PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN SPOT: May Retirement Blues

It's time for another Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop and this time we're dedicating it to the "Retirement Blues", and I'm not talking about retirement from work. I'm referring to the retirement of Stampin' Up! stamps and accessories that happens every May as Stampin' Up! prepares for the new Annual Catalogue launch on June 2nd.

Check out the retirement list here. Products and accessories are available until June 2nd or while supplies last.

As a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator this is often a time of mixed feelings - happy and sad. I'm super sad to see some of my favourite stamp sets designer series papers and accessories go, but I'm also super excited knowing they'll be replaced by new products that will bring a smile to my face, and a lot of enjoyment to my stamping world!

So I hope you'll join us on this "reminiscing" blog hop. Get yourself comfy, grab your favourite beverage and settle in for a journey through some of our favourites. Oh and in case you're not aware, wherever you begin in our blog hop, whether you're moving forward or backwards through the participants, you'll eventually wind up precisely where you began.

I hope you'll take time to visit all the participating blogs and, perhaps, leave a short message letting us know what you've thought of our posts, and comment on what products were your favourites too.

If you've been moving forward through the hop you'll have arrived here from Marsha Reed's wonderful blog.

Here's a list of all the Wacky Watercooler Blog Hoppers, just in case you get lost.

Here's My First Project:
Ironically when thinking about what to make for my first project, I decided to make a Triple Layer Sympathy Card. Unfortunately this year, I needed several Sympathy Cards, and my "to go for" stamp set was one of the 2014/15 Annual Catalogue Hostess Sets called Bloom With Hope. I am truly going to miss this artistically sketched stamp set with it's eleven flowers and hopeful phrases.

I pounced ink from my Indigo marker on the center of the flower to enhance the image and then covered it with Crystal Effects. I stamped the "With Sympathy" from the Loving Thoughts stamp set in Wild Wasabi and Versa Mark inks and then mounted it onto a piece of Island Indigo cardstock. While this stamp set is no longer available you can still get the MDS Studio Brush Script set for $4.99, but hurry as it will retire in June. This is a terrific value for a wonderful sentiment set.

For the leaves on this card I used the Square Lattice Embossing Folder and the Flower Frenzy Bigz Die. I'm truly blue that this BigzL Die is retiring!

Check out the Flower Frenzy BigzL Die on the Retiring Products list it is greatly reduced in price. This is a fantastic die for making floral designs and it's sad to see it go.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Bloom With Hope (Hostess - 2015 Annual Catalogue) and Loving Thoughts

Bloom With Hope #133952

Loving Thoughts only available in MDS Studio Brush Script.

Ink: Island Indigo, Wild Wasabi, Pool Party and Versa Mark

Cardstock: Island Indigo, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White

Accessories: Flower Frenzy (leaves), Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Clear Blocks, Snips, Dimensionals, Trimmer, Crystal Effects, Sponge Dauber.

Measurements for Triple Layers:

1. Card Base in Island Indigo measures 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 scored at 4 1/4

2. Indigo Layers: 2 1/4 x 3 1/2", 3 1/4" x 4 1/2"

3. Whisper White Layers: 2 x 3 1/4", 3 x 4 1/4" and 4 x 5 1/4"

Second Project:
I'm also sad and blue to see the Happy Hour Stamp Set retiring. What a fun set. It has a total of 17 images and sentiments, that are perfect for using on invitations, festive birthday or seasonal cards and more. Here's a card I made to showcase a few of these elements:

I just love the boldness of this sentiment! I paper pieced the contents of the glass with Moonlight DSP Paper Pack The 48 sheet Moonlight DSP is such a great little paper pack. There are 12 different paper designs and you get 4 of each. They measure 4 1/2 by 6 inches so they're perfect for card fronts and other small projects. The designs correspond with Hello Honey, Basic Grey, Lost Lagoon and Blackberry Bliss It's on for 50% off right now in the retiring products promotion.

Here's the inside of the card. I continued stamping some of the circles with sponge daubers for a fun effect.

Supplies:

Stamp Sets: Happy Hour and Perfect Pennants

Ink: Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Basic Gray

Cardstock: Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Large Oval Punch, Circle Framelits, Banner Framelit, Sponge Daubers Moonlight Designer Series paper pack

Third Project:
I really enjoy the BigzL Dies and one of my all time favourites has been the Petite Purse. What a fun tool to have. I've used this die over and over again for wedding and party favours, so I will really regret that it's gone. Here are a couple of purses I made with this die:

I used Crisp Canteloupe for the base of this purse, one of the retiring In-colours that I'm going to truly miss. The top of the purse was cut from DSP that retired with the Sale-A-Bration but the mix of colours went perfectly. Unfortunately you can barely see it because of my poor picture taking skills.

I used the Petite Flower punch to cut out the large flower and the smaller ones were made with one of the Itty Bitty Accent punches. Basic Pearls were added to the center. I was trying to get a cascading flower effect placing all the flowers on the front. I also covered the brads that are holding the handle in place with the Petite Flowers but instead of the centers being Crisp Cantaloupe I added Lost Lagoon centers to bring out some of the colour from the DSP.

I left the Crisp Cantaloupe purse background plain but it could have been stamped with a flower design as in this Regal Rose sample. I like them either way. With this super cute versatile die the sky and your imagination are the limit.

This die is so easy to use and the end product always brings a smile!

I hope you liked my projects today, and will leave a comment or two. Don't forget to continue on to see the rest of the Wacky Watercooler participants projects. They are simply awesome!

Jean Fitch

Marsha Reed

Wacky Watercooler Challenge Blog

Before I go, here are some pictures of projects made with some of the other retiring stamp sets and products that I'm going to really miss. Enjoy:

Stippled Blossoms - I literally cried when this was retired, and then I said "I'm never going to stop using this stamp set, it truly is my all time favourite!