It’s Almost Retirement Time...

I can’t believe how fast the year is flying by — it’s time for the Stampin’ Up! retirement list to be released already! I feel like I just got the current catalog. Well, by tomorrow morning I should know which of my little babies will be missing from the next SU! catalog. (BTW, did I tell you all that they’ going to a semi-annual catalog system next year? More info will be coming your way, either in your mailboxes, if you’re on my mailing list, or at the Stampin’ Up! website, or here at jostamper.com.) Check back tomorrow, when I'll start featuring soon-to-retire stamp sets.

Catch Up Scrappin’

Does one ever get “caught up” on their scrapbooking? Time just keeps forging ahead, and so do all those memories that we want to capture in our scrapbooks. I’ve got boxes, drawers, envelopes, and photo albums bursting with pictures that need to be scrapped. Where do you start? I’ve read that you shouldn’t bother trying to scrapbook chronologically, you should just dive in wherever you are in life. It feels so random, but, hey, at least I’m getting something done! This layout jumped out at me from the May issue of Simple Scrapbooks; a page by one of my favorite scrapbook artists, the wonderful and inspiring Cathy Zielske. How do you choose just one photo to feature on a page? Well, you just dig in. I literally dug through one of my many junque (that just looks so much more meaningful than “junk,” doesn’t it?) drawers and pulled out this 5 x 7 of Niamh. It turned out to be a perfect fit with the layout.

This layout uses all Stampin’ Up! materials: Gable Green, Only Orange, Whisper White cardstock; Pixie Pink ink; Dots & Dashes Designer Series Papers; Polka Dots & Paisleys set; Rough Edges and Typeset alphabet stamps; On Board Accents chipboard slide frame; Bold Brights Eyelets; and the Write Me A Memory Vol. 1 font CD (Casual font). The journaling was printed on white cardstock, then Gable Green ink was rolled on using the sponge attachment for my brayer.

Love This Petals & Paisleys Paper!

I am totally in love with this new Stampin’ Up! double-sided paper Petals & Paisleys! The colors are so bright and cheerful (and I must say that this photo and the pictures in the mini catalog do not do it justice — you really must see it up close and in person!). I created all these projects from just three sheets of the patterned paper. If you’d like to do the same thing, comment here or drop me an email and I’ll schedule a class.