New Catalog!!!

I got the new Stampin' Up catalog a couple of weeks ago and have enjoyed looking through it, seeing the new stamp sets and dies as well as all the great card samples. I love the new "In Colors", that is 6 colors of ink, paper, ribbon and markers that are only available for the year that this catalog is current. All the new goodies in the new catalog will be available for purchase beginning on July 1st. We are down to the last 2 days of the old catalog so if there is a set you want that is being discontinued, lmk asap so I can place it on my last order from that catalog.

I have a couple of sneak peeks today. We had a Stampin' Up Team meeting Saturday and I got some cards in our swap that were made with new stamp sets from the new catalog. The first one is my swap. I used the Big Shot machine to cut the new Rich Razzleberry cardstock with the scalloped circle die. I folded it in half first so there is a fold at the top which I tied the organza ribbon around. I cut circles of Bermuda Bay and white and I also ran the white cardstock through my Big Shot with a polka dot texture plate. I love the texture that the texture plates add. I used gold ink to stamp the bamboo with a bird stamp from the Asian Artistry set. This is a new level 2 hostess set. I love the little bird but decided to go with the dragonfly from the set instead. I stamped him in Bermuda Bay and punched him out with the 1 1/4" circle and matted it on a Rich Razzleberry circle. I stamped the quote from this set, also in gold, on Rich Razzleberry cardstock and punched it out with the new modern label punch. I love this punch and it is even better because it works perfectly with the word window punch. I'm sure I'll be making more cards from this set soon so you can see how sweet the little bird is and you can see the other stamps in the set.

The card beside my card is made by Nancy Reeves using another level 2 hostess set called Wings of Friendship. I love that little bird! He is embossed with black for a very elegant look. The Thanks So Much sentiment is so lovely, it came from a level 3 hostess set called Kind and caring thoughts. I wish I could write that pretty! My handwriting has always been terrible.

Here are 2 more swap cards made with a new stamp set called Circle Circus. It is a great set, perfect for lots of backgrounds and flower centers. The one on the left was made by Leslie Allen and the one on the right didn't have a name on it. They both use Bermuda Bay cardstock as a base. I'm loving the new "In Color" colors. The only one of the 6 new colors not represented on Leslie's card is Soft Suede, a nice medium brown that is on the next card.

These last 2 cards are the cards we made at the meeting. I'm very tempted by the Autumn Days set that the pheasant and the wheat shafts come from. It is a wonderful set for cards that will be sent to men but it also has fall-like stamps and pine cones and a berry bough that could be used on Christmas projects. It is a very versatile set. The other card also uses the Circle Circus stamp set. This set is great to make a background for your card as in the previous picture or to use as accents as demonstrated in this card. I'm imagining all kinds of scrapbook pages using this great stamp set!

I was going to post these Saturday night but my camera wasn't talking to my computer so I tried again Sunday, nothing. It finally decided to cooperate today so I'm finally getting a post done. I have been so busy that I haven't posted as regularly as I'd like to. We are getting good veggies out of the garden but I'm thinking the weeds are winning sometimes! I picked a few yellow squash and zuchinnis last night and steamed them to go with our supper. Yummy! We have lots of lettuce and the tomatoes are growing good. The corn is almost waist high so another few weeks and we will be eating fresh corn on the cob. I am most disappointed in the beets. I don't know if I planted them too deep or what but only 2 plants came up. Beets are my favorite vegetable but I only like them fresh from the garden, not canned. I'll have to go to the farmer's market to get my beets this year I guess.