Apr 02, 2018
April 2018 Release Countdown Day 1: Autism Awareness
Hey there, crafty friends! It’s hard to believe it’s April (because it still feels like February outside!). I like to look at the bright side though so, with all this cold weather, I’ve been able to enjoy lots of indoor crafty time! I think you’ll find our April release is evidence of all this creative time as we have so many new things to share with you this week! Over 40 new stamps & dies, 3 new cardstock/ink colors, our own brand of embossing powder, and the beginning of our collection of STENCILS! Yep… I’m shouting! *wink*
Before I get started with sneak peeks, I want to make sure you know about our Crafty Points Loyalty Program! For every $1 you spend you get one crafty point and every 20 crafty points = $1 off a future purchase! With each new release, we have a special promotion where you can earn double points on a specific product or group of products. This month we’re offering double points when you purchase the Stencil Bundle which includes 1 of each of our 6 new designs!
So when you purchase the Stencil Bundle between April 5th – 8th you’ll earn 84 Crafty Points! All of our new products will be available for purchase starting Thursday, April 5th at 9am CDT at the TE webstore!
Now we better get started with the new product reveals because there’s LOTS to share! I’d like to start today with a very special collection. Did you know that today is World Autism Day? Throughout the month of April, organizations around the world join together to raise awareness for Autism and be a support to individuals and families living with this diagnosis. As a show of our support, I designed the sentiments in our new Look with Your Heart stamp set in order to share love and encouragement with individuals, families, and teachers affected by Autism through the gift of a handmade card. In addition, TE will be donating 25% of the proceeds from the sale of this stamp set to the Autism Society through the month of April.
The puzzle piece is a recognized symbol of Autism, so we’re also introducing the Little Bits – Puzzle Piece and the Puzzled Cutting Plate to accompany the sentiment set. The Puzzled Cutting Plate is an exciting new addition to our collection of Mixed Media dies. Our Mixed Media dies will cut through additional thicker materials like chipboard, leather, fabric, denim, and multiple layers of cardstock. In order to designate the Mixed Media functionality, you’ll find that our Mixed Media dies have a black coating as opposed to the silver coating of the metal in the rest of our collection.
Continuing on with the Puzzled Cutting Plate, I thought it would be so much fun to use this design with the new stamps in our Pirate collection to create party invitations for our little Henry’s upcoming 1st birthday party!
I started by stamping the Treasure Map Background onto our new Cut & Color Me Chipboard, coloring the image with Prismacolor pencils, and blending with Gamsol. I distressed the edges of the piece with Chocolate Truffle ink and then flipped the chipboard over to stamp the details on the back.
For the Ahoy Matey on the back I used two different alphabet sets from our Clearly Planned collection; Doodle Me Alpha & Playful Alpha. The ‘You’re Invited’ is from the Eventful – Graduation stamp set and the space to fill in the details is from our RSVP stamp. I also used the new Frayed Edge Stacklets to sponge a border around the outside of the details on the back of the invitation. When all the details were complete I die cut the chipboard with the Puzzled Cutting Plate to finish off the concept.
I also got a head start on the ‘thank you’ notes using the Shiver Me Timbers stamp set to match the packaged invitation. I love having the pirate heads and bodies separate so I can put the head on a mini wobble spring for a fun action element. We also have our new Treasure Chest pre-cut favor boxes that are perfect for the pirate theme! I added the details (latches & gold edges) using our previously released Matchbox Suitcase die set.
Now I’d like to take a break from the new stamps and dies to introduce you to some of our newest supply items! It’s nice to see these items in action so I made a video to share the newest members of our color family in comparison to colors in our current collection as well as recommended color combos to try out. You’ll also hear more about our new embossing powders and take a peek at all of our new stencils in the video!
As I mentioned in the video, I’ve put together a reference sheet with suggested color combinations to try out with our three new colors! Click here to download and print your own reference sheet.
Also new this month is our collection of embossing powders! We’ve started with the basics of white, black, metallic gold, metallic silver, clear, and a stunning metallic rose gold. The Creative Team has been using these powders on all of their embossed projects this week so keep an eye out for them! After using them on all of my projects for several weeks I can definitely say they’re among the best I’ve ever tried (and I’ve tried a lot of embossing powders!).
You’ll also see our six new stencils mixed in on many Creative Team projects this week! It’s so exciting to see these products in action and I’m just thrilled with the expansion of the TE supply offerings and the added versatility that these new tools and new colors bring to our collection!
So let’s get back to the stamps and dies with a few more additions. We have a truly adorable collection for the little boys with all the fun pirate themed items, but the girls need a little something too, right? How about unicorns!? Unicorns stole the show at Creativation this year and although we already have some cute unicorns in our collection, this is a time when I think “More is More” applies!
Melody Rupple used our new Build a Unicorn die set on this card along with the Be a Unicorn sentiment set and the new Majestic stencil. I love the addition of the silver foil to the unicorn’s hair and the coordinating silver metallic embossed sentiment. What girl, young or old, wouldn’t love a unicorn designed in her favorite colors?
Last year, our oldest daughter Madi turned six, and we had a unicorn-themed birthday party. I spent weeks pouring over Pinterest for the perfect unicorn cake and finally settled on having this one made for the occasion.
So when Leslie (who I introduced last week here on the blog) wondered aloud whether the pieces from Build a Unicorn would work with our previously released Build a Cake die set I thought “Genius!… I’ve gotta try that!”. And it worked! So here’s my attempt at the paper version of a unicorn-themed birthday cake using Build a Unicorn and Build a Cake with tiny flowers from Arbor Accessories!
Traveling along with the party theme, you’ll need something for gifts or party favors so it’s about time that we add a unicorn to our Sack It collection! Here’s a beautiful sack designed by Keia Shipp-Smith that would make for a perfect unicorn-themed party favor or small gift sack for a unicorn lover!
So there you have Day 1 of sneak peeks and I’m already looking forward to sharing more with you tomorrow! In the meantime, I’m continuing my Question of the Day which gives me a chance to learn some of your favorites and gives you a chance to win a prize!
My Question of the Day is: Which of our new colors are you most excited about? Leave your comment before Wednesday, April 4th. One comment per person. Each comment will also be entered into our Grand Prize drawing for a $50 gift certificate! Winners will be chosen at random and announced on the TE Blog on Thursday, April 5th.
Today I’m giving away a full-size ink pad in each of our three new colors!
Make sure you check out what the rest of the Creative Team has been up to with today’s featured products and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for more sneak peeks!
