Stampin’ Up! Catalogue 2020-2021 Top 10!

Top 10 things to look for in the new annual catalogue

So the new Stampin’ Up! 2020-2021 Annual catalogue has been out for two weeks now. If you’re anything like me, you’ve sat down with your catalogue, drooled over the contents, and thought “Wow! There’s a lot to take in!” To help you navigate your way through this gorgeous book of inspiration, I’m sharing the TOP 10 things in the new Stampin’ Up Catalogue that I do NOT want you to miss.

Where do I start?

In my humble opinion, the Stampin’ Up! catalogues keep getting better every year! This year Stampin’ Up! has really paid attention to how you will use this gorgeous book of inspiration. It’s my job to help you get the most out of it!

This is a long post so grab yourself a deliciously large coffee or tea or if it’s later in the day, a large glass of wine a tall glass or even a cool cocktail or refreshing mocktail and get comfortable. Also, grab a post-it note or a piece of scrap paper.

Are you ready? Great!

Let’s get started!

1. Bundles

There are 34 – yes thirty-four! – stamp bundles in this book! Some stamp sets come bundled with punches and others with dies and they are ALL smart, fun and save you 10%. Bundles a clever way to build your supplies.

Take a look at the Pattern Play Bundle (p102) :

At first glance, you might wonder why on earth, I’m highlighting this bundle. Remember the post-it note I told you to grab, use this to cover the large words on the Pattern Play stamp set. Now, look more closely. Can you see all the possibilities when you remove the words? The Pattern Play stamp set contains those cute and ALWAYS needed, pattern builder stamps (perfect for your Stamparatus). Imagine creating a card background with those stripes or adding heart details to your journal or a fabulous spot pattern to your scrapbook page. The abstract chevron and scallop patterns are the perfect width for tags. Now pair those versatile patterns with the ADORABLE little letters – MAGIC! At 3/4″ tall, these letters are PERFECT for cards AND, of course, scrapbook pages! When you buy the stamp set and the dies together, you save 10% – $78.25!

While we are talking about bundles, I can’t miss the opportunity to show you another bundle that I am particularly enamored with:

The Best Year Bundle – look at this:

If you are starting out, the Best Year stamp set has a variety of nice greetings for different occasions that are a great addition to your collection – Although, it is not a set I’d go absolutely crazy for, the fonts are lovely and it covers the basics: thanks, hello, Christmas, fathers’ day and birthday. But check out the dies that feature in this bundle. With these dies, you can make ENDLESS varieties of plaid! Plaid is HOT and these dies make it so easy! I can see some Tic-Tac-Toe themed cards being made with this die too.

2. Suites

There are TEN product suites this year. If you haven’t experienced suites, hang on to your hats! You will love this. Basically, suites are beautifully curated product collections. All the suite products work together to make crafting easier.

The suites contain everything from stamps to dies to punches to paper, to embellishments. Like the entire lineup? You can order the entire suite with just one item number. What a time saver! These suites are so gorgeously complete that you can’t help but be a master card maker when you use one.

Just want the stamps and dies? Get the bundle. Want to swap out your own ideas of accompaniments? Just get what you want.

3. The New In-Colors

I admit that I initially had reservations about two of the new In Colours but after seeing them in real life – I can say I LOVE these colors! Not only do they coordinate perfectly with so many other Stampin’ Up! colors, they are on-trend, bright, and bold. The in colour ribbon is “to die for”! It is so awesome and there are even Stampin’ Blends four of the five in colors.

4. In Good Tastes Designer Series Paper – My Favourite

What do you get when you combine stunning photographic images and terrific textures? A collection of papers is going to be EVERYWHERE. This is the absolute perfect paper for any project – use it for men, boys, country themes and the list goes on. I think you can safely place money on the fact this paper will be in extremely high demand.

5. My Favorite Punch Bundle

As I mentioned above the Pattern Play Bundle is a versatile choice for die-cutting, but what about the punches?

Did you know there are punch bundles too? You can find all the Punch Bundles on page 168.

My pick of this catalogue is the Lovely You Bundle (p22). This bundle combines gorgeous greetings with a new label punch system. This punch allows you to create not one BUT six different labels or tags in different widths. And because it’s a tag style punch your label can be any length you like. What a fabulous solution for all those times you just need a long or narrow tag or label.

Gotta love tools that do more than one thing! This tool does six! A definite must-have!

6. Embossing Folders

Okay, I’ll admit I might have a bit of an embossing folder fetish! I love them! It is extremely rare that I don’t buy every embossing folder that Stampin’ Up! releases and I can’t bear to part with them. They are an economical, quick and easy way to add texture and instant visual interest to any project. The huge impact you with just one pass of the folder through your die cutting machine makes them well worth the investment. Then there is the multitude of simple embossing folder techniques that will elevate your projects to new heights. In terms of bang for your buck, these folders are worth the small investment. You will use them over and over.

My favorite new embossing folder, well, that’s a hard choice… I have narrowed it down to four out of the nine new folders – here they are:

Dainty Diamonds 3D Embossing Folder

Old World Paper 3D Embossing Folder

Seabed 3D Embossing Folder

Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder

I have already played with my Old World Paper 3D Embossing Folder and love the aged wrinkled texture. The Tasteful Texture feels like a bubbly jumper or scarf. Steve said it reminds him of bumpy carpet. Whatever it reminds you of, it is quite a subtle texture and has lots of potential uses. I can’t wait to play with Dainty Diamonds and Seabed. Maybe, I am eyeing off Little Details and Meadow Moments. Okay Let’s be realistic, I probably will end up with ALL the new embossing folders. Check them out on pages 184-185 of the new annual catalogue.

7. New Stampin’ Up! Catalog 2021 Dies

Sometimes you need a friend to point out an awesome product. When my friend Meg and I browsed through the catalogue together, she pointed out a die set on the top of page 176, that I NEVER would have seen. It’s Hippo & Friends.

This die is designed to go with the Hippo Happiness stamp set (p49). I missed the die because although the stamp set is cute, it so NOT my style. For the moment ignore the hippo, sheep, and unicorn and just LOOK at all those FABULOUS die shapes! The stitched detail features on 7 of the dies so there are so many possibilities if you get this die set on its own.

Perhaps you’d prefer a die set that you will more than likely use every single die? If so, Ornate Layers die set (page 177) is my recommendation. You will love how this die set makes short work of fancy layering! Detailed edges make this set an easy choice if you like pretty scallops and lace. This would be great on vintage or floral projects.

8. Words and Sentiments Sets

Stamps containing mostly sentiments and words are the unsung heroes of the paper crafting world and are often overlooked. This is sad as they allow you to expand the way you use your craft stash. They can make any card a PERFECT card… You may even say they are the “workhorses” of your carefully curated craft collection. So you’ve combined random stamps, papers, colors, and embellishments to make the perfect card. How do you finish it off? With a greeting, of course. The right greeting enables ANY card to be the “perfect”.

So far I’ve already, highlighted two great sentiment sets in the bundles: Best Year and Lovely You. Let me draw your attention to four more.
Here they are:

A Grand Kid Cling Stamp Set (English)

Family Party Photopolymer Stamp Set

Many Mates Cling Stamp Set (English)

Ridiculously Awesome Cling Stamp Set

Family Party is actually a returning stamp set but it is one that is often overlooked. Those numbers are fabulous for cards and scrapbooks alike.

Many Mates has so much versatility – it’s a good “all-rounder” to have in your stash – Everything from thanks to congratulations, retirement, celebrate, get well, and Happy Birthday are covered. In the short time since I bought it, this set has had so much use! It also comes in a bundle.

If you love BIG sentiments, this set might be for you. I can totally see a few of these stamps on future scrapbook layouts.

Next is up is an unexpected addition from page 97, A Grand Kid. You might be thinking, “I don’t have grandchildren so why on earth would I want this set?” Well, there are only three stamps in the set that are grandkid related, so leaves you 8 fabulous stamps to play with. Remember you can always use “mask” to cover the word “grand” and use the rest of the stamp. The fonts are fun and I think the rest of the set is pretty awesome.

9. New Adhesive Solutions

I don’t know about you but I felt a little distressed when Stampin’ Up! retired their trusty old snail… it was a staple in my craft room for at least 11 years. But there were some issues with it so it’s time for something new. Stampin’ Up! has four new adhesive options which you will find on page 162.

Adhesive Sheets are perfect if you are die-cutting or adhering punched shapes to a project. Simply peel off the top sheet and attach it to the back of your cardstock, die-cut or punch, then peel off the backing sheet and stick it to your project. No Messy Glue and no fuss! This is a fabulous time saver.

Stampin’ Seal is a new acid-free “tape runner” style adhesive. This is perfect for your everyday projects. A few people have remarked that it is more expensive than the old “snail” but if you do the maths, it is actually cheaper at $0.93/metre than the old snail ($0.96/metre) and there is more on the roll – a whopping 15 metres instead of 12!

There is a second adhesive “tape runner” is the Stampin’ Seal+. Designed especially for 3D projects and adhering heavier layers securely, this acid-free adhesive is great when you need an extra-strong permanent adhesive. The initial cost of the tape runner is a little higher but the refills are still less expensive than the old snail and fast fuse.

Lastly, are the double-sided Foam Adhesive Sheets. These are designed to be cut with “open” dies or scissors to add depth and dimension to your project.

Our old adhesive favourites are back

You can never have too many glue dots, multi-purpose glue, black and white Stampin’ dimensionals, and mini-dimensionals, You will also find cling adhesive on page 62 which is designed to convert your clear-mount and wood stamps to cling stamps.

10. My favourite background stamps

Three new background stamps have been released with this catalogue (p138). Again, I’m struggling to choose. In terms of versatility, I suspect the Dry Brush stamp will get the most use but the Stacked Stone has a lot of possibilities too. It will be fun to play with Camouflage too – I’m really torn about which to recommend!

Handy catalogue features

It would be remiss of me to tell you about the fabulous new catalogue products and not tell you about Stampin’ Up!’s handy catalogue features to enhance your catalogue experience.

improved Die Bundle (p173) and Punch Bundles (p168) indexes with BIG photos so you can see what is in each bundle.
Colour Palette listings on many examples highlighting the colours used showcasing how the old and new colours coordinate.
“Shop the Project” call-out boxes detailing products used on samples so you don’t miss anything when you want to recreate these projects at home. Sometimes it’s not obvious from the photo what was used so these little boxes will prove invaluable!
Lots of little tips have been throughout the whole book. There is everything from masking to alignment to creative suggestions – all designed to make your creative time easier – keep a post-it tag handy so you can tag the great suggestions.

Stampin’ Up! also have a collection of product videos to teach you about selected Annual Catalogue products – watch it here:

It’s a wrap!

In the beginning, I mentioned this would be a lengthy post. Sorry, but I had to make sure I covered the most important things. Of course, there is much more to love than just the things that I’ve highlighted here. This is just a starting point. Get out your catalogue, make your wish list and get your order in as some items are already at risk of going on backorder. Don’t forget about the fabulous Stampin’ Rewards promotion that is running until 30th June 2020. (Click here to see my previous post with all the details)

If you have any questions, please contact me or ask your question in the comments below.

Until next time… Happy creating!

Chrissy

Stampin’ Up! Catalogue 2020-2021 Top 10!

Top 10 things to look for in the new annual catalogue

Where do I start?