I'm excited to be exhibiting at the Fall 2008 Creativ Festival at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre on October 17-19th, and have some wonderful make & takes & demonstrations planned! Yes, my charming husband Brent will be doing his "thing" once more and will have loads of fun showing you how to play with such tools as the new Big Shot by Sizzix and Stampin' Up!'s exclusive dies. He'll be in heaven!

***NEW***
To purchase your tickets ONLINE at a reduced price, please click HERE and use promo code: 163SU.

Happy stamping!

Caroline

Stampin' Up!'s new "Fall/Winter 2008" Idea Book and Catalogue has been released and with it come 6 hot new colours!

This years's exclusive "In Color"s are:

Pacific Point
Baja Breeze
Kiwi Kiss
Pink Pirouette
Riding Hood Red
Tangerine Tango

Because I know you'll want them ALL (just like I did), I'm making it easier for you to do so and save some money at the same time! Order my special "In Color" bundle and you'll save $10 off the regular price.

6 Classic inks pads @ $6.25 = $37.50
6 Classic re-inkers @ $3.25 = $19.50
6 8.5x11" 24 sheet cardstock packs @ $6.50 = $39.00

REGULAR PRICE TOTAL = $96.00
CARO's SALE TOTAL = $86.00*

To qualify for this special, your order must be received no later than 6 pm on Saturday August 16. Please call or email if you'd like to purchase this bundle and be among the first to play with this fresh new colour line!

Happy stamping,



(*Not including shipping and applicable taxes, only valid through me and can be shipped anywhere in Canada. My Stampers Club Members may substitute for non-In Colors if they prefer!!!)

Can I just say that I had been living with a cracked & demented window in my office since I moved into my new studio, so effectively since late-April? My handy-dude Steve (not my hubby Brent, who is the least handy dude around if it isn't related to computers) boarded it up with plywood while I had to wait for the glaziers to come but BOY! it was dang ugly and I cringed each and every time I saw it.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon when I got my new set of windows put in... happiness abounded! I danced with joy, I chortled with glee... yes, a very happy camper was I. Ain't it purty??



But purty-er still is this card made by uber-stamper Laurie Palozzi. Laurie is one of the most talented stampers I know, and I'm so lucky to have her as part of my happy family of Canadians, INK! gals.

She created this fabulous-o card using Stampin' Up!'s new Level 3 Hostess set "Window Dressing". Take a look at the attention to detail that Laurie always brings to her creations: the dry-embossed "siding", the raised shutters and framing to help bring the little girl to the forefront, the extra layering so that the picture is actually behind the windows, which the top part is actually "glassed" in. Oh, and the "grass" ribbon along the bottom, too!

Thanks for letting me share your beautiful card with all my blog readers, Laurie! I'm sure they'll appreciate it as much as I do :)

Happy stamping,

Mine JUST got delivered... yippeee!!!! :)

You can now go and view it online by clicking HERE, although I'm betting it'll be a slow load with tens of thousands of excited stampers checking it out :)

I will be sending out the pre-ordered copies today, and will be here at the studio until 8pm for pickups. I'm also here from noon-9pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, as these are my Stampers Club nights anyhow.

You can take advantage of my special 15% off sale or better yet, why not get 20-40% off ALL your Stampin' Up! orders by ordering one of the our new $119 Starter Kits! You'll be able to enjoy the demonstrator discounts & perks for a great entry price -- check out my Demo Info Page to learn more or just shoot me an email and I'd be happy to answer all your questions!!

FYI, my window guy is ACTUALLY HERE! Yes, this darned window is finally being replaced and I'll have real, actual light in my office. Yippeee :)

Happy stamping,

What better way to kick off a new catalogue then with a 15% savings off some of the new stamp sets? YIPPEEE!!

You'll see that several of the new sets from Stampin' Up!'s Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalogue (being released online at 2pm Eastern Time today - August 11) are being offered at a sales price of 15% off from now through the end of September.

CAROLINE'S BONUS:
All orders between now and Saturday August 16 that include any of these discounted stamp sets will ALSO receive a special assortment of die-cut pieces using our new exclusive Big Shot dies.. just from me! These dies will NOT be made available for sale until September 2nd, so if you want to pay with them first, here's a way to get them in your hot little hands :)

Again, this bonus offer is only good until this Saturday so please contact me if you need more information on these stamp sets or would like to place your order. Please note that this offer is valid in Canada only -- sorry.

Happy stamping,

Here are some of the Build-A-Brad bracelets that were made this afternoon -- aren't they fun??

It's amazing the different ways you can customize them just by using our Designer papers and switching up the brads/eyelets/etc.

I have a feeling that my daughter Serena will want to make a different one to match every outfit she has... oh joy!!! LOL!

More importantly though, was receiving a box of Stampin' Up!'s NEW Fall-Winter 2008 catalogues yesterday. The only catch -- these were my FRENCH copies!! Ahhhhhhh!!!! One only hopes that the other ones are travelling across Canada fast enough to arrive in Toronto by Friday. Believe me, I have my fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed hoping that they do! If you would like a copy of the new book, send me an email and we'll get you sorted out!

I will be sending out a special email to all customers on Thursday to give you the sneak peek info on upcoming sales (15% off new sets, new Starter Kit specials!!) and more, so watch for that tomorrow.

Happy stamping!
Caroline

Happy Civic holiday Monday, everyone :)

I'm enjoying my long weekend spending time with the family, although I freely admit to being up to my eyeballs in dust bunnies as we're re-organizing Morgan's room with new furniture. OOF! He has *lots* of cars (and Legos... and Pokemon...and trains...)

So to give you something fun and stamping-related to check out while I'm enjoying the time off, here's something BRAND NEW for you -- Shelli Gardner's blog "So Shelli".

If you are unfamiliar with this lovely lady, she is the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!. You can learn more about the fascinating history of the company by clicking here. Let me tell you, she's gracious, caring and just an all-round fabulous person and I feel so privileged every time I get an opportunity to speak with her.

SO take a lot around her new blog, maybe join in one of her creativ challenges, and just revel in the chance to get to know her a little better!!

Happy stamping,
Caroline

p.s. Here's one of my favourite shots of the two of us... it was taken last year at Convention and we're both glowing :) Isn't she so beautiful?? Hard to believe she's old enough to be a grandmother of almost 13 grandchilden!

As far as my 10 year old daughter is concerned, LIFE IS GOOD now that she has Stephanie Meyer's new "Breaking Dawn" book to read this weekend!

Last night we went downtown to the Bay & Bloor Indigo store for the big Midnight Masquerade party before the 12:00 am book launch. WHAT A BLAST! We were so lucky to get a #34 wristband so that we weren't lining up in some of the ridiculous lineups. There were so many people in costumes, a fabulous DJ and dancing, Team Jacob VS Team Edward Guitar hero battles (I creamed her playing "Knights of Cydonia!), tattoos... just a real party. Girls were screaming their heads off when the books finally came out just before midnight. As soon as we grabbed our copies and left, we jumped in a cab and went straight home to read. More pics here....

So here's a shot of us in our masks, tired but still exhilarated at 12:30 am ('cuz we woke Brent up to take our picture), under the white "Life is Good" Décor Elements that is on the wall overhand between the kitchen and living room. And if you want a real laugh, check out her crazy & super giddy "happy book dance" -- what can I say? It was way past her bedtime and we were both giggling like crazy!

Well, my big, wickedly exciting news is out!

I received several calls last night from both my downline Dina and other demonstrator friends who are in SLC, Utah for Stampin' Up!'s big 20th anniversary Convention...to tell me that I earned the #5 Demonstrator of the Year and a spot at this year's Founders Circle retreat! I was actually on the phone with Dina (who is there right now) and she had me on speakerphone so I could hear the awards live and across the continent. I screamed like a little girl when I won, my family were laughing so hard at me :) But that's okay, I love them anyways!

To celebrate and share in my excitement and give something back to all of YOU, my super duper customers, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on all qualifying orders for the next 4 days + a bonus package of all the new In Color cardstock!

Place an order ANY TIME from 12 noon Friday, August 1, through 9 pm Monday, August 4 and get FREE SHIPPING on all Canadian orders + my special cardstock bundle! Orders totaling over $200 will also get DOUBLE hostess benefits; orders under $75 to be picked up at my east-Toronto studio.

Don't have a BIG Stampin' UP catalogue at hand? Just click on the picture of the catalogue in my blog and you'll be tehre. You can either email me at: caroline@craftincaro.ca or call me at: 416-694-4074 or 1-866-694-4074 to place your order + get these specials.

Happy shopping! :)

Caroline