Stamping Sunday Blog Hop – Favorite Retiring

Hello and Happy Mother’s Day!!! Best wishes to all the lovely moms out there. Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Today is also the May Stamping Sunday Blog Hop! This month, the designers are featuring our Retiring Favorites! It’s a bittersweet time of the year, because we’re excited about new products coming out in the 2019-2020 Annual Stampin’ Up! catalog, but a little sad to say good-bye to retiring old ones. So, the design team thought it would be fitting to pay tribute to our retiring favorites!!!

For a list of all the blog hop participants, see links at the bottom of this post.

Typically, the designers create one “Beginner” card and then show how to step-it-up for both the “Casual” and “Avid” Crafter. But this month, I went a little rogue. I have SO MANY retiring favorites that I had a hard time picking just one. In fact, I think my favorite retiring “product” might not be a stamp set at all , but the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper (DSP)! So instead, I decided to design three cards using the same basic layout and colors, and on each one, I used at least one sheet of Wood Textures DSP. Then, I used a different favorite retiring stamp set for each card.

Beginner Crafter

My beginner card features the Beach Happy stamp set. I just got this stamp set and started using it, and sadly it’s already retiring. But, I love it nonetheless. (I’m a sucker for palm trees!) For the main layer, I started by sponging a little Coastal Cabana ink on Whisper White cardstock, and then I stamped the palm trees with the colors shown in the photo. I suggest starting with the tree tops first and then adding the trunks second. I inked up the tree tops with Granny Apple Green and then sponged some Shaded Spruce ink directly onto the stamp prior to stamping for a little shading. The tree trunk stamp is easily manipulated to bend different ways.

Now, I realize this card may not technically qualify as a beginner card, because it has a few layers and techniques, but they are really SIMPLE layers and techniques! Cut, glue, and sponge!

The banner is easy too. I simply stamped the sentiment on a 1″ strip of Wood Textures DSP and trimmed the two sides with a Banner Triple Punch. When I thought I was finished, I spied my Tropical Elements just sitting there looking very left out, and I felt compelled to stick one on. 🙂

Casual Crafter

For my Casual Crafter card, I used the Half Full stamp set. I ADORE this stamp set so much!!! This time, I cut the main layer from Shimmery White cardstock so I could step-up the technique level by adding watercoloring.

I used an Aqua Painter to paint a quick watercolor wash on the background layer. Then, I stamped the bottle and glasses with Stazon ink and watercolored them with Garden Green, Soft Suede, Coastal Cabana, and Merry Merlot ink.

Watercoloring Tips: 1) Pool ink in the lid of your pad by giving it a squeeze, or adding a drop of re-inker. 2) For the background, use the large brush Aqua Painter. Paint over the background with clear water first, then mix a little water with your ink and paint in quick sideways motions. 3) For the bottle, color by section and use the small brush Aqua Painter. Start with a wash of clear water first, and then gradually add color. It’s easy to add color, but harder to take it away, so creep up on it. 4) Leave white spaces for visual variety. 5) For the glasses, again start with a clear wash, and then add color at the water line first and blend down. Leave a little bit of white space around the edges for the appearance of liquid sitting inside a glass layer.

As a final touch, I added an embossed background using the Simple Stripes embossing folder.

Avid Crafter

For my Avid Crafter card, I used the Wonderful Romance stamp set and coordinating Wonderful Floral Dies to create lots of soft layers.

The used my favorite sheet of Wood Textures DSP in the background, as well as to cut the border lattice. These particular dies are designed to both cut and emboss, so I after cutting the border and leaves, I ran them through my die cutter again using the Embossing Mats. This process is worth the extra effort, because it really adds depth to the emboss die cuts.

For the sentiment, I embossed it in white on Shimmery White Cardstock, and then I painted a watercolor wash using Coastal Cabana ink. After it dried, I cut out the label.

I also embossed some of the leaves in white on Vellum cardstock. Then, after cutting them out, I colored the back of the Vellum with both Light and Dark Granny Apple Green and Shaded Spruce Stampin’ Blends Markers.

Finally, I embossed the flowers in white on Shimmery White cardstock and watercolored them with Mango Melody ink.

I really fell in love with this last card!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today. Please be sure to continue on through the rest of the Stamping Sunday Blog Hop. Next up, is the AMAZING Jackie Aitken. I absolutely adore her work!

Stamping Sunday Blog Hop Participants:

May Host Code JR7B7JT7

Use this Host Code for all purchases at my online store during the month of May to qualify to receive exclusive tutorials! For anyone who makes a purchase, I will email you this month’s tutorial. If you place an order between $50.00 and $149.99, I will send you the monthly tutorials for the next year!! If you place an order of $150 or more, don’t use the host code, because you can be your own host and receive at least $15 in free merchandise. However, I will still email you the monthly tutorials for the next year!!! Emails of PDF tutorials go out around the 20th of each month. The tutorials include step-by-step instructions to create projects using current Stampin’ Up! products. They are exclusive, because you won’t find any of the projects on my blog, any of the other designers’ blogs, or any social media sites.

Supplies used on my cards: