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!

 

A Card in a Box

I'm sure by now the Card-in-a-Box idea is not new to you.  I've been having fun with these for some time.
I decided to pull out the idea again for my sister-in-law's BIG birthday.  I mean, how else can you celebrate a birthday like this?
See?

I totally packed my card full of good wishes and cheer!  Thin strips of Window Sheets make it easy to make some of the images look they are floating.

The Night of Navy base was folded and Sticky-stripped together and then the fun began.  Gold Glimmer Paper went through my Big Shot to make the numbers.   I searched through ALL my stamps looking for everything that would say "celebrate your day".

And of course, I just HAD to include "You're HOW old?" from Just Sayin'.  The matching framelits (Word Bubbles) helped with the perfect crop!  The Tangerine Tango striped paper is the Flowerpot Designer Series Paper.  (And look--a custom made envelope to match!  Easy peasy with the Envelope Punch Board!)

And I even got to color with my Blendabilities (including the brand new collections soon-to-be-released in Pink Pirouette and Soft Sky).  The "eat cake" stamp is from an up-and-coming set called One Tag Fits All. 

I had such fun with this...what do you think?  Is this a great way to celebrate a special day?  Won't you leave me a comment and let me know?

All items can be purchased here.

What have you created today?

One Tag Fits All Clear Stamp Set

$17.95

One Tag Fits All Wood Stamp Set

$24.95

Pink Pirouette Assortment Stampin' Blendabilities Markers

$11.95

Soft Sky Assortment Stampin' Blendabilities Markers

$11.95

Flower Pot Designer Series Paper

$10.95

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Word Bubbles Framelits Die

$24.95

Sticky Strip

$6.95

Envelope Punch Board

$19.95

Window Sheets Base Material

$4.95

Gold Glimmer Paper

$4.95

Big Shot

$99.95

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Happy Birthday, Matt!

Another birthday--sure hope you aren't getting sick of all my birthday cards!  It's a busy time of the year for our family...and there are more to come.

This week was my son, Matt's, birthday.  He's my "baby" (the baby who has given me two wonderful grandsons!), and I was 3000 miles away for his birthday.  So a special card was in order:

What a fun card!  Lots going on.

The Basic Grey base took a trip through the Big Shot with the Arrows Embossing Folder.  Then the fun begins:

I used the "vintage" Tasteful Trims die to cut the Crushed Curry pinked edges.  These were adhered to a strip of Confetti Celebration Designer Series Paper, and this layer was adhered to the card front.

Two banners were cut using the Banners Framelits--Bermuda Bay and Smoky Slate, which was embossed with the Chevrons embossing folder.  See those little staples holding them on the card?  That's the cute Handheld Stapler with Silver Mini Staples from the Holiday Catalog--so easy to use with it's extra-long reach!

Then I had fun choosing sentiments and arrows to decorate the card:  I used Just Sayin' and Project Life Point and Click and the matching Word Bubbles Framelits; the "happy birthday" is from a retired set, but there are many others that would fit.

What's Up? provided the fun arrows, tying in with the Designer Series Paper.

And of course the inside:  Big News and Borderettes were stamped on Whisper White with a layer of Bermuda Bay to finish off this card. 

All items can be purchased here.

And let's get creating!

Got Treats? Final "How To"

Thanks for joining me once again, as I give you the "how-to" of my last treat packaging idea.  Remember this post, and the ideas:

All week I've been describing my creations, and today is the final one--my homemade treat container:

This was my favorite project, and the one I had the most fun creating.  I started with a Stampin' UP! embellishment holder.  These sturdy plastic containers have tops that snap on tightly.  I started by covering the outside of the bottom with Motley Monsters Designer Series Paper, and also glued a skinny little strip around the top edge of the container.

I then took a 5" piece of Window Sheet and rolled it (I played a little with the length so that it would fit snugly in the base) and used a piece of Sticky Strip to create the clear cylinder.  This was then sticky-stripped to the inside of the bottom container.

Adding the top, I then tied it all up with gorgeous Tangelo Twist Stitched Satin Ribbon.  But it still needed something...

...a label of course!  Project Life Point and Click had this great word bubble (which matches perfectly with the Word Bubble Framelits); it was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then I stamped the bat from Project Life Holiday Cheer and the sentiment from And Many More, and cut it out with the framelits.  A Crushed Curry 2" circle punch for the "moon" behind the tag, and it was "stood up" with a piece of Window Sheet:

Won't this be a great treat holder for the upcoming holiday?

What do you use to package your treats?  Won't you leave me a comment and let me know?

All supplies can be purchased here.

And let's get creating!

Motlley Monsters Designer Series Paper

Window Sheets Base Material

Sticky Strip

Tangelo Twist 3/8" Satin Stitched Ribbon

Project Life Point & Click Photopolymer Stamp Set

And Many More Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Word Bubbles Framelits Die

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

Project Life Holiday Cheer Photopolymer Stamp Set

2" Circle Punch

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