from my ink pad to yours

Stampin' Up! Retiring Products Blog Hop

Welcome to the Retiring Products Blog Hop! If you started at the beginning you are probably coming from Helzie's wonderful blog.

I have a hard time deciding which set I'm going to miss the most - there are quite a few that are vying for the little bit of space I am able to use for retired sets. For today's blog hop I settled on So Many Shells (143695 photopolymer) plus the background stamp, Brushstrokes (138952/wood or 139533/clear). So Many Shells has lovely 2 step shell images but also comes with greetings that have made them necessities in my little stamping pantry. Even though I have featured it on my blog before I haven't used it with Brushstrokes and I had been meaning to try the shells with more of a nautical color scheme so here we go:

• I had fun mixing the retiring So Many Shells with a soon to be released In Color, Blueberry Bushel. Combined with Very Vanilla it seemed perfect for getting a more nautical color scheme.
• I "sloppy stamped" one of the more detailed shells all over a for a quick and easy background for my message. Some call this second generation stamping.  That it is - since we get various shades of Blueberry Bushel.  I still call it sloppy since  the way I do it is quick and relatively unplanned.
• I trimmed it with a sliver of Blueberry Bushel card stock and a strip of Brushstroke stripes, also stamped in Blueberry Bushel on Very Vanilla.
• The Thank Goodness greeting is cut out with the Stitched Shapes Framelits  - NOT retiring, thank goodness!
• Here's how I wrap around the Very Vanilla Baker's Twine (also NOT retiring):
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• Pull it taut and tie the ends. You need to do it pretty tight because it is possible to pull the bow out from under the loop, an advantage if it is a card you tie shut. I usually just pull the two threads on the left side of the card apart a little and that makes it a little more taut.

Stripes aren't the only pattern you can make with the Brushstrokes background:

• On this card I took advantage of the 2-step stamping option and used Blushing Bride and Calypso Coral. 
• Stamp the more detailed images first and you will have an easier time with placement.
• The shells were cut by hand - they are easy to do.
• To make the checks you need to cut three  3/8" strips of the Brushstroke (once again stamped with Blueberry Bushel on Very Vanilla). I run 2 strips of monoadhesive adjacent to each other on a piece of copy paper. Lie your first strip down the middle:
• 
• Attach the other two strips on either side taking care to stagger them to create the checked pattern. Trim on both sides with a scissors.
• I attached 3 little pearls next to the greeting  - to make it extra-ordinary.

 

Here are a few more So Many Shells cards:

   

 

Here are a few more Brushstrokes cards. Lemon Zest will NOT be retiring! The flowers are from the hostess set, Feathery Friends, which WILL be retiring.  As you can see, Brushstrokes adds excitement to just about any style of stamp!

     

Thank you so very much for stopping by my little space in the blogging universe.  I do hope you will visit again! Your next stop on the blog hop will be the talented Sue Vine.

                    

 

 

1 Kangaroo + 1 Little Koala

I was just checking out challenges over at Splitcoaststampers and saw Thursday's Ways to Use It challenge honoring Australia's stampers and I knew it was time to finish up this funny kangaroo:

I have no idea why she's got a koala bear in her pouch but I hope it makes sense to someone.  This stamp is from Animal Outing, and is so sweet. The kangaroo, rhino, giraffe, and little frog on a branch: they are all perfect for many different coloring techniques. I had them with me on my trip to AZ with only watercolor pencils and this is one that I had colored but couldn't quite figure out how to use.  Nothing like a challenge on a day I had to go to work to make something happen fast. 

• I knew I wanted to use this Share What You Love DSP leaf print.  Not sure it looks like anything in an actual kangaroo's habitat but maybe??? I love mixing up patterned paper that is meant for another set of stamps with something entirely different. I think this may be one of the easiest to use patterns in the collection.
• The quilt strip - well the scrap was handy. I told myself that the quilt idea goes with the homey idea of a pouch. Right?
• The linen thread seemed like a natural for the kangaroo.
• It looked like it needed something else and the new Detailed Trio Punch with its corner rounder was nearby so that is what finished it off.  There was just enough time to post it to Splitcoast and head out the door to work.

See you tomorrow evening.  I will be back with a blog hop - I think I have everything ready to go but it's my first time doing one so we will see if it works...

 

White on White Quilted Spray

It's been almost 3 weeks since I've shared a Petal Palette card so I think it's time to share this one. I had it on Instagram the other day and it was rather popular - as far as my things go...

I just love the way that the white on white texture dressed up these sweet little elements from the Petal Palette Suite.

• Though it is pretty simple it does give the Big Shot a bit of a workout.
• White emboss the little posies from the Petal Palette stamp set, then watercolor them with the Berry Burst and Lemon Lime Twist ink pads. They are cut out with the Petals and More Thinlets which are still available with the stamp set as a bundle with 10% savings until May 31.  Then they will be available separately in the 2018-2019 Annual Catalog.
• Lemons Lime Twist card stock for the bit of lace like trim, also cut with the Petals and More thinlets.
• The message is stamped in Lemon Lime Twist and cut out with one of the circles from the Stitched Shapes Framelits. It is layered onto a Lemon Lime Twist scalloped circle from the Layered Circles Thinlets.
• These three elements are all layered onto a piece of white card stock embossed with the Quilted Top Embossing Folder which also carries over into the new catalog. Yeah!!!

We got a head start on the weekend and are enjoying the waves on the North Shore of Lake Superior.  Hopefully we will get a little hiking and waterfalls in too! 

I will be back on Sunday evening participating in a blog hop featuring retired products.  It starts at 7pm CST so make sure you come back to check it out.

Enjoy your weekend!

Ode to Pink Pirouette, Soft Sky and Tangerine Tango,

While it's  foregone conclusion that I'm going to miss Pink Pirouette and Soft Sky when they are retiring at the end of May -

- I forgot about the tropical blend of colors we get with Melon Mambo plus Tangerine Tango, another retiring color:

I better double check my supply of that one too...

• The Pink Pirouette Trio features Flying Home and  from the current Occasion catalog. They are all colored with Blends.
• The Thanks card features the Botanical Builders Framelits which have since retired though I might have to get them out to meet the new colors.
• The last card is made with the Oh, So Eclectic Bundle. The leaves were cut from Lemon- Lime Twist and sponged with Emerald Envy.  Emerald Envy will also be retiring but I'm expecting to be able to use a new In Color, Call Me Clover, in its place. (Don't you just love the white on white die cut?)
• While the bundle's components, the Oh, So Eclectic stamp set and the Eclectic Layers Thinlets are carried over into the 2018-2019 catalog they will no longer be available as a bundle.

Have a stampingly good day!

 

 

Watercolored Vases

Varied Vases is a adorable set that will allow you to make many styles of vases, all of which can be punched out with the coordinating Vases Builder Punch. The whole bundle was inspired by and developed in honor of  Million Sales Achiever Mary Fish. Pretty cool I'd say! While I've tested my punch and it is great - I can't get past how much fun it is just to stamp the simple outlined vases and watercolor them. This stamp set, punch and bundle will be available June 1.

• I used Watercolor Pencils, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist (from the Lots of Happy Card Kit) and Bermuda Bay.
• I'll let you in on a secret.  I did this while I was in Arizona last week.  I only brought my Tuxedo Black Memento pad which one would predict would run with water.  Well, I stamped them one day and added the pencil.  The next day I was itching to add water. So I did.  And it worked.  Mind you  it wasn't a lot of water and it was in AZ where it was hot and dry. It's fun to break the rules and get away with it sometimes...

• This card is an OLC or one layer card stamped on watercolor paper. While you wouldn't use it everyday for your card base, it does have beautiful texture and weight making it a very high quality card. 
• My colors came from a color challenge calling for Tranquil Tide, Sweet Sugarplum and Rich Razzleberry. 
• I just used a paintbrush with with my ink pad covers. 
• A few Rich Razzleberry Pearls (Share What You Love Artisan Pearls) and we can quickly call it done!

Something Old, Something New

I've never actually tried the Black Ice technique but decided to play along with yesterday's Technique Challenge on Splitcoaststampers.

This card has a little bit of everything:

• The soon to be released Rooted in Nature stamp set and Faceted Dots embellishments
• The carried over Champagne foil paper
• The black Vintage Crochet Trim which is only $2.40 on the clearance rack - while supply lasts(144611)
• The long retired but oh, so beautiful Blush Blossom card stock from my private archives

Powder Pink or the soon to be released Petal Pink are both warm enough to work with this card - but Blush Blossom has just enough peach in it to be absolutely perfect.  And since two unopened packages somehow managed to survive 2 downsizing moves I thought I better make it earn its keep!

The black ice cards are tough to photograph! It was a little tricky getting the warm hue of the Champagne foil paper to show.  We have a lot of grey walls and cool white ceiling that kept making it appear more silver than champagne.  Luckily I shot one that reflects a little of my pink shirt and thus shows you more of what I see in person. Here is another shot that reflects the ceiling and doesn't really show what a great match the champagne is with  Blush Blossom.

Here in MN it we have gone from blizzards to 70's in a week. And the air conditioning source for our building is down until sometime in June.  I might need some other form of ice!!!

Stay cool, Stay Warm, and keep stamping...

TYPDZQEN  - My hostess code for April...

So Many Shells is Getting Ready to Retire

So Many Shells was one of the first sets I ordered when the 2017-2018 catalog went live.  Aside from the lovely shells I really liked the many greetings that came with it.

This card also features the pretty Peekaboo Peach In Color that will retire this year.

This shows one of my favorite greetings in the set: "Life is full of healing, and people that are there to help you find it." Another message for the inside is: "We're here for you".

Short post today.  It has been very busy at my "day" job.

I hope I will get some more time to stamp later in the week...

So Long Birthday Friends

This retiring suite isn't actually called Birthday Friends. It's just that "So Long Birthday Memories" makes it sound like I'm losing my memories - I'm pretty sure I'm not.

So this is called a Slider Card.

Well, I call it a slider card.  On Splitcoaststampers it is called a Surprise Pop Up Card. That is where I took my refresher course to make this card. (I'm pretty sure that that I first made it sometime in the last century after taking apart, studying and measuring a card I had received from the wonderfully creative stamper, Linda Pagel.) Anyway, when you pull on the red ribbon... this happens:

This is from the Birthday Memories Suite which is retiring next month. I was surprised that it was retiring after only one year. It is so cute and kind of "vintagey". Is that even a word??? Anyway, while I would love to take credit for coloring this happy fox, I actually cut him from the Birthday Memories papers which has many images that coordinate with the dies.

Here are some images (from the Birthday Delivery stamp set) that I actually colored - on watercolor paper.

The girl, flowers, poodle and baker guy aren't really a part of this card, its just the picture I have left of a card that has long since been part of a card avalanche for a 95th birthday.

Well, I'm back to work at the day job today. My goal is to be back tomorrow with So Many Shells...

 

 

 

Playing with the New Brights a Quilt Builders Framelits

I posted quickly yesterday when I noticed that there where "new" retired items added to Stampin' Up!'s Clearance Rack. There was only so much time before I had to head to the airport for my return to Minnesota.

Now that I've had time to really look at what is on there I have some more to say. What's new? Well there

1. Many of the framelits/thinlets can easily be used without their corresponding stamp sets.

• One that really jumps out at me is the Quilt Builder Framelits set. I though it would be so fun to try that out with the new colors - especially the refreshed brights - that I had to pull it out of storage and try it:
• The Tutti Frutti 6" x 6" DSP would also play well with these framelits since many of the patterns are quite small. One of the incoming 6x6" DSP collections would also be perfect - small enough patterns with luscious, bright colors.
• Sunburst Thinlets Die - I have really missed having this in Stampin' Up!s line up.  So many times I've thought a message would look so perfect in a circle set in those rays. Cut DSP with this. Cut from watercolor paper and ... watercolor. I have more ideas than I have time for.

Papers: Aside from the aforementioned Painted Autumn papers other collections on the Clearance rack include checks and stripes and dots which which always have fun mixing it up with a wide variety of stamped images from fancy florals with comical animals.

• Check out Merry Little Christmas, Quilted Christmas and Spooky Night. I actually used the Quilted Christmas papers for masculine Valentine's Day cards with some local seniors.

Punches

• I've kept my Confetti Hearts Border punch around not necessarily for borders but for little hearts to attach to a card like you would confetti or sequins.

Embellishments

•    Vintage Crochet Trim - It's Black.  Ooh, la, la! What wouldn't this go with?

There are many other wonderful bargains on the Clearance rack right now, I just wanted to point out those that I have personally used and would still be willing to pay full price for if I didn't already have them in my Stamp Pantry.

Go check these out and don't forget to use the hostess code: TYPDZQEN . I will send you a handmade card with a free package of linen thread PLUS your choice of Baker's Twine for an order over $50 (before shipping and tax - US only). You will also receive a copy of the new catalog when they are mailed out!

Happy Stamping All!

 

 

Painted Autumn Makes a Brief Comeback

I had realized that I had never posted an accordion fold card that I made last September - but the pretty Painted Autumn paper that inspired it was no longer available.  Well, now it is. It is on the clearance rack! There are many new additions so check it out.

Yes, there is a bit of fussy cutting but it is SO worth it. I made this as sort of a thank you over at Splitcoaststampers when they chose my gallery for inspiration for their Featured Stampers Challenge.

• I found the directions for this fold here.

Here is another view plus other cards made with this gorgeous paper.

You can find this and more on the clearance rack at my Stampin' Up! store.

Don't forget to use the hostess code: TYPDZQEN . I will send you a handmade card with a free package of linen thread PLUS your choice of Baker's Twine for an order over $50 (before shipping and tax - US only).

Today it's back to Minnesota for me with a reluctant goodbye to Arizona. It's looks like I will be greeted by snow tomorrow...