Fun Purchases!

Hey Bloggers,
Guess what I got in the mail? I placed an order at Simon Says Stamp, and it arrived today! I am so excited! Take a look:

This is an adorable die called "Heart Vent" from Simon Says Stamp.

These are new "On the edge" dies that read "I love you" and "Thank You" from Simon Says Stamp.

I am not a big believer of buying small brand ink. Frankly, I cannot afford it. But I am finding my go-to black inks are drying up, and one of them are not copic-friendly. So after hearing several other crafter that I watch often speak highly of this black ink, I thought I would give it a try,

As for the Distress ink, I have mentioned this before, Joann's and Michael's are not carrying the newest colors. Tim Holtz and Ranger have released a new color each month of 2015. This color was for December. (see image)

So, I had to decide, should I wait go a few months to see if I could find these hot colors elsewhere cheaper, or bite the bullet pay the extra dollar or so, and pay the shipping and enjoy the newest color while it is new?! (As a side note, I am supporting a smaller company rather than a huge craft store chain.) I take pride in that, however, I have to keep my budget in check too. It is a very hard balance.

Stay tuned, I will be using these new purchases to create Valentine's day cards with my classes. With my students, I would like to mimic these. I talked to my students, and they are excited about these cards too. I will be sure to share their creations. See you soon!