This digital download has both lighthearted and thoughtful sentiments and imagery relevant to the unique COVID-19 and social distancing situation we are currently in. You can use the download in your cardmaking and papercrafting projects. Simply print the imagery on cardstock and cut it out. Since we are physically distanced from each other, now is a perfect time to share sunshine with our friends and family by sending cards!

As part of Stampin’ Up!’s Making a Difference program, 100% of the Share Sunshine PDF Download proceeds will go to COVID-19 efforts through these organisations:  You have the choice when downloading between these two funds.

• The World Health Organisation’s COVID-Solidarity Response Fund
• United Way Worldwide’s COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund

100% of the proceeds go to these funds.  The download is $12 (US dollars.)

Find it here:  Digital Give Back Download

Here's a look at some of the greetings from the download on some cards.  

Last Chance List Update

Quite a few things have sold out on our retiring products list including the Bird Ballad tin, the Botanic Prints Medley, snail refills, many colours of glimmer paper and a few other things.  

If you head here you'll see the remaining items from the Last Chance List.      Sue's Store Retiring Products

Hope things are going OK for you.  

Take care,  Sue 

The Last Chance Products list showing all the products retiring from our range is out now. 

You can find the section in my online store here:   Last Chance Products 

New host code is:  PQCX64E3   if you're ordering online.  

I'm just working my way through the new catalogue (demonstrators get an early peek - yay.)  Lots of new goodies which means lots on the retiring list to make room. 

Just wanted to flag a couple of things that we are waving a farewell to.  

Glimmer paper is going so if you're a fan of the sparkly - grab some of that before it goes.  Updated:  Almost gone - this morning I could just find red, sparkle and rose glimmer paper. 

The Stamparatus spare plates are not being sold separately in the new one so if you need an extra set - grab those now.  

Blends fans - don't panic when you see all the blends on the list.  They're being reconfigured and will be available in combo packs, not individually.   If you'd like any of our colours individually now is the time to get them.  

Snail and Snail refills are retiring.  We have a new adhesive in their place.   Black embossing powder and the embossing buddy are retiring from our range. 

Just a note too that there are a few dies that are on the list that are still going to be available but will be made by a different supplier.  I'll work out which ones and come back and update here so stay tuned - or get in touch if you have a question about any in particular.  

So far I've found these ones: Butterfly Beauty, In The Woods, Layering Circles, Layering Ovals, Layering Squares, Nature's Roots, Stitched Rectangles, Well Written   - these will be in the new catalogue but made by a different supplier.  This isn't a full list - still working on it.  Get in touch to check any specific item.  

After a bargain?   Check out this Botanical Prints Medley.  Reduced from $122 to just $48.80.  That one might go quickly.  The papers are beautiful. 

The Bird Ballad Laser Cut Cards and Tin are great too.  Beautiful tin and 12 laser cut cards with envelopes.  Reduced from $31 to $18.60.  

And lots more!  What are your favourites that we're farewelling to make room for more gorgeousness? 

I did a little run through today of the list here .....

Have a fab day.  Hope you're keeping well.  Get in touch if you've got any questions.  

Cheers, Sue

OK this is officially my favourite of my recent patterned paper creating that I've been doing lately.  

So quick and easy to whip up and a great way to use smaller leftover pieces of your favourite patterned paper.  

I've embossed the base card with an embossing folder that works with the paper design.  (Or whatever is handy - wink!)  

Tips:  The cardstock layer is an 8.5cm square.   The 4 small squares of DSP are 3.5cm squares.  (A square punch would be handy but I haven't got one anymore.  They're easy to cut with the trimmer.)  Then just mix and match, glue down and add a greeting. 

I'm slightly addicted to this design and have been making my way through all my patterned paper packs.  

Hope your week is going well.  My brain feels a little out of kilter this week - how is yours?  Definitely a music and card making day today to shake off the cobwebs.  And hopefully a newsletter coming your way as well.  Keep an eye on the inboxes.  

Take care all,   

Love Sue xx

Papers and Products used in these cards:  Click to shop or see more details... 

Parisian Blossoms Specialty Designer Series Paper [151192] $25.00

Country Club Designer Series Paper [151314] $20.00

Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper [149100] $20.00

Label Me Bold Cling Stamp Set (English) [151631] $30.00

Paper Trimmer [152392] $44.00

Another nice easy patterned paper card design for you today that is quick and easy to whip up.  Let's make our way through those patterned paper piles.  

These ones feature the striking Peaceful Poppies DSP - love the colours in this one.  I've used Poppy Parade, Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss and some Mossy Meadow cardstock and inks.  I've used my hello stamp from Accented Blooms again (because despite the fact that I'm not doing a lot at the moment, I seem to always feel tired and was too lazy to go and get another stamp set out....... because it is a favourite. Wink.) 

Tips:  I've cut a coordinating colour of cardstock 4cm x 14.3cm.  Run this through your favourite embossing folder for some added texture.  The DSP panel is 6cm x 14.3cm.  I actually often cut it at 7cm wide then overlap it with the cardstock so I don't need to worry about any irritating gaps if I cut a bit wonky.  Another tip is to just double check both pieces are the same height after you've embossed the cardstock -sometimes that make this panel a smidge shorter.  Check before you glue it down.    Your April newsletter has a handy cutting guide for all of this series of patterned paper designs in pdf form.  

Have a fabulous week and I hope you get some time to relax and create.  Our brains are a bit of a whirl these days aren't they - nice to switch off and get stuck into a papercraft project, preferably with a favourite song playing in the background.  Doesn't music lift the mood.  

Take care, Sue xx

Back again with another option for those patterned papers.  This is a great one for cutting a bunch of coordinating papers then mixing and matching to make a big batch of cards.   Class regulars might remember this design from one of our classes last year.  

(Card design based on this Carolina Evans creation.)  

Tips: For this one cut your patterned paper 3 1/2" x 5 3/8".   Now cut a 1" strip off one long side.  With the wider section cut at 2" and another piece 3  1/4".  You'll have a little thin piece to discard.  (Or to use on another project if you don't mind little fiddly bits!)    Keep an eye out for your April newsletter with a handy measurement/cutting guide pdf for these cards.  

You can go with portrait or landscape orientation as shown below.  

Once again I've used the Ornate Garden DSP for these ones.   Coordinating ribbon is handy if you happen to glue anything a bit wonky - wink!  

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.

Take care, Sue xx

Products Used In These Cards:  Click to see more detail or to pop them in your shopping cart

Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper [152488] $26.00	Accented Blooms Cling-Mount Stamp Set [151336] $35.00	Tailored Tag Punch [145667] $31.00	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] $7.00	Paper Trimmer [152392] $44.00
Varied Vases Photopolymer Stamp Set [146644] $45.00	Terracotta Tile A4 Cardstock [150890] $15.25	Terracotta Tile Classic Stampin’ Pad [150086] $13.00	Ornate Layers Dies [152726] $64.00	Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack [152479] $12.25

Back again with another design to help you transform those patterned paper piles into pretty cards all set to mail to someone you care about.  This one also is a 3 panels design - but this time with a wider border. 

Need some measurement hints for this one?  The card base is an A5 folded in half - so 10.5 x 14.8 is the folded size. 

The cardstock matting layer is 8.5 x 12.8cm.   The panels of DSP are 2.5 x 12.3cm   (or 1" x 12.3cm if you don't mind a mix of inches and cm.  I tend to flick between both.)  

Tip:  Glue the outside two panels on first then you can even things up with the middle one.  Liquid glue is very handy as you get that little bit of wiggle time if your initial aim is as crooked as mine!   

The featured DSP in these cards is the brand new Ornate Garden patterned paper.  The greeting is from Accented Blooms - love that Hello stamp and the coordinating punch. 

I hope you're keeping well.

We've finished our first week (well - half week) of learning from home with my two.  So far so good here. The school have done a great job of planning for this over the last few weeks.   Jack (Yr 9) is really enjoying this style of doing things.  He can zip through at his own pace and intersperse his music, games and what not in between activities.   Hannah (Yr 12) is missing her friends and that daily interaction over recess and lunch.  I feel sad for her and the other year 12s that have that regular final year stress with all these other complications.   The teachers are working really hard to make the best of this situation.  I'm grateful my kids are older and at a more independent stage.  Sending a virtual hug to anyone finding it tough this week.  

Nice to be Friday and a restful weekend ahead for all.  Hope things are going smoothly at your place.  The days blend in a bit with each other don't they! 

Take care and hope some creative time is helping the mood this weekend.

If you're looking for something to do, did you know that each weekend on YouTube a different musical is released for 48 hours only - find them at The Shows Must Go On.  This weekend it is one of my favourites - Phantom Of The Opera. 

I can't wait.  Here's the link to the channel.  So far they've had Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and Jesus Christ Superstar.  Have you got any favourites you're hoping will be on the list.  A good friend sent me a novel about the life of Eric from the Phantom.  I just finished reading it so this is perfect timing.  

Love Sue xx 

Product List:  Click the link for a closer look at any of these supplies or to shop online. 

Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper [152488] $26.00

Accented Blooms Cling-Mount Stamp Set [151336] $35.00

Tailored Tag Punch [145667] $31.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] $7.00

Paper Trimmer [152392] $44.00

Over the next few days I've got some cards featuring ways to use our patterned papers.  Who has a big stash of those?  Time to get them out, get them cut up and pop them on a card.  Then the best bit - pop it in the post to someone special. 

This first design is a nice easy one with 3 panels glued straight onto the base card.  (Keep an eye on your next newsletter for a measurement PDF.)  

These two cards use the Best Dressed DSP on a base of Purple Posy.  

The greeting is from Forever Lovely stamp set and it is cut out using one of the Painted Labels dies. I like how it gives a nice embossed border to the shape. 

I've got some cards made previously with retired papers/products to show a few more ideas for this design. I love this nice soft pastel one. 

And who has some Christmas papers in their collection?

The DSP panels for these cards are:  

3.2 x 14.4cm  or   1 1/4” x 14.4cm

Leaves just a narrow border around the edge and between the panels. 

I'll be back tomorrow with another patterned paper card design to help you make use of any paper piles you've discovered! 

Take care, Sue

Just letting you know that the clearance rack has had some restocking with discounted retired items.  They're while stocks last and usually just a smaller number of each so if you spot something you'd like grab it quickly before it disappears.  

Browse here:   Clearance Rack

Here are a couple of things that caught my eye this morning - the snowflake trinkets (so pretty), a couple of punch packs with 4 little punches in each and some lovely DSP.  

Have a great day.

Take care, Sue

Wishing you a happy Easter. Lots of us missing being with our extended families and loved ones and today. Many people are missing being with the congregations they belong to.   I hope you're able to connect another way with your families and communities and may we all be together again as soon as it is safe.

Stamp set featured on these cards is Forever Lovely.  I love the mix of delicate flowers and heartfelt greetings that feel especially poignant today.

Take care,   Sue

Hey All, how are things?  Just checking in to say a quick hello.   I hope you are keeping well and managing OK through this strange patch of life.  

We are sort of finding our groove a bit here.  It is rather up and down isn't it.  Some days I feel really productive and positive then other days I fluff about and get nothing done or feel tired and flat.  We all need to be gentle with ourselves and each other I think.  I am trying to focus on finding things to feel grateful for and that is a nice long list.  When I was pregnant with Hannah a friend gave me a pretty gratitude journal and suggested I write 3 things each day that I was grateful for.  I still love to get that out every now and then and read through the entries.  Sleep featured very highly in those new baby days.   I think now is a good time to recultivate that habit.  I have one of these Pressed Petals journals on the shelf so that might suit I think.  Decorating it will be a nice way to spend some time too.  

I did find this list shared by a friend on facebook and found it helpful.  (Although I have to say I've definitely not being doing that top row of tips as the members of my household will attest.  It is all PJs, yoga pants and no makeup here most days!)  

Have you been waiting on me to get myself organised and get some of our virtual craft catch ups happening?  Humble apologies - it is taking me longer than I thought to get up and running and work out the logistics with my brain that seems to be finding it hard to get into gear.  I've got a team 'Virtual Happy Hour'  happening this Friday so this will be a great chance to test out how things work, iron out a few bugs, search out some tips and instruction sheets and then hopefully we'll be all set to dive in and have a go at our virtual craft catch ups.  It is a bit of a learning curve for all of us I expect working out how to use some of these 'connecting online' options.   When I do get it up and running we can have a bit of a 'show and tell' and share projects we've been making.   I'm looking forward to seeing your faces for those that can join in.  

The school term begins for teachers next Tuesday and for students on Wednesday here in Victoria.  It is going to be very different with most students learning from home for all of term 2.  I'm expecting I might be part of the skeleton staff that will be supervising students in the listed categories that may be coming to school.  Will be a learning curve for schools, staff, students and families no doubt in the coming weeks and no doubt we'll need to make lots of changes along the way as we adjust to new ways of doing things.  

When I was doing our La Manna supermarket shop yesterday, I got these flowers and snuggly socks for my sad teen who is missing her friends and not relishing the prospect of not seeing them in person for many months.  Sending all my best wishes to those finding aspects of this time very difficult.  

Signing off for now and hmmm - better take my own advice and go change out of the PJs.  Wink!  

Take care and sending happy vibes your way,

Cheers, Sue

Some of the items from this post - click to browse or online shop:   

Pressed Petals Journal [149588] $11.25

Pressed Petals Suite Bundle [152193] $167.75

Free As A Bird Cling Stamp Set [149468] $38.00

Free As A Bird Bundle [151123] $89.00

Journaling Pens [145480] $10.50