It is amazing how things can fall into place when you are open and receptive to change and new ideas.

I was flying home on Southwest Airlines, after spending four fabulous days in Salt Lake City. I was at a Stampin’ Up Convention for the unveiling of the new Occasions 2018 catalog, along with recognizing demonstrators from all over the world. It was a whirlwind of forming relationships with people I’d only known on Facebook, creativity overload seeing all the new products, and learning how to “love it, live it and share it.”

Here I am (on the left) with my roomie Stesha (in the middle), Mary Fish (our team leader), and Brian King (photo bomber).

The short flight gave me time to read the entire Southwest magazine. On page 22 there was an article about Robyn Benincasa, and her quote immediately caught my eye: “If you combine what you’re great at with what you love, you’ll be fulfilled your whole life.” She goes on to say, “Find the ‘vein of gold’ within you.”

Talk about reinforcing what I’d been hearing for four days!

And, next to the last page, this is what I saw:

Yes, it’s a toucan, and isn’t it remarkable that a toucan is in one of the new Occasions Catalog stamp sets? It happened to be the stamp set that Brian King demonstrated, and I was one of the lucky “Prize Patrol” recipients.

 I would use this Bird Banter stamp set to make my first card from the new, 2018 Occasions Catalog.

I selected my sketch from the CAS(E) this sketch challenge:

I first stamped Mr. Toucan in Memento Black Ink on Whisper White cardstock, and colored him with Stampin’ Blends. It was fun choosing his bright colors of Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Bermuda Bay. I used the Stampin’ Write for his Basic Black feathers. He is just one of many cute birds and sentiments from Bird Banter. Just wait until you see all of them!

Brian King used a piece of the Birthday Memories DSP on one of his samples, and it was so perfect for the toucan with the colorful stripes, I HAD to use it also. I layered this on Basic Black cardstock on Bermuda Bay cardstock, embossed with the Petal Burst Embossing Folder, and layered this on a Basic Black card base.

The Whisper White half circle was die cut with Circle Framelits, and I stamped Mr. Toucan’s feet where I wanted him to stand. The rest of him was easy to cut by hand, and I glued everything in place.

The Leaf Punch from the Holiday catalog (a gift from Mary Fish for the Pals who attended OnStage) made the white foliage.

Once again, the Bunch of Banners is the right size and shape for the sentiment, “Just A Little Toucan Of My Appreciation.” Isn’t that the cutest? And, the last detail, the Daffodil Delight Enamel Shapes.

This is my first “sneak peek” of the new Occasions 2018 Catalog. Demonstrators can order beginning December 1st, and customers can order Jan. 1st.  If you would like to place an order, and aren’t working with a demonstrator, grab me! I can get you hooked up!