End of a Very Special Occasion...

All good things must come to an end, and today is the end of a VERY WONDERFUL 2012 Occasions Mini Catalog from Stampin' Up! and we must say farewell to some of my favorite stamp sets such as:

You're My Type (125564 wood mounted or 125650 clear mount)

Card created by Rosalie Gochnour

Love & Laughter (125475 wood mounted or 125477 clear mount)

Card created by Clani Ventu (?)

Take it to Heart (125520 wood or 125522 clear)

Apothecary Art (125525 wood or 125527 clear)

Card Created by Karen Flinn

**Since the Label Framelits will still be available for the Big Shot (see Carryover List, link below), I'm guessing there will be a new set in the upcoming catalog to go along with them!!**

Mouthwatering (125675 wood or 1125677 clear)

Card created by ME!!

And SURPRISINGLY, while the Blossom Punch will be carried over to the new catalog, the Mixed Bunch Stamp Set is also leaving...

Mixed Bunch (125535 wood or 125537 clear)

Card CASED by Sally H

To view all the items in the Occasions Mini Catalog, click on the link in the left column and to place an order, go to my store TODAY before 11 p.m. MST!

To see which items (mostly accessories) from the Occasions Mini Catalog will continue to be available and in the new catalog, CLICK HERE for .pdf of the Carryover List!

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

You Are Invited: T.A.C.O. Night!

Sense-ational Card Class!

Pretty excited about the upcoming  
"Sense-ational" Card Class 
on Thursday April 19th at 7 p.m.
at my house in Spanish Fork!!

This playful, more advanced stamping class will appeal to all your senses: Create 4 amazing cards you can TASTE, TOUCH, SMELL and HEAR (and of course, they all LOOK beautiful, too).

Cost: $16. Bring your own scissors and SNAIL adhesive (or order one when you register). To save your spot, CLICK HERE or call 801-376-8685 by Monday, April 16th!

What is Special About Tuesday?

Everybody's working for the weekend...so what is so special about TUESDAY? If you are a digital designer with My Digital Studio, there is a LOT to look forward to! Each Tuesday, Stampin' Up! releases NEW digital downloads starting at just 95 cents (and up to $20). You can choose what you need in your digital library and just pay for the ones you want!

Here is a peek at the downloads released today, April 10th: helping you wish "Congrats" to all your Rad Grads!

















CLICK HERE for the .pdf of today's downloads. 

If you haven't tried your hand at digital designing yet, you can download My Digital Studio Express FREE for 30 days from my Stampin' Store to see if you like it! For training, ideas and to learn more about MDS, visit www.mydigitalstudio.net or click on the banner, below

The Influence of Art

Sometimes the busy-ness of life prevents me from having time to create "just because"... but the planets aligned on Saturday evening when my talk for church was written and printed, the house was clean and the kids were off doing their own thing! So I found a cute sketch challenge on Create with Connie and Mary, swept the first layer of creative strata off my stamp desk and went to town :)

Here is sketch #196 from Connie and Mary:

And this is my creation:

This was the first time I used the new paper doily die and found that it cut through lightweight paper beautifully (like copy paper) with a shim on top of the sandwich. Other supplies used (all from Stampin' Up!): Early Espresso, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, Pear Pizzaz and Calypso Coral card stock, Berry Blossoms Designer Series Paper, Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon, Beautiful Wings Embosslit and Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Rhinestone Jewels and Petite Pairs stamp set (the other half of the "pair" is stamped inside and reads "...begin with YOU!")

It made me so happy when I was finished because I had created something beautiful! It reminded me of a message from "Music & the Spoken Word" with the Mormon Tabernacle choir that I was able to attend in March:

(By Lloyd Newell, March 4, 2012)

"Beautiful art is good for the soul. It can lift and inspire; it can calm and soothe; it can inform and enlighten. Art improves our quality of life and has been shown to stimulate brain function, reduce stress, and help us focus on things that really matter. Those who take time to appreciate art—in its many forms—understand its remarkable effects.

Years ago, a man purchased his first home and, with his limited budget, set to the task of furnishing it. But rather than buying a sofa, a nice kitchen table, or other pieces of furniture, he first bought some modest but inspiring artwork. He knew he would eventually need a place to sit in his new home, but he felt he neededart on his walls even more.

When friends and family came to visit, they admired the beautiful prints and paintings that adorned his walls, but they wondered why he did not have much in the way of furniture. He explained that he was working on saving enough money to buy better furniture, but he was afraid that if he did not place a priority on art, he might never be able to justify its purchase.

John Hafen, a noted artist from a hundred years ago, explained what this man seemed to know about art. He said: "The influence of art is so powerful in shaping our lives for a higher
appreciation of the creations of our God that we cannot afford to neglect an acquaintance with it. We should be as eager for its companionship . . . as we are eager for chairs to sit upon or for food to sustain our lives, for it has as important a mission in shaping our character and in conducing to our happiness as anything that we term necessities. Life is incomplete without it.”

Indeed, art makes life more meaningful. Whether a painting or a poem, a sculpture or a song, wholesome artistic expression lifts us from the everyday and helps us see beyond the here and now."
http://www.musicandthespokenword.com/messages/display.php?message=744

Rejoice in Christ!

Purses and Smooches!

And here's a little peek at one of the products from the Summer Smooch Suite:

Happy Easter!

SQUEEZING a little creativity in today...

I am squeezing in under the wire at Freshly Made Sketches with sketch #28:

And a color challenge I gave my Stampin' Family in March:

And this is what I came up with:

Whew! That felt good!