Today my son is 22 years old! I cannot believe that he has grown up so quickly.  We couldn’t be more proud of him, as he has found his niche in life and has become a fire fighter and will soon be starting the paramedic program!  Dave Elena and I couldn’t be more proud of him!

I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday…woke up in the morning in labor, but not bad enough to go to the hospital yet, so we hung out at home, then went to my mom’s for lunch…no one ever told me I shouldn’t have eaten before delivering. HAHA  We got to the hospital around 1ish (I remember because the soaps were on in the labor room!) and he was born at 4:07 PM  Justin’s dad and I had decided that if it were a girl, I’d pick out the name, and if it was a boy, he’d pick it.  So when we got to the hospital, neither of us has really decided on a name, so Justin’s dad said, if its a boy, just follow my lead.  Alrighty then!  The dr delivered Justin and the nurse asked us shortly after if we had decided on a name…my (then) husband looked at the nurse and said yes, “Thaddius Bartholemew” She looked at him, and looked at me and said, “you REALLY don’t have to decide on a name right now!”  HAHA That just cracked us up!  He told the nurse we’d come up with a name and let them know.  We decided later that the best name that fit was Justin, because we literally got to the hospital “just in time”  I look at Justin now and just cannot imagine him as a Thaddius or Tad…Justin is definitely a much better name for our guy!

Happy Birthday Justin!! We love you!

Mom, Dave and Elena

Many of you have heard already that Stampin’ Up! is going through a color renovation!  This is VERY exciting to us all, but I am sure you may have questions…hopefully this will answer those questions for you!

Q: Why have some of the carryover colors changed families?

A: While our new collections have similar names to our previous families, you’ll notice the intensity of colors in our collections is different from that of the similar family. The Brights, for instance, aren’t as bright as Bold Brights were. With the change in intensity, we found that some colors fit better in a different collection. We also organized our colors to be more complementary within each collection.

Q: Why are so many colors being discontinued, and why are there fewer colors than before?

A: We retired colors based on sales history and focus group feedback. Members of our focus groups indicated that they had some colors they didn’t use; for instance, they purchased a whole family of ink pads and then rarely used some of the colors in that family. In addition, sales on many colors were very low, and the cost to support those colors was not worth the return. We were careful to choose the most popular and up-to-date colors.

Another reason we reduced the number of colors is that we wanted our collections to be less overwhelming to new demonstrators and customers—we wanted it to be easier for new stampers to get started. And with fewer colors in each collection, demonstrators and customers can save money and use that money to purchase more of what they love—stamps, accessories, and other items.

Also keep in mind that in addition to our 40 core colors, we’ll have 5 new In Colors each year, and In Colors will have a lifespan of two years instead of one. That means after the first year, there will be 10 additional colors to mix and match and play with, for a total of 50 colors (5 In Colors the first year for a total of 45 colors).

Q: Are other card stocks outside the four color collections retiring?

A: We will continue to offer the following: Brushed Gold, Brushed Silver, Confetti Cream, Confetti White, Glossy White, Naturals Ivory, Naturals White, Shimmery White, and White vellum card stock, as well as White vellum paper.

Q: What are the new core colors, and what are the In Colors that are returning as core colors?

A: The five new colors are called Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Cajun Craze, and Cherry Cobbler. The ten returning In Colors as core colors are Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, River Rock, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Rich Razzleberry, Wild Wasabi, Pink Pirouette, and Baja Breeze. Also, we’ve renamed Kraft to Crumb Cake, and it is a core color in the Neutrals collection. You’ll want to check out the color chart PDFs, as well as Stampin’ Success, to see these colors displayed in their new collections!

Q: Will I have to purchase all new Stampin’ Write markers, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Stampin’ Pastels, and a new Color Caddy?

A: No. We are offering color kits, including Card Stock and Classic Pad, Stampin’ Write Markers, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, and Stampin’ Pastels New Color Kits, to help you make the transition.

There will not be a new Color Caddy; the existing Color Caddy holds all of the 40 core color Stampin’ Pads and up to 8 additional Stampin’ Pads.

(After this year, you can still fit all of the In Colors with the extender kit.)

Q: Will ink and accessories be available in all 40 core colors?

A: Ink will be available in all 40 core colors. However, based on sales history, Craft Stampin’ Pads will only be available in Basic Black, Very Vanilla, and Whisper White. Craft Stampin’ Spots (available in collections) and Craft Stampin’ Ink refills (available individually) will still be available in all of the core colors to use for embossing, coloring chipboard, and scrapbooking.

Basic accessories will be available in a selection of core colors from each collection, including all of the colors in the Getting Started collection. All ribbon types will be available in the colors from the Getting Started collection. Ribbon in other colors may show up in mini catalogs. Also, a blank Craft pad will be available in an upcoming mini catalog, so those who regularly use Craft pads can create their own by purchasing the blank pads and Craft ink refills.

Q: Will Stampin’ Up! offer any discounts on the new color products to make the transition easier?

A: We will not be offering any discounts on the new color products, however, there is added value built in to some of the color kits. When you purchase one of the Classic pad and card stock kits, the card stock actually comes free!

Q: When will the new color kits be available, and will they be available to customers, too?

A: The new color kits will be available for your customers starting July 1. These kits will be available through the catalog year, and will be shown on a downloadable flyer.

Q: Will the stamp pad cases be redesigned? If so, when?

A: Yes, but the new packaging will be phased in over time, so there is no exact date when each ink pad will be changed. The new packaging will not have the dot indicating the color family.

Good afternoon everyone!! It feels weird posting on a non Wednesday!!  I wanted to share with you all our Easter Eggs for tomorrow.  I asked around and someone directed me to Rachel Chamberlain‘s blog where she talked about dying eggs using Stampin’ Up! Reinkers.  Granted hers were blown eggs, we decided to use our hard boiled eggs.  Below are the pictures of our eggs…they turned out so beautifully!!  We used 1 cup of cold water, 1 – 1/2 teaspoons of vinegar and anywhere from 10 – 15 drops of reinker (to get a darker color).  We used Green Galore for the green eggs, but the ink didn’t want to take.  The yellow is YoYo Yellow and I ended up dropping in about 20 drops of reinker   I wasn’t as impressed with those two colors.

We used Green Galore, YoYo Yellow, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry.

Unfortunately the Rich Razzleberry didn’t get a picture as it was an afterthought LOL

I hope you all have a blessed Easter!

Good Wednesday morning everyone!! WOW What a beautiful week here in Michigan!! We are supposed to hit the high 70s this week, by Friday we may be hangin’ out at the park!  I do want to take a moment though and let my friends (You know who you are!) on the east coast know that you guys are in my thoughts and prayers – that rain and flooding is NO fun!

This week we have a Sketch Challenge – I hope that you’ll come back and play along with the Diva’s!  WHEN You do (HEHEE) go back to the Diva website and post your card image/name and URL so we can see what you’ve done.  Your card may earn you our Featured Artist next week!  Speaking of next week, we’ll be taking a Spring Break as well as our kids, so we’ll be back on the 14th of April!  I hope you all have a beautiful blessed Easter!

Here is my Easter card

Stampin’ Up! Recipe

Happy St. Patty’s day all!!! I hope that your day is wonderful and warm!! Spring has definitely bloomed here in Michigan! My mom’s neighbor’s flowers are starting to come up; and I saw buds on the trees this afternoon and heard the birds chirping when the sun was coming up!  What an awesome sound!

This week the Diva’s are bringing you a wonderful sketch challenge.  I hope that you all will participate and when you do, you go back to the Diva’s blog and post your URL and card image to the blog.

Diva Coffee Break Sketch Challenge Recipe

Stampin’ Up! Cardstock

Stampin’ Up! Stamp Set

Stampin’ Up! Accessories

Have a wonderful day and remember to spend time in your stampin’ craftin’ area today!

Good afternoon everyone! I apologize for not getting my card up sooner, but I hadn’t gotten it done last night.  My daughter had the day of school, and she thought that late afternoon, she needed to “redecorate” her face…she was out on her scooter and hit a bump and fell and hit her face.  She scraped it all up, and broke a tooth!  We spent the evening going from the doctor (because she thought her wrist might be broken) and then to the dentist to get the tooth fixed and then to Walmart to get her glasses reshaped to her face.  It was quite the evening, let me tell you!  Here is a before and after of her tooth..she was SUCH a trooper!

Elena with her broken tooth

Elena AFTER the dentist - You can faintly see the line

Now onto the color challenge!! These are beautiful colors for the start of spring – yep that’s how it has been here in Michigan!! We’ve gone all the way up to 60 this week and now its rainy, but still VERY nice – I’ll take it over the snow and cold!

DCBD Color Challenge #168 Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery, Soft Suede and Bermuda Bay

And here is my card – I had gotten this stamp set but hadn’t used it yet, I was so excited to give it a try!

I hope you have a great day and I can’t wait to see what you come up with this challenge!

Good morning everyone! I apologize for my post being late. I got my card uploaded last night to the Diva site, but was so wrapped up in watching the Olympics, that I completely forgot my own blog! OOPS!!

This week we have a beautiful color challenge. I absolutely love these colors and chose the pinwheel card as my design.  It is so simple the ONLY stamping I did was the tag!

And here is my card

Stampin’ Up! Recipe

Rich Razzleberry Cardstock

Certainly Celery Cardstock

Perfect Plum (Textured) Cardstock

Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper

Accessories:  Finial Press Embossing folder, Pretty in Pink Corduroy Brad (dyed Rich Razzleberry and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds), 1 1/4″ Square punch, Window punch and Modern Label punch.  The stamp set used for the saying was Pocket Silhouettes.

I hope you’ll all play along with us this week – remember if you submit a card, you could be picked as our Designer of the week!

Good morning everyone!  I hope you’ve had a good couple of weeks!  I am sorry I have been missing.  I started school the beginning of January and it is really taking more of my time than I thought it would.  I LOVE what I’m doing, but I miss designing!

This week we have a sketch challenge that the Diva’s are bringing you.  When you complete your card please go back to the Diva’s blog and post your name and URL (direct link to your card), so we can see your creation!

Here is my card that I designed…

Stampin’ Up! Recipe

Stampin’ Up! Cardstock

Stampin’ Up! Classic Ink

Stampin’ Up! Accessories

Stampin’ Up! Stamp Set

Well I totally goofed last night! I got the card challenge up on the Diva’s blog, but completely forgot to post my card on MY blog! LOL ohhh goodness!

Here is the sketch challenge for today

I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!  Here is my card!

Stampin’ Up! Recipe

Stampin’ Up! Cardstock

Stampin’ Up! Ink

Stampin’ Up! Accessories

Stampin’ Up! Stamp Set

Well Scripted

If you are participating in our challenge, please be sure to check out the Diva Blog and post your creation using Mister Linky.  You can find it here:  http://divacoffeebreakdesigns.blogspot.com

Have a great day!

Good Wednesday morning bloggers!! I am soo sorry it has been so long since I’ve posted!  No excuses, life just got in the way of things   I’m back though, and am very excited to bring you this weeks challenge from the Diva’s!

These colors are VERY different – and I found it quite challenging to put a card together.  I will admit, I did find a card to use, on  the Stampin Connection (a SU Demo’s website).  I changed it a tad – here it is:

Stampin’ Up! Recipe

I hope that you’ll give this challenge a try and go back to the Diva’s blog and post to Mister Linky.  We’d love to see what you come up with!