New catalog sneak-peek cards

Last week Stampin' Up!^® demonstrators were able to order a selection of new products from the upcoming 2013 - 2014 Annual Catalog. Although it would have been oh-so-easy to do, I exercised some restraint and didn't order all the sneak-peek items that were available. But I've definitely been having fun playing with the goodies I did order, and here are four card designs to prove it (all supplies are from Stampin' Up!):

Supplies:
Stamps: Best of Butterflies
Card stock: Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar, Strawberry Slush, Pistachio Pudding, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe
Ink: Strawberry Slush, Pistachio Pudding, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories: Postage Stamp punch, Elegant Butterfly punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, Calypso Coral baker's twine, Dimensionals

This clean and simple card showcases the five new In Colors that will be available in 2013 - 2015: Baked Brown Sugar, Strawberry Slush, Pistachio Pudding, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe. (Makes you just a little bit hungry, doesn't it?) I also used one of the "Best of 25 Years" stamp sets that Stampin' Up! is producing in celebration of the company's 25th anniversary. These sets, which are being released each month in 2013, aren't in the new catalog, but they will be available through March 2014.

Supplies:
Stamps: Label Love
Card stock: Early Espresso, Coastal Cabana, Island Indigo, Old Olive
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Artisan Label punch; Chevron, Houndstooth, Argyle embossing folders; 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon; rhinestones; Dimensionals

This card is 4-1/2" square and uses the Label Love stamp set and coordinating Artisan Label punch. The stamp set has seven images for different occasions/themes: birthday, friendship, wedding, baby, for you, to/from tag, and a solid label with a circle in the middle. The colors on this card include one of the new In Colors (Coastal Cabana) as well as a current In Color that will be added to the regular color line-up in the Regals collection (Island Indigo).

Supplies:
Stamps: Bright Blossoms, Petite Pairs
Card stock: Smoky Slate, Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush
Ink: Smoky Slate, Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Apothecary Accents and Ovals Collection Framelits dies, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Occasions paper-piercing pack, paper-piercing tool and mat, white Simply Pressed clay, Buttons and Blossoms Simply Pressed molds, Artisan Label punch, corner rounder, Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, pearls, Aquapainter, Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals

I made this card design in two of the new In Colors: Crsip Cantaloupe and Strawberry Slush. (There is one difference between the cards. Can you spot it? I forgot to paper pierce the Very Vanilla oval on the Crisp Cantaloupe card. Oops.) The card base is Smoky Slate, a new member of the Neutrals color collection, and the flower leaves and stems are Pear Pizzazz, a former In Color joining the Subtles collection. To make the Smoky Slate layer behind the oval, I used the new Artisan Label punch (see previous card), cut the punched shape in half and glued each half to one side of the oval.

Did you notice the dimensional flowers on these cards? They are made with the new Simply Pressed clay and Buttons and Blossoms molds. They are easy and fun to make, although you do have to allow for drying time. I made several of them one day, let them dry overnight and then played with them the next day. The clay, which is lightweight and has a foam-like quality to it, is white. To color the clay you can knead reinker into it before pressing it in the molds. You also can color the dried white embellishments with markers or reinkers and an Aquapainter. Adding color when the flowers or buttons are dry, which is the method I used, creates a more vibrant color and allows you to use different colors on one embellishment. Just think -- now you can have embellishments in any color you want!

Supplies:
Paper: Basic Gray card stock, This and That Epic Day Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Accessories: Modern Mosaic embossing folder, Mosaic punch, Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, pearls, Dimensionals

Embossing folders are one of my favorite card-making tools, so I'm always excited to get a new one. And the new Modern Mosaic folder even has a coordinating punch. (There are also a coordinating stamp set and DSP, but I didn't order them.) For this card I embossed a layer of Basic Gray card stock that was just slightly smaller than the card base. I punched a few Mosaic shapes out of the This and That Epic Day DSP and adhered them "randomly" to the embossed card stock, using Dimensionals for a few of them.

I hope you enjoyed my sneak-peek cards, and I hope they made you as excited about the new Stampin' Up! catalog as I am. Thanks for stopping by!