PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN SPOT

Thursday, May 14, 2015

May Retirement Blues - Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop

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!

Too Kind
This is an amazing 8 piece two-step set - perfect for every occasion.

Starburst Sayings and Timeless Talk

Timeless Talk

Starburst Sayings

Well that's the end of my retirement tour. Hope you had a good time.

Happy Stampin!
Penny Tokens

Monday, May 4, 2015

A Special Birthday Card for My SIL

Today I'm dedicating my birthday card and wish to my very special sister-in-law, Mary Ann.

Mary Ann would have been 74 today however sadly, she passed away 18 months ago following a long and courageous battle with lung cancer.

Mary Ann was a very determined and brave woman who faced death with a smile and her strong faith and conviction in God. She declined heroic measures such as chemo and radiation preferring instead to take each day as it was given and enjoy the time she had left. And she did.

During the course of her illness I requested a "shower of cards" from my fellow Late Night Stampers and 33 stampers rose to the occasion. Mary Ann soon began receiving cards from across Canada and the United States and even one from Austrailia.

She cherished and loved each and every card she received. Not only did they put a smile on her face when she received them, but they gave her something to think about and focus on when she went through the harder times of her illness. She told me she thought about where the cards came from and wondered about the senders who were kind enough to think of her even though they'd never meet. How kind you all were and I want to thank those caring stampers who were compassionate enough to take the time out of their busy lives to send a card of hope and caring. I shall be forever in your debt and will kindly pass along my cards whenever there is a need.

Happy Birthday Mary Ann.....................so wish you could still be here, but know that we're thinking of you in heaven! Love and hugs!

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Celebrate Today - Birthday Balloons

I recently purchased the Celebrate Today Photopolymer stamp set from the Occasions Catalogue. Unfortunately life gets in the way, so I hadn't had any "me" time to ink it up and play with it. All that changed however when I was checking out my stamping friend Diane Ison's class invite on her Face Book page Teach To Stamp. I took one look at her featured class card and began to smile.......no change that, I began to "grin".......... very widely!

Her delightful card featured a monochromatic card face filled with the balloons from Celebrate Today. From my first glimpse I wanted to CAS it. This is just totally a fun card, and one I would personally like to receive. Here's Diane's version:

Diane stamped the balloons in Soft Sky, Pool Party and Bermuda Bay inks on a Whisper White card base, working from lightest to darkest ink, and centering her first balloon image. You couldn't get much easier than that, and oh my, what an impact this card has. Easy to mail too! Thanks Diane for always inspiring!
Here's My Version:

To make this card my own I started with a Bermuda Bay card stock base that measured 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 and was scored at 4 1/4". Because I wanted a little glitz, I added a 5 1/4" x 4" layer of dazzling diamonds glimmer paper (which I can't get enough of). And finally I added my stamped Whisper White layer which measures 5 x 3 3/4".

I used Lost Lagoon, Pool Party and Soft Sky inks to stamp the balloons and went from lightest to darkest overlapping the balloons as I went. Note: Quite truthfully, I had a little difficulty with my balloons stamping as evenly as Diane's did, but it appears there was a fine film or fluff on my stamp which blocked the colour application, and I don't believe my stamp pads which are the originally ones were juicy enough. I've since cleaned the stamps and re-inked the pads and experienced instant stamping success. The moral of this note is make sure you have clean stamps and juicy pads before you start your project.

To finish off the card face I added three basic rhinestones and stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment with two separate stamps from the Celebrate Today Photopolymer Stamp set, mounted on a clear block.

This is the Celebrate Today Stamp set and coordinating Balloon Framelits bundle. The stamp set has 17 photopolomer two-step stamps that can be layered to give you many different images for your projects.

Here's a view of the inside of my card I made. The framelit that I used for the sentiment is from the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Die. I know I'm going to be using these sentiments a lot because they're fun to make and they say it all!

Here's some additional cards I made with Blushing Bride, Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose inks and cardstock. What fun!

Any one up for a class? If so contact me by email.

I hope you enjoyed these cards. The Occasions catalogue is only available until June 2nd so if you are interested in this stamp set don't delay, order today.

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens

GDPR For EU Visitors and Followers

In line with new Data Protection legislation (GDPR) coming to the EU, please note that in commenting you do so with the knowledge that your name & comment are visible to all who visit this blog and thereby consent to the use of that personal information for that specific purpose, only. I do not collect information stored on my blog. If you have left a comment and prefer that it not be seen, please delete it. Followers: If you follow my blog (thank you!) you do so in the knowledge that my followers list is open to anyone who visits my blog. Your photo, name and links will appear and can be seen by anyone. If you don't want this data shared, please remove your name from my followers list.