I'm Moving On Like Lovely as a Tree

As they say..."all good things must come to an end". The time has come for Stampin' Up! to retire their oldest stamp set, the iconic Lovely As A Tree.

Like Lovely as a Tree, the time has also come for me to say goodbye to Stampin' Up! as well.

I thought it was fitting to share a card made with this stamp set today as I tell you of my decision to leave Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator. The past couple of years I have been finding less and less time to stamp as my passion for portrait photography has grown.

While I love SU! products and sharing stamping time as well as my creations with family and friends, I feel it best to devote my time and energy into fulfilling my dream of launching my photography business. I'm still in the process, but hope to be officially in business later this year.

Over the years I have loved spending time being creative with such an amazing array of products, but the thing I loved most about Stampin' Up! was all the wonderful people I have met along the way. Several women who came into my life as casual acquaintances or even complete strangers, solely because of our common interest in paper crafting, have become dear friends.

Some I met when they came to my classes or invited me into their home for a workshop and others I met through my blog. Many of you have left encouraging comments, some have purchased SU! products or bought my tutorials...to all of you I say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I don't honestly think I would have stayed at this for almost 15 years if it weren't for all of you!

OK...onto the card! :-)

Lovely as a Tree was first introduced in 2001 and it was one of the first stamp sets I purchased after signing up as a SU! Demonstrator in 2004. I have used it a lot! I've also used Hardwood and Thoughtful Banners quite a bit and those are retiring as well.

This set has always been so versatile and timeless. It is great for any season or occasion and perfect for a variety of techniques. I've used one of my favorite techniques...the Watercolor Background Technique to easily create a colorful blended background for the trees.

A photo I recently took in my backyard was the inspiration for my card. I love the beautiful colors of sunset...and on this evening the sky was absolutely spectacular with so many different hues and the clouds had created such an interesting pattern.

I still plan to post my occasional projects here, but if you would like to stay in touch I do have a Facebook page dedicated to my photography. I'd love for you to like my page and follow me on my new journey. You can also find me on Instagram. I have been re-organizing my studio space and plan to have some SU! products to sell...so check back here soon for updates.

Thanks again for being part of my Stampin' Up! journey!

A Rainbow of Retiring Colors

The background layer for this card was created using the Watercolor Background Technique . The colors used are all on the Retiring List.

To create the background I simply used my ink pads to ink up a large acrylic block and then spritzed it with a little water before using it to stamp the Whisper White background piece. These are the colors I used: 

• Island Indigo 
• Wild Wasabi 
• Tempting Turquoise 
• Sweet Sugarplum 
• Rose Red 
• Tangerine Tango 
• Peekaboo Peach

After the background was thoroughly dry I used the Awesomely Artistic stamp set (retiring) inked in Island Indigo to add even more interest to the background. I used post it notes to mask the edges of my background to prevent the floral design to extend beyond the background. (The full instructions are shared in the post linked above.)

The dragon fly wings were cut out and Wink of Stella added for some shimmer. The sentiment comes from the Birthday Blossoms set which is also retiring.

Make sure to shop early for your favorite retiring colors...while supplies last!

Bright & Cheery Birthday Blossoms

Kind of a funny story...as I was going over this years retiring list of stamps and marking my catalog  (I always use a highlighter so I can easily see at a glance what has retired) I came to the Birthday Blossom set. I was a little surprised to see this one on the retirement list...as I had already accidentally retired it myself last year!

So for an entire year, this poor neglected set had mistakenly been exiled to my retired shelf getting minimal use! It's companion set - Flower Shop and the coordinating Pansy Punch have always been well loved, and when the Birthday Blossom set came out I was happy to have the pretty background image, a leaf and the nice sentiments written in such a beautiful font. to go along with the set of six flowers.  I used both sets on this card along with several retiring colors. If you already have the Flower Shop set, I highly recommend getting this one to go with it.

To create the background I simply used my ink pads to ink up a large acrylic block and then spritzed it with a little water before using it to stamp the Whisper White background piece. The colors I used are:

• Island Indigo
• Rose Red
• Sweet Sugarplum
• Tempting Turquoise
• Wild Wasabi

You want to be sure that the colors you place side by side will mix  together well. For instance, placing the Wild Wasabi next to the Rose Red would have created a brownish tone, while placing it next to the Island Indigo instead, created more of a purple tone. For more on the Watercolor Background Technique you can check out this post I shared a while back. 

Pretty much everything used on this card, with exception of the Basic Black ink & card stock and the Whisper White card stock is being retired. 

Make sure to check out the retiring product list so that you don't miss out on anything. 

Colorful Seasons Father's Day

Such a busy time of year! My first new catalog order came many days ago and I've just been so busy I haven't had time to be creative. I had to make a card for my Dad for Father's Day so I grabbed the very versatile Colorful Seasons Bundle and created this relaxing beach scene.

The watercolor look background was created easily using the Watercolor Background Technique I shared in this free tutorial. Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay & Soft Sky were used to ink my block.

The Thoughtful Banners set was used for the sentiment and Linen Thread added just the right finishing touch.

I've been watching my sweet little grand daughter a few times a week so that is one of the reasons I haven't had much stamping time recently. I am really enjoying every minute of my time with her! I make sure to take lots of photos and hopefully I will have some scrapbook pages to share soon! Here are a couple photos I captured for my son for his first Father's Day.

We enjoyed a beautiful day yesterday...here is my handsome son and his baby girl.

I hope you had a wonderful day celebrating the Fathers in your life yesterday as well.

Butterfly Basics #GDP038 Sketch

A great sketch challenge this week at Global Design Project. When I saw it I immediately thought of using one of my favorite techniques...the watercolor background technique. The long, narrow acrylic Block I was perfect to create the strip down the right side of the card.

I used Sweet Sugarplum, Bermuda Bay and Mint Macaron to ink up my block. Then after it was dry, I used Butterfly Basics and Awesomely Artistic to stamp over my strip of color to add more interest. I shared more on this technique a while back in a free tutorial posted here.

The little banner is created with the Thoughtful Banners stamp set and coordinating Duet Banner Punch. These two items are already getting a LOT of use in my stampin' studio! Here's a closer look...

There's still time to play along with the Sketch Challenge at Global Design Project.

Thanks for visiting...ENJOY your weekend!

Sayonara Serene Silhouettes

Serene Silhouettes...another favorite that is soon to be retired. We used it at my Retiring Favorites Class last week to create this card along with the beautiful retiring In Colors.

Swipe each of the five In Color Markers across a clear block and mist with water to create the background. Then just stamp your image with Black Stazon after it's dried. I shared this free tutorial a while back if you want more info.

The sentiment is from Petite Pairs...I use that set a lot, but it is retiring as well. A pretty bow tied with White Seam Binding Ribbon finishes off the card. I'm sad to see all the Seam Binding Ribbon retiring...it is so soft and easy to work with. The stamped Whisper White layer is adhered to a Blackberry Bliss base...which is my absolute favorite retiring In Color.

For this next card, I swapped the Seam Binding Ribbon for Gold Sequin Trim and stepped up the card a bit with a few extra details...

Dazzling Details in Gold Glitz to be exact! I used it on the flowers and the added butterfly from Papillon Potpourri. 

The third card uses retired Blackberry Bliss Striped Satin Ribbon and some Basic Rhinestone Jewels.

The "HELLO" sentiment is from the Crazy About You stamp set...that one will be sticking around for a while longer. Here's a look at all three of the cards...

Which one do you like best?

Hello Life, Goodbye Eleanor!

My title sounds like an indignant breakup, when actually I'm just featuring some favorite retiring items again today. The "do more of what makes you happy" stamp from Hello Life is awesome! When first seeing this set I had plans to use it on some scrapbook pages, but I still have yet to use it on a page. Need to put that on my "to do" list! Anyways...today I have used it on a card.

I have used our gorgeous set of five retiring In Colors to create my watercolor background. I'm really going to miss these rich colors...especially Blackberry Bliss! If you want to try this watercolor background technique I shared this free tutorial a while back. It's a really fun, easy way to achieve the watercolor look.

I used the same background technique on a small scrap as well. Then stamped a flower from the Everything Eleanor stamp set. This is another set I have really loved...especially the swirled flourish. I used that on the corner where I attached the flower.

When I stamped the "do more of what makes you happy" image I had a little boo boo with the ink smearing around the "p" & "y". I hate when that happens! To make it less noticeable...hopefully you didn't notice it?, I added a little texture using the little honeycomb stamp from Butterfly Basics.

The Tangelo Twist card base is stamped using the textured polka dots from Timeless Textures...love that set!

Have a wonderful weekend..."do more of what makes you happy!"

So Long World of Dreams

Over the next couple of weeks I will be highlighting some of my favorite products that will soon be retiring. (I actually thought this card posted the other day...guess I forgot to hit "publish"? DOH!) Anyways...this springlike card features the beautiful set World of Dreams. I remember getting this set on my first new catalog order when it was first available. I fell in love with the images...especially this bird nest one. It's a great set for techniques.

I used the leafy image stamped randomly all over the Mint Macaron background then I stamped the Hardwood background stamp (I'm glad that one is sticking around!) inked in White Craft ink over the top of it. Wink of Stella Glitter Pen added some sparkle to the bird nest image and the die cut flower. Here's a closer look...

Don't you LOVE the gorgeous papers in the Birthday Bouquet pack of DSP? I used one of my favorite prints here for a slightly different version. I used the Bird Builder Punch to create the leaves...that's one of the many punches that is retiring.

What are you sad to see on the retiring list?

Watercolor Wings Collage Sympathy

I used several stamp sets to create this collage style background for the pretty, die-cut butterfly from Watercolor Wings.

First, before I did any stamping, I created the soft, blended color background using this Watercolor Background Technique. Once my cardstock was thoroughly dry, I used Awesomely Artist, Everything Eleanor & Gorgeous Grunge to create the collage background. The sympathy sentiment is embossed in silver on vellum.

Here's a closer look at the butterfly & background....

I like the way these colors blended together to create a soft background perfect for spring. The colors used are Perfect Plum, Bermuda Bay & So Saffron. Blackberry Bliss was used for the stamping.

I hope wherever you live you are having a beautiful day like we are having here in Michigan...it's almost 70 degrees...which is a record for this time of year. I officially have Spring Fever now!

Awesomely Eleanor

Awesomely Artistic...Everything Eleanor...or maybe Butterfly Basics? Oh, what the heck, I have them all out now... may as well use them all! So that's exactly what I did!

To create my watercolor look background I used my largest acrylic block and inked it up with So Saffron, Bermuda Bay and Perfect Plum. Gave it a few spritzes of water and pressed in onto my Thick Whisper White Card stock. I love how these colors blended together! If you want a more detailed description of this fun technique, I shared a tutorial here a while back.

I added some paint splatters using the splatter stamp from Awesomely Artistic while my paper was still damp, but I waited until it was thoroughly dried to stamp the other elements. To finish the card I die cut two butterfly shapes using the Bold Butterflies and Butterfly Framelits. The solid one was cut from White Vellum card stock  and the detailed butterfly was cut from Silver Foil.

For those of you who still have items on your wishlists from the Holiday Catalog, Stampin' Up! has released a list of those items (most of the catalog) that will be retiring. Check it out here and get those items before they are gone!

Recently I have received a few online orders from customers who selected "no contact" on their order. Normally I send out a thank you card for all the online orders I receive, but in this case I don't know who the order is from...so THANK YOU in case it was one of my blog readers. :-)

Have a GREAT day!

Inspirational Watercolor Wings

I'm really loving the new thicker weight Whisper White card stock. It worked great for this watercolor background technique even when spritzing with water.

I used Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo & Tangerine Tango for the Watercolor Wings butterfly and to ink the largest SU! acrylic block for the background as well. If you want to learn more about this technique I describe it step by step in this post.

I spritzed the butterfly with some Shimmer Mist for a bit of sparkle...it looks so pretty when the light hits it.

Have a great weekend!

Dragonfly Birthday

Recently my Mom asked me if I could make her a dragonfly birthday card. She makes beautiful quilts, purses and tote bags and she had made a bag for a gift. I asked her for some of the fabric so that I could try to match the colors. Here was my inspiration.

This is the card I created for her using the Awesomely Artistic stamp set.

To match the colors as best possible, I had to pull out some retired purples to create the background. I used the largest SU! Clear Mount Block F and inked it with the following colors: Bermuda Bay, Pear Pizzazz, Orchid Opulence, Lavender Lace and Melon Mambo. After spritzing it with water I inked my Whisper White card stock. I added some splotches in various colors used above while the card stock was still damp, so the colors would bleed.

After it thoroughly dried, I added the dragonflies and the floral design. If you want to see more detailed directions on this technique, I provided them here on this post.

Thanks for visiting!

Colorful Birthday Blossoms

I'm loving the Birthday Blossoms set for quite a few reasons...first, the largest flower coordinates with the Pansy Punch...LOVE that! There is a set of pretty leaves...YES! The clusters of tiny flowers makes such a pretty background...AND the font used on the sentiments is just so pretty!

I inked up an acrylic block and misted it with water to create my background. The colors I used are: Pool Party, Cucumber Crush, Crushed Curry & Watermelon Wonder. More on that can be seen in this post.

Thanks for visiting!

Awesomely Artistic Thank You

Today I am here with a colorful Awesomely Artistic thank you card.

To create the watercolor background I simply inked one of my acrylic blocks, gave it a spritz of water and stamped it on my Whisper White card stock. If you want more info on that, I have a tutorial that I shared a while back here.

The colors I used are: Pool Party, Mint Macaron, Crushed Curry & Watermelon Wonder. When choosing your colors, you will want to place colors that mix well next to each other. For example, a reddish tone mixed with a greenish tone makes a muddy brownish color.

You will want to let your background dry well or use your heat tool, before proceeding to stamp on top...unless you want the ink to bleed.

Thanks for visiting!

Wildflower Meadow with Watercolor Background

I've been enjoying the beautiful summer days so much that I haven't taken time to share anything recently here on my blog. To go along with all the gorgeous wildflowers in bloom around my house, how about a card made using the Wildflower Meadow stamp...

I used the E Clear Mount Block inked in Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay & Pear Pizzazz to create the watercolor look background. I explain that more here in this post. After my background was thoroughly dry, I stamped the Wildflower Meadow image in Island Indigo.

I hope you are enjoying a beautiful summer weekend!

Peaceful Petals Thank You

While browsing on Pinterest today I saw this fun sketch that came from a blog called Around the World Stampin' Up! Challenges. This is a new site for me and I think it's pretty cool because the design team is made up of SU! demos from all parts of the world. Usually I find these fun challenges after they are over, but this one still has time left, so I'm playing along.

I used the new Peaceful Petal set and stamped it on a background created using the water colored background technique that I described in this post. To add a little more subtle detail, I used a couple other stamps as well...Gorgeous Grunge and the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel. The other layers are stamped with my new favorite background stamp...Hardword,  inked in White Craft.
Supply List:

• Peaceful Petals [clear]
• Gorgeous Grunge Clear-mount Stamp Set
• Hardwood [clear]
• Very Vintage
• Pear Pizzazz 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
• Basic Black 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
• Strawberry Slush 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
• Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad
• Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad
• Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad
• Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad
• Jet Black StazOn Pad