You Inspire Me! New catalogue and new Stampin' Up magnetic ink pads

There's a new Stampin' Up! Catalogue heading your way soon and shopping can start from May 6th. I love it when a new catalogue comes out - it's a chance to see all the new and inspiring crafty things there are. 

Things have changed this year with the catalogues and instead of an annual catalogue there are going to be 3 catalogues each year. I think this is a brilliant idea because often the annual catalogue comes out and then is forgotten when the mini catalogues appear 3 times during the year. This way things are always fresh. There will be items available throughout the year, though, moving from catalogue to catalogue, so there will still be some continuity. I think it's the best of both worlds.

What I really wanted to chat to you about today was the new In Colors. If you've been watching my Instagram and reading my newsletter for a while, you'll know I'm a big fan of the In Colors - I'm still sad that Shy Shamrock is leaving us this year - and I've really enjoyed the current colours. The new In Colors for 2026-8 are really different though - not just in colour, but in design. 

I'll not lie, I've never been a huge fan of the ink pad mechanism of the current ink pads - I end up with ink on my hands sometimes more than the project I'm working on, so when they started talking about magnetic ink pads, my ears pricked up.

I have them, and I can attest that they are great. I love them! Easy to take the lids off, bigger than the current pads, and back to the old felt pad design they used to have. 

The price point is higher than what we've had, so it does make them more of an investment, but, my Instagram reel shows how to use them and that they are so easy, so it's definitely worth it for me. I won't be rebuying ink pads as they change them over to the magnetic pads, but any new pads, I will be getting them in the new format as they come out.

I'm also a huge fan of Hydrangea Hue in this set of colours. Such a beautiful blue. I'm trying a new technique with two tone cardstock with this using an embossing folder and an emery board. You can read all about it in My Projects over on my Stampin' Up! page.

I'm so happy to be blogging again. I forgot how much I really missed it!

Happy Crafting!

Ruth x

Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee? [Where Have You Been Since I Saw Thee?]

Not on Ilkley Moor baht 'at [Ilkley Moor without a hat] I can tell you - far too chilly for that! No, since I last posted back in 2023, I have been rediscovering a love of card making and I finally decided to join Stampin' Up! as a Demonstrator and have a new brand for this adventure - Ruth Gets Crafty (I love owls!).

I've joined my friend Kylie's team the Cuppa Crafters and am really enjoying all that it entails. I'm part of a team of other local crafty people, I get a discount on some quality craft supplies, and I've even started to run some classes myself which is a scary and thrilling experience all at the same time. Not only that, but I had someone join my team, Ruth's Crafty Rebels, which is really exciting, as I love the idea of creating that crafty community that we all need.

I have a regular weekly email newsletter, which I've been enjoying writing, and I'm regularly posting on my Instagram, Ruth Gets Crafty (that's my new name), but I really really missed having a blog. 

I spent a great deal of time agonising over setting up a website - I bought a domain which I never used of course - and having a blog that way, but the cost in terms of time and learning were too much for me. I thought I might set up another blog like this one, but I never got round to it. I realised that I  already had a blog and one that had been sharing my crafty journey since I started it almost 12 years ago.

When I first set up this blog it was suggested to me that the name would be come obsolete after some time. True, my girls no longer nap, they just don't get up in the morning, but I felt I wanted to keep that connection going and not lose that link from when I first started crafting back when my 12 year old was 6 months old.

So, after 18 months of faffing, I'm doing what I always should have done. Start writing again on this blog!

I'll be sharing craft projects, mostly Stampin' Up! because after all, it's business, but I will throw in other things I'm doing because I can't just have one focus, no, I need all the hobbies, and I'm still loving sewing in various different forms.

I hope some of you out there are still crafting - I definitely know some of you are! - and that you'll join in the further adventures of Crafting While the Baby Naps, also now known as Ruth Gets Crafty.

If you'd like to join the newsletter where I share weekly what classes there are coming up, and other jolly tidbits of Stampin' Up! fun, I would love to have you!