Retirement Party Part Three - And a Technique Video!

This is a technique I learned a while back from a fellow demonstrator Jackie Hart. It's called the "filter paper technique" - I've also seem a similar technique that's been called the "tissue paper technique." I like this better, though, because it uses the Creped Filter Paper from Stampin' Up! which holds up a lot better than tissue paper.

The amazing texture that results from this technique is hard to capture in a photo, but trust me, you will love it! It's like you stamped on beautiful artisan handmade paper! And it's so easy! Check out my how-to video below, or over on my YouTube channel.

Note that I used a few retiring products on this card that - as of when I'm writing this post! - are still available... but only while supplies last! I used the En Français background stamp (which I just finally bought myself and now it's retiring!), the Scallop Trim Border Punch, and Raspberry Ripple ink (the cardstock is no longer available).

Happy Stampin'! :)

Retirement Party! Part Two

This is a card I made a few weeks ago for a class that I wanted to teach emboss resist in. I hadn't got around to sharing it yet, and now a bunch of the products I used are retiring! :( Let me give you the low-down...

The flowers are from Simple Stems, which is in the Occasions Catalog and will be available until May 31st. But if you like them, get your order in TONIGHT for FREE SHIPPING! I clear embossed them onto Whisper White Cardstock, then sponged on Summer Starfruit, Pistachio Pudding, and Baked Brown Sugar inks. The embossed areas resist the ink, leaving the white showing through where you stamped! Awesome! :)

The retiring products I used on this card that are still available (as of when I'm writing this post) are...
- Field Flowers (for the sentiment) - only wood-mount is left, and remember, these could disappear at any moment!
- Summer Starfruit ink
- Sponge Daubers (Stampin' Up! is the only place you can buy 12 of these at a time! $10.95 - what a deal!)
- Scallop Trim Border Punch

Get 'em while you can if you're interested! Place an order on my website or email me. Remember! FREE SHIPPING ENDS TONIGHT!

Happy Stampin'! :)

Retirement Party: Lacy and Lovely

Let's take a minute to celebrate Lacy and Lovely! 

This set is so pretty! I love it for super quick CAS cards, or for beginning stampers. Or step it up and try it out with a cool technique like emboss resist! :) I went the quick-and-easy route on the card I'm sharing with you today. The images in this set make awesome stamped backgrounds! I used Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, and Summer Starfruit on this card. (NOTE: Summer Starfruit is a retiring color, but as of the writing of this post, Summer Starfruit ink, as well as the Modern Medley DSP I used on this card, which is also retiring, are still available! Sadly, the Old Olive ribbon is sold out.)

Want to know my favorite thing about this set, though? The greetings! :) You know how i love mixed fonts! LOL. But seriously. These sentiments really have the perfect balance of every element... Not too feminine or masculine... They're not really large or long so they fit almost everywhere, whether you need a horizontal or a vertical sentiment... I definitely have reached for these greetings a lot! (In case you're wondering about the sentiment I used on this card, though, it's from A Dozen Thoughts, which is not retiring. I love it because it's got great general sentiments that are just a little bit more unique than the standards without being so quirky you never know when to use them!)

Remember: TODAY (Friday, April 25th) is the LAST DAY to get FREE (standard) SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS! Go to my website or email me ASAP to place your order!

Happy Stampin'! :)

Retirement Party No. 4: I Dig You

I was really surprised to see that a lot of the kids/babies sets in the 2012 Stampin' Up! Catalog are retiring. I'll admit, I haven't really "internalized" (ok, ok, memorized!) that part of the new catalog, but I'm sure there will be plenty of great new ones. But the I Dig You set is certainly super cute and super fun! This is actually a card I made a while ago that I never got around to sharing. Very simple. I just stamped the truck with markers, and cut it out by hand. The "sky" part of the background is embossed with the Chevrons folder, and I distressed/tore Basic Gray and Basic Black cardstocks for the "ground" part of the background. It's a little hard to see in the picture, but I actually crumpled the black cardstock up and then smoothed it out to give it some great texture.

Don't forget, the retiring stamp sets are only available through Monday, June 3, 2013. That's a week from today! Visit my website or email me to order!

I Dig You
Clear mount #122722
Wood mount #122720 

Retirement Party No. 3: Flock Together

This is another card I made quite some time ago that I never got around to sharing! :) Birds have been very trendy in papercrafting, home decor, and fashion lately, so if you're a bird fan, you'll want to grab this set before it's gone! This card was a cinch to put together too. I love using repeated elements and just changing up the colors. I also really love the horizontal stripes - pretty much a no-brainer! (The sentiment is from Field Flowers.)

Don't forget: This set will only be available through Monday, June 3, 2013! Visit my website or email me to place your order!

Flock Together
Clear mount #126732
Wood mount #126730

Retirement Party No. 2: Tea Shoppe

This card is another reject from my Artisan Design Team submissions. I've been really into negative die cuts lately for some reason. :) These tea cups are actually one stamp, so you could certainly use markers to color just one at a time, but I actually chose to cut my stamp apart. More versatile that way for me. I also - fittingly - chose to use the Tea for Two DSP from the Spring Catalog on this card. Don't forget that a lot of those items - except the stamp sets that will be carrying over - are only available until May 31st! That's this Friday! And all retiring stamp sets will only be available through June 3rd! So get your orders in now - visit my website, or email me.

Tea Shoppe
Clear mount #125547
Wood moung #125545

Think Outside the Box - Little Additions Birthday Card

I love stamp sets that have lots of little elements that you can use in a bunch of different ways. I had the Little Additions set on my desk after making all the baby projects I've been sharing with you, and I really wanted to use the cute little flag stamp. So I thought, why not use it to make something different? As in not a baby card :)

I had this Petite Pocket in my scrap basket left over from my Valentine mini album. Great start right there! I decorated it with a quick little embellishment - a DSP banner, and a button layered with a tag I made with Tiny Tags and the Jewelry Tag punch (both also retiring - *sniff*). Pool Party baker's twine tied through both, then an In Color Dahlia layered on top.

  

The card itself was really easy to make. I just cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock to fit the Petite Pocket, and sketched in a curved like with a pencil. I stamped the banners along the curve with Pool Party, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, and Certainly Celery. Then I used a Basic Black marker to draw a clean line over my pencil line. The Happy Birthday greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (thankfully not retiring!), and I stamped two extra banners which I cut out and adhered as tabs to the end of the card.

Easy, quick, and super cute! Just how I like it! :)

Retiring items used in this project:

InLinkz.com

More Little Additions

How cute are these little 3x3 cards? While I had the Little Additions set and all these pastel inks and cardstocks on my desk, I thought I'd get as much out of them as I could! :) These little cuties came together so quickly and easily. The most time-consuming part was cutting out the little onesies, but I think the final product was worth it!

These little cards would be so cute on a present for a baby shower. I also love the idea of giving a handmade 3x3 card with a gift of flowers, instead of the generic cards they have at the florist. Or tied to a big bunch of balloons when visiting a new baby for the first time - that would be so fun! :)

Retirement Party No. 1: Little Additions and Tiny Tags

Welcome to the first post of my Retirement Party! Stampin' Up!'s new catalog will be available as of May 30, but before that, we have to say good bye to some favorites. But it doesn't have to be goodbye! The retiring stamps will be available through June 3rd! (Retiring accessories - ribbon, cardstock, DSP, dies, punches, etc. - are only available while supplies last, though, so check those out ASAP!) So to celebrate the retiring stamps, I'll be featuring some of them on my blog through the month of May. Today's celebrated retiree: Little Additions.

I really love this set, and I'm quite sad to see it go. I don't normally like sets designed to make "scenes" like this, but these images are just too cute! And actually this is the first card I've made with this set where I did create a scene. But I love how it turned out!

I paired this set with another retiring set: Tiny Tags. Also retiring is the coordinating Jewelry Tag Punch. I adore this pair, and I'm really not sure what I'm going to do without them! Whenever I'm not sure where to put a sentiment, or I just need a simple little embellishment, this duo never fails!

Oh! And those fun dots in the background on this card? That's the Distressed Dots stamp - one of my favorite background stamps. It's so great for a little tone-on-tone texture!


Retiring items used in this project:

InLinkz.com