In my previous What’s On post, I mentioned that from 3–31 July, you can earn Bonus Days coupons! For every $90 AUD you spend in a single order, you’ll get a $9 AUD coupon that can be redeemed from 1–31 August 2024.
With so many options, available in the catalogue and online it is easy to feel overwhelmed about which items to buy to make the most of your bonus days. So I’ve put together a few suggestions that you can purchase this month and products that will work with your purchase next month when you redeem your Bonus Day coupons. That way you get the most out of your purchases. Also included are other suggestions to keep in mind for future purchases beyond the Bonus Day earning and redemption periods.
Perhaps you’re getting started on your Christmas card making, or maybe you are creating for Father’s Day (Australia) or Halloween which are coming up fast. So where I can I’ll talk about how you can use these suggested products for those occasions, or if the products are “festive-themed” how to use them for everyday creating. Pairing different bundles together not only extends the versatility of your stamp sets but allows you to earn Bonus Days Coupons.
Let’s get started
The easiest way to earn Bonus Days Coupons is to buy bundles… I’ll start with the most obvious bundles.
1. This month: Country Flowers…Next Month: Country Birdhouse
Country Flowers Bundle ($97) this month, and next month round out your collection with the Country Bird house Bundle. (The month after you may wish to add other items from the suite like the Country Woods Designer Series Paper and Basic Gray and Smoky Slate Pearls.) There is a reason that Stampin’ Up! has put these stamp sets in the same product suite. They work beautifully together.
While it is a demonstrator’s dream for everyone to buy the Country Woods Product Suite Collection, I get that it is beyond many people’s budget. Buying it piece by piece is a more affordable alternative. You can see the entire suite on page 50 of your 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue.
What the examples online and in the annual catalogue don’t show is how these sets can be used for Christmas. The Country Flowers stamp set has a beautiful poinsettia stamp, and we all know that poinsettias are a Christmas favourite. The teapot and milkman are perfect for witches brew too! Now, let’s look at that birdhouse… you can easily turn it into a haunted house for Halloween, a gingerbread house for Christmas, or even a “Happy Housewarming” house…. The bird can be turned into a Christmas robin or a creepy Halloween Critter.
2. This Month: Layers of Beauty Bundle, Next Month: Wonderful Thoughts Stamp Set
No stamp collection would be complete without a beautiful large flower stamp. You can use flowers for every occasion from birthdays to anniversaries and weddings, Valentine’s Day to Christmas and even Halloween (Deep red and black roses are a common Halloween decoration.) My pick of this catalogue is the Layers of Beauty Bundle (page 57). There is so much to love about this bundle. The large roses can be coloured with watercolour pencils, Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Write Markers or you can use the fabulous masks (stencils) and blending brushes that are part of this three piece bundle. (If you order this make sure you have either some blending brushes or sponge daubers to use with the masks.)
My only disappointment with this set is that it has only four sentiments. This shortfall is easily fixed by ordering The Wonderful Thoughts (page 80). A returning favourite stamp set, Wonderful Thoughts has great coordinating Wonder Thoughts Dies which are nice to have but they aren’t essential. You can buy these separately. An alternate option that would work well with the Layers of Beauty Bundle is the Thoughtful Moments Hybrid Embossing Folder and dies or the Something Fancy stamp set and coordinating Something Fancy dies.
3. This Month: Unbound Love…Next Month: Sketched Butterflies Bundles
Everyone needs a great sentiment set and coordinating dies! The Unbound Beauty Suite Collection features the Unbound Love bundle. For me this is an absolute standout Bundle with a great array of sentiments and some stunning label dies The stamp set includes sentiments for so many occasions including Peace, Love and Faith sentiments which are great for Christmas. And there is beautifully scripted “with sympathy” sentiment. Sadly, at some point, we all need a sympathy card. The dies can be used with so many different stamp sets. (Tip: die all these sentiment dies in vanilla and white so they are on hand for your Christmas Creating.) The foliage in this die set make great accents on Christmas Cards.
Instead of going the obvious route, I suggest teaming Unbound Love Bundle with the Sketched Butterfly Bundle (page 68). The sentiments in this set fit the Unbound Love dies. The combining the sentiments from Unbound Love with the Sketched Butterflies expands the versatility of the butterfly stamps.
Now let’s talk about the butterflies, many people use butterflies just for birthdays. They’re for such much more than that. Butterflies symbolise change, transformation, rebirth and new beginnings which is why they are often used on sympathy cards.
Christmas trend
According to some Christmas Decoration retailers, a massive Christmas Decorating trend this year are butterflies… I have butterfly decorations for my tree…so why not put butterflies on your Christmas Cards? Imagine these gorgeous butterflies heat embossed in gold, silver or copper and coloured in red, blue or even pretty peacock. Stunning! You could even make them into a Christmas Butterfly Wreath. So many options!
4. This month,Beauty of The Deep Stamp Set and Dies… Next month: Friendly Fins
Living less than an hour from the Pacific Ocean and with the Great Barrier Reef only a few hours north provides lots of inspiration for fun sea themed projects. The Beauty of the Deep stamp set and coordinating dies featured heavily in our decorations for our Soiree By Sea retreat recently. Although this is no longer a bundle, when you buy the dies and stamps together they qualify for a bonus day coupon.
Next month to compliment this set I’d be grabbing the Friendly Fins Bundle (page 60). This set is a designed for quick easy creating with all the images featuring two-step stamping. Loving the dolphins. All the sea creatures are smiling which makes me happy. The die set has some great extra dies too like a magnificent coral arch, fun fish, beautiful bubbles and a lavish lobster.
During a recent visit, my friends at Tiaro Christmas Cottage told me that seaside Christmas is an emerging trend this year. so jump on that trend early with seaside Christmas Cards. I’m sure you have a Christmas sentiment in your stash that you can add to your card.
5. This month: Spotlight on Nature Bundle… next month Simply Said Stamp Set
For me having great circle dies and punches are an absolute must! Circles are probably the shape I use most for sentiment layers. The circle dies that coordinate with the Spotlight on Nature Bundle are beautiful. There are three different edge designs that you can mix and match. The die cut details are sure to give your project a little extra pizazz. The stamp set is very simple and easy to fussy cut. The large open images are so easy to colour too. I know I will get lots of use out of the cross-thatched stamp and those cute splatters my steam punk and mixed media creations. I have visions of creating a stamped Christmas wreath with those beautiful large leaves, metallics wow embossing powder and the masking paper.
Spotlight on Nature only has two sentiments so I recommend what is probably the least expensive stamp set in the whole annual catalogue and that’s the Simply Said stamp set (page 19) . The mixture of fonts and sentiments means it can be used with almost any stamped images from Stampin’ Up!’s range… and it seems like a steal at just $30. Of all the stamps that I bought on the annual catalogue pre-order this is the stamp set I use the most. Don’t forget the “Let’s Celebrate” sentiment can be used for Christmas and New Year too!
6. This month: Adventurous Sky Bundle… Next Month: Round We Go Bundle
This bundle pairing might seem a little crazy pairing, but, I’m going to ask you to trust me on this! At first glance, the Adventurous Sky bundle from the Take It to the Sky Suite Collection (page 37) screams masculine cards
What if you cover up the Father’s Day sentiment? Voila! There are 12 others stamps that you can use any way you want! Dreamy clouds for baby cards, planes for friends (male or female) heading on adventure and riveted backgrounds for a little steam punk style. Pop a Santa Hat in the cockpit of the die cut plane and you’ve a quick Christmas Card! The sky’s the limit! (Pun intended!)
Now image the little stamped plane in the middle of a rosette from the Round We Go Bundle… wouldn’t that make a perfect badge for a kid’s birthday party, or reward chart? You could even turn it into a hanging decoration for your Christmas tree. Don’t get me started on the die that scores and cuts sections for rosettes! I’m having so much fun with that. There is a huge range of sentiments in this set so it could be used all year round. Winning!
7. This month: Friends for Life Bundle… Next month: Hearts & Hugs Bundle
Celebrating friendships is so important to me. One of the easiest ways to celebrate good friends is to send a handmade card. I’ve lost count of the number of times that a difficult day has been brightened by a handmade card in the mail. (I’m not terribly good at sending cards in the mail but I am getting better) The Friends for Life Bundle from the beautiful Full of Life Suite Collection (page 43) is all about celebrating friends and their important moments. Such a fun sentiment bundle needs to some equally fun friendship themed images.
Enter the Hearts & Hugs Bundle (page 61) These super cute animals are all about friendship and love. (Those walruses could be modelled on my hubby and I after a long lunch with our friends. 😂) Add a top hat and bit of tulle to the walruses and you’ve got yourself a fun wedding card. The mouse could be carolling, and you create a card where the Hamster (or is it a Quokka?) holds a congratulations banner or balloons. The images are easy to colour as they don’t have a lot of intricate detail.
8. This Month: Attention Shoppers Bundle + Adhesive Sheets + Foam Adhesive Sheets… Next month: My Small Business Stamp Set
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This recommendation is for you small business owners. From experience I know, customers love receiving handmade cards to thank them for their support not only when they order from you. So I’ve pulled together a few things that will help you reach out to your clients or customers throughout the year.
The Attention Shoppers Bundle (page 65) on it’s own won’t earn you a Bonus Days Coupon. So pop some Foam Adhesive Sheets and adhesive sheets in your cart. Just attach either of these adhesives to your card stock before you cut and it will make assembling the die cuts so much easier.
Next month, grab the My Small Business Stamp set to say thanks in lots of different ways. This set is one of the less expensive stamp sets in the catalogue so won’t break the bank. Of course, you can use these thank you sentiments with any stamp set you like. The gift bag stamp in this set can be used for xmas cards or birthdays too!
9. This Month: a Classic Stamp Pad Bundle… Next Month: Stampin’ Ink Refill Bundle
So far we’ve talked about bundled stamps and dies, time to look beyond the stamps to something every stamper needs and that is inks. If you’ve followed Stampin’ Up! for a while, you’ll know that Stampin’ Up! has four core colour families each containing 10 colours. What you may not know is if you buy the 10 Classic Stamp Pads or Ink Refill together as a bundle you save 10% off the retail price.
So if you don’t have any Stampin’ Up! inks grab a bundle of ink pads and next month buy the matching ink refills. Bonus Days is the only time that I suggest that you buy the Ink Refills seperate from the ink pads just because .
Now if you want to get two Bonus Days Coupons consider adding a pack of Stampin’ Write Markers to your order.
10. This Month: Cleaner, Take your Pick Tool and Bone Folder… Next Month: Take Your Pick Tool Accessories and stamp care items
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If you are new to paper crafting and stamping, having the basic tools and cleaner to care for your stamps will make your life so much easier. The four “go to” items I recommend having in your stash are a good bone folder, the fabulous Take Your Pick Tool, Stampin’ Mist and the Stampin’ Scrub.
Now some people use baby wipes to clean their rubber stamps. If that’s you, please stop that right now! Baby wipes contain alcohol or other moisturises or additives which are not good for your rubber or photopolymer stamps long term. Many of the “natural” wipes such as the bamboo wipes leave a fluffy residue all over your stamp which affects your stamping experience. Grab yourself some Stampin’ Mist and Stampin’ Scrub. The Stampin’s Mist contains a cleaner and rubber conditioner which extends the life of your rubber stamps – you spray it on the “wet” side of your Stampin Scrub and rub your stamp over the stampin’ scrub. The scrub gets into all the nooks and crannies of your stamp. When it’s clean dry your stamp on the dry side.
Next month’s 4 “go to” items are the Take Your Pick putty refills for the Take Your Pick Tool, the Take Your Pick Craft Tips which I use daily, Staz On Cleaner and Simply Shammy.
Why the StazOn Cleaner and Simply Shammy?
StazOn ink is a different formulation to the Stampin’ Classic Inks in that it is pigment ink rather than water-based ink. This means that it needs a stronger clean BEFORE you use your Stampin’ Mist and Stampin’ Scrub.
The Simply Shammy was designed to get photopolymer stamps extra clean. It works on both rubber and photopolymer stamps. This shammy it’s great for cleaning stamps when you’re at retreat or travelling. The best part is that it doesn’t leave a fluffy residue like some car chamois do.
So that’s 10 ways to make the most of your Bonus Days using annual catalogue products. There are heaps of other product combinations you can choose using online exclusive products and kits…
Just for fun here is an extra way.
11. This Month: Abigail Rose Hoodie…Next month Stampin’ Up! Logo Beanie
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Over on my Online Stampin’ Up!! Store there is collection of branded merchandise that anyone can order. So I thought it would be fun to highlight two of these items. it’s been a bit chilly here for the past two days so I thought the Abigail Rose Hoodie might be just the thing to keep you warm this month. It comes in six sizes. (There’s a size chart to help you choose the right one.) Next month, you might want to grab the coordinating beanie to keep your head and ears warm when those Ekka Week winds arrive. (I’m cold just thinking about those winds 🥶.)
Make the Most of Bonus Days
There is no limit to how many Bonus Days coupons you can earn, so it’s the perfect time to buy items on your wish list from the current annual catalogue, Online Exclusives, and Kits Collection.
Don’t forget that for every $50, you spend on product with me you will receive an entry on my $50 draw board for a chance to win a $50 product voucher.
Another thing to remember when ordering is that when you spend $250 in one order you are eligible for Stampin’ Rewards. If you spend $270 you will get three bonus day coupons plus $27 in Stampin’ Rewards and five entries on my $50 board. So it’s like being rewarded for shopping three times over.
I hope these suggestions help you with your Bonus Days selections. If you have any questions about my suggestions or this Bonus Days Promotion, contact me and we can have a chat.
Until next time… Happy Creating.
Chrissy xo
