About a week ago, I received my shipment of Spring mini pre-order items. I opted to buy all the new Designer 12x12 paper packages, such as "Petals & Paisleys",



"Au Chocolat",



and "Notations".



I also NEEDED to get the cute little On Board Art Journal (5"x5" and seen here with a package of beads, so you can get a sense of its size). Wait until you hear about the new Spiral punch that will let you HOLEPUNCH paper and cardstock to make covers and additional pages. And you will... further down!


I also fell in love with the little Accents & Elements tin of "Little Reminders" (which matched the "Notations" paper and the new "Office Accoutrement" set),



and the Long Notes (seen here in Cool Carribean), which are 6 5/8 x 3 1/4".



Okay...so more about those new PUNCHES!!!

As I mentioned, there is a new Spiral punch. I played with this one first as I had one of the larger Art Journals that I had been wanted to decorate for ages. My idea was to create a Cruise Journal, that I could bring on the ship with me in April to jot all my notes & experiences down first-hand, leaving rooms for the occasional picture. I didn't want it to replace my normal scrapbook, just be in addition to it! I decided to go with the "Friends & Flowers" Simply Scrapping Hostess kit as my inspiration, and cut a sheet of the patterned paper to fit my cover. I used the spiral holepunch to punch holes down the side, and decorated the cover with the adhesive elements. FYI, the title reads "happy favorite memories"



Because I wanted the inside to be as inspired as the outside, I used more of the paper and decorative pieces to embellish the inner pages too. Here are just a couple of them:







Now, the 2nd new punch they are offering is a Round Tab punch:



Once my journal is finished, I plan on then creating custom tabs to separate the different areas of my writing, like "Pre-Cruise", "Aruba", etc. You just fold the tab in half and adhere! You can embellish them any way you want, of course, and believe me... I will!


I wanted to check if the Spiral punch worked on other types of journals and not just the Stampin' Up! ones, so I hit my local Dollarama and picked up a notebook to decorate for my daughter. It was ridiculously easy! I kept it pretty simple just by using the "Loves Me" paper from the current Winter mini catalogue, some cardstock & brads. She loved it!!



You might have noticed that there are new sets in my recent order, and you'd be right. But DON'T be thinking that's because there aren't any "must-have" sets in the new mini, since you'd be dead wrong! This is just me practicing extreme restraint and having to wait until March 15 when I can order them ALL! You see, I earned *14 FREE SETS* through Stampin' Up! during the past 2 months and I get to redeem my choices on the 15h...so I'm cleaning out the Spring Mini and getting whatever my little heart desires. WOOOOHOOO -- how stinkin' awesome is that?!!

Stay tuned this week to see cards from the upcoming "Carte Postal" Stamp camp and using the new "Polka Dots & Paisley".

Labels: Spring Mini, stamping