XO Stamping Studio: April 2016

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

DSC #178 - DO STARS Challenge- Butterflies & Pretty Petals

I’m not gonna lie – this challenge was exactly that. A challenge! When I first saw the sketch, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it come out on paper like I had imagined it. Have you ever had that happen? Anyway, I finally gave myself permission to just play and throw away what didn’t work. And you know what? That’s okay…sometimes you need to lighten up and give yourself permission to experiment. After a few iterations that ended up in the trash, I came up with this version and I’m really happy!

An interesting aspect of my design is that I created it without a single stamp! I also really love the bold colors against the black, don’t you?

So, here’s the skinny – I used patterned paper from the Pretty Petals DSP Stack. After trimming the DSP into rectangles, I matted them with black. I originally tried to make both the green layer and butterfly patterned layer the same size, but I felt like the green layer didn’t show much, so I ended up making that layer ½” bigger in each direction than the butterfly layer. I embellished the card with some retired ribbon from my stash, and a little layered circle embellishment I created using my 1-3/4” Scallop Circle punch, my 1-1/2” CirclePunch, and my Elegant Butterfly Punch. I gave popped it up with some Dimensionals and gave it some Pearl Basic Jewels as a finishing touch. I decided to decorate the inside, but left it free of sentiments so that I can either hand-write my own note, or add an appropriate sentiment when I want to use it…I think this is versatile enough for many occasions, so I wanted to keep my options open…it’s always nice to have a few cards laying around that can be sent quickly as the need arises.

***ALERT: The 1-3/4" scallop circle punch IS retiring so grab it while you can!

Here's the sketch that inspired my card:

Now, grab a favorite beverage and snack and click the following links to see what my friends did with this same sketch:

Judy Strickling

Sharon Bennett

Dawn Thomas

Cathy Peck

Joan Weidling

Angela O'Neill

Dawn Olchefske

Michelle Harrington

Robyn Rasset

Debbie Sollinger

Miriam Bollinger

Jan Carlson

Connie Plaumann

Friday, April 22, 2016

April 2016 My Paper Pumpkin

My Paper Pumpkin is a monthly kit offered by Stampin' Up! demonstrators and it gets mailed straight to you. Each month's kit includes a set of stamps, ink spot(s), and everything you need to complete a kit, all for under $20. Can't beat that, can you? Want to sign up? I'd love to have you join...just let me know and I'll help you get going!

My April kit arrived last Saturday (after two days of checking the mailbox) and I went straight inside and assembled it - soooo cute! This month's kit is a pretty little paper wreath that kind of reminds me of boxwood, which is oh-so-popular right now in home decor and landscaping.

I don't want to ruin the surprise for those of you haven't seen yours yet, so only scroll down if you're ready to see the finished product.

All the bits and pieces:

Assembly:

THE FINAL PRODUCT!!!:

I'm so happy with how this turned out. Even assembled it fits back into the box it came in, so I turned right around and mailed it to someone special as fun surprise to celebrate spring.

This kit came with a bonus stamp set to commemorate that the MILLIONTH My Paper Pumpkin kit was sent this month, so be checking back to see projects I've made with that.

Happy stamping!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

DOstamperSTARS Challenge #177: Wild About Flowers Retirement Card

Typically, this time of year, I'm gearing up for Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations, a smattering of birthdays, and a few bridal and baby showers. This year is no different, except that this year has a few added retirements! So, when the challenge this week was to use Wisteria Wonder, Marina Mist, and Pear Pizzazz, I decided to try to figure out how to incorporate those colors with a retirement theme. This was the result. I think I like it! I definitely can't wait to play with the Wild About Flowers stamps again, this was fun!

The Wild About Flowers stamp set will be carrying over to the 2016-2017 Annual Catalog - so if you're like me and trying to budget your money for retirement items now, you can plan to get during the new catalog period. However, you won't want to pass up our Seam Binding Ribbon. I used Pear Pizzazz for this card because it was required by the color scheme, but Pear Pizzazz is no longer available. However, plenty of other great colors are available HERE, and they are fabulous. The ribbon is so lightweight it makes it really easy to tie nice tight knots. Give some a try!

Want to see what my friends did with this challenge? Join us on our blog hop by clicking on the following links! Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, April 18, 2016

So Long.....Stampin' Up!'s 2016 Retirement List Now Available...

Today is an exciting day in the world of a Stampin' Up! demonstrator: we get to see the new catalog. We can't share images from the catalog with you but we CAN share pictures of the products that we own and pictures of projects we made using the new products. So keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks to get a sneak peek of that is in store for you!

Sadly, that also means it's time to say goodbye to some of the products in the recent Spring Occasions catalog and the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog. I always find that bittersweet - it seems that a few favorite products always disappear, but it makes room for some great new items. Personally, I prefer my list in page number order so that I can flip through my catalog while I'm looking at my list and make a note of what is retiring that I still want to get. So, I have attached that list here. In the coming weeks, I'll be showing you some projects made with retiring projects so that you can some ideas of what you might want to get ahold of before it's too late!

A few items to note:

2014-2016 In Color items will only be available while supplies last. This includes ink pads, ink refills, markers, cardstock, ribbons and embellishments. Get them while you still can - if history repeats itself, these will be gone FAST!
Retiring tools (for example: punches, dies, embossing folders, etc.) AND retiring consumables (for example: ribbon, designer paper, embellishments, etc.) will also only be available while supplies last. If there is something you've had your eye on, now is the time to grab it!
Retiring stamps will be manufactured until May 22nd. After that they will only be available while supplies last. So if there is something you've been wanting, you'll want to order it before then.
Anything that isn't sold out by May 31st will be unavailable after that date.

As always, thanks for checking in with me today - get ready for some real fun in the coming months as we say goodbye to some fun products to make room for some awesome products! You won't be disappointed!

Friday, April 15, 2016

Party Pennants Baby Shower

Good morning! It’s Friday, and I can’t wait for the weekend. I have a ladies’ night with my mom tonight, a craft day planned with friends on Sunday, and the rest of the time reserved for my sweet hubby. Maybe I’ll even have a bit of time to stamp this weekend….one can hope!

Anyway, remember last week when I posted the CLEARANCE RACK deals? (If you don’t recall, here’s the link to my clearance rack). Well, one of the items on there is the Party Pennants Die. I don’t know about you, but I sort of ignored this die when it was in the catalog. Banners were trendy (and still are) but I didn’t have kids, so I was thinking I probably wouldn’t be throwing any birthday parties that would require banners. But then, I recently got ahold of it and now I can’t imagine why I ever thought that. I put it to use for the first time when planning the decorations for a baby shower we threw at work for a couple of co-workers who were due around the same time. One baby’s nursery is gray, pink and white, the other coral and mint, so I tried to combine the two color schemes to get one scheme for the baby shower and I think it worked! See what you think.

Now, before you ask, the paper is NOT Stampin’ Up! Because I procrastinated on this (I work best under pressure) and didn’t have enough time to order SU! paper, I had to run around town to various crafting stores to find paper that would work well together. I think I was successful in tying it all together, but it certainly reminded me of how easy it would have been to use SU! because they have so many beautifully coordinated products.

After doing these, I was so excited about my new die that I already have a Christmas one planned using Merry Moments Designer Series Paper (which will likely be retiring soon, so get it while you can). I also thought a fall one would be really cute with the Into the Woods Paper and coordinating wood accents (both on clearance!). But really the sky is the limit – there are so many fun holidays throughout the year, and so many pretty seasonal products, you could probably do one for every season – not to mention you’d have it on hand for birthday parties, baby & bridal showers, anniversary & retirement parties, etc.

Here are the SU! products I did use:

1-1/2" circle punch

1-3/4" scallop circle punch

Heart punch (retired)

Large flower punch (the one I used is retired, but this link will take you to a great substitute)

Small flower punch

Leaves came from this punch

Don't forget, you can use other shapes and all kinds of ribbons and embellishments to jazz it up! So mix it up, have it fun and make it your own!

I also carried out the color scheme and geometic patterns with these table runnings and flower arrangements. We hostessed this party after work in a common space at work, so we needed items that were portable, easy to set up and clean up, and that didn't have to be tacked onto walls or hung from ceilings.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Weekly Deals!!! Valid through April 17th, 2016

Did you know that this is the last week for Weekly Deals? Yup...kind of bittersweet, isn't it? Sad to have good deals delivered to our inbox each week, but it also means that Stampin' Up! will probably offer something even better...they always do!

So, if you want any of these deals, now's your chance. Here's the link to my ONLINE STORE, or see below.

Sort By: Show:

2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers

Price: $15.00 $11.25

Acorn Builder Punch

Price: $18.00 $13.50

Baker's Box Thinlits Dies

Price: $33.00 $24.75

Bermuda Bay Baker's Twine

Price: $3.00 $2.25

Delicate Ornament Thinlits Dies

Price: $29.00 $21.75

Hearts & Stars Decorative Masks

Price: $3.00 $2.25

Metallic Foil Doilies

Price: $4.00 $3.00

Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies

Price: $40.00 $30.00

Perfect Pines Framelits Dies

Price: $27.00 $20.25

Rose Garden Thinlits Dies

Price: $31.00 $23.25

Silver Sequin Trim

Price: $5.00 $3.75

Silver Sparkle Dazzling Details

Price: $2.50 $1.88

Silver Stampin' Glitter

Price: $4.00 $3.00

Snow Friends Framelits Dies

Price: $27.00 $20.25

Stars Framelits Dies

Price: $27.00 $20.25

Sweetheart Punch

Price: $16.00 $12.00

Very Vanilla Thick Baker’s Twine

Price: $3.50 $2.63

Monday, April 11, 2016

You Say Goodbye...I Say Hello...

The end of the catalog year is fast approaching, and with it comes the retirement of the 2014-2016 In Colors and the introduction of the 2016-2018 In Colors (did I really just type 2018? Where does the time go?).

Anyway, what's an In Color? Well, Stampin' Up! has their regular color collection that is available every year. It consists of four color families that each have 10 colors. These 40 colors are sort of the staple of the Stampin' Up! family - they are your primary colors, your standard holiday colors. Then each year, above and beyond these colors, SU! releases a new family of In Colors, which are 5 colors that are designed to coordinate well with the regular collection but also freshen it up a bit with on trend colors to help keep our offerings fresh and current. Each In Color family lasts for two years, so one retires every year as a new one is released.

The ones retiring this year are what I used in the card above. They go by the names of Mossy Meadow, Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, and Tangelo Twist.

Now you might be wondering why I'm making such a big deal out of them. Well, in a few weeks, we will be able to release our retirement list to the public. It tells you all the stamps, tools, punches, dies, paper and embellishments that are retiring. That is usually when people start placing large orders and is typically when they remember to re-stock their stash of retiring In Colors items - cardstock, ink pads and refills, embellishments and ribbon. But when it's gone, it's gone! So if you have fallen in love with these colors like I have, NOW would be the time to place your replenishment order, before they are all gone.

To shop these colors, just follow THIS LINK and then click SHOP! Then you can search for "In Color".

A little other info on this card - I made it using the all cardstock, dimensionals for depth, the heart from Itty Bitty Accents, and the 3/4" Circle Punch.

And, as always...happy stamping!

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Happy Together Owl Anniversary Card

Six years ago today, my brother and sister-in-law got married on a beautiful beach in Hawaii! Today, they have two beautiful children and fun life together. I have known them for most of those six years, and they are a couple that I look up to in how their handle their marriage and in how they have raised their family. I couldn't imagine anyone more perfect for either of them. Happy anniversary, S +K! Six down, a lifetime to go...and I know you can't wait! Love you, both!!!

I sent this card to them this week - hopefully they got it so this won't ruin the surprise! I found the inspiration here. I adapted it a bit because I wanted to use my Owl Builder Punch rather than create them from a variety of circles and ovals. I also chose to use patterned paper rather than cardstock and dry embossing. The tree branches were made with the Bird Builder Punch: I punched three from Early Espresso cardstock and three from Old Olive Cardstock. Then I cut the leaves off the green punchies by hand and adhered them to the brown punchies. The flowers were punched from the Tree Builder Punch. To add some texture, I ran the Early Espresso cardstock through my Big Shot Machine inside a Wood Grain Embossing folder, and then cut the tree shape by hand. To add some interest and depth, I popped the owls up with Dimensionals and topped the flowers off with Pearls. I loved using the "Happy Together" sentiment that was in the Sale-a-bration Pedal Pusher set. Unfortunately, that set is no longer available, but the small anniversary sentiment in the Teeny Tiny Wishes would work well here!

I hope you enjoyed my punch card! Have a great weekend!!! :)