Christmas in July Stamp Camp

Last night I held my annual Christmas in July Stamp Camp which featured retiring stamp sets. My stamp campers made four cards. This one was my personal favorite.

I love the Peaceful Wishes stamp set; however, instead of using the berry stamp, I used the top of a pencil so I had more freedom of placement. I also liked how I used the Hodgepodge Hardware with the ribbon. The bottom phrase is embossed. I will miss the Purely Pomegranate color when it retires in August. This was a 5.25x5.25 card - it was the crowd favorite too!

To get my stampers in the mood, I played Christmas music and made Christmas cookies. My family's favorite cookie - peanut blossoms (peanut butter cookies with a Hershey's Kiss) was also a big hit. My husband thinks I make the best ones - they do always turn out perfect!

Thanks to my customers who attended last night!

My Ponderings on the 2008 Stamp Set Retirement List

With each new catalog, there is some sadness in seeing previous favorite stamp sets hit the dust so to speak. This new retirement list is no different.

As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, it is in my best interest to showcase stamp sets that are available to purchase. That is why I rarely keep retired stamp sets. I do hold on to a very few (I can count 8 stamp sets I have saved since 2000 - mainly religious and children/school related). I also have a customer garage sale that is always a huge hit. My customers get first dibs on my retired stamp sets. I then list the ones that didn't sell on my website garage sale (we are not allowed to sell the stamp sets until they are retired).

What will I miss from this year's retired list?

Happy Camper - this one was so fun to work with, but I had always hoped there would be a phrase accessory stamp set

Yappy Day - although I do not have a dog, I really enjoyed working with this set

Unfroggettable - Perfect set for those in-between kid cards

Peaceful Wishes - I thought this set was so elegant - it was one of the few non-snow holiday stamp sets I had!

Touch of Nature - I especially loved the Shakespeare phrase in this set

Although I will miss these stamp sets, I know Stampin' Up! has many new and exciting stamp sets that I will love with the new catalog!