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🎉🎈New rewards coming this Tuesday; are you in?
Published 10 months ago • 19 min read
April 12, 2025
Happy April, Friends! Can you believe we're just days away from the exciting updates I've been jabbering about for at least 6 months?!?
Ready to explore and catch up with what's movin' and shakin' in Stampin' Up!® World these days? Well, I've got a bunch of "good news" & some other "important" news. 😉 So find a comfortable chair, a glass of your favorite beverage, and let's dig into the fun stuff first...
Pardon our dust while we're building!
The long-promised, upgraded "Stampin' Rewards" system goes live in just 3 more days!
That's right... by sometime Tuesday afternoon, the freshly-upgraded "Stampin' Rewards" program should be up and running in the USA! So what does that mean to you??? Well, the short version is that when this new program goes live, you'll have the option to earn 10% back in "Stampin' Rewards" value with every product order you place that reaches at least $20!
So that means that with a $20 product order, you'll earn 10% ($2) in "Stampin' Rewards", which you can redeem anytime on a subsequent order that you place before a year's time (because Stampin' Rewards earned this way will expire at the one-year mark). Or if you place a $100 product order, you'll earn 10% ($10) in Stampin' Rewards value. A $150 order will earn you 10% ($15) in rewards, etc.
Oh, and no need to worry about the math regarding which group of Stampin' Rewards expire when... the SU system will always apply your oldest rewards when you redeem them, and will also keep track of which batches of rewards were earned when. So no calculations are required on your part! But here are a few additional things you'll want to know. Call it "Fine Print", if you will:
You MUST have an up-to-date Customer Account with Stampin' Up! in order to participate in the Stampin' Rewards program. That's because the only place that your rewards value can be accumulated will be in your Customer Account. (BTW, having a Customer Account does NOT necessarily mean you have to place all your orders online. Rather, that's a whole separate topic, and I'll still be able to help you get an order together, if that's your preference.)
Due to privacy issues, you'll need to "opt in" (just one time) to this new Stampin' Rewards program. You will not be automatically enrolled in the program at launch time (Tues., April 15, 2025). I believe that the first time you log into your Customer Account once the program goes live you'll likely get a prompt to "opt in" to the program.
Your Stampin' Rewards earned through the purchase of product will NOT be transferrable to anyone else. If you happen to overhear commentary somewhere about transferring Stampin' Rewards from one person to another person, that's a privilege reserved for Stampin' Up! demonstrators only. Customers must either spend their own earned rewards, or forfeit them through expiration due to non-use.
With every order you place, you'll have the privilege of redeeming any or all (or none) of the Stampin' Rewards you have accumulated in your account (if you want to). But be aware that any rewards that you apply will reduce the purchase volume of your order, and therefore MAY not qualify you for certain promotional offers. For instance, let's take the example of Sale-a-Bration. This past SAB season, the lowest product order to qualify for a free Sale-a-Bration product was $60. But if you'd chosen $60 worth of product, AND if this upcoming Stampin' Rewards system had already been in effect at that time, and you had $10 in Stampin' Rewards that you wanted to redeem, your order would really have only counted as a $50 purchase ($60 minus $10 of redeemed Stampin' Rewards = $50). So because you would really only PAY $50 for the products on that order, that order would not have qualified for a free Sale-a-Bration item because it didn't reach the $60 threshold for the free item. So be sure to keep that in mind when you're looking to redeem your Stampin' Rewards; make sure your redemption doesn't drop you below some certain purchase volume that might be required for some other type of promotion you might be shooting for. (And of course the simple resolution to that situation is to just add a bit more to your "paid for" order to ensure you reach whatever goal you may be aiming for.) Fortunately, this type of circumstance doesn't happen very often with customer orders in Stampin' Up!; in fact, at the moment, I can only think of our Sale-a-Bration season that could be impacted by this detail.
Oh! And don't bother asking a demonstrator to look up how many Stampin' Rewards you may have accumulated in your account; we won't know. Due to increased privacy factors, demonstrators will be able to see far fewer things in your account than we've historically been able to see. We won't be able to see certain things (including how many Stampin' Rewards you have), and we won't be able to "update" things for you (likely including your address, phone number, etc.), even if you ask us to! So it'll be best to just consider your account *YOUR* account going forward, and to aid in avoiding boo-boo's, please remember to keep it updated if you move, change an email address or a phone number, etc.
And just a quick reminder that Host Codes will be going away with this upcoming change to personal Stampin' Rewards, too. My current host code will expire midday on Sunday, the 13th, and then we'll be DONE with that awkward topic of Host Codes! No more "Q: Where can I find your current Host Code? A: On the Host Code page of my website." The perpetual questions & confusion about Host Codes will be gone. at. last!
Sooo..... To prepare for the big day on Tuesday (the 15th), I encourage you to either: log into your Stampin' Up! customer account and make sure that EVERYTHING is correct, OR, if you don't even HAVE a customer account yet, go open one up asap. (Remember, it doesn't cost a penny to just open a customer account, and then you'll be all set and ready for whenever the time comes to place an order under this new system!)
Yep! The "Last Chance" list has recently been replenished, and it now includes close-outs from both the 2024-2025 Annual Catalog, as well as from the Jan - April 2025 Spring Mini Catalog! (Along with some even older stuff, recently marked down even more deeply.) So there's lots to choose from. Don't miss this opportunity to snag your favorites before they disappear into the sunset. And yes, for the curious... some items have been discounted by as much as 50%. Check 'em all out here!
SAAVY SHOPPER TIP: When perusing the "Last Chance" category, you may find a Stamps + Dies/Punch BUNDLE that interests you. But before you put it in your cart, check around and see if one or more of the elements in that bundle may be offered at a sale price if purchased individually. Recently, I've sometimes seen the dies so deeply discounted that it pays to get the stamp set at full price, and the dies at the discounted price... and still come out significantly ahead of the "Bundle" price! You'd think that perhaps the "system" would catch & account for that odd circumstance, but apparently it does not. So keep your eyes open and your brain engaged when tip-toeing through the Last Chance shelves!
One of the 3 kits added to our Kits Collection in April!
3D! 3D! 3D!
Don't forget we add 2 or 3 brand-new kits into our Kits Collection every single month! And this "Paper Bouquet Kit" is one of the 3 that were added earlier this month. Isn't it gorgeous? Wouldn't this be a lovely gift for Mother's Day? If Mom enjoys crafting, give her the kit unopened. But if it's YOU who enjoys the crafting, put it together yourself and then gift her the bouquet! (Vase isn't included, of course.) See more details & tips about this kit in this video...
Have you been working with my "Template of the Month" (TOM)? You'll find this presented in a variety of ways (most often via my newsletter, and/or via social media, and also on my website), but I'll provide the template for you to download (as a PDF at no cost), and then I'll feature some cards based on that template. This should help you get an overall idea of how to use not only that specific template, but also others, as well.
Only a few weeks left before the brand-new catalog will be revealed! And yes, Stampin' Up! has listened to your feedback, and I think many of you will feel a little more comfortable with this issue, so I hope you'll be pleased. Although... there is STILL not room within the catalog pages to list everything we carry; our *complete* collection of products will continue to showcase in the online store where you can see a product's availability status, its connection to some other products, and much more specific information about the item. I'm sorry, but it's just not practical any longer to fulfill that particular (although popular) "wish" that I know many of my longtime stampin' friends recall & pine for. But remember the old Sears Christmas Wish Book that my generation (and my parents') used to use as a booster seat for our young kids? I may be proven wrong eventually, but I really don't think we'll be going back there anytime soon, lol. So as usual, on May 6th, Launch Day, you'll be able to view and/or download the digital version of the new Annual Catalog, per the service that Stampin' Up! has provided for several years now. And for most of you who have placed orders thru me in recent months, I've already purchased a catalog to be delivered to your mailbox directly. (Unfortunately, I encountered a few customers who I knew in advance didn't live at the address shown in their customer accounts, so I couldn't send them catalogs directly. This is one of the reasons I make an issue of the importance of always keeping your customer account info up-to-date. Receiving returned mail marked "undeliverable".... well, let's just say it's not my favorite thing to find in my mailbox, lol.)
But anyway, if you have placed an order through me in recent months AND the address in your customer account is correct, then keep an eye out for your new catalog to arrive. I am guessing it should show up sometime around the end of April or the beginning of May. If we get too deep into May and you still haven't seen hide nor hair of it, go ahead and rattle my cage and I'll try to do some investigation. Here are a few things you'll probably want to know about in advance:
Product prices are going up in general. They do every year, of course, but it seems to hit certain categories of products differently year-to-year, based on fluctuations in the cost of raw materials and other related factors. And this year you'll notice that cardstock & paper prices will be suffering the biggest hit. (So you can still grab some of our colored cardstock at its current price if you act real fast and get an order submitted before tomorrow - the 13th - ends!) See additional comments about this "paper" topic later in this issue...
Certain categories of products that you're accustomed to seeing in the regular catalog are being shifted to the online store in order to provide space in the catalog for other things. One such example is the line of Stampin' Write Markers; they won't display in the catalog, but you'll find them in the online store. So if something appears to be *missing* as you browse through the catalog, check the online store to see if it's there. If we still carry it, it'll be in the online store.
As usual, we will be introducing 5 new In Colors, as we retire our 5 oldest. But there's been a hiccup with the incoming "Cloud Cover" ink (which is supposed to be a blue-ish gray, I'm told). While it tested fine during its development stage, it seems that in too many cases (too many to be acceptable, that is), its color has been shifting once stamped. (In other words, there are too many times where it's not retaining its intended color as it sits in the pad or on the paper for a while.) So the "Cloud Cover" ink is now undergoing additional testing and trouble-shooting, and will not be available for purchase at catalog launch. (And if you remember the similar problem with "Purple Posy" several years ago, I would caution that it's even possible it might not ever get resolved.) But it's still early in the game, and at this point I think the intention is to go ahead and make the cardstock & other accessories in that same "Cloud Cover" color available as initially planned. So far, the problem just seems to be with the Classic ink. And of course that will also mean that the ink pad "Bundle" that would have included that color will not be available, either... even though it's shown in the catalog.
Paper Pumpkin Thoughts
Does it seem like there's been an unusual amount of discussion about Paper Pumpkin recently? Sure seems that way to me, and I've been a large part of that discussion. Pros & cons of a month-to-month subscription vs a prepaid subscription. Which method might be better to consider given the incoming Stampin' Rewards shift? You may recall how I've shared my thoughts in recent issues. And I've continued to evaluate and cogitate. Personally, I've always had a month-to-month subscription; it just works comfortably with my budget, and it has seemed easy and flexible. But then there have been oddly frequent price increases in recent times. I now understand that much of the cause has been this rapid increase in raw materials (especially paper... more about that later), coupled with continually increasing shipping costs. These are costs that Stampin' Up! absorbs for a while, but eventually it becomes necessary to pass along to the customer. And I guess I've always known that with a month-to-month subscription, part of what I pay is for the kit itself, and part of it is for its shipping (mailing). And now it's recently been announced that Paper Pumpkin will be increasing in price, yet again. And NONE of us are ever happy about pricing increases! But here are a couple thoughts I'd like to share from "the other side of the fence", after I've considered the value of the Paper Pumpkin concept:
It's pretty obvious to those of us who've subscribed to Paper Pumpkin for a long time, that overall, the quality of the designs, projects, and materials has improved tremendously over the 12 years since this subscription concept was introduced. And it continues to improve year-over-year. So we are nowadays getting much more product value, and even faster delivery than we used to get. So to me, I guess I'm willing to pay a bit more for those improvements, too.
But then in the past few months I've also evaluated (and shared my thoughts about) weighing the month-to-month subscription option against the prepaid option. It is true that the majority of my Paper Pumpkin customers initially subscribe through the prepaid route. I think that makes sense when you're new because of course you want to see what the thing is all about, and this way you feel like you can "try it on" for a while. And many of my prepaid subscribers also like to stock up on additional prepaid months during our traditional Sale-a-Bration months of January and February because they earn extra "free products" during that time. And that makes a TON of sense! But then this new-fangled "Stampin' Rewards" program showed up on the horizon last year, and I quickly realized that of course prepaid plans would qualify for Stampin' Rewards, but it didn't seem like... and in fact back then we were TOLD by Stampin' Up! that... the month-to-month subscriptions would NOT qualify for Stampin' Rewards because the "product" part of the monthly package is considered to be $18, which is below the $20 minimum product order size to qualify. So while that made sense to me "logically" and "rule-wise", it still didn't seem all that "fair" that long-time subscribers would continue to pay month-after-month, and not earn rewards, while prepaids *would*.
UNTIL... it was recently announced that the price of the kits would (again) need to be raised. And the increase of the whole package (contents + shipping) would go up by $2 a month (before your local sales tax, that is). BUT along the way, they'd somehow magically figured out a way to credit that $2 price increase to the "product" portion of the entire thing, which NOW will make it eligible for Stampin' Rewards!!! Hurray!!! So yes, we'll be paying $2 a month more for our kits, but also receiving 10% back in Stampin' Rewards, based on the product portion of the package. So looking at it through that lens, the net result will actually be a wash. Whew! Thank you, Stampin' Up!
PS: One more important thing about Paper Pumpkin... If you still haven't "claimed" your Paper Pumpkin subscription into your main Stampin' Up! Customer Account, please do so asap - before it becomes an urgent or critical problem. You should have received some emails from Stampin' Up! a month or so ago at the time it was to be done (instructions were included), and I personally sent 2 emails urging my subscribers to do so, as well. The previous Paper Pumpkin website was retired last month, and subscribers can no longer access their PP accounts (as we used to do) through that website... but instead, will need to follow the "claim" process to attach their PP subscriptions to their main Stampin' Up! Customer Accounts so they can "manage" their subscriptions for functions like skipping a month, updating a credit card, updating the numbers of kits they'd like to receive per month, handling a gift subscription, etc. Please do not ignore this one-time-only necessary process. It's fairly quick and easy, but does NEED to be done!
Ok. Let's Talk about Paper
For most of us, paper has been part of our lives for a long time. We tend to think of it as an everyday staple. If you’re like me, you’ve relied on toilet paper, facial tissues, and paper towels daily. And then there’s lined notebook paper (which I also personally use daily), self-designed pages in my planner, and pretty cardstock & decorative papers that I play with whenever I get a chance. (Not to mention the index cards and printer paper I used while collecting my thoughts and drawing up my outline for this very newsletter! Gotta make the high school English teacher proud, right?!?) But yes, many of us tend to take paper for granted.
But have you taken a moment to consider how paper prices have risen in recent years? I remember being completely SHOCKED last summer when I was in need of a ream of everyday printer paper. I shopped for hours, both in brick-and-mortar stores, as well as online, before finally heaving a deep sigh and making a selection (and paying considerably more than I'd ever paid for a ream). And let’s not forget the challenge of even *finding* a certain rolled-up type of everyday paper back 5 years ago or so, during the craziness of 2020. Ridiculous!
Well, turns out there’s been a lot of “stuff” going on in the world of paper in recent years. And much of that “stuff” has resulted in a number of paper mills going out of business, leaving fewer and fewer mills from which to source certain types of paper. According to my research, here are some of the reasons this has been occurring:
Increasing environmental requirements have driven a number of paper mills out of the marketplace, as they’ve been unable to comply financially.
Global competition has made it difficult for domestic production to stay in the game. Production costs are often lower in other countries which often don’t have similar environmental requirements and regulations, thereby making smaller, specialized domestic mills unable to compete. So some mills have switched from making the “fancy” stuff - over to making lower-quality throw-away types of paper goods such as paper towels, toilet paper, or fast food packaging instead.
The price of raw materials (esp. wood pulp) and shipping have both fluctuated dramatically in recent years, with shipping costs continuing to escalate.
Globally, we’re changing our habits and using more digital forms of communication, rather than writing and sending letters, or printing magazines or daily newspapers. So production of those types of paper has slowed due to decreased demand, and of course OUR very specialized use of paper for art purposes remains fairly small, as well.
You may have already noticed some of the struggles Stampin’ Up! has encountered in recent years regarding our cardstock. It was only a few years ago when the manufacturer of our “Whisper White” cardstock abruptly closed their doors with no advance notice to Stampin’ Up! So THAT was a huge challenge for the company to address without any heads-up or lead time. And you may have also noticed that other types of cardstocks have quietly disappeared from our lines recently, as well. (While others have been introduced.)
But given that SU is particularly KNOWN for its beautiful and high-quality CS, I think we’ve done fairly well at confronting the repetitive recent supply challenges.
But... something has had to give. And you’ll see in the upcoming Annual Catalog that there will be a significant increase in our paper prices, pretty much across the board. It’s come down to either that or drop the very papers we are so well-known for. And you may have already noticed the price of Basic White cardstocks has already risen in the online store. That’s because when word got out a while back regarding the upcoming repackaging and price increases, there was an immediate panic-run on the whites, and last-year’s packages were wiped out in a flash! So SU decided to release the upcoming packaging (and corresponding pricing structure) early for those basic items, so we’d still have SOME white CS available to offer during the intervening months! I recognize that none of this pricing situation will be welcome news to any of us, of course. But I believe it's always helpful to have a peek behind the scenes for a bit of an understanding of what causes some of these conditions.
SAAVY SHOPPER TIP: In situations where I personally want several colors of cardstock, but my budget doesn't allow for full packs of each, (particularly when I am still unfamiliar with colors, such as with new In Colors), and I'm unsure how quickly I will use any specific color, here's my approach: I order one or more cardstock assortment(s), rather than full packs. That practice provides me a variety of colors to use, and I pay particular attention to which ones I run out of first. THEN I'll order full packs of those specific colors. This technique has worked well for me for several years now, and has prevented me from ordering entire packages of colors I would likely end up hardly ever using! Oh... and of course I NEVER pass up an opportunity when Stampin' Up! puts cardstock on sale or offers a free-shipping day. Significant money can be saved by taking advantage of those types of short-term promotional offers, and the larger the order, the *more* one can save on free-shipping days!
Save the Date(s)!
Are you as pleased as I am that Stampin' Up! has finally put some significant focus back on scrapbooking? I have DECADES'-worth of pictures I've always wanted to scrapbook, but only got a couple of albums completed before they yanked most of the scrapbook-related product line many years ago. And so my memory-keeping progress... just hasn't happened for over a decade now. But now with new gorgeous products, as well as lovely kits and exciting layouts, I am freshly invigorated and hopeful for my rekindled scrapping goals! And I'm particularly excited for a brand-new concept to Stampin' Up! that will debut for its initial run this July... a 3-day VIRTUAL Scrapping Retreat! 3 days of productive creativity (without having to travel or pay for overnight accommodations or meals out), using a huge kit that is being designed exclusively for this event, and which will include the supplies to make 24 pages! That's TWELVE 2-page 12" x 12" layouts, including the cardstocks, papers, stickers, photo place savers, flip-flaps, page protectors and accessories. Die-cut titles ("January" thru "December") will be included, so they can be placed on *any* of your 2-page layouts, or of course you can use your own title(s) if you prefer. Your album (book) itself isn't included in the pricing, but your 3-day retreat is free with the purchase of the kit! (And the class will be recorded if you can't attend on those specific days that we are "live", so you can participate afterwards.) But here's what I want to give you a heads-up about... this enormous kit & 3-day event will likely be the priciest product Stampin' Up! has ever offered. (I think somewhere in the arena of $250 for the kit & event combined.) If you've ever used one of our kits (whether for cards or for scrapping), you already have a reasonable idea of what you'll receive... except they've made assembly even faster by die-cutting individual pieces and cutting other papers to size, as well. So if this type of event might be of interest to you, you might want to save the dates & set aside some "fun" money now, so you'll be able to order your kit when it becomes available to order (in late May, I think). I *have* seen a quick glimpse of the kit (online), and I wish I could share some pictures with you right now. But alas, we won't have any visuals to share for about another month or so. But I just wanted to let you know this is on the horizon, and plans are underway for what sounds like a super-awesome event! Oh, and since this will (or can) cover 12 months worth of layouts, this could be a wonderful way to document this year... or any other. So it's not too early to start gathering your pictures! Here's one I'd love to use in *my* album... my grandson on the final stretch at a recent county-wide high school track meet. (He's a sprinter... prefers 200 and 400 meters, which is where he is strongest.) PR'd in both last night... breaking his previous PR's from just 3 days earlier!
12-8-2025 Hey Paper Dreamers! Well, I just spent the past 4 days composing my latest newsletter, but after ALL that, technology got the best of me, and the whole thing wouldn't render properly. (Meaning it wouldn't send in the format humans actually read.) So I've ended up shortening my original version and will include about half the topics here (the most time-sensitive stuff), and will follow up within the next few days with the remainder of my intended content. But first, does anyone else...
Oct. 4, 2025 Hey Crafty Friends! So I've been working (for a long time) on a very long-overdue newsletter. But, not all that surprisingly, it has turned into a mammoth document (of nearly 3000 words... yikes!), and it even takes ME too long to read through it - just to proofread it! So of course I know YOU wouldn't likely have to time to read it if it were to randomly land in your inbox. So I've had to go back to the drawing board. Here's the thing: the content is valuable; I want to share it...
