February/March Release 2013 Day 1

It's Release Week! For those of you that are new to Wplus9, we will spend the next couple of days getting up close and personal with the products that we will be releasing this month. All previewed items will be available for purchase on February 5th at www.wplus9.com as well as at many of your favorite retailers.

This month is a special month as it marks our 3 year anniversary! I just wanted to take a moment to say "Thank You". Thank you for all of the support, for each kind word and email and for each and every order. I appreciate you all so much. Instead of celebrating Wplus9 or our accomplishments on our anniversary, instead, I celebrate you. Because Wplus9 wouldn't be what it is, won't become what it can be, without each of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

This month we have lots to introduce and I'm excited to get started. We've got new stamps, new dies, new cards stock, and finally...our first ink! I'll have all of the detailed information on the new card stock colors and ink later this week. And...we have a very special guest designer here to help us introduce it all; Christina MacLaren! I am a HUGE fan of Christina's and I hope you all give her a warm welcome!

So, are you ready for today's introductions? Let's get started!

Lace,lace, and more lace. Is there anything more divine or feminine than lace? This collection is full of intricately illustrated lace patterns and florals.

Chantilly Trim

• is a 6x8 clear photopolymer stamp set
• 9 high quality photo-polymer stamps; 6 lace trim border images, 1 lace background block and 2 floral accent images
• will be available for purchase February 5th for $21

Scalloped Border Die

• coordinates with the Chantilly Trim stamp set
• cuts a continuous border in a scalloped pattern
• will be available for purchase February 5th for $6

Lace doesn't have to be fussy. You can use these images to create clean and simple projects with a big "WOW" factor. How about a simple stationary as a gift for a crafty or not-so crafty friend? Create the card bases and fill a glassine bag with bits and bobs for them to assemble when needed.

Creating this set is so fast and easy. And all packaged up, it's perfect for gift giving. To decorate my glassine bag, I stamped the eyelet lace border using our White pigment ink onto our Kraft cardstock and then cut the scalloped edge using the Scalloped Border Die. For the cards, simply stamp a stack with the white eyelet border. For the top card, stamp the appropriate sentiment and use this as your greeting card. I've used a sentiment here from Very Vintage Florals.

This set is perfect for creating your embellishments. Have fun creating a random assortment of things for the recipient to choose from. I used the Clear Cut Stackers: Rounded Rectangles die and sentiments from Very Vintage Florals to create some pre-fab sentiment labels. I also added few loose pinking squares I cut using Clear Cut Stackers: Pinking Squares die, along with some stamped wooden veneers.

To hold buttons and extra trim, I die cut a few tags using the Timeless Tags die. I decorated them all differently. To create the lace background, I used the lace square stamp included in Chantilly Trim. This little guy is going to get a lot of use in my studio. I also used it to stamp the lace pattern onto the wooden veneer butterflies as well as the mini clothespins.

Have fun filling the bag up with lots of goodies for your recipient to create their own cards. It's also a great way to gift/purge some of those odds and ends you have left over.

My next card is a bit more involved, but still quite simple. I wanted to feature the largest most detailed image in this set.

I heat embossed the large lace and floral border onto our Ballet Slippers cardstock twice. Again, I used the Scalloped Border Die along the top and bottom edges. I was so happy to see how well the image embossed and how much detail remained.

To create the focal point, I used the same supplies and technique as the previous project. For the wooden veneer butterflies, I layered two together. I added a little gold embossing to the top butterfly, a very striking technique I picked up from Kara.

I added the same gold dipped technique to the edges of a banner I cut using the Banner Trio die. Gold is really hot right now and I just love how it looks with pink.

Now let's take a look at another stamp set we are introducing.

Very Vintage Florals

• is a 4x6 clear photopolymer stamp set
• 19 high quality photo-polymer stamps; 4 sentiments, 1 frame and 14 images
• will be available for purchase February 5th for $14

Very Vintage Florals Companion Die

• coordinates with the Very Vintage Florals stamp set
• contains 7 individual shapes wired together that can be easy separated if desired
• will be available for purchase February 5th for $8

I had so much fun using this set. I mean I had to force myself to put it down. My first project today, I was inspired by those old vintage handkerchiefs that are scalloped and trimmed around the edges with red thread. You know the ones? This is what I came up with, another fun card set.

For the main birthday card, I used the Scalloped Border Die and cut each side of a rectangle and used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Fired Brick to ink the edges. I used the same treatment throughout each piece to tie it all together.

The flowers in this set are so much fun to stamp with. There are several sizes, from large blooms down to tiny buds, making creating intricate looking patters so easy.

Keeping the design of the note cards simple makes mass producing these quick and easy.

My last sample today is one of my favorites. Love, love, love it. I wanted to show you how, despite the name, these images can be very graphic.

By pairing these stamps with the large striped frame from Bitty Buddy Valentines it gives it a very clean very modern feel. I love mixing textures, styles, and colors that contrast. Here I've added the lace background on our Ballerina Slippers card stock, mixing the boldness of the stripes with the soft lace.

When you pair these stamps with the Very Vintage Floralscompanion dies, it just takes it to a whole new level. See that crisp green there? That's another card stock color, Green Acres, that we will be adding to the family. Finally the sentiment was added from a set we'll be introducing tomorrow, Embroidered Bouquet.

And that wraps up Day 1 for me. I have tons more to share tomorrow, but the Design Team has plenty to share with you right now!

• Cristina Kowalczyk
• Elise Durenberger
• Jean Martin
• Jinny Newlin
• Kerrianne Gwin
• Lea Lawson
• Sarah Martina Parker
• Savitri Wilder
• Christina MacLaren - Guest Designer

I really hope you enjoyed today's previews and that we put you in the mood for Spring! Are you ready for a chance to win today's featured products: Chantilly Trim, Scalloped Border Die, Very Vintage Florals and the Very Vintage Florals Companion Die? Just leave me a comment by 9:00 AM EST February 2nd with your thoughts on lace. Love it, hate it, may be a convert??? I will select one random winner from all comments. Winners will be posted here.

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back tomorrow!