Let’s start with the good!  Here is a new photopolymer stamp set, Just Kidding, released this month by Stampin’ Up! The designer of this stamp set said she created it to honor her long-time friends and their journey through life together with lots of laughter. I’m sure we can all appreciate that and know that probably the older we all get, the more we appreciate our dear friends. Now you can enjoy making funny and endearing cards to send to those special people with this new stamp set!

Just Kidding Photopolymer Stamp Set         #140667          $15.95

To view ALL the photopolymer stamp sets available from Stampin’ Up! – some in the catalogs and some just shown online – please click HERE.

Blendabilities Update

Not such good news! Stampin’ Up! has discontinued the Blendabilities markers due to quality manufacturing issues.  When the tip is welded to the barrel, the welding process can leave microscopic (invisible) holes in the marker tip. This leads to accelerated evaporation of the alcohol in the ink. As Stampin’ Up! noticed more and more issues and complaints with these markers, they stepped up their quality testing and discovered that there was a serious problem with the entire line. While not all the markers were bad, the failure rate from the manufacturer was unacceptable to Stampin’ Up! After much consideration, they said, they decided to discontinue the product. You will need to contact your demonstrator if you are having issues with your Blendabilities or if yours were backordered. No backorders will be filled as all markers have been sent back to the manufacturer.

The good news, I suppose, is that the popularity of the Blendabilities with customers and demonstrators showed that we like alcohol-based markers! So Stampin’ Up! is looking into this. It will probably be awhile until this is all sorted out and Stampin’ Up! has all issues addressed and hopefully a new product to offer us.

With Blendabilities no longer available as a Sale-A-Bration option, it is anticipated that the demand on other Sale-A-Bration items will be higher than forecast. For that reason, all Sale-A-Bration items (with the exception of stamps) will now be “while supplies last.”

If you have Blendabilities that work, just enjoy them! Not all of them will have problems, and keep in mind, none of them were meant to last forever. There was even talk of possible refills for them down the line. But certainly they shouldn’t have arrived dry or dried out after just a few uses.  Be sure to store them flat, not on either end, so the ink will be distributed evenly.

The Memento Black Ink and Refill ARE still available to order!  The Memento Black Ink is great to use and isn’t just for Blendabilities.

Bokeh is a photography term meaning the way the camera lens renders out of focus points of light, but we can produce a similar look of bokeh on the background of a card using our Stampin’ Up! inks and accessories. You might think about bokeh if you see a Christmas photo with a clear close-up of one ornament on the tree and the tree and lights in the background have a blur to them.

Here is an example of bokeh in photography:

The bokeh technique is really popular right now in cardmaking!  And so fun to do! There’s almost no right or wrong (as in most stamping techniques) and there are several ways to do it. You can use watercolor paper and the Aqua Painter to spread around drops of ink. Or you can sponge ink in various colors on Whisper White card stock. Then you take circle stencils and sponge White Craft Ink inside the circles, overlapping, wherever you would like them.  That softens the colors in the background and gives you the spots of light look.  You can make it as soft or as bold as you like.

To see my little Flipogram video of the Bokeh technique, go to my Facebook Business Page right HERE and watch!  It was fun to make! There’s even music! You may have to scroll down depending on when you are reading this!

Or Follow me on Instagram:  @Stampingwithkaren

 Important Stampin’ Up! Update:

We are experiencing a quality issue with our Blendabilities product line. Except for the Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (item #132708) and the Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad Refill (item #133456), all item numbers have been turned off; this includes Blendabilities Sale-A-Bration item numbers.

At this time, backorders for Blendabilities will not be fulfilled.

We thank you for your patience and will update you as soon as we have more information.

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I love my Blendabilities and use them quite often, although I had to call the other day about a dry one in one set. Maybe I won’t get a replacement now.  I do know Stampin’ Up! has excellent customer service so I feel sure they are working on this problem and will update us further as soon as they know something else to tell us. In the meantime, please look at the other fun items you can choose for your free Sale-A-Bration item with a $50 order!

And speaking of Sale-A-Bration, remember tomorrow, March 1st, there will be four new free items to earn with a $50 purchase. Click the photo below for a close-up!

Click to view flyer!

Remember, March will be the last month for Sale-A-Bration, the biggest promotion from Stampin’ Up! Choose from the FREE products you can earn in this Sale-A-Bration Brochure. Look for the products marked “FREE” as there are other products available for purchase to coordinate with the free products.

Shop here at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

And go visit my Stamping With Karen Facebook Page!  Click the LIKE button while you are there!