Project Life by Stampin' Up! ~ Order May 1st!

I didn't see this coming.  I thought I would have to deal with being torn between the two forever.  But alas, my two favorite crafty companies decided that I should not have to deal with this quandary any longer, and the two just recently partnered together as a way to make my life so much easier.  THANK YOU Project Life and Stampin' Up!

As many of you know, my scrapbooking has evolved quite a bit in recent years.  We had our traditional 12x12 layouts during many years of Scrap Club.  Then I did the grid scrapbooking for a couple years with you all.  Then as of late, my move has been more to the popular "drop-in" scrapbooking as pioneered by Project Life.  For a couple years, I happily used the style of Project Life drop-in with Stampin' Up! supplies. But oh how I wanted to move to buying pre-made journal and decorative cards....

And now my dream has come true!  SU and Project Life just announced that the new catalog in June will feature Project Life kits exclusively offered by SU!  Not only that, but there will be journal pens, accessory packs, dies, stamps, page protectors, and even ALBUMS!  I can't wait to see those!

You can read more from SU and even watch a helpful video by clicking HERE.  

I was super happy when I found out that demos could pre-order one of the Project Life lines, and I got it just in time to take to a weekend crop.  So I have several samples to show you!  

And the greater news is that you, as SU customers, can order some of the new Project Life supplies starting May 1st!  I am going to hold our April group order to be entered on May 1st just so you can take advantage of this ASAP.  Here are the things you can order May 1:

Now here are my samples to share!

What do you think?  Are you excited?!  :)  And I'm going to offer 10% off!  Read on....

Local friends, place your order with me by April 30th for 10% off (that's free shipping for the locals)!  I will enter orders promptly on May 1st.  Orders being sent off at 9pm CST.

Long-distance friends, if you would like to get my 10% off deal, you must place your orders online on May 1st.  The workshop will close at 9pm CST.  

• Go to stampinup.com to order on May 1st (this is the only day I'm giving 10% off)
• Enter Jamie Kaufmann as your demo (Springfield, IL 62704)
• Use hostess code:  7KJGNX3Y (you must use this code to get the 10% refund)
• Complete your order
• Email me your Paypal email at stampingcafe@gmail.com so I can refund your 10% savings

For this 10% offer, feel free to add anything to your order.  Retirement items, clearance items, Occasions Catalog items, Project Life products...get what you need.  :)  

Holiday Catalog Begins Today & Free DSP!

It's August 1st and the new SU Holiday Catalog is live!  If you haven't gotten a copy in the mail, you can see it online by clicking HERE.  Contact me to receive a hard copy.

For the first time, SU is offering Bundle discount prices on coordinating items in the Holiday Catalog! 

And if you place a $20 order this week, you will receive the 12 different designer paper sheets from the Festival of Prints DSP Stack on page 20, as a gift from me!  This bonus is in addition to getting punches on your punch card.  Offer ends August 5th at 11:59 pm.  

Color Renovation Kits!

I've already lived through one color revamp by SU. And I have to say, I can tell that this round is going to be much smoother! SU has really thought of us, the customers, when revamping the colors.
You have to check out these New Color Kit Specials before you start ordering new colors! There are some freebies and some savings to be had!!!

Markers in the 13 new core colors! The price is equivalent to saving over 20% compared to buying them individually!

Ink Pads in the 5 in-colors, with 20 sheets of coordinating cardstock FREE!

Ink Pads in the 6 new core colors, with 24 sheets of coordinating cardstock FREE!

Ink Pads in 6 new core colors and 10 returning in-colors turned core, with 32 sheets of coordinating cardstock FREE!

Watercolor Crayons in new colors to add to your collection. New tins, inserts, and trays included to give you a complete update

Stampin' Pastels in new colors to add to your collection. New tin and inserts...again to fully update your collection!

I think the new color lines are fantastic. And I think these kits are even MORE fantastic. Way to go SU!

SU's Color Renovation!

And I thought the only thing getting a renovation was our new home! Yep, the big news today is that SU is giving us a big heads-up on color changes coming in the new catalog in July! Many colors are retiring, some retired In-Colors are coming back, and new colors will be introduced!

Here is a chart of how the new color families will look. Click here to see a larger version.


And here are the colors that are retiring. Again, click here for up close and personal.

You are able to order retiring colors so be sure to stock up on all your favorites in ink refills and cardstock!

Personally, I think this is a fun change! Let me know what you think!

Spring/Summer 2009 Catalog Is Here!

Today begins the sales period for the new Spring/Summer 2009 catalog. You can view it online here. If you would like your own copy, I have them for $5. Catalog is good through June 30th.

All New Stamp Sets Will Be Die-Cut!

Here's the awesome announcement from SU:

When it comes to quality stamp sets, Stampin' Up! has been an industry leader for several years. Our original, exclusive stamps have earned the prestigious Creating Keepsakes Readers' Choice Award for best rubber stamps eight years in a row, and every year we work to make them even better!

We're excited to announce that all new stamp sets in the Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog (including new hostess sets) will be die cut for your convenience! We know you enjoy the flexibility of custom mounting your stamps, and with these die-cut sets, all you'll need to do is pop, peel, and place before you begin stamping.

Only our new stamps will be die cut; sets carried over from the last catalog and those on the dormant list will still require trimming. But, each new set will feature a die cut icon so you and your customers will have no problems identifying die-cut sets.

Spring/Summer 08 Retirement List

The SU retirement list came out on June 15th. You can view the list alphabetically by stamp set name or numerically by catalog page number. These sets are only available through August 1oth. Then they will retire for good, when the new catalog comes out August 11th.

Retired Stamps List (Alphabetical)
Retired Stamps List (Numerical)

SU's New Product Line

Here is the big announcement from Stampin' Up!........

Décor Elements

Our Décor Elements product line is an extension of our Definitely Decorative home décor line. Décor Elements is vinyl artwork for walls, mirrors, windows, or other hard, smooth surfaces.

Stampin' Up! has long advocated decorating your home using Definitely Decorative stamp sets. Décor Elements takes that same idea and uses a different medium to accomplish the same mission-making your home a beautiful representation of your style!

Through our product development, we've been able to achieve intricate designs because of our manufacturing process. Whether customers want to spice up the walls of their house or frame a piece for display, Décor Elements is easy to apply, easy to love, and easy to remove.

This product line is available to demonstrators beginning June 18, 2008, and will be available to customers on July 1, 2008.

Waiting on SU Announcements!

I can hardly wait for the details on these exiting releases!

June 15th: Spring/Summer 08 Retirement List!

As always, soon after the list is out, I will go through my stamps and decide which retiring items I will be selling off. Although they can't be sold until the new catalog comes out August 11th, I allow my stampers to preview my personal retirement list and to take dibs on what they want to adopt from me come August. My club members get first dibs on the list. And then I open it up to everyone about a day later.

Sending out my own retirement sale list has become quite popular, and my stampers have even requested to know in advance the day/time I will send it out so that everyone has a fair chance to snag what they want (since it's first come/first serve). So stay tuned for more details on when I will release my list on the 15th.

This time, I will just post the list on my blog instead of emailing it BECAUSE....I always run into the problem of reaching my email limit before I get it sent out to everyone! Hopefully using the blog will make it go much more smoothly this year.

June 17th: A special announcement regarding a new product line!

Demonstrators are thinking this will be a BIG announcement since it will be a downloadable, prerecorded message from Shelly, the SU Founder. Usually the SU announcements come in a simple written statement. This time we will hear the words from Shelley herself. So what could it be?!?!? The demos are speculating like mad over at Splitcoast. Here are some guesses:

Copics Markers
Die Cut Machine
Cricut or Cuttlebug SU dies
Acrylic Stamps
Die Cut Stamps

Do you have a guess? Leave a comment, it will be fun to dream about this for the next week.

Hodgepodge Hardware Finishes Retiring

Stampin' Up! has given us a little sneak peak into the upcoming retirement list. Here is their announcement.

The Hodgepodge Recruiting promotion features the Aged Copper, Antique Brass, and Pewter finishes of the Hodgepodge Hardware. Please note, however, that when the new Fall-Winter catalog debuts, these finishes will no longer be available; they will be retiring with the Spring-Summer Collection 2008.

Wild Wasabi Promotion Over

SU received a tremendous response the Wild Wasabi Promotion, and the supply has been exhausted before the April 30th end date. I will have a sample up soon of a card we made at club this month using the wasabi cardstock promotion. I need Jeff to show me how to put samples on from our main computer. My laptop is sick right now. Boo hoo.

Occasions Mini Extended!

Yeh! The fruit will be around a little longer than expected. I just love that theme! Here is the announcement from SU.

We are pleased to announce that we are extending the sales period of the Occasions Mini Collection 2008 through June 30.

Because the date for the Spring-Summer Collection 2008 has been extended until August 10, we're giving you an extra month to submit orders for occasions mini products.

Now Accepting Credit Cards

I am finally able to accept credit and debit cards for catalog orders! Mastercard, Visa, and Discover will all be accepted. This is just for catalog orders that I place through Stampin' Up. Class fees, retired merchandise, Scrap Club, and any other payments that go directly to me (not through SU) will still require cash or check.

SU Shipping Rates Increased.....Kinda

Thankfully, this is only for smaller orders. Here's the information from SU.

The minimum shipping rate will increase from $3.95 to $6.95 as of Tuesday, April 1. This change only affects any orders totaling less than $69.50, as the regular 10% rate on any order type above that amount will remain the same.

This means that if your order goes in on a workshop order, you will just pay the normal 10% SH because total workshop orders are usually more than $69.50.

If you are putting in an individual order less than $69.50, outside of a workshop, I can always try to combine your order with other orders to get the lesser shipping costs. So hopefully this won't affect us too much.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Sale-A-Bration Success Story

Recent stats from Stampin' Up!:

On Monday, March 17 (the last day of Sale-A-Bration), Stampin' Up! history was made with $3.5 million in sales--our largest single day of sales ever! What a grand way to end Sale-A-Bration! And that's not all.

The total number of Sale-A-Bration items earned was nearly 700,000; the most popular Sale-A-Bration item was the Lots of Thought set, with more than 120,000 earned.

Thanks to my customers, specifically, for making this another successful Sale-A-Bration season for me. Free stamps are always more fun when stamping with friends!