Beautiful Perennial Lavender

I fell in love with both the Perennial Lavender Suite Collection featured on pages 24 and 25 of the January Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue the moment I laid eyes on it.  I'm sure the attraction was the beautiful designer series paper and the mixture of samples that were shown, but whichever it was I knew I needed wanted everything in the suite.  

I love every single piece of designer paper in the Perennial Lavender 12 x 12 paper pack.  The combination of crumb cake, very vanilla highland heather and gorgeous grape just speaks to my inner soul.  

Here Are My Cards: 

 I thought I would share a couple of the projects I've made with this gorgeous suite.  

I wanted to showcase this beautiful paper so my first card features a 4 1/8 x 5 3/8 panel of designer series paper on a basic white card base.  I've added a 4 x 5 1/4" layer of Blackberry Bliss card stock that I die cut with the heart die from the Fancy Florets dies.  

The little brass butterflies work beautifully with this designer series paper and its delicate images.  

This fancy fold is called a Cascading fold, and I used the Perennial Lavender DSP and stamp set as well as ephemera from the January Paper Pumpkin kit, and the Cake Fancy stamp set from the January to April Mini Catalogue in the design. 

I love mixing and matching cardstocks and dsp, so for this card I chose a retired cardstock called Just Jade for the base and mats. What a great mix. The Just Jade really worked beautifully with the the purples and crumb cake in the dsp.  

I stamped the "Birthday Wishes" sentiment from the Cake Fancy (#162932) stamp set on the basic white mat in Highland Heather Ink.  The flower and leaf ephemera are from the January Paper Pumpkin kit, and the butterfly is from the Perennial Lavender stamp set and stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink.

This was the first time I stamped with the Cake Fancy stamp set.  This 25 piece Photopolymer stamp set is well worth the investment. It is a Stampin' Up! Distinktive stamp set, which means that the image stamps have a special texture that gives them added depth and dimension in a single step, creating photo-realistic images.

There are multiple flowers and fruit in this set for decorating the cake or using for other designs. I also love the five sentiment stamps which I can mix and match for other celebrations and big achievements besides birthdays. 

For this card I stamped the images with Fresh Freesia, Highland Heather and Crumb Cake inks.  I also used my blends between the layers to close up any gaps caused by not overlapping the image.  Love it! 

Cake Fancy #162932

For the front of the card I mixed the ephemera and Perennial Lavender stamps for the focal point. The sentiment "It's your day" is one I use often when crafting a birthday card.  It's from the "A Good Man" stamp set which retired a few years ago. 

Well that's it for today folks.  I'm going out to enjoy the Sunday sunshine and get some exercise.  Life is not all about papercrafting!  I'll be back again next week and share some more cards made with the Perennial Lavender set.  Please drop me a comment to let me know if you're a fan of these cards and or the suite.  I'd love to hear from you. 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo since 2006

Click to check out my online Webstore: 

Sale Runs from April 9th to  30th
Last Chance List Annual 23/24 Catalogue 

Last Chance List Jan-April Mini Catalogue 

Click here for information on  this month's Hostess Code 

Painted Lavender Cascading Fold Card

Today I received an email from a stamper named Susan requesting instructions for a card I posted a while ago called a Cascading Fold card. The card was made by my awesome stamping friend Debbie Evoy.   Susan wants to recreate the card for her granddaughter's birthday.  I thought since I was giving Susan instructions that maybe someone else would be interested in them. 

Here is the Debby's card and link to my post on the Cascading Fold cards I made, using a different technique: 

Click here to see the original post 

Here Is the Card I Made:

 

Cutting Instructions:

Cardstock A: (MELON MAMBO) 

1. Cut one piece of A for card base measuring 5 ½” x 5 ½” and score at 4 ¼”, burnish on the fold line so crease is at the outside edge like a normal card.
2. Cut one piece of A for 2nd layer measuring 5 1/2” x 3 ¾” score at 4 ¼” and burnished at fold line.
3. Cut one piece of A for bottom front layer measuring 2” x 4 ¼”.
4. Cut one piece A for inside sentiment layer measuring 3 1/8" x 2 7/8"

Cardstock B (PETAL PINK) 

1. Cut one piece of B for inside card base mat measuring 5 ¼” x 4”
2. Cut one piece of B for 2nd layer mat 4" x 3 1/2"
3. Cut one piece of B for bottom layer mat measuring 1 ¾” x 4”
4. Small scraps for floral pieces and butterflies. 

Cardstock C (Basic White )

1. Cut one piece of C for layer on inside of base measuring 3 1/8” x 2 3/4”
2. Scrap for sentiment

DSP (Meandering Meadows #162735 Online Exclusive): 

1. Cut one piece of DSP for Inside Base Mat measuring 5 1/8 x 3 7/8”,
2. Cut one piece of DSP for 2nd layer mat measuring 3 ¼” x 3 ¾”
3. Cut one piece of DSP for bottom front layer 1 5/8” x 3 7/8”

Assembling Base Layers:  

1.  Adhere the B1 layer to card base mat.
2.  Adhere  DSP1 5 1/8” x 3 7/8” mat to B1 mat.
3.  Adhere A2 mat 3 5/8” x 3 ¼” to the bottom of the base DSP piece. Leave equal margins around sides and bottom edge.

4.  Adhere C1 mat to A2.  I suggest stamping neutral piece with sentiment and design before adhering it. 

Here's all the pieces of the base mat. 

Assembling 2nd Layer: 

1. Adhere the A2 layer mat to the finished base layer. Fold at the score line and        add adhesive to the back to adhere. 
2. Adhere B2 mat to the second layer base.

3. Adhere DSP 2 piece the 3 ¼ x 3 ¾ to the card B2 mat.

Assembling Bottom Front Layers: 

1. Adhere A3 piece (1 ¾ x 4”) to the edge of the second layer.

2. Adhere B3 piece to A3.
3. Adhere DSP3 to B3

4. Decorate with floral and add sentiment.

Assembling Cascading Layers:  

1. Start with the base card with the folded piece with burnished fold on left side. Line up the 2nd layer so it is even with the bottom and side of the base layer and adhere it by running glue on the back of the fold line.

2. Repeat this with the bottom front layer.

3. Starting with the base cut from the top corner across the diagonal to the 2nd layer

4. Starting with the 2nd layer cut from the corner on the diagonal to the bottom layer.

I hope you found this tutorial easy to work with.  I'd love to hear from you.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Web Store

Click here to shop in my Web Store

Sale Starts April 9th through April 30, 2024

Don't forget to Add March Hostess on
Any Orders Under $200 in March 
Click here to see how to use the Code. 

Last Chance Retiring Products and Price Increases

Spring is trying very hard to arrive and with its arrival there are always changes.  It's no different for Stampin' Up! when we hit this time of year.  It's out with the old and in with the new.  

The latest announcement from Stampin' Up! is about the retirement of the January to April Mini Catalogue and the 2023/2024 Annual Catalogues retiring and what's called "The Last Chance" lists.  From 9–30 April, you can stock up on your favorite products and save up to 60% on essential craft supplies! 

The Last Chance selection of retiring products will only be available from April 9th to April 30, 2024, or while supplies last, so visit my website and get your orders in before they're gone!  

Annual Catalogue Retiring List 

January to April 2024 Mini Catalogue Retiring List 

A reminder that the 2022/24 InColour selection is also retiring. So if you loved them now's the time to stock up on Sweet Sorbet, Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide, Starry Sky and Orchid Oasis, before they are gone forever.

Sale Prices Start on April 9th but in the meantime, you can decide what you want to order by browsing through both the Annual Catalogue Retiring List and the Mini Catalogue Last Chance List. I've added the links here:

Download the List to print out and look through your catalogs:

Annual Catalog Retiring List

Mini Catalog Last Chance List

Be Prepared, Price Increases Coming: 

HEADS UP!  It's not often a company lets you know that specific price increases are coming but Stampin' Up! has also given us a heads up about price increases coming with the next catalogue release. 

If you're like me you might want to check your basic supplies and stock up on some of these items before they're sold out or back ordered in April:  

• Tombow Glue and Glue Dots 
• Momento and Stazon ink and refills
• Classic Stampin' Ink Refills 
• All Coloured Cardstock
• Basic White Cardstock
• Punches 
• Stamp Cut N' Emboss machines and Cutting Plates
• Watercolour Pencils and Blender Pens 
• Envelopes 
• Stampin' Blends 

HAPPY STAMPING
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo since 2006

Click here to Shop Online or E-mail me!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Rainbows, a Pot of Gold, Leprechauns green beer and shenanigans are all part of celebrating St. Patty's Day on March 17th. I have a small bit of Irish in my genes, and so I love this special day. But in going through my collection of stamps I don't have any to use for a card. What about you? Do you celebrate this annual occasion? Do you have Four Leaf Clovers or Leprechauns in your stash? I'd love to know.

So, in lieu of the fact that I didn't make a card, I've chosen Henry my trusty ceramic sheepdog to model my favourite chapeaux for the occasion. Sadly I think it looks better on him than on me. 

Well that's enough blarney from me.  It's a beautiful sunny day here in Abbotsford.  And, it's perfect weather for going for a stroll around Mill Lake.  We'll see how hungry we are after that , and maybe head on over to the Townhall Pub in Abbotsford for brunch and to check out the St. Patty's Day festivities. 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demonstrator since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 online webstore: 

 

Zany Zoo Birthday Card for TSOT642 Challenge

Here's another sketch challenge from Try Stamping on Tuesday which runs from March 5th to 17th.

Card Sketches are meant to be inspirational but each sketch challenge blog has its own rules, so remember to check them out.  For example, I'm able to change this week's TSOT642 sketch by rotating, flipping or changing it from landscape to portrait orientation.  I could even use a mirror image of the design layout and I could replace the sketch shapes with a circle instead of a shamrock, so long as the finished project visibly reflects the original sketch and includes a sentiment. 

So with all that in mind I set out to create my birthday card following these rules and remembering when the link closes so I don't miss out like last time.

Here's My TSOT642 Card: 

This was a very simple card to make once I decided all the elements.  I cut three strips of cardstock in Pool Party and Petal Pink for the angled strips.  The 5 1/4" x 4" layer was embossed with a large dot embossing folder that's available as a 3-D Embossing pack in the Online Exclusives.  

Once again I chose characters from the incredible Zany Zoo DSP pack in the Annual Catalogue.  You can do so much with this paper!  Love it! 

And here's the inside of my card: 

Well that's it for this week.  I didn't actually get a chance to post this to  the TSOT blog post as they had already closed it before the actual link closing time, which was a real bummer.  This is the second time this has happened so I probably won't post to that challenge site again unless I can get my card done really early.  Oh well, it still was fun making it and it'll make someone happy when they receive it on their birthday.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNYTOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my online webpage and store: 

More Jungle Pal Birthdays

Earlier in the month, I posted a card for a TSOT challenge  that was made with the Jungle Pals stamps and dies that were available during Stampin' Ups! Sale-a-Bration.  That was such a fun get well/thinking of you card and the recipient really liked it.  

Since then I've made some birthday cards using this same set and today wanted to share them with you.   

Here are the Cards I Made: 

This card started with an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Granny Apple Green card stock scored at 4 1/4".  I added a mat of Basic Black that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  Before adhering that piece I die cut the stitched 3" circle for the backing on my focal point.  The final mat is a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of Lemon Lolly cardstock.  Before adhering this mat to the front of the card, I did two things.  First I cut a 2 1/2" stitched circle mat for my focal from the top center of the mat and then I embossed it with the Fern 3-D Embossing Folder.  

For the inside of the card I cut a Basic White mat that measured 5 1/4" x 4" and adhered that to the card base.  Before putting this mat down, I added some foliage to the bottom and stamped with a birthday sentiment. 

Here's a close up of the focal point on the card front. I coloured the Toucan with Sweet Sorbet, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight and Basic Black blends and cut it out with the dies from the Jungle Pals die set.  I coloured a variety of the die cut leaves with Granny Apple Green, Old Olive and Lost Lagoon blends.  The sweet little flowers were coloured with Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie blends.  

The sentiment "your special day" is from the Cake Fancy (#162932) stamp set in the January Mini catalogue.  I embossed it with white embossing powder on a strip of Basic Black.  Love it! 

I stayed with the forest jungle theme for my next card which features the Tiger from the Jungle Pals bundle.  Although I was disappointed with my actual colouring of the Tiger (he's much too flat and the shaded look I was going for didn't happen), I was happy with the card as a whole.  Here it is:

Once again I used a Granny Apple Green card base to begin the card.  I followed this with a mat of Lemon Lolly that measured 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  The top mat started out as a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Basic White.  

If you've never tried to create your own backgrounds you're missing out on a lot of fun and creativity.  To get the plants in the jungle look (see the original card) I began by die cutting all the foliage and flowers in the die set from Basic White cardstock.  I placed them over top of the mat and coloured them with ink and blending brushes.  You could also use a sponge dauber. 

The trick is to colour them on top of the cardstock mat and keep moving the pieces around as you blend so that you're laying down colour over top of colour.  I started all the blending with Lemon Lolly, then switched to Granny Apple Green and then added Lost Lagoon.    

 I die cut the flowers from a scrap of envelope from the Sweet Thoughts Memory or More pack so no colouring was involved.  

I die cut the flowers from the Calypso coral card front featured in this photo.  The grid pattern gave a nice textured look to the flowers. 

Well that's it for today's post.  I hope you liked it and will leave me a comment as to which of the two cards you liked the most.  I'm going back to the drawing board to learn to colour the tiger more realistically.  I'm going to try using blending brushes rather than blends so I get a toned down version.  Cheers and have a good week. 

HAPPY STAMPING! 

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Web Store

Sending a Little Sunshine

We're already a week into March and so far we've had an arctic front, snow, heavy frost,hail, wind, rain and more rain. After a weekend of gray skies, heavy rain and winds I'm trying to stay optimistic and hoping for some sunshine and dryer weather in the days to come. 

With the weather focus on mind I decided to use this week's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #FMS626 for my inspiration. Here's the sketch:

FMS#626

HERE'S MY CARD:

I chose to design a positive card with a "rain and sun theme" that could be used for a variety of occasions.  

Remembering that the sketch challenge rules say it's okay to replace the circles with another image, I went ahead and changed the half circles with clouds. My basic white stitched clouds were die cut using the medium cloud die in the Stampin' Up! Bright Skies bundle featured on page 51 of the Annual Catalogue.  

There's also a cheerful little sun that's part of the coordinating stamp set and it has dies that make it easy to cut out and add dimension.  I stamped the sun in Daffodil Delight and used the small stitched circle die to cut a center for the sun from Daffodil Delight card stock.

I chose the "Sunshine to Brighten Your Day" sentiment from the "Sending Smiles" (#158701) stamp set on page 26 of the Annual Catalogue, and embossed it on a strip of basic black cardstock with Versamark ink and White Embossing Powder. I cut out the sentiment strip with the larger of the two label dies in the coordinating "Sending" (#159271) die set. What fun!  I love all nine of the sentiments in this stamp set, and any one of them would have worked perfectly with this theme. 

The Smokey Slate card base for this card measures 4 1/4" x 11" and is scored at the 5 1/2"  center line. I added a layer of Basic White 5 3/8" x 4 1/8", a layer of Balmy Blue 5 1/4" x 4" and a layer of Rain or Shine designer series paper that measured 3 7/8" x 51/8".  This piece of DSP has a myriad of glossing raised raindrops that capture the light when the card is turned. 

For the inside of the card I cut a 5 1/4" X 4" basic white panel and adhered another die cut sun to the bottom right hand corner.  I left the rest blank for a personal message. 

So that's my card for today.  I appreciate your dropping by to visit, and hope if my card inspired you in any way that you'll leave me a comment.  I super enjoy doing card challenges as it's a way of stimulating my creativeness and this weeks FMS#626 was perfect for that.  

Why not try out this challenge yourself, there's still a bit of time to do it.  Cheers and have a good week!

HAPPY STAMPING
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin Up Demo since 2006
Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Webstore