July 2022 - Volume 2, Issue 3
Hello and welcome! Click any bulleted item to jump directly to an article. Here's what you'll find in this issue:
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News and promotions from Stampin' Up!
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2022-2023 Annual Catalog Launch Day
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Get a Great Deal by Joining Stampin' Up!
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What's Happening in My Studio!
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Host Your Own Virtual Party!
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From My Craft Table This Spring
Upcoming Holidays and Important Events
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World Watercolor Month
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National Ice Cream Month
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1 - Sale-a-bration begins (ends August 31)
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1 - Making Plans Join Offer Begins (ends August 31)
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1 - Stampin' Up! July-December Mini Catalog LAUNCH!!!
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4 - Happy Independence Day USA!!
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10 - Last day to order July Paper Pumpkin kit
World Watercolor Month
Have you tried a watercolor technique? Stampin' Up! has many products that you can use for this purpose.
Check out our Watercolor Pencil assortments (annual catalog, page 126) and our Water Painters on page 129.
Stay tuned as I demonstrate a couple of my favorite watercolor techniques on YouTube this month!
Monthly Host Code (Find here!)
How it works: Place a Stampin' Up! product order for $50-$149.99 (before tax and shipping) using my Stampin' Up! shopping link, enter the monthly host code, and I'll send you an additional reward! If your product order totals $150 or more, Stampin' Up! will offer you host rewards, and you should not enter my host code. I'll still reward you, though. Simply email me at kbrstamping@gmail.com to request your reward from me!
Note: The host code is for a Stampin' Up! order only. It does not apply to orders through Paper Pumpkin or Karen's Online Store. I can serve USA customers only.
What's Happening at Karen's Blue Ridge Stamping
It's been a wild few weeks as I've been busy planning videos, blog posts, and new card projects in my studio! The new annual catalog always creates a whirlwind of activity, but when that's coupled with a new mini catalog and Sale-a-bration brochure, it's just crazy!
I've been making lots of samples to share, and you'll soon see new videos and blog posts on how I made them. I've already posted several pins on Pinterest, which have received tremendous response! It's so encouraging! I've posted a few pictures below as well.
Meanwhile, I appreciate you spending a few minutes with my July newsletter. Read on to see what's happening for me and for Stampin' Up!
News and Promotions from Stampin' Up!
July-December Mini Catalog - Available July 1, 2022 - January 4, 2023
The new Stampin' Up! July-December 2022 Mini Catalog launched July 1! Often referred to as the "holiday catalog," this edition primarily focuses on the fall of the year, along with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Whether you're looking for elegance, spookiness, gratitude, faith-based or secular Christmas products, this catalog has something to please almost anyone.
As a demonstrator, I've been able to play with some of the new products for the last few weeks, and I will be showcasing them in new YouTube videos right away.
If you'd like to what's in the mini catalog, just click on the graphic to get started!
Sale-a-bration - July 1 through August 31
Hooray! It's Sale-a-bration time! From now until the end of August you have a great opportunity to get some amazing products absolutely free when you buy $50 or $100 in Stampin' Up! products.
Love cute animals? Check out the "Hippest Hippos" stamp set and their matching dies. Get one or both.
Love designer series papers? Matching cards and envelopes? Stamp sets with greetings? We've got you covered! Click the graphic at left to see what you can score!
An Awesome Deal When You Join Stampin' Up! During Sale-a-bration (Now through August 31)!
Stampin' Up! has a fabulous new promotion for people who sign up as a demonstrator during Sale-a-bration in July and August. I loved it so much that I purchased it for myself! Now, if it was worth buying, then it is certainly worth getting FREE!! The Making Plans Collection, which current demonstrators could buy in June only for $45, is going to serve me well as I plan ahead for my Stampin' Up! business.
What's in the collection? Here's a video pin I posted on Pinterest this week: [LINK]
So, if you want a great deal this month, you can pay $99 (plus your normal sales tax where you live) when you join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator. Each new demonstrator chooses whatever they want from current catalogs, or even business supplies, up to a retail price of $125. That's a great bargain, even without a promotion. During May, however, Stampin' Up! is jump-starting demonstrator kits with a FREE In Color Starter Kit, valued at more than $65. Here's what's in it:
What's Happening in My Studio!
I mentioned in my last newsletter that my Etsy store was taking off! That has continued to be the case this spring. In fact, I have sold out of so many items that I'm busily trying to re-stock now.
I hope you'll check it out. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting:
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a punch deck with templates for many of our Stampin' Up! punches, including blanks and refills to add your own retired punches or even die-cuts
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digital download files featuring custom insert tabs to organize Stampin' Up! cardstock and designer series papers into hanging file folders
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a cardstock swatch ring with all current Stampin' Up! cardstock, including the new 2022-2024 In Color collection
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tons of handmade cards
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and even a few retired stamp sets and dies.
To see the new products, please visit www.etsy.com/shop/KarensBlueRidgeStamp. I hope you'll find something useful!
Fussy Cut
Use a pair of Snips or fine-point scissors to cut manually around a stamped image. This is often done when there is no die-cut available for your image, or you simply want to eliminate some part of an image. The hummingbird at right was fussy-cut before being mounted on its card.
Dancing Baseline
Every line of text has a baseline. It is a real or imaginary line upon which the text is grounded. The bottom of each letter generally sits on a baseline, except when letters have descenders that fall below the main body of the letter (x-height); i.e. g, j, p, q, and y.
Dancing baselines are often seen in modern calligraphy, where letters are drawn for artistic interest. (See the "Sorry for your loss" sentiment at right.) Not only are dancing baselines visually interesting, but they are a wonderful friend to people who have trouble getting a stamp straight on a card or other project. The dancing baseline makes perfect stamping rather irrelevant! If you have this issue, consider buying stamps with this feature, and no one will ever be the wiser that you are "straight-challenged."
Host Your Own Virtual Stampin' Party! Earn Great Rewards!
As I write this newsletter, some parts of the country are emerging from COVID, even as other areas are seeing a resurgence in the number of cases. As a person with several high-risk factors, I am remaining cautious about my activities. For that reason, I will continue to offer virtual parties to anyone who wants to have them. I have a dedicated Zoom account where I can host dozens of your friends and loved ones. You provide the guests - I provide the technology! Zoom is easy to use and costs you nothing.
While in-person events are always desirable for the personal touch, a virtual Zoom party allows everyone with a webcam or a smart phone to interact with everyone else. Everyone with an active camera can see all other guests and talk with them whenever they like. There's also a chat box so that people can say a private or a public hello by typing it on the screen.
A virtual party offers the same hosting benefits as an in-person party. You get host rewards for a qualifying party of $150 or more. You'll be able to join with your friends and family to have a good time. And I'll be there to guide you along the way, regardless of your past experience.
There are a number of ways to host your party. People can buy Stampin' Up! kits from the Kits Collection, or I can provide pre-paid kits from my studio. It's really all about what you want.
I'd love to earn your business! Contact me today to select an available date and time. Email kbrstamping@gmail.com or call 704-325-3096. I can't wait to hear from you! Let's create together!
From My Craft Table this Spring
From Nature's Harvest bundle (156813), page 68 of new 2022-2023 Annual Catalog. In a rare move, the stamps and dies carried over from last year's annual catalog and KEPT their bundled 10% discount!
A second card from Flowing Flowers (157880). I love it so much I just couldn't help myself! Look at that elegant font!
This card features the same type of mask as the Shaded Summer one. I used three shades of ink and blended them onto the card, and then stamped them with the On the Horizon cling stamps (157770) on page 43 of the January-June mini-catalog and black ink. So simple and so fast! This one qualifies for #SimpleStamping.
This Blessings of Home Bundle (157939) promises to be a real favorite of mine for the foreseeable future. This large floral stamp, which is complemented by a smaller one in the set, lends itself well to almost any stamping and coloring techniques. I have used ink blending, alcohol markers, watercolor pencils, etc. to color this image, and every one comes out great! You can truly choose your medium! I used only gray, yellow, and green alcohol markers for this one. I was finished in a snap! Love it! You can find the bundle (discount of 10%) on page 75 of the new 2022-2023 Annual Catalog.
Final Tip
If you have a die-cutting machine, you'll want to pay careful attention to all of the products in the new Annual Catalog. You'll find a number of die sets in the back that stand alone; i.e. they have no matching stamps. You'll also find many "bonus" dies in the stamp and die bundles; i.e. there are dies that complement the stamps without matching them directly. Be sure to study the dies carefully to see how many extras there are. You'll be astounded at the extra designs you can make!
The Flowing Flowers cling stamp set (157880) is featured in the January-June 2022 mini catalog on page 36. This is a DistInkTive set that provides artist-quality dimension to the stamps in a single pass. I find this set elegant and time-saving. No word yet on whether it may retire from the line on June 30; you'll know when I know.
A mask, three shades of blue with blending brushes (153611), a quick stamp and die-cut, and this card is ready to go! Shaded Summer cling stamps (155783) first appeared in last year's annual catalog and their matching dies (Summer Shadows 156618) were a part of last fall's Sale-a-Bration event. Now, they've both carried over to the new 2022-2023 annual catalog on pages 102 and 175, respectively. Another elegant, time-saving set!
Introducing the new He's All That Bundle (159079) and He's the Man Suite Collection (159083), on pages 78-79 of the 2022-2023 Annual Catalog. Technically, there are only two items from the suite here: the stamp of the classic car and its greeting, as well as the Rustic Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots (159082) in the four corners. This decidedly masculine set has some really interesting specialty designer series papers, featuring a sheet or two of stickers. If you're looking for something masculine, as well as something to save time, you should check this out.
Want versatility? This is your set! The Sending Smiles Bundle (158707) is found on page 14 of the new 2022-2023 Annual Catalog. The designers really gave thoughtful consideration to stampers by separating flower parts to allow easy stamping of multiple colors. There are 8 different greetings, as well, for a host of occasions. This set makes my heart so happy! I think it's destined to be a classic - in my studio, at least!
You have received this newsletter because you opted-in to the website for Karen's Blue Ridge Stamping. Karen is an independent demonstrator for Stampin' Up! If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here. I would be sorry to see you go, but everyone has their priorities. Thanks for reading! Hope to see you next month!