25 Things you may have missed

Yesterday, I shared with you the 19 fabulous Stampin’ Up! 2017 Holiday Catalogue (Visit the Bundles of Holiday Happiness to find out more.)  Hopefully by now you’ve had a chance to pour over your holiday catalogue and checked out all the brand new products inside. There is so much happening on every page so it would be very easy to miss something really good.  Because I don’t want you to miss out on a single thing, I’ve pulled together a “25 Things You May Have Missed” list.

So grab your catalogue and let’s start at the very beginning… a really good place to start…

1. On the right hand side of page 5, almost hidden is Quilt Top Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. This folder is fantastic! I’m really unsure why it was not featured more prominently. The pattern literally looks like the “over sewing” on the back of my mum’s handmade quilt.  This pretty texture pattern would look great on patterned designer series paper or plain card stock.  If you look really closely at the Old Olive sample below the folder you can see the design. Isn’t it lovely? It will be a perfect addition to heaps of cards!
2. Moving on to the next page, check out the cute little pine branches from the Christmas Staircase Thinlits Die set – when my friend, Ms M first saw it she wondered out loud “why is there seaweed on a Christmas page?”  It’s funny how we see things differently.  These pine boughs will work great on cards, scrapbooks and gift packaging. Of course, you could use it in a seaside themed project too!
3. Now hop on over to page 10 and look at the jute decoration (garland) the lady in green is holding. I’m loving the black designer series paper bows on the striped banners – a great way to use your bow builder punch.  Look closely at the first card on the garland… you will see that they’ve added some glimmer paper  with foam strips behind the moon and a few of the stars cutout and the base of the trees.  What a GENIUS way to make small sections sparkle without having to FILL the card! This would work well with metallic foil underneath too.
4. Okay we’ve arrived at page 12.  The super cute Merry Little Labels stamp set is perfect for Christmas but can you see how these stamps can be used all year long?  If you ink the stamps with your markers or mask with washi tape you can omit the holly and berries on the “Eat Drink and Be Merry” and the “For/From” stamps.  Or perhaps you need words for a new baby or other special delivery? Simply mask the words “from the North Pole” on the Special Delivery stamp. Of course there is no effort required to use the No Peeking and the Just For You Stamps. They are perfect anytime!
5. Did you see the lovely Acetate card boxes on page 13?  I ALMOST MISSED THEM!!! Of course, you can decorate them and fill them with cards to give as a gift. But why not fill them with bright lollies or wafer thin savoury crackers for a yummy treat instead?  Team the mini ornaments and green sprigs with the striped ribbon for fabulous decorations.
6. If you are a card maker, I’m guessing you didn’t even spare a glance for the Merry Little Christmas Memories & More Card Pack on page 14.  Well back up a little… for $17.50 you get 72 panels that you can use to make your Christmas cards in a snap. Grab some Thick Whisper White Cardstock or Merry Little Christmas or Quilted Christmas cardstock packs, a basic Christmas greeting stamp, some adhesive and envelopes – Voila! You’ve got this year’s cards S-O-R-T-E-D! You can make each card with an envelope from around 70cents per card. What a bargain!  They will look way better than the store bought ones!
7. Everyone seems to love the Christmas Stockings on page 15 but did you see that you can turn it into a pillow box?  That’s right – just cut out a stocking, flip the die to cut the “top” right before the heel and you’ve got a larger pillow box. You could use this for gift giving all year long!
8. On page 17, did you see how they used scraps of Merry Music specialty designer series paper to create a faux washi tape look on the rocking horse card?  A simple trick to use your designer series paper scraps.
9. It wouldn’t be Christmas in Australia without the beach.  So of course, I had to think of a way to use Beachy Christmas  (page 19) all year round… why not mask the wreath on the little beach house or make a little lifeguard ring to cover it.  Then you can use that beach shack (or Bach as the kiwi’s call it) all year round.
10. Well there’s lots to see on page 20… first up look at the Sparkle Tag (bottom left) – stamping the words “may your season” in old olive onto a white banner adhered with dimensionals adds an extra something to this tag.  Then of course there’s the opportunity to put your kids to work punching out glimmer paper circles to bling up an acetate box for pretty packaging.  Of course you can take all the credit!   Lastly, don’t forget you can create your own backgrounds by repeat stamping the same image as shown on the real red and crumb cake gift boxes.
11. Speaking of backgrounds, did you see the ugly Christmas jumper background on page 22?  You can recreate that effect with ease by mounting several clear mount or photopolymer stamps together on the largest acrylic block (Block F) and inking them – you only need to stamp once.  Talk about quick and easy!
12. Use the sugarplum dreams stamp set for your Disney themed “It’s a small world” party!
13. Unsure about the Musical Instruments Framelits Dies? Diecut the Lute, turn it upside down and ta da! A baby’s rattle – you can even make shaker baby rattles using the negative. Perfect for your New Baby cards.
14. The Brightly Lit Christmas bundle on page 29 has all sorts of possibilities there are three different banners there that you can use with a ton of greetings. You can totally use the gifts and bow for new baby, birthday and anniversary cards.  Perhaps that lamp post can be totally turned into something super spooky!
15. Before I forget, I have to tell you that one patterns in the Christmas Around the World designer series paper has a kiwi on it.  Just perfect for our friends across the ditch in New Zealand! You could hand cut the nutcrackers to use as embellishments on your projects too.
16. If you are a shaker card maker, you are going to love the teeny tiny punchies made by the Ornamental Christmas Framelits set – These would be ADORABLE in your shaker card!
17. We’ve come a long way through the catalogue… Now for my absolute favourite embellishment in the WHOLE holiday catalogue! It is NOT TO BE MISSED!!!! It’s the absolutely fabulous Year of Cheer Specialty Washi Tape.  Can you see it page 36?  Let me tell you the catalogue photos DO NOT do it justice!  It is breathtaking in real life! If you are looking LOVE the mixed metallics trend and want ALL your metallics (copper, gold and silver) in one product then this is for you!  I have used this washi tape in my planner, to cover buttons, and all sorts of ways… I’ll get round to using it on cards soon.
18. Before you move on, look at the “Joy” card on the left of page 35 – at the bottom of the banner they have cut a foil snowflake so it peaks from the bottom of the banner for maximum impact.
19. Still on page 35, I love the circle garland in the background.  Who would have thought mixing and matching circles punched from the new champagne foil sheets with copper, silver and gold foil would be so effective?  If your kids have free time during the current school holidays you could get them started on this project.
20. Speaking of foil did you see the foil box that’s been dry embossed with the winter wonderland textured impressions embossing folder ? What a way to make a statement!
21. Throughout the catalogue you may have noticed the super cute mini-pizza boxes.  You can find these on page 44.  These cute boxes are already-flying-off-the shelves! They are designed to work perfectly 3″ X 3″ mini cards  and envelopes created with The Little Things and the Festive Phrases stamp sets. But think “outside the box”.  Fill them with treats or turn them into “Survival” Kits, travel games, recipe books and even mini scrapbooks.
22. Did you know that the Labels to Love stamps coordinates perfectly with Everyday Label Punch (page 12)? This set can definitely be used all year round.
23. Merry Cafe on page 46 coordinates perfectly with the Coffee Cafe Bundle in the 2017-2018 Annual catalogue. Lots of the stamps in Merry Cafe can be used throughout the year. The coffee and tea theme is actually pretty handy when making cards for the men in our lives!
24. Okay we almost at the end… Have you seen the smoky slate tag halfway down page 54?  Take a good look. It’s super clever because it’s made from PART of the gate from the Detailed Gate Thinlits Dies set. Although, the gate is well suited to spooky Halloween projects, it can do so much more! It is an absolutely beautifully detailed piece. I’m going to cut it in copper foil for a garden gate.  Of course, it will look brilliant cut in shimmery white on a wedding card.  There are so many other ways to use this detailed piece that I might have to do a whole series about it.
25. Coming in at number 25 is the graveyard gate stamp set. As Aussies and Kiwi’s don’t do Halloween in a big way, you might not think this set is for you.  When I saw this set instead of headstones, I saw chess pieces: a queen, bishop and pawn.  I could just imagine the stone pillars forming an entry to a garden.  You could cover the arch in die cut flowers to make it more majestic.  Can’t wait to play with this set.

Well there you have it 25 Things You MAY Have Missed in the 2017 Holiday Catalogue!

Be sure to contact me if you have any questions about all the goodies being showcased in the 2017 Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalogue  and be sure to check back tomorrow for more ideas and projects.

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