, wheels, ribbons, and accessories, did you know that ALL THE STAMP SETS IN THIS MINI COLLECTION ARE DIE CUT!!!! This will save stampers valuable time in mounting their stamps. As a demonstrator, I take pride in trimming my stamp sets very close to the image. I did not need to trim off any excess on the stamp sets.

At my Technique Tuesday class last week, I showed my customers a die-cut set from the new Holiday Mini Collection. They were impressed too!

What did I purchase from the Holiday Mini Collection (so far)? The Snow Jumbo Wheel (I collect snowmen so this was a must), Holy Triptych, Silver Elastic Cord, Holiday Harmony Double-Sided Designer Paper, Mini Library Clips, Autumn Apparitions, and the Autumn Leaves Wheel.

I've already uploaded several examples of the Autumn Apparitions stamp set to my stamped art gallery:

http://www.stampwithjane.com/autumnapparitions.html

Let me know what you think!

Becoming Jane

For those who know me, you already know I am a Jane Austen fanatic or rather a Janeite. For those of you who don't know me, well...now you do. When I was deciding about joining the blogging world, I even pondered if Jane Austen would have blogged.

Becoming Jane hit only a few small theatres in major movie cities. I had almost lost any hope that my small Wisconsin town (West Bend) would bring this movie about Jane Austen's life to me (well, before NETFLIX would get to it).

To my genuine surprise, I found out it is coming to my town this weekend...and bonus points for me...my husband has plans with my boys all weekend!

I love movies, but rarely go to the movie theatres - especially since NETFLIX. I am treating myself today and hope to get swept away by the story of my literary heroine!

My First Technique Tuesday Class

Because my customers keep asking for more ideas and stamping events, I started a new event with the 2007-2008 Fall/Winter Collection. On one Tuesday each month, I will be hosting a Technique Tuesday stamping class in my home. For only $5.00, my customers will get to make 3 different cards using techniques I will teach them!

As a bonus for my customers, when they attend their first Technique Tuesday class, I will be handing out one pack of my card sample protectors so they can keep the instructions with the cards they make! Here is a scan of my card protectors -

It was a FULL HOUSE this month - and my stampers were thrilled with the techniques, color combos, finished cards, and their ability to quickly complete the projects!

I posted the 3 cards from the Technique Tuesday class to my stamped art gallery - you can check them out here:

http://www.stampwithjane.com/techniquetuesday82007.html

My Christmas in July Stamp Camp

I have finally uploaded my Christmas in July Stamp Camp samples on my stamped art gallery site.

You can check them out here -

www.stampwithjane.com/stampcampgalleryjulychristmas2007.html

I hosted three evenings filled with happy stampers!

Christmas in July

I was busy the last couple of weeks designing projects and hosting my Christmas in July stamp camp. This year, I had to hold it on three evenings for my eager stampers. We had lots of fun stamping for Christmas in 90 degree weather! Because the new catalog just came out, I used all new Christmas sets for the stamp camp. There are so many fabulous stamp sets in the new catalog!!! Well, after the stamp camp, I still had some remaining pieces left, so I began playing with my older sets and created new samples using the designs from the stamp camp.

Here is a sample using one of my all-time favorites stamp sets - Loads of Love!

I'll be posting my Christmas in July samples on my gallery website today! I'll post the link here when I am finished!

Yappy Day Projects

I'm involved in a group called "VC Rocks" - Virtual Convention Rocks. I was introduced to this group the first year I couldn't actually go to Stampin' Up!'s convention. We share the excitement of the new catalog, participate in swaps and classes, and chit-chat about our stamping and other-than-stamping lives. One of opportunities you can participate in is a Roomie Swap. You send RAKs back and forth and then you send a Roomie Box at the end. My roomie this year is a Stampin' Up! demo who is also a vet. Now, I don't own any pets, but I am partial to dogs (my sister's family has had 2 Golden Retrievers - Casey who is in doggy heaven - and Colby who is just as sweet). The new Yappy Day set is one of my new favorites, and I thought it was a perfect theme for my Roomie Box.

Yesterday, I finalized some of the goodies for the Roomie Box. Here is a doggy scrapbook I made using Very Vanilla envelopes as the base. You can view more detailed instructions on my gallery website - http://www.stampwithjane.com/wowprojectsenviebook.html

Then I made some stamper treat bags with some stamping goodies inside:

Aren't those just adorable? I hope my roomie likes them!

Other Priorities

There is a big joke in my family. Actually, my mother-in-law said it first.

When my sister Margie visits from New Jersey, the world as we know it stops.

Now, keep in mind, that when my mother-in-law first said this, it wasn't very funny - it was meant to be a slam against me. Now, I have mellowed a bit and relish in this phrase.

Well, my sister and her family visited us last week...so my blog, gallery website, stamping, and everything else did halt a bit. Did you feel the world screech to a halt???

We gathered at my mom's house in Milwaukee all of last week and enjoyed being together. My sister even came to my book club meeting (a real treat). My nephew Matt wanted to do taste testing of various hamburger joints in Milwaukee. We tasted some of the best - Kopp's and Gilles. He was partial to Kopp's. One more place I would have loved to have taken him was Solly's (if you're ever in Milwaukee, you have to try this place), but time ran out.

During Margie's last visit, the sisters started a new tradition - going out on the town all by ourselves - no husbands, parents, or kids. This time we did it again and had a fabulous time, and we even did some business brainstorming (all captured on a cocktail napkin).

My sisters are just the best. We were good to one another as kids for the most part (Yes, Mary I am truly sorry about how I unintentionally duped you regarding the paper route), but as adults I consult them above everyone else and treasure them dearly.

Both of them are so passionate about their lives and their families. I wish I had daughters to see this cycle continue, but I am passing down this love of family to my three boys. They will be best friends forever too.

Working With My New Stamp Sets

I've been working with my new stamp sets to get some swaps sent in the mail.

I absolutely LOVE Baroque Motifs...it is so elegant! I'll be using this set quite a bit this year! I've done lots more with it, but this is one of my swaps:

I really love the little tag with the gel pen flower center! This card scanned a bit goofy - there is no vellum on the top or bottom.

Year After Year will also be a great stamp set to use. It reminds everyone of Sketch an Event, but what I like about Year After Year is the images are larger so they fill more focus space. Sketch an Event was almost too small to grab attention on a card. Here's another swap I did:

I know my customers LOVE to use Dazzling Diamonds so I covered the present with it.

I have uploaded a few more samples on my gallery site - and will be posting more this weekend.

The Retired Accessories List

Well, another big day in the life of a stamper! The 2006-2007 Retired Accessory List is out.

Some of the items included in the list will actually still be offered in the new catalog, but just in different quantities or assortments. These are:

• Select Individual Color Packs of 12" x 12" Card Stock
• Confetti White & Kraft Tiny Takeout Boxes and Tags
• Select Embossing Powder Colors
• Select 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon Colors
• Corner Rounder Punch

Well, I am amazed at the number of ink cartridges, ribbons, designer papers, and the Pearl Ex/Lumiere that will be discontinued. However, now I am really anxious to see the new products and maybe a reworking of some items in the new catalog!

My Stamping Goodies Arrived

Yeah - my new stamping goodies came on Friday afternoon - the UPS man was even early!!!!

MY FAVORITE SET

Love Wild Wasabi!

The chipboard is 8" x 8"!

New Brads - great news - 2 different sizes in the squares; 3 different sizes in circles!

Today's the Day!!!!! - Fair Warning to UPS Drivers!

My 2007 Fall/Winter Preview preorder is coming today!! If you are one of my customers, you should be receiving the 2007 Fall/Winter Preview in your mail very soon. Several new stamp sets, the new In Colors, and lots of fun accessories are showcased!

Usually my UPS man comes around 6:00 pm. I hope and pray today is different so I can get my stamps and accessories a little earlier!!!

I wonder if the UPS drivers' wives know how desirable they are to SU demos! Some of us basically STALK the front door waiting to hear them drive up and leave our packages. This is especially true when it comes to new catalogs! Now that we will be having 2 catalogs, we'll have another day in December to freak them out!

Some years I have baked goodies or prepared a cool drink on catalog arrival day. It is cool once again in Wisconsin after the storms came through so I might get to bake. I also never forget my UPS man at Christmas! He always gets a great tip from me!

Once the package comes, I will try to be patient long enough to take some pictures and post to this site...

My Plan for Today - Swap Central

What is on my schedule for today?

I've got to pick up my stamping area so I can get back to stamping! Once I have cleaned up the clutter, it is time to get busy cutting cardstock. I've been ordering lots and lots of cardstock to get ready for all the swaps I have signed up for! My cardstock bins are bursting at the seams!

Since I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I prepurchased a few stamp sets from the Fall/Winter 2007 Collection preview. I did that yesterday morning at about 4:00 am. I hope to see the new products in my hands by late next week. I am very excited about the introduction of some new phrase sets (love the fonts) and a stamp set called Baroque Motifs. It reminds me of Carte Postale (still hope that one makes it into the new Collection).

I also can't wait to see firsthand some of the new colors - Wild Wasabi may become a favorite!

Well, better get moving and cleaning!

Still Working Out Some Blogging Extras

Hi everyone~

I have been trying to add a slide show to the blog...but haven't had any luck. I wanted to post my other examples from my Just Punchy stamp camp here. I will post one of the favorite cards though until I can get it resolved.
Isn't that frog adorable? I found using the 2-way glue pen was easiest when applying those tiny punches.

If you want to see more of the samples from this stamp camp, check out my stamped art gallery - www.stampwithjane.com/stampcampgalleryjustpunchy2007.html

Have a great Memorial Day!

Happy Mother's Day

If you are one of my customers who attends my stamp camps, you probably have met my mom. She usually joins my Monday night group whenever she can, and she always is happy to bring a treat to share to help me out.

Doesn't matter that she is 45 miles away or if it has snowed or if she has other things to do - she comes and assists in any way she can.

When I started my demonstratorship in 2000, I really just wanted the discount and didn't plan on doing many events. Well, that certainly has changed...I do an average of 2 events each month at my home (each with 2 consecutive nights). My mother's support has always been something I can count on. She cheers me on in her quiet way and truly understands what effort I put into my business. After seven years, she still rallies behind and next to me...and her stamping ability is something we are both proud of!

At one of my first stamp camps 2003~

Mom is facing the camera on the right side.

Thanks Mom for all you do! I love you!

In Full Bloom Simply Scrappin' Stamp A Stack

I recently held a Stamp A Stack using the In Full Bloom Simply Scrappin' Kit. This is such a fabulous kit. My customers made 20 cards (5 different cards, 4 of each). They were simple yet attractive.

Sadly, this Simply Scrappin' Kit will probably not return with the new Fall/Winter Collection as the stamp set will be retired.

Here is one of the cards the stampers made~


All the cards we made and other designs I came up with are uploaded to my stamped art gallery website - www.stampwithjane.com.

2007 Retirement List

Well, as I have said on this blog...May 1st is usually an exciting time for SU demos and customers alike.

The 2007 retirement list is out (see left column for a link - it will take a while to load). With over 585 stamp sets and wheels available during this year alone, Stampin' UP! retired about half of them (292 stamp sets and wheels) so far. The mini-catalog stamp sets or wheels that have been retired will not be announced until the unveiling of the new catalog.

In years past, I have usually "lost" between 20-30 stamp sets. This year's list was a true purging of old and tired sets (some have been in the catalog for over 10 years). My loss this year is 58 stamp sets and 14 wheels - double what I would usually lose. So I do feel a bit like I have been punched in the stomach with the retirement of some of the more recent stamp sets to my collection. I have been anxious and excited for this day to come - as for me it is a real spring cleaning. However, letting go of some of my new favorites is harder than in previous years...PETAL PRINTS? GIFTS OF JOY? (I loved that Santa) ALL NATURAL? NATURAL BEAUTY? SPORTING GOODS? CLASSIC PICKUPS?(my boys have their eye on this one) There are many more I will miss but knew their time was up.

These were my standbys...thank goodness Lovely as a Tree is still with us. I am looking forward to the new sets (and hopefully lots of masculine/boys sets that aren't too cutesy!), but today I am just a bit shell-shocked.

Nearing 1,000 Hits!

I cannot believe it. This blog is nearing the 1,000 hit mark! This blog has only been "live" for 3 weeks.

I am hoping all who are visiting the blog are enjoying the posts. There is a lot of excitement brewing with the new catalog.

Thanks to all of you who have left comments or have emailed me. Your kind words have humbled me!

The Retirement List is Coming!

The retirement list is coming out tomorrow. Oh my gosh...I love this time of year! Demos have been itching to see the list. Will our favorite tried and true sets be on the list this year? Will SU finally get rid of those sets we just are tired of? Which mini-catalog sets will make it and which ones won't??? Which new sets from this year's catalog just didn't sell well enough to stay?

And this is just the beginning...the retired accessories list is coming out in June!

I love the cleaning out process. My customers love to purchase my used sets, and I truly enjoy clearing out my bins for the new stamp sets coming our way in July!

Looking through my card samples and separating out the retiring samples is also exciting to me. Usually my mom and my younger sister receive a bunch of them. My customers also love to get samples of the retired sets they buy. I sometimes find samples to re-use by just taking off the main retired focal point. I keep a box of these to play with when the new catalog stamp sets come in.

New Chipboard Products

Want to see the new chipboard products?

Stamping with Chipboard

You may have already heard that Stampin' Up! will be bringing out some new chipboard designs. If you haven't used chipboard in your stamping, WHY NOT?

No, really...chipboard is so fabulous to work with. The dimension you can add to your stamped art creations is spectacular!

I recently did a Chipboard Stamp Camp. There are so many ways to decorate chipboard - craft ink, Pearl Ex, Lumiere, and patterned paper to name a few. My favorite way to decorate chipboard is with patterned paper. Here is an example of one of the items created at my Chipboard Stamp Camp:

Distressing the edges of the covered chipboard is easy with Stampin' Up!'s sanding blocks. Check out my stamp camp gallery (www.geocities.com/stampwithjane) for more examples from my Chipboard Stamp Camp.

New In Colors

Stampin' Up! introduced the new In Color line in 2006. Each year, they plan on retiring these colors (there are 6 In Colors) and introducing new colors. This is a great way to appease the trendy-types of colors that come in and out of product lines. For 2006-2007, Stampin' Up! brought us Buckaroo Blue, Cool Caribbean, Cranberry Crisp, Marigold Morning, True Thyme, and Vintage Violet. These were fabulous colors to work with...I will miss Cranberry Crisp the most!

Through the web "grapevine", names of the new colors were shared....they are really going with food shades this year! The new In Colors for 2007-2008 are as follows:

Blue Bayou, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock, Soft Sky, and Wild Wasabe.

Plus, they have announced there will also be another neutral Basic Grey. This will be waterproof like the Basic Black and Basic Brown.

Just the names themselves have demos excited...this time of year is always fun watching for new products and stamp sets being revealed through demo and industry publications!!!

But what is in a name? I have uploaded a picture from a demo who shared this on one of my email groups. It may be difficult for everyone to see - hopefully, you'll enjoy the glimpse of what is coming!

Using Stamp Camp Leftovers

It's been a while since I posted...but I have been stamping like crazy! I have been designing items (mostly cards) using sets from the mini-catalog, Doodle This/Doodle That and Office Accoutrement. Spring flowers are growing in my samples as well as in my garden!

When I host stamping events in my home, I tend to cut too much cardstock. So my stamping area sometimes gets dumped on after an event. As I am anxious to start something new, I see the piles of extra cardstock, ribbons, or accessories. Leftovers again??? I think to myself. Hmm, this sounds like when I make too much chicken for dinner, and I am the only one eating it after the second meal.

What I usually do with my leftovers is make the cards for my own personal card stash - and I'll send some of these cards to customers for their birthdays (well, at least those who didn't attend the Stamp A Stack!).

However, after this Spring Stamp A Stack, I had lots of the Petals designer paper (with the pretty So Saffron and White flowers) cut. I was getting bored with the same card, so I wanted to strike out a new stamping path. So I put to the side some of the pieces, and then I brought in pieces from other leftover projects...like that Cool Caribbean cardstock and the Chocolate Chip (which I seem to use very often this year). Well, just playing around with those pieces made a new color combo jump out at me. I just couldn't get enough! Here is one example using this new color combo (for me) and a new card format (again, for me):


I hope you like the color combo too!

Stamping with a New Stamp Set

After stamping with Polka Dots & Paisley all last month, I finally rewarded myself to stamping with another new set from the Spring Mini-Catalog - Doodle This. I spent most of yesterday creating new cards and projects. This is one of my favorites.It is a departure from my usual designs...my card designs tend to go the rectangular route.

I used the Spring Showers Paper (which is so pretty), some cream ribbon, and a small ribbon charm from the Hodgepodge Hardware kit. I know many of you are saying to yourself "I never knew it had a name!" Well, guess what, I didn't know the specific name until I read my demonstrator-only Stampin' Success magazine this week. If you come to my Just Punchy Stamp Camp next month, I'll be sharing the list of Hodgepodge Hardware names from Stampin' Up! headquarters.

I'll be sharing lots more designs as the week goes on...this has become a new favorite set!

Watch for Stamping Posts

Procrastination...is it just me? My taxes were due to our accountant, and although I had done lots of the prep work, I just didn't want to start finalizing my computer entries. So what did I do instead of my taxes?

Research blog sites and blog hosts, mock up a blog, finalize a blog, write two posts for a blog (including a lengthy online search for a decent Jane Austen picture), add some cool items to the blog, check the blog about 20 times for traffic numbers...and that is just time in front of the computer!

I am now finished with my taxes so I can devote more time to this blog and get it uploaded with great stamping ideas and samples.

What are you procrastinating?

Would Jane Austen Blog?

Ok, so I started my blog...and I really love the ease of Blogger. But it got me thinking...given the same set of circumstances...would Jane Austen blog?

I belong to a fabulous book club. We are going on 17 years together. Many of the women I have known for over 35 years. We started this book club a few years after college as we didn't want our brains to turn to mush. This was before Oprah started her book club-we didn't realize we were trend setters. Together, we have shared loves and losses, marriages and divorces, babies and miscarriages, in-laws, parenting issues, deaths of family members, new career choices, and now we are all dealing with caring for our aging parents. These women have helped me through some of the roughest parts of my adulthood thus far.

Many authors have become favorites in our book club (or BBC to its members). My favorite author is Jane Austen. Her writing style and her story lines transcend time. I still remember reading Pride and Prejudice in college and writing a very lengthy report on the novel. This novel is responsible for my changing majors in my junior year from Social Work to English. To this day, I still relish reading the novel (and watching the BBC/Colin Firth version whenever I have 8 hours of free time).

So to get back to my question...would Jane Austen blog?

You know what...I think so. In the few novels she did write and publish, she had so much to say about society as a whole and the society she lived in. She may even have had some great party pictures uploaded to her own blog, sent video clips to YouTube showcasing the new dances at Pemberley, or added a link to Emma's own match.com site.

Anniversary Challenge

While updating my stamped art gallery earlier this month, I realized I reached my fifth year of hosting a web gallery. I could hardly believe it! Where has the time gone?

I have seen many changes in the world wide web since I started...Even my very own site has been through a couple of major overhauls - I altered the focus over the years from being a gallery of hundreds of stamping artists to now being truly my gallery for my stamped art (with a few exceptions of course). I also did a major design overhaul about 18 months ago. Still a few blips, but overall, I really like the design of this site.

So on this momentous five-year anniversary of my stamped art gallery site, I wanted to challenge myself. And really, the one challenge I have been agonizing over is TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG...

So I have decided to become a blogger. I love to write, and I also LOVE to talk about stamping so this just seems like the logical next step.

Welcome on my journey to nowhere in particular...enjoy the ride!