I got new retiring stuff!

I got my latest order in last night. I don't have time to put up pictures right now, but I'm so very glad I bought these items before they are no longer available! Almost all of my order was retiring products. Don't wait: get them while you can!

All Kinds of Things Are Retiring!

I'm finally sitting down to finalize my Stampin' Up order and look at the retiring products. There are some great things I'm sad to see go--which means they're being added to my list! lol. (Good thing I already had some of them. hehe) Here are just a few things.

*ALL textured card stock is being retired. There is no textured card stock in the new catalogue. This makes me really sad. lol. I *love* using textured card stock when making cards and what I've used that I've bought elsewhere doesn't compare. (Guess what I'm stocking up on? :D)

*The All in the Family set is retiring!

 http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=113488
I've always thought this cute and wanted to wait to get it because I do have to limit myself but with it retiring, I guess it's time to get it. Also retiring are the complementing Family Accessories set http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=113494 as well as the Family Business set http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=116964


All I have time to blog about at the moment! Links to the retiring products are found on the right. If you are in Canada and would like to order something, just email me: emicolas@yahoo.ca . If you are in the Edmonton area and want to get in on my group order (saves on shipping if your order is fairly small), email me ASAP! I'll be placing an order this weekend.

March Goal for Ronald McDonald House Charities

My Canadian friends (sorry, everybody else--you are welcome to contact a demonstrator in your country to purchase the set in question though!): I have a goal for March. It is to help out Ronald McDonald House Charities through the sale of a special stamp set called Turtle and Co.

Isn't it cute?

My ultimate goal would be to sell at least 20 of these sets. Stampin' Up has a special partnership with Ronald McDonald House, which not only encourages demonstrators to volunteer, but they sell a stamp set that helps out RMHC. They have raised over $1 million US since they began helping out RMHC. You can be a part of getting that amount higher!

The stamp set is adorable! http://204.228.150.61/catalogs/flash/en-CA/2011-2012/ibclk/index.html?pageNumber=18  $3 from every set goes to RMHC, to help them out in what they do. If you don't know what RMHC does, here is a video about the Ronald McDonald house here in Edmonton: http://youtu.be/ARJe1gaFOPI

Just message me if you are interested and we'll work out all the details! :)

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Addendum: I thought I would share why I've decided to encourage helping out Ronald McDonald House Charities, why it means something to me other than simply being another good cause.

When I was very young, 4 or younger, my little sister was diagnosed with leukemia. We lived in Windsor, ON, at the time, and she spent time in the hospital there and at Toronto Sick Kids. We moved to Edmonton early in 1980 when I was 5 and my sister was 2. She was in and out of UofA Hospital before eventually passing.

If we had not lived in town, Ronald McDonald House would have been the sort of place where we would have stayed (had it existed back then). I can not tell you how much it touches me to see what they do for these families who are displaced because of their child's illness. Because I do remember my sister being in hospital and do remember that time of my life and I can imagine all too easily being the family staying there, helping RMH really means a lot to me.

Oh my gosh, I want the Simply Scored!

I tried to make my own envelopes on the weekend. Let's just say... it didn't work out so well. I had heard about the diagonal plate for the Simply Scored, but I don't have the Simply Scored, so I just kind of dismissed it.

But then I saw this video today:

I really want this now! lol. It was so much fun using a printed paper to make an envelope instead of having the standard plain old envelope. And my cards were funky shapes, which is why I needed to make an envelope. I wouldn't worry so much about sizes and fitting into envelopes if I knew I could quickly make an envelope!

A birthday card!

I've been working on birthday cards this week. We are celebrating a double birthday this evening and another double birthday tomorrow. Here is the card for my step-sister:

Things used in this card:

• Flower Fancy stamp set
• On Your Birthday stamp set
• Perfect Plum textured card stock (cut out to fit over a standard Whisper White card)
• a Rich Razzleberry sheet from the Brights Patterns Designer Series Paper
• Whisper White card stock
• for the Classic Inks: Perfect Plum for the solid part of the flowers, Basic Gray for the outline, Certainly Celery and Rich Razzleberry for the sentiment
• Labels Collection Framelits Dies from the Occasions Mini Catalogue
• mini silver brads

Her son is also having a birthday soon. Here is the card I came up with for him:

For this card, I used:

• standard Whisper White card
• Island Indigo card stock from the 2011-2013 In Colour 
• Real Red card stock for the background circle
• the cupcake is from the Create a Cupcake stamp set and punched out with the Cupcake Builder punch
• the candles are just punched out with the Cupcake Builder with a paper from a no-longer-available 6x6 Patterns Pack
• the lighter aqua paper is from old Stampin' Up paper, too (got to make use of what you have! :D)
• I used the Big Shot Circles #2 die to make the circles. The red circle is actually on a piece of thick card from the back of a Stampin' Up paper pack (boy, can the dies CUT!)
• the sentiment is, again, from the On Your Birthday stamp set

The picture for my niece's card didn't work out very well, but here it is anyhow:

I think the stamps may be from older sets, except the sentiment is from the Pour Ton Anniversaire stamp set (French version of On Your Birthday set). The card is Pretty In Pink textured cardstock, with a bit of trim from, I think, the Brights Patterns Designer Paper, the sentiment is on the same, punched out with the Decorative Label punch, on some Whisper White Satin Ribbon. Colours used: Perfect Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Pretty In Pink and Marina Mist.

Haven't finished my brother-in-law's card yet!

Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day. I don't have much time here, so I will simply post the treat cards I made for the kids:

I started on Friday or Saturday. Next year, must start earlier! Only managed to finish the last two this morning. LOL

Free 30-day trial of MDS!

Stampin' Up is now offering a FREE 30-day trial of My Digital Studio! I have not tried it yet, but did download it a few days ago. I know some people who LOVE their MDS, and it's free, so I figure I might as well give it a shot!