New Catalog Debuts and Already There's a SALE!

Hey y'all...I've been absent for awhile because it's summer and I've been enjoying life! I've been:
1)practicing to be an "empty nester" with #1 son away at a high school retreat for 5 days
2)enjoying the time alone with my man and
3)walking with some of my dear regulars at Starbucks who are dealing with the deaths of loved ones.
I know that's a downer way to begin, but I'm just keepin' it real, and life isn't always rosey, even in blogland.

While I was away, the new 2009-2010 Big Idea Book & Catalog debuted on the 1st, and there are so many lovely new things, it's hard to know where to begin to list them all.

There are:
--sets with coordinating papers for creating amazingly beautiful wedding invitations
--stamps with robots, aliens, a pheasant, and farm animals
--Stampin' Write MARKERS for the InColor Collection
--some really cute party kits for pirates and princesses having birthday parties
--a photo card kit for Christmas
and so much more I don't have space to list!

You can go online and view everything by clicking on the "24 Hour Online Shopping" icon in the upper right corner of this blog or you can get your hands on a catalog by letting me know you'd like one! Leave a comment or send me an email (see my profile for the address) or come to a class and I'll make sure you have a copy for oogling, dogearing, and highlighting!

To incent you even further to shop this month(and who really needs much nudging?), SU! is having a sale EVERY WEEK until August 1! The scallop edge punch, which I used to create one of the sympathy cards I needed this week, is 30% off! Just shop online and enter product code 112091, and the punch is $10.99 instead of $15.95. This offer is only good through 9:50 am (MT) July 6, so don't dilly dally! The next Deal of the Week will debut July 6 at 10am, and there are a total of 5 specials, so stay tuned to this blog for all the deets!

Here's the card I made Monday night after hearing that one of my customer-friends had received word that her brother had died. She's a daily regular, so we know her well, and all the partners will sign this. I used Basic Grey as my base, layered with some retired Urban Garden DSP, and kept it simple, creating a little scallop edge border in Basic Black for the sentiment. This layout was designed by Julee Tilman. I got the idea to flip it from Nancy Riley. Thanks, Nanc!

The sentiment is from God's Blessings (product code 114972) and is a great mix of 8 messages for everything occasion, including sympathy. I used the recently retired Wonderful You as the background images. The simple white 1/4" grosgrain completes the look. Oh! I almost forgot...the "just because we care" oval isn't just 1 stamp. It's a retired Hostess set that really reads "just because I care", but I masked out the "i" and stamped "we" from another stamp.

Take some time to think about how you're going to get your hands on or feast your eyes on this new catalog! I have a Stamp-A-Stack coming up July 19 at my house, and you can paw through it when you attend, or I can put one in the mail to you. You could also earn lots of the cool new stuff FREE if you host a class and invite your friends to learn how to create beautiful handcrafted cards like I post here regularly. Or, click on the icon in the upper right and shop to your heart's content!

Happy 4th! Enjoy the weekend!