Tax Holiday!

Good news! An upcoming tax holiday in Missouri during August 1-3, 2008 will allow you to get a break on sales tax for up to $50.00 per item for items that qualify as school supplies. Following is a list of Stampin’ Up! products that fall into this category that you can purchase on these dates TAX-FREE.

Please contact me with your order no later than Sunday, Aug. 3 to receive any of the following items up to $50.00 TAX-FREE!

Various, Stampin' Write Markers, $3.25 (pgs. 163-165)
101879, Watercolor Pencils, $19.95 (pg. 183)
100745, Pencil Sharpener, $4.95 (pg. 183)
105542, Stampin' Pastels, $24.95 (pg. 183)
106695, Bold Brights Watercolor Wonder Crayons, $19.95 (pg. 183)
106696, Earth Elements Watercolor Wonder Crayons, $19.95 (pg. 183)
106698, Rich Regals Watercolor Wonder Crayons, $19.95 (pg. 183)
106697, Soft Subtles Watercolor Wonder Crayons, $19.95 (pg. 183)
106746, Neutrals Watercolor Wonder Crayons, $9.95 (pg. 183)
101120, Metallic Art Pencils, $19.95 (pg. 183)
100271, Pure Color Pencils, $19.95 (pg. 183)
102673, ZIG Painty, $6.50, (pg. 183)
105394, Basic Black Stampin’ Write Journaler, $3.25 (pg. 183)
109123, Basic Brown Stampin’ Write Journaler, $3.25 (pg. 183)
105021, uni-ball Signo Gel Pen, $3.95 (pg. 183)
103179, Craft & Rubber Scissors, $19.95 (pg. 184)
103579, Paper Snips, $9.95 (pg. 184)
108360, Craft & Paper Scissors, $29.95 (pg. 184)
101399, Stipple Brushes, $6.95 (pg. 185)
102845, Blender Pens, $9.95 (pg. 185)
100425, 2-Way Glue Pen, $3.50 (pg. 186)
103305, Dotto, $12.95 (pg. 186)
100902, Dotto Refill, $6.50, (pg. 186)
104332, SNAIL Adhesive, $6.95 (pg. 186)
104331, SNAIL Refill, $4.50 (pg. 186)
104294, Sticky Strip, $6.95 (pg. 186)
103683, Mini Glue Dots, $4.95 (pg. 186)
104183, Pop-Up Glue Dots, $3.95 (pg. 186)
104430, Stampin' Dimensionals, $3.95 (pg. 186)
104045, Anywhere Glue Stick, $3.95 (pg. 186)
110755, Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive, $3.95 (pg. 186)
106694, Stampin' Kids Markers, $7.95 (pg. 194)

Retired Accessories Sale!

For the first time ever, Stampin' Up! is offering selected retired accessories at 25% off.

The sale starts Monday, July 21 and includes a variety of designer series paper, ribbon and rub-ons! As a scrapper (and paper-hoarder) I'm very excited about this sale!

View the flyer here.

I'll Miss You "So Much"

Our next class will be Monday, July 21! We'll be making a card and a double-page 12x12 scrapbook layout using Stampin' Up's "So Much" stamp set. This stamp set is among those on the retired list and will no longer be available after Aug. 10. We'll also be using some of the 2007-2008 "In Colors" which are also retiring next month. I'm so sad to see these colors go. Soft sky and River Rock are definitely my favorites. Which "In Color" is your favorite? Be sure to stock up before they retire. Check out the retiring list below and be sure to contact me to place your order if you don't want to miss out on any of your favorite retiring stamp sets.

SALE

From now until August 10 (or while supplies last). Stampin' Up is offering 25% off all Hodgepodge Hardware kits! Normally $27.95 they are now on sale for $20.96. Contact me to place your order!

Introducing Decor Elements!

More and more people are using Stampin’ Up!’s® rubber stamps and accessories to customize their home. Because of this demand, Stampin’ Up! is now offering additional coordinating home décor products for making customized personal space easy, cost effective and flexible. Stampin’ Up! is adding a new product to the Definitely Decorative® product line by introducing wall graphics, expressions, and lettering. The new product, Décor Elements™, is available now!

I have so many good ideas for this new product line from Stampin' Up! I plan on making a monogramed mirror for our entryway. Decor Elements are great for those who rent their homes because they are removable! Click here to view the Decor Elements brochure.

Retired List

The Spring/Summer 2008 Retired List is here. The sets on this list are only available through Aug. 10, 2008. Click on the link below to view the list.
http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Retired_Lists_0608_US_N.pdf

Tart-N-Tangy Class

I fell in love with these summery cards the first time I saw them on Andrea Walford's blog. She is so creative. Anyone who knows me knows that I love strawberries, so I had to have this stamp set when I saw it in the Occassions Mini. Catalog. I think these cards are an adorable way to have strawberries all year 'round.

We'll be making this card set at my next class, Monday, May 19. The Tart-n-Tangy Card set includes ten cards (two each of five designs) and a matching box that you can use for storage or gift giving. I think they would make a perfect "Thank You" gift for a teacher. I'm going to make several for myself to keep on hand for those times I need to send a quick note.

These are not standard size cards. They are 5"x 31/2" note cards. I had so much fun working with this size card. You can get a lot of cards from one package of designer series paper and they come with the envelopes!

Stampin' Scrub Tutorial

I have friends that are new to stamping. That's the good news. The bad news? They don't live close enough that I can show them in person all the great tips and tricks I've learned from my wonderful friend Jan and from all the generous stampers out there who share their creativity and knowledge via websites and blogs.
In order to help any new stampers out there learn some stamping basics I'll periodically post tutorials here that you can refer to whenever you want. Let me know if there are any techniques you would like to see featured.
This first tutorial is about cleaning your stamps. It's important to clean your stamps so that you don't mix colors either on paper or on your stamp pads and your stamps will stay in great condition longer.

Supplies needed: Stampin' Scrub, Stampin' Mist

Refer to page 184 of the Stampin' Up Spring/Summer 2008 catalog to see these items. I've added a link to the online catalog on the upper left.

First, lightly spray one side of the Stampin' Scrub with mist and leave the other side dry. (Two symbols are on the inside of the tray. An umbrella indicates the dry side, raindrops represent the wet side.) Stampin' Mist cleans and conditions your stamps. Next, scrub your stamp on the damp pad then scrub it on the dry pad to remove any leftover ink or moisture. After several uses you will need to rinse your Stampin' Scrub pads. Do not place in the dishwaher! Simply remove the pads from the holder and rinse under water, use paper towels or a dry cloth to soak up most of the water and then let air dry before replacing back into the holder.
I stamped for a long time before I used my Stampin' Scrub and Mist, but I am much happier now that I use them. It makes clean up so much easier.

2008 Flooding

We have had tremendous amounts of rain lately which has led to flooding. The dam has had to open all ten of it's flood gates for several days. We enjoyed the nice weather today and visited the dam to see this rare site.

Sneak Peek!

Today I've got a sneak peek for you, but first an exciting announcement. Starting today, I can accept your credit card as payment for Stampin' Up product orders! This is a great new feature that Stampin' Up is offering so that you have more payment options when ordering.

Now for that sneak peek. When I attended Stampin' Up regionals in March I had a chance to earn a free stamp set. I qualified for the stamp set and received it last week. Here's the exciting part. It's from the yet-to-be-released Fall/Winter 2008 catalog! This stamp set won't be available until August 2008. But I've made a sample so that you can get a peek at what's coming this fall. Enjoy!

I am so excited! Today I had a card featured on Stamper's Showcase. Stamper's Showcase is a section of the Stampin' Up Demonstrator Website that features six to seven cards each day that have been submitted by demonstrators. I submitted my card at the Tulsa Regionals. At events like Regionals you can make several cards and participate in swaps with other stampers. Stampin' Up places a basket for you to give them a card as well. I thought these card were only considered for the display boards they use at other events. I had no idea that they took these cards back to their corporate headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT to consider placing on Stamper's Showcase. I look at Stamper's Showcase every day to get new ideas for cards/scrapbook pages. I was very pleasantly surprised this morning to see my card online. It is the one and only card I've ever submitted!!

This card uses all supplies from Stampin' Up! Kraft, Wild Wasabi and Whisper White Cardstock, Soft Sky designer series paper, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi and Versamark Ink, Wild Wasabi stitched grosgrain ribbon

Carousel Notes Purse Album

Our project for April is amazingly adorable and I think you will agree. When I found this idea by Jan Tink at http://www.stampspaperscissors.typepad.com/ I had to change my plans for April's class so that we wouldn't miss the opportunity to make a great gift for Mother's day and/or graduation.

We will be making a purse-album from the carousel notes and envelopes that are featured in Stampin' Up's Occasions Mini 2008 catalog. If you don't have a copy just click the link on the left of the screen and you will be able to view it online. Items in the mini catalog are available through May 31, 2008. Along with our Carousel Notes Purse Album we'll be making two matching cards that you can use for Mother's day or any other occasion. This project was so much fun to put together and I can't wait to share it with you.

March Mini-Albums

My first two Stampin' Up classes have been a lot of fun. We've made all-occasion and Valentine's Day cards. This month we're focusing on scrapbooking. We're making two mini-albums from a Simply Scrappin' Kit and we'll have enough materials left over to make a lot more. I got four more 6x6 pages and some cards from my leftovers. I'm so excited about all of the upcoming classes I have planned, I can't wait to show you the projects.

Stampin' Up has announced that with the purchase of certain stamp sets, you receive the matching Stampin' Wheel for free! This special is good through April 30th.

Another great deal is the Hostess Special. Now through April 30th if your workshop total is $350.00 or more, you receive and extra $25.00 in free product!

Last Comic Standing

Chris just got home from auditioning in Nashville, TN for the television show "Last Comic Standing". He made it through three rounds and had a blast doing it. He has a lot of new experiences under his belt and a lot of fun stories to tell. Look for him on NBC this summer or fall.