I promised that if you sent me a Christmas card featuring Stampin’ Up!® stamps (retired or current), I would post it here.  Problem is, that was before my computer quit talking to my printer/scanner exactly 3 months ago, and every little thing I’ve tried to do ever since has taken 10 times as long as it should!  But I finally had the opportunity to go up to my folks’ and scan in your cards – and then copy them to CD to bring back home to work with.  A little bit round Robin Hood’s barn, but it worked.  And afterall, Christmas was only *1* month ago, lol!

So check out these delightful cards over in the left-hand column (click to open the album) – and feel free to invite your friends to view your published artwork!  Thank you for brightening my holidays! 

Just another example of why I’m so proud to be a part of the Stampin’ Up!® family!

Click here for a heart-warming story (and video)!

Here is one of the eight card gift sets that Steffi made for gifts this year.  The pockets inside each hold 3 cards and corresponding envelopes – yielding 9 cards altogether.  Undertaking 8 of these was a hugely ambitious project, but they all turned out very nice.  Thank you for sending me these pictures, Steffi!

Woo Hoo!  I’m so excited to discover this morning that Stampin’ Up!® has just announced that their fabulous "Wrapping up the Holidays" special has been extended through the end of December!  To read about my favorites and download the flyer about this fun "6 specials in 1", click here.

Have you had a chance yet to take advantage of this fabulous last-minute, 6-specials-in-one?  Well if not, there are only a few days left.  (Dec. 15th is the deadline, unless supplies run out earlier.)

Click here to view and download the flyer…..

My two favorite items on this special are:

1)  The 2-for-1 satin ribbon in those 2 luscious colors, Chocolate Chip and Purely Pomegranate.  They were beautiful at regular price, but getting TWO spools for the price of ONE is AWESOME!

2)  The 3-pack of metal tins.  Oh my gosh, have ever been having fun with those!  The sky’s the limit in terms of what you can tuck inside for a last-minute giftie!  Gift tags, a set of notecards, even candy!  Alter the entire tin completely, or just wrap it with a slip-off band.  This is not a routine item in our line, so be sure to get some for now – AND for later!

Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans…..

You see, the original plan was to have a link here that would take you to an up-to-date listing of the "To be retired (accessories) list" – and in fact, I even had that link posted as promised earlier on Monday.  But somewhere along the line, Stampin’ Up!® changed the game rules and decided to remove that list from general viewing.  So now it’s accessible only by demonstrators, and so………..

…… the only thing I can think of for the time being to get that list into your hands is to ask you to email me a special request for it, and I will send it to you individually.  I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience. 

Please be aware that the items on this list will only be available while supplies last – or until January 1 at the latest.  Several items have already sold out, and it’s likely that more will, as well, so I urge you not to wait too long to request your very own copy of the list.  And then be sure to place your order with your usual demonstrator ASAP! 

Request your own copy of the "to be retired (accessories) list" here.

Woo Hoo!  I have just received my very first 2007 handstamped Christmas card – and it was made by my daughter-in-law, Jennifer!  Beautiful card, Jenn!  Thank you!

Sure wish I could post it right here, right now – but alas, I’m still tangled-up with this computer/printer/everything-else-USB problem, and uploading and processing photos these days is an unbelievable drag.  Here’s an example of how I spent my evening last night:

Goal:  to get my most recent photos out of my camera and into my computer so I can begin working on my next "Stamp Class in your Mailbox". 

Process: 

1. Turn on my antique laptop and let it boot up – approx 20 minutes until it’s ready to go. 
2. Upload the 30 photos from my camera to the laptop – approx 55 minutes, including the program hang time, followed by overheat/automatic shutdown/reboot and start-over process.
3. Upload the 30 photos to online storage – approx. an hour and 30 minutes, including resetting the modem/router after losing internet service during the windstorm.
4. Download the 30 photos to my main compouter – less than 10 minutes!

So, nearly 3 hours later, I was finally ready to begin processing the photos so I could begin working on my next Stamp Class in Your Mailbox.  But of course, then I was too tired to actually *do* it, so that’s on today’s agenda. 

But I still intend to post the Stampin’ Up! Christmas cards you send me (so please DO)….. but I think it’ll probably be faster to drive up to Freeland, scan ’em on my folks’ computer, and then email the scanned picture back to myself, lol.  Can’t WAIT until I have time to work on getting this main computer fully-functional again!

This is part of my display from the Freeland Kris Kringle Market in which I participated over Thanksgiving weekend.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hi, and an extra-special thank you to my parents without whom I would never have been ready given everything else I’d been tied up with in the days leading up to this!  But Mom & Dad both helped tie on lots of price tags, and Mom hung out with me for all of Saturday, while Dad (along with his extended-length van) was invaluable helping me "schlep" stuff in and out – especially that awkward 6-foot-tall card rack. Oh, and they both saw to it that I was fed both days, too!

Here are the lists (alphabetical and numerical by page) of the stamps which will retire at the end of December.  If any of these have been on your wish list, call me quick to grab them up!

• To be retired (alphabetical)
• To be retired (by catalog page number)

Catalog not handy?  Here’s the link to the online version.

Many of you know I’ve been totally focused on this weekend’s Kris Kringle Market I’ve been preparing for ever since the last person left last week’s Stamp Camp series.  (So given these two back-to-back biggies, yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted here….. sigh…..)  And unfortunately all this heavy-duty November prep means I’ve also not had time to put out a full newsletter this month – in spite of the fact that Stampin’ Up! keeps pumping out special offer after special offer!  So if you haven’t already discovered these specials on your own, here’s where you’ll find all the goodies in effect this weekend!  (And I’ve got yet another special money-saving surprise for my newsletter subscribers; I’ll tell you about that when you place your orders!)

Today’s the last day of the Kris Kringle market, so I’ll be able to start returning emails and phone calls tomorrow.  Whew!