Laura’s Guide to the 2023 Colour Refresh

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The 2023 annual catalogue is on its way! As always, Stampin’ Up! is making room for new products and retiring some old favourites. Be sure to check out the full lists of retiring items from the annual catalogue and the Spring Mini Catalogue!

You’ll notice that those lists are LONG, and part of the reason is that this year, Stampin’ Up! is doing a Colour Refresh! This event comes around once every five years or so, and it’s so exciting to see all the new colours. Stampin’ Up! looks at colour trends – not only in papercrafting, but across home decor, fashion, and more – to determine what changes need to be made to our colour collections. This year, 15 colours are retiring (including four In Colors) and 11 colours are new/returning! Read on below to find out what this means for you and your crafting!

Stampin’ Up! is good at colour. You already know that one huge benefit of crafting with Stampin’ Up! products is the consistency across product lines: Daffodil Delight ribbon matches Daffodil Delight cardstock which matches Daffodil Delight ink, etc. Part of being good at colour also means that the new colours in a refresh will be well-loved. For example, some of the Core Colours introduced in 2018 include Balmy Blue, Granny Apple Green, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, and Petal Pink. I use these colours consistently and it’s hard to believe they’ve only been party of my colour collection for five years! So, I feel a great deal of trust for Stampin’ Up!’s decisions in this area.

The most time-sensitive part of the Colour Refresh is the colours that are retiring. When a colour retires, all products associated with that colour also retire: cardstock and DSP, inkpads and refills, markers and Blends, embellishments and ribbon. Once the retirement is announced, all these items will be “While Supplies Last” and may go out of stock quickly. For that reason, I encourage you to place your own online order as soon as you can, especially if there are colours that you love and want to stock up on!

Consider, also, what products you already have on hand. If you’re like me, working your way through some retired Designer Series Papers, you’ll want to make sure you have cardstock, ink, and embellishments in co-ordinating colours so that you can finish using that stash.

Here is a full list of the colours that are retiring this year:

Now that you’ve placed your order for retiring colours (and any other products you don’t want to miss out on), let’s have a look at the colours that are New or Returning. This year, Stampin’ Up! has introduced four brand new Core Colours, and they have also brought back seven colours that had previously been In Colors and are now part of our Core Colour collection.

If you feel overwhelmed with all this change, don’t worry! Stampin’ Up! has made it easy for you to get a taste of the new products, and I have some options for you too! First off, Stampin’ Up! will be offering three products that will allow you to get your hands on the new colours without any second-guessing: a markers collection, a cardstock collection, and an inkpad collection (bonus: the inkpad collection includes a 10% discount compared to ordering individually!).

I have some options for you as well. My teammate Arvon is once again offering Colour Swatch Sets, which will help you get to know the new colours and figure out how they co-ordinate with the rest of the collection. I love using my swatches to determine what colours to use for my projects! This is a great way to dip your toe into the new colours without spending a lot of money – you’ll be able to see the colours close up for yourself, and decide which ones you really love!

If you already have the swatch set from last year, you can add the set of new/returning swatches for just $5!

I’ll also be offering two Colour Clubs this year! The first club is our usual In Color Club, where we focus on one colour a month for five months. You can learn more and sign up right here. The second club will be the Colour Refresh Club. Because there are 11 new colours, this club will feature two colours per month so that we’ll be finished in six months. And as always, there will be a gift from me at the end of the club! (Note that the Colour Refresh Club does not include the new In Colors, but there is an option to participate in both clubs for a discount!)

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the Colour Refresh, and are as excited as I am to start stamping with the new colours! If you have any other questions I can help with, email me or comment below!