The Holiday Catalog is now live and available for ordering!  If you don't have a copy of your very own, and aren't working with another Stampin' Up! demonstrator I'd be happy to send one to you.  Just drop me an email.

Check out this fun video highlighting some great products from the catalog:

Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorites from this amazing offering:

Welcome to this year's Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) Blog Hop!  What a great group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from the U.S. and Europe we have hopping with us today.  

If you remember my post from last year, you'll recognize the same theme of apples and honey.  This is because they are a traditional thing to eat on this holiday to represent a sweet new year.  Another tradition is to eat challah, the egg bread that is eaten on the sabbath and special occasions, but instead of the usual braided/plaited loaf it is shaped in a round and studded with raisins.  Most believe the round shape is to symbolize the circle of life, or the cycle of seasons, and the raisins are to again promote a sweet new year.

I combined a lot of Stampin' Up! elements to make this card:  

The challah is a 2.5" circle punch topped with the large and small Swirly Scribbles Thinlits swirls (round challah is often spiraled).  I stamped the raisins with the dots from Painted Harvest.  

The honey jar is from Jar of Love.  I stamped the jar on Vellum card stock with Archival Basic Black ink and let it dry.  Then I stamped the honey in Crushed Curry ink, and sprinkled it with Clear Embossing Powder and gently heated it with my heat tool.  The label is stamped with the Labeler Alphabet stamp set on Basic Black with Whisper White Craft ink.  Once it was dry I cut it out with a die from the At Home Framlelits.  I attached it with Fast Fuse, and put a few Mini Dimensionals behind it to attach the jar to the card.

The apples are made with  1" circles punched from Real Red card stock.  I used the heart framelit from the Wood Crate Framelits to shape the top of the apple. I inserted the top of the circle from the front of the framelit as far as it would go, which put just enough under the cutting blade to shape it:

The leaves and stems are trimmed from a sprig of leaves in the Bouquet Bunch Framelits.  I also sponged the edges of the apples in Real Red just a touch to add some shading.

I made the sentiment on my computer, and it is Hebrew for "Wishing You a Sweet New Year."   I printed it out in a few different sizes and found one that worked just right with the large banner stamp from Home Life and the coordinating Welcome Home Framelits.  Marie Shaughnessy has made a great chart of RGB and HEX codes for matching the SU! colors on your computer...download it here. 

Then I cut a piece of the Year of Cheer Specialty Designer Series Paper and matted it on Basic Black and a Whisper White Thick Card Stock base.  Everything is mounted with Dimensionals except the challah.

Here's a list of everyone participating:
1. Miriam Permut
2. Nancy Hoetker <<--you are here
3. Debby Hoffman
4. Hetty Sanders
5. Pascale Godot 
6. Yapha Mason

This summer I've had a sizable number of friends lose pets, mostly due to old age.  I suppose this is a sign of our own aging as well.  Here are some of the cards I've made  to send.

This combines brand-new Painted Autumn DSP (in the Holiday Catalog) with two stamp sets:  Sorry for Everything and Bella & Friends.  I used blender pens to color in the puppy.

This note card combines the current Pick A Pattern Washi Tapes with a retired stamp set, You Little Furball.

This one features the brand-new Cat Punch that I used to punch out one of the coordinating cats from the Spooky Night Designer Series Paper (both of these are on p. 53 of the Holiday Catalog).  I layered it on a strip of Eastern Palace DSP which I think makes it look like it's sitting on a rug.  And I paired it with the Sorry for Everything stamp set again.

Sponging & Brayering Technique Class
Learn how to use sponges, brayers and sponge daubers to make unique backgrounds and add interest to your cards.  No stamping experience needed!
​$20 - all supplies included

Thursday, August 31
​9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, August 27

JUST ADDED: Tuesday, September 5
6:30 - 9:00 at Marilyn's house in Peoria
RSVP Deadline:  Wednesday, August 30

Sometimes it's fun to stamp one's own "Designer Series Paper (DSP)" to use in a series of cards.  That's what I did the other week using several elements from the Eastern Beauty stamp set.  Being photopolymer, it was so quick and easy to get the designs lined up.  This is one of the most soothing ways to stamp, I think.  

​I CASE'd the stamping design and colors from Melissa Kerman, but designed my own cards with the resulting sheet of images.  I went ahead and stamped a full 8.5" x 11" sheet of Whisper White, using Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight and Lemon Lime Twist inks.

I kept these two cards very simple - just the stamped panels - as all purpose cards.  I can always go back and add a popped-up sentiment if I want, but I like showing off the neat pattern.

Still fairly simple, but with a bit more color and embellishments.

Trying to make use of the last scrap...

​What have you been playing around with recently? Send me some pictures!

​ I've got a lot more to show you...hopefully I'll get back on a blogging roll soon!

Wow - sorry for the long absence here on my blog!  I spent the first 2 weeks of July in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, which was a fantastic experience.  Unfortunately, I caught a cold that was annoying while I was there, but pretty debilitating once I got home.  I think I've put it behind me, and have crawled out from under the stack of papers and household chores that accumulated!

Before I left a friend of mine commissioned an anniversary card.  The final one was similar to this one, which I'm sharing today as it's my 7-year anniversary as an Independent Demonstrator with Stampin' Up!

I CASE'd this general idea from someone on Pinterest, but made it my own.  The background paper is from the now-retired Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack.  I stamped the greenery from both Jar of Love and Oh So Succulent (also retired) in Old Olive ink.   The goldfish are also from Jar of Love, and have been layered in inks using my Stampin' Write markers:  the top one is in Pumpkin Pie with the fins and tail highlighted with Cajun Craze, and the bottom one is in Peekaboo Peach with both Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze on the tail and fins.The sentiment banner is from Banners for You, stamped in Island Indigo on Pool Party. It is cut out with the coordinating Bunch of Banners Framelits.

AUGUST
August Monthly 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, August 13

Tuesday, August 15
6:30 - 9:00 pm at Ellen's House in Peoria (near 75th Ave & Deer Valley Rd)

Thursday, August 17
​9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Sponging & Brayering Technique Class
Learn how to use sponges, brayers and sponge daubers to make unique backgrounds and add interest to your cards.  No stamping experience needed!
​$20 - all supplies included

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, August 27

Thursday, August 31
​9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Peoria class will be scheduled based on demand.
 
 
​SEPTEMBER
September Monthly 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, September 10

Thursday, September 14
​9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Tuesday, September 19
6:30 - 9:00 pm at Ellen's House in Peoria (near 75th Ave & Deer Valley Rd)

September Technique Class
Learn something new to add to your paper crafting repertoire!
Details TBD
 
 
 
OCTOBER
World Card Making Day: Cards for a Cause & Rubber Rummage Sale
Stop by and make as many cards as you wish to be donated to a needy organization. Also shop a wide variety of retired stamping and paper crafting products!

Saturday, October 7
1:00 - 5:00 PM
FREE
Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

​Christmas Stamp-A-Stack
Make 25 cards (5 each of 5 designs) in one afternoon and have a head-start on your Holiday preparations! 

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, October 15

Saturday, October 21
1:00 - 5:00 PM
$40.00
Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Halloween Treats
Choose from several treat package designs to share with your monsters and goblins!  Make 5 for $20, additional available for $3 apiece.

RSVP Deadline:  Sunday, October 22

Thursday, October 26
​9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale

Peoria class will be scheduled based on demand.
 

NOVEMBER
November Monthly 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, November 12

Tuesday, November 14
6:30 - 9:00 pm at Ellen's House in Peoria (near 75th Ave & Deer Valley Rd)

Thursday, November 16
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale