Shake It Off!

Don't just sit there–shake it off!

You need to run–don't walk–to the computer and place an order with me right now before it's too late!

My all time favorite products are retiring and you need to act before they are gone! Painted Petals stamp set and Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper are leaving us as of June 2, or until stock runs out!

Not only are the Painted Blooms Designer Papers lovely, but they coordinate so well with the Painted Petals stamp set!

You can utilize the designer paper on your card and then echo the paper by stamping on a few petals of your own! In addition, the sentiments from the Painted Petals set are so lovely–you will find yourself turning to them again and again!

You will remember these projects where I used either the paper or coordinating stamp set:

• My Least Favorite Card To Create
• Painted Blooms Valentine
• Corner Garden Blues
• Butterfly And Broken Bokeh
• Creative Blog Hop

If you need more inspiration, you can check out this Pinterest search for Painted Petals and this search for Painted Blooms.

Today's card uses the Painted Petals stamp set to create a card with a lovely color combo of Bermuda Bay, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White.

Because I was making several of these cards, my MISTI came in very handy!

I first lined up and stamped the stems of the two flowers using Bermuda Bay on a 3.5 x 4.75" Whisper White matte and repeated this for all the cards.

Next, I stamped the flowers using Tangerine Tango. These I stamped 2X because at first stamping they looked too pale next to the Bermuda Bay stems. The double stamping was easily done using the MISTI.

Lastly, I stamped one of the sentiments from the set using Jet Black Memento ink.

After all the white mattes had been stamped, it was a simple matter to adhere the stamped mattes to 3.75 x 5" mattes of Tangerine Tango.

I don't know about you but I can get perfectly lined up mattes until it is time to glue them down and then all hell breaks loose! To ensure that my mattes are straight when adhering them, I now use a tip that I learned from one of my stamping ladies.

I use the black positioner tool from my Stamp-a-ma-jig to help me keep the correct position for my matte until I glue it down. To do this, I place my matte the way I want it to be, eye-balling that I have the matte centered. I place the black part into place at the top left of my matte and then carefully remove it to add my desired adhesive. Then I carefully hold the black part and line up my matte with the tool and press it into place. Ta-da! Perfectly positioned mattes every time!

At this point, I tied a length of Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon around the mattes, securing the ribbon with a glue dot where the knot was tied, and then used Dimensionals to adhere the mattes to the Bermuda Bay card base.

For the inside matte, I used Naturals White card stock. I added a few blooms in Tangerine Tango and then inked the edges, using a sponge dauber.

A few sequins were added for a finishing touch!

This was a super easy card to create but I think its simplicity and color combo is what makes it so effective! What do you think? Leave me a comment below and be sure to purchase your Painted Blooms Designer Paper and your Painted Petals stamp set before they disappear! While you're at the store, be sure to pick up a Stamp-a-ma-jig as well, so you can keep your layers straight!

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Corner Garden Blues

Today was supposed to be a play day with my crafting friend, Charlene, but in the end she couldn't make it. Though I was sad she couldn't come, I was able to clean up my craft room a bit and then play with a card that had been rolling around in my head for awhile.

I was initially inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest but I have lost track of it :( It had flowers popped up over a neutral background. One flower was a brighter or darker color than the rest so it stood out.

I knew that I would be using my Corner Garden stamp but because it was a wood-mount, and I wanted to use the MISTI, I had to stop and convert to clear-mount first.

I traced the block of the stamp onto some of the retiring Clear-Mount Cling Foam and cut off the top piece to reveal the clear-mount foam below.

I inked up the Corner Garden stamp with Jet Black Stazon and stamped it onto the clear-mount foam.

Next, I carefully peeled off only the rubber stamp from the block and after revealing the sticky side of the Clear-Mount Foam, I positioned the stamp onto it.

Next, I let my new tool, a Hot Knife by Walnut Hollow, heat up. I then used it to cut carefully around the stamp, excising the excess foam around the stamp. Because the knife was VERY hot, this was like cutting butter with a hot (ordinary) knife! I highly recommend this tool - easy to use and makes the job so much easier!

My stamp was now ready for MISTI!

I carefully placed some "bumpers" into my MISTI (check out the video by Maureen Wong to find out what "bumpers" are and how to use them with the MISTI) to allow me to hang the stamp off both the left edge and the bottom of the matte I wished to stamp.

I inked up the stamp and did a test stamp on scrap paper to be sure it was how I wanted it positioned. I then proceeded to stamp with Night of Navy on a Sahara Sand matte. I re-stamped two more times to be sure it had good, clean lines. MISTI makes it so easy to get a good crisp print from a background–or any–stamp!

I also stamped the image onto a piece of Whisper White. I used by Night of Navy Blendabilities to color one flower and fussy cut it.

I stamped a sentiment from Painted Petals onto the top right of the matte and then adhered it to a Night of Navy matte using Fuse Fast.

I adhered a strip of Sahara Sand Lace, Night of Navy seam binding and some Linen Thread across a larger Crumb Cake matte and then adhered the stamped matte into place on top of it. The fussy cut flower was popped up using Dimensionals.

The Crumb Cake matte was then adhered to a Sahara Sand card base. To complete the card, a few sequins were added to provide a bit more color and sparkle.

Have you used the Corner Garden stamp in a unique way? Leave me a comment below!

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Revving Up For Retirement

I had a slight mishap on Thursday that kept me home from work but luckily I was feeling much better on Friday so that I could continue as planned with my stamping group. To find out what happened, check out my Facebook post here.

My stamping ladies were busy last night, creating cards using products that are on the retiring list. It was good to work with these favorite products before they disappear!

Our first card was a departure from my usual colors and style but I wanted to create something that had a vintage feel to it.

To begin with, we distressed a Whisper White matte and a smaller piece of the same using a sponge and the retiring Baked Brown Sugar ink.

Next, MISTI came into play when we used the retiring Dictionary background stamp with Soft Suede ink. It was stamped off once and then gave a nice hint of text to the distressed matte. To further distress it, the Distressing tool was used and then the edges were inked with Soft Suede.

We used the retiring On Film Framelits to cut a frame from Watercolor paper and then sponged it with Early Espresso. We used the frame to determine where to stamp the two flowers from the Petal Potpourri stamp set.

Two flowers were stamped on the matte using Baked Brown Sugar and one was stamped on the smaller distressed piece, using Soft Suede. The centre of that flower was colored with Hello Honey using a sponge dauber and the flower was punched with the Flower Medallion punch. Its edges were then inked with Soft Suede.

A strip of Sahara Sand Lace and the previously retired Soft Suede Taffeta ribbon were adhered to the bottom of the matte and then it was adhered to a Soft Suede card base using Dimensionals.
The frame was adhered to the matte with glue dots and then the punched flower was adhered inside but overlapping the frame using doubled-up Dimensionals.

The Hello You thinlits were used to die cut the word "you" and the banner punch was used to cut two banners from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper. These were each sponged with Baked Brown Sugar and the banners were edged with Soft Suede.

"You" was adhered with glue to the top of the card. The banners were angled and adhered to the bottom right of the frame. A dragonfly bead was painted with Tim Holtz Tarnished Brass Distress Paint and then adhered on top of the banners using Crystal Effects.

The sentiment, Amaze Me, from the Crazy About You stamp set, was stamped with Early Espresso at the bottom of the card base.

To complete the card, an inside matte was created from a piece of the retiring Naturals White card stock. A flower was stamped in the bottom right corner using Soft Suede and then the edges were inked with Baked Brown Sugar.

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Inspiration for a Mother's Day card came from a creation by the Stampin' Stud.

We used a card base of Calypso Coral. A matte of the retiring Strawberry Slush was embossed with the Spring Flowers Embossing Folder and the edges inked with Calypso Coral. It was adhered to the card base with Dimensionals.

A strip of Irresistably Yours was sponged with gold ink, heat set, and then the white leaves brought back by rubbing with paper towel.

The 1 3/4" and the 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punches were used to punch circles from Gold Glimmer and Calypso Coral papers. The smaller circle's edges were inked with Strawberry Slush. The circles were then layered onto a 1/4 of a Tea Doily and adhered under the strip of leafy resist paper.

A square of vellum was sponged with a combination of Hello Honey, Pumpkin Pie, Strawberry Slush, and Blackberry Bliss. The Fun Flower punch was used twice, the Pansy Punch once and the Petite Petal Punch was used once.

The punched flowers were crumpled gently to give them some dimension and then a piercing tool was used to poke a hole in the centre of each. They were then attached together with a Candy Base Brad. A rhinestone which had been colored with a R24 Copic marker was added to the brad.

Glue dots were used to secure a length of Gold Baker's Twine in a pleasing circular arrangement and then the completed flower was adhered with Dimensionals on the left side of the leafy strip. The retired Secret Garden Framelits were used to die cut some leaves from Gold Glimmer paper and they were tucked under the flower and adhered with glue.

For the inside of the card, a matte of the retiring Naturals Ivory had its edges inked with gold and then the flowers and sentiment from the Mother's Love stamp set were stamped using Strawberry Slush and Crisp Cantaloupe, respectively.

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Lots of inky hands at the end of the night but some lovely cards were produced and a good time was had by all! Though it will be sad to see the products we used retire, the space they leave behind will be filled with more great products with which to create!

What products will you be sad to see retire? Leave me a comment below!

A Sad Goodbye

Very soon we will bid farewell to a number of Stampin' Up! stamps, tools, colors and accessories. However, until June 2, you have the chance to buy retiring products for up to 50% off, while supplies last! Stampin' Up! has declared this, though:

*Note: Due to high demand for retiring stamps, we'll keep producing retiring stamps until May 26 (not accessories-accessories are only while supplies last).

You can access a PDF of the Retiring Products. Don't wait! SHOP NOW and don't be disappointed!

To view projects made with other retiring products you can view the following blog posts:
Stippled Blossoms Background Technique – Stippled Blossoms stamp set
Remnants of Easter – Naturals White card stock, 2013-2015 In Color Designer Paper Stacks, Simply Pressed Clay, Buttons & Blossoms Simply Pressed Molds
My First Card Challenge – Bigz Autumn Accents
Here's Hoping It's Subtle – Dictionary Stamp
Love For The Lotus – Bloom With Kindness stamp set
Wreath Wrangling – Daydream Medallions stamp set
Watercolor Workout – Flower Frenzy Bigz L Die
My Least Favorite Card To Create – Love & Sympathy stamp set, Mossy Meadow 3/8" Stitched Ribbon
Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals, August 12-18 – Petite Purse Die
It's All About The Sparkle – On Film Framelits
Delightful Dahlias – Regarding Dahlias
Painted Blooms Valentine – Word Bubbles Framelits, Hearts Collection Framelits
Valentine Round Up – Hearts Collection Framelits
Starburst Meets Kinda Eclectic – Starburst Framelits
Hello Mojo! – Starburst Framelits, Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper
Fusion Card Challenge – Hearts Collection Framelits

Also on the subject of goodbyes is the card I have for you today. An Assistant Manager at the Walmart where I work has just left us for greener pastures so I designed a card for him. The card uses three of the retiring products: Just Sayin' stamp set, Word Bubbles Framelits and Naturals White card stock.

Because I knew the card would be signed by several people, I decided to use the From The Herd stamp set.

I stamped onto the smooth side of a piece of Watercolor paper using Tuxedo Black Memento ink. I allowed it to dry thoroughly while I worked on the front of the card.

Using the MISTI to stamp my image.

I knew that I wanted the stamp to show through an opening so I decided to use a framelit from the Circles Collection to cut a hole in a Real Red matte.

After cutting the hole, I used my MISTI to help with using the Hardwood stamp. Because the stamp was not big enough to stamp the entire matte at once, I needed to be very accurate at lining up my stamp.

If the Hardwood stamp had been photopolymer, this would not have been such a problem. My stamp had actually been a Wood Mount stamp that I had converted to Clear Mount using some of the retiring clear-mount cling foam (I think this may already be sold out, probably to new MISTI owners!). I stamped the stamp onto the sheet from my Stamp-a-ma-jig so that I could use it to line up my matte precisely for stamping.

Stamping the Hardwood on stamp on my Stamp-a-ma-jig sheet.

I tested what ink would look best on the red to give a "red barn" feel to the matte. I tested Real Red, Cherry Cobbler and Blackberry Bliss. In the end, it was my favorite, Blackberry Bliss, that won out!

After stamping the matte, I inked the edges using a Sponge Dauber and then set it aside and used many reinkers and my Aqua Painter to color the stamped image. I found that by using an empty Aqua Painter and just dipping into water when needed, I could control how much water I added to my image.

I let the image dry naturally and then adhered it to a 5 x 7" Real Red card base, using Fuse Fast adhesive. I then used Dimensionals to mount the stamped matte on top of the card base, allowing the watercolored image to peek through the opening.

Using Memento ink with a stamp from Just Sayin', another retiring set, I stamped on Whisper White and then die cut using the also retiring Word Bubble Framelits. The sentiment was adhered on the card front with Dimensionals.

Inside the card, I cut and adhered two mattes, (so there would be plenty of room for people to sign the card) from the retiring Naturals White card stock.

For the final touch, I used Memento ink again to stamp one of the Just Sayin' stamp bubbles on Real Red card stock, however, before inking the stamp, I masked out the sentiment it contained using a piece of tape. After inking, I removed the tape and then stamped the word bubble. I then stamped the sentiment, "from the herd" into the stamped word bubble. The word bubble was then die cut using the coordinating framelit and adhered inside the card using Dimensionals, giving a "pop" of red to the inside. (Unfortunately, I had already written in the card before I photographed it so I don't have a photo of the inside.)

I am so glad that I have the retiring Word Bubbles Framelits as well as the Just Sayin' stamp set in my collection. There seems to be so many occasions when these can be used and they worked perfectly for my card! Be sure to get yours before they are gone!

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Stippled Blossoms Background Technique

Do you ever wish there were like 48 hours in a day? Maybe even 72? These days, no matter how much I wanted to get in my craft room to stamp, there always seemed to be something else to do. And of course sleeping is an important activity, too!

Anyway, amidst a pile of laundry, and dishes, etc. today, I was finally able to finish the card I started last week!

I had viewed a video by Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Brandy where she created a background by using one of the stamps in the Stippled Blossoms stamp set.

I was in love! Who'd have thought that ONE stamp could create such a lovely design?

I chose to create my design using Blackberry Bliss and my MISTI. Now though I love my MISTI dearly, creating the design could have been done more easily using the stamp on a block but I wanted to see how I could use MISTI to advantage to create the design. I believe I moved the stamp itself about three times in total to create the background, but instead kept shifting my paper in different directions.

After creating my background paper and mounting it onto a Blackberry Bliss card base using Dimensionals, I adhered a strip of Coastal Cabana across the middle using Fuse Fast. Next, I mixed Rubbing Alcohol with a few drops of Blackberry Bliss ink refill in my Stampin' Spritzer and spritzed a piece of the White Jute Ribbon to match my card colors. After it was dry, I adhered it over the Coastal Cabana strip using Sticky Strip.

I next utilized my Pentagon template and circles template (cut with my Circles Collection Framelits) and MISTI to line up the Mother's Day stamp so that I could stamp it around a circle of Whisper White card stock. This is a really cool technique that I was able to do only because I was using photopolymer stamps and the MISTI! You can view three videos by Maureen Wong here that show how to make the templates and how to use them with the MISTI. These will be invaluable to you! Also, you might like to join the MISTIfied Facebook Group to keep abreast of all things MISTI!

After stamping my sentiment on the circle, I inked the edges using Blackberry Bliss and a sponge dauber. I then used the Starburst Framelits to cut a circle from the dotted design from the Irresistibly Yours designer paper. I sponged it with Blackberry Bliss and then wiped the ink off the polka dots. This piece gave me some color and texture to layer onto the circle with my sentiment.

Next, I used Misti to stamp the largest flower from the Stippled Blossoms stamp set using Coastal Cabana for the solid stamp and Blackberry Bliss for the detailed stamp. The flower was fussy cut and then both the sponged starburst and the flower were adhered to the sentiment circle using Dimensionals. The entire sentiment circle was then adhered to the card front using Dimensionals.

I used a piece of Naturals White card stock to create a matte for the inside of the card. I used the MISTI again to stamp around the create a border around the matte using Coastal Cabana ink. To complete the card, I used Blackberry Bliss to stamp the sentiment from the Sweet Laughter stamp set.

I really like the mix of textures and patterns in this card! If I could change one thing, it would be to have stamped the circular sentiment using Coastal Cabana ink instead of the Tuxedo Black Memento.

I hope you will try the technique of creating your own background paper by using a stamp! Perhaps you will find other stamps that work well for this technique. If you do, please share your findings in the comments below!

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Remnants of Easter

Hi Everyone! Hope you all had a good Easter. We had a great day!

Courtney, Steffan and Raine had been out at Lee River for the weekend but arrived in the early afternoon on Sunday. Raine had slept a bit in the car but not as long as her nap would have been so she was a little out of sorts for awhile.

My husband picked up my mother to bring her over. At first, Raine was scared of her but by the end of the evening, she had given her THREE hugs–unheard of before this!

I tried rather unsuccessfully to get some good pictures of Raine in her fancy Easter dress but she was not happy to be in it and generally let me know that! I did manage three cute shots, even though the backgrounds are not great.

We had a nice dinner and then everyone left and it was quiet once again!

I have my Easter projects to show you today.

The first card is the one that I made for my mother. It was CASEd from this card. I loved this on sight because of the shabby chic style.

I enjoyed coloring the Whisper White Seam Binding to match my project by using a few drops of Rich Razzleberry reinker with Rubbing Alcohol and then spraying the ribbon with my Stampin' Spritzer.

I also enjoyed using the Simply Pressed clay to create the little roses. I worked a few drops of either Coastal Cabana or Rich Razzleberry into the clay before placing it in the molds.

Besides the items listed below, I used the now retired En Française stamp, Regal Rose ribbon, a leaf punch from Michaels, and the bunny was cut from a Silhouette file using my Silhouette.

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This next card was for my daughter. It was cased from this card. Everything I used is still available with the exception of the paper from the Best Year Ever which was in the Sale-a-Bration catalog.

It was fun to use my Blendabilities to color the little bunny! I will miss these markers when they eventually dry out.

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For my granddaughter, I CASEd this cute little bunny created with the Curvy Keepsakes Die. I filled the bunny with miniature Cadbury eggs. The only thing that I used not listed below is the now retired Pretty In Pink card stock.

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Lastly, I made little treat baskets for my mother and daughter that were CASEd from this basket. I placed EOS lip balms in each basket, matched to the paper colors. The "grass" was created by first crimping card stock and then cutting it with Fringe Scissors.

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I hope you have enjoyed viewing my Easter projects! Now, on with Spring!

Tim Holtz Meets Birthday Girl

I have a mostly non-Stampin' Up! card for you today.

For Courtney's 21st birthday, I decided to play with my Tim Holtz supplies—distress inks, distress paint and stencils.

I started by using Picket Fence (white) distress paint on a Whisper White matte with first the Dot Fade and then the Crocodile layering stencils. These are the coolest stencils—lots of funky, imperfect patterns with which to work!

After applying the paint I dried it with my heat tool and then started sponging on some distress inks. I used a combination of Evergreen Bough, Spun Sugar, Shaded Lilac, Vintage Photo and Scattered Straw. I then used a combination of Rusty Hinge, Gathered Twigs and Black Soot around the edges.

Next I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink to stamp (with MISTI, of course!) using the It Is Written stamp set from BoBunny.

Using Versamark, I stamped the dragonfly from the Dragonflies stamp set by Local King Rubber Stamps. I then heat embossed it with Gold Embossing Powder.

I stamped a 2 and a 1 and punched them with my 1/2" punch and inked them with some Rusty Hinge. These I glued in the top right corner of the card.

I then used the @SoSocial stamp set to stamp the sentiment and then punched it with the Word Window Punch. I also punched out a Modern Label. I applied Rusty Hinge and Twisted Twigs to both labels to distress them. They were layered with Dimensionals and adhered to the bottom right of the matte.

I knotted some Mossy Meadow thick Baker's Twine around the bottom of the matte and then adhered the matte to a Mossy Meadow card base using Dimensionals.

I inked up a Naturals White card stock matte using Rusty Hinge and Twisted Twigs and then stamped the sentiment from the Smart & Sassy Sayings stamp set by Hot Off The Press using Soft Suede.

A small dragonfly was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Gold Embossing Powder. The matte was adhered inside the card using Fuse a Fast. Gold Stickles were added to accent the sentiment.

Finally, sequins were added to the front of the card for a little sparkle.

What do you think of this card? A bit of a departure from my usual but I enjoyed making it!