Saturday was a fun day of stamping with Stampin’ Up!….virtually! It was a special event for Demonstrators called Creativity Now and we got sneak peeks of new products coming in the next Holiday Mini Catalog (the September-December Mini). We got to stamp along with other Demonstrators showcasing their projects during this event and saw extra samples they made plus some other bonus ideas. The Bundle they used is called Winterly Tree Tops, a stamp set and dies. This Bundle is part of a Suite called the Nests of Winter Suite Collection. The Suite has the Bundle, an embossing folder, colored linen thread, designer paper, and gems! I’m not sure if I would have chosen this Bundle in the catalog, but I enjoyed using it to make the cards in the photo above and look forward to much more stamping with it.
I made the three cards during the virtual event, but I did not have the Scalloped Gift Card Boxes that one Demonstrator used for her project nor did I have the Metallics Enamel Effects which she smeared on top of the gift card box for a copper background underneath the foliage she added on the top. It was very pretty and not difficult to make. I think I’ll be putting those on my next order!
We also got to hear Stampin’ Up! concept artists and other employees talk about how they develop these new products for us! It’s a much more involved process than you might assume. I always enjoy any behind-the-scenes information!
Even though this Suite will be in the Holiday Mini, you can use this Bundle and Suite year-round. Obviously, the birds can be any colors you like, and the greetings in the stamp set are perfect for using a lot! If some of the designer papers look too holiday-ish, you can turn them over to the other side for a generic pattern that you can use any time.
I didn’t have the Flat-Backed Adhesive Pearls that they used so I just added some Iridescent Foil Gems on two of my cards. We colored some of the birds with Stampin’ Blends and some with Watercolor Pencils! I hadn’t used my Watercolor Pencils in quite a while so that was fun to be reminded to use those. They were some of my favorite tools way back when I started as a Demonstrator with Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pens were quite the thing! They are still great to use!
On the Sending Thanks card, we learned a way to use the center piece cut out from that leafy frame die to use as a stencil, instead of throwing it in the trash, to make the frame with ink! It was fun to learn some new ideas!
I hope these cards give you a little peek into what is coming sooner than we think in the Holiday Mini Catalog! The Holiday Mini and all the crafting that goes on from fall through Christmas is like the Olympics for stampers, right?! Get ready!