20+ projects using retiring Stampin' Up!® products - get them while you can!

The Stampin’ Up!® Last Chance Sale begins today! There are lots of amazing products retiring, including – gasp! – the Stamparatus! So be sure to invest now if it’s been on your wish list – and if you already have one, make sure you’re covered for spare magnets and grid paper.

Today I am going to showcase some of my favourite Stampin’ Up!® stamp sets which are retiring. I’ve loved creating with these sets and will be sad to see them go but onwards and upwards – a new Stampin’ Up!® Annual Catalogue is just around the corner!

Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper cards

Last Friday was my Crafty Friday event; a monthly class which I have managed to keep running throughout the pandemic thanks to the miracle of Zoom.

We used gorgeous Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper from the Stampin’ Up!® Jan-June Mini Catalogue, alongside some retiring cardstock (Rococo Rose and Seaside Spray), partly because it coordinates so beautifully and partly to use it up!

Our first card was this fun W-fold which is a great way to show off your lovely Designer Series Papers. For our images, we cut out the large shells from the Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper as not everyone had the stamp set, and we used our own greetings. I used Happiest of Birthdays for these samples – this is probably my most-used set of all at the moment, although I suspect it’s going to be overtaken by Biggest Wish very soon. 

 

The W-fold card uses the sea urchin design, with lots of cut-out shells on top. If you prefer, you could stamp the shells and cut them out or use the coordinating Seaside Seashells Dies. The main greeting is stamped onto a shape cut with the Stitched So Sweetly Dies, which is my new favourite set as it’s so versatile.

Inside the card I’ve left the two white panels fairly blank for a message, but you could stamp more greetings here, too if you liked.

Our second card was just a simple design. This version uses a So Saffron base and a Flirty Flamingo cardstock layer – the colours used in the Designer Series Paper – but I quickly realised I didn’t have enough of either colour for my class kits!

For this version of the card, the one we made in the class, I switched to Rococo Rose, which isn’t actually the colour used in the Sand & Sea DSP but I think it coordinates pretty well, if not better. 

I’ve started covering my card fronts with Designer Series Paper right up to the edge, as Ive done on the card on the right, below. This gives it a completely different look compared to leaving a narrow border as I usually do. Which one do you think works best?

If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the May host code RMSS4YFY, I’ll send you a thank you gift in June.

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

Seashells Embossing folder thank you cards

I had a splashy fun time creating these cards as customer thank yous. Pretty much everything was covered in speckles of ink by the time I'd finished.

These are just a few of the cards I made; I rashly packed up the others before I remembered to take any pix. Oops - thankfully I remembered just in time. 

I sent these out to everyone who shopped with me in March. Those who used the host code also received a thank you gift of a retiring stamp set, Parcels & Petals. This is SUCH a bargain set that I couldn't resist ordering one for everyone. Well, not quite everyone; the lady who already had one received something different. Yes, I really did go through them all to check.

I used the Seashells 3D Embossing Folder, which is a relatively new addition to my craft stash. It goes perfectly with the Friends Are Like Seashells Bundle but I haven’t had chance to use them together yet.

For these relatively quick and easy cards, I simply speckled some pieces of Basic White cardstock using a wet paintbrush to pink up ink from the ink pad lid and then spatter it across the paper.

The wetter your brush, the bigger and paler the splashes you'll get. Keep the water to a minimum and you'll get smaller, darker speckles.

 

 

I used three outgoing In Colors; Pretty Peacock, Terracotta Tile and Seaside Spray, and took the opportunity to use up as much retiring stash as possible before it goes forever.

The card bases are Terracotta Tile, with a Pretty Peacock Layer. This lovely scalloped ribbon is retiring and is now reduced to £4.50, while the Classic Label Punch has already sold out in Europe.

Carrying over into the new catalogue, you'll be pleased to know, are the Linen Thread and the Seashells Embossing Folder. 

 

There are still lots of bargains to be found on the Last Chance list and on the Clearance Rack. If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the March host code TRPKSXWR, I’ll send you a thank you gift in May!

 

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

Please message me via my website 

 

 

 

Friends Are Like Seashells Stampin’ Up!® card ideas

I am a sucker for a seaside stamp set, always have been. Maybe it’s something to do with living in landlocked Derbyshire, arguably the furthest from the sea that you can get within the UK.

We still can’t travel to the seaside, but we can create seaside-themed projects using the lovely Friends Are Like Seashells stamp set. And if some of the sentiments are a bit too sentimental for my tastes, then the many, many stamps more than make up for this. 

 

After a tiring week, I spent a relaxed Saturday afternoon playing with this gorgeous stamp set and dies, creating a huge mess ... but ultimately coming up with these two cards.

 

See the supply list here

 

For my first card I began by blending ink onto some Basic White cardstock using the fab.u.lous Blending Brushes and inks ink Bermuda Bay, Pretty Peacock (retiring soon!) and Granny Apple Green. I splashed this with water and allowed it to dry, then ran it through the Seabed Embossing Folder from the Whale of Time Suite. Yes, I do have quite a collection of sea-themed products. 

See the supply list here

 

I used the Natural Touch Specialty Paper to cover the whole of my card front, then built up my collage using stamped and colours seashells. 

 

See the supply list here

 

I stamped the shells in Early Espresso, Soft Suede and Pretty Peacock, colouring most of them in simply by dragging the colour around using a Blender Pen. The main shell had a touch of Granny Apple Green, too, then I finished it off with a hint of Wink of Stella.

 

My embellishments are Just Jade from the 2020-2022 In Color Enamel Dots.

See the supply list here

I wanted my second card to look completely different so when for a totally uncharacteristic pink and white theme. I used the Seabed Embossing Folder as my base this time, then built up my image using various seashells stamped in – gasp – Melon Mambo, Flirty Flamingo and Blushing Bride. These are all colours from the Sand & Sea Designer Series Paper, which I had intended to use, but in the end I couldn’t bear to cut it up. I know... after everything I’ve ever said! But I WILL cut it up soon, I promise. 

 

See the supply list here

Again, I finished off with some swipes of Wink of Stella and that same pack of enamel dots, using the Magenta Madness dots this time. 

 

See the supply list here

When creating a collage-effect card like this, arrange the elements then snap a photo with your phone, so you can see how you want them when you start removing them to add adhesive.

 

See the supply list here

Something you should know about the Seaside Shells dies is that within the set is one BIG one which cuts out several large shells with lots of seaweed around it. This is very cool as it co-ordinates with the Seashells 3D Embossing Folder, which I sadly forgot to order. And if you position your stamps carefully, using the Stamparatus, you can stamp and die-cut (or the other way round) for perfect positioning every time.

 

See the supply list here

 

If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the March host code HYEBNWP3, I’ll send you a thank you gift in April!

 

To make it easy for you, please shop using this link

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

Please message me via my website