Singin' the Retirement Blues (for the Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop)

Yes, it's time to sing the blues...many of our favorite Stampin' UP! products are about to retire.  Of course that leaves room for lots of new stuff too, so my blues will soon pass.  Our blog hop this month includes a look down memory lane, as we showcase some of our favorite retiring products.  But don't despair; take a look at the end of my post for a sneak peek of what's to come--I told you my blues won't last for long!
If you've just "hopped" on board, there are a total of 13 stops on this tour; the buttons below will take you around to each blog.  If you've just popped in from Heidi's always-fabulous projects, thanks for stopping by; I hope you enjoy my offerings today!

First up, my retiring products project...and I used a ton of my favorite retiring products.  Take a look and see what I'll be missing:

Yeah, Just Sayin' with the coordinating Word Bubbles Framelits are some of my all-time favs and I hate saying goodbye.  The Gift Card Enclosure Packs are a great way to create a little package of cards--an extra 1/2" fold on three of the "wings" lets you fold these into an open-ended box, big enough to hold 3-4 Note Cards and envelopes.  I wrapped it with another retiring product, Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper, and topped it with retiring Blackberry Bliss 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon and 1/8" Crushed Curry Taffeta Ribbon.

My cards all feature the Just Sayin' set with retiring Designer Series Papers.

Yes, that sweet scallop punch is going away (sniff!)...

...along with the Beautiful Wings butterfly sizzlet (sniff, sniff)...

...and the Whisper White Thick Bakers Twine (waaahh!)...I really do "miss you already!"


Sad?  You bet...but I'm a gal with a short memory, and the new products on this next card have me doing a happy dance:

This "folded corner" card uses a brand new stamp set, You've Got This.  I also used some new designer series paper, Bohemian.

I started with a base of Blackberry Bliss, and adhered a piece of the Bohemian DSP to the front (with some careful snipping to allow the top corner to fold into place).

The beautiful flower is from You've Got This, and was first heat-embossed with Black Embossing Powder on Watercolor Paper.

The flower was colored using my Aquapainter and Delightful Dijon (a new In Color--funnily enough, this was my least favorite of the new colors, but the first one I reached for!) along with Pear Pizzazz for the leaves.  The center of the flower called for some pearls...

 A matching envelope is a must!  I just added another piece of the Bohemian DSP on the back flap and snipped along the edges...easy peasy!

And finally?  I had to make some gift goodies--a new bag punch is comin' our way, along with some fun new ways to dress up your goodie bags.  Take a look:

First the treat bag, made with new Cherry on Top Paper Cotton Assortment .  This paper is very thin, but VERY strong!  Almost like a thin plastic. I made the bag--

And see that star on the front?  That was first stamped with a new set (You're So Sweet) and then cut with the star from the coordinating Mini Treat Bag Thinlets dies.  A piece of the new Cherry On Top Designer Series Paper was inserted into the bag and adhered with the Crushed Curry side beneath the star--you could also use a Window Sheet if you wanted the goodies to peek through.  The Melon Mambo banner was punched using the new Triple Banner Punch (this cuts banners in three widths!).  So fun!

And wait!  There's more:

This little gift bag (in new Cucumber Crush!) is a cinch to create using the new Gift Bag Punch Board.  It makes a whole range of sizes (this one is about 4-1/2" high).  The banner on the front is also from You're So Sweet, and cut with the accessories from the Mini Treat Bags Thinlets.  And check out that sweet strip of striped paper on the top--that's from the new Envelope Paper (squeal!) and comes in all the new In Colors (love!).  More about this in another post...

I love Cucumber Crush and Bermuda Bay together--a bright and oh-so-cheery combo!

So that's my look at old and new...I hope you're excited about the arrival of our new catalog (ordering begins June 2), even while you know you'll miss some great retiring products (there's still time to get many of them, but don't delay).

Now it's time to head over to see what Jackie has to show us--I visit her blog regularly and am always impressed with her creativity.

Thanks for peeking in today; please come back again!

 

Miss You!

I'm sad...
My daughter-in-law's parents have moved.  They used to live about 40 minutes from my home, and we often got together to share a meal and a laugh and enjoy our combined families.
Now they're gone...6  hours to the south.  I know we'll always be friends, but I miss them already.  So here's a card I made, using the Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch #139.  Here's the sketch:



and here's my card:

Lots of retired goodies on this card, some of which I barely played with before they retired (darn that Sale-a-Bration! <grin>).

My base is Calypso Coral, with a layer of Whisper White.  I used the square framelits to cut my Crisp Cantaloupe square, and used the corner rounder on all four corners.  The top half was run through my Big Shot with the vintage Clouds embossing folder.

The houses (from You Brighten My Day) were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored with the now-gone Blendabilities.  They were punched out with the What's Up punch.  I paper-snipped some grass from Wild Wasabi card stock.

My sun was double stamped--using the "sun" from So You, I first stamped it on the corner of my Whisper White Layer, and again on a piece from the Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper.  I snipped each ray, and added it to my card.  Finally, the sentiments from Just Sayin' and Holiday Home were stamped, cut (Word Bubbles) and punched (Banner Punch).  And three candy dots from the Subtles Collection kept me true to the sketch.

It makes me feel a little better to send this card to my friends...but not much...

What do you create when you're feeling blue?  Won't you leave me a comment and let me know?

Current products can be purchased here.

Just Sayin' Wood Stamp Set

$26.95

Just Sayin' Clear Stamp Set

$18.95

So You Photopolymer Stamp Set

$24.95

What's Up Punch

$16.95

Squares Collection Framelits Die

$26.95

Punch Corner Project Life

$7.95

Banner Punch

$12.95

Word Bubbles Framelits Die

$24.95

Subtles Candy Dots

$5.95

Calypso Coral 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad

$5.95

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper

$10.95

Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

$11.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

Today is my grandson's fourth birthday!  When I called him at dinner tonight, he mentioned that he isn't really 4 yet, as he wasn't born until 8:35 p.m.  Can you believe that?  This child has an unbelievable way with grasping adult concepts.  So he was enjoying his dinner and anxiously awaiting his cake to celebrate when he "really turns 4".  I love him!

Anyway I wanted to send him a special card, and used one of the concepts that a fellow Stampin' UP! demonstrator introduced at our Card Club last month.  Bonnie made the "quarter fold card", and  I really like the way this one came out...take a look:

This is actually made with two card bases of Old Olive cardstock; one is standard 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", but scored at 1-3/8" from either end and the other is a standard 4-1/4" x 11" and scored at 2-1/8" from either end.  One piece is layered perpendicularly over the other (do you get that?  I should have photographed it as I made it).  Then each side is folded towards the center, creating your card.

The fun comes in as you decorate it.  I used the designer series paper Sweet Taffy and stamped Zoo Babies, along with Just Sayin' and MetroType Alphabet (for the number 4).

Each animal was stamped and fussy-cut, then popped up with Dimensionals.

The trick here was figuring out how to attach the circle with the number 4 so that the card could still open. 

You'll note that this card folds up like a cardboard carton--folding the top flap down first, then folding the right side, bottom and finally the left side, tucking in the top half under the piece below it.  So I ended up putting a Mini Glue Dot on only the lower left corner of the the "4" circle; this worked perfectly!

I was particularly happy with the inside, using Work of Art for a background to the sentiment from Big News.  The little "woohoo" banner is cut out and added separately.

So woohoo, Ethan!  It's your day and I hope it's perfect in every way!


All supplies can be ordered here.


Let's get creating!

Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper

$10.95

Zoo Babies Wood Stamp Set

$27.95

Zoo Babies Clear Stamp Set

$19.95

Just Sayin' Wood Stamp Set

$26.95

Just Sayin' Clear Stamp Set

$18.95

Metro Type Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set

$25.95

Stampin' Dimensionals

$3.95

Glue Dots

$4.95

Work Of Art Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$29.95

Work Of Art Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$21.95

Big News Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$43.95

Big News Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$31.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.