Up, Up Away...& Goodbye

Have you seen the retiring stamps & accessories list put out by Stampin' Up! a few days ago? One of my favorite retiring sets is Up, Up & Away. I love this set because it's so versatile...it can be used for both masculine and feminine cards as well as for pretty much any occasion. Here I've used it along with some of my favorite retiring colors for a masculine birthday card.

Stamps: Up, Up & Away, You're Amazing & Lable Single Stamp
Card stock: More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy & Baja Breeze
Ink: More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy & Early Espresso
Accessories: Stripes & Cloudy Day Embossing Folders, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Regals Brads

Here are the links to view the retired stamps & accessories. Remember...the retiring accessories are only available while supplies last (some are already gone) so place your order soon to help insure that you get the items you want. Also note: some of the accessories are being offered at a discount.

Retiring Stamps List
Retiring Accessories List

What are your favorite retiring stamp sets & accessories?

Springtime Balloons

I got the new Cloudy Day Embossing Folder especially to use with my Up,Up & Away set but haven't had the opportunity to play with it...until now.

The clouds are formed of delicate dots and even cuter in person. I think it makes the perfect background for the hot air balloon images. Despite the weather...I'm trying to "think Spring", so that's how I chose my Springy color combo of Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Certainly Celery with some Rich Razzleberry thrown in because I felt like it.

I layered the Modern Label & Word Window punches over a stamped design from Creative Elements...and I really like that look. The "hills" were created using the Large Scallop Edgelit. To finish off my creation, I used Pool Party Satin Ribbon and a Basic Rhinestone for the little flower.

Now if only Stampin' Up! would come out with a balloon punch I would use this set even more! I guess I'll add that to my wish list...along with some nice, spring-like weather!

Last Artisan Entry

Here's the very last of my Artisan Award entries...and one of my most favorites that I created for the contest.

I stamped, cut, sponged & adhered my background, then I added some texture by running the piece thru the Big Shot using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

{Stamps}  Up, Up & Away & Teeny Tiny Wishes

{Card stock} Pool Party, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White & Brights Collection Patterns DSP

{Ink} Pool Party, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive & Island Indigo
{Tools & Accessories} Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, 3” Circle Originals Die, Adorning Accents Edgelits, Adorning Accents Embossing Folder, Sponge Daubers, 1¾ Square Punch, Cupcake Builder Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon & Brights Button

The Sky's the Limit Graduate!

Here's a card that I made for a graduate using her school colors. Well kinda the school colors...I took a little artistic licence by using Gumball Green & Daffodil Delight, which are a little more subdued than the actual colors. I really love how it turned out!

The large scallops created using the Large Scallop Edgelit & Delicate Designs Embossing Folder make really cute hills for my balloon scene. After creating my sky background using Bashful Blue card stock and the Cupcake Punch (for the clouds) I ran it through the Big Shot using the Snow Burst EF.

This weekend  the town I live in is holding their Annual Balloon Fest. I woke this morning by the sound of hot air balloons coming over our yard. I ran out in my pjs to snap a few quick photos before they disappeared over the tree tops. I love to see the bright, colorful balloons up in the sky...guess that's why Up, Up and Away is one of my favorite stamp sets!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Inlaid Up & Away

Today I have a couple of cards using the Up, Up & Away set...both use the inlaid embossing technique for the background, but they each have a sightly different color combo and the birthday greeting is different. Here they are...

I created my background using the Tasteful Trim Die for the hills and the Create a Cupcake Punch for the clouds. I stamped the birds and the baskets for the balloons and then I ran it through my Big Shot using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I originally planned to use a banner die cut from the Petal Cone Die for my birthday greeting along the bottom, but it just didn't look as I envisioned. So I went with the Modern Label punch instead. The base of this card is Pear Pizzazz.

I decided to give this same design another shot using a Poppy Parade base and this time I made the hilly area at bottom a little larger with less sky area...this slight adjustment was just what I needed to make the birthday greeting on the the die cut pennant work. What do you think?

For the second version I also sponged some Lucky Limeade ink on the top of the Pear Pizzazz hill and some Island Indigo ink on the edges of the clouds. The sky on both cards is a layer of Pool Party.

Which version do you prefer? Thanks for visiting today!

Heart Shaped Balloon

Today is my husband and my 26th wedding anniversary...hard to believe it has been that long! (I was just a child bride, haha!) Anyways...here is the card I made for him.

Up & Away is one of my favorite new sets. I like it because it can be used for so many different occasions and can be feminine or as in this case masculine. I used my Full Heart punch to punch out the heart and then ran it thru the Big Shot using one of the Texturz Plates inked with Not Quite Navy Craft Ink. The white circle was cut from Glossy Card stock and then sponged with Marina Mist ink.

Thanks for visiting me today!

Up, Up & Away In My Beautiful Balloon

I've had that song stuck in my head since playing with this fun, new stamp set! So if it's now stuck in your head you can thank me! hehe The town I live in hosts an annual Balloon Festival, and I just love to see all the colorful balloons in the sky...it's such a happy sight. When I saw the Up, Up & Away set in the new catalog it was a must have set for me.

I also used a couple of my must have new accessories...the Scallop Dots Ribbon & the Designer Printed Brads...they are sooo cute! I used the Tasteful Trims die to create the hills for my scene.

Colors used: Melon mambo, Basic Black, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz & Old Olive (from the Brights DSP stack)

Have you ever been on a hot air ballon ride? I've never been in one myself, but it's on my bucket list of things I hope to do someday. Until then I guess I'll just have to be content playing with these stamps!