CASEing is FUN!

If you think you're not very creative, I'm here to tell you that's OK! Don't let that stop you from making something beautiful.

To CASE, means to Copy And Share Everything! Stampin' Up! makes that really easy by providing catalogs (also called Idea Books) full of samples you can recreate exactly as shown, or you can personalize them by changing one or more elements.

The GOOD NEWS: Today Stampin' Up! released the 2015 Occasions catalog, full of fresh ideas for many spring occasions: Valentine's Day (well, OK - maybe that's not really a SPRING occasion in WI), Easter, Mother's Day and more!

You are encouraged to CASE them. Some projects, like the Valentine treat boxes on page 4, list all the items you'll need. You can also find videos filled with product information and inspiration HERE.

To sweeten the new catalog release even more, for a limited time, for every $50 order (excl. shipping & tax) you'll earn a free product from the Sale-a-Bration catalog, which was also released today.

By choosing products that go together, you can maximize your crafting dollars.

To get you started, I've created some simple samples. I'll give you the first peek today, then show more samples throughout the week. You can also see many of my cards in My Card Gallery on this blog or on Pinterest. There's an additional Pinterest board for samples from the Occasions catalog too!

CARD SAMPLES

• Start by cutting a 3" x 12" piece of your favorite pretty paper into four 3" x 3" squares. Here I used the beautiful paper from the Best Year Ever DSP - one of your free item options in the Sale-a-bration catalog (p4). 
  
• Today's card is for baby, so I chose a 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" piece of Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock for the card base.
• If desired, cut a piece of coordinating ribbon and attach to the 3" x 3" square. I used some retired Crisp Cantaloupe ribbon, but you could leave it off, substitute another color, or even use a 1/4" wide piece of cardstock instead.
• Adhere the square to the card base with Snail or your favorite adhesive, leaving about 1/4" of space below it.
• Stamp Happy New Baby from the One Tag Fits All set in Soft Suede ink on Crushed Currry cardstock.
• Punch out the stamped sentiment with the Extra Large Oval punch and adhere it to the 3" x 3" square with Stampin' Dimensionals to pop it up.
• Finish off the card by stamping 'Congratulations' from the Big News stamp set in Bermuda Bay ink above the square.

Here's a sample order to create this card and earn a free item from the Sale-a-Bration catalog:

$6.95 - Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock 131298 - 24 sheets; enough for 48 cards!

$5.95 - Soft Suede ink pad 126978

$5.95 - Bermuda Bay ink pad 131171

$31.95(Clear) - Big News stamp set; this set has birthday, wedding, thank you, congratulations, baby, and more - 11 stamps in all!

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Total that up and you're at $50.80 in product - enough to pick a free item from the Sale-a-Bration catalog!

If you like this Best Year Ever DSP I used in this project, you can get it FREE - what a great deal! One pack of paper goes a long way, and it's very versatile. I'll be showing more samples with this pretty paper later this week. Another great option is the Best Year Ever Accessory Pack, which has 3 colors of coordinating buttons and ribbon:

Why not get both? Just make sure your order totals $100 before shipping and tax and you'll earn 2 free Sale-a-Bration items that can be used to create cards for many occasions this spring. 

Add the:
$17.95 One Tag Fits All stamp set Clear 138583
$6.95 Crushed Curry Cardstock 131199
$16.95 Extra Large Oval Punch 119859, a clear block (F-$16.95 would be a good choice for the large Big News stamps, but E might work), maybe some Stampin' Dimensionals 104430 ($3.95), and Snail 104332 ($6.95). Don't forget to check the Clearance Rack  and Weekly Deals for other great bargains.

I'm looking forward to sharing more stamping inspiration with you. If you have samples to share, I'd love to see them as well!

Happy stamping!