Stampin' Up! Announces Retiring Items & Discounts Many of Them!

Well this is BIG news. And unprecedented. I've been with Stampin' Up! since it launched into Australia in 2006 and never has the annual retiring items list been so long. The reason for this is that Australia is finally catching up with the USA and from 1 April 2009, the two product ranges will be more closely aligned. Great news for those of us who long for the USA products that we can view on line.

I'm sad to see some of the items retire but what's very exciting is that Stampin' Up! has discounted selected retiring items by 25%. There are even two items that have been discounted by 50%. I expect these discounted items to disappear fast.

You can see the list of retiring items by page number HERE or alphabetically HERE. If you don't have a 2008 - 2009 catalogue to refer to, please let me know as I have plenty to share or you can view it online.

Please, if you want to order anything, don't delay. Phone on 0402 347 010 or email me to get it organised. I will update my website when stock of items become depleted.

I'll be back soon with an Artist Trading Card I recently made. Please stay tuned.

Love from Crafty Kim

Craftfest Sydney 2009

Coming up on Friday 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 March 2009 is a New Craft Expo, located at Homebush in the middle of Sydney's suburban sprawl.

For more information, please visit the Craftfest web site but it seems all the "usual suspects" will be there. There will be a Stampin' Up stand but unfortunately I'm not working on it (sob).

I hope to get along to the Expo at some stage but if you visit before me, please pop in here and leave a comment to let me know how you found it. Thanks in advance.

Love from Crafty Kim

Grab these items while they last

A quick story about this card made by a friend for my son, Ashley, on the occasion of his 7th birthday. My friend's son, Ciaran, and Ashley decided they would like to become cousins ("Mum tell the government that we are now cousins" said Ashley). What Ashley hadn't considered was that making Ciaran his cousin, also made Ciaran's 3 year old sister, Lillian, his cousin. It took a bit of persuasion but an "alright" was finally reached. My friend was then wondering if Ashley realised that he had made her an Aunty (for the first time too). So she gave him this birthday card which in amongst the chaos of a birthday party, sailed right over his head. But I got the message, and after some explanation, Ashley now has a new Aunty.

The reason for including this cute punch art card on my blog is to highlight the stamp set, Wonderful Favourites, page 119 of the main Stampin' Up! catalogue. It currently retails for $39.95 but this price was an printing error in the current catalogue (which SU! decided to honour for the sales period of April 2008 to March 2009). From the 1 April 2009, it will be more like $77.95. So, if this set takes your fancy, please purchase it before the end of March 2009.

And on the subject of disappearing items, now is the time to stock up on all the In-Colour items before they disappear. I'm specifically referring to:

Purely Pomegranate
Blue Bayou
River Rock
Soft Sky
Groovy Guava
Wild Wasabi

Ink Pad ($9.95) & Re-inker ($4.95)
A4 card stock, single colour ($10.50)
A4 card stock, variety ($14.50)
12 x 12 card stock, variety ($17.25)
12 x 12 textured card stock, variety ($21.95)
Double-stitched ribbon, 13.7m ($16.95)

Back with more soon.

Love from Crafty Kim

National Day of Mourning and Fire Appeal Update

We're all still reeling after the horror weekend of bushfires which killed at least 209 people. Today, Sunday 22 February 2009, we are observing a National Day of Mourning. Memorial services will be held across the country.

Stampin' Up! announced its Bushfire Appeal nearly a week ago, and since then customers have responded strongly. To date, with the sales of the Bushfire Appeal stamp sets, Stampin' Up! will be able to donate $15,744.85 to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal. Heartfelt thanks to those who have made donations and purchases in support of this cause.

And it is not over yet, you have until 31 March 2009 to take advantage of this offer. But if you want your purchase to help qualify you for a free stamp set as part of Sale-A-Bration, please place your order by 9pm 28 February 2009.

I look forward to reporting the total amount raised at the completion of the Appeal period.

Love from Crafty Kim

Sale-A-Bration - Only 10 Days To Go

Just a quicker reminder that Stampin' Up's Sale-A-Bration Promotion ends in 10 days, with all orders due to me by 9pm on the 28 February 2009.

By spending $100 on any Stampin' Up! items, you qualify for a free set of stamps. There are four sets to choose your free set from. I've used one of these sets, Botanical Blooms, to make the monochromatic card above, using grey and black tones teamed with some punching and white half-pearls from the Pretties Kit.

And remember, if you buy any of the discounted stamp sets included in the Bush Fire Appeal Promotion, these count towards the qualifying spend for the Sale-A-Bration Promotion.

You can browse the Sale-A-Bration Brochure online by clicking on the front cover (below):


I hope to show you some more ideas using the various stamp sets on promotion soon.

Love from Crafty Kim

Tip for The "Oops" Factor

Know that sinking feeling you get when you have to move a piece of cardstock, paper or stuck-down embellishment? How to lift it without ripping the underlying visible material?

Some time ago my knowledgeable scrappin' friend, Rachel English, gave me her Lil' Chizzler (Rachel doesn't need it because she doesn't make mistakes). I was very impressed and have been on the look-out for more of them since (now found, at the affortdable cost of $3 each). For those who don't often use tape dispensers and prefer rolls of tape, the Lil' Chizzler is also very useful for peeling the backing paper of double-sided tape off.

More recently, the very talented Marelle Taylor, shared another useful tip for removing or shifting items already stuck-down - Tooth Floss. Simply pull a length of floss out and wrap it around your fingers before easing it under the item to be removed. Gently wiggle and tug until the item is removed. For a demonstration of this technique, click here.

And that's not all Tooth Floss is useful for! Come back soon to see another way I use it. I promise there is no dental hygiene involved.

Hope this helps you with the "oops" factor.

Love from Crafty Kim

Stampin' Up's Victorian Bush Fire Appeal

Like many other corporations operating in Australia, Stampin Up! has announced a Bush Fire Appeal to aid the victims of the Victorian bush fires. SU! is donating 50% of the retail value of all sales from a group of 10 stamp sets, listed below. In addition, to help promote sales and therefore donations, I am offering an extra 20% off these sets:

Priceless P.105 (Main Catalogue) was $48.95 NOW $39.16
Seeing Spots P.89 was $29.95 NOW $23.96
Baroque Motifs P.98 was $39.95 NOW $31.96
Live Your Dream P. 3 (Summer Mini) was $55.95 NOW $44.76
Looks Like Spring* P. 76 was $58.95 NOW $47.16
The Snowflake Spot* P. 27 was $39.95 NOW $31.96
Bodacious Bouquet* P. 80 was $58.95 NOW $47.16
Polka Dots & Paisley* P. 46 was $35.95 NOW $28.76
G'day Mate* P. 115 was $35.95 NOW $28.76
Be Happy* P. 51 was $39.95 NOW $31.96

The sets marked with an asterisk (*) will be retired shortly, so they will only be available for the Bush Fire Appeal while stocks last. I expect these sets will sell fast so if you want them, please act quickly!

As always, I can supply numerous ideas on how to use the stamps shown above. Click on the links above (the stamp set names shown in blue text) for sample card/s using these sets.

The offer runs from today until the 31 March 2009 but if you order by the end of the month, your purchases may qualify you for the Sale-A-Bration promotion i.e. free stamps.

It's a "win-win" for everyone so please contact me on 0402 347 010 or email me to purchase your stamps.

Love from Crafty Kim

Valentine Pull Treat

Here's a cute variation on the Ribbon Pull-Treat design (click here for a tutorial on how to make it, it's very easy).

The colours of Purely Pomegranate and Chocolate Chip are rich. I've used the So Swirly Jumbo Stamp Wheel in the background. The hearts are from the Polka Dot Punches Sale-A-Bration set and the "Love You" greeting from Short and Sweet greeting set. When you pull on the Chocolate Chip stitched ribbon (from the current Summer Mini catalogue), here's what you get:


I'm rather partial to Lindt chocolate myself but I "toughed it out" with Cadbury Furry Friends. But you can customise these pull sleeves to any size of flat treat that you want.

Thanks to Jayne Mercer for bringing this project along to our stamping gathering on Valentine's afternoon/evening. Putting all the other benefits aside, I'd be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for the company alone; so nice to hang out with people who share the passion.

Love from Crafty Kim