Coming up.......

I've been busy, busy, busy preparing my projects for my first submissions on the Stampin' Up! Creative Crew Design Team on Splitcoaststampers.     This is a big honour and I'm hoping my projects are good enough.   One of my biggest problems has been taking a decent picture of my projects in order to upload them.    Guess I should have asked the Easter Bunny for a new camera.     Oh well, my projects have been uploaded and will be released on the demo side of the gallery on May 1st.   Check back here on May 1st as my projects will post on my blog later that day.

I have also been preparing my projects for the Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop which will take place on Thursday, May 3rd.    The hop is always lots of fun and the ladies do wonderful work.   

Hope to see you back here soon.   Thanks for stopping by.

Pat

Goodbye to some of our favourites

More sadness today as Stampin' Up! releases the retiring accessories list.   Many dies, punches, embellishments and so much more are being retired.   Here is the pdf:

http://204.228.150.61/docs/lastchance/en-CA/Availability_en-CA.pdf

These items are only available while supplies last!    Please contact me if you have any questions.

Pat

April Club projects

Along with the retired stamp set list that I was whining about in my last post, I`m a little sad that our Occasions Mini will be done at the end of April.    I wanted to use the Mixed Bunch set one last time as this turned out to be my favourite stamp set in the mini.   I totally CASEd this card from Erica Cerwin:

I definitely like Erica`s version better than mine.   Check out Erica`s blog to see her prettier version.   I used naturals white for the card base and the layer.   The flowers are stamped with real red, tempting turquoise and pretty in pink inks.   The edges of the naturals white layer are distressed using the cutter kit and then sponged with soft suede.   The sentiment comes from a retired SAB set called Whimsical Words.    Any good sentiment sets usually find a long term home with me as they always come in handy for making a special card.  The sentiment was stamped on whisper white and sponged with soft suede.    My club ladies did a fabulous job of recreating this card and everyone loved the itty bitty buttons and the rhinestones.

This is a mother`s day card using the faux mother of pearl technique.   The card base is rose red and a layer of glossy white was cut with the Big Shot and the top note die.    Splotches of frost white shimmer paint are applied to the glossy white using scrunched up saran wrap.   The image is from the set Just Believe stamped in rose red and accented with baja blue butterflies cut using the beautiful wings embosslit.   Pretty baja breeze pleated ribbon sets the background for the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

   This card may look a little familiar.   My plan had been to have my Club ladies do the Easter card I had posted earlier but I had to cancel Club that week.   The card then needed to be tweeked a little as Easter had passed by the time we met again.    This card uses naturals white cut with the Big Shot and the scallop circle die.   The inner circle was cut from crumb cake with the 2.5 circle die and embossed with the polka dot embossing folder.  The edges of the card base, the circle layer and the polka dots are sponged with crumb cake to make everything pop.   Pretty flowers and a lovely bird from Language of Friendship are stamped on baja breeze with basic black ink and punched out with the bird builder and boho blossoms punch.   The branch was stamped on pear pizzazz.   Some of the ladies had pear pizzazz and baja blue wings and branches and it looked really great.   I love how they use their own imagination to come up with their own version of what I present.    The flowers were punched twice and layered to give a fuller look.   A little distressing of the flower petals makes them look more realistic and a pretty pearl adds a final touch.   My friend was stamped on whisper white with basic black.

Now I need to concentrate on getting projects prepared for the Creative Crew Challenges on Splitcoast which is due May 1st.   This will be my first projects for the Creative Crew after being selected for the May - August term.   I also need to finish my projects for the Stylin`Stampin`Blog Hop which will be posted on May 3rd.    Make sure to check back to see what I`ve been up to.

Thanks for stopping by.

Pat

It's so hard to say goodbye!!

I can't begin to tell you how excited I get when it is time for the new Stampin' Up! catalogue to come out.   It really reminds me of that giddy excitement I had as a child right before Christmas.   Counting down the days and eagerly anticipating what wonderful goodies were waiting for me - exactly what I'm doing these days!   On the downside of all the excitement is the sadness that comes with the retirement list.   This year the retirement list is even longer than usual and I took a bit of a hit.   I will be losing 34 stamp sets, some of which are my absolute favourites.    My heartless husband sat there and giggled every time I whimpered in dismay as another set I owned was crossed off of the list.    I'm sure he wouldn't find it so funny if someone told him a large chunk of his tools were to be retired!   haha  Guess he never has to worry about that happening.    There are certain stamp sets that I will keep for my own personal use but the remainder of the retired sets will be sold at my annual New Catty Open House event.     Seeing the new catalogue and working on my wish list will certainly make things better.  :)   

The stamp sets on the retiring list will only be available until May 31st.   Please also keep in mind that Stampin' Up! will no longer be selling the Decor Elements or Simply Adorned products in the new catalogue so if there is something you wanted, get it while you can.    Here is a link to the pdf of the retirement list:

Retired Stamps List

You will definitely need to enlarge the pages, especially if your eyesight is as bad as mine.    Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like to place an order.    My Stampin' Up! website is http://pthompson.stampinup.net

I can't wait to share the excitement of the new catalogue with you.   Let me know if you would like a copy.    Thanks for stopping by.

Pat

Happy Easter!

Here are some Easter cards I wanted to share with you:

I love using the scallop circle die for a different card base.   This card uses naturals white card stock for the base with a layer of crumb cake cut with the 3 1/2 circle die and then embossed with the polka dot embossing folder.   This is my first attempt at punch art cala lilies and I definitely need more practice!   The lilies are punched from whisper white using the ornament punch and the centre of the lily is punched from daffodil delight with the word window punch.   The leaves are cut free hand and curled.   Happy Easter comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set.

These are the cards I'm giving to my husband and to my son.    The inside says "some bunny loves you".  Naturals white is used for the base with a layer of bashful blue.   Punch art bunnies are created with oval and circle punches.  

Thank you for stopping by!   Have a Happy Easter.

Pat

Stylin' Stampin' Squad April Blog Hop

Hello again. It's hard to believe it is time for another blog hop. The months are just going by so fast. You may have just arrived here from Dawn's blog. Please make sure to leave all of our participants a comment as everyone likes to know that their work is appreciated!

So on to my projects. My 3D project meets the Easter/Spring challenge:

A multitude of punches were used to create this project! The very versatile ornament punch was used to create the daffodils. Various punches were used for the cute bunny and will be listed in the supply list below. The basket was created with the Big Shot and the scallop envelop die x 4, which were embossed with the square lattice embossing folder. A sneak peek at some new product here - some bright and cheery daffodil delight seam binding ribbon to brighten up the basket.

My next project is a wedding card:

I had a tough time deciding what colours to use for this card but finally settled on basic gray and whisper white. My apologies for using retired basic gray taffeta ribbon but white ribbon did not show up well enough against the white background. My favourite embossing folder - vintage wallpaper - makes a classy background that is trimmed using the adorning accents edgelits die.

Finally, this project meets the colour challenge - wisteria wonder, lucky limeade and elegant eggplant AND the stamp set challenge - Vintage Vogue:

I love this colour combination! The card base is lucky limeade with a layer of elegant eggplant textured card stock. It may be hard to see in the picture but there are some scored accents in the top and bottom right corners of the elegant eggplant layer. Of course I had to use the labels collection framelits to cut out the lucky limeade and whisper white layers. The wisteria wonder requirement is met with the ruffled ribbon and the phrase stamped on the tag. I am ashamed to admit that my elegant eggplant ink pad had never been opened. Now I realize how much I love this deep dark purple and I will have to start using it more often.

I hope you have enjoyed the blog hop. You can continue on to Heather's blog by clicking on the text for the next button. Thanks for stopping by.

Pat

SUPPLY LIST

Project #1

Card stock - daffodil delight, always artichoke, crumb cake, whisper white, pretty in pink, basic black, certainly celery, pumpkin pie

Ink - basic black, melon mambo, pumpkin pie, white gel pen

Tools - ornament punch, small scallop square from the scallop square duo die, large oval punch, medium oval punch, circle punches, small heart punch, island floral die, scallop envelope die, big shot

Embellishments - silver glass glitter, daffodil delight seam binding ribbon

Project #2

Card stock - basic gray, whisper white, brushed silver

Stamps - Petite Pairs, Tiny Tags

Ink - basic black, basic gray

Tools - big shot, scalloped heart of hearts embosslit, vintage wallpaper embossing folder, heart punch, scallop oval punch, jewellery tag punch, adorning accents edgelit die

Embellishments - basic gray taffeta ribbon, basic pearls

Project #3

Card Stock - lucky limeade, elegant eggplant, whisper white

Stamps - Vintage Vogue

Ink - elegant eggplant, lucky limeade, wisteria wonder

Tools - scissors, blossom builder punch, square punch, labels collection framelits, simply scored scoring tool

Embellishments - basic pearls, wisteria wonder ruffled ribbon

PLEASE CLICK ON THE "GO TO" TEXT BELOW THE BUTTONS AS MY BUTTONS, ONCE AGAIN, ARE NOT WORKING.   THANK YOU!

Go to Dawn's blog

Go to Heather's blog

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Creative Electica
2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
3. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
4. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps a Lot
5. Anji C. of Altered Scraps Blog
6. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
7. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
8. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
9. Patricia T. of Sunnyone Stampin'
10. Heather W. of Heather's Stampin' Blog
11. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
12. Linda O. of Stamp at Linda's
13. Marla R. of Marla's Stampin' Spot
14. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
15. Nicole B. of Creations by Mommy
16. Pam S. of Sunny Girl Scraps
17. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim

Blog hop tomorrow!!!

Make sure to stop on by tomorrow to check out April's blog hop.   Can't wait to see what our blog hop participants have created this month!

See you soon!


Pat

April fool's joke??

Is it an April fool's joke?   Nope - Sale-a-bration really is over.    I'm already going through withdrawals now that I can't get my hands on any more of the Everyday Enchantment DSP.    Here are a couple more of the altered notebooks I had made up for the Quota Club Craft Sale using my favourite DSP:

This is a piece of the Calypso Coral patterned paper in the Everyday Enchantment pack.   The edges were sponged with soft suede to give it a distressed look.    The soft suede and very vanilla pieces were cut using the labels collection framelits (getting my money's worth out of those framelits!).    The beautiful flower images are from another SAB set - Fresh Vintage - which I coloured with regal rose and certainly celery markers.   I absolutely love the inspirational saying which comes from the Faith in Nature set.   The small flowers were stamped with calypso coral on very vanilla then punched out with a circle punch, edges sponged with soft suede and then distressed by scrunching.   Small scallop circles were punched out of soft suede to make the base of the flowers and the glimmer brads add a bit of bling.   Beautiful butterflies were cut from the die of the same name, embossed with the polka dot embossing folder and sponged with soft suede.    Soooo pretty!!

This mini notebook was covered with the Everyday Enchantment DSP again (told you I loved it!).   Calypso Coral card stock was used to create the flower with the Fun Flowers die.    It seems sooo wrong to scrunch up the pretty flowers but doing so gives such a lifelike effect to the flower.   It breaks the fibres of the paper up and I also use the bone folder to curl the petals.   Once the layers of the flower are all attached to each other and a vintage brad is added, I attach the flower to the notebook with sticky strip and scrunch it up some more.    Beautiful flower!!

I hope you liked these projects.    I had such a great day at the Quota Club Craft Sale and now I really need to replenish my stock of cards and other projects before my next event.    It was great to see so many friends stop by to visit me.   One of the best things about attending trade shows and craft sales is catching up with good friends and meeting new ones.

Thanks for stopping by.

Pat