Farewell Apothecary Art

I'm back again today to share more of my favorite items that will be retiring. Apothecary Art is such an elegant set and my very first Stampin' Up! set that had a coordinating set of framelits. I think it may actually be the first set they offered with the coordinating dies?

I haven't used the stamp set too often recently but I have gotten a lot of use out of the coordinating Label Framelits....which sadly are also retiring. Another favorite that I use a lot is the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, that is retiring as well...along with so many other embossing folders and dies.

Here are a few more creations that I've shared in the past using the Apothecary Art stamp set.

Find out more about this set in this post.

I like the layering on this one...it uses several different framelit sets including the Apothecary Accent Framelits which is another retiring favorite of mine. Find out more about this card here.

Do you think I like the color purple? After looking back at some of my favorites using this set, purple was for sure the dominate color choice! I'm looking forward to seeing what the new In Colors are! I hope there is a new shade of purple...that would make me happy! If you want to see more on the above card, check out this post.

So...now you've seen a few of my retiring favorites, what items will you miss the most? What are you hoping to see in the new catalog?

Regal Colored Apothecary Art Pair

Have you ordered any of the 25% off sets yet? Tomorrow is the last day to place your order to take advantage of the discount. There are 25 sets offered and my personal favorite set on the list has got to be Apothecary Art. Here are a couple cards I recently created using this set.

I was inspired to use this color combo from this pretty color swatch I pinned on Pinterest.

I used: Island Indigo, Elegant Eggplant, Rich Razzleberry & Crushed Curry.

I used several sets of framelits to mat the pretty water colored image: Labels, Apothecary Accents, Circle & Deco Label Framelits.

Here's another version using a slightly different color combo.

This one has a more Autumn feel to it...I used Cajun Craze instead of Rich Razzleberry.

If you don't already have this pretty set, please visit my store and add it to your collection at a discount today! And while you are there, check out the other 24 sets on sale.

Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine Silhouettes

Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my last post...each one put a smile on my face! I guess when I wrote that post I had hit my limit of rude people...both in real life and online, and just couldn't take it anymore...so had to say something. Thanks again for listening and/or taking the time to comment.

Now, on to the real reason you stopped by...another card! This is one we made at my last card class. I always like to include at least one masculine card...and good thing I did because my Step-Father's birthday crept up on me earlier this week and I had this one all ready to give him.

I used the same design and technique as my last card (scroll down to read more about the offset embossing technique) but as you can see, the different colors and texture make it more masculine.

Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Apothecary Art & Timber Wheel
Card stock: Always Artichoke & Very Vanilla
Ink: VersaMark, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Always Artichoke & Marina Mist
Accessories: Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon, White EP, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Woodgrain Embossing Folder

Have a fun & safe Labor Day weekend! I cannot believe summer went by so fast!

Grateful Creative Elements

I love the pretty, blended colors that make up the background strip of this card using markers & an acrylic block. After I created the background panel, I masked the edges with post it notes and stamped flowers & the swirl from the Creative Elements stamp set along with En Francais.

Can you guess which punch or die cut I used to create the label for my sentiment? At first I was just going to use it as a stamped strip, but after playing around with some of my framelits I came up with an easy way to make this die cut label using the Apothecary Accents Framelits. Check it out...

1. Just cut a strip of card stock just under an inch wide...so approximately 15/16 or 7/8 inch wide. 
2. Stamp the label image from Creative Elements. 
3. Line one end up under the framelit, allowing the other end to lay on top, as shown above.
4. Place top cutting pad on top of framelit carefully. Tip: you may want to use post-it notes or temp adhesive to hold it securely in place...if like me you don't yet have the Magnetic Platform Pad. It's on my next order and can't wait to get it!
5. Start to roll thru the Big Shot, but stop after it cuts the end, and reverse back out instead of rolling all the way through. Hope that makes sense...rolling all the way through will just kind of crease up the other end a bit.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 to cut the other end of the label.

I then embossed my sentiment, from Apothecary Art, using White EP. I think I'll be using this image so much more now that I've discovered this!  

Have a great weekend!

Elegant Apothecary Set

We celebrated my Mom's birthday over the weekend so I made her a special card along with a cute set of matchbox drawers to hold the gift of jewelry we gave her.

I cannot say enough about the gorgeous new set Apothecary Art...coupled with the coordinating Framelits, it sure makes for some beautiful projects. As you can see, I've been getting lots of use out of them!  Here's a closer look at the card.

I chose the colors Elegant Eggplant & So Saffron because my Mom loves those colors. I also added Wisteria Wonder for a nice contrast to the darker purple of the Eggplant. I used the same colors of Classic Inks to watercolor the image, which I first stamped in Basic Gray onto Very Vanilla card stock. The background is embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. Here's a closer look at the matchbox...

I of course cut this using my Big Shot and the Matchbox Die...so much easier than the way I used to make them...cutting and scoring from scratch! I cut them and then used the Love Blossoms wheel (a carry over item from the Holiday Mini) to stamp the box. As you can see, the jewelry fit perfectly inside the drawers. The "For You" label on the top of the box is the smallest of the Label Framelits.

My Mom just loved the set and I hope you do as well! One more day until Sale-a-Bration!!!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Today I have a card to share using a few of my favorites: my favorite new stamp set... Apothecary Art. Favorite new Big Shot item... the Labels Collection Framelits; and finally, one of my favorite color combos...Elegant Eggplant & Wisteria Wonder.

I think the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder really compliments this floral image nicely. The phrases from the Three Little Words set fit perfectly inside the frame. Here's a closer look at the water colored image.

This new stamp set and coordinating Framelits are now available to order from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

Have a great weekend!

New Year...New Stuff!

Happy New Year to you! May you be blessed in the coming year with much happiness, good health...and new stampin' goodies too! Here is a card I made with some of my new stampin' goodies.

I absolutely LOVE working with the new Framelits, Edgelits and the accompanying embossing folders, Adorning Accents...as you can see by my card! The Everyday Enchantment paper, a freebie during Sale-a-Bration 2012, totally rocks too! I chose my colors of Pool Party, Calypso Coral* & Lucky Limeade based on the colors of the paper.

* I originally stated here that the color used was Peach Parfait, which was incorrect...sorry about that! Guess I need to use those colors more so that I know the difference. ;-)

The Apothecary Art set that coordinates with the Labels Framelits, is so pretty and nice to watercolor. Since the paper is kind of distressed and toned down color wise in some spots, I think the Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding works fine since I didn't have any Lucky Limeade ribbon.

These products will all be available for you to order soon...starting January 4th the Occasions Mini begins and towards the end of the month, January24th, Sale-a-Bration starts...WOO HOO! my favorite time of the stampin' year!

Edited to add: After I made this post I realized that today is my Blogiversary! It's hard to believe that I have now been blogging for 5 years! Here's a link to my very first post. It's been a lot more fun than I expected and not only have I made some new friends through my blog, it's been a useful tool to myself to keep track of things I have created and for who & when I have created them. To those who read my blog regularly...thanks so much! For those who may have just stumbled upon my blog....hope you'll be back!