Retiring stamp set: Tropical Chic

 
Is that pink? What's happening to me? I saw a similar card to this created by a crafter called Yana Smakula and couldn’t resist making one of my own with the Tropical Chic stamp set before it retires at the end of this month.

I used Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight and Smoky Slate to create a DSP-style background. This would be great for a one-sheet wonder!

I also use the Share Sunshine PDF of greetings which has some fabulous sentiments for the current situation. You can download that here and all proceeds go to two very good causes helping to fight Covid-19.

There's a very small sneak peek on there, too – can you spot it? It’s the Flirty Flamingo die-cut on the card on the right. This is from the new Tasteful Labels set and I’m currently using it all the time. It’s going to be really popular, I’m sure.

My Smoky Slate ink pad desperately needed re-inking but, once I’d done so, I found it a bit dark (left card) so created another background by stamping off onto scrap paper first to get a paler look (right card). This is a good way of toning down colours which are too dominant and also a great way of getting more out of your ink pads, as you can get 2-3 shades from each colour.

New home card using Snow Front, Beautiful Friendship & more...

 

I’ve become the official card provider to my family. It helps us all; I get to offload my old samples and they aren’t tempted to go to the shops during lockdown.

But the latest request threw me as it was for a new home card for my nephew and his girlfriend (you can move into a new home if it’s vacant and social distancing is maintained, in case you were worried). The problem is, both Mum and I need to send them a card, so they need to be different – and I don’t have any new home stamp sets.

This is roughly how the conversation went:

Me: "I don't have any new home stamps but I can do one with a lighthouse, a dog kennel or a beehive."
Mum: "I'm sure you have a house stamp."
Me: "No I really don't."
Mum: "I could have sworn I saw a little house."
Me: "No, it must be an old one you’re thinking of."
Mum: "I definitely saw a little house."
etc...

Turns out she was right! How come she knows the contents of my craft room better than I do? She hasn't stepped inside my house (or anyone else’s) for at least seven weeks!

In the end, I used no fewer than four stamp sets on this project: Snow Front, Water Front, Beautiful Friendship and Peaceful Moments. Well if you’ve got it, use it!

I used just the tips of the flowers and flower centre stamps from Beautiful Friendship to create a floral foreground. Without this, I felt the image still had a wintry, Christmassy vibe.

Have another Quaran-tini!

It must be challenging being in lockdown alone, which is why Stampin’ Up!® has come up with this new image and greetings set so you can make cards to cheer people up. It’s part of the new Share Sunshine PDF which raises money for worth causes helping people affected by Covid-19.

Inside it says “it’s like a normal martini but you drink it at home, alone”. Perfect!

You can download the PDF here

When colouring images printed from your computer, for best results use Stampin’ Blends as these won’t smear your image. I tried to add Wink of Stella to the top of this image but had to take care as it was smudging the black ink.

Share Sunshine with cardmaking

What happens when you run out of glue midway through a project? You call on your demonstrator friends, of course! You can’t see this card too well in the video below but after so many takes I couldn't face another one so here's a close-up.

I made it using retiring Tropical Oasis Memories & More cards combined with the new Share Sunshine PDF of greetings for our time. This is a fabulous set of greetings, with some images, all designed for the current crisis, so we can send the perfect card to thank someone, cheer someone up or simply spread some joy (not germs!).

The cost is $12, which works out at about £8-£9 and, best of all, every single penny raised will go to these good causes:

* The WHO’s COVID-Solidarity Response Fund

* United Way Worldwide’s COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund.

You get to choose which one to benefit or split it 50/50. I think it's fantastic that in a global crisis, a global company is thinking globally to help people the world over.

You can download the UK version of the greetings here

And if the video doesn’t load properly, you can also view it here

What do you get in the PDF?

You get a 19-page PDF featuring 15 pages of greetings, in both black and colours (the Stampin' Up!® colours are detailed on the initial pages). You can print these out onto Whisper White cardstock and use them in your craft projects. Please don’t share the PDF with anyone, as it’s designed to raise as much money as possible for these worthy causes. 

When using the PDF, you'll see the pages are numbered so that the first page of greetings is Page 1. Please disregard these numbers when printing just one page of the document. You need to look at the page number within the document. For instance, Page 1 of the greetings is actually Page 5 of the document, so if you want the page with “I’d totally share my toilet paper with you”, you need to print page 5. I’d hate for you to waste your Whisper White on a sheet of instructions!