Before I head out to Convention, I wanted to leave you with something "pretty" to look at.  This card was a July workshop sample – featuring a flower from our new "Pretties" kit.  I used a stamping sponge to apply the ink – stroking each petal from the center out to the tip.  And the center of the flower is one of our new GORGEOUS rhinestone brads.  Man, oh man!  I just can’t get enough of those beauties!  (The color is actually blue, from the "Ice" collection, although I know it doesn’t look that way in the scan.)

Colors are 2 of our "In Colors"(TM) – Blue Bayou and Soft Sky, the latter used in the Prints Designer Series paper on the card and as liner for the envelope.  And that’s Blue Bayou double-stitched ribbon.  Yummy!

Well, perhaps that should have been "While the demonstrator’s away, the stampers will play", lol!  Anyway, as you know I’m soon to be headed off for our annual Convention – and will, as always, bring back lots of new tips and ideas to share with y’all throughout this upcoming year.  I’m excited to be going to my 12th consecutive Convention, which some have dubbed "Disneyland for Demonstrators"!  Isn’t that a cool analogy?!?

Anyway, obviously I will not be able to do any workshops while I’m gone, so I thought I’d offer y’all the opportunity to participate in a Mystery Hostess Catalog Party in my absence!  Now that you’ve had your hands on your new Fall/Winter Collection for a couple of weeks, I’m sure you’ve got a healthy start on your wish list for upcoming workshops and/or our first Stampers’ 30 Club meeting.  But if you’ve got something there that’s just screaming "Gotta get it NOW!", then this opportunity is for you!

So – from now through Sunday, July 29th, just email me your "Gotta have it now" order, and when I return from Convention, I’ll write it all up and reply with all the $$ particulars. (Please note that probably won’t be until about the 30th or 31st of July.) 

But here’s the best part:  for every $25 in product you order, you’ll get 1 entry into my drawing to share in the hostess benefits generated by all the combined orders!  (Fine print:  presuming there are at least $150 in total orders, of course, so that hostess benefits are generated.)  And if YOU’RE one of the winners, I’ll let you know that at the time I contact you so you can choose your hostess goodies at that time, too. So think in terms of $25 increments, ok?

When you email me your order, please type the words "Mystery Hostess Catalog Party", followed by your name in the subject section, and I will look for those messages first.  I usually have several hundred messages awaiting me when I return from a trip like this, and it generally takes me several days to sort, read, and process everything – but if you’ll be sure to begin your subject with the words "Mystery Hostess Catalog Party", I will sort on those words, and make those messages a priority. 

So have fun, Stampers, and I’ll see you in August as we gear up for a great, new season of stampin’ together!

PS – If the "Three for You Punch Box" happens to be on your wish list, you might want to wait until August to order that item; there’ll be a cool customer special associated with that punch box next month!

News I can share:

1)  Get ready for a fun "special" in August – starring the "Three for You Punch Box".  And I only have 3 openings left in the month, so let me know ASAP if you’d like an August workshop! 

2)  The Holiday Mini Catalog is TO DIE FOR!!!  I got a sneak preview yesterday, and oh my GOSH, are you ever gonna LOVE it!!!  It’ll be in effect September – November, so let’s get your workshops on the calendar soon!  (And if you email me and ask, I’ll even let you in on a secret that’s sure to excite you!)

We just heard this morning…… the dates for SAB 2008 are from Feb. 1 – March 17.  No other details at this time, but at least we have dates!  🙂

This is the Make & Take project I had prepared for my Hostess Appreciation Party last night.  Unfortunately however, after an activity-crammed evening my hostesses were ready to take their goodies and head for home before getting around to making the card.  But my 1st-level demonstrators Dennise, Becca, and Aubrey were definitely up for some more stamping!  This card (in black & white & red, the theme colors of this year’s party) features the new stamp sets "Pick a Petal" (ladybug wings) and "Hugs & Wishes" (the greeting).  And 3 circle punches:  1/2", 3/4", and 1-1/4" circles.  I think I’m really gonna LIKE this Pick a Petal stamp set!

Well, we made it through the change-over to the new catalog, our Fall/Winter Collection 2007!  That’s always such an exciting, but dizzying time around here!  Wouldn’t you know I was even off-island the day that tall stack of boxes arrived, but thank goodness they were still intact on my porch when I got home that night, lol!  Then there were new labels to type up and fresh indexes to create, and Mom & Dad helped stuff books & apply stickers and organize ’em alphabetically by "South" and "North" (Island) so I’d be all ready for pickup day.

Ah, pickup day!  July 1!  One of my favorite days of the entire Stampin’ Up!(r) year!  Thank you to those of you who came to pick up your new books at one of my designated distribution places yesterday, and also to those who picked up catties as a favor for your friends!  What a thrill it is to be the conveyer of such fun!  🙂

Btw, I forgot to remind a bunch of you to put your names on the label on the back of your catalog – and don’t forget to bring it with you whenever we get together!

Looking forward – now it’s full steam ahead this week to polish up plans for my annual Hostess Appreciation Party & Auction on Friday.  I delivered invitations along with catalogs yesterday to those of you I saw, and the rest will go into the mail today.  And to assure your invitation to NEXT year’s big shindig, well, you know what you have to do!  😉 

The "to be retired accessories" list has been released this morning.  As usual, you will see color-coding (red, yellow, green) – indicating product supplies on hand.  This list will be updated daily; please check the most recent listing before ordering anything….. and even then it would be a good idea to include a Plan B item as backup in case availability changes.

The new catalog is almost here!  Woo Hoo!!!

Stampin’ Up!(r) is making available a delightful 6" x 6" sampler pad of double-sided papers (48 sheets, 12 each of 4 colors) during the month of May.  (Details here.)

This card features 3 of the Certainly Celery designs – along with a couple of stamped images from the "Love without End" set, which will be retiring at the end of June. (The main card is white, btw, but that doesn’t seem to show very well in the scan.)

I LOVE stamping directly on these gorgeous papers!  Makes a fun and FAST card!

So after many disappointments and broken hearts among stampers unable to order the "soon-to-be-retired" wheels – Stampin’ Up!® just announced this morning that they have made arrangements with their wheel supplier to continue manufacturing such wheels until the end of June! Sooooo…… all wheels shown in the current catalog are now once again available – even if they have been recently showing as "sold out"!

That’s how many stamp sets I will be offering to my hostesses in July at my annual Hostess Appreciation Party!  I’ve been clearing out the old to make way for the new this weekend, and wow! – have *I* got some EMPTY stamp shelves this year!  But that just means I’m all set and ready for the new catalog – and a fantastic Hostess Appreciation Party just 2 months from today!