Saying Goodbye to Some Old Favorites

Have you seen Stampin' Up!'s retirement list yet? I look forward to seeing this list each year with mixed emotions of dread and excitement. It's always sad to have to say goodbye to some of my most loved stamps and accessories each year...but it is also exciting as I start to anticipate the upcoming release of the new catalog; wondering what will be replacing the items that are leaving.

This year, a few of the sets I will really miss are Field Flowers, En Francais and Happy Day. Unbeknownst to me, I must have been channeling the upcoming retiring list when I created this card the other day.

I had a feeling that perhaps Field Flowers would be on the list, but the other two were kind of surprising to me. I love the swirl image from Happy Day and have used it so many times as a pretty accent on my cards and scrapbook pages.

Do you have any favorites on the list? If so...get them early while they are still available, and get FREE SHIPPING besides!

Marina Mist Field Flowers

Sometimes I get so caught up playing with my new things that I forget all about some of my old favorites...like Field Flowers.

These two step flowers really have some pretty detail to them. I stamped the first, more solid flower in Marina Mist and stamped the more detailed flower (lined up with the aid of my Stamp-a-ma-jig) on top of the first image inked in Basic Gray. The seed head was done in Crumb Cake, followed by Soft Suede.

I left the oval framelit in place after cutting and used it as a mask while I lightly sponged Marina Mist along the inside edge. After removing the framelit, I used the En Francais background stamp inked in Crumb Cake. A few splatters from the Gorgeous Grunge a little more sponging along outside edge of the oval and I was finished...with that part anyways.

Next, I again used the En Francais background stamp inked in Crumb Cake and stamped the Marina Mist panel. Before I ran it through the Big Shot, I also inked the Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder with Crumb Cake ink. I love the depth and antique feel this gives to the embossing.

Thanks for visiting today!

Colorful Field Flowers

Here's another colorful card that uses the watercolor background technique I shared here last week.

Stamps: Field Flowers, Creative Elements & En Francais
Card stock: Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana & Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive
Accessories: White Organdy Ribbon & Adorning Accents Edgelits

Thanks for stopping by today!

Distressed Field Flowers

Yesterday my Mom hit a milestone birthday...70 years! We celebrated on Saturday with a big family party here at our house. We had such a good time! She was so happy having all her loved ones together to celebrate her special day. Today would have been my Grandmother's 100th birthday! So, I thought it only appropriate to share a birthday card here today.

I had fun experimenting with inks to create the background on the main panel. I swiped several different colors of ink pads over the textured side of a stamp-a-ma-jig image sheet, and then layed my Whisper White card stock on top of the inked up sheet and rolled over it with the brayer. Then I spritzed it with some water so the colors bled together, dried it with my heat tool, and it was ready to stamp. I like the color & textured look it created.

For the embossed background I inked up the Lacy Brocade embossing folder with Early Espresso ink and ran Elegant Eggplant & Cherry Cobbler sheets through the Big Shot. I used several different stamp sets: Field Flowers, Creative Elements and Tiny Tags, which are all current sets, and then a few retired sets as well...Fancy Flexible Phrases, Lots of Thoughts & Cute & Curly.

Thanks for stopping by today...one more day til Sal-a-Bration time!!!

Wisteria Field Flowers

Love the Field Flowers stamp set and the color combo of Wisteria Wonder & Concord Crush, so I really like how this card turned out.

I also used several other stamp sets to complete the collage look...Elizabeth inked in Soft Suede, French Foliage (the splatter marks) inked in Wisteria Wonder, Watercolor Trio (retired) for the greeting inked in Concord Crush, and French Background (retired) inked in Crumb Cake.

Have a beautiful day!

Well Worn Cajun Field Flowers

My favorite new DSP in the catalog has got to be Well Worn. For this card I've also used another of my new favorites...stamp set Field Flowers.

Like the card I showed you in this post, I've also used the Elizabeth stamp here. I also used my retired French Script stamp stamped lightly in Crumb Cake for the background.

If you're like me, I always have to open my new packs of DSP on arrival so I can drool over the prints. They always look so much prettier in person than they do in the small photo in the catalog. So I thought I'd share what the other prints in the Well Worn pack look like.

And here is the flip side...

They are nice masculine prints, but as shown on my card, you can also use them for a feminine projects as well. During the month of August, if you buy 3 packs of Designer Series paper you get one pack free! Cannot wait for that special!

I mentioned on Friday that I was going to see Paul McCartney over the weekend, I must say that it was an amazing night I will never forget! At 69 years old, Paul still looks and sounds fantastic! I'm glad that he's still doing what he loves best...sharing his amazing talent to make so many people happy.

Have a great day!

French Field Flowers

I asked in my last post if you could guess which new stamp set I was most excited to play with? It was a tough choice...but Field Flowers won out. I was inspired by the card on the cover of the catalog which also uses the single stamp Elizabeth...here's what I came up with.

For the background I used the script & splatter stamps from French Foliage. I was so happy to see that stamp set in the new catalog because I hadn't purchased it when it was in the Holiday Mini last year and I was kicking myself. I was having so much fun stamping with these new stamps, that I had to try several other color combos.

Check back soon to see how I've used these other images.