It's finally here!!!

Good morning everyone! It is finally here! The brand spankin' new 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! catalog! Woohoo!! I have put a link to the catalog right over there -----> for your viewing pleasure. What the heck... I'll put it right here as well!

There are so many things I love about the new catalog such as the amazing art work throughout. I want to CASE everything in it! So many beautiful things! I also love the new stamp sets with coordinating dies such as the Floral Frames dies on page 191 that coordinate with the stamp set Daydream Medallions on page 117. Lucky me... this is one of the stamp sets I will be getting when I go to convention next month. Can't wait!! No seriously... I can't wait, gosh it is going to be hard not to go bananas and order everything I want today!

(Taking some calming breaths.....) Phew, I gotta get a grip! Haha!

Something else that is super exciting that Stampin' Up! is rolling out with the new catalog... a very exciting opportunity for those of you thinking about becoming demonstrators. For the first time ever you can become a demonstrator for just $99 (and you'll get $125 worth of product for that price!) And the best part, wait for it... the starter kit is 100% customizable! So if your wish list is $99 or greater... whose isn't!?! well you can get $125 worth of product for just $99... did I mention you will get free shipping on your starter kit? Seriously, this is a no brainer! And just in case this isn't an awesome enough deal for you already, you will get a 30% discount on your first order you place as a new demonstrator. If this is something you are interested in doing or knowing more about just send me an email and we can talk about it further. I would LOVE for you to join my team!

I think that is enough enthusiasm for one morning. I'll just share a card with you real quick and be on my way.

I created this card for the make and take for my catalog launch party I am having on Saturday. I have used the Comfort Cafe dsp, Layered Labels stamp set with coordinating dies (again!), I added some texture to the card front with the Stripes embossing folder. I doubt you can see from the picture but I actually stamped and cut out two of the Midnight Muse frames. On the first one I added a sentiment from the Petite Pairs stamp set which I stamped in Summer Starfruit and punched out with the large oval punch. For the second one I punched out the oval from the center and then layered it over the first frame with pop dots, I love the way that turned out and will be playing with that idea more in the near future I am sure! For the finishing touch I added wood like button tied with linen thread. I wanted something simple so my stampers can spend most of their time looking at the new catalog, checking out my card samples I have made using the new products and eating the yummy lunch I am preparing for them. I am really looking forward to it!

Well thank you so much for stopping by today and I applaud you if you have made it to the end of this rambling post.

~Sara~

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday everyone, and a happy belated Mother's Day to all of you moms out there too!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It sure was lovely weather here in Howell, Michigan. Daniel and I had a great time working on our "To Do" list over the weekend, probably because it included lounging around at Art Van on various love seat recliners, had to test them all out before making our decision! We currently have two black leather recliners in our living room sitting side by side with a small table between them. We were wanting a reclining love seat so we can sit riiiiight next to each other instead... we are just kind of touchy feely like that I guess! So Wednesday the new piece of furniture will be delivered... yippee!! If I remember I will take before and after pictures to share with you.

We also shopped for some new pans, inquired about fixing our garage door, which we fixed by ourselves. Nothing too exciting, some how the sensor that prevents the door from closing if something is in the way got bumped so it wouldn't close. It still counts as a check off of the "To Do" list though in my book!  We also spent some time in our current recliners watching movies. We saw The Thing, which was dumb and a tiny bit scary... mostly dumb, and we saw Milk which we both really liked. I decided I am a big fan of James Franco and Sean Penn... both tremendously talented actors!

Ok, on to this weeks Mojo Monday sketch.

Before I even saw the sketch I knew I was going to use this new Be of Good Cheer designer series paper. It was the only new sneak peek paper from the brand spankin' new 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! catalog that I hadn't used yet so that was an easy decision.  I also knew I wanted to incorporate a few more of the new things I purchased from the sneak peek, take a look!

Isn't that a lovely label I have used for my focal image? It is from a new set called Layered Labels. My favorite thing about this stamp set is that it coordinates with the new Apothecary Accents framelit dies!! Yippee, I didn't have to cut that out by hand! Also, the stamp I used actually says "For You" in the center of it but since it coordinates perfectly with the large oval punch I was able to stamp the sentiment from Petite Pairs and punch it out to layer on my label.... so cool! I created a rosette to put under my label, then added a little row of sticky strip around the outer edge (before assembling) then dipped the edge in Dazzling Diamonds glitter, it really turned out pretty. I used the four petal flower from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack to create the tiny flowers, curled them up a bit and added a small pearl to the center of them. I really love this new paper, I think I will get a lot of use out of it this holiday season! This card will be part of my Christmas in July stamp-a-stack. I'll post the others as soon as I have created them.

Have a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by!

~Sara~