Don’t miss out on the 2009/2010 Inspiration Book, Cardstock & Designer Paper Sampler Pre-orders!

Scroll down to see today’s post of my Scrappy Birthday Card.

One of the questions I’m often asked is where I get my inspiration.  Last January, as I was answering that question in a blog post, I shared with you all a handy reference tool that I first created for myself two and half years ago.  It’s what I call my ”Inspiration Book”.  It’s basically a “sampler” of all of Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Papers, ribbons, and embellishments.   I keep my book out and open while I’m papercrafting so that if I’m looking for that extra little touch to finish off my project or I’m trying to figure out what DP will match the “mood” of the stamp set I chose, I can then flip through my book and see all of my choices first hand. I use it for mixing, matching, coordinating, visualizing…you get the idea I’m sure!

Although I initially created this book for myself, as my customers would ask me what a certain pattern of DP looked like, or what ribbon would best go with a DP they liked, I found myself pulling out my Inspiration Book more and more. The reaction was universal - my customers went CRAZY for it!  It’s so hard to get a good feel for what Stampin’ Up!’s products look like from the catalog pictures alone because the pictures are so small, and the colors/patterns can be distorted by the photographic process. My customers really appreciate being able to SEE the products first hand. Of course an added benefit from a business perspective is that I’ve seen an increase in my sales. The most frequent comment I hear when I pull out my Inspiration Book is “Oh my goodness, that product is just gorgeous …. I didn’t think I liked it when I just saw the picture in the catalogue…I think I’ll just have to order that now.”  

Much to my surprise, I started having papercrafters and Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators asking me if I’d be willing to make these Inspiration Books available for sale. I was quite hesitant to do so because of the cost – as I’m sure you can imagine, these books are not cheap – not just because of the products themselves, but because they’re time intensive to make.  The templates alone took me about 10 hours to create and the book itself ended up being about 9 hours to put together. But, despite my reservations, I decided to go ahead and sell them. The feedback I received was fantastic.  Everyone who bought one – whether for themselves or for their business – LOVED it.  I’ve already had emails asking me if I’m going to sell them again, and the answer is yes. 

This year I’m once again offering the whole book, the decorated binder, the printed charts and an upgrade pack to those that bought the binder this past catalogue. I’m also offering CS and DP Sampler rings. These are available for sale in both US and Canada, as they are considered “finished product” and comply with Stampin’ Up! policy.

Just in case you didn’t see my Inspiration Book in January, here’s the pictures of last year’s pages to give you an idea of what they look like- I don’t yet have this year’s pages assembled as I can’t order my new product unti July 1st.

Spring-Summer 2009 Designer Papers. This years pages will have the same design.

Spring-Summer 2009 Ribbons. Chart on the left will remain the same and the other three charts will change.

Spring-Summer 2009 buttons, brads and eyelets (brad and eyelet chart will remain the same):

Spring-Summer 2009  clips, designer brads, flowers – these pages have been completely redesigned.

Pretties Kit and Hodgepodge (this will be the same for this catalog):

 
Inspiration Book Pages with Product: $275 CAN + shipping (about $235 US)

•  a 2″ x 2″ sample of the In Color and Textured In Color CS
• a 2″ x 2″ sample of all the Neutral CS (Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Going Gray, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Confetti White & Cream, Naturals White & Ivory, Kraft, Glossy White)
• a 2″ x 2″ sample of the specialty papers/CS: Bride, Groom, Bridesmaid, Shimmer White, Brushed Gold, Brushed Silver
• a 2″ x 2″ sample of all the color families of CS (regular texture): Bold Brights, Earth Elements, Rich Regals, Soft Subtles – each on their own page
• a 2″ x 2″ sample of the 18 Designer Papers, 3 Specialy Designer Papers and 14 Patterns Designer Papers – each on their own sheet (you see all 12 patterns)
• every single ribbon, Ribbon Originals, linen thread, hemp and twill tape
• Silver and Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware,
• Jumbo brads (both sizes), Build-a-brads, Designer Brads, regular Brads, Jumbo eyelets, Grommets, Clips assortment, Library clips (1/2″ and mini), eyelets, rhinestone brads
• flower fusion and fleurettes II
• All the buttons: Corduroy, clear designer, coloured buttons

There are 52 pages in all.  I custom designed all the templates for the products.  They are printed out on Whisper White CS using a high quality solid-ink laser printer (it gives a raised glossy finish to the black ink). Binder and page protectors are sold separately.  

Decorated Binder and Page Protectors: $80 + shipping (about $68 US)

 The binder is Stampin’ Up!’s 8 1/2″ x 11″ Linen Ring Binder decorated with the flourishes Decor Elements (the exact flourish on the cover will vary), Melon Mambo Polka dot ribbon, felt flowers from the Flower Fusion collection and rhinestone brads.  I can customize what your book actually says (if you don’t like 2009 Sampler).  You will also receive 26 page protectors.

Printed Charts ONLY: $25 + shipping (about $21 US)

• 52 charts, printed on Whisper White CS with a high quality solid-ink laser printer that gives a raised glossy finish to the ink
• blank charts only – NO product is included - YOU provide the product and then assemble them onto the charts
• if you ordered the whole inspiration book then these charts are included in that and do NOT need to be purchased separately

Printed Charts UPGRADE: $15 + shipping (about $13 US)

• about 28 charts, printed on Whisper White CS with a high quality solid-ink laser printer that gives a raised glossy finish to the ink
• these are an UPGRADE package and are intended for those that purchased the Printed Pages in January.
• blank charts only – NO product is included - YOU provide the product and then assemble them onto the charts
• if you ordered the whole inspiration book then these charts are included in that and do NOT need to be purchased separately

Inspiration Book Upgrade Package: $135 + shipping (about $114 US)

This package is for those of you that purchased the book last year.  It includes the following:

•   A 2″ x 2″ sample of the In Color and Textured In Color CS
• a 2″ x 2″ sample of all the Neutral CS (Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Going Gray, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Confetti White & Cream, Naturals White & Ivory, Kraft, Glossy White) 
• a 2″ x 2″ sample of the specialty papers/CS: Bride, Groom, Bridesmaid, Shimmer White, Brushed Gold, Brushed Silver 
• a 2″ x 2″ sample of the 6 new Patterns DP, the 10 new regular DPs and the 3 new Specialty DP 
• a 3″ piece of 5/8″ Black Grosgrain ribbon that you can add into your grosgrain ribbon chart (the one that had the 1/4″ and 5/8″ Grosgrain ribbons) 
• 3 ribbons charts with all the rest of the ribbons  
• All the new accessories (you can re-use the Pretties, Hodgepodge Hardware and the two brads/eyelets pages) 

 
 *NEW* CS  Sampler Ring: $15 + $5.50 shipping US OR $4.50 shipping Canada

The CS Sampler Ring is shown right  – it includes a 3″ x 3″ swatch of the CS listed below.  Each swatch is labelled with a small clear label that has the name and item number of the CS. 

• - In Color CS and Textured In Color CS
• - Neutrals (pg. 155) and all the Naturals CS (pg. 159)
• - the 48 regular colors of CS

The swatches are carefully packaged in their own little baggies in between chipboard pieces to protect them. You will have to assemble them onto the binder ring (which is included) once you receive your CS sampler.

  Canadians Click Here to Order your CS Sampler ring.
  $15 + $4.50 shipping

  U.S. Click HERE to Order your CS Sampler ring.
  $15 + $5.50 shipping

  *NEW* DP Sampler Ring: $20 + $5.50 shipping US OR $4.50 shipping Canada

I don’t have a picture of the DP Sampler Ring because I can’t order the new DP’s until July 1st.  The DP sampler ring will include a 3″ x 3″ swatch of each double sided design from ALL the regular Designer Papers, Pattern DP, Specialty DP and the Bride, Groom, Bridesmaid CS – that’s 225 swatches in all.  There will be a Divider Sheet between each assortment that includes the product name, item number, description and list of coordinating colors – very similar to the ones that SU sold back in January/February. The DP sampler ring will be packaged and shipped in a similar manner to the CS Sampler Ring. If you order both the CS sampler and the DP sampler ring then you save $5.

  Canadians Click Here to Order your DP Sampler ring.
  $20 + $4.50 shipping

  U.S. Click HERE to Order your DP Sampler ring.
  $20 + $5.50 shipping

Order BOTH the CS and DP Sampler Ring and SAVE.

  Canadians Click Here to Order your CS & DP Sampler ring.
  $30 + $8.00 shipping

  U.S. Click HERE to Order your CS & DP Sampler ring.
  $30 + $10.00 shipping

The items will be shipped in the order in which I received the orders.  They will begin shipping end of July (I have to wait for my order to arrive and then factor in time for assembly).  For the Inspiration Books and Upgrade packs – I will be shipping out 10 books/upgrade packs a week starting 1st week in August and it’s first come first served.  So the first 10 people will have their books shipped out the first week in Aug., the next 10 books will be shipped out the second week in Aug., etc. You will receive an email shortly after you place your order giving you an estimated shipping date.

Some additional information:

• Once again I am not making a profit on these books. The price is based on product at my demonstrator cost, includes paying my assistants to assemble the books, adhesive to assemble the books (i.e. sticking the DP down) & packing materials (these are VERY carefully packaged with chipboard pieces in between the embellishments, wrapped in plastic and packaged in a sturdy box)
• This is available for sale in the US and Canada – because it is “Finished product” I am allowed to do so according to Stampin’ Up! policy.
• The price is in Canadian funds – your credit card or Paypal will do the currency conversion for you automatically.
• This year’s book does not include beads and glitter – I tried two different adhesives with the glitter (Crystal Effects and Heat and Stick) and it didn’t work well – my glitter is flaking off in mine.
• This year’s book only includes textured CS in the In Colors – enough to give your customers an idea of what textured CS looks like.
• I will be releasing upgrades with the Mini Catalogs

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email me at andrea@demotodemo.com.