Thank you for joining us for the May Pals Blog Hop and our annual
retirement party! It's time to say goodbye to stamps and accessories
that will not be available in the new  2013-14 Stampin' Up! catalog.
Although it's always sad to see wonderful products retire, it is
exciting to think about all of the new products that will soon be
available. So enjoy the farewell tour for our favorite retiring products
– and remember you have until June 3rd to order from the retiring
product lists.

You should have just left stop number 4 on the Pals Hop – Kathleen Law at Craft with Kathleen . If so, you are in the right spot.
 If you get off track, the full blog lineup below will help you move along
from blog to blog so you see all of the amazing creations.

Today is a bitter sweet day for all of the wonderful and dedicated viewers that are enjoying this incredible "Retirement Party" for the PALS Blog Hop!

I did a card very similar to these before…just tweaked it a bit 'cause I loved it before but I love it more now! I hope you like it as well!

As I am just entering into my 2nd year with Stampin' Up!…I have learned something loud and clear…and it is simple = Stampin' Up! makes decisions that are best for all of us and they keep us on the cutting edge of what is "on trend"!

Picking my sadness was between 3 stamp sets…but I chose this one, Easy Events….why? Simple = this is the stamp set that gave me the confidence this past year that I can do things that I never thought I could do!

I simply love using the Aqua Painter…( I was never good in Art Class) and using this great tool makes me happy! I just loved the simplicity of all of the stamps in this set!

How did I get the "thank you" with the "tree"…simple  = I masked it with a bit of sticky note…inked it up with the Black Staz on…then peeled it off and PRESTO – perfect and clean! When you look at this stamp set…the stamp is different than the sentiment! Thanks to the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig it was a cinch!

There are a couple of things that I am a stickler about and one is…use the watercolor paper when using this technique…why – simple  = why would you take all of your precious time and energy to create a beautiful card to have the edges curl?

Just about everything in this card is going "bye-bye"…the stamp set – Easy Events, the colors of paper…Not So Navy Paper, the Certain Celery Ribbon 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon…this ink…Certainly Celery and Riding Hood Red…but this is OK – cause GREAT things are coming your way…

Do you see how clean…simple…and fresh this card is…to me it is just classic and one that you could make and make ….and send and send – and it will always be in style!

Stampin' Up! makes our life so easy with their quick and simple tools… the "Window Framelits" were the focal balance of the card and running through my main man…"Mr. Big Shot" it helped the POP factor…with the help of the paper piercing tool and the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack to add the little added touch!

Before I tied the ribbon in the simple "Susan knot" I did use a simple sponge and lightly sponges the edges with Certainly Celery! I think a simple trick like this adds an element of depth!

If you are used to reading my blog and if you are not – I do hope that you subscribe to it for a daily dose of inspiration and creativity…I always do something special to my envelopes…it is a trademark that reminds me of my late Mom….and this paper that I lined is from such a special "bye-bye" paper pack…Print Poetry ( go buy it NOW if you do not have a stash)

I love what I do and I love being a PAL, Mary Fish and her wonderful group of super talented paper crafters have been such an inspiration to me and this past year has been a ton of fun! I hope that you have enjoyed this post and that you have a BLAST going through all of these wonderful posts for our Retirement Party!

I know that it is days like this…that I simply love going through and seeing all of this FUN!!! Have a great time and all I can say is….GREAT READY for the BEST catalog!!!

Please email me if you have any questions or feel free to sit back…relax…and click away and order from your home….Stampin' Up! makes life and shopping so easy!

The next stop is Kari Linder, at Stampin' Essentials, stop number 6 on
the Pals Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting – and I hope to see you next month!

1. Sherrie Gross at Stampin' Sunshine
2. Kerry Willard Bray at Stampgoodness
3. Amy Williams at Stampin' on the Range
4. Kathleen Law at Craft With Kathleen
5. Susan Itell at Simple Stampin'
6. Kari Linder at Stampin' Essentials
7. nicole watt at Pixel Maven's Retreat
8. Linda Callahan at Stampin' Seasons
9. Debra Simonis at Deb's Stampin' Grounds
10. Lynn Hoyt at Cattail Designs
11. Nancy Gleason at My Stampin Space
12. Nicole Picadura at Scraps & Stamps
13. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn
14. Amy Lazzell at Just a Thought…Cards by Amy
15. Leslie Davis at Life's Moments
16. Kim Czenszak at LiveLoveStamp
17. Maxine Conrad at Stamp to the MAX!
18. Debbie Mageed at Scrappin' and Stampin'
19. Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter
20. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards
21. Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stamping
22. Penny Nichols at Sierra Stampin!
23. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
24. Rae Harper at Wild West Paper Arts
25. Peggy Noe at prettypapercards.com
26. Shannon Hokanson at Paper Works
27. Julie Trevett-Smith at The Stampin' Affair
28. Shirley Sumption at look at my cute stuff
29. Debbie Crowley at expressivelydeb…
30. Shannon Jaramillo at ezpeasycards
31. Barbara Furlong at The Love of Stamping
32. Elaine Fleming at Studio Elaine