Thank you for joining us for the May Pals Blog Hop and our annual retirement party! It's time to say goodbye to stamps and accessories that will not be available in the new 2013-14 Stampin' Up! catalog. Although it's always sad to see wonderful products retire, it is exciting to think about all of the new products that will soon be available. So enjoy the farewell tour for our favorite retiring products - and remember you have until June 3rd to order from the retiring product lists. 

You should have just left stop number 15 on the Pals Hop - Leslie Davis at Life's Moments. If so, you are in the right spot.  If you get off track, the full blog lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all of the amazing creations.

My retirement card uses 2 of my favorite background stamps - Netting and Tool Shed. I love how versatile background stamps are - you can use them for your entire card base (as I did with the netting) or crop a part of the image (as I did with Tool Shed).

I stamped Crumb Cake ink on Crumb Cake paper for the background and then stamped the Tools in Early Espresso on Whisper White paper. I used a sponge to apply crumb cake ink on the tools to create a distressed look. A layer of Core'dinations card stock is layered behind the tools and I distressed the edges to bring out the core color of the paper.

Supplies:

• Stamps: Netting (#122655); Tool Shed (#123688); Teeny Tiny Wishes (wood mount #115370; clear mount #127802)
• Ink & Paper: Crumb Cake; Early Espresso; Whisper White
• Accessories: Modern Label punch (#119849); Word Window punch (#119857); Baker's Twine - Early Espresso (#123124)

The next stop is Maxine Conrad at Stamp to the MAX!, stop number 17 on the Pals Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting – and I hope to see you next month!

1. Sherrie Gross at Stampin' Sunshine
2. Kerry Willard Bray at Stampgoodness
3. Amy Williams at Stampin' on the Range
4. Kathleen Law at Craft With Kathleen
5. Susan Itell at Simple Stampin'
6. Kari Linder at Stampin' Essentials
7. nicole watt at Pixel Maven's Retreat
8. Linda Callahan at Stampin' Seasons
9. Debra Simonis at Deb's Stampin' Grounds
10. Lynn Hoyt at Cattail Designs
11. Nancy Gleason at My Stampin Space
12. Nicole Picadura at Scraps & Stamps
13. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn
14. Amy Lazzell at Just a Thought...Cards by Amy
15. Leslie Davis at Life's Moments
16. Kim Czenszak at LiveLoveStamp
17. Maxine Conrad at Stamp to the MAX!
18. Debbie Mageed at Scrappin' and Stampin'
19. Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter
20. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards
21. Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stamping
22. Penny Nichols at Sierra Stampin!
23. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
24. Rae Harper at Wild West Paper Arts
25. Peggy Noe at prettypapercards.com
26. Shannon Hokanson at Paper Works
27. Julie Trevett-Smith at The Stampin' Affair
28. Shirley Sumption at look at my cute stuff
29. Debbie Crowley at expressivelydeb...
30. Barbara Furlong at The Love of Stamping
31. Elaine Fleming at Studio Elaine

New Stamp Previews

As a Stampin' Up! crafter I get to buy new products that will be available in the upcoming 2013-14 annual catalog a little early. I love this benefit! Today's card previews a few of the new products: a new stamp that coordinates with a Big Shot embossing folder, a new stamp with a coordinating punch and one of the 2013-15 new In Colors. Enjoy!!!

You can view the new catalog online starting on May 31st!

It's time for the annual Retirement Party

As Stampin’ Up! gets ready to release the new annual catalog we now know which stamps and accessories will be retiring along with the 2012-2013 Catalog and Idea Book. If you were thinking about making a purchase soon, check and see if your favorites are on the retiring list. Stamps should be available until June 3^rd, but some accessories have limited quantities and may sell out before June 3^rd.

Retiring Stamps are available until June 3rd, 2013. Download pdf or view in my online store

Retiring Accessories are available until they run out or June 3rd (many are discounted too!). Download pdf or view in my online store

COLOR REFRESH

Every few years Stampin’ Up! changes the color collections to make sure the colors are on trend and fresh. There are a few changes this year which include bringing back some older colors, introducing a brand new color, and sending some colors off to retirement. The chart below provides an overview. If you want any supplies for the retiring colors – order them soon. The paper and ink refills are selling fast and may run out before June 3rd.

 Please send me an email if you have any questions.

Summer Smooches

Now that spring has arrived, I feel the need to create some fun and colorful cards. I used the Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper for this card - the colors are so fun. I used Rich Razzleberry ink around the edges of the card and for the sentiment. The Big Pearls provide a nice anchor for the sentiment.

If you have been to my blog you know I like to try a few different versions of the same card, the 2nd card below uses the same paper and color and the Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack to outline the sentiment which was cut out with the Apothecary Accents Framelit Dies.

 

 Supplies:

• Stamps: Sassy Salutations (wood mount #126705; clear mount #126707)
• Ink & Paper: Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper (#125409); Rich Razzleberry
• Accessories: Apothecary Framelit Dies (#127003); Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack (#126187); Large Pearls (#125577)

 

Up, Up & Away

I love the Up, Up & Away stamp set. The balloons and sentiments are fun for many occasions. I stamped and cut out each of the balloons and popped them up with Stampin' Dimensionals. The background clouds were made with the Cloudy Sky Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and the oval layers were made with the Ovals Collection Framelit Die.

 Supplies:

• Stamps: Up, Up & Away (wood mount #122755; clear mount #122757)
• Ink & Paper: Bashful Blue; Midnight Muse; Daffodil Delight
• Accessories: Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (#127022); Ovals Collection Framelit Dies (#129381); Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430)