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.

Keeping it simple with Dandelion Wishes

Keeping with the #simplestamping theme, these cards really could not be more simple. Well, I suppose they could if you stamped directly onto the card inestead of creating a layer. Oh, and I’ve used two stamp sets because the greeting I wanted was not included in Dandelion Wishes. But you get the idea... just stamping onto white cardstock with two ink pads can give you striking results.

Dashing Deer and Winter Woods... a match made in heaven

I can’t get enough of Dashing Deer and Winter Woods... as I’m sure you’ve noticed. They are a match made in heaven and perfect for really simple projects like the one above, as well as more complicated technique cards like this Winter Woods card using a Stamparatus technique or this vibrant brayered deer card.

I needed lots of these cards to thank my lovely customers, so brought out the Stamparatus for speed stamping. Once those stamps are in position, you can stamp really quickly and accurately. The only image I stamped by hand was the one to represent the ground. As I needed this to be stamped repeatedly and largely at random, it was easier to use a clear block.

The Designer Series Paper you see here is no longer available I’m afraid – I forgot to post this project in September, sorry – but you will find a great range of equally beautiful and suitable designs in my online store and in both the Annual Catalogue and the Autumn/Winter catalogue.

Celebrate gift envelopes with Tropical Chic

These envelopes contain a little gift for some of my team members who took part in a challenge recently. I used the Calligraphy Essential stamp set combined with the Celebrate You dies in the cheery colours of Grapefruit Grove, Bermuda Bay and Pineapple Punch.

The focal point are these lovely flowers from Tropical Chic, sponged and stamped to give them a slight two-tone effect. Simple, and effective.

A celebration in Bermuda Bay

This card was heavily inspired by Yana Smakula and I just knew the Bermuda Bay would be perfect for my friend and downline Kelly.

I brayered the whole piece from top to bottom using Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay (Kelly’s favourite SU colour), then embossed in copper using the spots from Dragonfly Dreams. I couldn’t find any word stamps in my collection which were big enough to stand out in the centre of the project, so die-cut the “celebrate” from copper foil instead. 

Some of the leaves are cut from the Delightfully Detailed laser-cut DSP, while others are die-cut using the Tropical Thinlits.  Hope she liked it!

Blueberry dandelions

Let’s start the week with another Dandelion Wishes project - and why not? It’s proving to be the most popular stamp set from the 2018 Annual Catalogue so far!

I used the Stamparatus to stamp the image in Blueberry Bushel, then stamp again on top in Versamark so it could be embossed. Clearly some of the embossing missed the mark as the blue ink has spread when I watercoloured in Lovely Lipstick, but I don’t mind as the result is quite effective.

I know some people are resistant to the new In Colors, because they’re rather bright, but I think they are a great addition to our collection, and can be quite tasteful when separated from the crowd!

Brayered background with Delightfully Detailed laser-cut paper

I do love a fancy background technique. Well, I say “fancy” but often they are really easy to create, as with this one which is simply brayered with Grapefruit Grove, Poppy Parade and Lovely Lipstick. 

It goes really well with the Very Vanilla laser-cut paper laid on the top. But what do you think of the colour combo? Be honest, I can take it!

Tropical Chic with a brayered background

I thought it was high time I tried the sponge brayers so gave them a whirl for this card. I’ve always loved playing with background techniques and enjoyed creating this graduated look with Pool Party, Bermuda Bay and Pacific Point.

It’s a six-colour combo, but I think it works... and sometimes you need two or three shades to really make the most of a brayered background. 

I topped it off with some Tropical Chic flowers and some beautiful leaves from the Delightfully Detailed Laser-cut Designer Series Paper, which is a total must-have as it will add a real “wow” to your projects. This special paper is Very Vanilla on one side and Whisper White on the other, which is perfect for sponging as I’ve done here with Soft Sea Foam and a hint of Old Olive. 

A totally tropical colour combo

I’m ending my Tropical Chic week with another celebration... this time of my faboulous team. Each month I send out reward vouchers and random gifts to my team members for various reasons.

Five of them received a voucher in one of these cheery cards. Can I tell you something about these cards? They are not 100% identical... but they’re pretty close! And it’s all thanks to the Stamparatus, which made quick work of stamping such a complicated design five times.

And three will receive a little notebook surprise on the same theme. Yes, I know there are only two in the photo, but one of my team who was on the list to receive one of these just happened to pop by before I’d had chance to photograph them, so she received her gift there and then.

Finally, the totally tropical colour combo to round things off...

Tropical Chic celebration card

I’m quite chuffed with how this card turned out, which is a relief as it’s for a very special occasion. It’s not every day that one of your team reaches such a major milestone as their 10th anniversary! Congratulations go to Kellie for sticking around – here’s to many more years!

To create the background I stamped repeatedly using Granny Apple Green, stamping over and over again without reinking to get various shades of green. I added some Petal Pink speckles to give a lift and to link to the die-cut Petal Pink flowers. These Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins give it the perfect finishing touch. 

Tropical Chic Hello card... with a little help from a feline friend

It’s another outing for Tropical Chic and this time a really simple project which I threw together in minutes. You could step it up by embossing those leaves which would look stunning, and adding some embellishments, too. But sometimes a quick project hits the mark and I like to keep things simple.

If only taking the photograph had gone so smoothly... thanks for the “help”, Hamish!

Tropical Chic week!

It’s time for another themed week, this time – in honour of our tropical weather – I am focussing on Tropical Chic.

This is a really fun and on-trend bundle of products. There’s a stamp set and dies, but you could easily work with one or the other. 

I had just the dies to work with for my OnStage display projects and had lots of fun. But the stamps went on my first catalogue order, to increase the project possibilities. 

This week I will be showcasing five projects using these products – but the possibilities don’t end there, far from it. My head is teeming with more ideas that I just haven’t had time to make just yet. I will be revisiting this bundle in the future, I promise. 

This project uses a totally tropical colour combo and involved splashing ink onto wet watercolour paper to create a pretty random effect. When it was dry, I cut it out using the square die you see in the photo above. And can you spot the Subtle Embossing Folder? It’s very well named but I promise you’ll love it. Lots of my customers have ordered this after seeing it on my sample projects – a photograph really can’t do it justice. Just trust me and buy it – you won’t regret it!

Tropical Chic in super bright colours

I held a Stampin’ Up!® party on Friday for the first time in years. This is a shameful admission when you think I am very keen for other people to hold them. And it also made me wonder I haven’t been doing it more often as I had a great time... didn’t have to pack the car or drive anywhere, and thoroughly enjoyed choosing my free products!

A BIG thank you is in order to everyone who came along and ordered products, and generally made the evening a fun one.

I demoed the Tropical Chic bundle, which I’m delighted to play with at last. I’ve had the dies since February, for my Display Team projects, but have only just taken delivery of the stamps.

Above is the Make & Take, which I CASEd from the latest edition of Stampin’ Success (the magazine for demonstrators) but changed to even brighter colours. I’m a big fan of the new, revamped Brights collection!

This was the prize for the evening which, in the absence of Karen, inevitably went to Sharon. This seems to be how it works at EVERY party. Karen nearly always wins (although she denies it!) and, if she’s not there, Sharon will win.

This was my 3D demonstration... a fun little teabag holder. I used the ‘smoosh technique’ on the watercolour paper before cutting out with this fun die.

As for the teabag holder, I have another version of this to show you on Wednesday so please do pop back, and I may even have some instructions for you.

What do you think of the colour combo? Too bright? Not bright enough? I’d love to hear your thoughts...