I have been doing very little card-making in the last 6 weeks.  Instead I've been sorting through various belongings, discarding what I can as we get ready to move to Melbourne, Australia.

 I did prep a couple of cards for the class I co-taught with Nickie this week, and I'll get around to showing you those soon.  Today I'd like to share a project that I added on at the last minute, thanks to my dad.  He sent me a link to an article about Senator Dick Durbin from Illinois visiting kids in Chicago making cards of support and encouragement to send to immigrant children being detained apart from their parents, which included an address to which people could send cards.

So I offered class participants the opportunity to make a card and I am sending them in for distribution.  I gave them limited supplies:  Very Vanilla Note Cards & Envelopes, Pretty Kitty, Bella & Friends, and Party Pandas stamp sets, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pens.  Here's what we made:

I used Google Translate to come up with 3 sentiments in Spanish:
"Thinking of you."
"The Americans are with you".
"Hope your family is reunited soon."

If you'd like to send a/some card(s) here's the address:
UAC/ORR Program
ATTN: Cards for Kids
330 C Street, SW
5th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20201

Last Friday I hosted a gathering for my customers and team members.  I think everyone had a fund time making 3 cards, chatting, and eating an "afternoon tea".  As usual, I forgot to get pictures until towards the end.

Here are the cards we made:

This one featured a returning stamp set, Happy Birthday, Gorgeous.  The wreath of flowers and leaves was made using the Stamparatus stamp positioning tool and a template for positioning the card stock to stamp in multiple rotations.  I CASE'd it from Dawn Olchefske.  We used Coastal Cabana, the lovely aqua color that is making its return from a few years ago, as well as Flirty Flamingo that transitioned from being an InColor the last two years to a member of the Brights family.  Also, the leaf is in Lemon Lime Twist, which we get to enjoy as an InColor for another year.

This card features the fabulous new stamp set, Lilypad Lake.  Love the images and the matching Framelits!  I CASE'd it from Windy Ellard, who CASE'd it from another artist, LOL!  The colors on this card are Pool Party (Subtles), with Berry Burst and Lemon Lime Twist (both 2017-19 InColors), along with Memento Tuxedo Black.

And last, but not least, this card shows off the new Rooted in Nature set.  I love the textures in the different leaves and tree ring!  It also features a returning InColor, Mint Macaron, as well as 2 new shades of purple:  Gorgeous Grape (Brights) and Highland Heather (Subtles).  Crumb Cake continues to be a great Neutral, and the circle of Early Espresso adds just the right balance of a deep Neutral.  This one is CASE'd from Carolina Evans, though she did a neat fancy fold with hers!

Click on any of the images below to go straight to my Stampin' Up! online store to purchase what you need to make any of these cards!  If you're ordering less than $150 please use this Host Code:  9S3JPTNV.

Due to my upcoming move I'm not certain how many more classes I'll be holding...don't miss your chance to take this one!

Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, June 10

Tuesday, June 12
6:30 - 9:00 pm in the NW Valley - Address TBA

Wednesday, June 13
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Before I get to my personal news, here's a few reminders about Stampin' Up!:

• Retiring Products are still available to order through 11:59 pm on Thursday, May 31.  
• The 2018-19 Annual Catalog goes live on Friday, June 1, no later than noon, MT. You can place your orders at my online store.
• Don't forget - the Paper Pumpkin kit will coordinate with a suite debuting in the new catalog...get your order in by June 10!

I'm both excited and sad to announce that I will be moving to Melbourne, Australia later this year, probably by the end of August.  My husband has accepted a position on the faculty of the Melbourne Business School, which is affiliated with the University of Melbourne.  

I'm excited because it is an amazing city, with a very vibrant arts community and many interesting things to do.  I'm sad, because I will be leaving many wonderful friends and customers behind.  

Some of you have known this was a possibility/probability for a while now.  Since it only became a definite thing once our immigration visas were granted earlier this week, I haven't posted it in writing on my blog or social media.

While my plan is to continue to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, company rules mean that I will have to resign my U.S. demonstratorship and re-join as an Australian one.  I fully intend to keep blogging, with both card- and Australia-related posts, so I hope you'll keep following along. I'll also keep my email address and Facebook accounts, so you might not even notice that I'm on the other side of the world, LOL!

If you'd like to learn more about Melbourne, click here to read a great article.
If you're not sure where Melbourne is located, here's a map:

Since I've know this was a probability for about 6 months now, I've been working with a member of my team, Nickie Liddy, to step up and become your go-to person.  She's already been team-teaching classes with me, and we're working together to get her all set to handle your orders and questions.  Look for more info about Nickie and how to contact her in the coming weeks.

I've had a few people join my team in the last few months...but instead of leaving them "orphaned" when I move, I had them join under Nickie.  I still consider them part of my team until I'm gone, and work with Nickie to support them fully.  Need more info?  Just let me know.

Since I am moving to the other side of the world,
I've dug even deeper than usual into my crafting stash for my
Rubber Rummage Sale on Saturday!  
Stop by between 8 am - 1 pm to get at least 50% off SU! catalog prices.
12083 E Wethersfield Dr, Scottsdale

Not in town but looking for some treasures?
Send me your shopping list
 I'll let you know what I've got and give you a shipping quote.

Yes, today is the 5th anniversary of my blog.  To celebrate, I've got pictures of my recent visit to Stampin' Up!'s manufacturing facility in Kanab, UT.  Also, there's some blog candy at the end of this post.

This rock sign is almost identical to the one found at the Home Office in Riverton, UT.  Unlike the time I visited there, I was alone at the Kanab facility (my family declined to accompany me) so I don't have a picture of me with the rock.  

The front of the facility is quite inviting...very mountain-lodge feeling.  There is a 30th anniversary flag flying, as well as decals on the doors.  I'd love to get my hands on those flower decals!

The reception area has a lot of samples made from Stampin' Up! products...though they are all several years old, LOL!

Unfortunately, I can't show you any pictures of the manufacturing sections of the facility...I wasn't allowed to take pictures there.  I did see the rubber "burning" process, where the rubber sheets are matched with the molds and heated in an oven/press to make 4 sets of stamps. The large sheets of rubber are then cut into rectangles, and then each set is die-cut.  The off-cuts of rubber are collected and shredded.  Look below to see how those shreds are used!  

I also saw the process for making the photopolymer stamps.  The stamp molds are a very large plastic sheet (maybe 5' x 3.5' to make 6-8 sets at a time?) laid on a table.  An arm sweeps over it to fill it with photopolymer "goo" (really - the technical term my guide used), then a mask is laid over it, and then a lid is closed and light is shined onto the goo.  Think a tanning bed for stamps!  Then they get washed in a separate machine, and more light curing before being cut.  

The day I was visiting there were 2 women working in the ink department filling ink bottles.  I had always envisioned a long, mechanized assembly line with hundreds of bottles of ink running through at a time.  In reality, there is a nice bit of automated machinery for filling a precise amount of ink, and for putting labels on, but bottles are hand-placed into the machines 2 at a time, and the nozzles and caps are put on by hand.  As it happened, ink pads weren't being worked on while I was there.

I did get to see some cardstock being cut on a huge, machine-powered (but human-aligned) paper cutter...all of us would love to have that machine for class prep!  I also saw the automated paper counting/stacking line that makes our paper packs in operation.  

As I love both Stampin' Up! and industrial tours of all kinds this was right up my alley!  I really enjoyed getting to meet several of the people who make our products, and to see the processes.  If you're ever passing through southern Utah I encourage you to stop in and see if you can get a tour!  

Comment on today's post no later than Wednesday, May 23 and be entered in a drawing for a mystery box of retired goodies!  Stamps, ribbon, embellishments, Designer Series Paper...who knows what assortment of stamping yumminess will show up?

Saturday, June 2
8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Stamps, dies, ribbon, embellishments, cardstock, Designer Series Paper, ink pads/refills/markers and more!  Shop early for best selection.  Cash and credit card/debit cards only.

Continuing to share the projects we made in my Brusho Technique class in April.  

I CASE'd this card from someone...but now I can't find my pin!  I'll come back and edit this post if I find it.

Anyhow, I stamped the butterfly from Beautiful Day in VersaMark 2 times on Shimmery White Cardstock, then heat embossed with White Embossing Powder.  I could have used Clear powder, but wanted to be sure that the outline would remain white even if some of the color were to bleed into the paper and get underneath the embossing.

Then, working one portion of a wing at a time, I laid down a good bit of plain water with an AquaPainter, doing my best to keep it within the butterfly outline.  Before it could dry, I sprinkled Prussian Blue and Yellow Brusho Crystals.  I let the water do its thing, and moved on to another portion.  I came back later and did a bit of blending or adding more color.

Then I spritzed the paper all over lightly with water, and surprise! there were stray color crystals all over that got activated!

Once dry, I stamped the sentiment from Thankful Thoughts in Tranquil Tide and mounted it on a card base the same color.

My next class in this series is coming up at the end of the month.  It will feature the Sweet Soiree Embellishment Kit and Designer Series Paper.  Each participant will receive their own kit and portion of a package of paper, part of which will be used in making some very pretty projects:

Because I need to order the supplies in advance, an earlier reservation deadline and prepayment will be required.

Note:  the coordinating Cake Soirées stamp set and Sweet Cake Framelits are carrying over to the new Annual Catalog, but the DSP and Embellishment kit are not.

Cost is $20 - I will send you a PayPal invoice once you RSVP or you can mail me a check.

RSVP Deadline: Sunday, May 13. 

Wednesday, May 30
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
This class is also available as a Class-in-the-Mail, with all card supplies and written directions supplied.  Send me an email to reserve your class kit.

This week I'm showing you the cards we made with the Brusho Crystal Colors powdered watercolors. 

This design was CASE'd from Jackie Bultje.  We masked about ⅓ of the piece of Watercolor paper with masking tape, adhering it to our grid paper.  We then used a DRY brush to put alternating dabs of red and blue Brusho powder along the edge of the tape.  Holding the grid paper at an angle, we spritzed the Brusho away from the tape, scattering and activating the powder.  Once it was dry we removed the mask, mounted it on an Elegant Eggplant card base and added the die cut word & rhinestones.  Jackie has a great video showing this technique in the link above.

May Monthly Card Class
Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, May 6

Tuesday, May 8
6:30 - 9:00 pm at Marilyn's house in Glendale
Wednesday, May 9
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Stamp with Me, Get it Free!
Come make some projects featuring products from the beautiful Sweet Soirée Suite (OC pp.10-13) and take home the Sweet Soirée Embellishment Kit and a partial pack of Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper! Because I need to order the supplies in advance, an earlier reservation deadline and prepayment will be required.

Note:  the coordinating Cake Soirées stamp set and Sweet Cake Framelits are carrying over to the new Annual Catalog, but the DSP and Embellishment kit are not.

Cost is $20 - I will send you a PayPal invoice once you RSVP or you can mail me a check.

RSVP Deadline: Sunday, May 13. 

Wednesday, May 30
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
This class is also available as a Class-in-the-Mail, with all card supplies and written directions supplied.  Send me an email to reserve your class kit.

Last week I finally introduced my customers to the wonder of Brusho Crystal Colors.  They are 5 colors of powdered watercolor pigment, which can be used in a variety of ways.  

They come in small canisters, and we were warned, "Do NOT open them!" since the fine powder will fly everywhere.  Instead, use a piercing tool or thumbtack to poke a hole in the lid, and use tape or a thumbtack to seal it when finished.

You may notice that the colors marked on the containers are not Stampin' Up! color names...but they did a good job picking out colors that coordinate well with our color palette.

For our first card we CASE'd a technique from Lonnie Schroder.  

We used one of the Petal Pair embossing folders, and started by sprinkling Red, Prussian Blue and Yellow powders on the side with "Sizzix" and "Stampin' Up!" on it.  Then we laid a piece of Watercolor Paper cut to 2 ¼" x 6" on top, closed the folder and ran it through the Big Shot 3 times to embed the powder into the paper as much as possible.

Then we removed the strip and spritzed it with water, marveling as the colors bloomed and ran together.  After it was totally dry, we took a Whisper White Craft ink pad (unless you have or want to buy a second one I STRONGLY suggest you use an ink spot) and lightly ran it over the embossed flowers to make them stand out.  This step also toned down the very bright colors.

Then we just trimmed down the 6" strip to fit the 5 ½" card, mounted it on a Melon Mambo mat and an Island Indigo card base that we'd stamped and heat embossed with this sentiment from the Special Celebrations set.

May Monthly Card Class
Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, May 6

Tuesday, May 8
6:30 - 9:00 pm at Marilyn's house in Glendale
Wednesday, May 9
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Stamp with Me, Get it Free!
Come make some projects featuring products from the beautiful Sweet Soirée Suite (OC pp.10-13) and take home the Sweet Soirée Embellishment Kit and a partial pack of Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper! Because I need to order the supplies in advance, an earlier reservation deadline and prepayment will be required.

Note:  the coordinating Cake Soirées stamp set and Sweet Cake Framelits are carrying over to the new Annual Catalog, but the DSP and Embellishment kit are not.

Cost is $20 - I will send you a PayPal invoice once you RSVP or you can mail me a check.

RSVP Deadline: Sunday, May 13. 

Wednesday, May 30
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
This class is also available as a Class-in-the-Mail, with all card supplies and written directions supplied.  Send me an email to reserve your class kit.

Memories & More is Stampin' Up!'s line of pocket scrapbooking supplies.  I don't do much scrapbooking, but have found that these cards are a great way to make a lot of cards with little effort. 

In my April Monthly Card Class I threw out a challenge to my participants: use the Petal Passion Memories & More Card Pack along with coordinating cardstock, ink and Stampin' Blends markers to create a quick-and-easy card in 20 minutes.

Here's what I showed as my examples:

This used one of the 4"x6" cards, with the blackboard/chalk flower drawing already on it.  I trimmed it down to 4"x5¼" and stamped the sentiment in Whisper White Craft Ink, then heat embossed with White Embossing Powder.  I mounted it on a Powder Pink mat and a Basic Black card base. 

This one uses a 4" x 3" card from the pack.  It had the flowers printed in black along the edge, and I added the sentiment and colored in the flowers with Stampin' Blends.  Then I matted it in Basic Black and adhered it to a Whisper White Note Card.

Not wanting to use up a lot of the Petal Passion card pack, I went to an older pack of cards for this example.  The Calypso Coral card on the bottom has a sentiment in the center that was more appropriate for scrapbooking, but the watercolor look is great as a background for the floral card.  Offsetting them, adding a sentiment and mounting them on a Whisper White card base lets both cards shine.

​Here's what the class attendees made:

Ellen's front and inside.

Marilyn's front and inside.

Jan's card.

Pat's front and inside.

Despite some serious trepidation at the start, everyone decided that it was a fun change from making my pre-designed cards.  Next time you find your mojo is flagging, maybe you can give this a try, too!

Brusho Crystal Color Class
Learn different ways to use these exciting new powder watercolors featured on page 26 of the Occasions Catalog.
$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, April 22. 

Wednesday, April 25
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

​May Monthly Card Class
Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, May 6

Tuesday, May 8
6:30 - 9:00 pm in the NW Valley - Address TBA

Wednesday, May 9
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Stamp with Me, Get it Free!
Come make some projects featuring products from the beautiful Sweet Soirée Suite (OC pp.10-13) and take home the Sweet Soirée Embellishment Kit and a partial pack of Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper! Because I need to order the supplies in advance, an earlier reservation deadline and prepayment will be required.

Note:  the coordinating Cake Soirées stamp set and Sweet Cake Framelits are carrying over to the new Annual Catalog, but the DSP and Embellishment kit are not.

Cost is $20 - I will send you a PayPal invoice once you RSVP or you can mail me a check.

RSVP Deadline: Sunday, May 13. 

Wednesday, May 30
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
This class is also available as a Class-in-the-Mail, with all card supplies and written directions supplied.  Send me an email to reserve your class kit.

Here's a quick-and-easy card we made in my April Monthly Card Class:

It uses the Color Theory Designer Series Paper Stack as the background, and the Swirly Bird stamp set to make the sailboat focal image.  Participants had their choice of the 4 colors in the DSP:  Berry Burst, Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Dapper Denim.

I'm sorry to say I can't remember which demonstrator I CASE'd this idea from...there have been several similar posts over the last year.  Sometimes I'm a really bad pinner, LOL.

Brusho Crystal Color Class
Learn different ways to use these exciting new powder watercolors featured on page 26 of the Occasions Catalog.
$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, April 22. 

Wednesday, April 25
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

​May Monthly Card Class
Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, May 6

Tuesday, May 8
6:30 - 9:00 pm in the NW Valley - Address TBA

Wednesday, May 9
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Stamp with Me, Get it Free!
Come make some projects featuring products from the beautiful Sweet Soirée Suite (OC pp.10-13) and take home the Sweet Soirée Embellishment Kit and a partial pack of Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper! Because I need to order the supplies in advance, an earlier reservation deadline and prepayment will be required.

Note:  the coordinating Cake Soirées stamp set and Sweet Cake Framelits are carrying over to the new Annual Catalog, but the DSP and Embellishment kit are not.

Cost is $20 - I will send you a PayPal invoice once you RSVP or you can mail me a check.

RSVP Deadline: Sunday, May 13. 

Wednesday, May 30
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
This class is also available as a Class-in-the-Mail, with all card supplies and written directions supplied.  Send me an email to reserve your class kit.

The second of my new series of classes, "Stamp With Me, Get It Free!" featured the In The Trees stamp set.  We made a nice collection of cards using a variety of techniques.

This very straightforward card was made extremely easy through the use of the new Stamparatus stamp positioning tool from Stampin' Up!  Available for general purchase on June 1, it allowed us to perfectly stamp both trees, then align the banner and sentiment between them.  Stampin' Blends provided a quick and easy way to color the images.

This card used a watercolor smooshing technique to make the background...we applied Soft Sky and Old Olive ink pads directly to an "E" size acrylic stamp block and spritzed it a few times with water before smooshing it onto a piece of Whisper White. Once dry, we masked the sides of the cardstock before stamping the tree image on and coloring it in.

This card used the same watercolor technique for the background as the one above, but we applied the ink horizontally on the block, and spritzed with more water before smooshing.

We then masked the bottom edge and stamped the trees in Crumb Cake ink.  After coloring and masking the trunk, we made a baby wipe ink pad with a variety of ink refill colors and used the tree stamp mounted wrong-side up to apply the multi-colored ink. After the right tree canopy was stamped it was masked before stamping the left one.

Yes, this card is made exclusively with stamps from In The Trees.  We started by using an Aqua Painter to add Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight to a piece of Watercolor Paper, blending the two colors in the middle.  Once dry, we again used the Stamparatus to stamp the lightbulbs and pennants stamps down the piece.  We freehanded the banner and sentiment and cut them out to apply over some Silver Mini Sequin Trim and a strip of DSP from Picture Perfect Party.

Stay tuned for details on my next "Stamp With Me, Get It Free!" offering in May!