Up All Night

Greetings for the New Year!

I hope you are getting excited for the new year and the release of Stampin' Up!'s Occasions Catalog and Sale-A-Bration Event. It is going to be tremendous year ~ Stampin' Up! celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, so I feel certain that we will all have many chances to celebrate with them.

But before the clock strikes midnight and calendar rolls over, consider some stampin' housekeeping before the new products arrive on your doorstep.

I do not want to say that I abuse my Stampin' Trimmer, but it does get a tremendous amount of use as the only paper trimmer I have; so I attempt to keep the surface clean of snail adhesive and liquid glue goo ~ I usually use my silicon craft mat for all of my work, as I am sure you do as well, but sometimes I get in a hurry, or behind ... 

Give your trimmer a good wash down, as well as the cutting mat and the plastic slide/ruler for the blades. I use alcohol wipes to clean the surface and plastic ruler. The trimmer mats do come out of their position and can be turned over. Dust and minuscule bits of paper get trapped in the mat. If needed, add replacement mats to your next order. I always have a spare pair of cutting blades on hand, too.

The alcohol wipes I use work wonderfully well on acrylic blocks; now is a good time to get them cleaned up for new year stampin', too. Try cleaning your bone folder, paper snips and piercing tool while you are at it.

I recently cleaned my Stampin' Scrub ~ just in the kitchen sink under running water, drying it in the dish drainer. 

How about your Big Shot Cutting Pads? Are they clean? Fairly flat? Try to rotate the pads occasionally to help keep them flat. Flatter pads hold framelits to the magnetic platform easier. Having a spare set of pads is a good idea.

Once everything is in terrific working order, stamping becomes even easier and more enjoyable.

The cleaning and supplies take little time and little funds.

Organizing ~ now that's a different matter, but something to consider as you prepare to begin ordering from the new catalog. Take stock of what you already have and make a list of what you need to replenish. As you look through the new catalog at the gorgeous Designer Series Papers, stamp sets and kits, check that you have the coordinating colors of cardstock and ink or refills. 

Cheers! Let's stamp in 2018!