Count Down To Retired List Reminder

It’s  getting closer and closer to the end of  Stampin' Ups!  calendar year,  and  that means they’re getting ready to retire stamps and accessories from the 2014-2015 annual catalogue.

In fact, I've just heard that the retired lists go live on April 21st this year.  Holy Batman  only three days away!!!

Don't worry, though!  You’ll  have the opportunity to order retiring products at discounted prices (up to 50 % off retail) before they're gone. So start checking back on your Wish List to see if there's anything you just have to have, and then you'll be all set when the lists are released this coming Tuesday.  

If you're faves are on the list and you want them, then I caution you to act fast and place an order through me (if you’re local) or on-line if you live elsewhere in BC or Canada, because supplies go fast!   

My Hostess Code for this month is C9WDQBM6, make sure you include this code on your order and you'll be entered for the hostess bonus draw. 


Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

The Butterflies Have Landed..............

Here's an Update Hot off the Press about the Basic Butterflies: 

After a (very) long migration, the Butterflies Thinlits Dies have landed in Stampin' Up!s warehouse and are now available for purchase.

Remember, you can take advantage of two special offers through April 30:    

1.  Get the Butterflies Thinlits at a 15 percent discount--just $26.30! or,

2.  Buy any of the Butterflies Thinlits Bundles at a 15 percent discount and choose one of three FREE Sale-A-Bration items (only available while supplies last)!

•         Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper (item 138633)
•         Best Year Ever Accessory Pack (item 138634)
•         Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper (#138635)

     Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

The Wacky Watercooler April (Fool) Blog Hop - April 16th to 18th, 2015

While April Fools day is a few weeks behind us now, the gals over at Wacky Watercooler have come up with some unique and wonderful projects for this month's Blog Hop that just might "fool you".  So, be prepared for some fun and surprises.   

Whether you linked to me from Anna Smith's amazing blog Scrapping Stamping and Stuff, or this is your first stop on the April (Fool) Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop, I hope you'll enjoy what I have in store for you. This is a triple project post, so make sure you keep scrolling down!  

Just a reminder, the Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop hops in a circle so you'll want to continue hopping until you return to your starting point. It's quite a journey and I'm sure you're going to find plenty of inspiration along the way, so let's get started.

In case you have to leave or get lost, here's a list of the blogs participating in this hop:
1. Jackie Susnik - http://jackotterstamp.blogspot.com

2. Stefanie Pletscher – http://www.craftymedic.blogspot.ca
3. Marie Green - http://mytanglewoodcottage.blogspot.com
4. Jean Fitch -  https://jlfstudio.wordpress.com
5. Kath R. - http://kath-allthatscrap.blogspot.com
6. Christine Giuda - http://www.dancinstamps.blogspot.com 
7. Buffy Cooper - http://buffycooper.com
8. Gail Allen - http://stampingandotherstuff.blogspot.ca
9. Priscilla Ivler -  http://priscillastamps.blogspot.com
10.Anna Smith - http://www.scrappingstampingandstuff.com
11. Penny Hanuszak - http://pennytokensstampinspot.blogspot.ca (YOU ARE HERE)
12. Marsha Reed - http://coffeepotstampingcafe.com
13. Heidi Weaver -  http://heidistampinalong.blogspot.com

My First Project - the April (fool)

The challenge for our first project was to make something "that isn't what it appears to be".  This challenge definitely gave me pause for thought until the light bulb went off and I got into designing mode.  

Since I have several weddings to attend this Spring and I've been planning to teach a class called "Everything Wedding" in the near future, I decided to base my first project on a wedding card that may not appear to be what it seems.  

This is the front of my wedding card. I wanted to make a card that would stand out from the crowd and get the proverbially "wow" when it was taken from the envelope.  I'm happy to say I tested the effect of this card on family members and they all reacted that way!

I used Crumb Cake card stock for the  base which measures 4 1/4" by 10 1/2" and is scored at 5 1/4".  The base was then stacked with layers of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper , Whisper White cardstock that's been embossed with the Happy Heart Embossing Folder, and banners cut from the breath taking Something Borrowed Designer Series paper.

I've added a multi-layer flower that was a snap to make using the Floral Frenzy Bigz L die.  All the petals and leaves were cut from Something Borrowed DSP that was sponged with Crumb Cake ink.  To finish off the flower and give it some glimmer, I added a Something Borrowed Embellishment. The silver filigree is very fine and the raised rhinestone really gives it a nice sparkle.  To finish off the card front, I simply couldn't resist tucking some sparkling white tulle behind the petals and leaves for contrast.  

The inside of the wedding card consists of two layers of Whisper White card stock, the first measuring 3 3/4" x 5".  The second layer which measures 3 1/3 x 4 1/2" was stamped Something Lacey background stamp in Crumb Cake ink.  Honestly, this stamp is amazing and I know it's going to see a lot of use in my card making.  The sentiment "Congratulations to the bride and groom" is from the  For The New Two stamp set and is stamped in Early Espresso ink. 

Okay so I know by now you're saying to yourself "what's so special about this project, it's just a wedding card".  Well take another look, because although it's a beautiful wedding card on the inside and outside, it gets even better because when you pull on the tulle behind the flower it expands and then expands some more.  WOW! That's right, this is a very special triple slider card!   Who would have known? 

Here's the back view of the card .... again nothing too special, except for the tulle puff at the top of the card.  Hint:  This is what you're going to gently pull on.  Instructions are included with the card when it is given out.

Okay, after the first pull you'll see a layer that looks like the top of a wedding cake appear sporting the sentiment "Happy I do day" from the retired Word Play stamp set.

Now pull the top layer out even further and you'll discover another layer with more good wishes for the bride and groom.

Voila, this triple slider card turns into a beautiful wedding cake..... or at least it makes me think of a wedding cake.  

I had so much fun making this card and the pictures simply don't showcase how beautiful this designer series paper really is.  Here are some close-ups of the details.

This gorgeous layered flower is made with the Flower Frenzy Bigz Die.  There are seven layers of petals and it is topped off with a "Something Borrowed" embellishment.  All the petals were sponged with Crumb Cake ink and I used a bone folder to curl the petals.   

The sentiment "For the Newlyweds" is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp set.  I love the look of the embossed Hearts on the Whisper White layer.  Simply beautiful.They were made with the Happy Heart Textured Impressions Embossing Folder on page 9 of the Occasions catalogue.

For The New Two .....how appropriate.

I punched out small flowers from the Something Borrowed DSP and sponged their edges with Crumb Cake ink and then added them with mini glue dots to the flowers from the stamped image.  Small basic rhinestones were added to the centers of each of the flowers. 

This sentiment is from a retired stamp set called Word Play, and of course I had to add a medium sized rhinestone for a little more bling!

  
Making the above card really put me in to "wedding mode" so I decided to make a gift bag and a tiny note holder for the bride. Both of these items are part of my "Everything Wedding" class, so if you like them and live close by, give me a call to sign up.  Here's a picture of the ensemble. 

This little note holder is made with index cards.  It's super cute and really easy to assemble.

So that's the end of my first project.  I hope you enjoyed it.  My card design was inspired by a triple slider birthday card I  made at one of Cheryl LeFore's stamp club meetings. Here's a picture of the original card I made which features products from the Sale-a-Bration and Occasions Catalogues.

You can find an awesome PDF and video tutorial by Heather Summers featuring triple slider cards on Split Coast Stampers.  Just click here.

Project No Two:
When I first looked through the Occasions Catalogue my heart was totally captured by a card on page 12 which features the Bow Builder Punch.  The card simply had three bows all cut from the fabulous Birthday Bash DSP stacked one on top of the other on plain white card stock.  I've seen several variations of this card, and when I finally purchased my Bow Builder Punch I decided to make one myself, and I'm happy to share it with you now. 

 

I needed a 30th birthday card for a very special friend and so I decided to use the same theme with the three bows, but to jazz it up a bit.  

My card uses a "center step card" design with the three bows on the center front panel.  The DSP used on the front panels of the step card and for the bows are from the Stacked With Love DSP on page 5 of the Occasions Catalogue. Just can't get enough of that paper, it's so awesome.   I used Crisp Cantaloupe, Basic Black and Whisper White card stocks to coordinate with this beautiful designer paper. Click here and scroll down to the second project if you want to see a tutorial on how to make the step card.

Before attaching the three bows to the Whisper White card stock, I embossed it with one of my all time favourite embossing folders, the Large Polka Dot.  Of course it matched perfectly with this DSP.

These bows take just seconds to make and come together so quickly using Mini Glue dots.  I've added Vintage Faceted Buttons and Basic Rhinestones to the centers of the bows for some extra sparkle. These buttons are such a great value.  You get 24 glass buttons - 8 each of 3 designs a large, medium and small size in each package.  They are in the Annual catalogue on page 209. 

The inside of the card features two different birthday stamp sets.  The sentiment "It's Your Day" comes from the Big on You stamp set  featured on page 24 of the Occasions catalogue.  I can't say enough about this 4 piece Photopolyer stamp set ......it's big and it's terrific and boy does the image stamp nicely.

The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is from the Big Day stamp set that was available for free during Sale-a-Bration.  Unfortunately it is no longer available, because it's an awesome birthday sentiment stamp set.   

My Third Project:

Mother's Day is coming up in less than a month, so with that in mind I decided to make a gift ensemble that includes a berry box, a gift tag and a small gift card.  I've used the Painted Petals Stamp Set and matching Painted Blooms DSP featured on pages 18 and 19 in the Occasions catalogue.
Here is the gift set:

I've used Wild Wasabi, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White card stocks for this project. 

I used the Flower Frenzy Bigz Die for the flower base but instead of using all the petals in the die, I changed this flower up by making the center with the bow builder punch.  I simply cut two sets of bows, assembled the bow pieces and layered them.  A large basic pearl adorns the center of the flower, and small pieces of white tulle were used as filler.  The leaves were cut from Wild Wasabi card stock. I stamped the base of the box with the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and the Painted Petals stamp set. 

Isn't this tag adorable.  I stamped the flowers from Painted Petals on Whisper White Card stock and then stamped the sentiment in Momento Tuxedo Black Ink over top of the flowers.  I cut out the tag with the Note Tag Punch (pg. 28 Occasions Catalogue).  I used this punch again to cut a longer strip of cardstock to mount the Whisper White piece on.  The small flower was made with the Petite Petals punch.

I lined the bottom of the berry box with a 2 3/4 x 2 3/4" piece of DSP  The small gift card measures 3 x 3 and has the Painted Blooms DSP on the cover.  The top edge of the basket was cut out of the same DSP.  The basket measures 4" wide by 3 1/4" high.  I didn't add a handle to my box but it's easy to do.  My box was hand cut, however if you really like berry boxes check out the Berry Basket Bigz L Die on page 21 of the Occasions Catalogue.  This die cuts the basket, scalloped trim and handle all in one fell swoop.  

TIP:  I make my own filler for baskets by cutting my scrap stock at 1/8" widths on my trimmer.  It's time consuming, but you never have to run to the store to get filler.  This is a great way to use up old or retired card stocks and DSP.  

Thanks for hanging in there with me on this long post.  Don't forget to leave me a comment on my projects.  I'm going to be drawing a name and will send the winner one of my projects at the end of the blog hop.  

Oh and don't forget to check out the other designer's blog hop projects too.  Just click on the links below.  Marsha Reed of Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe is your next stop on the hop, her link is below.  You're going to love her projects!

Wacky Watercooler Home 

Marsha Reed - Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe

Anna Smith - Scrapping Stamping and Stuff 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

Getting Back In the Groove

I'm finally starting to settle in after a month of travel, medical appointments and other activities for my mom.  I'm afraid this has taken all my time, energy and attention, so apart from updating you on Stampin' Up! promos I've been unable to take time to blog or work on any projects.

Well, all that's about to change as things are starting to get into a rhythm around here and I feel like it's time to get my creative mojo working again.  To get me started I decided to dive in and make a card using Susan Horr's wonderful colour challenge WWC21 on the Wacky Watercooler this week.   When you see these colours you're going to know why it got my interest:

Here's What I Came Up With:
Earlier this year I received a birthday card from my friend Phyllis, that I absolutely adored.  Here's Phyllis' card: 

When I saw Susan's colour challenge yesterday I knew I had only a little bit of time to enter the challenge so I needed a quick and easy card. The colours in the challenge made me think of Phyllis' card and so I decided to CASe her idea adding some of my own touches, of course.  Here's my card:

The card base is Sahara Sand with a layer of Bermuda Bay.  I used the same image from the Work of Art stamp set as Phyllis, and stamped it with my stamp-a-ma-jig in Calypso Coral, Pool Party and So Saffron inks.  To me these stacked images resemble the layers of a birthday cake.  

The butterflies were embossed with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit, and are   adorned with small basic rhinestones. I used dimensionals to mount them to the card face. 

I'm a big fan of banners so I was super excited to use my new Balloon Framelits Die to create this fun little banner.   I added the teeniest butterflies from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit along the length of the banner and also adorned each of them with a basic rhinestone.  They are just so cute! 

When I bought the Balloon Framelits, I purchased them as a bundle along with the Celebrate Today stamp set.  This saved me 15% off the total cost.  I loved the script of the "celebrate" sentiment from this set and think it looks great stamped in Calypso Coral on the face of this card.  It's just one of 17 stamps in this wonderful photopolymer set and is available in the Occasions Catalogue until June 2nd, 2015. 

The raised embossing was done with the Filigree Finial Embossing Folder.  I think it adds a very festive look to this card, and reminds me of confetti.

The inside of the card is stamped with the birthday sentiment "celebrate" from the Big Day Sale-a-bration stamp set.

 

 

Supplies:
Stamps:  Work of Art, Celebrate Today and Big Day (Sale-a-bration)
Ink:  Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Pool Party and Momento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Sahara Sand, Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, Calypso Coral and Pool Party
Accessories:  Trimmer, Big Shot Machine, Filigree Finial Embossing Folder, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Balloons Thinlet Die, Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Adhesive.

I hope you enjoyed this card and will come back and visit my blog again. The Wacky Watercooler challenges are a great place to get inspired and creative. If the urge hits you, there's still a bit of time left before this challenge ends. If not make sure you check out this blog link regularly to see the great challenges that are offered.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens